Everyone Was #Mystic #KungFu #Fighting

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 171: #AniMay Spectacle: "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" with James Slunder

And this is why ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ is the top trivia team in Downstate Illinois. James Slunder comes to the rescue to make sure ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ does the month of Ani-May right. The team's self-proclaimed anime expert suggested our host watch the prequel to the ⁠"Jujutsu Kaisen"⁠ television series, the 2021 motion picture ⁠"Jujutsu Kaisen 0"⁠.

The result of this suggestion is a clash between generations of fandom. We use the term self-proclaimed expert to describe James because he was not around during the days of Streamline Pictures/Central Park Media and multicolored VHS tapes. Our host feels there has to be something from his tape collecting days that gives him the edge when it comes to being an otaku.

Anime has become a lot brighter and more colorful, and ⁠CatBus⁠ may sound like an old man shouting at clouds because it is too busy for it to have that nineties, Suncoast charm. He also did not watch many magical high school themed cartoons.

Fortunately, JJK0 (James says that is what the cool kids call it.) is "Harry Potter" on steroids. Who needs Quidditch when you wield a cursed katana alongside a giant, anthropomorphic Panda and a classmate whose voice is cursed to the point that he can only safely speak in rice ball ingredients. And of course you have some "will they, won't they" relationship to tease some tension. This is how they needed to sell the third "Fantastic Beast" flick.

Episode 173: Mortal Kombat (1995) & Collateral Cinema

CatBusRuss⁠ and ⁠Collateral Cinema's Beau Maddox⁠ have been interacting with each other since our host joined ⁠Bluesky⁠. Over the past week, they finally have found a feature that the two felt good about collaborating on. "⁠Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss⁠" has covered ⁠Paul WS Anderson⁠'s "⁠Mortal Kombat⁠" before, but that was to pay tribute to French action star ⁠Christopher Lambert⁠. Beau and ⁠Russ⁠ will take a look at this beloved feature from all angles. The effects that still hold up, the less is more style of direction, and the charm of special effects that do not hold up after 4K TV's came into existence.

Does this lead to the conclusion that the nineties, with hindsight, were a good time for video game film adaptations? Is Hollywood still underutilizing ⁠Cary-Hiroyuki Togawa⁠ and ⁠Linden Ashby⁠? Should this script been delivered to ⁠John Carpenter⁠?

We discover the two have their polarizing opinions of the work of ⁠Tom Green⁠, so we quickly learn that conversational fireworks maybe a possibility. Perhaps it is that heat that lead to the pod's technical difficulties and not Beau's phone overheating. Russ hopes that throwing in his review of Sylvester Stallone's "⁠Escape Plan: The Extractors⁠" will be an adequate apology for those issues.

Policy of Truth: The Real Champions Partake in Sport, Not Sports Entertainment

*This blog post was started on June 9, 2024.

I am hoping to have some positive change finally occur in my life. This is kind of scary since the ball seems to be in my hand. The past couple of times that I have been in that position, it all blows up in my face leaving me in a further state of desperation.

June 22 Update: And as it turns out, corporate once again decides to leave me feeling like the world is just meant to shit on me. Thankfully, I have a great crew at the job I was hoping to advance in, so their support ended the day in which I allowed the bullshit of the decision without too much bitterness on my behalf. And I feel those who pushed me to try and obtain the position will fight for me to eventually obtain it.

Here is to my inevitable pink slip.

And of course, the latest girl I have been trying to win over finds herself ill every weekend. Fucking Bloomington.

And of course the costs that insurance does not cover means therapy is not exactly affordable. There are hopes that Mom and Dad may offer some help on the medical front, but they are well aware of my success when trying to make moves to better myself.

Beyond this, there has not been that much stress in my life. I think a part of me wants it around. It would at least justify the constant anxiety. The lack of it makes those ponderings of how I am going to survive financially seem pointless. In the end, all I have to remind myself that I have always made it work out since leaving the Heart of Illinois, why worry that it will not work out?

