All posts for the month March, 2017

Books: The Girl from Venice by Martin Cruz Smith

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! It is time for another book review! I know I was going to do the Cosmetic Controversy but I finished another book on my Net Galley list! Let’s see what I got!

Disclaimer: This review is based on opinions and observations of the lead writer. Please respect her thoughts and opinions of this book!

Title:The Girl from Venice
Author: Martin Cruz Smith

Synopsis: This book takes place towards the end of World War II and Venice is still has the Third Rike in their villages and cities making sure that no one gets into trouble until we meet the fisherman named Senzo who finds the body of a girl in the lagoon, which he finds out that she is alive in a lot of trouble.

Giulia, born to a wealthy Jewish family, escapes one night from being captured by Nazis and ends up being rescued by Senzo to ask him to help her in finding the person that betrayed her family the night they were taken. She not only gets the help that she asks for but ends being swept up in a lot more trouble than she asked for and even pulls Senzo into even more trouble that he doesn’t want.

Thoughts: This book was very exciting! I never thought I would see someone who was lying ina lagoon would be still alive when we know most crime dramas have people end up losing their lives in a situation like this. I tend to like World War II related stories even if they are fiction based, heck I am reading another one which the review will come up on here very soon, from Everyone Brave Is Forgiven, Number the Stars from when I was in elementary school, to this one!

This does paint the picture of what happens in Italy during the war since people were afraid of being bombed like Paris and London during the war and having people in hiding and keeping secrets do get shown throughout the book. I do like how Giulia did take on the disguise idea so she wouldn’t be found by cutting all her hair off to fool people that she was a man but some of the residents were able to see the disguise.

I do have one drawback from this book is that I felt the ending almost felt like Come Winter which there were good stopping points but kept going. I think some of the chapters could’ve been extended slightly because some of the chapters were shorter than most when more of the story could be added and couldn’t be thirty-seven or eight chapters long book. I did like the end since I did want Giulia and Senzo together throughout the book despite his promise to marry his younger brother’s widow since that was a bit of a custom at the time. I did like how he figured out what she was doing with her older brother time to time. He did have some of his hang ups with his deceased wife all thanks to a bomb that hit but he did get over it in the end. I did like the character Maria from the Argentian Consulate who at first forged paintings and met her husband through that and she vowed to stop forging but kept on doing it in other ways such as violins and government documents, which I see it as using it for the greater good and during the time of war you do become desperate and WWII was one of those desperate time periods.

Rating: 4.5 Star Pawprints out of 5! Reason being is that the story could’ve been shortened in some areas to extend some of the chapters that were extremely short. It was a really good story and it did use the history behind WWII very well in a fictional aspect. I can’t wait to see how the book I am reading takes another location into their story telling during WWII.

That is it for this review! You can get this book through Amazon and Barnes & Noble! So check it out while you can! Next post will definitely be my Cosmetic Controversy topic!

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by moonleopard85 on March 30, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Books, Reviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 30, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/30/books-the-girl-from-venice-by-martin-cruz-smith/

Music: Top 10 Songs of March!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I am back again and this time for the Top Ten Songs for March! I know I didn’t do it for February because my computer crapped out during the end of February and now it’s back so I decided to kind of loop in some of the songs in due to how short February is and didn’t listen to I Heart Radio as much as this month so let’s see what I got!

