20 years ago this week, the world was introduced to Festivus. A magical time of feats of strength and airing of grievances. A time without consumerism or distracting tinsel. A time for miracles . From all of us here at Vundablog, we'd like to wish you, our loyal, loving Vundabytes a Happy Festivus. You all get a pass from the Airing of Grievances. But everyone else... I GOT A LOTTA PROBLEMS WITH YOU PEOPLE, AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT IT... Trump Administration and Trump Supporters: Stop. Just stop. WWE: Stop putting all the old, washed up, part time legends over the young guys. If you actually invest some time in making new stars, maybe you won't need to rely on a bunch of old guys. This is exactly why WCW lost the Monday Night War and you won. They pushed Hogan and Nash and Hall and Savage and Luger, etc. and WWF was forced to invest in the "new generation" of HBK, Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock, etc. Do THAT again. You have th...

Hosts: Stephen , and Mr. J Mr. J and Stephen finally process the events depicted in Justice League and how the DC film Universe has evolved and what we enjoy from it. Follow and Like us on Instagram @vundablog Tweet us @vundablog or @vundacast On Facebook

Hosts: Stephen & Danielle Dogs: Duke, Xena, Morty, & Rusty Stephen & his co-hortress Danielle try to plea for peace in the Great War of Marvel vs. DC. Follow and Like us Instagram @vundablog Tweet us @vundablog or @vundacast On Facebook

Junk Ball Media is the DeLorean of nerdy informational videos- Stephen host of the Vundacast

Hosts: Stephen , & Andres Animal noises and disturbances by: Xena, Duke, Morty, Rusty, and R2D2 the Timbrado Canary Stephen and Andres reunite post Hurricane Irma and discuss their summer film diet, they digest box office grosses, and chew up some pop culture references all over EVERYTHING nerdy. Follow and Like us Instagram @vundablog Tweet us @vundablog or @vundacast On Facebook  

Joe Dante selling this boy on a Christmas release is adorable. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

This is not a drill, people. Lucha Underground Season Four is a GO! Not only that, but we also now have confirmation of the HUGE news that at least one person who has been heavily rumored to not be returning for a fourth season WILL be returning and I am SO EXCITED!!! To celebrate, check out our Top 10 Lucha Underground Matches of 2017 .

courtesy of luchaunderground.com It has truly been one hell of a 2017 for Lucha Underground. The second half of season three, while it certainly had its faults (perhaps, in large part, because of how near-perfect the first two and a half seasons were), gave us some amazing wrestling and some truly compelling storylines. The Cueto Cup gave us some fresh matchups and a lot of great matches. We got big time marquee matchups like Mysterio/Matanza, Mysterio/Mundo, Puma/Mundo, and Puma/Pentagon. Plus [SPOILER]  Dario Cueto might be fucking dead . It wasn't really that hard to pick the top 10 since the show was only running for less than half of the year but the fact that there were even 10+ matches worthy of "match of the year" consideration is a testament to just how damn good Lucha Underground is. I hope and pray that this wasn't their last season. And so, without further ado, Vundablog presents the top ten Lucha Underground matches of 2017... ***WARNING: DO NO...

To get you in the Halloween mood. -Stephen host of the Vundacast 

Arguably one of the most human moments of this film, -Stephen host of the Vundacast

I wonder if this is in the key of D. -Stephen host of the Vundacast 

Possibly the most ineffective and simultaneously imposing henchman of all time. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

I hope their is another prison episode in season 7. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

Fanboy's imaginations were forever sparked by this matchup. I say always bet on Dragonzord-Stephen host of the Vundacast

Aww the good old days, right? - Stephen host of the Vundacast 

Hosts: Stephen and Danielle  Sleeping dog gang: Xena, Duke, Morty, and Rusty  During Hurricane Irma Stephen and Danielle did some podcasting to kill time. The first 26minutes is Stephen and Danielle telling tales of new dogs and their bird R2D2. 27 minute mark to around 50 minute spot is Dedicated to discussion on the Korean Zombie film Train to Busan . We then talk about the local Popcorn Frights film festival and The Hatred (on demand now), and after 1hour 51minute mark we talk the Devil's Candy now available currently on Netflix. Follow us on Follow and Like us Instagram @vundablog Tweet us @vundablog or @vundacast On Facebook  

