All posts for the month December, 2016

Bests and Worsts of 2016

Disclaimer: This post is based on the opinion and observation of the Lead Writer herself! Please respect her thoughts and opinions! Also, we didn’t mean to go political for one thing but had to! Also, if you don’t like it then don’t read it!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Whew! We are finally on the last day of 2016. You know what that means? It is time for the annual Bests and Worsts list of the year on this blog. This past year was pretty much the worst year to many and there have been really good moments along the way but balanced with the bad too. Let’s start off with the Worsts because I think I have a bit more than the Bests!

Worsts

Celebrity Deaths: First is that this year had a lot of celebrities dying and that included David Bowie, Prince, Pete Burns, and the most recent Carrie Fisher. It felt as though this past year was the big year for us losing the most epic of celebrities even the ones that were overlooked such as the guy who was in the R2D2 suit, I am not kidding there was an actual three foot tall dude in that robot suit in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Worst Election Year EVER! Yes, I have to mention this when normally here we are not political but this year has been the worst election especially with the winner. As everyone knew and voted, it was pretty much Hilary Clinton vs. Donald Trump all year and man it was a heated battle which caused me to ask on Facebook towards America, “WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?” After knowing who won and that was Donald Trump. Heck, the world was even upset since there were countries watching who who will win and I know they wanted Hilary like the popular vote which she didn’t win and did find out as a fact that back in the past Presidents did win based on popular vote which would’ve been great but nope! The electoral college chose Trump to win over the popular vote this year. I keep on wondering why would they want someone who is going to embarrass us with the next four years? Let 2020 get here so we can have a better election because I don’t want him back in office.

Most B. S. Press Turndown: MegaCon Orlando! I had to mention this because we did have another turn down by a convention for press and that is our most popular and biggest convention in town and that is MegaCon. I did put Orlando due to how there is Tampa Bay MegaCon and not sure if that will happen again this year but we did get press for that but due to scheduling conflicts, we couldn’t make it but at least we know we can get it. Why Orlando turned us down? Apparently, even Nerdy Shirts mentioned this in his review and I added some notes, that it was due to how we didn’t cover them in the past. Here is the thing, if you know the story of us starting we didn’t start until a few months later from MegaCon 2012 on Blogger and didn’t start doing press until a year later but in Tampa over at MetroCon. We haven’t been back to Mega for three years due to branching out to other conventions like Omni, since they were the ones who reached out to us, Holiday Matsuri, and MythiCon. We did try AFO last year and you know the story with that. Will we go for Orlando again? Yes and hoping we get it this year because we have done so much for the convention community and since we are a small blog now getting slightly bigger, it does show that we can gain more experience and Nerdy Shirts did say that bigger conventions should give smaller blogs even some that are starting out press badges to help them get their name out there. Plus, unlike most blogs, we do interview the big stars, heck we just interviewed Steve Blum this past Holiday Matsuri and it would be great that we get more stars which we wanted if we done MegaCon like the Doctor Who companions, Kevin Smith and Jason Muse, even Adam West and the guy who played Robin in Batman who are now retired. Please let us cover Mega this coming year because just heard that Tim Curry is a guest this year.

Worst Movies: Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad! This goes to two movies since this year D. C. Comics and Warner Brothers tried to topple over Marvel Studios by bringing in Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad. WGondras and I didn’t see either but heard that they both sucked! I would believe because I’ve seen the reviews especially with Black Critic Guy and both Bennet and Gabe doing it. I did do a post on where D. C. and Warner Brothers are better on and that is on TV because when they do movies they try so hard to copy off the success of Marvel but when they do it their story in film falls flat on their face or faces. As in, when they did the BVS film, they had characters that just stood there and when Nostalgia Critic did his review he had his cast do that “Oh, this person is there!” and whoever played them they went, “Hello!” and just left. That was a really good example of that idea and that’s not what we want in a movie when it comes to comic movie adaptations. At least with Civil War, you have all the characters involved and interacting with each other throughout the film not just stand there! I did hear the best out of Suicide Squad was both Marg Robbie as Harley Quin and Will Smith as Dead Shot which I might see that on NetFlix. Still, D. C. and Warner Brothers are better off just doing shows since what I’ve seen of Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow they were all great and the casting was even greater and not just saying that when they got the guy who played Harry Dresden on the Dresden Files tv show was on Arrow. Still, Warner Brothers, just stick to TV!

Weakest Season for a TV Show: Season 3 of Agents of SHIELD! Yes, I had to mention this on here because it was the worst season of Agents of SHIELD! Even though I need to catch up on season four of this series, Season 3 took on the Hive storyline and just made it bad. I am really sorry that I felt like I crapped all over it but Seasons 1 and 2 were better than this and the start of this past season was better because they did take the time to write all these seasons. I never thought back to season 3 until now because I wanted to forget about it and how it felt a little rushed even I would’ve written a better Hive story by instead of having Ward come back and becoming the Hive, I would’ve had the guy that Simmons interacted with on that planet be it instead by acting all okay on Earth but then turn around and not okay! I did feel better that Simmons and Fitz finally made love! Sorry, spoler!
Runner Up: Agent Carter Season 2! I think most of us have to agree that the second season of Agent Carter was a bit weak. Gondras didn’t like how they changed up the story and made the twists and turns different from the original story. If we gotten press for MegaCon, we could’ve interviewed Haley Atwell and asked her about her thoughts on it but as you can tell, we didn’t like it as much. Even though the series will be on a hiatus at the moment due to Atwell doing a different series, hoping if it comes back

