Criminal - Work and the Disgruntled's Real World Champions

*This blog post was started on July 25, 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 throuple of times that I have been in that position, it all blows up in my face leaving me in a further state of desperation.

Things were looking good. I have the parental approval in starting my own business. My preferred job has once again offered me a better position.

I am currently awaiting some feedback in regards to the filing of my LLC. Who knows if the folks have changed their mind?

There was a slip on in my performance at the job once we had agreed to terms in principle. Tonight is my night off for Whaddayouknow? Free Pub Trivia, so I get to stew in the anxiety of what the news will be when I return to work.

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. Hell, the first chance I get to remove my insurance withdrawals from my current full-time job, there will not be any for who knows how long.

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. Things may have been made easier at least in the short run. The details of which are not going to get the approval from anyone. At least it is not selling drugs.

Crime. That is something that I am currently dealing with. Not in a literal sense, but after all of my Twitter accounts were suspended for breaking "X Rules", all I need is a good defense.

If only Elon Musk fascist fucks would allow for it. They refuse to tell me what rules I broke to result in suspensions of all of my account. I know they are not the ones that promote hate or violence. Not all of my accounts have my phone number associated with them. At least one of them should be free from their claims. Are they just banning Russ Stevens from the platform for telling Christians to "Fuck their imaginary friend!" when telling the tale of some cunt from Farmer City calling me weak for wearing a face covering?

Needless to say, X will be receiving my complaints from the BBB and the FTC. You cannot make empty threats. Even if they were made to a fucking bot.

Watching all the cool shows on my days off (I'm catching up on the G1 Climax in my peripheral.) is something I can feel accomplished by. Life better pick up. It is tough to take pride in being a mark.

Especially when life is about being a mark for themselves.

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

Title Histories from June 9, 2024 to July 25, 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.

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

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

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.

The 159th and Current Disgruntled's Real World Tag Team Champions:
AEW World Tag Team Champions: Nicholas & Matthew Jackson: The Young Bucks (4)

Their reign began when the Awesome Truth were defeated for the World Tag Team Championship on June 24.

I don't like that the AEW titles were claimed after Sting & Darby Allin vacated them, but you cannot support the Judgement Day B-Team as the best tag team in the world. Perchance, they will be the men's duos champions.

If only DIY could have beaten A-Town Down before JD Mc "Don't Google Me" and the former Prince Devitt won their titles.

The 175th and Current Disgruntled's Unified Gnarly Men's Doubles Champions:
World Tag Team Champions (WWE): JD McDonagh & Finn Balor (3)

Their reign began when The System lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship on July 20.

ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) have established themselves as the new Beer Money of TNA. They are too strong to be a Duo.

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.

So only two title changes since I last blogged. We need promoters who believe in Tag Team Wrestling.

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

I suppose when I comeback to this blog to report on my success or lack there of, I have to finally investigate the tertiary championship. Maybe I can determine the secondary championship in Western Women's Wrestling. A chance to further bury the WWE, how can I resist.

**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)

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?

And Throw in Some Nine Inch Nails for the LOLs

Dirty Laundry (HostGator)

*This blog post was started on January 29, 2024.

On my last podcast blog (Wonka, A Dangerous Method...With Shoes On & The 3M Movie Marathon), I stated that my life has been a comedy of errors recently. It is still January, so maybe 2024 is just not my year.

The thing is, I do not feel like that. My money management has improved. The part-time job is going pretty well. Podcasting has been working out fine. Everything has just gotten there by awkward means. At least I am blogging again.

Of course, that is because of my anal-retentive nature. ninetyforchill.blogspot.com was given a new layout after I decided for ninetyforchill.com to forward to my podcast feed instead of the blog. 

Lets not even get into the drama from HostGator that will seemingly result in the top Stacia Hardin page being deleted. She is worth $15.99 a month to honor despite I was never informed this was going to be the price. Every cable company that I am familiar with gives you notice that the price will increase.

HostGator is worse than Mediacom. I guess Stacia would respect me dropping these assholes, but money to let those she touched in her life reminisce about her is not a big deal to me. Then I am told that the fees they do not allow to show up in my order history will not be refunded despite promises that they were, on two occasion. She would not approve of me being a prison bitch.

