Godzilla Minus One, Die Hard, The Abyss, & The Iron Claw

Sometime on New Year's Day I will post something lengthier where the other events of December will be discussed but before people (potentially) have plays for New Year's Eve that will begin soon, it was time for me to mention the films I saw theatrically this month. I did not get the best night's sleep last night; otherwise, this would have been all written out then posted a few hours earlier.

First, I went to a theater nearby I hadn't been to in a long while for a meal and a screening of Godzilla Minus One. The Cinepolis at Hamlin in the southern area of Winter Garden offers meals and they aren't the cheapest yet at least I had good food as probably the best Godzilla movie ever was shown. It was a serious version of Gojira which was set right after World War II as the focus was on a flawed young soldier turned civilian and his ragtag group of pals as Godzilla was an utterly terrifying & unstoppable monster. It was like a Hollywood blockbuster of old-meaning good, rather than the typical mediocrity or worse we get now-and actually is as good as you may have heard.

The Abyss was screened for one night only on a random Wednesday. I had never seen that 1989 James Cameron movie before. Partially it was due to how for unknown reasons, the best disc release that and True Lies have had is DVD. However, in March both those movies will finally come out on 4K UHD disc and this screening was a way to flex how the film looks & sounds remastered. As for the movie itself, I understood why I saw some comparisons to Christopher Nolan's Interstellar... except The Abyss was better than that. It was Cameron as his most sentimental & heartfelt as he presented an anti-war movie which was also a love story while also providing the expected thrills in a great underwater setting. There was no better way to experience a first-time viewing, in other words.

Die Hard was released across the country for 2 weeks; do you believe that came out 35 years ago? It may be my favorite film so even though it wasn't my first or even second theatrical experience, that had to be watched. It's still incredible.

The Iron Claw was a few days ago. As a giant pro wrestling buff who is pretty knowledgeable about its history, of course I need to check out a big release of the tragic Von Erich story. Those that don't know, the trailers will not fully prepare you for how full of tragedy it is. Now, the timeline was at times fudge but the one big inaccuracy: The Iron Claw is missing an entire brother, Chris. That decision was literally done to not make the movie even sadder but it's still not right to me. Otherwise, the movie did present many of the details big and small right... Kerry's major injury and how that was kept secret from the public for years was true, as absurd as it may seem for those that didn't know. Overall, it was very good and as long as you aren't averse to films that may make you teary-eyed, it's a strong recommendation.

Hopefully everyone has a nice New Year's Eve even if you're like me and the plans are to stay home & watch movies and/or YouTube videos. I always mention how the year flies by too fast & had its ups and downs. Well, 2023 was more of the same. Still, it wasn't a bad year and here's to hoping that '24 is even better.

Thanksgiving, Pollo Campero, Mountain Dew Game Fuel & Skyline Chili

The past few weeks actually weren't too terribly eventful, but that is OK. Thanksgiving (the holiday) was spent out of town; that went well and I was even happy to help someone out with something. Thanksgiving (the movie) was watched by me at an AMC as I liked the faux trailer that played during Grindhouse; can you believe that movie-well, pair of movies plus those fake trailers-came out way back in 2007? The movie could be nitpicked yet overall I was still entertained by this 80's-style slasher that just had an over-the-top amount of bloody gore. As that was exactly what I expected from Eli Roth, no complaints there. The crowd I saw it with also helped w/ the experience; they were a small yet boisterous bunch. Their reactions was what Roth would have wanted so that made it fun. After all, it's a movie that has a cat in a scene but thankfully does NOT kill the feline; in fact, the villain literally pets the cat then feeds it! Note that it was the cat of someone that they just killed...

One day I made the long drive down to Kissimmee; it was to try a fast food restaurant that was discovered via the “interwebs”; it was Pollo Campero, literally a chain from Guatemala. As I've known for years now, many Hispanics live in and around Kissimmee, so I had a long wait there before receiving my order. Thankfully, that food was quite good; if that location was closer... the chicken nuggets I had looked quite similar to Chick-fil-A, except they tested better than at the place always closed each Sunday. Another restaurant visited was a Skyline Chili; last year I ate at one in Clearwater and since then sometimes purchased their version of chili that can be found in the freezer aisle of some grocery stores. No complaints about the new location that just opened at Flamingo Crossing; it's a shopping plaza a mile west of an entrance to Walt Disney World property. Speaking of Disney, one day I spent it at a crowded Magic Kingdom. OK, I wasn't there that long but still had a good time despite occasional rainy weather.

There otherwise isn't too much else to share. I was glad that Mountain Dew's limited edition Game Fuel returned (this time to advertise two different videogames) as I always enjoyed the Citrus Cherry flavor and the new Mystic Punch flavor is also pretty good. As most probably hold zero interest in my opinions of soda, I'll bid adieu now, but not before mentioning that the plan is to write something at the end of 2023. December will be more eventful than November... there will be more than a few theatrical experiences, among other items for discussion.

Killers of the Flower Moon, Silver Moon Drive-In, Soarin' Over California, Auto Shows, & Halloween

In the past several weeks, there's been some interesting experiences for sure. One day I was at Epcot; the main reason for returning there was that for the time being as part of Disney the company celebrating its 100^th anniversary (believe me, they are making it a big deal), the Soarin' attraction brought back its original gimmick of Soarin' Over California, where they only show footage from that state instead of around the world. I shouldn't say “nostalgia” but that's what it was as it's been around 8 years since I had that experience. Otherwise, a lot of my time was returning to various locations, restaurants or otherwise. People likely don't want to hear about me having dinner at a Hooters one night so I won't dwell on that. Instead, I'll first discuss movies.

One long event was spent w/ Killers of the Flower Moon. It certainly was long and by the end my body was a little restless. Otherwise, it's a great movie about a topic I knew hardly anything about; as everyone else says, Holy Cow, what a performance from Lily Gladstone. Another night I was at Pointe Orlando. I had dinner at a British pub creatively named The Pub; I'd been to their Tampa location years ago and the food was pretty good. After that I saw The Nightmare Before Christmas in 4DX. That's a wacky gimmick where the seats move around and there are various effects all around you timed to the action on screen. There are reasons why I've rarely gone to it but it was fun to see the movie that way and in 3D to boot. One afternoon I was at an outlet mall—the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets, to be exact. I hadn't been there in ages; afterwards I ate at the nearby Saltgrass Steak House, a place where I've always had tasty food.