Worst MakeUp Product According to YouTube: Nikki Tutorials Pallet with Too Faced! I had to mention this since this year it was all about the YouTubers collaborating with popular makeup brands and Too Faced was one of them. They collabed with Nikki Tutorials wt creat the Power of MakeUp pallet. I did get my paws on this and some people did say that this pallet had inconsistencies and that dealt with the pigmentation in the shadows and the highlighter, Pink Truffle. I did admit in one of my Favorites post that I mentioned this pallet is that one of the shadows did have to be built up but I did notice the other shadows were pretty pigmented and stayed put all day. I even remember a YouTuber did do a tutorial with this when she got it in Canada and so many people got on her case about it when she said it was really pigmented to her. To me it deals with the type of primer you use whether it is the Shadow Assurance primer that came with this pallet or anything you use like how I used the Maybelline shadow primer I love a lot! Also, I do believe that Too Faced should’ve taken the time to formulate the shadows like their Chocolate Bar pallets since it could’ve helped fix the inconsistencies and made it better.
Rummer Up: LimeCrime Super Foil Shadows! I heard about these but never bought them myself since I heard bad things about them and that is the LimeCrime Super Foils. They are a duo chrome shadow that features two colors in one compact and they are activated with water to give the metallic effect that people love even with the Duo Chromes that MakeUp Geek makes. As I have heard, LimeCrime is known for their own crimes such as the website being hacked and the owner putting down her customers, and there was recent sacadal where a contest dealt with buying a gift card to be entered into a drawing for over a $1000 in their products as a prize which normally contests don’t require that. Anyways, what made this the worst product from what I’ve seen on YouTube? Apparently mold and rust grows in these shadows even with not using the shadow itself! What did LimeCrime say about it? They said it’s harmless! How can it beharmless when you are putting rust and mold near your eye? Even people are wondering that too! Apparently the pans in these shadows are made from tin which rusts eery easily and when you are making a shadow that is activated with water you need a stronger metal! I need to ask Doe Dar something…have you seen the Wizard of Oz? The Tin Man rusts when water hits him due tow tin rusts easily when water hits! Plus, the eye is the most sensitive thing on us and you can get injured in that area or even go blind, take it from me since I’ve been blind since 2008 from an eye condition and it’s not easy. That is why I took a look into the fake lashes thing but back to what I said before, I wouldn’t buy this if I were you if you found it somewhere since I heard this item got taken off of LimeCrime’s website. I would also say stick to using shadows from MakeUp Geek, Colour Pop, Urban Decay, and many more that we all trust and love!

Worst Tragedy: The Pulse Shooting in Orlando… I had to mention this here since not only we had so many deaths in the celebrity world but we also had a worst emount of deaths but at a night club all thanks to one guy shooting up a night club in Orlando and that is known as Pulse. This took place when I was in Daytona for a pre-employment program and I just froze when dorm staff told me about this. I had to look into it and can’t believe that something like this would happen especially on a night where so many people were trying to enjoy their nitht like everyone else both gay and straight. At least the guy was found and was killed, I know that sounds mean of me to say but if he did survive then the House of Blues would’ve been next. Near Pulse right now, there were flags installed on the light poles saying “Orlando Unites” and even Tom from Soul Switch wore the shirt with that on his final night performing with them back in July. Again, I don’t get why people should have guns and gun control should take place since tragedies like these can be prevented. My heart still goes out to the victims that lost loved ones during this shooting.

Worst Device: The Galaxy 7 Note! ::groans:: I had to mention this since this thing has been on the news everywhere all this fall! It is the Galaxy 7 Note! If you all haven’t heard or heard all over, it is a phone that looks like a tablet and it was the latest in the series this year along with the IPhone 7! This device was known for overheating and causing fires while being on the charger. Someone in Hong Kong lost their apartment to it and even a guy got bronchitis while sleeping as it caught on fire on the charger. TSA wouldn’t even allow this thing on board of any flights due to what happened! Even someone in Daytona had one and had it recalled when news of this started rising. All thanks to this, Samsung did lose a lot of business due to the recall or shall I say two recalls of this device. I am so glad I am with Apple and have an IPhone SE since I upgraded to it this year finally when my IPhone 4S’ power button had a spring broken. Good thing is that I went with bigger storage with it too. Speaking of which.

Worst Tech CNo Ear Phone Jack in Iphone 7! Reason why I had to mention this is that I know we are trying to go wireless but IPhone 7 having wireless ear buds due to not having no ear phone jack was a bad idea. Yes, I know there is a lightning jack to plug in regular earphones but people were mad about that as well. What even sucked more was that some guy made a video about drilling a hole to create a new earphone jack into your IPhone 7 which newsflash it doesn’t work that way! People tried it and pretty much bricked their phones! There goes the Apple Care repair thing! I am hoping with the next phone they have an earphone jack with hhow bad this went.
Bests!

Movie: Dead Pool! Oh yes! I have to start the bests list with movies and to me Dead Pool takes it this year! Wow, a Fox Entertainment movie takes the trophy? Well, when you look at it, Dead Pool is still a part of Marvel and Fox did a pretty good job on this film. As in, getting his attitude, the comedy down, and even the action! Heck, the audio description that I had with this film even described it to a T! When I heard that Regal got it for this film, I was like “Count me in!” And I did get a Dead Pool hoodie! Oh by the way, even Ryan Reynolds, still better as Dead Pool than Green Lantern! I did hear this a second one coming out and can’t wait!
Runner Up: Civil War! It was hard since I almost thought Dr. Strange should’ve gotten runner up for this but Civil War kind of gets it more because it was a very good comic adaptation even though the ending went differently from the comic and it worked out very well. As said in the Worst Films slot, this movie did a lot better than what Warner Brothers did with BVS because it had all the characters interacting and being ivolved like they’re supposed to and made the story as compelling as it is. Also., Spiderman is back and he was played very well and of course, if you guys want me to, do you want me to write my thoughts about Spiderman having a movie in Marvel?

