3:10 to Yuma (1957)

I have vague memories of watching the remake of this film, probably around the time it released on DVD, with my parents in my basement growing up. Almost nothing has stuck with me almost twenty years later except, I believe, a train in a tunnel? At any rate, I watched the original, in my efforts to stay up to date on Criterion Collection releases. This was such an affecting film, with Evans’ supreme moral compass and an utmost need to care for his family. As he says goodbye to his wife and implores her to remember him with pride regardless of the outcome, a devastating climax feels inevitable. This makes the final escape sequence all the more tense. The joyousness of the escape, coupled with the rain finally beginning to fall feels totally hopeful. Not to be forgotten, the haunting main musical song will stick with me for a long time. I had read the ending was different between the original and the remake and my aforementioned lack of memories about it, so I read through a synopsis, despite there really being only one other outcome. Interestingly, despite being backwards, I would say I watched both of these at the right times in my life. I’m sure the emotion of the remake’s end resonated with me artistically then, but the sense of hope in this viewing original was exactly what I needed now.

Hazuki vs. Mei Seira (Stardom, 1/11/2026)

Stardom is one of those wrestling promotions I see all the time on best-of lists, always want to know more about, but don’t usually have the bandwidth to follow regularly. In fact, I can’t recall if I’ve ever seen either of these competitors before this match. So, without any of the storyline context or background knowledge, I can safely say: wow, this was a stiff match! Hazuki’s offense in the closing minutes was relentless, Seira looked completely exhausted at the final bell. The pure sound alone was bombastic enough to make this a must-watch match. On a related note, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a referee with such rigid, vigorous mat counts. Truly authoritative performance from the referee, outshone only by the intense, rapid action from the wrestlers themselves. The one-off matches of Stardom I catch never fail to disappoint, and I need to do that more often.

As an aside, I have to start thinking about where Korakuen Hall would land on a list of all-time venues. Like a Madison Square Garden, it is one of those places where the location lends to the stature of the event.

Palate Cleanser

I’ve decided to start writing again. Actually, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time now—maybe years—the idea of writing short reviews of the media I consume. Maybe the occasional bit of sports writing, who knows. So, using this platform, I’m going to start writing 150-200 words to get my thoughts out about things. The reviews will be egocentric. The editing will be minimal. The style guide will be mine. The topics will not likely be timely. The idea here is to write for me, a living diary of the classic or contemporary things I’m reading, watching, playing, etc. Some may be first-time experiences, others may be repeat experiences. 

I also want to exercise my writing skills again while using some critical thinking. So much of what I do gets distilled down to a star rating on another platforms (some of which are linked on this very page) and my memory is so bad, I wanted to get some actual words behind the ratings to refresh myself for future reference. That does not mean these reviews will be intellectual (though they will probably still be pretentious?) But that’s okay, these are meant for me to revisit, and anyone who stumbles upon them, lovely, welcome, I appreciate you!

I decided not to go back and delete any of the pieces before now. Not because I think they are any good (quite the contrary: some would be difficult to re-read, I’m sure). No, I’m not deleting them, mostly because it would take work, and there’s no real point. Essentially, those were written by a different person, and the posts are there as relics, as artifacts. Plus, I was at least somewhat proud of them at one point in time. In fact, I even attempted something like this before, regrettably titled "Best Thing I Did Last Week." I want to keep it simpler than that. Hence, this interlude of a post serves as a palate cleanser, bridging what I use to write and what I will write going forward.

We’ll see how long this idea lasts. For now, I’d like to shoot for three days. Then, maybe a week. Then, maybe another week. The point is not to hold myself to anything. Not to mention, there will be days or weeks where I don’t engage with much of anything or feel compelled to express thoughts on them. That’s okay, too. And if nothing else, I’ll have this post, right here, to revisit when I don’t feel like writing anymore or when I get the itch to write again in a few years, whatever the case may be. This is for me, to stretch my creative thinking, to retain my memory better, and simply, to write words I want to read.

Writer's Block: A Weird Heat Companion

When it comes to writing as a creative art form, there are two major challenges that affect every creator. The first is having a great idea but not being able to put it into words. This can be troubling, but very common. Given time, words will start to come and eventually shape into the proper idea. Far more distressing, though, is not having an idea at all.

Writer’s block is a real thing. For some, the idea of staring at a blank page or document is panic inducing. At times, ideas just will not come. A writer then becomes easily distracted, doing anything to get away from the feeling of failure. The need to write anything can be obsessive, but the ability is simply not there. The inverse would be having numerous ideas and bursting with details about each one. It is blissful.

Truly, it is possible to expand writer’s block to other art forms as well. I am sure staring at a blank paint canvas or sculpting material induces the same sensation. The feeling of being uninspired would be a low point for any artist. To combat this, an artist could take suggestions, commissions, writing prompts, anything where the idea is already supplied. While this can be an outlet for art, it is not nearly as fulfilling as fleshing out one’s own idea.

Writer’s block—or any similar deterrent in other art—is damaging to the artist’s potential. Luckily, this is often a temporary issue. On the other hand, there is not a reliable way to jump-start a case of writer’s block. All an artist can do in the meantime is read more, do more, experience more and hope inspiration strikes.

Travel: A Weird Heat Companion

If someone hypothetically comes into a lot of money, they are questioned what they would do with it. One of the top answers is invariably to travel. There is even a commercial based on the premise of “going to Disneyland.”

What is it about traveling that makes it a seemingly universal goal? The main reason is to escape from regular life and see something different. By traveling somewhere exotic, we experience a new way of life different from our own. While the actual act of traveling may be exhausting in the moment, I also find it refreshing or invigorating.

Traveling is also an attractive activity because it means we can leave some responsibilities behind, even for a short time. While away from home, we worry less about going to work, doing laundry, or making food. Traveling is relaxing that way.

Whenever I travel to an interesting place, I am struck by conflicting emotions. On one hand, I do not want to leave that place. I look around at people who do live there and feel immense jealousy that I am not joining them. At the same time, though, I have a need to be in my home environment. It is not a very intense feeling, but it is more or less a constant, which increases over the length of the trip. My homesickness—if you can call it that—is not necessarily representative of my affinity for my home. Rather, it is that middle ground of not having a home base. No one likes living out of a hotel, right?

That said, I still love to travel. I think anyone who is able should make the effort to see as many different and unique places as they can. Most people, myself included, pick up a lot of experience by reading books and watching movies set in different places, but there is no replacement for actually visiting.