Media Archives

Colby Covington: When a Bad Guy is No Longer Believable

Analysis, Mixed Martial Arts, Pro Wrestling | 20 December 2023

I’ll keep this short since there’s not much analysis to be had here. It’s just a short note on the current predicament of Colby Covington, the one-time interim UFC Welterweight Champion and now three-time title challenger. He lost all three title shots, and he’ll not likely get a fourth at the age of 35. How he carried himself and insulted his opponent Leon Edwards before the fight, handled his decision loss to the champion, and how fans reacted to his apparent lack of self-awareness is a case study for anyone looking to use antagonism for their own public image. (more…)

Cassette Tapes and the Texture of Music in Physical Media

by: Sonny Go

Audio, Music, Opinion | 29 November 2023

Whenever you have disposable cash in this day and age, you’ll likely find yourself browsing online stores on your phone at 2AM out of boredom. You’re looking for something that can momentarily spark your soul and give you something to look forward to in the meantime. When the package arrives, you get excited and unbox the thing; maybe you even record it on video for posterity. Perhaps you end up being disappointed because it didn’t live up to your expectations. But sometimes, your impulsive purchase ends up opening a whole new door in your life. The latter was what happened to me when I bought a cassette tape player on a whim. (more…)

There’s No Weight Behind Your Attacks, Demon Girl

by: Sonny Go

Analysis, Anime / Manga, Combat | 27 November 2023

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End — Stark vs. Linie

My anime of the year for 2023 is Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I don’t watch much anime these days, but I had been looking out for this anime adaptation of one of the best manga I’ve read in recent years. Not only does it have a compelling premise, but it also has lots of juicy ideas in it. The writing of Kanehito Yamada and the animation of Madhouse combined make for one of the best anime series for even non-weebs. For my first post on this show, I’d like to talk about a specific episode that briefly gets into an important martial arts concept. (more…)

Orks in Space, Chinese Folk Religion, and the Power of Belief

by: Sonny Go

Essays, Religion, Tabletop Games | 26 November 2023

Orks from Warhammer 40,000 and Chinese Folk Religion

No, seriously. Before you turn away and call me a loon or a bigot, do take note that I’m Chinese who was raised on this stuff. I grew up with this hodge-podge compendium of beliefs and superstitions that forms this syncretic religion. However, what I experienced may be a distilled version of it since we live in the Philippines. Our take on it may not be similar to that of Taiwan and mainland China, but I know enough to make connections with other things that may be like it. I also know enough about Warhammer 40,000 to write about wild green men in space. This has to be the most deranged blog post I’ll ever write in 2023, so let’s go for a ride. (more…)

I Dare You to Watch This Six-Hour Video on EVE Online

by: Sonny Go

Features, Video Games, YouTube | 16 November 2023

If you have a life and don’t have time to give time to such a long-ass documentary on nerd shit, then it’s completely understandable. You don’t need to whine about it like this dweeb on my blog post on fighting game controls. It’s not like you’re violating the Geneva Convention for not doing as I say. But if you do care about nerd shit like me, then you should watch the result of two whole years of work by Fredrik Knudsen, who is known online for his Down the Rabbit Hole documentary series. It’s six hours long, so you’ll have to either hunker down or watch in multiple sittings. If you’re curious about EVE Online, it’s worth watching because it digs insanely deep. (more…)

Diamonds Shine, Hearts Love, Spades Dig, Clubs Kill

by: Sonny Go

Features, Video Games | 27 October 2023

I’ve been binging on recent videos by Dan Olson from his Folding Ideas channel on YouTube and previously wrote about his video on WallStreetBets. After finishing that blog post, I watched this video on World of Warcraft, which didn’t seem as serious as a 2.5 hour documentary on a cult of gambling addicts playing the US stock market. However, I then saw a Reddit comment that piqued my interest so much that I had to write something about it. While it’s somewhat related to the video, this is less about toxic neckbeards yelling at strangers for being bad at playing WoW and more about different kinds of gamers and what they gravitate to. (more…)

Get Out of Your Own Way

by: Sonny Go

Life and Philosophy, Mixed Martial Arts, Opinion, Pro Wrestling | 08 September 2023

After the recent news of a particular individual being given the boot out of a certain company, I had to write about not only that situation, but also what I think is the cause. It wasn’t just an organizational problem, but also a personal one. I’ve wanted to write about ego and how it can affect a person’s judgment and their ability to work well with others. The greatest trick your ego can pull is to convince you that you’re one and the same and that you need that ego to be who you are. That’s a path of self-destruction, and many never learn to get out of their own way. (more…)

My Diablo IV Frost Lightning Sorcerer Build Guide

by: Sonny Go

Guides, Video Games | 07 August 2023

This still isn’t much of a guide as Diablo IV is still pretty young and I don’t intend to play it past a season or two. The only thing that truly interested me about it is the story, while the aesthetics aren’t exactly to my liking. However, the gameplay is still pretty good, so it interests me enough to make me want to explore different character builds. While this isn’t the Archon Wizard build I enjoyed in Diablo III, I’ve been enjoying clearing dungeons with this build so far. I’d like to share it with everyone else, whether it’s truly awesome or very much suboptimal. (more…)

Diablo IV Game Review

by: Sonny Go

Reviews, Video Games | 07 August 2023

When Blizzard started having its controversies, one of the only titles left that could give the now-embattled company hope for salvaging its once-stellar reputation was Diablo. However, Diablo III was a disappointment due to an incohesive and insensible storyline, as well as gameplay that tries a lot of new things and misses on a lot of them. Also, that launch was a complete disaster, from what I can remember. It looks like they’ve done the opposite with Diablo IV — the last game I’ll likely ever buy from the undead remnants of Blizzard Entertainment. (more…)

Kayfabe in Politics and Media Manipulation

by: Sonny Go

Essays, Life and Philosophy, Politics, Pro Wrestling | 18 July 2023

After getting word of videos about Eric Weinstein’s interpretation of kayfabe on Twitter, I found Frame Problems after a brief search and gave these three videos a watch. I found them interesting as they stretched the application of kayfabe to politics, economics, and mainstream media as far as they possibly can. I had always been interested in Eric Weinstein’s opinion of kayfabe being a crucial component of the cognitive toolbox. As a part of the pro wrestling industry, I wanted to take a closer look at this take on kayfabe and how understanding it can enhance how one interprets mainstream media and public consciousness. (more…)

What I Do as a Pro Wrestling Commentator

by: Sonny Go

Audio, Guides, Pro Wrestling | 08 July 2023

This is Sonny Go, and analysis is my business. I come before you today as a commentator for Manila Wrestling Federation. This blog post and included video both go into my process for announcing a pro wrestling show. We’ll look into what I do for Manila Wrestling Federation, how I prepare for pro wrestling commentary, and how I help out with production. This took a while to do and I even had second thoughts about putting it out, but I think it’s worth documenting my process as it is right now, both for posterity and to help anyone thinking of doing this. (more…)

The Stone and the Shape: Philosophy for Finding One’s Purpose

by: Sonny Go

Essays, Life and Philosophy, Video Games | 03 July 2023

Dwarves in Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura

One of the most profound pieces of philosophy I’ve ever encountered comes from a computer game, which happens to be my all-time favorite. Arcanum takes the best of old Fallout, brings it into a steampunk setting, and douses it with tons of lore and philosophy that even games by FromSoftware would struggle to compete against. This particular moment in the game would continue to fascinate me even as an adult, which is why I wanted to share it here in this blog post. (more…)