WWE Money in the Bank 2026 and Physical 100: Mexico

I watched the WWE Money in the Bank 2026 PLE, and I thought that it was a fun event. It started off with a good Championship match between Roman Reigns and LA Knight. There were a lot of near-falls, and I did think that LA Knight could have won it at some points, but Reigns won in the end in a clean finish. Tiffany Stratton won the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, and while she was a favorite to win it and has a built-in potential feud with Chelsea Green, I wanted someone else to win it like Roxanne Perez. Some of the big spots that they did were crazy, and there were some big bumps that did not look safe. Stratton landed on the back of her head, two other competitors slid off a ladder that somehow slid from the ropes onto the floor. Bronson Reed, I thought, looked good against Oba Femi and really did some good work in the ring. With Reed losing weight, he flew a bit more and just was able to do more things. Femi though is at this point just in a holding pattern until WrestleMania to face off with Roman Reigns for the WWE Heavyweight Championship. Femi is clearly being positioned, and rightfully so, to be the next World Champion and to carry the company as well. The triple threat between Morgan, Lynch and Vaquer was good, but probably the least memorable of the bouts of the night with Morgan regaining her Title. The Men’s Money in the Bank was good as well with some memorable spots like Je’Von Evans falling from the top of a tall ladder into an ambulance. Bron Breakker was, in my opinion, the standout of the match spearing everyone and doing some athletic things. CM Punk and Kevin Owens kept fighting each other and seemed kind of on their own island in this match. Penta ended up winning, and after coming off that match with Roman Reigns and increasingly gaining popularity, I thought this was a good pick to win. I can see him cashing in on Sami Zayn.

My wife and I finished watching Physical 100: Mexico. We just cannot get enough of these Physical 100 shows. I have to say that this was probably one of the weaker Physical 100 iterations. While having luchadors was fun, especially for me being a professional wrestling fan, they weren’t the strongest competitors. In my opinion, it was noticeable that the competitors for this iteration just did not have a plethora of really high-level athletes. Not to say that they weren’t good, but other iterations have a lot more wrestlers, judoka, Olympic level athletes and the like, whereas Physical 100: Mexico just had a small handful of this level of athlete. Nonetheless, the vibe was different as the competitor stories were a lot more personal, and the camaraderie between the competitors just seemed much more prevalent. In the final four was a woman, which I think is the first time that a female competitor made it that far. The winner was Ángel Quintero, who is an obstacle racer, endurance athlete, and Spartan/HYROX competitor, and like many of the better competitors, he was very well-rounded. Next up in the Physical 100 series looks to be Physical 100: France, and it looks like Physical 100: USA is being worked on.

UFC 332: Silva vs. Wang and Physical 100: Italy

I watched UFC 332, and it was a fun fight card despite not having the best fights on paper for a UFC numbered event. The main event went pretty much how I thought it’d go with Natalia Silva winning the UFC Women’s Flyweight Title against Wang Cong by unanimous decision. Silva has a tae kwon do style of fighting, but she’s not known to be a finisher nor is she known to hit hard. Cong is rather untested against the top of the division in MMA, so I did not expect much from her, and it showed in the fight. The fighters who really showed out were Payton Talbott, Roman Kopylov, Imanol Rodriguez, Damian Pinas, Anthony Wint, Johnny Walker, and Jacobe Smith. Talbott, Pinas, Wint, Rodriguez and Smith look like strong prospects for their respective weight divisions who can all get ranked (if they aren’t already) and potentially fight for the Title in the future. Talbott is someone that the UFC is really getting behind with his fighting style and youth, and Pinas might be in the same boat. Walker may very well be rejuvenated at Heavyweight, but there are still questions about his chin. Esteban Ribovics, Roberto Soldic, Anthony Hernandez, Marcus McGhee got wins and looked good as well. Ribovics is a good fighter who can get far, but I don’t know if he plateaus as a fun, upper-mid level action fighter or gets farther. Soldic had a bad first round against Williams but looked good in the next two rounds, but he already has a lot of MMA fights under his belt. If he is going to make a run to the UFC Welterweight Title, he’d have to do it now while he is still in his prime. The big upset of the night was Roman Kopylov knocking out highly touted prospect, Ateba Gautier, in the first round. Kopylov is a very experienced fighter, whereas Gautier showed holes in his game especially with falling for that straight left over and over.

My wife and I also finished watching Physical 100: Italy. The Physical 100 series is just something that we cannot get enough of and are currently watching Physical 100: Mexico. Emanuele Bruno won the whole thing, and it was well-deserved as he just refused to quit despite any setbacks, pain or injury that he had. Physical 100: Italy also had some great sets that were mainly Roman inspired. I liked some of the little changes that they made such as not being able to hold the ball on the ground for more than five seconds in the Death Match challenge, as there is a lot of “camping” with the ball in previous Physical 100 Death Match challenges. Also, the dynamic with the cast is a lot different than their Asian counterparts as the men and women are much more flirtatious with each other, and they can get really hot-headed as well. Overall, this was a strong season with some really good competitors, personal stories, sets, and challenges.