A LONG night I had was on October 20^th. For the first time since 2018 I was at the Silver Moon Drive-In, located in the outskirts of Lakeland. They showed 5 classic Universal Horror films in a row. They were:

The Bela Lugosi Dracula

Frankenstein

The Bride of Frankenstein

The Wolf Man

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

All but the last one I had viewed in the past. It was wild to see those movies in such a setting, where an employee was dressed as Claude Rains in The Invisible Man. I got there at 7 as the event began at 7:30. It did not end until 2:30 in the morning, so yes most left by the time the final movie ended and heck, a good amount left after Bride. It was a great experience.

Halloween itself wasn't too eventful, although Spooky Season is something I've grown to appreciate even more in recent years. The last event I'll mention is this past Saturday; it was only the previous weekend I even knew that's when the Central Florida International Auto Show was being held at the Orange County Convention Center. Various auto manufactures (although not all by any means) bring some-although not all-of their new models for people to look at. It was nice to sit briefly in some of them, like a Ford Mustang or a Ford Bronco, and for the hardcore auto fans, the one model BMW presented that wasn't an electric vehicle (I see what they're focusing on in the future) was an Alpina version of an SUV. Think of Alpina like their version of Mercedes/AMG... both were separate companies who mainly modified a particular brand then that brand purchased them.

I'll return... sometime. It may not be until December, but it will depend on how the rest of November goes.

Expend4bles, Stop Making Sense, The Exorcist: Believer, The Creator, Smoke & Donuts, & Spirit Halloween

Before I discuss what films I've watched theatrically as of late, my activities on Friday the 13^th will be mentioned. Dinner was had at Smoke & Donuts, a low-frills establishment in Orlando which combines BBQ and donuts... that is one heck of an idea. Both were good; I then was going to stop somewhere else before heading home but plans changed so instead I went to the Oviedo Mall for the first time in ages. They have some unique stores yet it's still not a place I'll visit often due to the distance & tolls. 

That said, one of those places is a used media store which is going out of business so I picked up some CD's for only a buck each. That includes Jim Croce, The Doobie Brothers and a 2 disc best-of from Jimmy Buffett; the latter I was surprised was still available. Also, for the first time ever I went into a Spirit Halloween store. It amused me; in case anyone knew & wondered, yes I did see last year's Spirit Halloween: The Movie because it co-starred Rachael Leigh Cook! It was average but if you have tween kids like those who were the leads in the movie, it should be a fine gateway horror film until they can watch the more visceral genre efforts in the future.

Speaking of tweens, while at the mall (which has a Regal Cinemas) I chuckled when I saw a quartet of young girls obviously excited, dressed in a particular way, about to enter the Regal; it was obvious what they were going to see. I imagine they had a grand old time but I knew beforehand that was going to do such boffo business, I saw all my movies before that came out. To do this in chronological order:

Stop Making Sense: This was the 1984 Talking Heads concert film from Jonathan Demme. It got re-released this year after getting restored. I knew various songs from the band yet had never seen it before; now, I understood why this was such a blast, between seeing it on an IMAX screen, the presentation, the songs, and the stage show where David Byrne especially was sweaty w/ all the gesticulating he did.

Expend4bles: Talk about going from the penthouse to the outhouse! The first two films were a lot of fun while the third was lame. However, number 4 was just putrid. The story was embarrassing, although not as much as the “special effects” that looked atrocious. Megan Fox I've never understood the appeal of; she has had so much plastic surgery, she barely looks human now, which ironically also described her “performance.” I couldn't believe how bad that was. The same goes for...

The Exorcist: Believer: The original will forever be a classic, the second is at least a hilarious, bizarre sort of bad while the third is flawed yet has some great moments. Believer, though... what a mess the plot was. Worst of all, an Exorcist film wasn't even scary. It even made Ellen Burstyn look terrible.

The Creator: At least this was far more enjoyable. The plot is technically original, even if its ideas are familiar and there are more than a few cliches. It avoided many of the modern movie tropes I'm not a fan of and looked great for its relative low budget. I enjoyed the film more than many, to be honest; I'm happy to be in the minority here.

The rest of the month there isn't too much on the agenda. I'll return sometime between real late October and early November.

Local Pro Wrestling, Lingo's Fish & Loaves, The Knot, Dick Butkus & Mountain Dew Vibe

During the weekend I will post another entry where chiefly the theatrical films I've witnessed in the past few weeks will be discussed. For now, I will spend some time discussing professional wrestling. Way back when I was a big fan, watching it often & attending plenty of local independent wrestling events all around the area. Then, I suddenly stopped. It's a long story: among other things, the scene changed, some deranged people were involved w/ the local scene (still are, sadly) and it was best to just stay away from those mentally ill individuals, my life had some stressors at the time & by the time that was settled, I was happy to not attend as many shows.

I hadn't gone to an independent show in years but someone gave me an invitation to attend one that was literally down the road for me so I went. It was in an open-air (but covered) building at the new Showcase of Citrus attraction. Besides citrus groves and a store that sells a variety of items, other activities are available. That includes a petting zoo and other animals in an enclosed space. Even for me & some of the strange venues I've seen wrestling at, it was a first to pass by geese and llamas on the way to the show, and kangaroos & an emu on the way back to the car!

As for the show itself, it was almost all area talent with the one name being... the former WWE wrestler known then as Enzo Amore. He was fired due to allegations made by his ex, which he denied so who knows for certain. He was a fan favorite, at least. While I only knew some of the talent, the action was decidedly more retro than what you see on TV from either AEW or WWE. The bad guys worked the crowd so they would boo them, for example. I haven't watched modern wrestling aside from a match or two in ages; it's still followed by me online & in podcasts so I know what's going on. The WWE's product is stale, everyone wrestles the same and the presentation is just off-putting. AEW is chaos & “choreographed dance routines”... no, I'm not Jim Cornette (I don't hate short people or automatically reject most women's wrestling) but it does not appeal to me whatsoever. Thus, I was happy that this local pro wrestling show (literally called “Local Pro Wrestling”) wasn't that and instead was simpler and best of all, wasn't a marathon; another problem w/ modern wrestling is that all shows go on for way too long so it becomes an endurance test. This in contrast started on time and was only 2 hours & 15 minutes long.

I did not stick around for long after the show (that's on me and my “great social skills”) but it was still a fun time. Who knows when I'll go to another show period; however, eventually I'll go attend another & it won't be years until that happens. Otherwise, the past few weeks haven't been too eventful. I did get a haircut recently; yes, it was much-needed. I was saddened by the Dick Butkus news even if his playing days were long before I was born. I have hardly watched the Chicago Bears even when given the opportunity to as they've been atrocious for almost the entire past year. Before unexpectedly winning last Thursday, the team had a 14 game losing streak, after all.

