Took me a little while to figure it all out but I just figured it out. Not too long ago, I cancelled Netflix and swapped it with the HBO MAX add on through Hulu. So now I wanted to figure out how to use the HBO Max Hulu add on with the regular HBO Max app for the Smart TV since they allow you to do that. I finally figured it out today so I’m now officially an HBO Max subscriber. I tested the streaming on it today a little bit and it works perfect now. So now I’ll be able to stream stuff on HBO Max which is exciting. It is definitely way better than Netflix.

For the most part, the only reason I wanted to get HBO Max is for DC Movies/TV show that are on there and I also wanted HBO Max for the “House of the Dragon” Game of Thrones prequel show. Plus once again there are upcoming spinoffs for “The Batman” film… TV shows of Penguin and Arkham Asylum. Also for the upcoming “Batgirl” movie that will be HBOMax exclusive only, I want to see that too.

Last night, I watched the movie “The Last Duel” that medieval movie that stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Adam Driver. Also directed by Ridley Scott. I watched that one through the Hulu HBO Max since I couldn’t figure out that “provider” thing yet… but “The Last Duel” was surprisingly good. I liked it a lot so I might add that one to my BluRay collection. That movie was a reunion movie for Matt and Ben as the last movie they did together I think was “Good Will Hunting” in 1997.

Now I got this HBO Max “provider” thing figured out, I’m gonna stream a movie on there tonight. Soon I’m gonna start watching “The Peacemaker” show with John Cena ’cause I want to see that one as well.

First though, I gotta catch up with “Yellowstone – Season 4” on Peacock before I start other shows.

Kev

So I officially cancelled Netflix yesterday afternoon… I think I’m done with Netflix for good this time around. Simply ’cause they keep raising the prices and I have a feeling Netflix is gonna raise the price again later this year, don’t be surprised. I find it amazing that people keep Netflix even though they raise their price, really? Pretty soon, Netflix will be costing $20 a month and it’s just not worth it anymore. Plus, I don’t watch Netflix all that much anyway. I’ve seen most of the movies on there and most of their original films are pretty much garbage. I only kept Netflix ’cause of “The Walking Dead” pretty much but there are other ways I can watch the final season.

I’m thinking of collecting the “Walking Dead” series on BluRay anyway ’cause I love the show. I’ll probably wait for the BluRay release on “Walking Dead – Season 11”.

Anyhow, since I dropped Netflix, I’m now on Amazon Prime Video using someone else’s account in the house so I can start my own profile. Prime Video is way better than Netflix so that’s a keeper. They have better selections of shows and movies.

Also through Hulu, I went ahead and got the HBO Max add on so yesterday I figured out how to get the standalone HBO Max on my smart TV so now I’m on HBO Max. That’s another reason why I dropped Netflix so I can swap it with HBO Max and my god, HBO Max is definitely way better! They have way cooler selections of TV shows and movies.

Now I’m on HBO Max, I can finally finish the rest of “The Sopranos” since I only saw the first four seasons and I’ll be able to catch up with 5 & 6 real soon. That’s the first show I’ll watch on there.

Once again, I never wanted HBO Max but I had to get it ’cause of those Batman spinoff shows coming and the Game of Thrones spinoff show, “House of the Dragons” ’cause I want to see that too. I’ll also be able to watch “The Peacemaker” show with Cena ’cause I want to see that too. I’ll watch that one after the “Sopranos”.

There are other HBO shows I want to see on there too like “True Detective”, “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Wire” ’cause I’ve never seen those shows so I threw those on my watchlist.

On HBO Max there are a bunch of new releases on there that I haven’t seen yet and I’ve already watched “Cry Macho” with Clint Eastwood on there and it was really good loved it.

I’ve also watched a few older movies on HBO Max like “The Hitcher” an old thriller with Rutger Hauer and “Collateral” a thriller with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx and loved both of those too.

HBO Max is way cool. I got Disney Plus for Marvel movies/TV shows and got HBO Max for DC.

Who needs that leftist trash Netflix, right? Another reason I don’t like that service ’cause it’s gotten too political bias lately.

I use 6 different streaming services now: Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney Plus, Peacock and the totally free “Pluto TV”. So I’m good. I watch the other ones more than Netflix anyways. Netflix sucks now. I’m on Peacock ’cause WWE is there, that’s the only reason I got that.

Some of you may ask, how do I watch all these different streaming? Well I somehow watch through all of them. I switch it up. One week, I’ll watch through Hulu, next week after, I’ll watch through Peacock… I’ll switch back and forth week after week. I’ll find time to watch through each one but one at time.

I don’t like cable TV. I do my TV watching through streaming services, plus streaming is more affordable than cable if you think about it.

