Media Diary for Middle of January to Now: I Got a Little Behind on This and Everything Else

The weekly media diary has had one posting and we're now in February. So, not quite as advertised. But there were a few things promised with the relaunch that has been cowering in dark corners to kick off the year, The state of my mental health, panic over the state of work, lingering exhaustion, and having shows to rehearse have meant not much to report in a single week. This is for the past month or so, with quite a bit of this being research for various projects and articles.

What I Watched:

One Piece: Everett and I have entered the Water 7 story arc, and oh boy, this has been a doozy. Nico Robin has abandoned the crew, and the Going Merry looks to be at her end. This has been a huge one for big story developments. 

The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants in Space: I have watched a few episodes with Danika, and if you enjoy the books then this series should hit a sweet spot. 

1998 Royal Rumble Match: The match that crowns Stone Cold Steve Austin as the face of the company as he punches his ticket to the Wrestlemania 14 main event. Historic for what it sets up, it is a pretty subpar Rumble match lacking star power outside the few big names in Austin. The Rock. and Mick Foley.

1989 Royal Rumble Match: I don't think I've watched this match since I rented the VHS back in 1989. In retrospect, Big John Studd was the wrong guy to win it, but Vince thought he was going to be a top babyface rather than a guy who was gone from the company by June.

Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer: I haven't been that excited about this movie, but I do love the aesthetic in this trailer, and I love that it is set in an alternate version of the 1960s. This definitely got me more interested.

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant from The Main Event - 02.05.88: One of the first major wrestling moments that formed my lifelong fandom. I remember anticipating with my classmate for weeks the huge rematch that would be on free TV, and then the massive twist of twin referees and the Giant surrendering the title to the Million Dollar Man,. Iconic wrestling moment. 

Flight Risk Pitch Meeting: I may not have seen the Mark Wahlberg thriller yet, but I wouldn't miss the Ryan George Pitch Meeting of the movie.

Every SUPER Game on the GameBoy by John Riggs: I love Riggs's lists of classic old-school video games. I never had a GameBoy. so this one doesn't hold as much nostalgia. It was still fun seeing every game for the system that has Super in the title.

How Bomb Timers Work in Movies by Ryan George: Another great short from the YouTuber of Awesome. A ten-second countdown that somehow lasts about 4 minutes. Any action movie fan from the 90s or 80s would really aprpeciate this one.

What I Listened To:

Why Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Failed by Isenhart Productions: I actually enjoyed this movie, but have never dared to revisit it. It is fun to look back at the mistakes made that caused a massive flop, and what it says about creating something with a huge budget that isn't well known by the majority of the audience.

The Animated Disaster That Changed Cinema & Destroyed A Studio: Final Fantasy: A Spirit Within by Matt Draper: I've never seen this movie, but the story about how it destroyed Square not only as a film studio but also as a video game company is fascinating. It also looks at the rather misguided trend of motion capture animation.

The Making of The Wizard of Oz was a Sh*tshow: It is absolutely fascinating hearing about the revolving door of directors, the many challenges with the special effects, and absolutely heartbreaking to hear how they treated an icon like Judy Garland.

Freddy's Expanding Near You by Company Man: I love this weekly series where he delves into the success or failure of a major business. I don't know this fast food company, but still, it was an interesting story about their rise. Do we have any of these in Canada?

So, I Married An Ax Murderer (1993): Almost a Cult Classic by Hats Off Entertainment: A YouTube channel I've fallen in love with while doing the dishes or folding the laundry. He tends to focus on older comedies, and this movie was a beloved favourite of mine growing up. Very underrated,

The History of C.O.P.S.  aka COPS aka CyberCops by Secret Galaxy: I learned that this carton had a toyline that I don't ever remember seeing in stores. I also was unaware of its name changes due to the FOX reality series.  I always knew it as C.O.P.S.

What Could Have Been Darren Aronofsky's Batman: Year One by Bullets and Blockbusters: One of the most discussed 'What Ifs' in movie circles. I didn't realize it had gone as far along in the development process as it did, or that it was marked for an R-rating.

