UFC 327: Procházka vs. Ulberg and The Story of Yanxi Palace

UFC 327: Procházka vs. Ulberg happened, and it was just a great fight card. With the exception of one or two fights, this UFC event had a Fight of the Year contender, a Knockout of the Year contender, a retirement, some good finishes, and good fights overall. The name that many are talking about coming from this event is Josh Hokit. He has a professional wrestling gimmick and persona that some people like, and some people absolutely abhor. In his fight against Curtis Blaydes though, they had a fight of the year contender that was something of a heavyweight barroom brawl in the cage. Hokit gained some fans from that and is going to fight Derrick Lewis on the White House card. In the main event, Carlos Ulberg knocked out Jiri Procházka, but Ulberg clearly injured his leg early in the fight. Ulberg was on his way to lose had Prochazka just kicked the leg one of two times more, but he threw a punch, and Ulberg threw a left hook that dropped him. Procházka was eventually finished, and Carlos Ulberg became the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. However, with that injury, it is up in the air what happens with hi and the title. Other standouts on the card were Paulo Costa, who got a big win moving up to Light Heavyweight beating an undefeated contender, Aaron Pico, who showed why he was a top prospect and Cub Swanson, who retired after a TKO victory.

My wife and I started to watch the “Story of Yanxi Palace” on Amazon Prime, a 70-episode Chinese historical drama. It greatly reminds me of the two anime, The Apothecary Diaries and The Raven of the Inner Palace. The main character, Wei Yingluo, is a clever maid not dissimilar to Mao Mao of Apothecary Diaries. The palace intrigue and politics is also similar to those anime with harems, concubines, pecking orders, treachery, palace intrigue, political maneuvering, and other things. Reading some wuxia novels and watching Asian Inner Palace anime, I have always been into this sort of inner palace genre and dynamic. There is a lot going on with so many different characters, so it can get difficult to follow along, but what is presented has been very interesting and intriguing. We are still at the beginning of the series, so there is obviously a lot that we are going to witness with this series, and we cannot wait.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and The Spring 2026 Anime Season

My wife and I watched the Super Mario Galaxy movie, and we enjoyed it very much. The pacing is fast-paced throughout the movie, and it never really slows down. The colors were extremely vibrant, the action was well choreographed and nonstop, and the characters were fun. There were also a good number of cameos and Easter eggs in this movie. Villains from the Super Mario 2 video game made an appearance. I was surprised that they spoiled the fact that Star Fox is in this movie, and he was, in my opinion, the best character of the movie with how cool and laidback he was. With Star Fox, I have to think that they are planning a Star Fox movie. Also, with all the cameos from different Nintendo characters, they could easily make a Super Smash Bros movie. The end credits scene also sets up the future a bit, and I am guessing that the appearance of this one character may lead to Wario being a villain in a future Mario movie. There was also a good amount of criticism with the movie, in that it really had a plot that was all over the place. They did skip Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine to get to Mario Galaxy. Many were not fond of Princess Peach being something of the main character of the movie while Mario and Luigi felt like side characters to some people. They also greatly changed the story from the video games. I find the criticisms valid, as someone who has played most Mario games, Nintendo games and knows the lore. However, it did not really bug me. I just found this movie to be a turn off your brain and have fun type of movie.

This latest season of anime has a lot of titles coming out, many of them being sequels. It Is quite honestly an overwhelming number of titles. It is not just Crunchyroll either, as HiDive, Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and even YouTube have various anime on their platforms. Sequels this season include: Dr. Stone, Wistoria, Iruma-kun, Classroom of the Elite, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Ace of the Diamond, Farming Life in Another World, The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen, Mission: Yozakura Family, and others. The new anime coming out this season that many are talking about are: Witch Hat Atelier, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Mao, Akane-banashi and others. These are the more popular anime coming out, but there are so many others that are also good. I will not be able to watch all the ones that interest me, and I am particularly focused on watching the sequels and the talked about anime.

While there are still many shows, movies and other entertainment being made in Hollywood, intellectual properties like Super Mario Bros and anime are showing that entertainment made in the East have been gaining traction over the years. The “Nintendoverse” looks like it is going to take over The MCU and superhero movies, which have been trending downwards as of late. Anime looks to be the go-to source of entertainment for Gen-Z audiences. A lot of my own stories are strongly influenced from anime, and I think of the characters and the worlds of my stories in anime form.

UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Pyfer and Getting Back to BJJ Training

UFC Figh Night: Adesanya vs. Pyfer happened, and it was quite honestly the best UFC fight card that I have seen this year. Six finishes, some extremely violent and one downright scary, no truly boring fights, and prospects and up-and-comers getting wins made this one of the most exciting and relevant cards of the year. Joe Pyfer defeated former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya in the main event by TKO. It was a statement win for Pyfer and sets him up for big fights in the future. In the co-main event, former UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Alexa Grasso defeated Maycee Barber by a KO punch/rear naked choke combination. The scene though was grim as Barber was just lying on the floor with her eyes open unresponsive for a while after the fight. She, thankfully, got up and walked out on her own power. Former Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Chiesa defeated Niko Price by submission, rear naked choke, in his retirement fight, where Price also retired. Lerryan Douglas, Yousri Belgaroui, Terrance McKinney, Tofiq Musayev, Lance Gibson Jr., Tyrell Fortune, Casey O’Neill, Navajo Stirling, and Alexia Thainara got wins in their bouts, with many getting finishes. Most of these fighters are prospects, and some of them look like they could really get up in the rankings in their respective weight divisions.

I also got back into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training this week after being gone from it for three weeks due to sickness. Getting back into after that long of a layoff brings a little anxiety, as cardio becomes an issue. Thankfully, I did not feel that out of shape, and my cardio held up. One thing that probably helped is that my wife and I changed our diet while we were sick. Admittedly, I have been feeling a lot less heavy since we have started eating healthier. During my time away though, I would occasionally think about BJJ, and one thing that I thought about was being more offensive. My coach, before the sickness, mentioned that I needed to work on my cardio, but I was skeptical that it was an issue with my physical fitness. After thinking about it and finding things out in practice (this was before I got sick), I realized that I allowed my sparring partners to establish grips or positions, and I would have to fight out of it. I fought really defensively, and if what I am doing is mainly defense and fighting opponents off, sometimes bigger and stronger than me, then I am using a lot of energy mainly to defend, sapping my cardio. Just because I am aware of it does not mean that I have already fixed my problems though. However, I have caught myself in positions where I rested when I should have moved.

Progress is an interesting thing. Seeing it in real-time in combat sports in the UFC is eye-opening as we watch progress happen at the highest levels. Personally, progress in my BJJ has been happening lately when the mental meets the physical. In the UFC, the ultimate upcoming are championships, and in BJJ, it will be a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt.

Matthew Morrison and Chuck Norris

My wife and I went to a Matthew Morrison concert at the Samueli Theater within the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA. My wife is a huge fan of Glee, and she really wanted to go. I watched the first season of Glee and some of the second, so I had enough familiarity with the characters. We had seats on the loft, but I liked it a lot as we got a full view of the stage along with each table having a lit candle, which added to the visual ambiance. The venue was smaller and more intimate. The performance was very artistic with Morrison going through his whole Broadway and television history in-between performing various songs. He said that he wanted to do a tour that was more of a cabaret style, and it works with venues like this. He definitely has dance moves, and his Broadway background really showed. Morrison revealed a lot about himself during the performance, and I have to think that he is more at home at Broadway or shows like this than on television.

The news that hit hard for me this week though was the death of Chuck Norris at the age of 86. It is rumored though that the Grim Reaper was simply afraid to take Chuck Norris until he was ready. “Chuck Norris Facts” became a cultural phenomenon that carries on today, and Norris has always been in the spotlight in some way, shape or form. His fight against Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon is the stuff of legends at this point. His martial arts is legitimate with black belts in multiple disciplines including judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He was actually a pioneer as far as promoting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu into the U.S. and brought a lot of awareness to it. His accomplishes and contributions to martial arts in general are hugely extensive. Many ordinary people along with celebrities have been sharing stories of meeting Chuck Norris or working with him, and pretty much all of them say that he was a humble, down-to-earth, gentleman. He was also a military veteran, a family man and a man of faith and was very open about all of it. Chuck Norris will truly be missed.