I still need to continue this blog. Hell, it has to get back on track. This is not a podcast after all. But, how can you not admire Stacia telling me to stand up for myself? There are definitely souls. Thanks for supporting that belief and thanks for the encouragement.

Encouragement is something a new friend says that I need DOT DOT DOT.

I'm So Ronery (or Just Broke)

*This blog post was resumed on January 30, 2024.

Please pardon the interruptions. I am still trying to get to bed at reasonable times. As I type this blog post up with no odd topic to get to (be it anime or my fine criticism of pro wrestling), it kind of illustrates how I do not have my life as together as I was feeling. When left to recollect, the false sense of confidence is shot down.

The day this post started, I got a "I'm not that into you" message from a girl following cheesecake and wine at her condo in Peoria. It just felt good to be told that our acquaintance with each other was not going to evolve into a romantic relationship instead of just being ghosted.

Was I interested in sex? As a guy who has not been intimate with anyone in the past three calendar years, yes. As someone courting a person who lived ninety miles away? If we had not found instant chemistry after date one, no. I think we were more interested in telling each others stories than actually connecting. She is a woman who is very career focused in an effort...

We are Facebook friends, so going into an amateur psychoanalysis probably is not wise. She broke me down as just needing to receive encouragement. That is something I have received very little over the past 25 years.

There was Stacia primarily. Then there were times when my best friend actually has artistic inspiration that she can you me to fuel. It is great that I have my wrestling trainer, Danny Daniels, who was willing to believe in me against his initial judgement. If only the rest of the world was so kind.

That may sound a bit cruel to Allyson. Where would the trash feature review segments be for "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss?" without her. But, she knows she has never been an empathetic person. It is great that she is trying to work on that. My opinions of finding it through Evangelicalism...

Again, she might read this blog.

It is getting close to midnight, and I still have the final touches to add to this week's podcast reissue, "The Lost Boys with CouchManBakes". This means I better wrap up this portion of my yarn. My new friend says I was a great storyteller. That is probably how she might have left thinking my brain is stuck at the point when my best friend thought fucking some asshole meant she was beyond the trauma she based her half of our friendship from. With that, I am left at thinking, encouragement may make me a better person, but am I worth encouraging?

*This blog post was concluded on January 31, 2024.

I was just about to look up another song title to incorporate in the blog post's title, but my feeling of mentally slipping makes me want to conclude this post and the thoughts I had.

Would you not know it, I had to talk a friend down from a panic tonight. Makes me wonder if I can handle a relationship. Granted, this is from a friendship established before I was recruited onto the ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Trivia Team, so stability does not tend to be a feature of my closest friends from my past.

After trying to get them to promise they will not continue to over react to a series of events involving a friend who lives hours away, I am trying to get my head back on straight. They called to ask about what I had learned from my 2004 to 2006 drama. The situations that led to me flaking out on my pro-wrestling career the following year. It was basically me just telling them to not make similar decisions and hoping Pandora's Box was shut. Then again, my conclusion was it was not their place to force themselves into problems they think maybe occurring. But if someone asks for help, I would help.

And I guess I am left wondering where the fuck those people have been in my life. Stacia could at least haunt a few people in my direction.

It seems that I just think too much because I did not expect this blog to take such a twist. At the beginning, a tough start to the year was nothing to me. Rolling with the punches is something I am good at. Did I get that way because I knew no one gives enough of a shit to step in?

The "Ronery (or Just Broke) portion of the title was supposed to conclude with me just saying that I do not need a girl for romance, just to pay half the rent. It would get me out of the corporate retail that is becoming HostGator and allow me to devote my time selling booze. Knowing my luck, something would mess the career up. It is happening at my primary retailer that took four years to by my primary income source. The prior favorite job, Mark Twain Hotel, circumstances fucked me over in a month after landing a full-time position.

My existence is insanity (and a bunch of Nine Inch Nails songs). Every time I seem to have a break, I get broken. But I pick up the pieces to only get broken again. Rocky Balboa at least got a motherfucking payday. Where is my payday?

Am I not attractive enough? I am not a pet, so cute does not cut it.

Am I not mature enough? Everyone ends up telling me to knock off the dreaming.

Encouragement is what I need. But that takes other people's time. Fuck me if I hope for money.

I am told to be happy because I try to succeed at my dreams. And then I am told to grow the fuck up. It just feels like I am told that I am not supposed to succeed. So I am suppose to accept failure and fake it the rest of my life?

