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.

Circus Vargas and The Next Story

My wife and I went to Circus Vargas in Laguna Hills. We usually go to Cirque de Soleil at this time of year in Laguna Hills, but it was not in town this year, and Circus Vargas was. My expectations were moderate for Circus Vargas, as I thought that it would be a fun show, as it is the circus, after all. Cirque de Soleil feels more like a play or theater with the circus-like acrobatics, stunts, big set pieces and whatnot, but Circus Vargas felt more like an old-school big top circus. There are the acrobatics, stunts and all that, but there was more of a fun, family-friendly vibe to it. There were segments in-between the bigger performances that were more lighthearted, and at times, they will get audience members to participate. At one point, one of the performers was going around the audience and choosing people, and I was picked. My wife figured that I would, as she saw the guy looking at me. There were six of us audience members on the stage along with one performer, and we had to ring a bell at certain times. They were a few comical moments, and overall, it was a good experience. The performances were also fun, with the main highlight being the globe of death where stunt riders ride motorcycles inside a mesh sphere ball. There were four riders, and it was quite a sight to see. One thing that surprised me was seeing the same performers doing different routines or stunts. For example, one person doing the tightrope walk also was a rider in the globe of death. Also, many performances were done by a family, showing that the circus life really is a family affair, and from what I’ve read, these are families that have been circus performers for generations.

I’ve been really progressing on editing The Land of the Wooden Statues and am planning to finish it this summer. Having a standing desk really changed the speed and efficiency of my writing and editing. With it being near completion, I am thinking about my next book. I have already done some brainstorming and wrote down some ideas, and there is a general idea of what the story is about. I have been watching some fantasy anime lately and have been noticing that some of the more well-known and highly rated fantasy anime will have a little bit of mystery to it. My books so far have been relatively straightforward, but I want this new one to be a bit more mature and have a little bit of that mystery to it that’ll help carry the story. I am actually looking forward to writing this new work, and with new skills to implement and wanting this to be a bit more mature, I am looking forward to this challenge.

I am glad to have done something different like go to Circus Vargas this Memorial Day weekend. My wife and I could have gone to watch standup comedy or a movie, but those are things that we can do anytime. The circus was in town for just a few weeks, so I figured that this was the best time to go.

Mortal Kombat II and MVP MMA 1: Rousey vs. Carano

My wife and I watched Mortal Kombat II, and it was a fun movie. There were excessive violence, blood and gore, but that is a trademark of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise. Fatalities, great fight scenes, and a lot of them, and just the right amount of humor really made the movie just breeze by. The plot is nothing special, but it works, and while some background knowledge of Mortal Kombat lore would help understand what is going on, it is not necessary. It is not entirely necessary to watch the Mortal Kombat I movie from 2021, or the classic back in the 90’s, but it does give some context as to what is happening and who some of the characters are. Nonetheless, it is fairly easy to follow who are the good guys, and who are the bad guys. Karl Urban was well-cast as main protagonist Johnny Cage, playing a former action star, whose star has faded a long time ago, gets picked to be in the Mortal Kombat tournament to battle for the fate of Earthrealm. He was funny, cocky, arrogant, but can fight and eventually “finds himself” as the movie goes along. Everyone else played their roles well and has their own special abilities and fighting styles. The choreography was really well-done, and there were multiple set pieces where battles took place. Overall, I thought that this was just a lot of fun, and it looks like a third one will get made, which I will watch.

The first MVP MMA fight card happened, and the event was shown on Netflix. The main event has Ronda Rousey fight Gina Carano, in a fight that lasted seventeen seconds with Rousey winning by armbar. For me and many others, this was the predicted result, and it looks like both are retiring from MMA after this, which they probably should. For Carano, this was definitely a disappointing result, but I think that she is finding victory in just making that walk to the cage. Carano was fired from The Mandalorian not too long ago while being seemingly blacklisted from Hollywood, but she lost over one-hundred pounds and seemed to be in a good place in her life, so I think making that walk was the actual goal with the fight just being extra. Rousey gets to leave MMA off of a win after two KO losses in the UFC from Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. They both got paid as well. Some fighters though did not have great nights on the card such as: Nate Diaz, Junior Dos Santos and Philipe Lins. Nate Diaz was a bloody mess fighting Mike Perry, and Lins and Dos Santos got knocked out in brutal fashion. Dos Santos especially needs to stop fighting in any combat sport. The production was really good, but the pacing was not that good. I would imagine that this got a good rating, but I do have to wonder about its sustainability. The card was fun overall though, and having a bunch of finishes does not hurt.

