Cobra Kai Final Episodes are Awesome!

While I love fantasy and science fiction, I also like a wide variety of shows.  I've watched all the seasons of Cobra Kai.  I enjoyed the final episodes (on Netflix.) It starts out a little slow with some backstory about what the characters have been doing. I enjoyed it. Some times you need to slow down and do some reflection. By the third episode, things really kick into gear. I don’t want to give anything away, but there are just some shockers that happen. I also like the way they review the past of Daniel and Johnny. The way they tie it all together works well. 

If you have never seen this show, it would be good watch the first Karate Kid movie (1984) where Daniel and Johnny fight each other for the first time. Cobra Kai picks up where Daniel and Johnny are now middle-aged adults who start their dojos up again. A lot of the story involves their own kids and also other kids who join the dojos. Like the Karate Kid movie, the main character kids learn karate to protect themselves from bullying. Also, the series involves the former sensi's of Johnny. John Kreese and Terry Silver, both awesome bad guys. 

Critically speaking, if I had to say anything negative about the series is that sometimes they seemed to throw in a fight scene, just to have a fight scene. Perhaps to fill in a slow moment or to give the fans what they want. 

In the final season, Terry Silver becomes more hate-able than ever. He sinks to new lows, which makes for a great story.  Johnny Lawrence has been one of my favorite characters throughout the series, even though he started out as a bad guy. In season one, he is a loser who drinks too much and sleeps on the floor of his tiny apartment. He doesn't like his life and wants to do more, so he starts up Cobra Kai again. Much to Daniel's horror. I know a great character arc when I see one, and Johnny's story really hooked me. He steps up in the climax. The ending does not disappoint. 

I might go back and watch the last season all over again.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky and other things.

Just when you think I'm never posting to my blog again, here it is.....

I've been working on a Fantasy/Romance Novel called "A Land of Fear and Fire" It's about a young lady who wants to free her people who are enslaves by half-dragon, half human corrupted beings. Her people are forced to mine for an element that gives the half-breeds power. Without it, they return to human form. I have the draft finished and now I'm working on the sequel. I hope to have both published sometime next year. 

I recently finished reading a book called "Beneath a Scarlet Sky" By Mark Sullivan. It's about an Italian young man during WW2 who ends up being a driver for a Nazi general. At first he doesn't want to do this, but it ends up being perfect for spying and sending the resistance information. What made this book really good is the fact that it's a true story. The main character, Pino, had an amazing life. I think this story could be a great series.  

 
For just .99 cents, I recently took an online class called "Copy Writing for Social Media."  The class was on the website Domestika, which offers creative classes at low prices. You can choose from crafts, writing, fashion, web/app design, culinary, photograph and much more. Copy Writing, which is basically writing for ads, looks easy on the surface, but it's really not. Copy Writers do a lot of research before writing a few lines or a coming up with ideas for a 30 second commercial. It was fun trying to come up with a tag line and a blurb for social media.   

Lastly, I have finished painting two rooms in my house. The kitchen was the hardest to paint because of the cabinets. In the small, bed room I had to remove one wall of wall paper and a boarder. Wall paper is a real pain. It's hard work, and I also look it as exercise, except you get something out of it. My goal is to redecorate every room in the house, but I'm taking a break for the holidays. 

Have a great week!

Two Great Shows. All the Light We Cannot See and The Darkest Hour.

I recently watched a short series on Netflix called “All the Light We Cannot See.” It’s based on the novel by Anthony Doerr. The setting is WW2 mostly in France, but also some scenes are in Germany. The Germans are losing the war. The Americans are bombing them out in France.

Werner is a young man who is talented with radios. He built his own radio while in an orphanage. He often listed to someone called the "professor" who talked about education subjects. It was illegal to listen to foreign broadcasts, but Werner couldn't stop listening to the professor who talked about other things, and the not war. Werner found this to be an escape. He almost got shot for listening to that frequency, but because of his talent, he was sent to an elite German boarding school. There he learned more skills with radios and frequencies. As the Nazi's are losing the war, they want him to find foreign frequencies in France so they can shut down the French Resistance.

However, he discovers Marie, a blind French girl who is broadcasting on a frequency he used to listen to when he was in the orphanage. The same frequency the Professor used to be on. Instead, Marie is working with the French Resistance. She is sending code to the Americans of where to bomb. He knows this, but he still cannot report her. Werner cares too much about about her. Just like the professor, he becomes obsessed with listening to her. This blind girl is really amazing. Her other senses are so strong, she’s capable of a lot. 

Another good movie is “The Darkest Hour” It’s about Winston Churchill during WW2 when British troops are stuck in France, and the Nazi's are about to invade England. Gary Oldman plays plays Winston Churchill. He is so good in this role that I forgot at times this is not really Winston. 

The main conflict is that others in parliament want to enter into peace talks with Germany. Mainly because they don’t think they can win. Winston (the new prime minister) doesn’t agree. He's steadfastly against it. This causes him a mountain of stress because they pressure him to do the peace talks or step down.

Several in parliament are terrified that if they don't try to talk peace with Hitler, they will be destroyed. At some point, Winston almost agrees with them. He goes to his secretary and tries to write a letter to Hitler, but he finds himself unable to find the words. He can’t finish the letter. Then he feels like the walls are closing in on him. 

Instead, he writes a speech about why they should fight. One thing he said stands out to me. “Do you want to see a swastika over Buckingham palace?” 

And…yeah that was a wake up call. I found it admirable how Winston stood up to so much pressure from those around him.