Best Death Battle; Dead Pool Vs. Pinky Pie! Speaking of the Merk with the Mouth, at least he didn’t pop out of nowhere, he had another Death Battle and this time against one of my fave ponies from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Pinky Pie! I know, I tend to go for the action-packed anime and action packed movies but I do love the newer MLP series that they have done since the dubbing in it was better and the animation was done right. Anyways, enough of that! This was a pairing that I never thought I would hear and when I told Gondras he was even more surprised! I don’t want to spoil who won but I will put the video and a fair warning…y6eah Pinky Pie’s description and stats may be so cute and nerve racking and also torture to some of you but the rest is still entertaining and that is why it got this slot!
Runner Up: Jack and Daxter vs. Ratchet and Clank! I do have a runner up and that is the match between the biggest couples of Playstation history and that is Ratchet and Clank vs. Jak and Daxter! This was made in time for the Ratchet and Clank movie and it was an amazing Death Battle! Todd Habercorn also voiced one of the characters in this battle and he did a very good job and that is why I wanted to know how it was working with Wiz and Boomstick since last year. I will get to ask that question if he comes back for a convention. I would say watch this battle and see who won!

Best Book Series I Wished I Didn’t Judge Too Much On: The Hunger Games Trilogy! Yes, I did judge way too much on The Hunger Games Trilogy! I remembered taking Theory of Creative Writing back in college and my teacher was always doting on it like it was the best book trilogy. I did meet a woman at my work experience who was a major fan and told me how she liked it more than the movies and decided to sit down and actually read it and like her, I really like it! It is not to the point of that teacher who doted on it but it is more of “Ma“, these aren’t as bad as I thought!” I guess I was worried that it would’ve turned into Twilight but it’s not. It is pretty much what happens if people had to survive by being controlled and to keep from rebelling against the capital and in order to take out people a contest must be held to thin out numbers. This is supposed to be a young adult book but by the time I read Mocking Jay, my thought was “Is this for young adults? This feels more like a college age series!” Even the first two felt more college age than high school age reading. If I would, I would write a paper on the trilogy for college.

Best Book: The Aeronauts Windless Book 1 by Jim Butcher! I had to mention this one since I have to mention my most fave author, Jim Butcher! I have read the Codecs Alera and now waiting on book 16 of the Dresden Files and found out that he wrote this one known as the Aeronauts Windless and that was the first in a newer series he is doing. I couldn’t stop listening to this on my digital book player due to how many twists and turns it took in the book! I can’t wait to see what the next one will bring since Jim is starting on it after Peace Talks is released! I am hoping it gets released in 2017 because I’m waiting for it in audio and Gondras is waiting for it in print!

Best Reading Device: Victor Reader Stream! I have to metion this and that was during my work experience, I had this device purchased for me and it is the Victor Reader Stream! It is a digital reader device where I can download podcasts, read Talking Books, and even Bookshare books which I finally got back! Also, this thing can record things which came in handy for getting the brownie directions when I made them recently with the leftover chocolate chips and toffee bits when I made cheesecake for my birthday.

Best Voice Actor Encounter: Interview with Steve Blum! I finally got to meet the guy behind the voices of our childhoods and that was Steve Blum! iIf you read my Favorites post recently, I did get to interview the man since I wanted to do it for a while now! I can’t wait to interview many other guests in the new year!
Runner Up: Finding Out We Had a Good Word In for Brian Beacock! Well, I had to mention this because I never heard this until Omni. One of the guests this year was Brian Beacock, the voice of Takato in Digimon Tamers and we were trying to arrange an interview with him and when it was being arranged there was a good word put in about us. He even told us about that and that made us really happy and feeling good! We never had a convention do that when it comes to interviews because we have been turned down by other conventions and since we have done press for Omni since it started and done our job and enjoying it, this was a major first for us. Maybe I should mention that on the MegaCon form, eh?

Best Thing Released: MY FIRST BOOK! I know there were many things released but the best thing ever released was by me! I released my first book self-published under Light Switch Press and it is known as The Blind Perspective: Conventiom the Dark! I have been a convention attended since 2004 and have gotten many experiences and have told them to friends and it got me wondering why not put them into a book? Well the most memorable and wrote it since last year. Well, it was done last year and took a year to be edited. I was happy that this took place and that people could read what I went through as an attendee before going blind and then went blind later. I did have business cards with me to promote it at Holiday Matsuri and if you have seen the videos on YouTube, I have linked it to the Amazon and Barnes & Noble pages where you can buy it. Here are the links again! So, please buy it!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M16V8IO
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-blind-perspective-marinela-ortiz/1124670077?ean=2940156810611

Best MakeUp Collaboration: Tarte with Grav3yard Girl! Well, final item of this year is the Best MakeUp Collab with a YouTuber and that is with Grav3yard Girl! I loved Bunny ever since I stumbled upon her on YouTube and started watching her many videos. She is different and quirky and I love that in many people! It is not that bad being weird. Anyways, this year Tarte Cosmetics has collabed with her to create two liquid lipsticks and a face pallet and I was able to get my paws on the face pallet which includes eye shadows and a bronzer, blush, and highlighter! I loved this thing and I had to keep myself from using it everytime I take out of my drawer! I even loved the smell of it which reminds me of the Coldstone waffle bowls cooking! I loved to use the eye shadows the most along with the blush since they are so pigmented and made with the Amazonian Clay blush formula which is amazing! She did bring it back for Christmas recently on the Tarte website or shall I say Tarte did it since there are people who didn’t get it the first time. I didn’t get the lipsticks at first since I only wanted the pallet the most and love it the most! I really want to meet her since she has been my most fave YouTuber of all! Even Gondras has watched some of her stuff after witnessing me watching her.