Avengers Endgame Encore and The End of the Summer 2026 Anime Season

My wife and I watched a late-night screening of Avengers Endgame Encore, and it was still a fun watch. There is a little over four minutes of new footage, and most of it is at the end of the movie. Spoiler warning, but I’m going to have to discuss this new footage. The ending has been expanded where Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter are dancing in their home, but then, the doorbell rings, and it is Loki. It should be strongly assumed that this is the Loki who works for the Time Variance Authority (TVA) that was introduced in the Loki TV series. There is a mid-credits scene that focuses on Bruce Banner, who has voluntarily imprisoned himself in an impenetrable area. This is clearly the Bruce Banner after the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, mentioning that he went out of control. Victor von Doom voice is heard and tells him "I'm here to collect you" before they vanish. In the post-credits, we see Doctor Doom hammering and making his own mask. Marvel had to scramble since they were building to Kang The Conqueror played by Jonathan Majors. After the controversies with Majors, they decided to scrap his character and pivoted to Doctor Doom as the new big bad for the next Avengers movie. Understandably, they could only do so much to build this character, who was first introduced to the MCU in the post-credits of the Fantastic Four movie when he abducts Franklin Richards. Disney is putting a lot of money into Avengers: Doomsday with the immense cast that they employed, and they don’t come cheap. I expect some time-travel and multi-verse shenanigans, and I have to wonder how they will implement so many characters. I have to admit that I am interested, and my wife and I will watch Avengers: Doomsday within the first week or so of the movie coming out.

The final episodes of many anime series from this summer ended recently. Quite honestly, I have got to watch less of the “trash” and “mid” anime, but it is honestly difficult for me. I am rather easy to please and entertain, and especially for the fantasy genre, I tend to watch what I can considering that anime is a huge influence for my own fantasy writing. Some sequels of standout shows like Mushoku Tensei, Saga of Tanya the Evil, Re: Reincarnated as a Slime and Iruma-Kun, Clevatess, Country Bumpkin came out this season, among other sequels. Some of the standout series that were not sequels this season for me were: Though I Am an Inept Villainess, Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, and Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games. I watched a lot of other series, and some were good, solid series, and others were “mid” at best. One series in particular: A Livid Lady's Guide to Getting Even, got me in a few online debates as the main character’s goal is to get revenge on the kingdom that betrayed her, and there are scenes of children and their mothers getting killed. It was surprising to see the different reactions ranging from how they deserved it to calling it pure evil. It looks like this amount of volume and quality is going to be more of the norm going forward every anime season, and I should be much more selective with what I watch.

UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2 and The End of Oak Street

I watched UFC 331, and it was a good card. UFC Flyweight Champion, Joshua Van, has been showing big improvements as of late, especially with his grappling, takedown defense and ability to get back to his feet. His boxing has always been crisp, and he just seems so much more confident now that he is champion. In my opinion, Joshua Van has just made the UFC Flyweight division one of the more interesting weight divisions for a while now, as he is a young champion who also can sell his fights. I expect him to fight Manuel Kape next, and they have animosity towards each other. Arman Tsarukyan also got a big win in the co-main event as he KO’d Mauricio Ruffy with standing elbows in the first round. The UFC has not granted Tsarukyan another Title shot when he pulled out of his first Title shot against Islam Makhachev, even though he has been winning his fights since then. It looks like he has made himself undeniable with this win. The other big story of the night was former Olympic wrestler, Gable Steveson, losing by knockout in twelve seconds of the first round by Sean Sharaf. There was a lot of hype around Steveson, considering that he is still young, a Heavyweight, and has an elite athletic background. This loss is absolutely devastating for him, and one has to wonder if he’ll bounce back and be able to achieve the accolades that many expected of him. Otherwise, Tai Tuivasa lost his eighth straight UFC fight, setting a new UFC record. Casey O’Neil performed a potential submission of the year with her elevator sweep to armbar. Marlon “Chito” Vera got out of a four-fight losing streak with a TKO over Charles Jourdain. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, at 39-years-old, got his first knockout win in the UFC over Doo-Ho Choi.

I forgot to mention that my wife and I watched The End of Oak Street two weeks ago. The movie stars Anne Hathaway, and it is about a suburban family in 1982 whose neighborhood is mysteriously transported by a cosmic event into a prehistoric era ruled by dinosaurs. It has elements of horror, comedy, drama and family dynamics. If anything, it’s the family dynamics that were the most interesting aspects of the movie. The husband and wife are having problems in their marriage, and it carries over to when they get transported and need to survive. There is an 80’s dynamic as well with the clothes, fashion, setting, dynamics, and values that really bring the movie to life. After all the tragedy that happens in the movie, it actually has a happy ending.

Finishing Silo Season 3 and Practical Magic 2

My wife and I finished Silo season 3, and we were both in awe of it all. The last episode revealed a twist that totally changed what we knew of the world and how the silos work. Spoiler warning… the “founders” have been alive this whole time and are the mysterious voices controlling the silos. The incident that caused humanity to flee to and live in the silos happened just decades before the present of the show, and cryogenic freezing was used to preserve the founders. The season begins with Juliette Nichols losing her memories. However, she is viewed as a hero throughout Silo 18 and through certain machinations, becomes the mayor. She is constantly at odds with current Head of IT, Camille Sims. Also, former Head of IT, Bernard Holland, is also discovered to be alive. There are a good number of twists, turns and reveals throughout the season, that goes back and forth to the past and present. The past eventually coalesces with the present in the last episode of the season, making for one of the best reveals. The general mystery and intrigue are what draws me into the series, and the question of “why” is a constant with both the audiences and the characters themselves, especially this season. The characters play their roles well with most of them playing very specific roles to advance the story forward. Different themes and ideas of power, leadership, memory, and responsibility are all prevalent throughout the season. There is also a preview for the final season after the last episode, and it definitely got me and my wife hyped for the final season.