Kev

A lot lately I’ve been so focused on guitar playing more. Other than going to the gym 4 days a week, guitar playing is one thing I do every day. I’ve grown so tired of playing basic stuff all the time… like basic open chords and bar chords. Now I finally want to expand my guitar chops and try to take it way to the next level.

Right now, I’ve been trying to figure out how to play chords up and down the neck, all over. Be able to play lead fills in between chords and all that stuff. I wanna be like those guitar players where your right hand is flying all over the fretboard. Yeah, I kind of do want to learn how to shred but I want to be able to play more rhythmically too.

I’m trying to be more complex at rhythm playing too. Still studying timing and rhythm. Practicing along with a metronome. I want to be able to play faster… be able to hold longer notes and play more syncopated/off-beat rhythms. I’m learning all of it too. Trying to study the road maps of the guitar so I can be able to play chords and scales all over.

When you’re playing chords, you don’t necessarily have to play the full chords… partial chords are pretty cool and I’ve bene messing around with partial chords like triads and double stops.

When I’m learning cover songs, I’m learning to practice more in time and even starting to learn the guitar solos of songs more.

I’m trying to work on my ear training and improvisation skills too. I’m always learning.

The goal is, I want to be able to make more complex and difficult songs. Kind of tired of writing easy originals and want to branch out. Become a better songwriter. I want to try and make my guitar playing a little more different and take people by surprise, hopefully. Try and mature as a songwriter and guitar player.

If you want to get better and improve, practice and patience is key. Been playing for a little over 20 years now and I still feel like I got a lot of work and learning to do.

Kev

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Well, here’s a couple of more movies I bought from amazon that I’ve been wanting to see but never got around to it. Now I own these, I’m gonna get around to watching these this weekend. All 3 of these look good so I can’t wait see ’em.

I’ve seen the first Venom movie not too long ago so I can get ready for the second one, “Let There Be Carnage”. I’ve seen the first 8 “Fast and Furious” movies and yes, I’m a huge “Fast and Furious” fan so I had to get 9 to complete that series. As far as “The Suicide Squad” goes, I’m a huge superhero nerd and I try to watch all superhero movies as much as I can so I’m looking forward to this one. I saw the first “Suicide Squad” movie with Jared Leto as the Joker, though, haven’t seen this one yet.

I just noticed that I bought two movies with WWE star, John Cena in them ’cause he has a role in “The Suicide Squad” and “Fast 9”. Yeah, I do like John Cena but that’s not the reason I got these movies. I wanted to see them ’cause they look good. Plus, “The Suicide Squad” has Stallone voicing that shark character so that would be interesting.

I’ll give my review on these after I see them. I still gotta review the new “Dune” which I will in a new post.

Yeah, I still love watching and reviewing films. It’s just one of those things I’ve always liked to do.

Kev

Well I’ve been feeling a little off for a little while so I took the covid test and it turned out positive. Covid 19 is actually pretty interesting really. It’s not that bad. Just small symptoms… just feel a little cold and shivering a little and also feeling a little strange so I’m not that bad and gonna be okay. Good thing about it though is that I can eat well at least which I was afraid of losing my appetite and sense of smell and thankfully I still have those.

So no going anywhere at all for a while. Gonna have to quarantine myself for a week or more depending on how I feel. Like I said, covid is not the deadliest virus… you can recover from it quickly.

Yeah, I’m unvaccinated and anti-mask so I know what you’re thinking, “You had it coming”, “You deserve it”, blah blah blah… well let me tell ya something. You’ll get covid even with the mask on and if you’re fully vaccinated either way. Even if you do everything you’re told… social distancing and quarantine, you’ll still get it.

You see virus’s are invisible and they go where it wants and it hits anyone it wants so there’s nothing you can do to stop covid.

I’m gonna be okay. It’s gonna suck staying home all the time but I got plenty of things to do here…like music, guitar playing, books, video games, movies and I have 4 different streaming services so I’m all good.

People are saying that “covid” is beat but not really…. people are still getting it from what I’m seeing and I’ve got it. I’ve never had it until now.

I’m trying to keep my gym days going so now I’m gonna have to take more time off from the gym so I can’t go for now.

This quarantine thing is gonna be fun so I have more time to work on my guitar playing and try to start writing songs again. Yeah, I like to go out and do things but I gotta be holed up at home for a week or so. Gonna be interesting actually.

Lets see how this goes.

Kev

So earlier today, I went to Target and picked up “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and the new “Dune” movie on BluRay. Ya know the “Dune” remake directed by Denis Villeneuve. Can’t wait to watch these two films but not this weekend, though ’cause I have the WWE “Elimination Chamber” ppv to watch this Sat. Looking forward to watching these two films, though.

I’ve been wanting to see the new “Dune” ’cause I read the book and a huge fan of the book. I wanna see how accurate the new “Dune” is to the book, we’ll see.

I’ll definitely give these two films a review after I see them. I’m sure they are both good!

