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

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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

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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.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss - Sisu: WWII Wick & Prelude to MCU Next Tuesday

 NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast...with @CatBusRuss

Episode 128: Sisu: WWII Wick & Prelude to MCU Next Tuesday

Sisu: WWII Wick & Prelude to MCU Next Tuesday

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

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

CatBusRuss has figured a way to kill two birds with one stone. It is now a question of how to get to that stone. Enjoying the physical media release of "Sisu" might be the perfect place to start.

Our host felt inspired to throw the planned Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy Trash Feature Revue Triple Feature aside to tackle something that just made it to retailer shelves. This almost made the task of finding a Redbox that carried this Finnish, English-language action film fun.

Russ laments about the need for video stores to return and how he will be tackling the biggest movies in Hollywood in the future with the series "MCU Next Tuesday".

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, and I will have to check Apple Podcasts, but I think I just got this episode done in time that they will still call my podcast a weekly one. With that said, my morning is free like my evening was today (still referring to Tuesday). "Black Lagoon" is good background noise, so I might as well get the blog out of the way.

I guess I just do not want to stay up too late. "AEW: Fight Forever" has a lot to explore, so that means I would probably end up seeing the sunrise if I were to be playing that. There is still a 4:00pm shift tomorrow. Energy will be required.

I suppose that I could have a cocktail or two, but I like to show respect to the stuff that I am buying. Who would have thought that I would become to snobby to be immature?

Or Snoop Dogg's message has taken over. "Smoke weed everyday". But I am far from being a stoner. Confusion seems to be dominating me. If only I could get more podcast guests to guide me. Ladies would only further complicate things.

I am still looking for a guest to record the July 18th episode. Offer me any movie, and we will fry up a slice of podcast gold. Send an email with your requests/demands to russthebus07@gmail.com. Sunday and Monday evening are available.

It was quite the day to discover that "Sisu" was the film I wanted to do the podcast on. I am afraid to say it, but I am one of those suckers for Steelbooks. This should not be a bad thing. With the shitty internet (It is probably just the modem, but replacing it myself seems to be too much work.), physical media will still be in fashion.

Hence why we need video stores. My idea is to open a bar where a rental is the cover. If anything, it would give me reason to tolerate customers who ask only for DVDs. No way would I trust drunks with Blu-rays. Perhaps it would have to be like high end karaoke places. Or it could be social inspiration. Put the movie info on the door. Who would not want to enter the room where Gregg Araki's "The Doom Generation" playing?

Instead, I am driving all over Champaign/Urbana to find a Redbox with this disc. The 4K Blu-Ray was purchased, but just in the event that I did not like it, I felt it was wise to rent a copy and have the option to return the 4K. The purchase was a bit of an impulse (to say the least). My credit card is maxed out, and I need the AEW season pass.

I must be getting tired because I think that I have teased the podcast enough. It just makes me think my life has been pretty dull. This all may just be hangover from England. There have been a few chances to socialize, and I have taken them up. Aside from talking about Ugandan characters from "The Book of Mormon" to a Ugandan, all seems pretty tame.

Thank the gods for ultra-violent European cinema. "Sisu" is not New French Extremities, but the violence gets a reaction with every act.

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: THE MARATHON: Sam Elliot vs. Red-Sashed #Podcasters (PG-13)

 NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast...with @CatBusRuss

Episode 125: THE MARATHON: Sam Elliot vs. Red-Sashed #Podcasters (PG-13)

THE MARATHON: Sam Elliot vs. Red-Sashed #Podcasters (PG-13)

Tuesday Jun 20, 2023

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

Andrew "@CouchManBakes" Tiede has been one of the most reliable and fun repeat guest to bless "NinetyForChill" with his presence. He has really helped CatBusRuss make great audio content, so it is about time that he got to chat about a feature that he has been pushing for since " Big Trouble in Little China": CouchMan Lo Pan vs. Jorge Shen". That picture is "Tombstone", another feature starring Kurt Russell.

But this picture is 2 hours and 10 minutes long. It does not fit the format for a podcast dedicated to features between 70 and 100 minutes. How will we get this to work?

CatBus has been trying to offer up some work arounds. Thanks to an experiment that the "Screen Drafts" podcast came up with to reassess their past episodes, The Marathon, a compromise was made possible. Our host and his guest will each make up their own tribute night to perhaps the greatest supporting actor of all time, Sam Elliot. Both showcases will end with the most beloved take on the tale of Wyatt Earp, but each moderator will have their own format. Andrew gets two two-hour movies and a grill to open up "Sasquatch Cinema House". His competitor gets three 100-minute timeslots and a popcorn machine to debut the "Six-Raven Moviehouse".

Will "The Good Dinosaur", "The Big Bang", and "Thank You for Smoking" draw more people to Russ's cinema in spite of "Roadhouse" and "Tombstone" being ran back-to-back? Will having to endure "Ghost Rider" ruin Andrew's audiences night before it gets started. Since both movie theaters are BYOB, who knows?

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.

Things should still be looking up for me. Because my second job is Chicago based, the Downstate employees get to enjoy the benefits of a higher cost of living north of I-88 and east of I-39. More responsibilities at the full-time job has also lead to better paychecks. Aside from getting a Playstation 5 media remote, there is not much that I want from a possession standpoint.

The storms did not dappen my return home. Food poisoning has yet to be an issue, so the power was not out for too long. A trivia win and a descent karaoke performance when returning to Champaign/Urbana made up for a dull night in Downtown Peoria.

Peoria is kind of starting to suck. It is not a college town where you need to keep the kids in check. Embrace the late last calls. You need the the booze to survive that town.

If you could only regulate OnlyFans. Perhaps the good weeknight strippers would return.

So, judging by the mood being expressed, my day off has been shot. It was supposed to be dedicated to just playing "AEW: Fight Forever", but I had to do my best to resolve my issues with Hostgator failing to fix my domain. It was two hours of dealing with a customer service agent who said that their previous agents lied to me about being able to redirect ninetyforchill.com to my Spotify profile page and that I would need to buy additional hosting with them to resolve this issue.

It just leaves me steamed. Popeye's customer service sucks (Check out http://twitter.com/catbusruss to see the BBB letter showing that those fried chicken dealers ignored me.), but at least they gave me a path to satisfaction at no financial cost to me. The means were insulting, but if I had faith that they could provide good service, it could be considered a win. Thank the gods Raising Canes is now in Champaign...off campus.

In my 20 years of customer service, I have never left a customer without means to satisfaction. First off, I apologize and take responsibility for the situation. If you got the wrong product, I will refund you. If you felt cheated by some other agent, I will provide you with something. If it goes to hell afterwards, or you change your mind, I am sorry, but I have done everything I can possibly do. To be told there will be no compensation for your time or there is nothing that could be done from the start is unacceptable.

When I worked at Mediacom for customer retention, I would tell you how to get what you wanted. If you wanted out, I would tell you when and/or how. Of course there would be incentives given to stay. There were means for me to refund certain things. To be told, there is no way or it is company policy, you know that will get out to the masses (Again, check out my Twitter.).

I just was not in the mood to have fun. But, I do not want to waste time, so let's get caught up on my blog and producing a Toss Back Tuesday episode because of lack of guests. Let me thank Andras from "The Ta2 Squid Podcast" for doing his best to come on. The effort has to be respected when he also works two jobs.

I am still determined to keep up the podcast, but the past week was tough. Unless guests want to stay up late, Sundays are the only day that I am certain can be made for podcasting. With that said, if you have a movie or topic that you want to chat about, send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.