Batman loves the kids. -Stephen hosts of the Vundacast

Throwback Apatow and Rudd is so good. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

Do your IT homework. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

Brock is what every man sees when he looks in the mirror of his heart. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

Ay caramba. Stephen host of the Vundacast

Back when games were cool and the time was for morphin. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

The radar team has never been the same since, I heard. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Mr, Murray never disappoints. -Stephen host of the Vundacast 

Ten years ago today, the college football world was rocked by one of the biggest upsets in its history when the Mountaineers of Appalachian State marched into the Big House and took down the #5 ranked Michigan Wolverines--a team featuring stars such as QB Chad Henne, WRs Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington, LT Jake Long, and RB Mike Hart. Just to put this in perspective a little more: Long was a first-team All-American in 2006 and 2007, Manningham a second-team All-American in 2007, Hart was first-team All-Big Ten in 2004, 2006, and 2007, Henne was first-team All-Big Ten in 2007; Henne and Manningham went on to be starters on NFL teams and Jake Long was the #5 pick in the 2008 NFL Draft as well as a starter for the Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams). This monumental upset would just be the beginning of what would eventually become known as the "Year of the Upset" in college football. According to Wikipedia: "An unranked or lower-ranked opponent defeated a higher-...

Tell me how to fly solo. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

Do the dew like the yokel you are. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

Col Gentleman is the father figure everybody needs for a weekend amount of time. - Stephen host of the Vundacast 

Another Trejo Tuesday means some Trejo inspired music. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Sometimes you gotta get back to the roots. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

This sun day enjoy a tasty groove mixed by youtube legend in my eyes DJ Cummerbund - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Love some Star Trek especially when it got me through a presentation I had to make in class in regards to Moby Dick. Love any chance to expose people to Ricardo Montalban and William Shatner. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

Dennis Hopper you are missed. - Stephen host of the Vundacast 

One of my favorite films ever deserves remembrance. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Preach Mr. Whedon.

<3

The world has lost a visionary today. Not only a pioneer of the zombie movie but a pioneer of representation and social commentary in film. FAR ahead of his time on race and gender issues. Take a look at some of the reactions from notable people of color on Twitter: Romero started it. pic.twitter.com/i4dnxi8EFV — Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) July 16, 2017 George Romero made a film where the levelheaded Black hero survives zombies only to be killed by scared whites. Almost unfathomable in 1968. — Saladin Ahmed (@saladinahmed) July 17, 2017 Never forgotten my awe at seeing NotLD - a black actor! Open acknowledgement of race/gender politics! That made it scarier. — N. K. Jemisin (@nkjemisin) July 16, 2017 As well as other notables: Romero used genre to confront racism 50 years ago. He always had diverse casts, with Duane Jones as the heroic star of NOTLD. — Eli Roth (@eliroth) July 16, 2017 George Romero was a great director, the father of modern horro...

R.I.P. Boggles. 

Bit of inspiration from the master Joss.

Seeing this tough guy get teary eyed is heart melting. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Power Ranger family history continues. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Such a powerful exchange I need to watch Rebels apparently. - Stephen host of the Vundacast 

He is covered in brains.  

Take a moment this Friday to learn from one of the best in the biz. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Death has had a lot of makeovers. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

One of my most favorite call backs. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

The face of freedom and second chances. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

In celebration of the 26th anniversary of one of the greatest science fiction films ever made, we have a couple goodies for you today. First of all, above we have one of the official trailers. However, we also have something a little bit more interesting: a blog post by Andy W. Taylor about Sarah Connor and the strong female character. I love the analysis here, making an argument for Sarah as a strong female lead not only in the second Terminator movie but also the first. It also mentions in passing James Cameron's track record of writing compelling, complex, badass female lead characters, which is excellent. In addition to Connor, Ripley in the Alien movies is the most salient example but the self-sacrificing Lindsey Brigman in The Abyss deserves some credit as well and even Rose Dewitt Bukater in Titanic is woefully underrated as far as badass female lead characters go, breaking out of the bondage of her abusive patriarchal engagement of convenience, literally spitting in th...