The biggest sense of unease is that I am just enjoying my day offs on my own. How can I be happy just nerding out? Optimizing my PlayStation hard drives keeps me busy, but I cannot say that I feel accomplished.  If there is anything satisfying about it, it is that it feels like a strive for perfection. Then the hypocrisy of letting that denounce Tyler Durden's "May I never be complete" is something to deal with.

With that said, this wrestling blog may need a new title. Then again, this is not going to be a post of about Orange Cassidy. I do need to get around to writing about the real tertiary championship. That still maybe a bit. There is always wrestling to catch up on with my days off.

Watching all the cool shows on my days off (NJPW Dominion is in my peripheral.) is something I can feel accomplished by. Life better pick up. It is tough to take pride in being a mark.

The Disgruntled's Real World Champions of Pro-Wrestling:

Title Histories from February 1, 2024 to June 9, 2024.

The 105th and Current Disgruntled's Real World Champion:
AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland.

His reign began when he defeated DRCW Real World Champion/AEW World Champion Samoa Joe on April 21.

I am not going to place the title on the WWE Champion's, a man who left after never being able to win the AEW Championship. Strickland is indeed the more versatile wrestler and has been on a role since his feud with former champion Adam "Hangman" Page. Samoa Joe was the true Samoan champion, and Tony Khan may have slipped by not signing all the NJPW Tongan wrestlers to have Joe rule over.

My only issue with Strickland, is I am a traditionalist when it comes to footwear for a wrestler. Wrestling shoes (with kickpads preferably) or boots. Fancy basketball-inspired shoes are not for the ring. Even Tommy Dreamer had boots. I guess this is equals out with the tag team championship picture.

The 49th and Current Modern Poser Champion:
WWE Undisputed Universal Champion: Cody Rhodes

His reign began when he defeated Roman Reigns on April 7.

This was the most overblown spectacle of sports entertainment. Fans were more impressed by the run ins and chaos to notice that the two participants repeated the same match from the year prior. If you need to be sports entertained, check out Jon Mosley defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against EVIL at NJPW Dominion 2024.

The 53rd and Current Disgruntled's Real Women's World Champion:
AEW Women's World Champion: "Timeless" Toni Storm (2)

Her reign began when Rhea Ripley vacated the WWE Women's World Championship on April 15.

AEW had lost the DRCW championship when an injury rewarded their title to Toni Storm. One must appreciate the irony that the DRCW championship returned to AEW for the same reason. Ripley could have at least done the favor.

As for the WWE Championship, Bayley won the belt in a popcorn (just the vibe of the crowd) bout from a woman who cashed in Money in the Bank. It will take a great reign to make me consider putting it bag on the former hugger.

The 158th and Current Disgruntled's Real World Tag Team Champions:
WWE World Tag Team Champions: The Awesome Truth: The Miz and R-Truth

Their reign began when they took the titles from The Judgement Day in a ladder match on April 6.

This was the title change that WWE fans were hoping for. It is a sad state of their tag team divisions if that is what they wanted. But, AEW decided to give Sting the ultimate send off and thus left their title vacated.

The 157th Disgruntled's Real World Tag Team Champions: WWE Unified Tag Team Champions: The Judgement Day: Finn Balor and Damian Priest

Their reign began when ABC was defeated for the TNA World Tag Team Championship by Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers.

With how WrestleMania ended with Baylor and Priest losing two championships in one night, it seems fitting that they simultaneously held both the DRCW Real World Tag Team Championship and this DRCW championship.

Eddie Edwards's tag team partner is Davey Richards. Brian Myers's tag team partner is Matt Cardona. This championship combination is not a true tag team.

The 174th and Current Disgruntled's Unified Gnarly Men's Doubles Champions:
TNA World Tag Team Champions: Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers

Their reign began when The Judgement Day lost the DRCW Unified Gnarly Men's Duo Champions on April 6.

The 173rd Disgruntled's Unified Gnarly Men's Doubles Champions: WWE Unified Tag Team Champions: Finn Balor (2) and Damian Priest (2)

Their second reign began when Sting retired as AEW World Tag Team Champion on March 3.