Well, that is it for this year’s Bests and Worsts! I know it took me all day to do this because of the amount of Worsts from this year! I am looking forward to the next year because a lot of us wanted this year to end so badly after so much has happened. Yes, I did enjoy having my book come out but 2017 will be the year that I want a better life as in I am going to look into living on my own for real, things aren’t go so well at home by the looks of it and I am not getting any younger guys! Also, I am working on getting my aareer as an Assistive Technology instructor started since that was my work experience tog et my toes wet and I have been missing it and I am looking into continuing to be certified in that. Also, I have been working on a new cosplay for 2017 with the funds I got from the work experience which is finally coming to life! What is it? I wanted to do it this past year but I did get another cosplay made instead since I had everything I needed for it but for next year it is Link from Legend of Zelda as a Pokemon Ranger! Basically it is my Pokemon Ranger costume but what if I changed the red to green and give it the Zelda touch. I did buy the Silveon last year at AFO and got the goggles, elf ears, and hat before and after Matsuri which was a process in the making. It will be done by Omni 2017! So, anyone going? Go there or stay tuned to Instagram, I will try to get a pic up for it! I am also working on another book at the moment which is my very first fiction piece to be self published and I will try to get it done by mid-summer so it will also be released by next fall or so or even earlier depending on the time I will be working on it. So 2017 will be a huge year! Happy New Year!

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by moonleopard85 on December 31, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, beauty, Books, conventions, Favorites, Internet, Interviews, Movies, Television

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 31, 2016

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Holiday Matsuri 2016 Cosplay Gallery

Here’s our collection of cosplay photos, featuring entrants and winners from the Cosplay Runway.

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by moonleopard85 on December 30, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Cartoons, clothing, comics, conventions, cosplay, Gaming, Manga, Movies, Television, Video Games

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 30, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/12/30/holiday-matsuri-2016-cosplay-gallery/

Favorites: November and December 2016!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! It is time for a bit of break from the Holiday Matsuri coverage and to do the Favorites post for November and December! Damn, time has gone by fast and now it’s time to end the year with what I liked!

Favorite Holiday Matsuri Moment: Meeting Steve Blum FINALLY! Yes, starting it off with my favorite moment from Holiday Matsuri this year! As you know it was our second year doing press and second year attending the convention all three days. Nerdy Shirts told me and Gondras through Messenger about how Steve is coming to Matsuri and I was pretty much like “OMGOMGOMGOMG! I CAN’T WAIT!” I did get to meet him first day and got my copy of Gurren Lagan signed by him. I was prepared to pay for his signature this year since I did save some cash this year despite Pokemon Sun being reserved. Anyways, what else was part of the moment was when Gondras caught up with me as I was meeting Steve and reminded him of Florida Anime Experience 2011 where I couldn’t make it but he and Tobi went to get stuff signed in my place by him. If you haven’t bought and read my book, which you should, there was a story where they had Steve speak as Orochimaru over the phone when I had the ye old Razor phone from Samsung. He did talk to me as Orochimaru at first and I hid behind Gondras and then he talked as Leeron! You must watch my interview with him which was a great part of meeting him too. I can’t wait to see him again if any other con in Orlando or in Tampa would get him.

Fave Find of the Vendor’s Room: Hufflepuff Beer Glasses! If you watched my haul on YouTube which included stuff from Matsuri, I mentioned something that I did find in Artist’s Alley and that is a pair of Harry Potter glasses with the symbol for Hufflepuff. They were made by a person we have seen at the many conventions here that makes stuff out of wood and we have bought from them before. Years back I got Gondras a shirt that is related to Dead Pool and he got a mini Tardus from them a year ago as an early birthday present due to the convention leading up towards his birthday and Christmas. What was cool about these is that this was the first time they made from glass. They did make a pair of Nightmare Before Christmas glasses but they were made out of strong plastic at the time and they shown pics of Jack and Sally from the movie. As you know, I am not a bif fan of that movie even if I sing the song “What’s This?” towards anything technology! Heck, even Epcot used it many years ago for commercials. Anyways, these were the very first glass items they made and they do have glasses for the rest of the houses but you know me, I do support House Hufflepuff due to not enough love for the Badger house. What I realize though with the colors being yellow and purple that my favorite Diddy Kong Racing character was Bumper and he was a badger and his vehicles were the color yellow. Huh! Did this lead me to loving this house? Maybe! But still Hulflepuff all the way! I did ask the stand if they will do coffee mugs in the future since I do love collecting those the most and you know me being the coffee addict that I am, they said that they will in the future after seeing how these go! If they do any coffee mugs, you know I will be asking for Doctor Who, Fairy Tail, Pokemon a maybe, My Little Pony, even a Harley Quin since they made a clock but I can’t see the clock. Unless they do beer glasses for those, you know I will buy those! First, I have to either get a job and save up or be a best seller.

Favorite Convention Experience: Participating in a Live Podcast! During Matsuri, there was a Podcast known as Cappuccino Quinalinis and they are a nerdy Podcast that talks about everything! They did live recording panels during the weekend, well mostly on Friday and Saturday night which was also eighteen and up type event. Nerdy Shirts and I were at the Friday one while Gondras was working a night shift. Nerdy Shirts did it first and it dealt with gaming if I remembered while I went up for the story idea with the new Guardians of the Galaxy sequel which I am looking forward to next year! It does make sense that I did the story bit since I am a writer after all here, on Fan Fiction.Net, and have my own book published, so it was interesting to talk about writing and also happy that Spidey is back in Marvel. I subscribed just now and you guys should too. I did ask if he will be at Omni next year, the guy did say he applied for panels and waiting on that.

Funniest Moment: Stumping the Voice Actors! If you haven’t watched the videos from the Voice Actors Supershow, you should because I stumped the voice actors! Well, it was a question Gondras gave me and it was “What was the funniest Christmas story?” Which I got “Uhhhh!” Then Todd said, “Die Hard 3!” for comedic effect of course. They did come up with their own and you can see them in part two from that! It is a pretty good play off the “What was the funniest prank that was pulled on you or what was the prank you pulled on your castmates?” question.

Fave Performance: Break Dancing Kakashi Doing “Cotton Eye Joe!” I had to mention this as a favorite performance that Ambassadors did during the convention and during the Cosplay Runway, Break Dancing Kakashi was one of the performances and did “Cotton Eye Joe” which also brought up the contestants to do it with him. There is a video on YouTube, I found it right as I wrote Convention Impossible. Warning: The song is an earworm!

