It's Mania 42 Weekend (It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It)

It'll be 12AM BST, on Saturday 18th April, when this post sees the light of day.

WWE Smackdown will be an hour away. It'll be the final show before WrestleMania 42 which will dominate this coming weekend.

Dominate?

Maybe that's too strong a word.

WWE has been anything but dominant this WrestleMania season. In all the years I've watched Mania, I haven't felt this negative to what is usually one of my most favourite weekends as a fan. 

There's a huge problem with World Wrestling Entertainment right now. 

Ever since TKO took over the business, there seems to be less emphasis on the wrestlers and more on the outsiders they bring in for the marquee event of the year.

Ironic as this might seem, one of the biggest outsiders for this year's Mania is Pat McAfee.

Yes, Pat McAfee who has been working for WWE as commentator, on-and-off, for many years.

He recently returned for the build to the show and has been playing a heel character calling out how crap the business is nowadays and even used words like 'Mark' - an archaic carny term used for a person who believes in the con. The word has evolved to mean anyone 'outside' of the business, which makes it ironic that McAfee used it in his diction.

An AI image of carny wrestlers and their 'customers' from another era

People INSIDE the business protects it all costs. They would never use the word 'Mark' in view of the buying public (you know - the marks).

If McAfee - or the people telling him what to say for that matter - knew that, the word would not have made it to TV.

It shows a lack of awareness for all involved. A disrespect for the business and its history, too.

I predict long-term damage from this naivety. Tickets aren't selling well as it is. 

This isn't the business I grew up following. That's for sure.

I Try A KFC Pickle Burger Meal Which Doesn't Seem To Have Many - Or Any! - Pickles

In late-February, I tried KFC's Cheesy Melt Burger and was recently alerted to the fact that a new pickle burger has been released.

I was in two minds whether to bother ordering the latest limited edition burger. I eventually concluded I would, so here goes.

I ordered the Pickle Burger Box Meal which comes with the pickle burger that consists of an 'Original Recipe fillet spiked with pickle seasoning, paired with tangy sliced gherkins, creamy pickle ranch and crispy pickle cucumber pieces' inside a glazed bun.

Fully aware that gherkins are pickled cucumbers, seeing it written like that was one of the reasons this cucumber hater wasn't completely sold on the idea of this meal. I also state that with the conviction of being a gherkin lover. Make sense out of that one.

As you can see, in the image above, the writing on the box gives off a 'pickle' thing with the green-coloured font and prominent green colouring on the packaging.

The burger, you could say, looked nothing like the image on the website. Here's mine:

And here is the promotional picture:

I know that this happens all the time - the burgers never look as good as the poster. On this occasion, however, there was a gigantic chasm between the promised goods and what met my hands.

It looks like I wasn't given any gherkins in my burger now that I've compared what I was given and what is on the poster! I suppose there is one on the left if you look hard enough.

With that HUGE annoyance aside, I did enjoy what I was given. I won't have it again, however.

That's not all.

While ordering the fries that come with the meal, I opted for the add-on where I can have them pickle-themed.

The pickle loaded fries come with the fries (obviously!) but they're given the spiked pickle sauce treatment along with a few gherkins and popcorn chicken on top.

Here's what I was given...

..now compare it with the website:

If there was doubt about there being a lack of gherkins in the burger. There can be no argument with the loaded fries. 

Are there any!?

I legitimately didn't begin this post to complain about a lack of gherkins. However, upon comparison with what the KFC website promotes, I've evidently been stiffed here, haven't I?

With that said, I did enjoy the loaded fries even with one of the evidently missing components.

In February, I called the Cheesy Melt Burger meal 'a fine mess'. It's follow-up wasn't fine at all. Not with the benefit of hindsight thanks to those photographic comparisons.

I suppose you could call this one a pickled miss.

Sock 'Em

I know I'm getting old, but there's something that has been bothering me for quite some time. 

I own five pairs of socks. Well, I own more than five pairs, but I have a set of five pairs with weekdays on them. Have had similar socks over the years.

This morning, when I was browsing through the pile of socks to choose, I decided I'd look for the one for Thursday. After all, today is Thursday. The problem, however, is I didn't know which colours represent the Thursday pair.

They're the pair with the red and yellow writing. 