I'm not him something is seriously wrong. -Stephen of the Vundacast . "Ok. Un-yawn."

I love how the music swells just before Rey chops Kylo Ren up. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Every film franchise is third entry should have a beach based montage, in a perfect universe. - Stephen host of the Vundacast 

On this edition of the Vundacast hosts Stephen and Danielle talk about some Summer Movie disappointments for them, and go at it for over two and half hours. Tom Cruise's The Mummy and Ridley Scott's Alien:Covenant are reviewed and it's a horror show but not in a good way. Tweet us  @vundacast or @vundablog powered by podcast garden

Humble beginnings. 

Gotta love those early 90's CGI effects. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

On this edition of the Vundacast  hosts Stephen and Danielle talk about how they perceive the film industry at the moment and talk about the joyous heartwarming experience that is Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.  Follow and tweet us  @Vundablog and @Vundacast  powered by podcast garden

The Blue Morpho was a pretty hep cat. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Trejo can read anything and make it sound like Shakespeare. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Gameboy made the rangers more powerful, because it made them into you. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

70's lightsaber fights move nice and slow. Not like the fast lightsaber based lifestyles of today. -Stephen 

Sometimes two random things work perfectly together, this is one such case. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

The good old days, when blood was practical. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

Girl Power! 

Ooh Ah!

Classic Danny Trejo, if only I had such a music machine then I could be a superstar. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

There are so many things that go into making a wrestling match great. The workrate, the psychology, the story, etc. Every serious wrestling fan has opinions about what those things are and which matches are the greatest. Some are purists who think the wrestling stands on its own. Some care more about the stories being told than anything else. For me, it's a delicate balance between several factors: Storytelling One of the things that makes kayfabe professional wrestling unique is its ability to tell stories in a way that no other art form really can. It is one of the most heavily physical forms of storytelling, with so much having to be communicated with mere movements and facial expressions. It is also one of the most improvisation-based forms of storytelling, with so much of what the wrestlers say and do in the ring being unscripted. It has all the rich, compelling narratives of all the major competitive sports and--at its best--orchestrates these narratives in the most co...

It should've been forever. -Stephen host of the Vundacast

\\ Let them fight!

Still the best around. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Robert Rodriguez is a film god around these parts and this Ten Minute Film school has captured my imagination for so long. -Stephen

Now for a moments inspiration. Al was recently cast as a football coach, but this is the type of coach I will always remember him as the best Miami Sharks head coach in history. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

Fred and Barnie enjoy summer before global warming with a cool refreshing Busch beer. - Stephen host of the Vundacast

America loves guns they're fun. Is what everyone is thinking today right?

There are so many interesting theological concepts and questions being explored in this movie that it’s almost hard to know where to start. So perhaps it’s best to start where the movie starts: Bartleby and Loki. Bartleby and Loki are two fallen angels who have been banished from Heaven (to Wisconsin) for insubordination after Bartleby convinced a drunken Loki to throw down his sword and resign his post as Angel of Death. The thing I find most interesting about this is that, when Loki tells Bartleby he thinks he should resume his post, Bartleby reveals a very salient piece of information: there hasn’t been an Angel of Death since Loki resigned. So, while Loki was banished from Heaven for resigning the post, and Bartleby is banished for merely convincing Loki to resign--God ultimately decides that they were right; there should be no Angel of Death. It brings up a lot of questions about the idea of a God that would banish someone for refusing a command, subsequently conclude that the...

Still enjoying Star Wars celebration from afar. 