As for food, no new places were visited & people probably don't want to hear about how w/ family we went to a Golden Corral one evening. I did attend my town's tradition of having food trucks downtown the first Friday evening of each month. I hadn't gone to one of those since Mom was still alive—it's been years. At Lingo's Fish & Loaves I ordered... the chicken tenders and fries, because I am me. Those were good, although the giant cheesy garlic knots I got at The Knot were pretty darn tasty. Finally, recently I made my way to a Which Wich; the last time was ages ago. None are that close to me anymore but I passed by one on the way back from something so the stop was made. Besides a sandwich that was fine, for the first time was their exclusive flavor Mountain Dew Vibe. It's lemonade-flavored; yeah, it isn't too different from regular Mountain Dew yet was still tasty.

To reiterate, in a few days I'll post something new and at that point I will be caught up with everything worth sharing in public.

Coca-Cola Y3000, Stetson Hatters, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, A Haunting in Venice & EPCOT

It was time to do one of these again; in part, it was because last time (due to discussing a few deaths) I neglected to mention a few details I should have. Thus, I have a lot to say but at least now I will be caught up. To speak chronologically, I visited EPCOT last month chiefly to use my new MagicBand. It works and at least lights up when you're admitted, but one of the few uses for MagicBand+ is scanning it by some gold statues which subsequently plays a small snippet of audio... except that I learned from others that you have to wave your wrist around like a buffoon for it to even register! Perhaps that's why there aren't more uses for a MagicBand+ yet... Also last month I went to a new restaurant in Kissimmee called Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar. There needed to be more people working at the bar itself but otherwise I can't complain about the joint.

Now, onto my September. The most interesting event of that month so far was my attending a live football game. It was in DeLand to see the Stetson Hatters play against the Webber Wildcats. I'd seen Stetson play before... albeit the last time was way back in 2017. Since then their municipal stadium that they share with the city's high school had been renovated and for certain it is an improvement. The first half was dominated by Stetson yet in the second Webber played better (or maybe it was also that Stetson played worse) so the final score was 38-28. In hindsight I should have returned there much sooner.
 

I haven't visited any new restaurants this month, although at least I went to one or two I hadn't been to in months. As for movies, I saw some theatrically. The Equalizer 3 was a good time; I've liked all three in the franchise even if none of them were even 4 star films, let alone 5. At least they were all fun. The same goes for all the Kenneth Branagh Hercule Poirot movies. A Haunting in Venice was perhaps the best of the three as it was a darker more introspective tale; in the trailers they played up the horror elements, which were only a small part of what was otherwise a standard mystery tale. The Nun II was a fun time; I liked the first more than most, in large part due to its strong Gothic vibes. The sequel doesn't have as strong vibes although at least the scares were better. It became nonsense, but fun nonsense.

Finally, I tried two limited edition sodas that came out a few days ago. It is now a tradition for Mountain Dew to release a VooDEW flavor around Halloween. This time around the company announced the flavor is tied to a specific candy. Having tried it and reading scuttlebutt elsewhere, it's not a candy I necessarily tie to trick or treating but maybe I'm mistaken; at least it tastes fine. The same goes for Coca-Cola Y3000. As with their other flavors this year, it is rather out of left field tastes; as for the bizarre name, it is tied to AI, of all things. The flavor was “co-created with AI”, which could mean a lot of things. I know the artwork on the can was created w/ AI; that's controversial now but I'd rather not open that can of worms.

Anyhow, I'll return sometime in October. Not much is on the agenda... yet.

Terry Funk, Bray Wyatt, Jimmy Buffett, The Last Voyage of the Demeter & Colbie's Southern Kissed Chicken

During this Labor Day weekend, I have to discuss some deaths but at the end will be some more positivity. Sadly, last night I heard that someone from my old hometown-who happened to be in my high school class and I chatted with before-passed away; that was a shock.

As for pro wrestling, there have been quite a few old personalities who have passed away in recent times. However, Bray Wyatt was a stunner; he was only 36. What little I saw of him I just never got his persona and his Fiend character was something I loathed. That said, he had several young children so it was still awful. Terry Funk, he is beloved in wrestling and many say he was their all-time favorite. I got to see him AND briefly chat with him in 2003. I still lived in Illinois at the time but was in Florida on vacation. I attended an MLW show in Orlando where he wrestled another legend, Abdullah the Butcher. I bought a shirt and took a picture with him; I need to find the latter as I want to post that on social media. Him passing away in his late 70's wasn't an eye-opener as he had been ill for awhile. Jimmy Buffett, that did surprise as who knew he was sick? I only know some songs but he knew how to make money via branding and I do like his Margaritaville restaurants.

Speaking of restaurants, a new one was tried last weekend. In the Northeast they have a few places known as Colbie's Southern Kissed Chicken; one in Kissimmee was opened a little while ago yet it's in an inconvenient spot for me so that explains the delay. It is rated as less than 4 out of 5 on Google and I would have preferred the music in there not to be so loud. That said, I'm not sure why the rating isn't that high as the food actually was pretty tasty.

The one film I saw theatrically was The Last Voyage of the Demeter. The film definitely had some flaws & did not need to be a hair under 2 hours long. That said, it had a nice atmosphere, was Gothic at times & there were some decent scares. September, I'll go to a few theatrical movies; otherwise there isn't much on my agenda... yet.

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, Talk to Me, Meg 2: The Trench & Cake

Due to the weather down here this summer (after starting off mild, this summer has been even hotter than normal), there is not too much to discuss this time. A few restaurants & other eateries have been visited for the first time in awhile; this includes Bruster's Real Ice Cream-always a treat-and one day when I picked up someone from the Orlando-Sanford airport, I was briefly in Daytona Beach to visit Buc-ee's and have lunch at a Larry's Giant Subs; it's a shame they haven't had an Orlando location in years as it's a place I still like eating at. Speaking of food, something I've done a few time in '23: make myself a cake. I'm no gourmet but if I knew it was surprisingly easy to make something that tastes fine even if I mixed it all together... it's something I should have tried much sooner.

Otherwise, I'll mention the films I've seen theatrically. First was Talk to Me, a horror film from Australia I had no knowledge of until it received buzz like a week before it came out. Honestly, most of the heavily-hyped genre efforts in the past decade I sometimes avoid, as the ones I have seen just come off as haughty and pretentious, which I don't love. Most are massively overrated, which sometimes means “atrocious.” Talk to Me wasn't atrocious; at the same time, it was yet another modern horror movie all about grief and loss. That's a tiresome cliché by now. Plus, the movie lost me with its entire premise, as it's way too absurd to believe. Heck, there is even a subplot over the lead girl having lost her mother; you'd think that would get a reaction out of me... but nope.