I guess I am not worth fighting for. Now, bitterness may fucking define me.

It is a good thing I did not title this blog "We're in This Together Now".

https://www.pinterest.com/neferast/

Imagine We Still Had VHS: Kurozuka

*This blog post was started on September 19, 2023.

Lets see how quick that I can release this post. I do not intend to rush it, but, after further work on setting up a couple of podcast episodes with a follower to my Mastodon account (@russstevens@mastodon.social), staying up past midnight yesterday was not wise. Eventually, the body will give up on me, and that means I may be held responsible for a poor start to the next season of Whaddayaknow trivia.

I should not be so hard on myself. This is because, it seems that I am realizing my bad dreams. A couple of Fridays ago, my day at the primary retailer started with an old, entitled, xenophobic woman expecting me to accept an exchange or refund for ink cartridges that were three months past the return period. She had to drive 10 miles to get to the store, so she does not find it unacceptable to expect satisfaction despite the fine print. The woman did not understand that you cannot buy products you did not need and expect us to take in them back because they did not work five months later. My previous unconscious period featured a dream about me being stalked by two elderly people demanding I give them a printer despite my lack of knowledge about the products. Why did this dream get manifested?

Perhaps I need to return to therapy. There needs to be a way for me to have dreams that will result in a windfall of millions of dollars. Am I up for that gamble of possibly $50 weekly? As I found out from the last attempt, my schedule just does not allow for that. And I just cannot get to Peoria enough to find my dancer friends who are using BetterHelp.

Big Al's has got to get their shit together to actually encourage the stages to be staffed. And I cannot help to wonder if some Jewish hackers have attacked their Facebook. The business hardly posts and now nothing but weird Hebrew memes. At least I am not the only one who needs to get my life in order.

If I had all my ducks in a row, I probably would not be complaining about this anime gamble. It is 11 pm, and I am feeling gassed. What should I have expected for betting on myself after my history of losing? Not that same bitch coming back to my store expecting me to give them a replacement product despite they did not bring that product in.

This was handed off to a manager, who hated that headache, but I was not going to be the guy to make the decision to lose $40 of product based on her promise. A widow should feel free to demand accommodations. The moment she once again said that I did not know how to read a receipt, the other customers hearing my response to that manager asking why I drug him into this scenario was not something I will regret.

The irony, that manager stopped by my liquor job after they got off work. If only I could drink away the previous shift instead of providing the escape to my primary job's reluctant coworkers.

I suppose I should mention that I decided to drink Wild Turkey 101 as I watched this anime followed by half a bowl of indica. For those who appreciate my Japanese animation reviews, my going above and beyond to make this post happen needs to result in them passing this blog post around. If not, they are sucking my midweek lifeforce away.

And there is your (hyperbolic) transition to the topic in the title.

Kurozuka: Episodes 1-3

*This blog post was resumed on September 20, 2023.

In twelve century Japan, a member of samurai royalty, Kuro, is on the run from a seemingly demonic rival clan alongside his retainer Benkei. After fending off another attack, Kuro's exhaustion results in the need for shelter. It seems fortunate that Benkei finds a house off in the distance that seems to be occupied. There is a risk of an ambush, but what options do they have?

They arrive to find the only person living there is a woman. The beautiful Kuromitsu takes immediate pity on the two and seems fascinated by Kuro. Benkei requests to stay the night, but Kuromitsu notices Kuro's fever and offers the two board until he is well. There is just one stipulation. She lives in the backroom of the house. Be it privacy or embarrassment over the state of the room, the two samurai are not allowed to enter it.

The next morning, Benkei leaves to find a friendly village to find medicine for his master. While he searches, under Kuromitsu's watch, Kuro slowly recovers. It maybe Florence Nightingale syndrome, but the host and guest start developing feelings for each other. Sadly, Kuromitsu assures Kuro that hey can never be together.

One night, Kuro awakens to a sense that something is wrong. Following his intuition, he enters Kuromitsu's forbidden room to find her feeding on the blood of a dead man. Before the two can makes sense of what is going on, Kuro's enemies have arrived at the house and severs the right hand of the host. Our protagonist puts up a great fight, but is eventually mortally wounded. Before his foes can finish him, Kuromitsu kills them all with little effort.