The Roast of Kevin Hart and UFC 328: Chimaev vs. Strickland

My wife and I went to see The Roast of Kevin Hart live in the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA. Our seats were to the side closer to the top, and there was a spotlight that was hard to avoid. Also, there were some people in front of us vaping, which did not sit well with my wife. The event though was a mixed, with some guest stars like Tom Brady, Lizzo, and The Rock. The announced stars included Pete Davidson, Tony Hinchcliffe, Chelsea Handler, Sheryl Underwood, Draymond Green, Jeff Ross, and Regina Hall with Shane Gillis as the host. Some of these jokes were funny, but others just were not particularly funny. My wife and I watch a good amount of standup comedy these days, and one thing that we are cautious about is political jokes. The ones that do not land for us tend to be ones that are just mean-spirited insults or pure political commentary. Also, there was a good amount of dark humor here that was hit or miss. Some of the stars had tragedy strike their loved ones. One problem that I found is that, regardless of if one feels it is tasteful or not, the tragedy itself is the joke or punchline, which is just not funny to me. If they are to go that direction, then at least make comedy derived from the tragedy and not make the tragedy itself the comedy. It was neat though seeing stars like Kevin Hart live.

I also watched UFC 328: Chimaev vs. Strickland over the weekend. Admittedly, there was a good amount of hype for this UFC card. Strickland and Chimaev were getting pretty heated during the buildup to the fight. Then, the fight happens, and they start fist-bumping and just being friendlier than what many thought they would be. The outcome of the fight itself was an upset with Sean Strickland defeating Khamzat Chimaev to regain the UFC Middleweight Title. Chimaev did some unusual things like pull guard in the second round and not shoot for a takedown in some rounds after having a vintage performance in the first round. In the co-main event, Joshua Van defeated Tatsuro Taira to retain the UFC Flyweight Title in a very fun fight. Taira got beat up badly by Van but kept pushing forward. However, he ate one-too-many shots and eventually lost by TKO. Many were doubting Van, but he really showed why he is champion with that fight. Other fights were good with a good amount of submission victories from the likes of Bobby Green, Jim Miller, Yaroslav Amosov and others. Overall, it was a very good night of fights.

Project Hail Mary and Writing Posture

My wife and I watched Project Hail Mary, and it was fantastic. It first appeared to be about a middle school teacher, Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, tasked with saving the world from an alien microorganism, astrophage, that infected the Sun and other stars. We go through his time in space and how her got into the situation that he was in. As the movie progresses though, the real meat of the movie comes when Grace meets an alien, which he names Rocky. They learn to communicate with each other and learn about each other. Eventually, they form a friendship, and Rocky even finds a way for them to live together on Grace’s spaceship. Rocky though is a difficult roommate. The movie presents various ideas about life, purpose, friendship and loneliness. There is also a bigger concept of what is “home” to various beings, and what is it that the protagonists are coming back to. With a combination of comedy, drama and action with an understanding of the human condition, Project Hail Mary was just a very good movie. To top it all off, it does have a happy ending.

I was also thinking about how to improve my writing this week. While I do not have a problem with discipline or procrastination at this point, as I write every day to the point that it is just habitual. However, I noticed that my progress was very slow. I then realized that I was not in an optimal physical position to write in a focused way. Sitting on the chair, I would slouch, and when it was later at night or after Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practice, I would start nodding off on the chair or just sleep sometimes. We have a standing desk, and my wife recommended that I start using it. It has greatly helped me focus better and be in a better posture to write. I am completing more writing and/or editing as well per writing session. This was definitely the component that I needed to write better and more efficiently.

