We have now completed 25 years in the new millennium and a quarter of the way through the century. 2025 was a pretty good year; fairly normal, but I do have some things to work on in 2026 to make up for where I fell short in some of my goals. Of course, the goals for 2026 will be covered in another post. We will cover the same three categories.

In Memorium

The major talking point in 2025 was some of the folks we tragically lost.

Charlie Kirk (1993 – 2025)

RIP Charlie Kirk

Of all the deaths during the year, Charlie Kirk’s assassination was the most shocking. I don’t care which side of the aisle you sit on, political violence is NEVER the answer. The man did not deserve to be shot simply because he wanted to have a civil discussion and challenge your views. We all should be more like Charlie Kirk. Just because we don’t agree doesn’t mean we can’t have an adult conversation. Also, celebrating any person’s death is disgusting, and a political party should have nothing to do with that. I have never cheered or wished for pain and grief of any person who thinks the opposite of me.

TV and Film

It was a rough year in Hollywood. We lost a lot of greats, and the most shocking of which was Rob Reiner (78). Rob Reiner and his wife were found stabbed to death in their home. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with their murder. Other great icons we lost were Robert Redford (89), Diane Keaton (79), Gene Hackman (95), Val Kilmer (65), and George Wendt (76). Fun fact: George Wendt is Jason Sudeikis’s uncle.

Hulk Hogan

Gen-X took another hit by losing Hulk Hogan (71), Malcolm-Jamal Warner (54 – Theo from The Cosby Show), Michelle Trachtenberg (39 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Jerry Adler (96 – The Sopranos), Terence Stamp (87 – Superman II), Graham Greene (71 – Dances with Wolves), and Julian McMahon (56 – Fantastic Four).

Sadly, the list doesn’t end there. We also lost June Lockhart (100 – Lassie), Loni Anderson (79 – WKRP), Michael Madsen (67), Kenneth Colley (87 – Admiral Piett in Empire Strikes Back), Loretta Swit (87 – MASH), Joan Plowright (95 – Dennis the Menace), Chef Anne Burrell (55), and Phil Robertson (79 – Duck Dynasty). Elaine Merk Binder, one of the last remaining Munchkins, passed away at 94.

Music, Sports, and Other Popular Figures

The biggest loss in the music industry was the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne (76). Also Brian Wilson (82 – Beach Boys), Bob Uecker (90), and George Foreman (76). We lost former Vice President Dick Cheney (84), Jane Goodall (91), and the Holy Father Pope Francis (88).

RIP to all of these great people. The world is a duller place without them.

2025 Year in Review: Movies

In 2025, I learned that I had an AMC Premiere account. Well, we decided to renew said account (which is about $17 for the year), and it’s well worth it. Not only can we earn points on what we buy, but we can also get free upgrades on popcorn and soft drinks. There is also a program called Screen Unseen. Essentially, we can see a movie at a discounted price (about $6); however, we don’t know what it is. The only thing we do know is the rating and the approximate runtime.

Anyway, all that to say we saw quite a few movies in the theater in 2025. It was great to get back out to the cinema. Here are the films we saw, in the theater, in 2025.

In 2026, we have a few movies to look forward to, starting The Mandalorian & Grogu, Avengers: Doomsday, and a few interesting biopics.

Health and Wellness

I still haven’t found a reliable app to track my steps as well as the FitBit app does. I’m still in the hunt, and I hope to find something that works this year. The year started great. I lost 15 pounds in time for the Flying Pig, and I ran my second half-marathon.

Unfortunately, that was where I peaked for the year. The weight I lost, I gained back by the end of the year, simply because I got lazy. I made every excuse not to go running. You can probably guess what one of my 2026 goals will be (which I will cover in a separate post).

/cheers