Circumstances have obviously changed. Kuromitsu takes Kuro into the forest. She invites him to be at her side...for eternity. Not wanting to die and being infatuated with Kuromitsu, he takes her up on the offer. The two drink each other's blood, and Kuro's wounds rapidly heal. This is good because his attackers have returned, but their leader makes it clear, they are their for the woman.

Kuro fends them off until Benkei returns. As he and Kuromitsu try to assess the situation, Benkei beheads his master.

Being immortal now, Kuro regains consciousness and finds his torso attached to his head. As he searches for his lover, he finds a huge, former metropolis. It is a metropolis that must be at least 800 years younger than the one he knew. Kuromitsu is still his obsession, so regardless of the world he finds himself in, his only goal is to find his lover from centuries prior.

This task will be a greater challenge than he could expect, because it maybe trivial to what is happening to the rest of the world. The Imperial Red Army seems to rule this new Japan. They bare the mark of Kuro's rivals, and they are even more evil than before, eliminating any civilians that inconvenience them. For Kuro, it maybe convenient vengeance. For the resistance, he maybe their only hope.

*This blog post was resumed on September 21, 2023.

Pardon the start-stop nature of the blog. The lesson is to watch the videos on Wednesday and write the post on Thursday. Mondays can be late due to the podcast production. Tuesdays should be dedicated to recovering from Monday. Wednesdays should leave me somewhat recharged.

"Kurozuka" has an enticing premise. It is like "Interview with the Vampire", but centered around action instead of drama, let alone horror. The samurai twist makes it accessible to anime fans and for those wanting something different from their vampire entertainment.

This series was part of a $15 DVD set which I purchased for "Ultraviolet: Code 44", a spinoff of the Milla Jovovich movie. All of the series were productions from the Madhouse animation studio. It is a studio that I was very familiar with, but the entire concept of three, seemingly forgotten series, I thought the studio had been stretched thin. Hell, they sold out to Sony to try and make something worthwhile from a bad movie.

"Kurozuka's" art is not as bold as most of the anime that has made it stateside, and I find that refreshing. It has more of a manga feel instead of shows that have obtained international attention. With that said, there is nothing innovative about it, just comforting.

Unfortunately, when bundled with two other series that feature the same style, I think that hinders its ability to be sold. It just does not look exceptional. And after writing that, the realization that they all have a cyberpunk aesthetic. 39 episodes of the same means that only the "Ultraviolet" apologists would buy this. One would hope that parents have the sense to know anime is not for kids.

This show is not for kids. The violence is too much fun for that, at least in the first two episodes. Once you introduce the innocent, persecuted masses, they hold back at times on the graphic violence. It successfully uses hip effects of the time (Vivid colors during our hero's crazed moments.), but does not innovate. As for the soundtrack, the score and songs are of the time, thus, not something I will go out of my way to download.

Despite not looking or sounding unique, I cannot help but be encouraged by the story. Vampires are an easy concept for me to bite at. (Pun was not intended.) Demons versus samurai never really intrigued me. Maybe that is Eurocentric bias. All of the old, Japanese demon stories that I have come across seem too convoluted, at least when they try to incorporate it with other Japanese-centric genres. It just seems more fun to clash two totally different cultures.

What I found fascinating about "Kurozuka" is that the tale takes the time to establish different time periods. If you like both the feudal and the dystopic setting, this series allows you to have your cake and eat it too.

Now did it do this in the best way possible? Probably not. You do not realize the twist (unless you take into consideration the frantic open credits) until the end of the second episode. They could have taken some pointers from "Highlander: The Series" or anime "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance".

If it was a multiple episode OVA, the surprise of our vampire awakening 800 years later would work. Having a first episode that takes place entirely in the 12th century, it is just another vampire show. All it would have taken was a cyberpunk intro to let us know what the hero is currently dealing with. A clever transition to a flashback, and you have fried gold.

"Kurozuka" is a unique premise and an exciting enough series to keep the audience intrigued. It just does not start off correctly to provide intrigue. If you did not buy this as a package (DVD set), I do not know if you would stick around for another vampire cartoon. This may not have worked as a TV show, but a $5 anime collection, it is indeed worthwhile.

Manic Monday: @CMPunk (bka CM Skunk) & The Current Disgruntled's Real Pro-Wrestling Champions

*This blog post was started on September 4, 2023.