The 161st and Current OCHO: The Disgruntled's Secondary Champion:
(Intercontinental, United States, Global, Television, TNT, North American, X-Division, National Champion)
WWE Intercontinental Champion: Sami Zayn (2)

His reign began when he defeated Gunther for the championship on April 6.

It is tough for me to come up with a WWE wrestler worthy of taking the title off of Zayn, which was what made Gunther's reign so grand. But, since this is not a body guy, I imagine that the world champions that the Austrian have bested will not allow him as lengthy a reign. But somebody has to have the long reign. Too bad Cody Rhodes is a babyface champion. Who can possibly be an unbeatable title holder?

Who has a fun title for ninth** title being added to this lineage? AEW's International Championship is looking like a secondary title.

**The OCHO is comprised of the:

• WWF/WWE Intercontinental Championship (1)
• WCW/WWE United States Championship (2)
• ECW World Television Championship (3)
• TNA/Impact X-Division Championship (4)
• ROH World Television Championship
• IWGP United States/Global Championship (5)
• NXT North American Championship (6)
• NWA National Championship (7)
• AEW TNT Championship (8)

"The Beekeeper" or "John Wick" If It Was Produced by Roger Corman

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 166: The Beekeeper (2024)

No laptop, no #rewindwednesday.

CatBusRuss is coming at you with a new movie review for another
movie that was released in the last year.

This week, he watched Jason Statham in “The Beekeeper”.

It is essentially a solo action hero flick for the Brit
which yells at you about what they did wrong with “Expend4bles”
and how capitalist are awful once they inevitably sell out.

Both messages we can all get behind thanks to British actors
heading to Boston for a paycheck.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 169: Hail to the #Bmovie King: #RogerCorman with ThePoeticCritic

CatBusRuss thought about calling the episode “Celebrating Roger Corman-I-May”,
but then ThePoeticCritic corrected him by explaining he had left his studio, New World Pictures,
by the time they first translated “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”.

But if Roger Corman was not the producing legend who founded that distributor and AIP,
would we even have anime in the States?

Those cheap Streamline Pictures dubs had to find inspiration somewhere.

Our host and his big sister talk about the influence that Corman had on independent cinema
and how that led to the careers of at least two auteurs with Best Director Oscars
(Ron Howard and James Cameron). With his recent passing,
the two also discuss how cinema will now fair without the continuation of the opportunities
he was providing to young filmmakers.

Is “Resist the Disney machine” is all they can offer?

Three Days of @C2E2 2024: Alien Day, Hannibal Reunion, James 'Lightning' Pax

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Season 4 - Bonus 1: C2E2 2024: Alien Day

CatBusRuss has arrived at C2E2, and he is surviving. He is doing his best to vacation, but like anything you plan out, it is more hustle than relaxation. It was a fun day because 4.26 is “Alien Day”. Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright provided a great panel about the 45 year-old film. Celebration was the theme of the day as Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes showed their respect to their audience that owes their sense of humor to “Clerks” a movie that is celebrating its 30th Anniversary.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Season 4 - Bonus 2: @C2E2 2024: ThePoeticCritic, Hannibal, Rick and Morty

CatBusRuss had a fascinating day at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo.

He got the slap in the face about how far behind he was on the Adult Swim classic, “Rick and Morty”.

And the gut punch of how great “Hannibal” sounds when he went to the Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy panel.

Then it got serious after hours with Nerdlesque and Cosplay Karaoke.

It becomes more intense when ThePoeticCritic interjects herself on the pod.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 167: @C2E2 2024 Conclusion

CatBusRuss is still exhausted from the trip to Chicago, but day three was worth the physical toll. He got to argue for one of his favorite “Alien” movies with Channel Awesome. The acting insights of Maya Hawke were quite impressive. But the biggest thrill may have been meeting James Pax. Lighting from “Big Trouble in Little China” had podcast advise. How can you top that?

Stacia Hardin Memorial Image Gallery and Testimonials

Stacia Marie Hardin Memorial Image Gallery and Testimonials

The following was written in 2008, nearly four years after she had passed.

I did not know Stacia Marie for that long, but I do know she was the best friend I have ever had. There has yet to be a more caring person to cross my path, and I do not mind if I ever meet that person because I had the chance to know her.