We also watched the movie, Practical Magic 2. This is a sequel to the original movie from 1998. Sandra Bullock returns as Sally Owens, Nicole Kidman returns as Gillian Owens, Dianne Wiest returns as Aunt Jet Owens and Stockard Channing returns as Aunt Frances "Franny" Owens. The plot for this movie involved breaking the curse that was established in the first movie. It highlighted the sisterly bond between Sally and Gillian well, with Gillian being the loud and obnoxious sister while Sally is much more reserved. Sally’s daughter played a big role in this movie, but there were some choices that she made that were frustrating. The villain was a bit one-note, but the real villain seemed to be the curse itself. There was a little bit of everything in the movie like drama, romance, action and sacrifice. My wife really liked this movie, even more than the first one and even got emotional at times. If you liked the first one, then this is a solid sequel for fans of the first one to see.

Pageant of The Masters and Starting Silo Season 3

My wife and I went to the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. It was the first time that I have seen it even though I have lived in south Orange County for the majority of my life. I always passed by it, as I have gone to Laguna Beach many times for work, hiking, dining or other reasons. I was able to get in as my wife’s plus one, whose employer offered the tickets. Finding parking on a summer Friday night in Laguna Beach is difficult, and we didn’t get a chance to walk through the art galleries. We got some good seats to the Pageant itself, and I really didn’t know what to expect. It was a showcase of some of the greatest artists in history from Da Vinci to Van Gogh, older to modern. There was a live orchestra under the stage whose music seemingly blended into the show. They showed different pieces of these great artists, but the catch is that some of the people in the paintings that we were looking at were actually real people. Within the show, they explained how they made this feat possible, but it is incredible to see real people staying still for so long while looking like the characters in these paintings. They used the environment as well, even using a hillside next to the stage. It was a combination of hearing a live orchestra, history lesson, and art exhibit. Thankfully, I actually learned about a good number of these artists starting from elementary school up until college.

My wife and I also started to watch the third season of the television series, Silo. We decided to wait until the season was over to re-subscribe to AppleTV so that we could marathon through the season. Thankfully, there was a recap to get us reconnected to the characters and events that happened. With the way that season two ended, I was under the impression that there would have full episodes dedicated to the past, but that was not the case. It is interesting that they had the main character, Juliette Nichols, have memory loss while also being the new mayor of the silo. I would have thought coming in that she would tell the residents of the silo about what she saw outside and the other silos, but her having memory loss bypasses that. I would guess that she eventually regains her memories in the future, later episodes of the season, but we will see. There is also a concerted effort to make her totally forget what she saw, which adds a strong air of mystery, and mystery is a big appeal of the series. With the season having just ended, hopefully, we can finish it soon.

Mutiny and Finishing Yanxi Palace

My wife and I watched the latest Jason Statham movie, Mutiny. If we hear that a new Jason Statham movie is coming out, we are pretty much guaranteed to watch it in theaters, considering that we have a Regal Movie Pass. We expect mindless action, irredeemable villains, and one-liners in his movies, and that is usually what we get. The plot can be simple, as this movie has Jason Statham playing Cole Reed as a billionaire's head of security who uncovers a conspiracy aboard a cargo ship he is a stowaway upon. Most of the action takes place on a cargo ship, and the action itself is fast-moving, brutal and cool. Reed will use anything in sight as a weapon, whether it’s an axe, a hook, a harpoon gun, or whatever is available. It seems like with Jason Statham movies that there is some sort of “big bad” villain at the top of everything, but may not be able to fight, so he disposes of him quite quickly in the end. Watching Mutiny, it went by really fast, and it had all the action and coolness that we wanted out of it.

We also finished watching all seventy episodes of Story of Yanxi Palace, and its six-episode sequel: Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures. The story of Wei Yingluo was quite a rollercoaster with her starting out as an Embroidery Bureau Maid to eventually becoming an Imperial Noble Consort. She used her wits and cunning to get out of very bad situations and to get ahead, which made her a very intriguing protagonist. There was an immense amount of betrayal throughout the story, and there were some characters like Yuan who I really did not want to see become a villain. A lot of major characters end up dying, and some of those that died like Mingyu were really sad. My wife cried when Fuheng died. The romance was also a big part of the story, and Fuheng and Yingluo did not end up together in the end. Yingluo ending up with the Emperor was somewhat surprising, but looking back, there was something there between the two. Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures honestly starts out not as interesting, as the main character, Yingluo’s daughter, is a whiner and complainer. It progressively gets better though, with the climax adding horror elements to the show. Overall, it did clear up one plot point from the original Yanxi Palace, and it was something just for the fans to catch up on life in the Yanxi Palace.

Church Duties and Chess

This week was one with a lot of church activities. My wife and I take offices in our church, and it is fulfilling. Our minister had to visit us, and we did the visitation in my brother’s home, allowing us to hang out and eat dinner together. On another day, we had to drive to another locale, as we were assigned to perform church duties for a baptism. Baptisms are nice because it entails individuals who have made a choice to really surrender to God, and there could have stories behind that journey. On another day, we were assigned to perform church duties at another locale, and we just got to hang out with other brethren.