There have actually been some good movies coming out as of late such as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Michael and Project Hail Mary. It is good to see as movies lately have felt like they are more misses than hits. It could just be this season, but I’d much rather there be good movies out than bad ones.

Michael Jackson and Michael

My wife and I watched the movie, Michael, and we loved it. I was always a Michael Jackson fan since I was young. As a kid, when MTV was still primarily playing music videos, they would still play the Thriller music video, which is just iconic. I was born in the 80’s, but my formative years were primarily in the 90’s, so while I knew his songs like Billie Jean, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, Bad, and others, it was his song, Black or White, that was new material to me. There was also Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker video game on the Sega Genesis that me, my brothers and friends would play. Special attacks in the video game had Michael throw his hat at enemies and even do a choreographed dance routine together with everyone on screen. Outside of all that, I used to break dance in high school up until my mid-to-late-twenties, and some Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 songs were break beats.

The movie itself was great. Jaafar Jackson just played Michael Jackson beautifully, and him being Michael’s real-life nephew just adds to the movie. There were so many times in the movie where I thought that it was really Michael Jackson on screen. Especially from breakdancing, I knew the lyrics to a few of his songs and would sing along with them when they played. Michael’s father, Joseph, was definitely a villain in the movie. However, he seemed to have authentically wanted his sons not to have his life working in a steel mill in Gary, Indiana, so he made sure to use their musical talents. However, he was very abusive, manipulative and controlling with them. Michael Jackson was depicted as something of a brilliant, tortured artist, having no real friends and having animals as his friends along with having trauma from his abusive father. Another thing of interest with this movie is that critics generally gave this movie a bad score, while audiences have seemingly loved this movie. The box office has been great, and I expect that it will just keep growing. It does leave one to question why there is such a disparity, and some have concluded that the critics are just so out-of-touch with what general audiences want and enjoy. Others have pointed out that the critics do not like that Michael Jackson was depicted in such a positive light, especially with his later life being riddled with scandals.

Michael Jackson was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime talent that will never be replicated. His artistry and creativity are still being emulated by artists today. It is 2026 with his popularity starting in the late 70’s, and he is still seen as iconic to this day.

WrestleMania 42 and From Season 4

WrestleMania 42 was the tale of two WrestleMania’s. WrestleMania Night 1, in my opinion, was below par with a terrible booked main event along with short and meaningless matches. The general reaction to Night 1 was also mostly negative. The main event between Randy Orton versus Cody Rhodes had a lot of shenanigans involving Pat McAfee, who inexplicably aligned with Orton a few weeks ago. It looked like the fans wanted Orton to win, and had a baffled reaction when Cody won. The pacing and psychology of the match also did not make a lot of sense with Cody acting the heel, and then ending with Orton being the heel while Cody ended up being the babyface. There were a few highlights of Night 1 such as the return of Paige, the return of Bron Breaker, and a few matches that were solid. Night 2, on the other hand, was very good. Oba Femi defeated Brock Lesnar in the opening match clean, and Femi looks poised to be a main event talent and champion in the near future. Lesnar seemingly retired after his loss. The ladder match for the IC Title was also a standout match with Penta retaining. The main event between Roman Reigns versus CM Punk was very good with no interference. Reigns won and is the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

My wife and I watched the season four premiere of the television show, From. It started out right where season three left off and really did not relent. The episode went very quickly, introducing new characters and even ending in a twist involving the man in the yellow jacket introduced at the end of season three. The twist brings new theories and possibilities for the future of the series. Many of the characters such as Boyd and Fatima are increasingly falling into despair, especially after the events of season three. However, their emotions and reactions are totally understandable, as the place that they are in is seemingly there to just break these people. It also does a good job of allowing the audience to know key pieces of information while leaving the characters in the dark or in denial. We are very much looking forward to what happens next in From, and Sundays cannot come fast enough.

WrestleMania is something of the season finale for WWE, and the events of WrestleMania tend to shape the rest of the year. “From” just had its season four premiere, and the events of this first episode already look like it will shape the rest of the season.