I know, the title is a simple association. My attempts to be Penn Jillette clever can be weak at times. But, if you have read "Sock" by Jillette, his little pop song references can be too subtle for their own good.

It is a bit ironic to use the word manic in the blog post title for myself. My head feels like it screwed on fairly well right now. I say that as I wonder if I sent the wrong emoji to a girl that I have been chatting with the past week from Bumble. She has COVID right now, so obviously, to get immediate responses should not be expected. Ghosting has not occurred with this lass, but, has the corona virus ever been used to get out of a date? Times have only been made weirder since the Trump administration killed the study of infectious disease.

These odd times might be getting to me. If I do something that comes off as stupid, I can see a customer losing their cool and insulting me as a customer service representative. Being "felt sorry for" because I wear a mask and am triple boosted by a moron from Tuscola, Illinois (Wouldn't you know that the big city Angie Zindars group up near and Marissa Embry found work), who does not know how to read receipts expecting me to wait patiently on really got on my nerves recently. It makes me consider wearing my lanyard that has my keys to the building around my neck. "Ask me my pronouns," would at least make that cocksucker (Jillette says this word either represents an awful man or an awesome woman.) genuinely uncomfortable.

To be insulted, $25 an hour seems to be a fair wage. That is the price of a lap dance at Big Al's in Peoria, my preferred strip club. Sadly, my friends from that industry can attest to the treatment they receive.

I wonder if I still have any friends in that industry. Perhaps my attempt to out grow Peoria has finally concluded. There are rumors that I have been chasing down about good friends who are still in the industry, but the last couple of visits, there are hardly any girls dancing on stage (Two shows in one hour was the rate last time.). To the Al's credit, a double Johnny Walker Black on the rocks only costs $12 before 2 am on Sundays.

I have kind of scattered my mind talking about employment. But after this weekend in wrestling, the transition between my employment and that industry is fairly easy.

Pinterest @nsvos92

The Current Disgruntled's Real Pro-Wrestling Champions

Title Histories from April 16, 2023 Forward.

Before I get going, I kind of wish that Cody Rhodes would have defeated Roman Reigns back at WrestleMania XXXIX. If I would have known that asshole CM Punk would try to claim that he was undeservingly stripped of the AEW World Championship, he may have been able to claim the DRCW Modern Poser Championship.

I was working (obviously) on Saturday, September 2, when CM Punk was terminated from All Elite Wrestling. Not wanting to deal with the crowd (and maybe not spending money so extravagantly), resulted in me deciding to watch the show from home. If my little brother was more forthcoming that he was attending the show, my decision would have been different. No date for Monday (which she has since responded to this morning's text), energy was not something I would need for today.

When I found out that was his plan, we discussed Punk a bit. Basically, I determined that he was the most insincere person in the wrestling industry, dating all the way back to 2011. Returning to WWE after the pipe bomb promo essentially ruined indie wrestling until the Bullet Club was formed. Lets face it, it was Being the Elite starting in the middle of 2016 that made Americans look for WWE alternatives. Maybe Jeff Jarrett started that ball rolling in 2015 by allowing for the American broadcast of Wrestle Kingdom 9, but having dealt with a friend who just would not put the effort to find indie wrestling, I do not give that much weight.

Punk should have stayed away from WWE until he worked somewhere else. WWE could not afford that. Punk knew this and took a payday and headaches for it. He was right to walk out of WWE, but he had no intention to put in any effort to save the business like he implied when returning to WWE in the first place. If anything, "The Art of Wrestling" podcast was an attempt to burn television wrestling down to benefit the UFC. When he realized he had to pay to do that, it resulted in him throwing his best friend under the bus.

I did not care if CM Punk ever returned to wrestling. Was I happy that he did? Yes. It showed how influential AEW was becoming. But did I feel like it was a slap in the face of all the indie talent he spat on when I was very active in the business? Yes. Did I expect him to continue doing that? Yes. Did I want him to be the face of the company? Fuck no.

He was a man who thought the business should revolve around him. Great matches is the reason that I watch AEW Collision. A man who has never been humble a day in his life deserves no eyes on him.