On this edition of the Vundacast Danielle and Stephen rev their engines about the ludicrous evolvation of a franchise that has become the F8 of the Furious(This what the title should have been-Stephen).  We also talk about The Last Jedi Trailer and celebrate Xena's 2nd Birthday. Duke sleeps through out the episode. Follow us on twitter @vundacast and @vundablog  and on instagram  @vundablog and also @dukexenalife for dog content. Also make sure to subscribe to us on iTunes  leave us a review every bit helps. powered by podcast garden

On this edition of the Vundacast Stephen and Danielle live happily ever after discussing some current films like Kong: Skull Island and Power Rangers . We also reminisce on sleeping in movie theaters, how wedding planning kills podcasts, and the comedic exploits of Vundacast war hero Colonel Klutz. powered by podcast garden Follow us on Twitter  @vundablog @vundacast  Follow our Instagrams  @vundablog @dukexenalife  Like our Facebook.

On this edition of the Vundacast Stephen begins by interviewing artist/Pro-Wrestler Michel Mulipola . They discuss his current Kickstarter for the comic Headlocked . Michel also talks about tag teaming with wrestling legend Haku , drawing, and living in New Zealand. The second half of the episode has the morphenomical Mr. J breaking down Power Rangers with Stephen. powered by podcast garden Please follow on Twitter  @bloodysamoan @vundacast @vundablog Also Like us on Facebook 

It's really kind of amazing to think that this album was released in 1993--and many of the songs on the album were written several years before that. This album is so incredibly ahead of its time, it's unreal. So much so that, until recently, even I--one of the biggest Tool fans on the planet--could never really get that into it. I especially recommend tracks 5-8--Crawl Away, Swamp Song, Undertow, and 4°--but the whole album is just brilliant.

On this edition of the Vundacast we open with audio from the marriage ceremony of Stephen and Danielle our Vundacast-hosts presided over by honorable Vunda-blogger D-rock. Dani and Stephen talk about the wedding for 30 minutes or so before the intro song and then you get a long and delicious wrestling podcast where D-rock and Stephen unite their powers to commentate and watch an all time classic WWE match between Cactus Jack and Triple H. powered by podcast garden

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I can do to resist for the next four years (can't even think about the possibility of eight; don't make me) and the thing I keep coming back to is the arts and what an important role they have to play in justice movements. I know I want to make music and write words that challenge and subvert the current state of our world but I think it's also important to just share awesome art and music and film and media with each other, if only to give one another something to cling to (and, certainly, to critique, where appropriate) when times are hard and to inspire us to keep fighting. So I put together a YouTube playlist of 50 of my favorite protest songs--including songs with political/social commentary, songs that represent perspectives of oppressed or marginalized groups, etc. This is, by no means, a complete list and I definitely welcome suggestions of many more "Songs to Fuel the Flames of Discontent" (-Refused) but I ...

"WELCOME EVERYONE TO MOOONDAAAY NIIIGHT RRRRRAAAAAWWWWWWW !!!" This is the first in what will hopefully be a continuing series wherein I go through and literally watch every single episode of Raw from the beginning and share some (hopefully) amusing and (possibly) interesting thoughts on each episode. These early episodes are really kind of hilarious and ridiculous and wonderful in their overwhelming 90s-wrestling-ness and if you have the WWE Network, I highly recommend going back and watching them as they are maybe one of the most entertaining things on the Network. And so, without further ado...

view from my seat For the first time in three and a half years, Vundablog was LIVE in attendance at Monday Night Raw! OK, admittedly, it's kinda hard to be THAT excited about going to a Monday Night Raw considering the shitshow it's been for the last several weeks/months but hey, it's live wrestling! This show had a lot of potential based on the card and while it didn't quite live up to all that potential, it was still a pretty damn good show. Let's get to it...

DON'T YOU EVEN KNOW DIGNITY WHEN YOU SEE IT?! It's already been removed of course but this is an actual screenshot of the Wikipedia page for "Dignity" from just a few days ago with some brilliant artwork by a pretty big wheel down at the cracker factory.

I've seen a few people taking devil's advocate positions with regards to the UC Berkeley protests of Milo Yiannopoulos and the idea that shutting down a speaking engagement is infringing on or stifling free speech. I heard this same argument when activists were shutting down Donald Trump campaign events last year as well. So I wanted to respond to those concerns with a quick and dirty analysis of the power dynamics inherent in the concept of free speech.