One thing that I got to do via these church duties is play chess. I used to play as a kid for fun here and there. I was very much a novice and only knew the rules and objectives, but that’s about it. In community college though, I hung out with friends in the game room, and besides regularly playing pool, I regularly played chess. I was only able to see the board better, but otherwise was still a novice. From then until now, I played very sporadically with a game here or there, but nothing consistent. However, recently, I really got back into chess via Facebook. I don’t know how it got there with their algorithms, but I watched chess matches with the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Indian chess players and so many others. I still watch them on a regular and casual basis, and I definitely picked up some things from watching professionals and the best chess players in the world. I couldn’t tell you what the London System is or the Sicilian Gambit is, but I did observe their approach to the game. At one of these church assignments, someone brought a chess board, and I played two games. When I used to play chess, it was a matter of taking pieces first then checkmate. Watching the pros though, it is about positioning with a focus on checkmate or endgame battles. When I played the first game, I got checkmate rather early, but I was after checkmate instead of pieces along with being cognizant of getting my pieces in play and positioned early in the game. The second game was more tactical and reached an endgame, as we traded queens around midgame. One move really changed the momentum of the game. One thing I noticed though is that every single move was important. There wasn’t an “I don’t know what to do” and just randomly move a piece. I ended up winning, but it was a fight until the end.

Nurse John, Mitchell Tenpenny, Colbie Caillat, the OC Fair and UFC 330: Makhacev vs. Garry

My wife and I were busy this week. We went to the Brea Improv in the middle of the week to see the comedian, Nurse John. His shtick was indeed about nursing, and even if you are not a nurse, it is easy to follow the jokes. Granted, they would most likely be funnier if you were a nurse or work in health care. There was one woman in the front who was a case manager who really tried to make herself part of the show, but Nurse John handled it well, and she was not too much of a distraction. There was an opening act, and he was really good. He called me out quite a bit for working in mortgage and being forty-four, and his jokes were more relatable to my age group.

We also went to the OC Fair to see two concerts at the Pacific Amphitheater, Mitchell Tenpenny and Colbie Caillat. The crowd there was primarily country music fans, and they really partied during Mitchell Tenpenny’s set. For many of his songs, a majority of the audience stood up from their seats. In the middle of his set, he did covers for songs from when they were growing up, and most of them were rap songs that I was very familiar with. His brother did most of the rap songs, and it was fun. He also did a rock n roll song as well. Despite not being familiar with Tenpenny’s music, I thought that he put out a very good, high-energy show.

Colbie Caillat was the headliner, and I recognized a good amount of her songs. My wife really wanted to see her, as she listened to her music when she was younger. Her set was not as high-energy as Mitchell Tenpenny’s, but her music is not of that style. She played all of her hits: Bubbly, Try, Fallin For You, Realize, Brighter Than the Sun, among others. She did a duet with Mitchell Tenpenny, and did a song when she was in a country band, Gone West. Overall, while I was only familiar with her as her songs were on the radio, I thought that she had a good show.

The OC Fair itself was fun, and we ate a lot of fair food. My wife got free tickets from her work, and getting a concert ticket also gets free admission to the fair, so we went on two consecutive days. On the first day, we went to the OC Fair after work and had free parking from my wife’s boss. We mainly ate fair food. Everyone knows this, but fair food is more of less the junkiest of junk food and overpriced, but that’s what makes it fun. We had on the first day: deep fried Oreos, lobster nachos, bacon-cheese nachos, and a corn dog. We also did the ring toss game and the water gun game. I have been doing the ring toss game every time that I have attended the OC Fair, but never won, and this year was no different despite watching a YouTube video about this particular game. We wife though won the water gun game, and we got a stuffed animal of a dog as a prize. We also went on the Ferris Wheel. On the second day though, we had issues. We prepaid for reserve parking at Gate 4 along with our concert tickets, but the roads to the parking on the fair grounds were closed. My wife called to see what we could do, and they told us to go to one gate, Gate 3, and tell them that we have reserved parking. The person at the gate said that the parking lots were full. We ended up parking at one of the schools, and it was very frustrating. We planned to eat before the concert, but we had no time and feared that we were late. Thankfully, we made it to the concert with a lot of time to spare and were able to attend the fair afterwards. On the second day, we ate: Sando sandwich, pizza, and chicken shawarma. We ended the day on the Sky Ride.

Finally, UFC 330: Makhacev vs. Garry was on the weekend. The main event was not the most aesthetically pleasing, but it was a great performance from Islam Makhacev. A lot of the fight though took place with Islam holding Garry along the fence in the clinch, and I have to wonder if that will just be what Islam will do at Welterweight against these bigger fighters. Garry did as well as he could, and exceeded expectations for some as he took a round, for sure, and arguably two rounds. I personally thought that Garry would do well in this fight but would not be able to get the victory, and Islam would use his wrestling and clinch to win this, which he did. Carlos Prates and Michael Morales are the two frontrunners right now at Welterweight to fight Islam next. Mackenzie Dern successfully defending her UFC Strawweight Title against Gillian Robertson, and Dern was pretty much dominant in this fight. Her wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, boxing and athleticism were all superior to Robertson. I suspect that Dern will fight former champion Weili Zhang next. Also on the card, Jalin Turner looked really good. Dustin Stoltzfus and Jeremiah Wells got big upset victories. Esteban Ribovics retired Edson Barboza. Charles Johnson got the fifth twister submission in UFC history. Neil Magny still showed that he is a firm gatekeeper at Welterweight. The main and co-main events being okay but not aesthetically pleasing fights probably bring the card down a bit, but overall, it was a solid UFC card.