After all of this venting, I guess it is a good thing that Reigns went over in April's main event. We can forget that the Real World Championship ever existed.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: "Another Earth", Another Narnia, Another Thor

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 134: "Another Earth", Another Narnia, Another Thor

”Another Earth”, Another Narnia, Another Thor

Help NinetyForChill: The #Podcast get away from paywalls by subscribing to "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss".

CatBusRuss is doing his best to overcome exhaustion. Fan Expo Chicago calls for exploration means there was no time for relaxation. Our host has worked himself sick, so he felt lucky to get in three movies since returning from Rosemont. And after starting the week with his Netflix DVD rental, "Another Earth", getting up the energy to watch 1979's "The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe" and 2022's "Thor: Love and Thunder" should be considered an accomplishment.

These three movies are all worthwhile. "Another Earth" is science fiction that challenges the genre's demand for visual effects. The adaptation of the first "Chronicle of Narnia" is an interesting attempt to sneak Christianity into schools. And while avoiding films in the franchise that are based around a new characters, Russ has enjoyed diving into Phase 4 of the MCU.

But all of these features present challenges to enjoy them. There is a very dour premise with the indie film. The cartoon features questionable character designs that make you wonder why they did not stick to their "Charlie Brown" style. And you can see why there are three credited editors on the Marvel movie. It is definitely going to be a one flick movie this week for the CatBus. His strength must be regained.

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CatBusRuss) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

Pinterest @oh_magdalena

*Blog post started on August 20, 2023.

Sundays are my only day off from my two jobs, and I am doing my best to just recover from the past couple of weeks. Vacations never seem to be too relaxing for me.

The last one where I could have just chilled out was in August of 2021. Even then, I chose not to. There was a trip to Milwaukee to catch AEW television. It was only a couple of days on the road, but I think I may have also visited my folks as well. That may have only been a handful of days of work, but the point is, I like to make something of everyday. This concept still rings true, so a little frustrated dealing with a head cold when my little niece still has a second birthday to celebrate two hours from me.

Perhaps I should have skipped seeing RiffTrax live when I could have had an evening off. Team Shrug Emoji (or whatever it is called until Vicky is back) knew I was not going to make it because of my "need" to see Mike, Bill, and Kevin riff "Rad". Instead, getting rid of business cards was my priority.

So many were obtained at Fan Expo Chicago, and I wanted them to be easy for me to find, that they forced out three of my "Ninety For Chill" cards from my case. Thus, a couple of bars were visited after a show where I was sipping on Wild Turkey 101. That is some intense bourbon to be swigging from a flask.

Actually, a trio of bars were visited. It was only 9:15 pm when I got to Downtown Champaign, so I tried to see if I could catch my team before they left. No luck there, but the post game crew was present. Too bad I am not one to break up conversations when I arrive. If you are having a good time, why would I want to interfere just to proclaim that I am here? This attitude did not help me while I was on the road for wrestling. How can interrupting people be polite.

Needless to say, when I left The Blind Pig to see if the crew had made it to Quality (Get a fucking sign and decor.), I was a bit maudlin. Without the leader of the squad, people seem fine calling it a night after eating bar fare from Esquire.

It is fine pub fare, just disappointing because there is a greater menu at the bar next door who closes their kitchen sooner. I guess I just need to visit them next Thursday before trivia to feel more accomplished. There I go again, my quest to feel accomplished. Grabbing cheap lime vodka and chicken fries at Meijer's before they closed did not quite fulfill that.

And perhaps the feeling of failure carried over to Friday. After I got through my frustrating electronic store shift (Welcome back you, "How did you get accepted to a Big Ten school" fucks.), I got ready to face them and their lack of IDs at my liquor store job. When I arrived, all seemed normal. Then I looked at the register schedule to recall that it was my night off.

Having gotten to bed early and having enough staff at my morning job made the two-shift Saturday fairly easy. And I am currently on a 36-hour break between jobs, but I fear that I will get stir-crazy. Thankfully, Eva is looking after me. She is on my lap right now as I type, so I best accept that I am not going anywhere. But half off the menu ends tonight at Domino's.

This is what I get for trying to apply for a Walmart credit card so that I can finance my oil changes instead of deal with Mom's guilt trips. Does Eva not know I need the challenge of being snot-filled while eating pizza? It is like she was inspired by the White Witch of Narnia. I guess the Children's Television Workshop's adaptation of the first chronicle was more influential than I thought.