Lumpia Eating Contest and Rewatching “From”

My wife and are I currently recovering from our sickness, with it just lingering about. I feel that I am above ninety percent recovered, but a lingering cough and just slight weakness are still there. We aren’t so sick that we cannot go out, so we went to a lumpia eating contest in Lake Forest, CA, the other day. There was a food truck and some Filipino street food there along with a few live performances. We only got to see a little bit of the contest itself, and it was pretty much what was to be expected. Overall, it was fun, different and something to do.

We are also re-watching the television series, From. With season four coming out on April 19, we definitely need a refresher. It is still just as good as we remembered it, and while we know what is going to happen, it is still difficult not to feel the tension and anxiety from the show. There are little things here and there that we missed the first time. I forgot just how ‘human’ everything is from just how everyone behaves in this impossible situation to the feeling of hopelessness at times. While the plot is excellent with so much horror and mystery, it is the characters that really carry everything.

Unfortunately, we are still limited in what we should do. I would like to go back to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and working out regularly, but it is not smart to do so. This time has offered us to rewatch From, which has been a lot of fun, and we cannot wait for season four to come out.

UFC 326 and Sickness

My friends and I watched UFC 326: Holloway versus Oliveira II, and it was a mixed bag. Max Holloway fought Charles Oliveira for the BMF Title. UFC events live and die on the entertainment of the main event, and while it was a dominant performance from Oliveira, it was not the most aesthetically pleasing. Nonetheless, Oliveira dominating was not what I expected. The rest of the card has a few cool finishes from the likes of Gregory Rodrigues and Drew Dober. Caio Barralho got a good win over Reiner de Ridder. They also announced the White House card, and reactions to it have been more negative than positive. Topuria vs. Gaethje and Gane vs Perreira are great fights for the main event and co-main event, but I think that expectations had it where audiences thought that Conor McGregor or Jon Jones would be on this card. While it is a very good event, it did not live up to the hype or expectations that some people wanted.

This week also was just so hectic. Work was incredibly busy, having to take overtime almost every day, and my Church had its Holy Supper worship service. My wife got sick during the week, and I could feel congestion. Also, there is a sickness going around as people in my church, work and other places were sick and wearing masks. I did not feel outright sick though until the weekend when everything was all said and done. I definitely overexerted myself this week, and the consequences for that most likely resulted in sickness.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 and Self-Awareness in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

I watched a replay of WWE Elimination Chamber, as I has a birthday dinner to go to when it was on. Overall, I thought that it was pretty good but not a PLE that particularly stood out. Randy Orton winning the Men’s Elimination Chamber was a nice surprise, as Cody Rhodes in my opinion was the frontrunner to win. I suspect that Randy Orton versus Drew McIntyre will not be the match at WrestleMania though, as I can see a multi-man match for the World Title or Cody beating Drew on Smackdown. On the Women’s side, Rhea Ripley won it, and she was the favorite to do so. Her versus Jade Cargill, while not having any history or storyline, is at least a fresh matchup. CM Punk vs. Finn Balor was a good match with Punk retaining. AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch was good with a couple shenanigans, but AJ Lee ended up winning that one. I can see a rematch happening at WrestleMania.

I said to some confidants that my journey to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt will involve strengthening my mental game. I was told by my coach to have more movement in my game, and it was a difficult thing to comprehend and utilize as I do not want to waste energy. I rolled the other day really contemplating what my coach was telling me. I then discovered a few things about my game. For one, I really do just allow my partner to establish their grips and position, leaving me in a position where I am constantly defending. That in turn really kills my cardio, as I am having to constantly defend, especially against bigger guys. I might as well be on the attack more, if I am just going to waste energy defending anyways. The other thing is that I just kind of stop and stall in mid-motion, allowing my partner to recover or establish grips and positions. It is definitely a mental thing that I have to get over, but building self-awareness that I’m doing that in the moment should help with this.

WWE is heading to WrestleMania in a few months, and I am slowly heading to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt in a few years. The buildup takes a while with many twists, turns and bumps in the road, but hopefully, everything will turn out alright in the end.