I've had these socks for at least three years yet, there I was, still unsure which ones to look for. Back in the day, I had ones for Monday through to Sunday, with squared faces on them, in various colours. I knew all those off by heart.

For a random reason, the only colour I know - from my current pairs - is for Tuesday. Those are purple.

As for the other four days of the week? Fuhgeddaboutit!

Yes, I could simply pick any socks to wear regardless of day, but - where is the fun in that?

114

The Titanic sank 114 years ago today.

As I have written many times on this blog over the years, it's a historic moment that has fascinated me ever since I read a book in the mid-90s.

I spent a bit of this morning watching a YouTube video with a computer-generated recreation of the final few hours of the ship's fateful journey.

The people behind the video have been doing the live streams for quite some time. I believe it has been ten years. 

I'll catch the rest of it later on today.

Catching Back Up With Malcolm

I didn't watch Malcolm in the Middle during its peak. I came along a few years later, when it would air on Channel 5's sister channel (Fiver/Five Star) before Home and Away. Therefore, I'd catch it every weekday evening for a good year or two.

With that noted, I believe I can claim to have seen most, if not all, episodes across its seven-season run.

In December of 2024, I was one of the many fans excited to find out that the series was making a comeback of sorts. Well, the four episode mini-series - Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair - was made available to Disney Plus the other day. 

And.... I loved it.

It was so great to catch up with all of the major (and minor!) characters from the original series. Equally, it was also intriguing to be introduced to some newcomers like Malcolm's daughter - Leah - who played part in one of the funny subplots to this limited return.

Bryan Cranston's return as Hal was hilarious. We always used to see the patriarch of the family find himself in peculiar situations. As usual, Hal found himself in a manic arc that was right on par with what we should have expected from the Malcolm in the Middle writers. 

I laughed out loud at certain points. Just like the olden days.

The entire thing felt like a get-together of old and new as a tribute to the series. It was wonderful. I was actually quite sad once it dawned on me that I had seen all four episodes knowing that was likely it.

For now? 

Oh, I can only hope.

Mania Week Begins

It's usually one of my favourite times of the year. Sure doesn't feel like it right now.

But - here we are: WrestleMania Week.

I suppose it started off well. I woke up early, knocked the Apple TV remote as I was getting out of bed and it fired up YouTube.

Being recommended to me, at that time, was WWF WrestleMania VIII. 

As I have written many times over the years, here's one example, the 1992 Mania is arguably my favourite one in the now forty-two-year history of the event.

Seeing that thumbnail made me contemplate how things have changed since that amazing show from the Hoosier Dome (where the Colts played!) in Indianapolis. 

We've recently lost Hulk Hogan meaning both participants of the main event have now gone following Sid Justice's passing in 2024.

The other main feature of that show, and billed as part of a 'Double Main Event', saw Ric Flair lose the WWF Title to 'Macho Man' Randy Savage. 

Flair's the only one left from the four headline acts from that show.

I might click on that YouTube recommendation sometime this week. It'll fun to have it on as background noise.

I loved WrestleMania VIII. Going by the way TV has gone for this year's event, I could very well end up hating WrestleMania 42.

A Good Couple Of Days At The Aintree Office

Fair play - Microsoft Copilot did do a decent job in yesterday's post when I instructed it to select five horses to back in the Grand National.

As I pointed out, the AI assistant chose one 'main pick', two selections it regarded as strong backups' and a couple of 'long range threats'.

The main selection - I Am Maximus - won the race. 

But, that's not all. 

Iroko, who was categorised as a 'long range threat', finished in second place.

Incredible.

All in all, it was a brilliant week of betting for yours truly.

I was given a £2 free bet to wager on any of the races on Friday's card. I decided to use it on a double with names that stood out to me.

The horses I ended up going for were 'Jet To Vegas' because WrestleMania is in Las Vegas next weekend and 'Indiana Jones'. I chose the latter mainly because it's the nickname of the Indianapolis Colts' quarterback, Daniel Jones. I don't know if I would have selected it for the obvious reason of it being the name of the movie character had it not been for the Colts.

The first horse was 25/1 while Indy was 150/1. I didn't expect anything. I thought it would just be a laugh to have selected those two names. 

I happened to be in the living room following the second race and noticed Indiana Jones had placed. I opened my phone to check my betting account and there was £185 waiting for me.

Amazing result. I genuinely didn't think the bet had a chance. I only chose the names for fun.