No matter what personal demons she struggled with, she always put her friends ahead of herself. When I had a broken wrist, she would call me every night to make sure I was doing well, and to encourage me not to do so much stupid stuff that could result in broken bones.

If you knew her, you know she was an awesome sibling to her brother Brian, and you saw her kind and caring nature through him.

Stacia was also a really smart person who kept her feet on the ground, and knew how to get the most out of life. Usually, that came out through some of the best rock of our generation, her wicked sense of humor, and her beaming smile that never seemed to fade.

We all really miss you down here, and I for one hope you never turn the music down or let the party end up there, no matter how much St. Peter complains.

All the love I can offer,

Russ Stevens

If anyone else would like to add a testimonial about Stacia to this page, or have any images they want to share, e-mail me at russthebus07@gmail.com.

Thank you.

May 9, 2024

It has nearly been 20 years since Stacia left the physical/mortal plain. I still think about her everyday. With her help, I know that I have been doing my damndest to be a better, kinder, and stronger person. She is keeping an eye on me and I am certain she is doing the same for every person that she touched in her life.

I bring this up because I have changed a lot philosophically. As far as I can tell, there is no almighty entity that is responsible for this universe. With all of the atrocities in the world and good people dealing with the trauma of abuse, why would anyone want to claim that as their own?

Growing up, religion (in my case Christianity via Methodism) was something that helped me be a good person, but outside of the tales I was told and the lessons that I took from them, I felt its primary purpose was to control people.

When I further realized that the vocal "Christians" were using the faith as a means to judge others, I knew God was not real. They want the power to claim their superiority to and over others. If that is what that power is for, I want no relationship with who ultimately holds it.

If someone can be declared evil for being a good and true person (be it queer, being non-white, or both), I determined that if there is a God(s), they will not judge me. My prayers were nothing more than me asking for help in resolving concerns and I soon realized that the voice which was answering was my own.

This all went down nine years after Stacia passed away, so I cannot claim to be a fast learner. Because, within a week of her passing, I was praying to make sense of it. It was me asking questions and me trying to answer them. Nothing was being solved, but then her voice came to me and asked me, "Do you want me to be your saint?"

I knew she would be pissed if I answered yes, but more importantly, I was ecstatic knowing she was still here. Here is to hoping that besides helping us out, she takes the time to haunt the hell out of all the evil leaders of the world. Or finally light a fire under our asses to fix the trouble they are causing.

This is not my original memorial to Stacia that was posted on my website. HostGator determined my 12 years of loyal patronage was not enough to be treated fairly. The only reason I dealt with their greed and indifference was to keep that memorial page up. But, Stacia would not want me to be anyone's bitch, so I let it go. I hope this fulfills the spot that was lost.

Thank you for your patience and thank you Stacia for insisting that I be at my best.

"The Princess Bride (with HappyBeebsMeowMeow)" and "The Kill Room", "Hobbs & Shaw", and "Fast 1"

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 163: The Princess Bride vs. HappyBeebsMeowMeow

HappyBeebsMeowMeow⁠ (or just Beebs) returns to the podcast to discuss another one of her favorite movies, "⁠The Princess Bride⁠". A movie with ⁠Christopher Guest⁠ and Andre the Giant, how could ⁠CatBusRuss⁠⁠ resist?

Ninety For Chill's guest said this was a feature that she knew so well, that she did not require a rewatch. To make sure everyone was in the right headspace, ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ had the feature running as the two discussed this classic comedy. After the two gush over the brilliance of ⁠Rob Reiner⁠'s second classic (Russ has not seen "Stand By Me" or "The Sure Thing", but both fit the runtime parameters of the podcast.) they essentially enjoy a virtual viewing of the film. Please do not judge our host too harshly for his attempts to do the dialogue justice.

Russ and Beebs do their best to really understand the genius of this family classic. As ⁠Joel Siegel⁠ stated, "This is Walt Disney meets Monty Python". That is short changing the efforts of the son of ⁠Mel Brooks⁠'s original comedy partner, ⁠Carl Reiner⁠. "The Princess Bride" is Mel Brooks's humor meets ⁠William Goldman⁠'s understanding of what makes a perfect screenplay. If Rob Reiner had more features under his belt when he directed this, he may have had the skill to make the best film of all time. The more Russ has seen it, the better it gets. Does Beebs agree?