It was a busy week, but a lot of fun. There were some things like the parking situation that were not so fun, but otherwise, with the OC Fair, concerts, standup comedy and UFC fights all on this week, it was a really good, entertaining week overall.

Spiderman: Brand New Day and 44th Birthday

My wife and I watched Spiderman: Brand New Day in the theaters, and it was really good. There is criticism that MJ and Ned returning undermines the ending of the previous Spiderman film, but I was fine with it. From a story perspective, it is not particularly unusual for them to move back to New York. The thing that is important though is how the writers and director made Peter Parker/Spiderman react to their return. I thought that Peter reacted realistically in consideration to the circumstances. He is hurt, still traumatized by his friends not remembering him, and putting so much into crime-fighting as his coping mechanism. Them coming back into his life and the changes happening with it coincide with his new spider transformation. The action was really well-done for this movie. Jean Grey being one of the villains-turned-allies had some fans questioning this choice, but it looks like it was done to formally introduce “mutants” into the MCU, and by extension, the X-Men. The partnership with the Punisher was fun, even though this was a much toned-down Punisher. This was a much-needed outing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially with Avengers: Doomsday coming out in a few months. Their previous offerings for this phase have quite honestly been sub-par, so this movie needed to be a home-run.

On the same day that we watched Spiderman was also my birthday, on a weekday. My wife also gifted me a really thoughtful and considerate yellow Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gi fashioned from Bruce Lee’s Game of Death outfit. Before the movie, my wife, my parents and I went to eat Mediterranean food at a place called Istanbul Grill. We always passed by it, and we were feeling Mediterranean food that day. Thankfully, it was good with some of the best Peta bread and chicken that I had. On the weekend, my wife, friends and I ate Korean BBQ, which is always good. In a sense, it was two birthday celebrations in one week. We then watched the UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs. Salkilld, and Salkilld looks like he will challenge for the UFC Lightweight Title sooner rather than later after a very strong performance against Gamrot.

WWE SummerSlam 2026 and More Odds and Ends of the Week

I watched WWE SummerSlam night 1 by myself but watched night 2 with friends. Unquestionably, SummerSlam night 2 was much better. Night 1 was just alright, and I actually had higher expectations for night 1 with it having Iyo Sky vs. Liv Morgan, Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi in Hell in a Cell, Nick Aldis vs. Gunther and Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk. Some of it was really good like the performance from Nick Aldis, and some of the other matches, but it never really was great. Night 2 though was very good, starting with the surprise return of Kevin Owens. He ended up winning a fatal four way gaining a Title shot against CM Punk. Baron Corbin got the unexpected victory against Trick Williams and became the new U.S. Title Champion. Chelsea Green also had an unexpected victory in the women’s ladder match to win the Interim Women’s Title. Chad Gable defeated Penta to gain his first, long overdue, WWE singles title – the WWE Intercontinental Title. Finally, the main event between World Champion Roman Reigns versus Seth Rollins was one of the best matches of the year. They paid homage to their time in The Shield, even referencing Dean Ambrose (who is now Jon Moxley in AEW) in the match. It was very dramatic, wrestled well, and the ending with The Shield fist bump was the icing on the cake.

My wife was sick this week, and we planned to watched the new Spiderman movie, but he had to postpone it to next week. We have been greatly enjoying watching The Story of Yanxi Palace, and we are over 50 episodes into the series, which has a total of 70 episodes. These episodes have the main character, Wei Yinglou, in a totally new position in the palace, and the intrigue, betrayals, politic intrigue, attempted murders, rage, romance and whatnot are all there. As far as stories go, I had to pause my Amazon Ads campaign for The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom. From the data in the ads, I get clicks, but no sales, and it has admittedly been costly to do these ads. It is a lesson learned, and while I would think that Amazon Ads does help some people, it just did not help me. My wife and I also went to dinner with the president of our Church group and his wife, and another couple in our Church group. The current president and his wife are moving, and the dinner was to ask the husband of the other couple to become the new president. Thankfully, he said “yes,” and the transition to the new president was successful.

The Odyssey and Odds and Ends of the Week

My wife and I watched The Odyssey, and I thought that it was pretty good. It was directed by Christoher Nolan, and there were some scenes that were truly haunting and horrifying. The cyclops, for example, was a terrifying creature along with some of the other beings that Odysseus’s crew had to battle against. The situations that they were put in whether it is being chased by armored giants or turned into pigs were dark, grim and disturbing. It is interesting but also somewhat comical that a majority of the island-hopping adventure entails Odysseus and his crew landing on an island, discovering something awful or dangerous, and running for their lives back to their ships. The acting and script could have used some work though, as the use of modern terminology and dialogue take away from the story. Robert Pattinson did the best acting playing the villain, Antinous, but otherwise, I could not say that anyone else did a particularly memorable acting performance. As far as the casting controversy was concerned, in my opinion, it was overblown. These characters who were seen as controversial casting choices simply did not have enough screen time to be much of a factor in the movie. However, they also did not really add to the movie either, so it does make one wonder why they were cast for these roles. Overall, I cannot really recommend the movie, but I cannot say that it was bad either.

The rest of the week was mainly dedicated to our Church’s 112th anniversary. My wife and I woke up early for vow prayers. The anniversary worship service itself was good and fulfilling. We also paid off one of our credit cards, which is always a relief. I’ve been in and out of credit card debt, and having it is not fun, but life happens, and it just accumulates. We are also continuing to watch The Story of Yanxi Palace on Amazon. This series of the Chinese inner court back when they had the Forbidden City has been dramatic, romantic, sad, tragic and spicy. There is so much backstabbing, and we have reached a point where many of the more neutral characters have gone down a negative and evil path.