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem was due to nostalgia. For a few years as a kid, I was a big Turtles fan & loved the cartoon. I even saw the first two movies theatrically. However, after that I wasn't such a fan any longer. The animation style and the score/soundtrack was the highlight. It's a shame that the story is incredibly tired in 2023 as it has many tropes done many times by now. Far worse is that this has “modern humor”, which to me is another term for “unfunny humor.” If you love rambling BS, characters talking over each other, awkwardness and modern references, then this is for you! As it's not for me, it's a movie I was disappointed in.

Finally, Meg 2: The Trench. I saw the first one sitting right by an awesome family that included a dad who treated the movie like it was an MCU premiere. The crowd I saw this with I didn't love as much... yet I have to admit that a surprising amount did throw away their trash as they left so I can't get TOO miffed. Also, The Meg was something that Mom actually was a fan of-more than me, to be honest; she saw it theatrically once then saw it at home a few times. Hopefully she would have liked the sequel. My opinion: it is utter nonsense and kind of dumb; yet, it was dumb fun which at least wasn't pretentious and has action setpieces I can laugh with... or perhaps at. It was also watched in 3D, which only added a layer of fun as some gags were meant for that format.

I'll be back sometime in a few weeks; who knows when for certain. I should hopefully have more colorful tales to share.

UFO's, The Mongolorian, X & MagicBand+

To catch up and mention what else has happened in July, let me mention one event I should have brought up last time: the night that I was in Kissimmee at Joe's Crab Shack w/ that peculiar bartender, this was after I spent some time at the Mecum Auto Auctions event on the East side of town. It wasn't their big January event w/ several thousand vehicles but they've started doing a smaller July event that still has at least 1,000 vehicles so it it worth visiting. No vehicles that are worth seven figures but there still were some nice ones.

There's only a few new events to mention. Before that, I'll mention that July 25^th was a melancholy day; it doesn't seem like that it's been 3 years since Mom passed away on that date, but it's true. I dealt w/ that the best I could. As for me mentioning a UFO... for a few hours last Sunday I technically saw an object in the sky whose origins were unknown to me. It was a light flying slowly, then suddenly a big plume of smoke came out of the craft. It wasn't until a few hours later and I searched Google correctly that I knew what that object was: one of Elon Musk's rockets! I had no clue one of those would be launched Sunday night soon after the sun set; no comment on Musk himself, although Twitter changing its name to X makes me wonder if my theory of Musk buying Twitter to ruin it is a theory that has merit...

Anyhow, two days before that I was in Orlando; I visited a few places then ended up at a new restaurant: The Mongolorian. It was a place that had a long-delayed opening; so long that it was obvious the name came from when The Mandalorian was more popular than it was now. Yes, they serve Asian food; it's not like BD's Mongolian Grill, a place in Lakeland I've visited before. Instead, you order at a touchscreen and wait a bit before it's served to you. The dish I had was fine; none of the dishes were named after anything related to Star Wars. That's a wise idea, as Disney is still rather litigious.

Speaking of Disney, a few days ago I was at the Animal Kingdom. Besides not having been there in awhile, the chief purpose of the visit was to get a MagicBand+ to replace the old regular MagicBand I've had for a few years. The only reason for the upgrade is that what I had was literally starting to fall apart. That one featured Darth Vader; this time there was a far larger selection and it wasn't an easy choice. Ultimately, what I purchased was a gray + which celebrated 100 years of Disney. It featured Mickey & Minnie Mouse in suits... along with Chip & Dale, randomly. It also features an Art Deco design, which is pretty neat to me. + bands are ones you have to charge up as it has increased functionality, although most of it won't be of much use to me, to be frank. Maybe in the future there will be more—but who knows, with all the turmoil Disney in general has dealt w/ in recent years.

I may be back as soon as in about a week; if nothing else, a few movies would be discussed.

The Dial of Destiny, Dead Reckoning Part One, Mountain Dew Baja Blast & Jojo's Shake Bar

Since the last time a few weeks ago, there isn't too much to write about, but I'll manage. In terms of restaurants, most of the ones I went to were me returning to them for the first time in awhile. This includes the Texas Roadhouse and a Joe's Crab Shack, the latter of which was a location new to me in Kissimmee. That place had shrimp that was alright and the bartender was a little weird. That said, it was still an experience that wasn't bad (there WERE ones that were bad, but I won't talk about those) so no complaints.

Two places that were new: yesterday I went to the East side of Orlando to try out the Aussie Grill. That is a quick service place run by Outback so nothing too terribly fancy, yet the food was good. Earlier in the month, I one day went to Pointe Orlando-a place barren compared to what it used to be years ago-as it had a joint known as Jojo's Shake Bar. Get this: it has an 80's and 90's theme (including for some reason showing cartoons of 1980's British cartoon Danger Mouse) so the music was from early 80's through early 2000's; I was more than happy to hear that as I had a shake and-get this-a burger & fries. It was all good so I was happy to visit a place seemingly designed to appeal to me.

Speaking of good, a few weeks ago I purchased some Baja Blast, which is a summer tradition as I always get some when they offer it for a limited time. The two new flavors this year are Passionfruit & Guava. Curious, yet I do like both. Otherwise, things have been on the quiet side. The 4^th of July went fine and I actually saw random people shoot off fireworks near home so that served as entertainment. A few days ago I got a haircut; hold on to your hats but it was NOT needed. Rather, it was because I was e-mailed a coupon for a few dollars off and it expired today. Thus, let me close on the two movies I saw.

Late last month was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The original trilogy was a childhood favorite and I was actually taken to The Last Crusade by Mom as an 8 year old in '89. I think highly of that trilogy... Kingdom of the Crystal Skull less so. Yet, Crystal Skull doesn't look so bad in comparison to Dial of Destiny. It made Indy look like an old grumpy fool which wasn't what I wanted, the lead girl was rather insufferable, and the “adventure” was rather blah aside from the opening segment where Harrison Ford was de-aged. That was the only time it even felt like a proper movie. Admittedly, the movie took a risk in the final act; in recent years, risks that big just don't happen in big blockbusters. Unfortunately, it was just bonkers, really dumb and I couldn't even enjoy such lunacy. Then again, I had no expectations so I wasn't enraged by the end product... just disappointed.

In contrast, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was a blast. The last few movies in that franchise I've really enjoyed but this may have been the most fun. While the action wasn't as incredible as in Fallout, it was still a blast. The story, it was the best (IMO) due to how modern it felt. Part Two-coming out a year from now-may drop the ball and really let me down, but that bridge will be crossed then. I loved it so much, the movie has been watched twice by me already, both on giant screens where the spectacle stood out. Tom Cruise as a person I don't love—him as a movie star is a different story. As I don't watch comic book movies or TV shows, this was my first time experiencing Hayley Atwell... what a fool I am for not seeing anything w/ her before! Yes, her physical beauty is appealing but it was the performance that was the highlight of the entire movie.