March’s List:
10. “Joy Ride” by There for Tomorrow: First is a band from my past and they are known as There For Tomorrow. They are a band from here in Orlando and they were very big in the mid-2000s and they got beally big when of their songs got used for the first Ben 10 Alien Force live-action movie which was known as “A Little Faster” but the song is on my list this month is called “The Joy Ride” which I didn’t know they made any newer music until I found them on I Heart Radio. They sound so different with how their music changed which it does kind of have their old sound from “Pages” but the singer sounds slightly higher than back then. I am not sure if they switched singers but he sounds very good. This is a really good traveling song and it also had me listen to this reminded me of the book Forsaken Skies because it deals with a lot of space travel if you read my review on that book a few posts ago. If not, you can still read it!
9. “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” by. Bowling for Soup: This didn’t quite shown up on I Heart Radio but I started listening to it again and that is “Girl all the Bad Guys Want” which is the song and only song I really like by Bowling for Soup! I always feel like this song describes me due to how some of the “bad” guys seem to magnetize towards me during high school especially the ones that picked on me and that creepy childhood friend that bores the crap out of me. (I ended that friendship) Especially that friend because I’m with a guy I really like but one thing I don’t match that lyric is the wrestling and drug bits but hey I do like singers that are mad at their cat in their songs.
8. “Miss Murder” by. AFI: I guess you were wondering where this might be but this appeared on my I Heart Radio lists with Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Panic! At the Disco and that is “Miss Murder” by AFI. I Heart Radio does have good taste and I can’t blame them! I do sing along with it time to time. I think I even sang along when I was hold on the phone with Hot Topic once. Anyways, this does take me back to my earlier days of being a slight punkish despite listening to pop but hey they are still an awesome band and would love to take a chance singing this onRock Band since Gondras has it on his.
7. “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World: Oh yes! We’re going back to 1999 with this one and that is Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle!” I can’t help it that one of the radio stations in town also plays this as a nice throw back to the 90’s and I always think back to one cover of this performed. Okay, there is an event called Red Hot & Boom that is the day before July 4th every year here in Orlando and one year they had We The Kings which is another alternative band that was pretty good and then they did this song. I knew what it was by the first few bars and went “WHOO!” Nobody in the entire park didn’t do it along with me and this was around the time The Game was existing and yelled in my area of sitting “You all lost the game!” No reaction either. The crowd didn’t start rocking until middle of the song which is kind of fail when everyone knows this song and even do it on Rock Band. I think I got most of the lyrics right before I do this on it again since I think I got a 75 trying to sing it but the last time I hung out with the girls and riding in the car with Tobi and Vivi, I sang along with this one when it came up. Rock Band you’re next!
6. “The Enemy: by Sevendust: Oh yes! The band that got me into metal is on this list and that is Sevendust! I wasn’t really into metal when I was in high school until I heard these guys on a just music channel that played one of their other songs and liked them. I got the Seasons album with this song and that is “Enemy.” I bet you’re wondering why Sevendust? I don’t know…it just happened out of nowhere and I thought they had really good music for someone from Orlando. I would susggest seeing them live since they tend to do music from their older albums over the newer ones which I don’t mind at all! I was happy they did this one during their Earth Day Birthday 2015 set when they replaced Bush. Now they are headliners for it this year in case if you’re going. Enjoy!
5. “Only Hope” by. Mandy Moore: Next is a pop song and that is by Mandy Moore. I kind of blame it on Mary E. McGlynn…well her interview since she is directing the new Tangled animated series and I mentioned Mandy Moore and this song came to mind. I Heart tend to play “When Will My Day Begin” from Tangled but I was glad to find this one because it came from the movie, A Walk to Remember. If you guys seen my Fifty Random Facts video over on our YouTUbe, I mentioned that this movie was the ONLY movie that made me cry more than the book! The music from that movie is great especially this song which is from the part with the play which is different from the book. This is one movie I did prefer it over the book and they used Mandy’s talent very well both in acting and singing since this was the first movie I saw her in. I still remember her as the pop singer starting out in 1999 and still can hold those notes!
4. “What Have You Done?” by. Within Temptation: Next is a song that has been popping tons on I Heart and that is by Within Temptation known as “What Have You Done.” I haven’t heard of these guys until I heard them on the Coheed and Cambria playlist when I heard the app a while back and glad that I found their actual playlist. I like these guys because of their epic orchestra sounding songs with metal. That is one part of metal I do like is more of the orchestraic songs and Within Temptation does it very well! This one does use their male singer and female lead as a duet kind of like Evanescence did with the guy from Seether or is it from some other band in “Bring Me to Life.”
3. “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars: Hey! Don’t blame it on me for this one since I have a feleing you’re thinking, “What the heck Mari? Why this one?” I kind of blame it on Gondras since he wanted me to find this on I Heart all thanks to him hearing it before me and wanted me to listen to it. I did find Bruno Mars and he accidentally hit “Favorite” as the playlist started playing. This song did appear a lot on my Faves List during February and man it’s catchy! It also did appear in Todd In the Shadows’ top list for last year despite it releasing this year in January. Anyways, as said it’s very catchy las”Uptown Funk.” I think anyone who is Catholic might use the #blessed if they hadn’t since you do hear it in the song. I can imagine this being in Rock Band if they hadn’t already put it in. Conventions, I think you will be hearing this playing in your game rooms!
2. “Smiling in Your Sleep” by Silverstein: Yes, back to metal and the screaming kind! I have been a fan of this one called Silverstein all thanks to a song called “My Heroine” if I got it right. I never thought I would hear these guys again but on I Heart Radio and this got me to liking them again. I like the right aamunt of screaming and how the chorus switches between lyrics and screams does have a nice rhythm. I think I heard someone trying to sing this song in the room next door to Panel Room 1 during Omni Day 1 abd had a hard time unless I am mistaken. Well, I do hit the screams in “Demons” when Soul Switch performs it everytime despite it killing my voice. Oh well, that is my number 2!
1. “Emperor’s New Clothes” by Panic! At the Disco: The final song on this list is by Panic! At the Disco and it’s called “Emperor’s New Clothes!” This was supposed to be number one on last month’s list but since this month would make up for that, I can’t help it but this song does get into your head! During that Anime in Western Literature panel from Matsuri, they shown an AMV that was put to the Count of Monte Cristo that used this song and it was perfect actually! When you listen to the cchorus it does talk about taking back a crown and the bridge does use that old “Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers” rhyme and it fits with the beat! Plus, this song is supposed to be asequel to the song “This Is Gospel” especially with the video due to how you do hear the end of “This is Gospel” at the start because of how is reborn as a demon in underworldwhich I saw the making of this video. I did remember Kat Sketch talking about this song in one of her old Favorites videos and how she wants to do a makeup look but will take a lot of prosthetic makeup. Well, enjoy the video!

