A Sad Day-O (January 2026)

Well, welcome to 2026. And if you thought, nay, hoped things would get better, this month absolutely proved that wasn't going to happen. Just a constant barrage of the worst possible shit happening on an endless loop that made 31 days feel like 31 months. As usual, the political stuff, the fucking abhorrent stuff, I'll refrain from. All I'll say is it's the middle of winter, things are colder, and I just await the day when all the ice goes away forever. Let's talk about some of the stuff I bought and some other stuff that went down in January with another 1000 words. 

This wasn't really a month for game finds as it was a month of VHS finds and a few other things. Starting the month with a decent trove of items. I finally found a working VHS copy of Brave Little Toaster. This was my third time picking it up with two very busted copies beforehand. It still feels so weird to me that this movie remains lost from Disney+ while the sequels are still up. Other finds include George of the Jungle, Iron Will, the first two Home Alone movies and more. 

I also found a practically mint condition copy of Kiki's Delivery Service. Going through all of these Disney tapes it's kind of surprising how heavily Disney advertised this. And I ended up liking it, though it really does feel like a movie that ends just when things really get started. It left me wanting more, so that's a plus. Also I got Navy Seals for no other reason than that line from Clerks. 

I also found a mint copy of The Lost World: Jurassic Park with the lenticular card intact. I'm not even a Jurassic Park fan but I have always loved how cool that tape case was. 

Over on eBay, I didn't get too much this month. Just a couple things. One of which I wish I had right now, but it won't be in until sometime this week (hopefully soon, but weather delays are afoot because have I mentioned that I hate winter?). What I did get that has arrived were Wheel of Fortune Family Edition for NES, The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino and Hoppy (No, not the one that's like a thousand bucks, this is the Grand Dad one) and a VHS copy of Beetlejuice for 30 bucks. Yes, I paid 30 bucks for a VHS tape in 2026. But I don't regret it. Tape and case are near-mint and it was a tape I've been hunting since I started this whole tape collecting thing. Rather get it done now instead of waiting for god knows how long for a thrift store to have one, only for that to likely be full of dust inside the tape. I had honestly never watched Beetlejuice from start to finish before this (I've watched the movie, but never like a full dedicated sit) and I really enjoyed it. I still think the cartoon is my preferred Beetlejuice media. But the movie has a great cast (sigh, even Jeffrey Jones but that's the most praise I'll give him) and I just always love anything Catherine O'Hara stars in.

And then, on January 30th, Catherine O'Hara passes away. So that sucks. That sinking feeling of "oh god, we're going to lose the rest of the SCTV cast soon" hits like a truck. But she's such a pivotal part of my childhood and so many others. The Home Alone movies were a big piece of my childhood and her role as Kate McCallister is a major factor towards that. The aforementioned Beetlejuice which she's great in, as well as the sequel which I maintain she was the best part of. And then there's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Sally is one of my favorite characters, and Catherine was a big part in that (as well as Shock). I know we just got a John Candy documentary, I really hope that plans are already in motion for a Catherine O'Hara doc in the future because she more than deserves that. 

Wrestling front was mostly just there this month. A few very notable moves from AEW to WWE and vice versa with Powerhouse Hobbs (now Royce Keys) to the WWE and Tommaso Ciampa to AEW. I think both are good gets for both brands. I don't trust WWE's track record on keeping AEW talent booked strongly (Rusev and Aleister are good examples) but I think Keys will do just fine. Ciampa is already TNT champion so clearly the company has ideas for him. 

The Royal Rumble was this month and it was the Saudi Rumble. I'll admit to having seen it. The Rumble is too much of an attractor to me. Mania next year though already feels like a skip. And if the booking of this show was any indication, then I don't really see a very interesting Mania next year or even this year. Roman Reigns and Liv Morgan take the Rumble wings. Happy for Liv, she definitely deserves it and the likely match with Stephanie Vaquer will be a good match. Roman Reigns winning on the other hand feels like the ultimate example of how this company is absolutely petrified of making new stars or breaking from the status quo. We're on the road to Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes III. And the Saudi Mania will likely see Roman vs Rock. Neither interest me. If anything a Reigns/Cody third bout is the ultimate example that Triple H is no better than Vince when it comes to any creativity in the industry. Knowing his current other position, we know Paul Levesque is morally bankrupt, but oh yeah, he's just as creatively bankrupt, or more so.

Still no big Nintendo Direct for 2026, but I didn't expect one in January. We're usually due one around February/March. We did however get ones for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (more just a trailer presentation) and one for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. The Mario sequel still doesn't interest me. Yes, the seemingly all but confirmed lack of Daisy is a factor, but also nothing about the movie so far through its trailers have made me go "I have to see this right now." More a "I'll watch this when it hits Netflix" vibe. Tomodachi was the more interesting of the two, showing off the core mechanics. And I like what I see. Clearly the game's lost a few of the more fun things like the music hall, but going by the trailer, the same wacky quirks of the 3DS game are all still there. But more importantly to me, you can adjust relationships and genders to include nonbinary and queer relationships, which given the hellscape we're in I much, MUCH appreciate. The worst people in the world are screeching about it, of course, but I have no time for that nonsense.

And that's pretty much the main crux of this month for me. February looks to be just as slow going for me, and given the state of the world, just as fucking horrific. No AEW PPV, Elimination Chamber on the 28th, so not too much on the wrestling front to look forward to. A Pokemon Presents for the 30th anniversary is pretty much a given, maybe a dedicated Direct (though I'd guess an Indie World or Partner Showcase instead). And I have quite a bit of stuff coming that at least makes the collection section more interesting, but we'll see.