I should be back sometime in early August.

Family Visits, Clearwater Beach, Coca Cola Ultimate, Extraction 2 & The Flash

On this lazy Sunday afternoon, there is enough for me to share my activities in the past week plus. In the most interesting few days I've had in several months, one of my sisters and her beau came down here for a few days. I picked them up at the St. Pete/Clearwater airport (after killing some time at the International Plaza shopping center in Tampa) on Saturday the 17^th and from there headed on over to Clearwater Beach. Mainly due to its location right on the beach, a late lunch was had at Palm Pavilion Beachside Grill & Bar, attached to the hotel of the same name.

The shrimp was on the salty side and it took a few minutes to receive the check but by 2023 restaurant standards, it was still a good time w/ a great view. After all, two nights later the family went out to a local restaurant and while my food was tasty, otherwise it was a rotten experience so bad that it turned everyone off. They flew back on the 21^st but on the 20^th, time was spent at Walt Disney World, from the morning to the early evening. Three of the parks were visited and while busier than what we would have all liked, it at least wasn't boiling hot as it usually is in June (after not much of a winter, there's been some milder than usual days this month) & overall, it was a lot of fun having them down here. For the first time in probably two years I was on Disney's Skyliner cabs, which was neat. Sometime in July I'll return to WDW on my own.

Otherwise, not too much else to mention. Recently I purchased Coca Cola's new limited edition flavor, Ultimate; it's based on the League of Legends videogame. Apparently, “Laffy Taffy” is what you're supposed to think when thoughts drift towards that game; that flavor profile was stolen from someone else but that is not an inaccurate description of Ultimate's flavor. Anyhow, I do have two movie recommendations to make, both on Netflix. Extraction 2 is as much fun as the first and even at three hours, the Arnold documentary-yes, about Schwarzenegger-was great. As for a film I don't recommend...

Last Thursday evening I went and saw The Flash; that is despite my distaste of how Warner Brothers Discovery have operated this year, my tremendous disinterest in superhero movies AND what a gigantic creep star Ezra Miller is. Yet I was sold a bill of goods by a YouTube reviewer who overhyped the film. Yes, it was neat seeing Michael Keaton as Old Man Batman but the story squandered the multiverse concept (expect for a great cameo literally years in the making) and had AWFUL humor. The most effective scene involved the lead character and his mom; the plot is that he wants to go back in time to save her-I understand the feeling-and a moment at the end did “get me in the feels”. Otherwise, there was no need for me to have that theatrical experience. Then again, this upcoming week I'll be checking out the new Indiana Jones and that is something I fear will actually be bad.

My return will be sometime next month.

Kandahar, Sisu, Orlando Wetlands Park, The Iron Sheik & Milk: The House of Cereal

Catching up, I first have to mention that it was sad to hear that pro wrestler The Iron Sheik passed away last week; what a fascinating life he had (if quite sad at times) and I actually got to meet him once at a wrestling show like 15 or so years ago... he was one of a few legends present for an autograph signing so somewhere I have an autographed photo of him.

I've only seen two movies theatrically since late April; Sisu was insufferable and was not as fun as you'd expect from the premise of “a Finnish dude kills many Nazi villains in Lapland during World War II” but at least Kandahar was fine... even if it was a movie filmed in Saudi Arabia so I had to figuratively hold my nose while watching it. The rest of the summer, there's a few films I plan on checking out theatrically; that includes the new Indiana Jones, which I am incredibly wary of but I really hope that is not as dreadful as it could be.

One day last month I went on over east of Orlando to the Orlando Wetlands Park; it was a place I discovered in a Facebook ad. It's a pleasant scenic area which not only has a wide variety of animals to see (birds, turtles, and alligators) but there is a new boardwalk which goes over part of the marshland which presents great views of wildlife. It was a neat thing to do once... as was this past Saturday returning to the Dezerland complex in Orlando. Yesterday I got a Groupon for usage later in the summer, and that will be at The Pinball Palace; however, the novelty place I ate at on Saturday was the amusingly named Milk: The House of Cereal. That is one of those cereal bars that have started becoming hip; you pay a few bucks for a bowl of cereal and milk; I had lemon frosted Cheerios. That was a first-time try and those were pretty good.

Otherwise, nothing important to mention about life the past month and a half or so. I'll be back in a few weeks and I know there will be more to discuss.

Bad Restaurant Experiences, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers & the Toronto Blue Jays

My bad for not doing one of these in May; this post and one I'll make tomorrow evening will have me all caught up with what I've done since April 30. It hasn't been too terribly eventful—unfortunately, the main thought in my head is that in 2023, there have been far too many poor restaurant experiences. No specific examples will be given but a long while ago I heard from somewhere the idea that the pandemic decimated the entire restaurant landscape... meaning that many of the best left the field during the time so what we get now is totally lousy at best: keeping the building clean, the quality of the food, the service, and a lack of employees in general.

Whether it be new places or ones I've revisited after a long while, too many have just let me down or at the very worst, angered me. That's why I was relieved that at some places (like local chain Oakwood Smokehouse & Grill or the T-Rex Cafe at Disney Springs) it was a huge relief that those places had no issues to speak of. Heck, me and two people went to a Golden Corral on I-Drive (their idea) and for as busy as they were, there were no complaints to be complained about.

One day I went to St. Petersburg to see the Tampa Bay Rays play against the Toronto Blue Jays; the Rays have done surprisingly great so far this season. In an exciting game that Tampa Bay almost choked away at the end-not the only time that's happened this season-and it was good times. So was visiting a Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers in Clearwater (they have two, believe it or not); it's a chain I first heard about online years ago so it was exciting to visit one around Biloxi, Mississippi back when I was in a vehicle being driven from Florida to Wichita, Kansas. They now have a few locations in Florida-one day they're supposed to debut in Orlando. It would have been preferable if that place didn't blast LOUD music or there had been some sort of snafu with my order... but at least the lady who took my order noticed I hadn't received it yet so she personally handled that and it was appreciated; so was the good quality of said food.

Otherwise, the rest of the highlights in the past 6 or so weeks will be discussed tomorrow; I would be remiss if I didn't mention that another decent restaurant experience was Ford's Garage in Kissimmee—thank heavens that place hasn't fallen.