That is it for this month’s list! April will be filled with a few more! Will it include some of the Orlando Overdrive artists since we will be doing press work for it? You will see next month!

What is next for Nerdy Shique Universe? Another Cosmetic Controversy which you guys should be thanking Kat Von D for the idea. Until next time!

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by moonleopard85 on March 28, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Favorites, Music

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 28, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/28/music-top-10-songs-of-march/

Conventions: Omni Fandom Expo Cosplay Masquerade Contest 2017!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Now it’s time to close the coverage from Omni Expo!

Cosplay Masquerade Contest

The last round of videos and the best is saved for last are our videos from the Costume Masquerade Contest! I realized whe idn’t take any photos of cosplay this time but this to make up for that since the really good cosplays didn’t come until Saturday. I know if you saw my last two or three videos I was cosplaying as Link from Legend of Zelda but as a Pokemon Ranger and did enter this year.

I have been in three contests which happened to be the one during MegaCon in 2011 as Hatsuharu Sohma, the Cosplay Runway and Costume Contest from Holiday Matsuri as my ice gym trainer and Lucy Heartfilia! This year was something that Gondras went a step beyond and that is create my prop again. The story behind my costume was all thanks to my Pokemon Ranger cosplay design which you saw in my Eric Stuart Interview video may years ago during MythiCon. I had the idea in my head when Pokemon X and Y came out and introduced a new type of Pokemon known as Fairy Type which I thought what happens if I were to crossover Link and have a Silveon to represent Navi! I didn’t start gathering some of the things until AFO 2015 when I got my Silveon but was short on funds so I had to wait a bit, which I wanted to do it for the 20th Anniversary but didn’t have it in time and did my water trainer instead. So, when I got my work experience money it gave me a chance to get the parts I needed to get the costume made in time for this year which happened to be of course the hat and goggles and my dad did do my patches with the parts we picked up at the Thriftko in town and Salvation Army since I couldn’t find a pair of shorts that fit me right until I went there. What Gondras added was Ageslash but in the Master Sword design! You will get to see him with it since that took a month to complete and using the materials along with it! Oh right, I did forget one thing I didn’t mention that I purchased and was a first for me to wear was prosthetic ears! During Holiday Matsuri, our friend Chibi mentioned there was someone in Artist’s Alley with elf ears and Gondras pointed out that Link had them and I picked up a pair after the convention due to my skin matching issue. At least I got through that fine and the costume was a success! People liked the goggles and even people at Auntie Ann’s saw me and had following looks as I passed heading back to the con. Also, what I didn’t realize while doing this costume in time was the release of the Nintendo Switch and the release of Breath of the Wild.