Returning Fave: Wet N Wild Eye Liner Pen! I have to mention a returning makeup favorite and that is the Wet N Wild eyeliner pen which I tend to use for the fine line markings whenever I cosplay as Itachi. I mentioned this product as one of the best items to use for cosplay makeup because not only it is very affordable but it is also very thin for making thin and thick lines. I do still have my Star Lux and Too Faced Sketch Marker, which was included with the Nikki Tutorials pallet, but I tend to use those whenever I feel like wearing felt tip liner and I did hear the Too Faced one smudges on some people a lot more and goes the same way with Star Lux. The Wet N Wild one stays put all day and it is good for convention makeup use, I think Gondras even used it when I had it two years ago for his .hack body and face markings which can be used to help with drawing any body art as well. I missed using this and to me Wet N Wild has shrunk it to a smaller pen when I bought it again at Walgreens.

Favorite Highlighter: MAC Niutcracker Suite Magic Dust in Sweet Vision! Have to mention this since I loved using it and that is the Magic Dust Highlighter from MAC’s Nutcracker Suite collection that is their holiday collection this year and I got it in the color Sweet Vision. It is a pinky peach highlighter and it is so pretty and pigmented! I heard so many good things about Mac’s highlighters and how well they are made and pigmented as well. The one they had last year known as Oh Darling sold out very quickly and it didn’t interest me but when I went to check out their holiday collection for this year this one did really catch my eye. I almost thought about the other one Yum Yum Yum which is a pinky gold one and gold highlighters look better on me but the name kind of pushed me away. I whish they gave it a better name but this one made sense it goes with the idea of a sweet vision of sugarplum fairies! I also have to keep my paws off this item too along with…

Fave Holiday Set: Too Faced New York Café Set! This set has been my all time fave this year from Too Faced! Somehow Too Faced made sets that really turned me into a curious kitty and I had to get them. I did put Merry Macarons on my Christmas list and that was a hard to find item but I did buy the New York Café one since that was also a very pooular set! I got this when I first got my Ulta credit card and picked up some hair ties too since I was running out and I was in Daytona and the nearest Ulta was in Port Orange which is a few minutes away. This set comes with three coffee scented pallets in Mint Mocha, Gingerbread Coffe, and Egg Nog Latte, and a deluxe sample of the Better than Sex mascara. I couldn’t keep my nose out of this set and I wore one of them on White Cane Day and the other I did a look over on Youtube and of course used them again during Christmas! I couldn’t stop smelling and glad they were in a set like this. I think I love the Mint Mocha pallet the most because I love drinking mint mochas during Christmas time and it not only comes with shadows but also a blush in that one. I would say use a brown eyeliner with these since it goes really well with all three of them! Too Faced you really did it this time for your sets and I am hoping they do it again next year. Wait, I did hear the Chocolate Shoppe set that was only available at Sephora was not as great. Oh well, but still hoping next year that the newer sets are as good as the Merry Macarons and New York Café.

Fave Blush: Tarte Cosmetics Chiseled Cheeks Blush Set! I know I mentioned the Too Faced Grand Hotll Café set as my fave set but had to mention this one as my fave blush set and that is by Tarte Cosmetics! I think 2016 has been the year for Tarte and Too Faced since they have been coming out pretty good sets for Christmas. I did hear a few of the eye sets were okay but when Ulta sent me an email about some of the sets being on sale and saw this set of four blushes and a brush by Tarte and had to get it! I like the brush and how soft it is which does help with some of the blending sapects and these blushes are very smooth and they are from the Amazonian Clay blush line. I did enjoy the blush that came in Bunny’s pallet and that really got me to buying this set. The blushes you get in it are Genious, Royal, Pop, and Virrant. I have to look these up if they have actual sizes and sorry but this set did sell out. I am so glad I jumped on the opportunity to get this.

Favorite Gift: Gigi Bank from Kiki’s Delivery Service! The favorite gift this year I ever received is a piggy bank of Gigi from Kiki’s Delivery Service. This was a gift from Gondras this year and he got it at a place called Box Lunch which is a store like Hot Topic but for more retro stuff from the 80’s and 90’s even the early 2000s too and have been in there with the girls and he went in when he got new shirts from Hot Topic and found this bank and he knew I would LOVE IT! He was right! I do still love my throw blanket with his face on it and this is pretty much him as a full on cat. I even have some change in it already. They have to make more Miyazaki/Ghibli film products!

I think that is about it! I need to save some stuff for the Best and Worsts post which will be going up by Saturday! So stay tuned for that the cosplay gallery!

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by moonleopard85 on December 29, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, beauty, conventions, Favorites

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 29, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/12/29/favorites-november-and-december-2016/

Holiday Matsuri 2016: Voice Actors Supershow

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Now for the last videos!

The Voice Actors Super Show!

The final videos is from one of the other events we had to cover with the Convention Staff Choice which made it really cool where the convention chooses events for Press to cover to do videos and/or photos and one of our events was the Holiday Voice Actors Panel that takes place every year and it was on Sunday. We did attend last year’s with Sean Schemmel, Grey Deloisle, Josh Seth, and Todd Habercorn and that was entertaining! This year we had Steve Blum, Mary McGlynn, and Todd Habercorn which made it funny and entertaining! They did have to make the audience do one question only when the Ambassadors come to them with a mike which worked out better than last year when there was a line of people at the mike and they asked more than one question. I did want to ask about Death Battle with Todd but since it was Holiday related, we did ask “What was your funniest Christmas Story?” It is kind of play off the whole “What was the funniest thing happened to you or a prank you played on your cast members?” during interviews which is my fave question of all. Again, I did feel like back at Ranger Stop when I made the room go silent when I asked about the “Buttery” gesture in SPD. (Video is still on YouTube) The three did answer and you will find them very funny and also Steve’s son, Jeremy, appeared at the convention! Yay! So, enjoy!