Mountain Dew Summer Freeze, Return of the Jedi, the Big New Yorker Pizza & Sodough Square

At the end of April, there are several things to mention. One surprise was that this past Monday I was at a Walmart and unexpectedly saw that Mountain Dew had a limited edition flavor which just premiered that day. Summer Freeze has the flavor of those red white and blue pops we all had as kids. Yes, it did make me feel fine...

On another day time was spent in Orlando. Besides visiting the Publix at College Park (which has a retro exterior; the interior is normal... and cramped) there was Sodough Square, a Detroit style pizza joint named for its neighborhood which I heard about on social media. That style of pizza is fine; it was better than experiencing it frozen or from Pizza Hut, which happened in the past. Speaking of Pizza Hut—a few months ago I randomly saw a 1999 ad on YouTube for the Big New Yorker Pizza, something I only barely remembered. Thus, I had to have it when they brought it back for a limited time this year. In fact, I've had it twice I liked it so much. Don't worry, I still like Chicago-style pizza too...

The only other details I'll mention now is that I saw a pair of movies on the big screen. First was The Pope's Exorcist. It helped going in that I already knew how silly and over the top the film was. It definitely was silly and was mostly what you would expect from an exorcism/possessed motion picture. That said, it was a hoot, due to the overarching plot and Russell Crowe as the title character. Even more recent was Return of the Jedi; I couldn't turn that down, even if it was the “special edition” with added nonsense such as CG which only serves as a detriment. Despite that, it was still awesome to see it that way. In the 90's when I was a kid the original trilogy was at home on VHS so all three were watched at least a few times; those are nice memories to think of again. While Star Wars in recent years is something I'm definitely not a fan of, thank heavens that the original trilogy is timeless.

As for May, there are only a few ideas as to what I could be doing.

The Apollo Theatre, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. & The Super Mario Bros. Movie

It wasn't necessarily the idea to do one of these today. However, any plans for this random Sunday went awry; for the past several days, there's been intermittent minor pain in my right heel when I walk. I must be getting old; besides that happening to me, I can't explain how it first happened! This all turned out for the best—this afternoon I had an important phone call which was best taken at home.

I'll start with the sad news first. What shocking news it was that The Apollo Theatre in my old hometown of Belvidere would have its roof collapse during bad storms one night and unfortunately led to injury and even death. As a kid that place was driven by many times although my only time in there (once it was reopened as a venue) was an independent wrestling show in November of 2003, of all things. Seeing the photos of the devastation, it also reminded me of how little has changed downtown since I was a kid. As long as I can remember, Sam's Pizza and Lung Fung's Chinese Restaurant have been institutions so I'm happy to see they both are still in business.

Not too much has happened in the past few weeks; the restaurants I've visited were ones I've gone to before although typically not in a long while. This includes the Celebration Town Tavern, Dave's Hot Chicken and Cracker Barrel; the latter had food which wasn't as good as usual which is a shame as at least the service was quite good. Otherwise, there's been the viewing of various sports on television, whether it be football, NCAA basketball (last month I never could have imaged that one of the teams I saw live-San Diego State-would make it all the way to the finals before losing to Connecticut) or the start of the baseball season where there are some big rule changes and I'm undecided if all of them I approve of... yet.

To close this out-I may be back in a few weeks-I'll mention two recent theatrical experiences. Late last month was 2003's Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. That was a Fathom Event presented nationwide. While not even my favorite Godzilla movie of that era, it was still a good time, especially considering it was a first time watch. The other was The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Speaking of my childhood, those games were definitely played although the last one was in the 90's. There was still enough for me that I knew and while the plot was incredibly safe, that doesn't mean it was bad. In fact, the film was more entertaining and amusing than expected. It's perfect for kids and most adults shouldn't mind.

The One Time I Went to the Magic Kingdom on my 42nd Birthday

Now I am finally caught up on what I've done in almost the past two months. One thing I should have mentioned sometime earlier in the year: one evening I went to Winter Garden Village to try out an eatery from the West Coast which had just recently opened there: THE DOLLY LLAMA. What a name that is. They offer such treats as waffles, waffle cones, ice cream & shakes. While messy, what I had was still good; one day I'll make my return to try something else. Another place new to me was in the Western area of Kissimmee, known as Island Wing Company. The boneless wings I had were tasty, although not enough of them for the price. Note that the place adds in a gratuity automatically which serves as a tip for all the employees; curious, especially because I had to ask about it as they never clarified it beforehand.

February proved to be memorable and different from the norm as several people visited Florida from the Midwest. First was a great friend of Mom who has known my parents since before I was even born. Each year she visits various people in Florida and this includes me & Dad. Various restaurants were visited and while some were new to me (the small British pub known as Clermont Fish House) others were returns, such as Suncreek Brewery in Clermont or a place that me and Mom went to years ago. Randomly, while looking at Google Maps one day (what, don't you do that?) I saw that there was an eatery which sounded interesting, even if it was in a town known as Howey-In-The-Hills. Me and Mom liked JB Boondock's Bar & Grill so I don't know why we didn't return but that joint proved to be a BIG hit... I mean, bigger than I expected. I was glad to support a local establishment, even if at times some of my fellow customers were on the uncouth side. It's located right on a lake so there was great scenery. As always it was nice to see them.

More unique was that soon after they left, my sister who lives in Rockford, Illinois came down here for vacation with her beau and two small children. It was nice to see the nephew after all that time and I finally got to meet my niece. Time was spent at Disney Springs with them which included hot dogs & treats, and other trips included time spent with the aunt in The Villages and Romano's Macaroni Grill. However, the highlight was on my 42^nd birthday on February 22^nd where we went to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It was a LONG day as we were out of the house for a little more than 12 hours yet for two very small children they both acted as well as you'd expect for their age on a warm day in a theme park. It was a lot of fun as both familiar rides to me and ones I hadn't been on before were experienced. Heck, for the first time since I was a kid I was on a carousel period, no matter where it was located at.

While not everything went perfectly on that day, it's no big deal and that's more my neuroses than anything major; the important thing is that not only did everyone have a fun vacation, but both those little tykes liked me. I am very happy that all my nephews & niece feel that way. It was great seeing all of those relatives in the past few months as it not only added excitement, it was nice considering how the world has been the past three years & all the chaos that's happened.

I will return sometime in April, the first half of the month. Nothing is on my docket... yet.

Coca-Cola Move, Dr. Pepper Strawberries & Cream, Home State Brewing Co. & Jury Duty

I'll be writing more tomorrow evening when I return to finally catch up on recent activities, but tonight is the time to dispense some odds and ends. One day I got a haircut (yes, it was much-needed) as the next morning was jury duty. Unlike a regular jury trial, it was for a grand jury; Google can tell you the difference if you care but in short, if I had been selected it would have required going in a few mornings over the next six months and going over evidence with my fellow peers to determine if first degree murder charges would be filed in a case.