So, onto the costume contest! Oh man, the entries were amazing! The judges admitted they had a hard time choosing which they had to get the head of the convention for help! You will see all the entries and see who won in part two since the camera split the video. I congratulate all the entries including the only one with a skit which was Echantress from Suicide Squad.

Will I do Link again if you guys are wondering? Yes I will and hoping for MegaCon since PikaBelleChu did invite us to her Pokemon event that weekend so let’s see what happens! Now enjoy the video!

That is it for this post! Next convention on our Universe LineUp is MegaCon 2017! We are happy to announce that we are doing press for this year and hoping to get interviews with some of the big names so stay tuned to our Twitter and Facebook for announcements of what will take place and yes I will be doing my Convention Spotlight by the start of April so check back!

Also, next I will be doing my Top Ten Songs, so also stay tuned for that!

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by moonleopard85 on March 24, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, comics, conventions, cosplay, Gaming, Video Games

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 24, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/24/conventions-omni-fandom-expo-cosplay-masquerade-contest-2017/

Conventions: Interview with Chris Rager and Josh Martin at Omni Expo 2017!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Now it’s time for another interview from this past year’s Omni Expo!

Interview with Josh Martin and Chris Rager!

This was a double interview and it was our second one we have done since you guys remembered that I did one with two of the Dino Thunder rangers last year. This year it was with Josh Martin, the voice of Magen Boo, and Chris Rager, the voice of Hercule Satan, in Dragonbal throughout the many many many years it has been around! I was glad to interview these two at the same time because so many of you have been Dragonball fans and it would make sense to bring in two of the guys together since we did have fun doing it with the Dino Thunder Rangers. We talked about DBZ stuff even Fairy Tail, also even talked about voice acting since I like watching commentaries and did see the Cheramie Leigh recording session which is pretty fun to see what the voice actors do in the booth. And of course I do ask my what’s the funniest thing that ever happened in the booth because we get to hear stories of funny things in the booth. Still my fave question of all time! If you listen closely, I did say, “Cheramie, you will be in the seat next!” Because I want to interview her in the future since she is awesome and one of my top fave voice actresses!

Well, that is it for this post! Stay tuned for our costume contest videos!

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by moonleopard85 on March 23, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in conventions, Interviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 23, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/23/conventions-interview-with-chris-rager-and-josh-martin-at-omni-expo-2017/

Anime: Sailor Moon Re-Dub Review!

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and opinions of the lead writer! Please respect her thoughts on the content, voices, and story of this anime!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Never thought you would have two reviews in one day! Well, this time it’s an anime!

Title: Sailor Moon!

I bet you’re wondering, “Wait a minute! Why that one?” Welllllll! It is the re-dub of the anime! For those of you who don’t know that recently Viz Media got their hands on Sailor Moon Crystal which they gave it their cast of females and it was pretty good except for a few voices. I did like Crystal since I only read a tiny bit of the manga since this version did follow that and remembered sitting at Books A Million when it used to be open near me reading that during Pokemon Leagues. I know I was weird back then but I do call back to being a Sailor Moon fan even back in middle school. Anyways, the difference was that Crystal covered Queen Beryl and skipped to the Dark Moon Clan arc with Rini or shall I say ChibiUsa! Apparently the Mikai Tree aka the Doom Tree was a filler arc which I will touch that in a bit and I did like this since the story was good but wishing the Specter Sisters weren’t killed so quickly. I did like how Sailor Pluto had a bigger role in this one instead of just being the Time Space Guaridan throughout the entire thing, as in you get to see her fight against the Death Phantom. I am hoping they dub Season 3 which we get to see Uranus and Neptune and of course Pluto being back in it. I hope it does hit Hulu as well because that’s how I catch it.

Now onto the re-dub! Like with Crystal, Viz wanted to bring the newer cast into the original series as well and not only that they did bring episodes that weren’t shown on tv! Which means we get the entirety of the series and the plotholes that were wide eopen that we wonder where was the episode before another happened. One example was Usagi aka Serena’s family knowing about Luna which was an episode that eintroduced a creature called a Chanela and they were used to steal energy for Beryl’s plot. I did forget to mention, they do go back to the original names in this one which of course Usagi for Serena, Makoto for Lita, and oh yes, the actual Japanese pronunciation of Ami for this one! Yes, I thought back to the old names but I did like the call back to the original ones and it did help me know what they were before DIC Entertainment changed them all. I did know about Rini’s original name from the manga so it makes sense after knowing that she was named after Usagi since they are supposed to be mom and daughter.