What’s next? Hoping the Cosplay Photo Gallery for this year since we did get a lot of pics! Hoping to get that up before next week when Matsuri does their press round up, if not, hoping before the start of 2017! Plus, we do have the Best and Worsts and Favorites for November and December!

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by moonleopard85 on December 28, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions, Gaming

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 28, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/12/28/holiday-matsuri-2016-voice-actors-supershow/

Holiday Matsuri 2016: Interview with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Now it’s time for another interview!

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn!

I bet you’re wondering “Wait a minute! Didn’t you interview her a while back?” Yes I did! I did mention how we interviewed her at MetroCon 2014 and you have read that back then or when I posted the link in the Convention Spotlight for Holiday Matsuri. She hasn’t been to an Orlando con and glad that she got invited to this one since this one is the most wonderful con of the year and hoping that others would invite her and Steve to more of them.

Why another interview with her? Gondras figured since we haven’t seen her since that we should do another interview with her and it was a last minute decision when I went to meet Steve first to arrange his interview. It did give a nice update, especially when I asked her about the new live-action Ghost in the Shell movie along with Scarlet Johannson playing the Major in it. So, here it is and enjoy!

What is next? The Voice Actors Supershow!

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by moonleopard85 on December 28, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Cartoons, conventions, Interviews, Movies

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 28, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/12/28/holiday-matsuri-2016-interview-with-mary-elizabeth-mcglynn/

Holiday Matsuri 2016: Interview with Steve Blum

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Time to bring in the interviews!
Steve Blum!

Our first interview was with Steve Blum! When I heard that he was coming to Holiday Matsuri I was really excited since I never got to meet him. I know he was in Orlando for a convention in 2011 but due to scheduling conflicts, which I had my annual eye doctor appointment when Florida Anime Experience was going on, I couldn’t go! I was honored to not only meet the guy and get my copy of Gurren Lagan signed by him but to interview him! What did I ask him? Just watch and see!

Also, a few tidbits to bring up and first is that they were supposed to give us a private room to interview but it didn’t happen so sorry if the location was in the vendor’s room this year. They really need to give us that private room like Omni did and should’ve mentioned that in the review that was a Need for Improvement! Also, Gondras goofed up and thought I was finished with the interview when I thanked him after he did his best fan experience story which I was thanking him on his work for all these years. Yes, I still remember when Toonami first started back in the 1990’s.

That is it for this post! Stay tuned for the next one!
Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Time to bring in the interviews!
Steve Blum!

Our first interview was with Steve Blum! When I heard that he was coming to Holiday Matsuri I was really excited since I never got to meet him. I know he was in Orlando for a convention in 2011 but due to scheduling conflicts, which I had my annual eye doctor appointment when Florida Anime Experience was going on, I couldn’t go! I was honored to not only meet the guy and get my copy of Gurren Lagan signed by him but to interview him! What did I ask him? Just watch and see!

Also, a few tidbits to bring up and first is that they were supposed to give us a private room to interview but it didn’t happen so sorry if the location was in the vendor’s room this year. They really need to give us that private room like Omni did and should’ve mentioned that in the review that was a Need for Improvement! Also, Gondras goofed up and thought I was finished with the interview when I thanked him after he did his best fan experience story which I was thanking him on his work for all these years. Yes, I still remember when Toonami first started back in the 1990’s.

That is it for this post! Stay tuned for the next one!

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by moonleopard85 on December 27, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions, Gaming, Interviews, Movies

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 27, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/12/27/holiday-matsuri-2016-interview-with-steve-blum/

Holiday Matsuri 2016: Opening Ceremonies

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Time to continue the coverage from Holiday Matsuri 2016!

Opening Ceremonies Parts 1 and 2!

To start off our videos we have the both parts of Opening Ceremonies that took place on Friday! Normally they are in the evening but this year it started the entire convention off in the afternoon. I need to also thanks Nerdy Shirts for the video work this year’s convention since he brought his brother’s camcorder and it worked out very well! Don’t worry, we will have more to come so stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on December 27, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 27, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/12/27/holiday-matsuri-2016-opening-ceremonies/

Convention Impossible: Holiday Matsuri 2016

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Happy Holidays to all and I am back from Holiday Matsuri! Sorry for taking a few days, I had to get my rest after waking early during the weekend and unpack all the stuff I bought and the cosplay I took with me! So, it is my review!

Disclaimer: This Convention Impossible is based on Opinion and Observation! Please respect the thoughts of the Lead Writer of this blog and thoughts from her teammates. Thank you!
Convention: Holiday Matsuri 2016
Location: Orlando, FL

This year was our second time doing press and man it felt good! Hek, it felt good going back to a convention after not going to any for months. This year it was at the World Center Marriot in Orlando and it was the same until we had food. Normally hotel food would be expensive and not as tasty but this time around they changed the food court into more of a pantry style and made everything cheaper. Back in 2014, I spent $18 on a philly steak, fries, and a peach tea and the tea was a small bottle but this time you get a slice of pizza, a bag of chips, and a bottle of lipton peach tea for $6! That sas more srasonable than two years back and the food was still tasty as the food back then. Also, parking was very convenient because it was not only $11 for it but you can pre-pay for the entire weekend and have passes that are in and out which if you go off hotel grounds for an hour or two, you can get back in with the same pass without paying for another parking spot. I hope this happens again next year if ithis convention didn’t out grow this hotel. Plus, the space was even more amazing for the convention because of the amount of rooms that were used for panels and events also the space for the huge vendor’s room, which….