Like with The Odyssey, we are just navigating through life. The seas can be very tough, and we can stray from our destination. Things can easily go wrong, but even Odysseus found his way home.

Young Washington and the Summer 2026 Anime Season

My wife and I watched the movie, Young Washington, and we really liked it. William Franklyn-Miller played a young George Washington with enthusiasm and vigor, and the Washington character in the movie was assertive, ambitious and took the initiative even in situations of extreme risk. His early years were interesting, especially knowing that he initially wanted to fight for the British army. His initial opponents were the French and the Indians, and he fought against them in order to be a ranked British soldier. Washington was a surveyor, but the movie made it clear that he was destined for much greater things. The actions scenes were very well-done, and while there was some strong exaggeration, there was a grittiness to the action. The way that they fought back then was quite honestly ridiculous, but I did learn about their battle methods with soldiers at times just standing there. It is good to see that Washington learned from his enemies and his losses how to fight smarter, and it really helped him out at the end. It looks like there will have a sequel called “1776,” and I look forward to seeing it.

The new season of anime came out, and there are a lot of sequel title such as: You and I are Polar Opposites, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, The Elusive Samurai, Hell Mode, Mushoku Tensei, Clevatess, Samurai Troopers and others. Besides that, there are some series that were ongoing from last season, and new stuff as well. I have a problem of watching a lot of “mid” fantasy anime, whether it is isekai or just traditional high fantasy, and I told myself that I would stop this season. However, that just did not happen. I realized that these “mid” fantasy series are very ‘easy,’ fun and simple entertainment that I need at times. I don’t have to think very hard, and they provide just enough action and enjoyment to keep me entertained. Quite honestly, my own novel, The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom, was written to be like that. The good thing is that this season has a lot a mix of easy titles along with series that really needs to be paid attention to.

UFC 329: McGregor versus Holloway and Knee Injury Healing

UFC 329: McGregor vs. Holloway was shaping up to be a very good UFC event until the main event happened. It was incredibly disappointing that the main event ended so quickly after McGregor threw his first strike, a jumping kick, and subsequently injured his knee on the landing. After a few more seconds and with him constantly falling to the ground, the fight was over. After all the hype with McGregor coming back after years away from the sport of MMA, this was the worst outcome for him. Otherwise, Paddy Pimblett did very well and got a nice submission victory. I am still hesitant to say that he is a champion-level UFC Lightweight, but he has been constantly proving me wrong. Brandon Royval got a nice win overall an up-and-comer. Mario Bautista got a big win over Cory Sandhagen. King Green got a come from behind win over Terrance McKinney. Robert Whitaker got a good TKO victory in his new weight class of light heavyweight, and Gable Steveson had a fun fight and victory in his UFC debut. With a lot of finishes, meaningful fights, and winners that set up interesting next matchups, this should have been a slam dunk event had it not been for that main event outcome.

I actually got a knee injury on the outside area of my right knee. It really only affected me when I was walking, as I would feel instability and a strange shooting pain if I kept walking on it as if bone was touching bone. I used a knee sleeve, and I was able to walk relatively normally without feeling pain. Eventually, I could walk and even run relatively normally without any pain. Then, it got re-injured while walking as a made a right turn. The knee sleeve was also having less effectiveness. It was very troubling and frustrating, to say the least. Walking in public with a limp and having people ask about it was awkward. This stayed for a few days, and I am set for an X-ray. However, the other day, I took a Motrin ibuprofen, and while I felt a strange feeling on that part of my knee, I was not feeling pain, so I walked with caution but a lot better. Then, later in the day, I did not feel the strange feeling on my knee at all, but the effects of the medicine should have ended. The next day, I walked cautiously, but with no knee sleeve and without that awkwardness. Since then, I have progressively been walking normally, but still with some level of caution, especially with right turns. I plan to still get the X-ray, and if it finds nothing, then an MRI. However, the fact that the worst effects vanished so suddenly feels like an act of God.

Jo Koy, Edwin San Juan and the 4th of July

My wife and I watched Jo Koy after work on a Monday at the Irvine Improv. He does these “pop up” events where tickets are sold the day of, and this one was sold out in thirty minutes. Somehow, my wife got tickets. There also is no VIP tickets, so those who came early can get front row seats. We got there right after work, and got near the front of the line. Jo Koy actually came to the line and said “hi” to us. When we were seated, we got seats near the front, and my wife likes to get called on by the comedians. There were two comedians opening for Jo Koy, who I remember being okay. Once Jo Koy came out, it was great. He talked about these pop ups being something of gaining material, so his whole set was improvised. He started with crowd work, and he picked on two guys in the front row named Josh and Cameron. Josh ordered a beer called ‘Space Dust,’ and Jo Koy would always take it. By the end of the event, Jo Koy drank three of those. He also picked on the two black women in front of me, and also my wife, who he was calling by name. Incredibly, Jo Koy went two hours. After the first hour, he told the audience that he had nowhere to go and just kept going. He told a lot of personal stories, and his family was there, as he also told stories involving his family, who was there in the audience. Somewhere after the one-hour mark, it felt more like us, the audience, just hanging out with Jo Koy with him continuing the crowd work and telling stories. Thankfully, there were pretty much no political jokes, which was refreshing. At the beginning of the set, he called and Facetimed for all to see someone that I did not recognize, but who was clearly famous. At the end of the night, he told a story of him and Tiffany Haddish coming up in standup comedian involving them buying bacon-wrapped hot dogs, and how Haddish lived in her car and had to eat one hot dog and saved the other. He then told us that they had a hot dog song, which he sang, and I think most believed him but was still skeptical about. He then called and Facetimed her for all to see, putting his phone on top of the mic. They chatted a bit, and he asked about the hot dog song, which she then sang. When the show was done, he stayed on stage to take selfies with anyone who wanted one, and we got one. He then gave out merchandise for free from his previous tour.