How is that for a transition?

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: "Arena (1989)" - An Evil Penguin in Sloth's Corner & Raimi's "Doctor Strange"

 Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast...with @CatBusRuss

Episode 132: "Arena (1989)" - An Evil Penguin in Sloth's Corner & Raimi's "Doctor Strange"

”Arena (1989)” - An Evil Penguin in Sloth’s Corner & Raimi’s ”Doctor Strange”

Tues, Aug 8, 2023

Help NinetyForChill: The #Podcast get away from paywalls by subscribing to "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss".

CatBusRuss returns to his blogging roots. This episode is dedicated to "Arena" from 1989. Our host wrote a review for this Charles Band produced feature back in 2019, and it caught the attention of one of the premier nerdy minds in the Champaign/Urbana metroplex, Tim Bates of Evil Penguin Games. Tim has had a big influence on his fellow retail geeks, like friend of the show Kodiak Thompson, by exposing them to media like the "John Dies at the End" franchise.

Tim and Russ have essentially been working together the past six years, but it was not until the CatBus shared his review of this feature on Facebook did the two expand their conversations from complaining about customers to movies. "Arena" was one of Tim's favorite movies growing up and at one time he owned a VHS copy of it. As for our host's relationship with the film, it took him 30 years to get around to it.

His fascination with gaudy, low-budget faire had only started in 2009. But he remembers growing up on early eighties "Star Wars" knock offs. Add in a tournament fighting element, and Russ wishes his cinema snobbiness had passed decades prior.

This is not to say that Russ has totally abandoned being a cinematic elitist. He still is a tired of a lot of big-budget studio films, but he knows dissing the mere concept of them may not be fair. Russ liked the first three phases of the MCU, so despite the fatigue towards the series, the fear of being too judgmental means he must continue with MCTuesday. For this installment, the feature he takes on is Sam Raimi's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness".

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CatBusRuss) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

It is late. This time typing in the wee morning hours was not my intention. The podcast that this blog's title is based on is still five days from being released. I have just fallen into some strange circumstances, and prepping this blog just happens to be the best use of my time.

I am actually at my primary retail job. The shift leader who was supposed to be making sure the project team that corporate brought in was under the weather, so someone had to fill in. To his credit, he was here when I arrived after a five-hour shift at my secondary gig, I obtained a change of clothes, and picked up some dinner. What a trooper?

I feel like a jerk for not immediately crossing the street because of his dedication. If only I would have known that another member of leadership was not filling in for him, my instinct would have been to just leave one job for the other. The boredom would have been absolutely torturous after I got done with my morning duties that I "traded" shifts for. Sitting around listening to podcasts and not doing anything is only asking for me to fight off sleep.

And since the business is closed, I would be left starving. You cannot advertise that there are people working here, so ordering out was not going to be an option.

I suppose I could go and find some "Goo Gone" to clean up the tape from old signs, but I cannot let myself be the only one who does the unnecessary tasks in the place. Those tasks will probably still be done tonight anyway. There is probably three hours, at the very least, before the night ends, and this blog is not going to take up that much time.

Plus, writing this blog out kind of lets me feel like a bad boy. Blogging on the clock, we know where that got me with the former Marine Bank. You would think I had learned my lesson.

Speaking of lessons, if you have to bank with Clock Tower Community Bank and live in the Champaign/Urbana area, do so at the one located in the Shoppes of Knollwood (2229 S Neil in Champaign). It is best to avoid the two-faced management that may have been held over. I think I have seen Angie Zindar's van parked there whenever I am heading to Moe's or Slim Chicken's.

I usually use the past blog post as a template for the current post. This is where I throw out a pitch to be a guest on "Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss". It seems like I may have a couple of guests lined up for August 22 and 29, but no certainty. If you want to be a guest on this podcast. October will be horror themed, so do not think that you need to rush to be on the show. Send an email with your requests/demands to russthebus07@gmail.com. 

So what's been up since I last wrote? My trivia team, ~\?/~, had a respectable performance at #FreePubTrivia's Tourney of Champions in Chicago. Working two jobs with questionable air conditioning and lots of day drinking at that event resulted in exhaustion/dehydration puking, but the day was already a win, so I really cannot complain. The anecdote about the post event suffering is either for sympathy or schadenfreude, take your pick. 