Another thing is that they didn’t cut a lot as in if you guys seen the original like I did you noticed how the scene cuts were made with elements of tiaras and moons, right? Here! Nope! As in you get to watch the entirety of the story and how all the scenes make sense. To tell you the truth, this was way better because I felt like all the episodes in the original felt too fast and squeezed in since they had that “Sailor Moon Says” bit! What made it different was during the first part of the series you have intros to Usagi and as the girls were added she does talk about them and then you get the episode preview of what she will say as part of her catch phrase and then either a part of the episode before the title card or just the title card alone. I think this flowed a lot better due to not having everything so squeezed together and the episode flows naturally! Also, they did keep in the original music on top of that which includes the transformation music. I do not like the transformation music that the Japanese used even when Sailor Moon Super and Super S were dubbed they used the original transformation music, I wished they used the one from the original version because it was badass and it was unique! I did love Sailor Moon’s transformation music the best back in the original instead of the music just saying her name. I do love orchestra-like music but I wished the original transformation music was used. Now onto something that did feel weird…

Voices: I had to touch on this since it was changed for the re-dub. Let me touch on the weaker voices first! The rest of them seem to be the best but the weak voices are Luna, Rei, ChibiUsa’s. Why is that? ChibiUsa, first of all, seemed like she was a bit bored. I did like how they changed it for her Black Lady transformation (Yes, that is the original name for her dark side!) but she did the crying and whining on cue which I give props for but the rest I kind of felt she could’ve done a bit better. She does appear again in Super so hoping she sounds slightly better. The laugh also was cute in her Chibi form and she did sound more sinister as Black Lady, so that did give one more good point. Luna and Rei…where do I begin? They picked Michelle Ruff for Luna and Christina V. for Rei! Sorry to say they didn’t sound different as in there were times while watching episodes where I felt like I was hearing Luna and Rei at the same time which I felt that Christina was making herself sound more like Michelle as the series went on. They are both talented actresses don’t get me wrong but they should’ve had Michelle do a British accent to diiferentiate herself as Luna as a nice call bacl back to the original. Or would’ve been funny to hear Christina do her Nova voice from Tales of Xilia 2 for Rei. Sorry for the nitpicks but being honest, would help since I got them confused.

What about the others you may ask? To tell you the truth, I did like Stephanie Sheh as Sailor Moon. I know I did enjoy the original but what annoyed me the most was how they changed her voice with three different actresses or is it four because in the third movie it felt like she went higher! Well, during the first few episodes she sound very young due to her being thirteen or fourteen and then it dropped during the Nephrite arc and she did act more whiny than usual but more natural as the series progressed but when Super and Super S happened….it went silly sounding! What the heck Dic? At least Viz kept Sheh for the entirety because I admit she was a really good fit due to how she was Hinata Hyuga in Naruto and Orhime in Bleach which their nurturing sides are seen in Usagi and when she transforms she takes on badass Hinata from Shippuden and even when she had to take on the older tone for Neo Queen Serenity during the clips that shown ChibiUsa’s past she did perfect with that! I did kind of agree with Gondras and another friend that it was a weird switch for this but looking as episodes progressed I do like it and it’s not bad to like it. Now to the othersKate Higgins plays Ami aka Sailor Mercury which is not bad of a choice. Kate is known as Sakura Haruno in Naruto for the longest time which as you knoiw she does have a mean streak. I do like how she was able to play the shy nerd pretty well from what I heard. Trust me, watching Sailor Moon again with a blindness gives a newer perspective on watching it and I did tell Jason Fond during Ranger Stop that I watch Power Rangers through the grunts and watching this did bring me back to all the usual sound effects. Anyways, I think I prefer Kate over the original because the British accent kind of threw me off with her. I know it differinitiate her from the others but ever since I was a teen I wondered why her being the British one? This time I think it sounded better without it. Amanda C. Miller takes on the voice of Sailor Jupiter and to me it called back to the original actually! If you remembered how in the original she was very tomboyish and her voice was deep and Amanda did a very fine job and I felt like I was hearing the original again and of course Jupiter has been my fave Sailor Guardian for the longest time! I still want to cosplay as her someday! Cheramie Leigh is the new voice of Sailor Venus which I do like! Is it me or does Cheramie tend to get the blonde anime characters? For instance Lucy Heartfilia from Fiary Tail which I did make a joke of a Sailor Guardian uniform for her since I still want to do Pokemon Trainer Lucy. What did I think? I did hear a bit of Lucy but tad more tougher and harder since of course she is Sailor V in this universe and she does have to take on monsters, cardians, and droids and I wonder if she will call on Taurus or Cancer sometimes. Still, she was a pretty good pick in my book for her. Plus, in the last episode before Season 3, I think Ami made a good point that Venus and Moon do sound alike which I can see why Leigh and Sheh made a really good choice for both since when they do the twin talk thing they do sound alike and not bad.