As fascinating as that process probably would have been, the time plus the huge burden in determining someone's fate like that meant that it wasn't so bad that I was not one of the jurors selected. That said, it was still an interesting first-hand experience at watching the justice system in action and the two prosecutors involved in the process at least explained the whole thing well for all almost 50 people in the juror pool, who definitely were a cross-section of Lake County residents.

The rest of this short entry will be more frivolous. I did have some new soda since early February, although not the PEEPS-flavored Pepsi yet, despite the bottle sitting in the fridge for awhile. I'll provide my opinion in April; that bottle was purchased for the novelty value as of course I am not expecting that to actually taste good! The Dr. Pepper Strawberries & Cream is as good as I figured; as for Coca-Cola Move... even now, there is debate as to its taste. There's everything from rose wine to bubblegum, coconut rum and vanilla to even popcorn (?!); what do I think? Having just had it once—no idea how to describe the taste! From what I remember it wasn't bad, per se-just strange.

As I'll mention tomorrow, various restaurants have been visited in the past almost two months, most of them familiar to me, although some I hadn't been to in a long while. One I will mention now is a place I went to solo one Sunday; it was a backup selection after I couldn't go to my first place due to an ever-typical Florida traffic jam. It was Home State Brewing Co., a brewery in the Winter Park Hamlin area. It was fine, although the service was more “eh” than anything else. I did have something unique: a peanut butter & jelly sandwich pressed on Cuban bread. Sounds wild, yet tasted fine.

Next time will be on the heartwarming side as it involves family & friends visiting Florida.

Furman Paladins, San Diego State Aztecs, Yalaha Bakery, Scream VI & Cocaine Bear

First off, my apologies for not doing one of these in way too long. In fact, by this time next week I expect to do a few more of these so I can properly catch up. Thus, I’ll be dispensing information in no particular order. This time, it will be the big event I did last Thursday, my trip to a local establishment and the two theatrical movies I’ve experienced since the last time.

Last Thursday was the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, a big deal for college hoops fans each year. This year some games would be played in Orlando at the Amway Center; as the tickets for the early games were relatively cheap (two games for barely over 20 bucks), I hadn’t been to the Amway Center in at least 5 years and I had a good time when the 2014 games were in O-Town, that’s what I did on that way. The second game was fun as the San Diego State Aztecs defeated the College of Charleston Cougars 63-57.

However, the first game was unforgettable. The Furman Paladins played against the Virginia Cavaliers. Virginia was heavily favored; among other things, the Paladins (named after the knights that guarded Charlemagne, which is pretty cool) hadn’t been to the tournament since 1980 and hadn’t won a game since Nixon was in office. Thus, many of their fans drove down from South Carolina for the game. Virginia was ahead most of the way yet Furman held on. Finally, it turned around near the end and how Furman won improbably was incredible.

The highlights that can be found on YouTube show what happen far better than my explanation of same. The Paladin fans lost their mind at the conclusion and that was great. They lost by quite a bit to San Diego State on Saturday but alas…I sat in the upper deck and while there wasn’t much legroom, at least the seats were padded so it wasn’t that uncomfortable. I need to visit the Amway a bit more often; at least I had a good time even if there needs to be more men’s rooms and getting out of the parking garage nearby took at least 10 minutes.

To mention another random activity, earlier this week I went to a German bakery that Mom liked & went to a few times yet until that time I had never visited the Yalaha Bakery. Yes, there’s a tiny town 20 miles away named Yalaha. I picked up a few times and had one; it was in fact quite tasty. After that I went to Montverde and for only the second time stopped by a great ice cream shop known as Orange Blossom Candies & Cream. As the main bridge into Montverde was finally fixed recently, my trips to Montverde will be more frequent.

Finally, the two theatrical experiences I had were for Cocaine Bear then Scream VI. CB, I mainly went as for years I’ve known of the real life story of a random bear in Georgia ingesting coke thrown out of an airplane by a drug smuggler. Of course the bear IRL OD’ed after likely a few minutes instead of going on a rampage as shown in the movie. As for the film, there were plenty of unfunny moments yet the wacky moments, actual tolerable child performers and Ray Liotta’s small role made it just fine. Fine is another word to use when talking of Scream VI. Then again, that’s also my opinion of last year’s Scream V, as it’s unofficially known as. VI had some nice moments-along with gruesome ones-although also some dumb ones, especially in the final act.

When I return real soon, I have quite a few interesting moments to discuss. Everything from new beverages and restaurants to visitors and a special trip on my 42^nd birthday.

Missing, Pathaan, EPCOT Festival of the Arts, Mammoth Oak Brewing Company & Deadwords Brewing

There isn't too much to say this time; however, as the rest of the month will be busy (for reasons I'll elaborate upon next time) I might as well mention the few things I've done in the past two weeks.

I'll mention two movies I saw. First was Missing; it was similar to Searching from a few years ago where the movie is focused on an investigation done by an amateur into the disappearance of a loved one, and the perspective is online sleuthing done on the Internet. This time the scope is broadened a bit but the idea is the same. Searching is a bit better yet both movies are quite interesting. Entirely different is the Indian movie-in the Hindi language-Pathaan; that part of the world usually has bonkers movies melding together various genres and being completely OOT. While not as awesome as RRR, Pathaan is like the 5^th to 7^th Fast & Furious films with some Mission: Impossible moments mixed in. Gleefully absurd and bonkers action scenes, yes... thus, I found it to be fun.

On a random Thursday, I had to be in Leesburg for something; thus, dinner was had at a random small brewery with basic yet acceptable décor in a shopping plaza known as Mammoth Oak Brewing Company. The chicken & fries I had were fine. Another day I was in Orlando so food was had at Deadwords Brewing; the name refers to how recipes for beer were first devised in languages that don't exist anymore. If it wasn't apparent, the place is totally hipster in décor; after all, the bar is right in front of a bookshelf containing random bric-a-brac that doesn't just include books. Be that as it may, their “Neo-dough and cheese curd bites” were definitely tasty. Sure, the place is on OBT (Orange Blossom Trail) but it isn't the worst stretch of that infamous road...

Finally, I renewed my Annual Pass at Disney by visiting EPCOT, where their Festival of the Arts was taking place. The Food & Wine and Flower & Garden Festivals are of more interest to me yet it isn't bad by any means. Relatively new is their Connections Eatery (not to be confused with the Connections Cafe that serves Starbucks) so for the first time I had a meal there. I had two large slices of pizza for what wasn't a bad price, at least by Disney standards.

To reiterate, I'll be back later in the month and I should have more than a few things to discuss.

