Who Am I?

Hi there – thanks for tuning in to my WordPress blog.

A little bit about me: I’m Gerard McGarry. I’m a blogger and web designer from Northern Ireland and the co-founder of the UK’s biggest reality TV blog, Unreality TV.

When I’m not slavishly staring at a laptop screen, I’m a husband and father of three adorable, funny kids. And when I’m not doing that, I love nothing more than running, working out in circuit classes and climbing mountains.

And when I’m not doing that, I play bass with a bunch of good friends in a band called Revolver. All in all, I believe in living a fun-packed, positive life and I love connecting with people on the web and chatting about television, music and movies. If you’re into the same things I am, subscribe to this blog, hit me up on Twitter, or contact me through my personal website.

What I’m up to right now: I’m currently working on the USA version of Unreality TV, writing about music, movies and television for the site.

 

Doctor Who: 5 ways Steven Moffat recycled story ideas for Asylum Of The Daleks

Seriously? You’re saying we’ve done some of this stuff before?

So, the season premiere of Doctor Who has aired and the internet is a-buzz with talk about the BIG REVEAL. But what I wanted to look at in this post is how many of Steven Moffat’s previous story ideas have been recycled for Asylum Of The Daleks.

Moffat’s re-used themes and ideas from his earlier episodes in the past. The Eleventh Hour was practically riddled with quotes and throwbacks to episodes of Doctor Who that Moffat had written while Russell T Davies was showrunner. Here are five ways Asylum Of The Daleks ‘borrows’ from earlier ideas…

 

There goes the neighbourhood…

Policeman called round to the house yesterday. I yelled at the kids “Shit! It’s the Feds!” They knew what to do. Flushed the stash, dumped the weapons over the fence to next door (we’d do the same for them, we’re neighbourly that way) and Rachel threw a pot pourri over the corpse that was decomposing in the living room.

Turned out he was actually warning us about a spate of ‘Creeper Burglaries’ around the village, including one in our street the day before. Seriously, what’s the world coming to when you can’t leave your front door unlocked?

 

Insanity Injury: Continue the programme or start from scratch?

Ouch. Somewhere in between all that squatting, thrusting and mad crazy leaping into the air plyometric stuff, my back has decided to complain. Loudly. One week of Insanity and I’m already injured!

At the end of last week, I reluctantly decided to stop exercising. I’d pulled something at the top of my inner thigh/groin, and my back was starting to grumble about five days of intense back-to-back workouts.

Today, my back is still stiff and sore. Part of me is tempted to do a Plyometric Cardio routine and see if this loosens things up. It probably won’t, though, meaning a few days of Ibuprofen and frustration about breaking the flow of the Insanity programme.

 

Beachbody Insanity, Day 5: Pure Cardio (plus an injury?)

Hola, Insane amigos! Today’s round of Insanity was one that even the formidable Shaun T said he was nervous about. Pure Cardio is a fast-paced round of exercise that’s made a fair bit harder because there are virtually no rest breaks during the routine. You stop as normal after the warm-up and stretching routines, but when the workout starts, you’re riding the rollercoaster right to the end!

On this fifth day, many of the moves in the warm-up, stretches and workout itself are becoming familiar – the suicide drills and ‘level 2′ routines are all starting to seem familiar. Which is good, because most of the workouts we’ve done in this first week are repeated over the next four weeks. That should address a lot of my concerns about form, which I feel is important…

 

Beachbody Insanity, Day 4: Cardio Recovery

A lightning fast update on yesterday’s Day 4 of Insanity. Day 4 is Cardio Recovery, which is a calmer, shorter session that doesn’t leave you dripping like a leaky hose on a hot summer’s day.

Instead, the moves are more about stretching and toning to allow you to recover from the previous two days of craziness. And to prepare you for Day 5′s dreaded Pure Cardio routine, which is 40 minutes of non-stop cardio designed to sweat the living daylights out of you. Drink lots of water!

 

Beachbody Insanity, Day 3: Cardio Power & Resistance

Day 3 of the Insanity workout. The day when our neighbour stopped my wife in the street and asked her what those anguished cries coming from our house were. You know, the howling, the strained panting, and finally the crying at the end. I was hoping that Lisa would’ve told her that we were indulging our passion for S&M while the kids were at school, but instead she told our neighbour that she’s now an “Insanity Widow”.

I predicted yesterday that I’d be pretty sore after Day 2. Yeah. Stiff and sore. In my inner thighs, shoulders, chest and calves. Remarkably, not so much across the abs. Which makes me wonder if my form needs some attention.

Now, today I felt pretty exhausted before I even started the Cardio Power session. So, even getting through the warm-up was a struggle. Just a note on the warm-up routine – like everything else in Insanity, you repeat the circuit three times, increasing your intensity each time. So, by the time you get to the end of the warm-up, you’ll be feeling pretty depleted already. Don’t give up though – because the stretching routine that follows allows ample time to recover before starting the workout proper.

 

Beachbody Insanity, Day 2: Plyometric Cardio

Ah, now Insanity has begun in earnest! If yesterday’s fit test lulled me into a false sense of security, Day 2′s Plyometric Cardio session was a taster of what Insanity is really like. Here’s a quick run-down of what to expect from Day 2. But first:

The aftermath from Day 1: Nothing serious. Yesterday evening was fine, but I woke up this morning with a mild stiffness in my shoulders and inner thighs. No biggie. But I reckon I’ll be stiffer tomorrow!