What I Read:

1440 Daily Digest: My major source of news as it gathers all the major events of the day into a fairly easy-to-consume newsletter. It is American, so there isn't as much news about Canada except when the Prime Minister does something like announce his resignation. 

BFG by Roald Dahl: I'm still reading this every night to Danika. The filthsome giants have been captured, so we're almost done.

Companion movie review by Peyton Robinson: A review of the AI girlfriend horror picture that I was interested in the take on the movie but also trying to 'hone up' on my movie reviewing skills after not doing it for so long. Peyton is a very talented modern film critic.

The Stepford Wives movie review by Roger Ebert: The original 1975 movie reviewed by the great Roger Ebert. I like reading at least one review a week from the legend because I learn so much about writing and also film insight.

Rosemary's Baby review by Roger Ebert: A classic horror movie that actually gets a glowing review from Ebert. He provides quite a bit of interesting perspective to the movie that he gives a perfect score of 4 stars to.

"I Would Understand if the Thing Sucks": Will Forte Still ThinksWarner Bros. Caning 'Coyote vs. Acme' was F*ckng Bullsh*t by Chris McPherson: And it was. CEO David Zaslav's tax write-off strategy is bad for the arts and movies. It is horrible we may never get to see this movie. It makes even less sense since not only by all accounts it was good, but they are releasing a Looney Tunes movie this year, so it isn't losing faith in those characters. What?

Smark Rant for WWF Superstars - 09.22.96 by Scott Keith: I love old-school wrestling and I love the writing of Scott Keith.

The Best Anti-Fascist Films of All Time by Scott Roxborough and Patrick Brzeski: This provides a great list of perfect entertainment for our modern times. 

The Smark Rant for WWE Royal Rumble 2025- 02.01.25: I've actually started getting into WWE again, but haven't had the time or energy to commit to watching recent shows. I allowed the talented Scott Keith to catch me up. Yeet!

The Smart Rant for WCW Nitro - 09.25.00 by Scott Keith: The Keith snark works perfectly in the disaster that was the end of Vince Russo's run in WCW. WCW may have been destined to fail, but this awful booking and lack of logic sped things up.

The Delightful Animated ComedyDog Man Is ADHD in Cinematic Form in the Best Possible Way by Nathan Rabin: I need to brave out to the movie theatre and start reviewing movies as promised. For now, my pop culture knowledge is coming from great writers like Nathan Rabin. I have recently been drawn to his writing even more as he has shared being an adult who was diagnosed with autism and ADHD.

The Only Way to Get What You Want by Mark Manson: Manson is a self-help guru who provides a weekly newsletter on mental health tips. This one is about demonstrating the things that you hope you receive from others.

The CRPG Rennaissance, Part 2: Might and Magic VI by Jimmy Maher: I love pop culture history, though I don't play many computer games anymore, I love going through its history with the Digitial Antiquarian. He is now in 1998, and I've never played this game. It is cool to see how CRPGs made a comeback after falling out of mainstream favour for most of the decade. My brother played a lot of the spin-off series Heroes of Might and Magic.

Far too many job postings: My life at the moment. 

Music Man script: Especially scenes with that bumbling Mayor Shinn.

Murder on the Orient Express script: Especially this weekend as we're coming towards the return to the stage with this classic mystery.

The Truth About Creativity and Mental Illness by David Epstein: Interesting read. I find anything that delves into creativity or figuring out how our brains work as fascinating. 

The Smark Rant for AEW Collision - 02.08.-25 by Scott Keith: I haven't watched AEW in over a year, but I still like to read what Keith thinks about it. He seems to be a much bigger fan of it than WWE,

What I Played:

Ark Nova: A strategic board game where you're trying to build a zoo with the best reputation and popularity. It seemed very overwhelming at first as there were so many components, but once I started getting into the groove when playing against Everett, it started becoming a very fun and engaging game. It is pretty in-depth and took a few days to play, but I came out the winner. I can't say that much when playing against Everett.

Doomlings: A very easy and addictive game to pick up that I played against Everett, Emily, and Danika a few times recently. I even won a few games.

Have you enjoyed anything recently that you'd love to recommend?