Vendors: Oh man! I think this year I pretty much found pretty good stuff since they had more vendors to work with! It was bigger than last year and it fit all the tables because last year the space had most of them in the vendor’s room and then more tables in the game room but this year it was all in one place which made it more easier to find and browse. On Friday, though, not all the vendors and artists were there but it did have a good amount until Saturday rolled around when everyone was there and selling items. I did do a video with a huge haul of the items I did buy but to make it quick, this is what I got:

Mint KitKats
Twilight Sparkle plush
Evee plush
Typhlosion plush
Gatomon keychain charms
Harry Potter Hufflepuff beer glasses
HiChew in orange and mixed berry (also got one for someone for Christmas but not revealing it!)
Red bean and chocolate flavored bread buns
Official Carla plush

Yeah, I did some damage to my account and money pouch, which of course I did get my DVD box set of Gurren Lagan signed by Steve Blum….

Guests: Next is guests! Oh man! It felt like a dream when I was meeting Steve Blum for the first time because Gondras got to meet him when I couldn’t at Florida Anime Experience five years ago and did include a story that dealt with that in my book (BUY MY BOOK!) and I got to finally meet him after hearing him for years as Tom the Robot, Spike Spiegel, Evil Snake Man, and Lee Ron! It was worth getting his signature by the way! Also, we did meet up with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn since we haven’t seen her for a while and by the looks of it this was her first convention in town from my memories of conventions in the past. She was surprised that we remembered interviewing her and we did a new one with her, which will be on YouTube in the next couple of days along with our interview with Steve! Stay tuned for that!

Besides doing interviews, we did cover events and one of them happened to be the Voice Actors Holiday Super Show on Sunday and it was very entertaining! This was a first to see Todd go out into the audience and asking attendees questions about their time at Holiday Matsuri and got to ask questions based on Christmas things and even anime things. I wanted to ask Todd about his work on Death Battle since I didn’t get that chance in our interview last year but Gondras gave me this to ask instead and that was what was their funniest Christmas story? I do tend to ask about their funniest booth stories and this was a bit of a play on that and their first reaction was being stumped. I felt like during the Ten Years of SPD panel last year when I asked the guy who played Bidge about the “Buttery” finger gesture out of habit. I guess interviewing voice actors for three years help with coming up with more fun questions. Anyways, what did they answer with? Mary talked about how she dropped a bag of roux for gravy and it exploded, Todd making a turkey in college for his first time where the oven dorr didn’t close all the way, and Steve had the best one which I would let you watch the video when it hits YouTube! I would stay tune to our Twitter for when that is up!

Panels & Events; This year was the year that we went to the most panels and events besides covering two of them! There were a good variety but there should’ve been more interesting ones according to Nerdy Shirts. Some of the panels we went to included World Literature in Anime, which looks at Western Lit being told in anime such as Secret World of Arietti, Nadia and the Deep Blue, Romeo x Juliet, and so much more. I may have to watch Romeo x Juliet since I haven’t seen it in so long and it rekindled my love for it after this panel. We also went to a makeup panel done by one of the members in the Black Butler Caboret and she did provide good info on makeup and what to use. She did mention that she works at MAC and that does help a lot due to providing recommendations even with shade matching which she said it is best to go to Sephora, Ulta, or even MAC to get a better idea of what will work for you.

One panel that did stick out to me is the Non-Visual panel which deals with disabilities. I won’t cover too much but I would say this one panel did make me tear up and usually I don’t tear up at panels. Hell, even was on theedge of tearing up during one of Steve’s stories during our interview. Anyways, after going to this panel and meeting up with one of the people in there on Sunday, the thing is that we are not alone when we are suffering from disorders like PTSD, anxiety, heck even a visual impairment like I have. Heck, I even told the story how I lost a friend who said that they wish they were blind like me and so many people had the same reaction like I did of “WTF@?” Still, it is not easy dealing with these things and that we can get through it with friends and family and even the significant other because we can support each other even times of trouble. Even the hostess thought it was amazing that me and Gondrass did use to host the Blind Experience back in the past after the panel and did give her and her buddies cards to this blog and the book.

So, back to lighter notes! The two other events we had to cover were the Peppermint Parlor and the Cosplay Runway.In our honest opinion about the Pepperment Parlor, even though it was in the game room (which was very amazing by the way and used the entire space during the day) it was okay, just okay! There were performers from Pleasure Pixels and a DJ going but there were only two performers onstage when we first got in. We did see the pole and a few rings but where are the rest of the performers? I understand it was supposed to be a Burlesque, there should’ve been ore to it. The Holiday Cosplay Runway, on the other hand, was very entertaining and even fun to see the many cosplays like Sailor Moon, even a Miss Piggy with a Hannakah flare, and of course taking on the new Pokemon games by having Team Skull. The best part was the performances which the Holiday Ambassadors perform by singing or dancing to songs. One Ambassador sang a Japanese song which you rarely heard being perform at an event like this and there were two other groups that did dance numbers but the one who did the most entertaining number was Break Dancing Kakashi! Not only he did his usual stuff but he danced “Cotton Eye Joe!” Even some of the cosplayers in the crowd including Team Skull danced along! I did manage to take down the winners and Gondras did get pics, which those will be in the Cosplay Gallery in a few days too, and they are:

Most Great: Miss Piggy
Most Fun: Team Skull
Most Festive: Batman Villains (Their Bain cosplayer joined in with the “Cotton Eye Joe” fun!)
Best Prop: Ghost Rider
Most Flashiest: Mad Hatter
Best Group: Sailor Moon
Second Rummer Up: Magi Group
First Rummer Up: Boshido Zelda
Best in Show: Christmas Fawns

Game Room: Since the Peppermint Parlor took place in the Game Room, maybe I should mention this briefly! This year the room was bigger than the last. It did have arcade cabinets and the usual fighting games, which Gondras did play one of the Marvel v. Capcom during the Parlor on Saturday. They did have the Rock Band 4 stage which Gondras did perform with a group on that. I was happy that more Fall Out Boy was in the game with “Century” and it did sound like some of the old tracks were in there from the other games!

