Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: As professional wrestling takes its lumps, so does my childhood

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: As professional wrestling takes its lumps, so does my childhood

There were three absolute truths about me as a child: I loved superheroes, video games, and professional wrestling. If you know me at all, that has not changed one iota over the years. Sure, more interests have been integrated into my life, but that has only made me more lovable… or insufferable, depending on one’s […]

 Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: Not even Peace Day can bring Burger King and McDonald’s together – but I will

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: Not even Peace Day can bring Burger King and McDonald’s together – but I will

There are a lot of random holidays appearing on calendars these days. Hell, I don’t even know if you can call them “holidays.” What I do know is that some of these “holidays” are nothing but gimmicks for random days that hold no actual historic or national meaning to them whatsoever. Then again – I […]

 Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: Dealing with change – saying goodbye to Jon Stewart on ‘The Daily Show’

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: Dealing with change – saying goodbye to Jon Stewart on ‘The Daily Show’

If you have been keeping track of this column over the past months, you probably have some sort of inkling that I am not a big fan of change. If things could remain the same, I’d be totally fine with that. I like being comfortable in the things that I surround myself with. The direction […]

 Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: The nerd news media blackout on TV needs to end

San Diego Comic Con has come and gone, but unless you kept your face inches away from your cell phone, tablet, PC, or laptop this past weekend, you may not have known. That fact is shocking considering how much nerd culture has permeated everything nowadays. I mean, between Hollywood’s reliance on superheroes to keep them […]

 Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: ‘Fallout 4’ declares war on my social life – and wins before its release

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: ‘Fallout 4’ declares war on my social life – and wins before its release

A few months back, I wrote about how “Dragon Age: Inquisition” had completely ruined my life – how it took up months of my life between all the exploration, fighting and warring, collecting materials, crafting, customizing, etc. I have finally finished my quest after clocking in close to 200 hours of gameplay. The battle was […]

 Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: When the hell did I get old?

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: When the hell did I get old?

Last year, I turned 30. I still felt like I had the pep and vigor I had in previous years. I’d go to concerts, movie premiers, and I’d constantly hang out with friends anywhere and everywhere. Actually, none of that has changed since turning 31 a few months ago. And yet something is very different. […]

 Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: Creativity is dead, and I know the killers and their motives!

There will not be a gentle, gradual slide into my argument today. I am the prosecutor in the court of public opinion, and today I am stating my case to the judge and jury. Or maybe I’m a lunatic on the streets raising a makeshift sign over my head proclaiming “the end” to any passersby. […]

 Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: ‘Batman v Superman’ is so gritty you could use it as sandpaper – but why?

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: ‘Batman v Superman’ is so gritty you could use it as sandpaper – but why?

Superheroes have been leaping off the pages of comic books and into other forms of media for the past 75 years. There have been various television serials and series, numerous Saturday morning cartoons, and countless movies showcasing the exploits of these bastions of justice. In 1978, we received the first full-length feature film of Superman. […]

 Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: The good, the unfunded, and the Paul Blarts of the movie business

There is a certain nuance that can be found in small or independent films. Yes, the budget may not be as much as a larger movie would receive from bigger studios, but then those filmmakers can create the type of movie they want to make without interjections from producers and higher-ups. Their story doesn’t have […]

 Rich Cicci

WILDLY FRUSTRATED: The flame war battlegrounds of social media

With social media, we have been granted access to the various lives of millions of people around the globe. It has even had a huge part in many protests and upheavals in countries halfway around the world. This interconnectedness can be an amazingly strong tool. Yet here, in our country, we use it for such […]