On Wednesday night, we went to see Filipino standup comedian, Edwin San Juan, at the Irvine Improv. We got free tickets to this event and had this one planned out a month ahead of time, which is why we went to two standup comedy shows during the weekdays, which we don’t usually do. It was a Filipino night, so there were four comedians who opened the show for Edwin San Juan. Each comedian who came out was better than the last. Edwin San Juan’s set was fun. He did a surprising amount of puns, which I get a kick out of. At one point of his set, he was making a joke talking about doing the splits, and one obviously drunk woman from the audience came towards the stage and said that she could do them. He invited her on stage, and she did the splits as he made sound effects, and this was clearly not scripted as she was just wasted. Like with Jo Koy, there were thankfully no political jokes. After the show, we bought one of his shirts and took a picture with him.

On the 4th of July, we spent it with family and had a party at my parent’s house. It was nice seeing the family along with my nephews and nieces. We brought our dog, Luna, as well, but she did get frightened by the fireworks. The food was great, and like most Filipino parents, had us bring whatever was leftover home with us. Overall, it was a fun time.

Sanu Zayn and Writing New Chapters

Sami Zayn is the Undisputed WWE Champion. That is something that is a long time coming and not something that I expected to see. I have been following his career since he was the independent wrestler, El Generico, and saw him through WWE NXT to the main roster. He went from the mid-card to Title challenger back to mid-card, etc., but he would always find himself back in the Title scene. He always came close, and his popularity has seen highs with him in the Bloodline and fighting against the Bloodline, to being someone in the middle of the card. On WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, with him in a triple threat versus then-Champion Cody Rhodes and Gunther, Zayn was not the favorite to win and looked to be the one to take the pin. It was such a surprise to see him win. The rest of the card had some good-to-great matches like the steel cage match of Bron Breakker versus Seth Rollins. Oba Femi is the Men’s King of the Ring winner while Iyo Sky is the Women’s King of the Ring winner; both well-deserved.

On the writing front, I am splitting one chapter into three chapters for The Land of the Wooden Statues. I have done this before with this book, as I constantly foreshadowed this place called The Dreary. When it came time for the main character to enter this place, it was only one chapter. After re-reading and editing, I realized that one chapter was not enough for this part of the story, and it became three chapters. It was a great decision as in those chapters, I could explore the “lore” of the place along with adding some character development. So, I am doing that again as I have built up this big battle in the story. There are characters that are learning and training for this big battle, and when it came, it was only one chapter. This one chapter also was just a few pages. There are a lot of characters involved, and I can definitely write about each character, their roles in the battle and their perspectives among other things. Admittedly, inserting new chapters like this when the story is actually done is a difficult task. I do not want to just add filler content that adds nothing to the story. Also, thinking of new stuff to add can be tough as well. However, it needs to be done.

Sami Zayn, and the WWE, just added a new chapter to his story, and it is one where he finally reached the top of his industry. I am adding new chapters to The Land of the Wooden Statues to make this book even better.

Steve Trevino and Father’s Day 2026

My wife and I went to see comedian, Steve Trevino, at the Brea Improv. It was our third time seeing him, and we pretty much have seen a show of his once a year. At this point, Steve Trevino is our favorite standup comedian. Unlike many comedians that we have seen, he does not rely on sexual or crass humor. He mainly makes jokes about his wife, kids and family life. After he says a joke, I observe the audience, and many of them give a nod, some sort of expression or say something that communicates that they can relate to the joke. He is really good at making everyday happenings funny yet relatable. The night though did not start out great as we order food and beverages, and somehow, we were charged for extra items. It did not get us in the mood for comedy, but thankfully, the staff fixed the issue, and we were able to enjoy the show.

The day before Father’s Day was my nephew’s birthday. Our family decided to combine both his birthday and Father’s Day into one celebration. It was interesting this year knowing a few more friends, family and acquaintances that have recently become fathers. Also, it is amazing to see their kids gradually getting older and growing up. Steve Trevino talked about fathers during his show, and he found it particularly special to be a “girl dad.” Hopefully, it will happen with me and my wife one day, but it will be in God’s time.

It was a weekend for family and friends. At the show, there were many couples who were also parents. We also spent time with our adult relatives along with younger relatives. I suppose that is something of the cycle of life.