What about some of the other characters? Did I like their voice changes? I do like Johnny as Artemis since he sounded natural and did take on the character Sapphir. There was one thing that I did like was when the Specter Sisters showing up was that they made their voices consistent! Well, if you didn’t know from the original, like Sailor Moon, Koan aka Katsy had the same voice change idea as in she did sound normal when she first appeared and then she had someone who had a frog in her throat when she had the battle against Mars and then it changed again when Sapphir appeared on their doorstep to be with Petz aka Prisma! In this dub, at least her voice didn’t go through that as in it stayed the same like everyone else. Another voice I had to give props for is the one playing Zoycite in this and that is Lucien Dodge which yes, they call back to the original Japanese by making Zoycite a dude in this one. I would say Dodge did a very good call back to the actress who did Zoycite in the Dic version of Sailor Moon with the dialogue and of course the laugh and the scream towards rats when he had to chase a big fat cat for a rainbow crystal. I did like Liam O’Brien as Nephrite since it did call back to the original actor as well since Nephrite had to sound over the top and did have the gentle side around Naru. Speaking of which, I am so glad they gave her a voice I can stand. Sorry guys, I can’t handle the New York accent they gave to Naru in the original, even though Gondras thought she didn’t sound right but I thought it fit in my mind and plus she is kinder in this one and does have the teasing tone that she has to take on in some episodes. She did have a better role as the friend to Usagi in this version since she shown up more. Also, you get to see the romance better between her and Umino, which you may remember him as Melvin, which they chose Ben Discan for! For those of you who have been fans of Kids Next Door, he was using a mature version of his Numba 2 voice! ::waits until everyone’s heads explode from this revelation::

I think I have went a lot into detail of what I thought about the voices in this, to me, if only they made Rei and Luna sound different and ChibiUsa a bit more better, everyone else sounded pretty well done. I don’t want to get more into detail with everyone else but to me with Viz doing this was not bad. I am hoping that the rest of Crystal and the other seasons of this do get dubbed, including Season 5 because that needs to be in English finally, because I want to hear how Saturn, Neptune,and Uranus sound like in this dub. If I were to pick an actress for Saturn, I would pick Luci Christian or Moinica Rial since they already have Cheramie show up from Funimation, why not get another leader from Funimation and Sentai Filmworks for this one? I would lean more towards Luci Christian because she can probably use her Risa Harada voice for Saturn. Or maybe Himeno from Pretear? Let’s see what happens!

Rating: 4 Star Pawprints Out of 5! If I would, I would’ve had someone turn the four in this rating in Jupiter’s Sailor Symbol since it is a 4. Anyways, despite some things in the casting, I do like how Viz casted some of the characters. I wished they did use the DIC Entertainment transformation music because it would call back to the original and of course it sounds better than the Japanese transformation music since that was used in the original Super and Super S when those were dubbed. I hope they dub the rest including Season 5 because knowing that everyone would want to see that in English despite some hesitance towards one bit in the second half of Sailor Stars. Still, Viz did a good job and even included the episodes that weren’t brought over for tv broadcast which we get to see some of the blocked out story which made it flow better. I hope to see more of this dub soon since it still brings me back to when I was a sighted teen watching this anime all over again but better.