Babylon, M3GAN, New York Beer Project, IKEA & Root Beer Glaze Wings

In the first 21 days of 2023 I already have a few things to mention which I didn’t bring up a few days ago. On the 8th I finally saw the movie Babylon, which a lot of “online film fans” seemed to love but I know has a frostier reception among the public. My opinion: I know some things about that time in Hollywood and thus understand that at least there’s the reputation of wild hedonism; the movie went in that direction and all the vulgar crassness & F-bombs were not something I loved. I preferred the kinetic scenes and the examinations of how the sausage was made. There were some WTF moments-including the ending-yet overall I’ll say it was fine due to its positive attributes, such as the performances from the cast and its great score.

One night I went to a new area just a bit northwest of Disney which only has a few stores open as of now but there are plenty of buildings waiting to be filled. One restaurant that is open now is known as New York Beer Project; as expected they have two locations in the state of New York itself but this is the first place outside those confines. It has quite the ambiance (chandeliers and big fake trees) & the product I tried was good.

Another night was the movie M3GAN; the trailers promised campy fun and thankfully it delivered on that part. The crowd I was w/ ate it all up and laughed at all the funny moments which only improved the experience. The most (in)famous moment is the robot dancing before going on a murderous rampage. Turns out the reason for that was… there was no reason presented for M3GAN to do so aside from it being some sort of elaborate taunt!

In terms of restaurants, no new ones to mention although I plan on that changing by the time I do another one of these within the next few weeks. One night I ate at a Dave’s Hot Chicken, but not on the East side of town by the UCF campus. Rather, they recently opened another location in Altamonte Springs where a World of Beer used to occupy the space. Once in awhile I’ll get food there as what they offer is fine. Another night I was going to eat at a Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen but when me and some others sat at the bar (one person was already there so we knew it was open) and no one came around for a few minutes or even acted like we existed, I said “the heck with it” (or words to that effect) and instead went to a nearby BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse to originally have some pizza… until I saw that they had boneless wings with a root beer glaze. That sounded bizarre so I tried them; yep, bizarre yet still good.

On Friday I was gonna go somewhere yet my plans changed due to a presumed accident causing a traffic jam so as I didn’t have a plan B, the Mall at Millenia area was visited as it was nearby and I hadn’t been there in awhile. My time there included the mall itself, IKEA (a minor item was purchased) and a nearby Target where some groceries were purchased. Thus, a decent time was made out of ruined plans. The rest of the month not much is on the agenda… yet.

Stories of Splash Mountain & the Bad Moments of 2023 So Far

For the first thing I write in 2023 I wasn’t expecting to discuss various sad events yet that is what I have to do. There have been celebrity deaths that bummed me out-like Lisa Marie Presley & Jeff Beck-which bummed me out and what happened with Jeremy Renner was a shame. But others passing away have affected me more. I’ll be back by the end of the month to discuss the other events of 2023 so far, which will have more cheery stories to be told.

Last Wednesday I was at Mecum in Kissimmee and as typical it was nice to see a few thousand different automobiles for sale on display, whether they be old muscle car, exotics (some will know how amazing it was that I saw both a Ferrari Enzo and a Ferrari F40), or niche vehicles that only some will appreciate. On the way back home I was on the Osceola Parkway heading West. Eastbound traffic was stopped and they were turning around. I then saw a corpse on the ground covered by a white sheet. Needless to say that was upsetting; all the time I’ve been in an automobile my entire life I don’t recall having experienced such a sight before. As there was no wrecked car around I figured out what happened; at home an article informed me that someone from Guatemala was ran over and killed after crossing that road. That section of the 4 lane toll road, I wouldn’t have suspected anyone to be crossing the road either but this will forever me on my mind whenever I am on the Osceola Parkway.

Tuesday night I was bummed out when I heard that a pro wrestler only 38 years old passed away in a car accident. For fans of independent wrestling all across the United States the past twenty years, they’ll know the wrestler Jay Briscoe, who teamed with real life brother Mark as The Briscoe Brothers. They were great even as teenagers; I saw them once in Illinois and quite a few times in Florida from ’06 through ’08. It was always a treat seeing them wrestle (even if I never talked to them in person) and they had many fans across the world. I have no idea why they were never in AEW as that would have been a perfect fit. There are rumors as to why (was it because Jay was once homophobic on Twitter years ago? He soon then apologized so I have no idea if that rumor has any basis in fact or not) but everyone in that world is just broken up about it. The fact that his two daughters were in the car and both were seriously injured themselves… tragic all around.

To end this on a better note, yesterday I was at the Magic Kingdom for the first time in awhile. Even if it was to experience an attraction one last time, overall I had a lot of fun there. After Sunday, Splash Mountain will be no more; next year it will be a reskinned ride, this time based on an animated movie I haven’t seen before-The Princess and the Frog. That is as controversial as you’d expect so no comment on my part, nor how it’s always been funny that Splash Mountain is based on animated segments in a live-action film which has aged so poorly that Disney is petrified to release it in the United States in any format since 1986. I’ve been fortunate to have been on Splash Mountain many times through the years but I had to do so one last time. My time at the Magic Kingdom was pretty pleasant: a nice dinner, going on rides I visit frequently (Space Mountain, the Buzz Lightyear attraction) along with others that aren’t as frequent, such as the Carousel of Progress, which will always be charming… especially the further along in the future we get and the dialogue in the final act remains the same. After all, that final act was last updated, written and voiced THIRTY years ago so it’s rather quaint to hear of CAR PHONES and LASERDISCS as “wow” gadgets.

While there’s no shortage of videos on YouTube of the entire Splash Mountain ride (both at Walt Disney World and Disneyland) it will never be quite like actually getting in the log flume and getting drenched after the big drop. This last time at least had a heartwarming moment which is the perfect way to close out what has otherwise been me recounting sad events of varying degrees. I paid for Genie + to get on that and Space Mountain; like everyone I prefer the old FastPass system but that’s another topic for another time. In the “Lightning Lane” there was a mom, dad and little girl right behind me; they ended up right behind me on the ride also. I’m glad they got to experience that ride once, especially the girl. After the big drop she giggled uncontrollably, that’s how good of a time she had. I’m glad to have had a good time yesterday after the Tuesday night news.

One last random note: one thing I did last night after arriving home: I stumbled upon a YouTube video of the Carousel of Progress in 1981 that some person filmed on a Super 8 camera or some sort of camcorder. Wow was it different, and not just the final segment which was amazingly 70’s. Many people in 2023 would likely proclaim “it’s full of sexism” but you can find that on YouTube if you’re interested. To use a phrase from earlier, it’s aged poorly.