Obsession and UFC 250 Freedom

My wife and I watched the movie, “Obsession,” and we both liked it. I found it surprisingly good, as my expectations quite honestly were not particularly high for it coming in. I’ve heard the story that it cost less than one million dollars to make, it was shot in three weeks, it was created by a YouTuber, and it has so far made eighty-plus-million dollars. The movie was very relatable with the main male character, Bear, who really wasn’t going anywhere in life being in love with his friend, Nikki. However, he was too afraid to tell her how he felt about her, so he used a One Wish Willow, which would be a ‘monkey’s paw’ to the movies story, to make her love him and be obsessed with him. Nikki in particular starts to degrade and get clingier and more obsessed with Bear in the worst way as time went on. In the middle of the movie, I actually started to feel bad for Bear and Nikki. With Bear, his weakness and cowardice created the situation but also kept it getting worse and worse from his inability to take any real action. With Nikki, I was actually feeling sorry for her as there was a psychological component to her, and while there was a horror element to her actions, it seemed akin to a manic episode as she got more jealous and obsessed with Bear. Considering what was going on with the two leads, the movie almost seemed like an examination of mental health and mental illness. I listened to reviews of the movie as well, and many reviewers had various opinions of what was going on and what things meant. Overall, it was just a good movie with horror, comedy, drama and suspense that I would recommend.

UFC 250 Freedom also happened during the weekend, and it was a great event, in my opinion. The whole setup was just amazing to look at. The weigh-ins with the bald eagle flying was very neat, and the weather turned out to be just fine. Certain things like the initial walkout with President Trump along with Dana White, and how the fighters came from the White House to the Octagon really stood out. As far as the fights themselves, all of them had finishes. Outside of the main event and co-main event, the favorites won their fights. Up until the main event, no fight went to the third round, and all the finishes were KO’s or TKO’s. The surprise of the night though was then UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje defeating then UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria. Coming into the fight, I thought that Topuria would win easily, and Justin Gaethje was a 6-to-1 underdog in some betting lines. It was a crazy fight that ended after the fourth round via corner stoppage, with Topuria’s eye shut and his face messed up. For all the hype for this UFC at the White House, that will quite honestly most likely will never happen again, everything just worked out. The weather was good, the energy was good, all fights had finishes, and the main event was an exciting fight with a surprise, upset victory.

It goes to show that creative types and visionaries can create great entertainment. It did not take a lot of money or a big-time director to create Obsession, but just someone from YouTube who was creative and had a vision for a movie that was different enough from what Hollywood has been offering. With the UFC, the stars just aligned to make this grandiose UFC event at the White House, one that no one envisioned ever happening.

Another World and No Dog for a Week

My wife and I watched the Chinese animated movie, Another World. It was very good, but also, some scenes were very disturbing and brutal. It looks like a kid’s movie, but it is far from it. The movie follows Gudo, a spirit guide in the afterlife tasked with escorting a recently deceased, rage-cursed girl named Yuri toward her reincarnation. Over a 1,000-year underworld journey, they explore the complexities of human emotion and confront sins from Yuri's past. It can be very grim, brutal and disturbing at times with children getting killed and slaughtered, mass murder, mutilation, and other horrific events unfolding. Admittedly, there were some scenes that made me feel a bit uneasy. However, the animation was just beautiful with a few really well-done action sequences as well. The themes and ideas presented does at times make humanity look bad, but there is an idea of forgiveness and that people can be saved despite sin or bad circumstances. I would ultimately recommend this movie, but it is definitely not for children and not for the squeamish as well.

We are also going to be without our dog, Luna, for a week. My wife and I still remain in contact with Luna’s previous owner, and we have even asked her to look after Luna when we are on vacation. She asked if she could look after Luna for a week, and we obliged. It is an adjustment though. We do expect Luna to wait for us by the door and to get excited with her tail wagging when we come into our place. It will be an adjustment not having to prepare her food and water, or not to walk her. She does go on the bed a few times, and there are other cute things that she does that will be missed. Thankfully, it is just a week.

We actually dropped Luna off at a park that just so happened to have a car show that same day and time. It was neat because it was a car show primarily for classic American cars, and I gained some familiarity with those types of cars watching Counting Cars, American Restoration, Pawn Stars and American Pickers.

Sheryl Underwood and WWE Clash in Italy

My wife went to see comedian, Sheryl Underwood, live at the Standup Comedy Club in Bellflower, CA. She was one of the guests on the Kevin Hart Roast and thought that she was one of the better guests on there. The venue itself was a smaller, intimate venue where there weren’t any bad seats in the house. The audience was primarily black, and the performance catered to that particularly audience. Sheryl Underwood actually started the set. A lot of her initial set was political, with some things I agreed with, and other things I did not agree with. She then left and comedian, Kyle Erby, took the stage. He was pretty good, talking about being a former teacher and talking about relationships. Sheryl Underwood then came back on the stage and did a set with Erby. Her shtick was a mix of political commentary, gospel, and comedy. There was some “inside baseball” as she used terms and phrases that only the black community would be familiar with. There was a lot of attitude and personality in the room, and she said that she enjoyed doing more of these club-type shows. Overall, it was fine and definitely a much different experience than what my wife and I were used to.

I also watch the WWE Clash in Italy PLE, and I thought it was a fun event. Roman Reigns defeated Jacob Fatu in the main event, and there looks to have an interesting fallout to that for everyone involved that seems to include Sola Sikoa and the MFTs. Sol Ruca winning the Women’s Intercontinental Championship from Becky Lynch was a good win for Ruca early on her main roster run. Brock Lesnar defeated Oba Femi to tie their series of matches, and a third one will most likely happen sooner rather than later. There weren’t any surprises on the card, but the in-ring action was solid, and storylines were advanced. The WWE product in general has been more on a downturn, but solid shows and some things to look forward to like King/Queen of the Ring should help the product get back on its feet.