This year’s WrestleMania has come and gone and while it wasn’t the greatest of all time, it was certainly good. If nothing else, the show had possibly the best presentation and production I’ve ever seen in terms of the ring entrance and staging. It makes sense since that is something they can improve upon every year regardless of who’s walking down the aisle and just about everything else. It really did look impressive and was worthy of WrestleMania even if there were some details of the show that weren’t.

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The Expendables is exactly what you would imagine it to be if you were to really take a minute to think about it and let those initial nice feelings rooted in nostalgia pass. It’s a 80’s action movie revival written and directed by Sylvester Stallone and starring Stallone, Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke. The movie is overloaded with ultraviolence and shaky camera shots because that’s what Stallone thinks is relevant in 2010. That’s not to say it’s not a fun movie. It is. It has a few fun action scenes and its share of laughs. It’s just not the magic action movie that the Internet hype wants you to believe it is.

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This has been a fantastic week if you like what I like!  So many great things have come together that I almost feel like it was planned.  Well, it was all planned, just not by me.  These are the things that made this week so nice:

X-Men Marvel Masterworks

The Marvel Masterworks line collects older comics in classy hardbound volumes.  The first 6 X-Men Masterworks volumes covered issues 1-66 of the book spanning 1963 to 1970.  Once those were published, I assumed the run would be over as at that point the X-Men were “cancelled” and the next 27 issues were reprints of previously published stories until the series was relaunched in 1975 with Giant-Size X-Men #1 and continued with issue 94 (collected in a separate set of Uncanny X-Men Masterworks).

Imagine my surprise when I learned that a 7th volume was being released last year reprinting X-Men appearances in other Marvel titles during the “cancelled” years (a period in which new stories of the X-Men were told in John Byrne’s X-Men: The Hidden Years series a few years ago, a title I loved but was cancelled prematurely by Marvel).  These are books I have been tracking down for years and I was thrilled at the prospect of a Masterworks edition collecting them.  The 8th and final volume was released this week and is currently in transit to my home.

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine

Tonight I get a rare treat in being able to see one of my musical heroes, Jello Biafra, perform with a full band at my all time favorite Philadelphia venue, The Trocadero.  Before this show was announced, I almost bought tickets to see them in Brooklyn since it was the only East Coast show listed.  It would have been nice to see them twice, but an out of town show on a Thursday is tough, so I’m glad I waited.  After seeing Jello perform with the Melvins a year or two ago, I’m really looking forward to seeing him again (almost as much as Angie is dreading it).  It should be a great night of music from the new album, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, Jello’s work with the No WTO Combo and other songs from throughout Jello’s career with the Dead Kennedys.

WrestleMania featuring Bret Hart

This is one thing I really hoped I’d eventually get to see, Bret “the Hitman” Hart returning to WWE.  I know it’s all fake, and it’s not the highest form of entertainment, but I’ve been a fan of Bret Hart since I was around 11.  As you may have noticed, despite getting older I tend to hang on to the things I loved in my youth.  There have been countless times where I thought things were aligning for Bret to return (and I’m sure Kevin and Brian will be quick to point out how often I was wrong), but now it’s happening and it’s great.  They even threw in a Monday Night Raw with Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin; it was like 1996 all over again! This Sunday, we’ll get one last WrestleMania appearance from the Hit Man, resolve the 13 year feud with Vince McMahon, and a legendary wrestler will get the send-off he deserves in one of the strongest WrestleMania line ups in years.

A week of deliciousness

Angie is the greatest.  For years now she’s been honing her culinary skills and has even gotten to the point where she’s so excited about the kitchen that she has to share it with the world.  This week she let me choose the menu and pick out some of my favorite meals in her extensive repertoire: pasta with chicken bolognese, enchiladas, and last night’s étouffé (my number one seed in Angie’s March Madness of Meals).  She was even willing to take a night off from cooking to get Chabaa Thai take out on Wednesday.  Above everything else this week, I am one lucky well-fed guy.

I’m not going to lie to you, Chuck is my favorite TV show.  I missed it while it was away and I’m thrilled to see it back.  The first two episodes of the season didn’t click with me at first, but I made time to watch them again. After re-watching them before last week’s episode I realized I was just expecting something different from this season and there was absolutely nothing wrong with them. Episode three was fantastic, I really enjoyed the way Devon was losing it under all the pressure and they paralleled it with Chuck being able to hold it together. Also, the continuing malfunctions of the Intersect 2.0 and Buy More Fight Club were outstanding.

Last week’s guest star, Angie Harmon, was great, but I can’t tell you how ready I am for this week.  Chuck versus Stone Cold Steve Austin…come on!  How could I not be excited for this? I even liked The Condemned. Get lost, Lost.  Tonight is the highlight of the TV season!  What a year 2010 has been so far with Bret Hart on Raw and now Steve Austin on Chuck. Again, it’s my favorite show.