Kev

In the past, I was writing dark songs and writing lyrics in songs that made some people uncomfortable and offended some listeners. I used to feel bad about that and vowed to only write family/friendly and positive songs but after thinking about it a long while, I never had to. I’ve just learned recently that you don’t have to apologize for your art. I’ve learned that art was never meant to make people feel comfortable to begin with even in music. Art doesn’t apologizes and it’s true.

When you write songs and make music, you can write music the way you want to and how you want to. I think the best music is when songwriters write music like that. Some songs maybe very dark and unsettling for some but sometimes that’s the best music you’ll ever hear.

So many bands & artists today wrote lyrics how they wanted, didn’t matter how dark they were. That’s why so many bands & artists make albums with a “parental advisory” warning on them. Not only metal bands wrote songs the way they wanted but artists of any genre.

If you want to write songs full swearing and bad language go ahead. You want to write songs about dark stuff and want to to go on angry rants about something, go ahead. Want to write songs about sex and other uncomfortable topics, go ahead.

That’s the beauty of songwriting is the freedom… being able to write whatever you want, no holds barred anything goes. Use lyric writing as a way to speak your mind about stuff.

If I ever get back to songwriting, I’ll just continue to make songs the way I want to.

Some may feel offended and question your songwriting but at the same time there will be some that will love your stuff. You’ll never know who’s been listening to you. Sometimes the dark and controversial lyrics actually helps some listeners so they become a fan for that reason.

Anyways, my darker songs almost always got the most “listeners” than the positive/happy stuff. Take that for what you will. I guess, I don’t regret writing my older songs and glad I wrote them.

I need to write a new batch of songs ’cause it’s been a while. Itching for new stuff myself.

Kev

Happy 2022, y’all.

2021 was an okay year. I would’ve kept the lifting at the gym thing going throughout that year like with my powerlifting and bodybuilding training but then that dumb and pointless lockdown thing happened. It kept me out of the gym for a while and I’ll admit that it kind of messed up my gains a little bit…

… but the goal for 2022 is to keep the lifting at the gym going all year. Yes, the powerlifting training continues on the big three lifts: bench, squat and deadlift and I’m gonna work on improving all three. I’m still doing bodybuilding training as well and because of that lockdown and dealt with a few minor injuries that wasn’t that big of a deal, I’m trying to get my strength and gains back.

I’ll never give up the powerlifting training though ’cause I love it.

Anyway, I did see the new “Spiderman: No Way Home” movie in theater last Thursday afternoon and I’m about to review that movie in a new post soon.

For 2022, I would like to start getting “work” again… ya know an actual paying job… I’m gonna try but with this pandemic thing still going on and with most “jobs” being vax only nowadays, it’s getting harder and harder to get work which is honestly the goal of the Democrats. They use “covid” as a way to destroy the economy, really. The left wants to do everything they can to ruin your life.

In other news, the best of Movies and Music lists for 2021 are coming soon. I’ll do the music one first and then the movies list later ’cause there’s still some more 2021 movies I need to see.

2021 was an okay year but it would have been better if covid and the lockdown didn’t happen. Hopefully the lockdown never happens again ’cause that was bad. I think 2022 the pandemic will be over with at some point… I can’t see it gong on for another whole year.

Hope all readers are doing well.

Kev

I think I posted in the past before that I’ve been listening to a lot of pop, dance and R&B music lately. I continue to listen to that stuff today… recently I just purchased two of Aaliyah’s albums “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” and “One In a Million”, now I see why Aaliyah music matters ’cause she was really good. A great talent gone too soon and I just purchased the Olivia Rodrigo album “Sour” from Itunes not too long ago. Haven’t listened to that one yet but will soon.

I’ve been getting a lot of Pop, dance and R&B music lately. Not sure why. I guess this stuff is really growing on me. Thanks to listening to David Bowie music over the years ’cause as you all know most of his music is “pop” music than rock n’ roll and I guess I got used to listening to pop music ’cause of of him really.

If I want to start writing pop songs of my own, I’m gonna need a keyboard synthesizer or some kind of midi controller in order to make EDM music (Electronic Dance Music). When you want to make EDM music, it requires rhythm and timing. You gotta know your time values. If you want to make “good” dance music, it requires a little bit of metronome knowledge than anything. When you want to dance to a song, you gotta have good timing skills. That’s why so many dance hits out there like Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Prince and artists such as those are danceable ’cause of timing. It’s really about the “beat”, ya know? That’s all it takes. Making dance music isn’t hard as it sounds. Most dance music is just 4 or 5 chords anyways. Very simple, that’s all it takes. I could probably make my own music like you would hear at a nightclub.

I could probably make my own dance songs for sure but I’ll never ignore rock n’ roll & metal ’cause I still want to do that too. I’ll probably do the rock & metal thing first and then the dance music later.

I do want to get back into songwriting again.

Kev