Otherwise, my time was dedicated to the past podcast, "Low Budget Movie Demons & Undead Angels". It was a fun(ish) assessment of my appreciation for no budget and exploitation cinema. "Killjoy" and "Terminator 2 (a.k.a. "Shocking Dark" and "Alienators")" were tough, but the shot on video "Zombie Apocalypse (2010)" and "Zombies Anonymous" were still worthwhile with these rewatches.

What I should have made time to rewatch was Kevin Tenney's "Brain Dead (2007)". I bring that up because my guest for this soon to be published podcast (speaking in past tense), is Tim Bates of Evil Penguin Games. We thought about covering "Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-A-Rama" at the end of our "Night of the Demon's" episode. If we made that parallel, the horror humor of "Brain Dead" would have been a nice warm up.

But, "Ninety For Chill" is about worthwhile 90-minute movies (as my ad read from Chris Hardwick states). The best bet would be to cover the feature that I reviewed years ago that peaked Tim's interest, Charles Band presents "Arena".

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: Men in Black with the SMarshian + MCTues’s Black Widow

 Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast...with @CatBusRuss

Episode 129: Men in Black with the SMarshian + MCTues’s Black Widow

Men in Black with the SMarshian + MCTues’s Black Widow (PG-13)

Monday Jul 17, 2023

Help NinetyForChill: The #Podcast get away from paywalls by subscribing to "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss".

Sam Marsh is a lot like the aliens who seek political sanctuary in the "Men in Black" franchise. CatBusRuss thinks that is a fair thing to say because this is his first podcast guest who is from the Mastodon social media platform. Most people consider that to be another planet. Our guest is just like a Martian minding his own business and make a living on the Internet (vis-a-vis Earth), but has a lot to offer this planet. He feels there is no need to draw attention to himself.

But attention should be drawn to the first "Men in Black" feature from 1997. It is one of the few blockbuster smashes from the Nineties that is under 100 minutes in length. Our host was developing his cynicism for bloated movies at that time, so he just assumed it would not qualify for the podcast. He had not really given the rest of a franchise a chance. That is not really fair, so thank you Smarshian for bringing it back the CatBus to a simpler cinematic time.

There is a lot of audio foreplay in this episode. With MCU Next Tuesday being promised last week, Russ had to give "Black Widow" a watch. That is just something that can be denied. "Men in Black Widow", that could be a Marvel crossover event, or a Marvel porno parody.

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CatBusRuss) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

It is late, I guess this is going to be a common theme for my blog series. If you check out the podcast feed, you will see that I have just published my episode about Peoria's edition of Quad Con. So at the very least, there is going to be plenty of content to write about.

If you are questioning my devotion to movie watching, I assure you that I am keeping up on that. The next episode of "Ally's Accessories Shop Trash Feature Revue" has been in the works since the beginning of June. Other episodes have impeded it, like Andrew Tiede and my Sam Elliot Tribute, but I think I will be manage to produce it for the August 1st episode.

Provided that I do not get side tracked by rewatching movies to reassess my movie taste. The "K" flick was so awful, but still managed a trilogy. It felt criminal that film could gather such support while the films I loved through Drunken Zombie and the Peoria Indie Theater introductions are hard to find. I do not want to think myself to be too harsh a critic and aspiring screenwriter (Request a treatment for "Main Event of the Dead with an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.), so I had to review at least one of those movies.

And after Quad Con, some suggestions from The Cinema Snob could delay things further. But that was the week after the "Men in Black" podcast. I best address this later in this blog.

If you want a valid reasons for delays, be a guest on this podcast. Send an email with your requests/demands to russthebus07@gmail.com. Sunday, July 30th is open as is Monday evening on July 31st.

So what's been up since I last wrote? I have been staying out of trouble I suppose. The "Sisu" podcast being turned around so quickly felt like a big win, so I tried to relax a bit. There was a little play of "AEW Fight Forever" but trivia was the most fun I had. It might be the activity that I need to focus the most on with the Free Pub Trivia Tournament of Champions occurring this upcoming Saturday (July 29).

It actually kind of feels weird having a decent circle of friends. Of course, out team captain is expecting a son two weeks after the tourney, so how will I keep myself amused? Fortunately, other past podcast guests need to get into productive modes, so we should be able to be set for the rest of the year with any luck.