Rating: Accomplete! This is why! Even though it felt like this year was accomplished but did feel on the eddge of complete and like the Completionist himself, this did combine Accomplished and Complete which makes it Accomplete! The next section will give the real reasons!

Needs for Improvement: Even though the convention was awesome in some areas but it needs some adjustments. Don’t get me wrong, we did enjoy it but like most things there need some room for improvement…

1. Panels: As in there should be more interesting panels. Yes, we did attend some interesting ones, even the makeup panel was something that did give good tips from someone who has been working at a store that deals with it, but I can see what Nerdy Shirts is talking about. There should be more variety to choose from with the entire weekend. I feel that there should be more guest panels since in the past years as a convention goer turned journalist that there were a lot of guest related panels and the only two we went to were the Q&A opanel with them on Saturday and the SuperShow Sunday and I did try asking Nerdy Shirts if there were any panels with the voice actors and not so much. I know Nate Wants to Battle did have a few but some of the panels we went to ran into his time slots too and that kind of made the choice a bit harder. I did hear that with some panels that the time slots were kind of weird in the scheduling portion where when we went to the Ultimate Gaming panel that our friend, Xeno, was a part of was at 12:45 in the morning on Friday and they wanted to make it great but due to their time slot it was a bit of a mess. Now I am thinking should Blind Experience return? Still, panels should’ve had a bit more variety by attendees and the voice actors as well.
2. Interviews: Okay, remembered how last year that with the Cosplay Runway’s pre-judging that there was mixed messages there? It happened here this year. How so? Well, apparently there was a confusion where I was told this year that we were supposed to talk to the guest to get it scheduled like last year and added on talk to the handler to get it arranged during their signing times depending on the line size. Then we got told that it had to be arranged before the convention itself which I remembered when filling out the form that I was supposed to get a schedule of the time slots to choose from with each guest when I checked the box for interviews and that didn’t happen and that didn’t happen last year either. Here is the thing…interviews should be arranged by the convention if press teams check that box on the form itself. I have done interviews at other cons like MetroCon, MythiCon, and Omni Expo where they gave us the schedule of the interviews which the convention staff confirm with the guest if it will work in the schedule that they were given before the convention. Heck, even doing back to back can happen which I had that happen at Omni two years in row where this year I had my RJ Heady and Dino Thunder interviews back to back and it worked out fine because they were scheduled that way. Still, hoping, did suggest it to them and hoping it gets taken, pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssee schedule interviews beforehand because these mixed signals make it complicated and like the convention want to be organized with everything.
Well, that brings us to the end of this review! I think we had less ideas for improvements than last year but this convention was great and it is still growing. Hoping next year things will be better in some areas and hoping that it will be at this hotel again because it did have the space for it. Also, in case anyone is wondering, yes my mobility worked out this time around due to the training I went through but there were times when my cane almost got knocked out of my hand due to how much of a crowd was drawn to this thing.

What is next? We will be posting more coverage including our videos from this year and our Holiday Matsuri Cosplay Gallery! Stay tuned for that! Also, within the next few weeks I will be doing the Bests and Worsts of 2016, November and December Favorites, and the Convention Spotlight on Omni Expo 2017! Oh yeah! Starting to talk about next year’s convention lineup! Til next time!

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by moonleopard85 on December 21, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, beauty, Cartoons, conventions, cosplay, Gaming

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 21, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/12/21/convention-spotlight-holiday-matsuri-2016-2/

Conventions: Last Minute Holiday Matsuri 2016 Info!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe Sorry for taking a bit but I am back from Daytona and man I had to unpack and now re-pack for Holiday Matsuri! At least I only have to worry about cosplay. Anyways, I do have some last minute information for you on the convention itself!

Tickets: If you haven’t gotten them, you can still pre-order your tickets until Wednesday the 14th! If you want a three day it will be the At-the-Door pricing which is $55 and you pay $2 for processing. You order through Event Bright’s website which is a very good ticket site. I would say get your tickets now since the last day to pre-order is coming up fast and lines will be long even on Saturday.

Hotel: Knowing we will have snow birds around this time, the convention will be at the World Center Marriot this year! If you were at it last year, it was at the Caribe Royale Resort down the road and now it is at the World Center. If you have been following Holiday Matsuri on their Twitter page (@holmat) they have posted pics of what it looks like during Christmas. This hotel is minutes away from Disney, which if you want to head for Disney Springs for a few hours then enjoy! The hotel rate is $149 and you can see if there are rooms available. There will be discounted parking at this thing as well.

Guests: The main guests this year include Steve Blum (Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop,) Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Major Matoko Kitsuragi from Ghost in the Shell,) and Todd Habercorn (Natsu from Fairy Tail.) this year! There will also be other guests like Indra Rojas and Leon Chiro and many others! Check out the website for more information such as autograph schedule and panels. We will try and interview a guest or two so stay tuned to our Twitter @nerdyshique to see announcements of where we will be! One of the events we are covering for guests is the Voice Actor Super Show that takes place Sunday and we will have video from that and posted after the con along with everything else!

I believe the schedule app that Holiday Matsuri uses is still going to be used, I would suggest cheking on that and anyone who is going will also receive emails with a schedule I believe like last year which I remembered getting each day during the con.

So, that is it for the main things to cover! If you need more information such as detailed ticket info or hotel info, you can go here: http://holidaymatsuri.com/

We will be all over the convention all three days doing press and yes we will be building another Cosplay Gallery for you all to enjoy since that was a success during Omni and Hol Mat last year.

Speaking of Omni, waiting on press updates for that for next year and will be doing a Convention Spotlight in the new year! Stay tuned! Also stay tuned for all of our coverage for Holiday Matsuri 2016!

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by moonleopard85 on December 9, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions, cosplay, Gaming

Posted by moonleopard85 on December 9, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/12/09/conventions-last-minute-holiday-matsuri-2016-info/