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 165: “The Kill Room” + The Best & Worst of “Fast & Furious”

CatBusRuss was left to explore what might entice an audience to his podcast.

This led him to the recent Uma Thurman/Samuel L Jackson movie “The Kill Room”.

It's a comedy of errors about art dealing and money laundering.

That maybe too indie a genre to investigate.

To find out whether or not the “Fast & Furious” franchise met the podcast parameters.

That is a concept for the masses.

"Coraline" in 12 Parsecs & Super Mario Bros. 93

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 159: "Coraline" in 12 Parsecs with HappyBeebsMeowMeow

It is never too late to start the New Year. Some people hope to just get out of their comfort zone. That is the goal of Brandy Stonum, or should we call her ⁠HappyBeebsMeowMeow⁠.

With a Twitch handle like that, watching a movie where a feline plays a big role seemed perfect. So ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ was able to bend the rules of the podcast a bit, ⁠Han Solo style⁠, and allowed ⁠Henry Selick⁠'s ⁠Neil Gaiman⁠ adaptation, "⁠Coraline⁠", be the focus of the show.

⁠CatBusRuss⁠ has been trying to get one of his best Champaign/Urbana pals onto the podcast since about the inception of the show. The two chat about and have watched movies in each other's company over the past couple of years, so he thought content would come naturally. Our host thought the biggest issue was just finding a movie to fit the parameters of the pod, but people can just be nervous about putting themselves out there.

This was probably true of ⁠Russ⁠ until he had to cut his first wrestling promo. There were just too many quiet goth wrestlers in Peoria. Creating a character was the only in he had.

Brandy is a few weeks from bringing her Twitch channel online, so like our film's protagonist, she has to make the online world in her image and not have it handed to her. Hopefully, we can get her back on the podcast once her channel goes live, but until then, lets revel in her cinematic intelligence and patience when it comes to dealing with the ⁠CatBus⁠.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 161: Super Mario Bros. 93 with Ta2Squid

If it is a movie adapted from a video game, you may lure out the ⁠Ta2Squid⁠. ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ welcomes a returning ⁠Andras Bodolai⁠ to ⁠Ninety For Chill: The Podcast⁠ for a chat about what is essentially the first attempt at bringing characters from a home gaming console to the big screen, "⁠Super Mario Bros. (1993)⁠".

Our host's first conversation with his fellow podcaster was about 2005's "⁠Doom⁠". Like the ⁠John Leguizamo⁠ and ⁠Bob Hoskins⁠ led movie, most do not remember that feature fondly (if at all as displayed by Kollin from the ⁠Trash Panda Podcast⁠). But, there has not been a reclamation effort for the Dwayne Johnson film. Maybe more time needs to pass. Give it 30 years (and a billion-dollar animated feature), and Karl Urban's Doom Slayer might get his proper due.

Russ thinks a narrative might still hold the Martian-based movie back. It would not have even needed a sane one because what ⁠Dennis Hopper⁠ movies do?

CatBus⁠ and his guest discuss how this may have been a bad adaptation of the source material, but a fun mind shag of movie that walked so "⁠Mortal Kombat⁠" could kick ass. This ⁠Screen Drafts⁠ Marquee of Fame entrant maybe a flawed masterpiece. The direction is lacking, but this is a movie that has a crazy enough story and charming enough characters that it may have been a decade too late for when the audience would have ate this flick up. And/or, it was a decade too early which prevented meta-obsessed fanatics from appreciating it.

It definitely needs more attention since this is only the first round of the Leguizamo v. Hopper battle. Hit CatBusRuss on social media if you would like to discuss George A. Romero's "⁠Land of the Dead⁠".

If you find this episode interesting (despite the technical issues...and a "⁠Ghostbusters (2016)⁠" review), we hope you still have a DVD player because that is the only legal way to watch this underappreciated film.