Castle Impossible and Melania

My wife and I finished watching season one of Castle Impossible on Discovery Plus. We have been finding a lot of reality shows on Discovery Plus, and many of them we just like. The general synopsis is that there is a married couple, Daphne Reckert and Ian Figueira, and Daphne inherited a chateau along with hundreds of acres of land that contains lakes, forests, cabins, a hunter’s lodge, stables and other places from her deceased grandfather. The couple goes about renovating the estate, usually one room at a time. Projects include: turning an area of the stables into a workshop, turning a room into an office, turning a room into a living room/waiting room, making a bedroom suite, and renovating the kitchen, living room, and master suite in the hunter’s lodge. The selling points of the show come from the sheer size of the project that they’re working on, the history of the place, Daphne’s connection with her grandfather, and the energy and enthusiasm from the couple themselves. Ian is a jack-of-all-trades type, and Daphne is a really good designer. I am glad to hear that this show has been renewed for a second season.

My wife, a friend and I also watched the Melania movie. It started out slow with First Lady Melania Trump picking out an outfit, and she was very meticulous about its length and look on her. Her fashion designer though was definitely a small highlight of the movie. I thought that it might be about style and fashion, but as the movie went on, it got better. The movie showed her relationship with her parents and how seriously she takes the office of First Lady. The first interaction with her husband, President Donald Trump, was actually a bit comical as it was a phone call after he won the election in 2024. He was excited almost like a child, and she responded like a mother would. Honestly, that was relatable though as husbands can be childlike at times, and wives can be like mothers at times. Most of the movie from then on was about her relationship with her husband, and it was endearing, for the most part. She seems to take the office seriously, and that meticulousness that she puts into style and fashion is a trait that she puts into being the First Lady.

Appearance matters whether it comes from a chateau or from people. Certain design choices can change something mundane into something much better.

James Van Der Beek and Expedition X

Actor James Van Der Beek passed away at the age of 48 this week due to cancer, and it was news that made me sad. For one thing, I am in my forties, and 48 these days is a young age to pass away. Also, like many, I was introduced to him through the show, Dawson’s Creek, where he played Dawson Leery. That show was the starting point for the four main leads, who all went on to do big things in the acting/entertainment space. I admittedly watched Dawson’s Creek, but fell out of the show as it went on and everyone seemingly had a relationship with each other. However, Van Der Beek was a small part of my childhood, and he was also in movies like Rules of Attraction, where he played an unhinged young drug dealer, and Varsity Blues, among many other movies and television roles. From all accounts and testimonies, Van Der Beek seemed like a good, values-driven person. He moved out of Hollywood and onto acres of land in Texas to get away from the Hollywood scene. He was married with six children and became very religious. In interviews with him talking about his cancer diagnosis, he seemingly took the path of optimism.

My wife and I have started to watch the show, Expedition X, on Discovery Plus. I have seen Expedition Unknown starring Josh Gates, and I really like the show as it is educational, adventurous and entertaining. Going to different parts of the world, many times in dangerous areas, and exploring and researching will always be fun for me with that sense of adventure. Expedition X is a spinoff of Expedition Unknown with the differences being that the ones doing the research and investigation are scientist, Phil Torres, and paranormal expert, Jessica Chobot, with Josh Gates just being someone that gives out the mission and someone that they report to. I was already familiar with Jessica Chobot from the show, Attack of the show, so I was surprised to see her here. The investigations are interesting as they pertain to unusual activity and cases in certain regions of the world. Torres is the more fact-based researcher and more of a skeptic. Chobot is much more open to paranormal and extraterrestrial activity so they have a good dynamic going on. We go to Discovery Plus to watch 90 Day Fiancée and Suddenly Amish, and Expedition X popped up. Having already seen and liked Expedition Unknown, I put it on and got my wife to watch it with me. Now, we have just marathoned through much of season 1 during this three-day weekend.

The news of James Van Der Beek’s passing is a good reminder of one’s own mortality. Good things can happen and suddenly, bad things can occur unknowingly. I suppose that is just how life can be, and we can only keep moving forward despite everything.

