Banned Books: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

It’s banned books week!

anned Books Week, celebrating its 33rd anniversary September 27th – October 3rd this year, is an annual worldwide project celebrating the freedom to read. Booksellers, publishing houses, journalists, teachers, librarians, and avid readers alike are encouraged to support the freedom to seek out and express ideas, even if those ideas are considered to be unorthodox. As this year’s focus of Banned Books week centers on young adult books, Stephen Chbosky’s 1999 epistolary novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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Cosplay Companion: Modifying Fairy Wings

Nobody likes wings with shoulder straps!

With New York Comic Con and Halloween approaching, ‘tis the season for cosplay and costumes! I am sure some of you will be using costumes that involve wings; fairy wings, angel wings, or perhaps steampunk or robotic-type wings. I am working on a Tinker Bell cosplay for NYCC myself, and quickly came to the decision that store bought wings stink. I bought my cheap, small wings on Amazon, and while the quality leaves much to be desired the biggest issue I have with my wings are the unsightly shoulder straps!

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The Silent Hills That Almost Were

One Year Later, P.T. is still incredible

I based my decision to buy a PlayStation 4 partly on the fact that P.T. was on it exclusively. Mere months after I bought my new system and played the much-discussed demo for Silent Hills, P.T. was removed from the PSN store forever. In retrospect, this was without a doubt the smartest video game console purchase decision I ever made. P.T. is now, effectively, a rare game.

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Falling Out, and Back In

Let’s face it, if you’re reading this then you’re hyped about Fallout 4.

Bethesda did an awesome job teasing the announcement and ended up following through not only with tons of details but also the surprise reveal of the earlier-than-expected release date. So between now and November the natural way to fight your anticipation is to replay the earlier games in the series. (There is also the free Fallout Shelter app but the ultimate end goal of that game is deleting it when you realize that it’s pointless.) As it turned out, I had left my main story in Fallout 3 unfinished for the better part of 5 years. 

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Wizard World Philadelphia: A First Timer’s Experience

The Wizarding World of Philadelphia

Wizard World Philadelphia ran from May 7-May 9 this year, held in the Philadelphia Convention Center. Some of this year’s big-name guests included Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Haley Atwell, David Tennant, Stephen Amell, and Burt Reynolds, plus there were cosplay contests and concerts, and a solid supply of panels. I attended Wizard World on Saturday, May 9 this year, and it was a nice little adventure!

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Twenty Years of Love and Justice: Sailor Moon Then & Now

Is the new Sailor Moon the guardian we’ve boon looking for?

When Sailor Moon Crystal was first announced, I wasn’t sure how to feel. It was the reboot I never knew I wanted, though I remained concerned about the quality of the series. After all, we live in the Age of Reboots and it’s typically a heck of a coin toss whether or not they will be any good; I’m looking at you, Spider-Man, Total Recall, and Star Trek: Into Darkness. If Sailor Moon Crystal was a dismal wreck of a revival, I just wasn’t sure my heart could take it.

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Closet Cosplay Challenge #1: Wednesday Addams

Samantha takes on the Closet Cosplay Challenge

We’ve all been there at some point. You need a costume for a last minute party invite, but don’t want to wear the same thing you wore for Halloween just a few months ago. Maybe a friend of a friend bailed on a convention outing, and now you have an unexpected 3-day pass and nothing to wear to celebrate your favorite fandom. Perhaps you are a new (or seasoned) cosplayer, and the piece you’ve been working on all year just won’t be finished in time—or worse, a vital prop broke days before the con, and there’s no time to repair it.

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