I have to admit, I had relatively low expectations for this installment of NXT TakeOver. The main event seemed like it would be decent but nothing to write home about. The undercard seemed like it had some potential but not a lot. Maybe that's why I think this might have been the best TakeOver yet--or at least the best since TakeOver Dallas. It's amazing what lowered expectations can do for your enjoyment of a thing. Maybe THAT'S why Raw is so consistently terrible and seemingly doing it entirely on purpose. At least that would be a better explanation than "no, actually they just think this is good writing." Anyway ...on with the show...

On this edition of the Vundacast Stephen and Danielle continue their conversation from last week and talk about all the sites and destinations they visited in their days in London. We talk about the Tower of London, The Play that Always Goes Wrong, The Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour, and all the delicious sights, sounds, and flavors we sampled during our time in the big city. powered by podcast garden

(Repurposed from our Top 10 Wrestling Matches of 2016 in "honor" of Inauguration Day) This is, hands down, the most socially important wrestling match I’ve ever seen. Eight days before the airing of Aztec Warfare III, a misogynistic, anti-immigrant, willfully ignorant, fascist demagogue was elected the 45th President of the United States. Twelve days later, at WWE's Survivor Series, a 49-year-old who hadn’t wrestled in over 12 years was booked to beat one of the most unbeatable, legitimate characters in wrestling history in 86 seconds. Two and a half years of booking went out the window in less than a minute and a half and the mother of all rubs was handed to the least deserving person possible instead of, oh, I don’t know, one of the guys who works their ass off 300 days a year and is going to have to carry the company for the next 10-15 years. This happened twelve days after the least qualified presidential candidate in history defeated quite possibly the most ...

On this epic edition of the Vundacast Stephen and Danielle podcast from the United Kingdom. We talk about the first half of our travels across the United Kingdom. Here's a little counter programming to keep you mind off of President Chump. powered by podcast garden

Sadly I wasn't quite able to write up Raw and SmackDown this week because I went on an epic journey across the country that ended up taking over 24 hours and sucked my will to do pretty much anything. Also I didn't watch Raw because the College Football Playoff Championship Game was on and it was like a hundred times better than whatever happened on Raw. I made sure not to miss this week's Lucha Underground, however, because it was the mid-season finale and we're not going to be getting any more Lucha Underground until SUMMER which is incredibly, unbearably sad. But hey, maybe now I can go back and do write-ups for every episode up until this point so all the lovely Vundablog faithful can get caught up on the wonder that is Lucha Underground. Silver linings, right? Anyway, let's get to this week's episode...

On this second edition of A Whole lot of. Stephen, Andres, and Diego converse about effective and memorable cinematic Villains, among many other things. Recorded in 2016. Sorry for the delay...blame Trump powered by podcast garden

“Hope is not a strategy.” So sayeth legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi. I see where he’s coming from. He’s a football coach. He needs a gameplan. He needs effort. He needs everyone to do their job. There’s a lot to be said for that in the work we do, too, frankly. But hope is the foundation upon which we lay our strategy and our effort and our work. Hope is the reason WHY we have a strategy...the reason WHY we do this work. Hope is the light of the promise of tomorrow reflected in the eyes of today. Emily Dickinson says that hope is a little bird perched in our souls that sings a little tune and keeps us warm. Nah, man. Hope is a PHOENIX RISING from the ashes. Hope is a FIRE in the belly of a beast chained to a dungeon who ROARS “ENOUGH,” shattering its bonds and BURSTING forth into open air crying “FREEDOM!” Hope emerges out of useful anger flowing from our hearts and our mouths and dissolving the fear that holds us back. Hope emerges out of desperation for salvation...

Carlos Barria/Reuters Obama ending special immigration policy for Cubans: sources (Reuters)

Hope you guys have enjoyed the 1937 Dick Tracy classic serial, stay tuned for next week!

Honestly, I was a little on the fence about whether or not I should go back and give the entire backstory of Lucha Underground before I started writing up weekly reports on it. But then I figured if I did that, I would never get around to doing weekly updates. So maybe it would be better to just catch people up on storylines as I go. It's more important to me to be able to write about MY FAVORITE WRESTLING SHOW EVER on a weekly basis so let's get right to it!