Shelter and Physical: Welcome to Mongolia

My wife and I watched the move, Shelter, the other day, and I liked it. It’s a Jason Statham movie, and there is a certain expectation as far as what type of movie the audience will get with his movies. His movies seem to come out in January, which is something of the movie dump month, but there are usually fun action movies out in January. I remember watching The Meg 2 and The Beekeeper, which he starred in, and they were just such silly, fun action movies. I was not as fond of The Working Man, as it had some detective work that Statham isn’t so great at, so I was worried that this could be a miss. It was not so silly, just in some parts, and the movie played this more seriously, but it had all the action scenes that one would expect from a Jason Statham movie. The story actually was not too bad, and the movie does not tell us everything outright, but certain things are assumed.

My wife and I also watched Physical: Welcome to Mongolia on Netflix. It was actually a lot of fun and endearing. We were big fans of Physical: Asia, and seeing Amotti and Dong Hyun Kim from the winning team, Team South Korea, visit Mongolia to see the culture and hang out with members of the runner-up team, Team Mongolia, was more entertaining than I thought that it would be. By the end of Physical: Asia, my wife and I were cheering for Team Mongolia to win as they were such underdogs. While they didn’t win, they left a lasting impression. Once Amotti and Kim landed on Mongolia, they were met by Orkhonbayar, the captain of Team Mongolia. Then, they met with Ochir, the Cirque de Soleil performer of Team Mongolia, and Eddie Williams, the strongman from Team Australia. It was nice just seeing them be friends and act goofy with each other at times. Ochir and his whole family did a performance which was just incredible, and they also did archery, horseback riding and Bokh, which is traditional Mongolian wrestling. Apparently, Physical: Asia raised the country of Mongolia’s profile with people wanting to travel there and having their President meeting with all of Team Mongolia. It was pretty much the epilogue to Physical: Asia that I did not know that we needed but am glad that they made.

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 and Baby Shower

My friends and I watched the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble, and I thought that it was a fun show. I would not qualify it under a top ten Royal Rumble, but entertaining nonetheless. One thing that helped it was the pacing, in that the entries into the Rumble matches went quickly, and there was not a lot of downtime. There was a relative lack of surprise entrants though. The outcomes of the two Rumble matches had Liz Morgan winning the women’s, and Roman Reigns winning the men’s. Another notable thing that happened was that AJ Styles lost against Gunther, forcing AJ Styles to retire. As far as the Rumble winners are concerned, I have no problem with Liz Morgan winning and predicted that she would do so. Many seemed to have a problem with Reigns winning, questioning if he needed the win over someone else who could use the rub.

My wife attended our first baby shower together as a married couple. Friends of ours are having a baby, and this will be the first of many baby showers that we will attend. There were food, games, and friends there, so we had a good time. We bought a bag for our present, but it somehow got ripped. However, my wife was able to convert it into a type of gift wrap that honestly made the presentation better. Of course, we hope to one day have a baby shower for us, but that will be in God’s time.

The WWE Royal Rumble, like having a baby, is the start of something. For the WWE, it is the start of Wrestlemania season. For our friends, it is the start of a lifelong journey as parents.

UFC 324 and Writing Progress So Far

My friends and I watched UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett on Paramount+, and while I would not say it was an “A” grade event, I’d give it a “B” especially with that main event. While sloppy, the main event, Justin Gaethje versus Paddy Pimblett, was a lot of fun that was akin to a bar fight. I would think that the UFC would have wanted Pimblett to win, but Gaethje just used high-pressure and seemingly hit harder. Pimblett, despite losing, showed a lot of heart and resilience, which was not something we have not seen from him until now. The two fights before the main event were just okay with O’Malley vs. Song and Silva vs. Namajunas, and it didn’t help that the results for those two fights were controversial. With the main event being a barnburner, it really put a positive cap on the event as a whole, and I would think that UFC brass was happy that the main event was as entertaining as it was for their first event of the Paramount era. Gaethje gets Ilia Topuria next, and I would strongly favor Topuria to win that one.

I am more than halfway done with editing The Land of the Wooden Statues. I am planning to self-publish this book as well, and with knowledge and lessons learned from The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom, I now know the importance of marketing and book promotion. The editing process so far is always something of a slog, but that is what perfects the book. I do; however, have an idea for the next book, and I am greatly looking forward to writing it. Like The Land of the Wooden Statues, it will be a dark fantasy focusing on the theme of redemption. I just have a basic idea for it right now, but once I can sink my teeth into it, I will draw it out more.

UFC 324 was the start of something new to the UFC with the Paramount era, and the ideas for the start of a new book are beginning as well. While not perfect, I think that the UFC is off to a good start with Paramount. Things do not always start out optimally, but that is just how things are.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and Suddenly Amish

My wife and I watched 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. My wife thought that it was just okay, and I thought that it was good. The movie starts out very fast paced with a lot of action, but it slowly cools down as it progresses. It is very unsettling with scenes of torture and brutality. It is also very loud at times, with loud music playing along with loud screaming, but it fits the aesthetic of the movie. The strength of the movie lies with the acting, particularly from Jack O’ Connell playing Jimmy Crystal and Ralph Fiennes playing Dr. Ian Kelson. Jimmy Crystal was deranged and unhinged, at times calm and introspective, and at other times, sadistic and chaotic. This movie does continue directly after 28 Years Later, and not having seen the prequel is not a requirement, but it does add further context to the story. It looks like there will have a sequel to this movie, as the ending sets it up.

My wife and I also started to watch the reality television show, Suddenly Amish. It is amazing to us how unprepared the newcomers were to the Amish community, especially considering that they went there on their own volition. They supposedly did research and looked into the Amish community, but once they got there, they did not seem to know or understand anything. The way that they dressed was entirely inappropriate for the Amish community, and they did not seem to understand what was the problem. I understand that they are not used to that simple lifestyle and that there will have a clash of cultures. I don’t know who will stay and who will go, but we are going to keep watching to find out.

It is interesting that we watched a horror movie that is full of torture, blood and gore, and watching a show about the Amish. Entertaining entails all types of genres, and they are entertaining in their own ways.

Anaconda and The Winter 2026 Anime Season

My wife and I watched Anaconda this week. Personally, I was not expecting too much from this movie and hoped that it would just be fun. January for movies is a movie dump month, where studios put out lower profile and less anticipated movies. However, there are always movies that are mindless fun that come out in these months, and thankfully, Anaconda fit the bill. This was a funny movie that did not take itself too seriously, nor did it have any social or political messaging. The jokes mostly landed, and it even had some heart and relatability with the characters as well along with a twist. The surprise cameos worked as well, but the trailer unfortunately spoiled it. Overall, this was a good movie to just turn off your brain and have fun with it.

This new season of anime has a lot of new and returning titles. Freiren, Jujutsu Kaisen, Oshi No Ko, Hell’s Paradise and My Hero Academia: Vigilantes are returning with new seasons, and many of these titles are highly anticipated. There are a lot of “mid” fantasy anime , which seems to be the norm these days, and they are all within some sort of genre or sub-genre. One sub-genre that is popular right now is the MC getting kicked out of the Hero’s Party. Isekai is still a big one, and this has sub-genres with being reborn as a noble, being reborn as a baby, being reborn as a non-human, otome game villainess, and trapped in some sort of RPG, and all of these are represented this season. One anime that stood out to me though is “Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table.” It is just haunting and artistic in its direction and execution.

Anime is definitely going strong heading into this new year, and there are articles out there saying that anime may be taking over Hollywood. I have been a fan since high school, so anime is just something that I grew up with and now use it as inspiration for my own writing. Hollywood though could come back this year, and when they make movies just to be fun that a general audience could enjoy, then the general audiences may very well come back to the theaters on a regular basis.

The New Year and 2026 Goals

My wife and I just had dinner on New Years Eve with friends. On New Years Day though, we had the day off and did not do anything of note. Considering that we had work the next day on Friday, it was not like we could really plan much. However, on that following weekend, our friends and I stayed at The Welk in Escondido. The Welk has been a go-to of ours for a while now, especially having a timeshare. We played golf there at The Welk, and it was my first time playing. Certain things surprised me though such as how far the golf ball can go even after a relatively light tap with the putter. Swinging a golf club has a particular technique to it, and even how to grip it is unique. I was not particularly good, as expected for a first-timer, but it was fun.

Our goals for the new year involve finances, health, buying a new car, travel and finishing my second book. Financially, we would like to pay off credit cards this year. Health-wise, we’d like to go to the gym and/or exercise more regularly while having a better diet. With the holidays, we did not eat particularly well, but that’s not uncommon this time of year. We hope to buy a new car sometime this year, especially as debt goes down. Also, we plan to travel to the Philippines near the end of the year. I would also like to get The Land of The Wooden Statues out this year, as I am in the editing stage of the book right now. All of these goals are doable, and nothing seems particularly far-fetched.

The new year is always a time of renewal and to refresh. 2025 was a good year for us, but we will try to make 2026 an even better year.

David and A New Television

My wife and I watched David on December 25, as we both had that day off. We were pleasantly surprised to have greatly enjoy the movie. I came in without much expectation, but I tend to support movies from Angel Studios. It was very well animated, and the story was seemingly Biblically accurate. Many know the story of David as the boy who defeated Goliath using a sling, but this movie goes into the time of his life before and after that event. It was very inspirational, especially for a generally religious audience, and generally wholesome as well.

We also bought a new television as well, and it is really big for our living room. All of the televisions that I have were handed down to me, so I never had to pay for a tv until now. The first flat screen television that I was given was a first generation Vizio, and it is much heavier than flat screen televisions made today. Thankfully, we did not have to re-install the mount, as it is an adjustable mount that can extend and move side-to-side. Watching on a much bigger screen definitely is a better experience. I invite friends over to watch UFC, WWE and other events, and the UFC is WWE are going to have some big events really soon, so the timing of getting this could not have gone any better.

We are nearing the end of the year, and watching a good movie and making a big purchase was fun. I look forward to the upcoming year, inviting friends over to watch things on our new television, and watching more good movies.

Paul vs. Joshua and Stranger Things Final Season

I watched the Jake Paul versus Anthony Joshua boxing match the other day, and the first four rounds were not fun to watch. Joshua ended up getting the TKO on Paul in the sixth round, really turn it on in the fifth and sixth rounds. Reactions to the fight have been mixed. Some give respect to Jake Paul for getting in the ring with Anthony Joshua despite having so many physical and experience disadvantages. Others did not find respect for him considering that he was not trying to fight. I am of the opinion that a good amount of people would get into the ring with Anthony Joshua if they received a multi-million-dollar purse. Paul went six rounds with Joshua, but we saw that Paul was simply avoiding any real fighting. This outcome was the expected outcome, and while there are some who wished that they could see this end sooner, it ended with Paul not really have much of anything against Joshua.

My wife and I are also watching the new and final season of Strangers Things. It took a long time to get here, but it finally came, and we have enjoyed what we saw so far. Four new episodes a week, and then a movie to finish the series does build anticipation, and ending it all with a movie is an interesting choice. The Demon Slayer anime is ending with movies, so it is not totally unprecedented. One of the main critiques is that the characters are now adults in real life, but they are playing teenagers. It personally does not bother me, and they did the best that they could in making them look like teenagers. The story so far has been good, and there has been a surprising amount of graphic violence. I am curious to see how this all ends.

I do not know what is the future for Logan Paul. Did this loss expose him and make him lose potential viewers to his next boxing fight, or not? Anthony Joshua will probably fight for some titles against some big names. Stranger Things is at the beginning of the end, and I wonder if they’ll limp to the finish line or totally stick the landing.

Zootopia 2 and John Cena

My wife and I watched Zootopia 2, and we both liked it a lot. While I am personally not fond of all the sequels that have been coming out as of late, I always thought that Zootopia should have had a sequel. There is a lot of story and characters to tell with Zootopia, and the dynamic between Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde have always carried these Zootopia movies. They added some new characters to the cast, who positively add to the story. The comedy is still very much there, and it was a generally wholesome movie overall. I am glad that there was no political-social messaging in the movie, and there just seemed to be a focus on making a good, wholesome, family movie. If they made a third Zootopia movie, I would not complain.

John Cena also retired from professional wrestling as an in-ring performer. This was on the same day that the My Hero Academia anime ended. I still remember John Cena’s first match in the WWE against Kurt Angle in the Ruthless Aggression Era. I also have friends who wrestled John Cena before he got into the WWE. I saw his evolution as a wrestler from when he started in WWE, becoming the Doctor of Thuganomics, becoming World Champion, Super Cena, becoming a part-timer, a Hollywood star, his final run that also had him making a heel turn, to his final match against Gunther. I was not one of those that booed him and recognized that he literally carried the company on his back for many years. His work with Make-A-Wish is downright extraordinary. His last match against Gunther was really good and very emotional from the entrance to the ending. Gunther went over, which is not uncommon for a wrestler to retire “off his back” to give “the rub” to someone else. He will be missed, and while there will always have big stars that will eventually come along, there is not anyone quite like John Cena.

There was the return of something with Zootopia, and the ending of something with John Cena. I expect a Zootopia 3 to be announced, as there is a lot more story to tell with Zootopia. However, with John Cena, his story after more than decades as a professional wrestler has ended. While I expect to see him in the future in WWE in some capacity, it will not be as an in-ring performer.

UFC 323 and Parties

My friends and I watched the final UFC pay per view ever, UFC 323, headlined by then-Champion Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan. This was a rematch, which Merab outworking Yan and getting the better of him the first time. This time though, Yan fought the best MMA fight of his life, stuffing numerous takedowns, getting his own takedowns and showing crisp striking. Merab honestly looked unstoppable up until this point, but Yan had the solution to beat him and is not the UFC Bantamweight Champion for the second time. In the co-main event, Joshua Van defeated Alexandre Pantoja by TKO (injury) via arm breaking/dislocating off of posting his arm while getting taken down. It was an unfortunate outcome for Pantoja, but it goes to show that anything can happen in the fight game. I would guess that Van gets Tatsuro Taira next, who beat Brandon Moreno on the same card. Also of note, rising star, Payton Talbott defeated Henry Cejudo in Cejudo’s retirement fight, in what was a fantastic final fight for Cejudo.

My wife and I also went to a company party this week. The venue was really nice with free food and free drinks. Everyone was dressed to the nines, but it was quite honestly pretty boring. Everyone was just standing or sitting around talking to each other while music played. There was a stage, but outside of one performance, it was pretty bland. Even the food left something to be desired. I suppose that this is just how things are. At least my wife and I attended our first formal outing. We also went to a Church picnic, and that had games and even better food. They at least tried to keep things fun and entertaining.

The UFC, in my opinion, gave a final pay per view card that felt worth the price of admission. I look forward to watching the UFC product on Paramount+ next year. We can also expect more gatherings and whatnot next year as well.

Thanksgiving 2025 and WWE Survivor Series 2025

My wife and I spent Thanksgiving at The Welk in Escondido with my brother, his wife and two kids. With our timeshare, we are able to get rooms for us, but for family and friends as well. We stayed at the mountain villa, which was particularly nice especially having a fire place in the living room and the bedroom while the rest of our family stayed at another villa. We unfortunately did not get to eat at a local taco place that sells craft tacos in Escondido as we did not have enough time. For Thanksgiving, we had a lunch consisting of Filipino food. That night, we watched Wicked: For Good, which was the second time that I saw the movie. The next morning, we already had to leave, but we got brunch at the Z Café in Bonsall. While it was a short trip, it was worthwhile.

I also watched WWE Survivor Series, which I thought was a solid show. It was not a spectacular show though, as the only real notable bit of news to come from the event was that there was a mystery attacker who performed Seth Rollins’s moves on CM Punk, helping the men’s heel team win War Games. Dominick Mysterio defeated John Cena to win back the Intercontinental Championship with the help of a returning Liv Morgan. The WWE product overall has not particularly stood out as of late with no big storylines save for Cena’s retirement. While this Survivor Series had a lot of star power, the lack of interesting storylines really showed itself. The in-ring product, especially these days, is generally not the problem, but the lack of anything to really sink your teeth into has made the WWE product a bit stale. This next month of December, except for Cena’s final match, has historically been a dead month for WWE. With the new year and the Royal Rumble coming around, hopefully, the product will pick up.

The was a particularly busy Thanksgiving weekend where we were generally on the “go.” Staying in The Welk is always a treat, and having family be able to experience it as well is nice. WWE Survivor Series was fun, despite any gripes I may have with the overall WWE product. While it is back to work, it is holiday season, so it should be a good December.