That is it for this review. I know it may have been nitpicky but it is my honesty. I still enjoy it. Anyways, next up is of course my interview with Chris Rager and Josh Martin!

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by moonleopard85 on March 23, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Reviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 23, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/23/anime-sailor-moon-re-dub-review/

Books: In Twenty Years by Alison Wynn Scotch

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Will be taking a small break from my Omni coverage to review a book!

Title: In Twenty Years
Author: Alyson Wynn Scotch

Synopsis: This book is a reunion story that starts with twenty years in the past where six friends lived in a house during college. They split off once they graduated until Bea, the one who brought them together, dies and her lawyer send s out a letter for them to reunite in the same house on the day that was supposed to be her 40th birthday.

Since being astranged, the five other roommates reunite with secrets and feelings still locked within. First Katherine and her stay-at-home husband Owen were seen as the picture perfect couple but their marriage is on the edge of disaster, Lindy who is a famous singer is pushing middle-age in an industry that expects you to be young rather than older and fighting her own identity, Collin is the pretty-boy surgeon who has to keep the secret about his relationship with Bea and the time that took place while everyone was apart, and finally Annie is trying not to face her reality through social media.

Disclaimer: The Review portion is based on observation and opinion of the lead writer of the blog! Please respect her thoughts and feelings of this book!

Thoughts: This book was amazing! I was thinking it would be a boring read but nope, it wasn’t! What do I mean by that? A little while back when I first joined Net Galley, I did read one book that was also a slice-of-life one but it wasn’t as great. This one, on the other hand, kind of shows what can happen after college for many years. I kind of see it as Real World where you meet the people that lived in the house which are our key players in this story and Bea is the main person who brought them together in that place. It does tell the back story hhow they came together in the sotry which made me happy and you sometimes don’t get that, as in you wonder who are these people and how did they meet? You get it here and what I did like is that the author did each chapter with all the character’s point of view as the story took place which first you see their lives in what they are doing with their lives in 2016. Which first you see Annie at home doing her social media stuff then you see Lindy at home writing a song and getting the FedEx legter from the lawyer which she contacts Annie about which starts the story and then you see their reactions to the letter and wondering why are they getting it now of all times. Then you see Katherine at her job as a crafting celebrity about to do an HGTV pilot and knowing that it might end up being bad, then she hears about the FedEx letter in a printed email from Annie and then she goes home where Owen was and they both read the letter together. And finally, Collin who is heading off to work as surgeon in California and tries to ignore the letter. It shows that five adults are a little awkward and mad about getting the reunion notice and it does show the snapshot that their lives did not pan out as they hoped and dreamed about throughout the book.

I know in our little reality we expect being a famous singer is amazing but it is not always cracked up to be, then we have bloggers which can go down the hill at some point because people expect sunny days in their appearance, and of course marriage can go down the drain which this book is trying to show that life after college doesn’t always go the way you want it to be, especially with what you study. I have gone through this and going back into what I wanted to do before I was put into writing as my Minor. I wished this book continued because I wanted to see how everyone would fix everything. As in how will Owen and Katherine fix their marriage and how will Katerine get her career back in the right path, how will Lindy get through her career and juggling pregnancy, even how Annie is able either leave her husband to be with Collin or Lindy or stay with him? This kind of needs a sequel in my opinion.

If I were to pick one character or characters to like I would say both Lindy and Annie because Annie tries to drown her sorrow in social media but we all know that is one reality that shouldn’t be done but I can see how it relaxes her but realizes she needs to fix her own reality and does realizes how to fix it towards the end. While Lindy, yes she was self-destructive and did try to run away from her problems which a lot of post-grads do when they are in a crisis but there are times when they get brought back to where they started. I do like how she becomes overprotected about Annie during their past and then in their present after finding out what her husband was doing when she took her phone away, I can see that she still had feelings for Annie despite what she did to hurt her that lead to the husband issues. I hope that there would be a sequel or at least a spin off where these two still keep in contact after what took place and what will happen to Lindy nine months pass.

Katherine is one that I would probably relate to since I am a blogger and there are times when things don’t go right. She does rely on Owen for a lot of thiungs and I do the same with Gondras since I’m blind and he’s sighted but I do try find solutions and we do talk about it and pass on the info to Nerdy Shirts so he would know what is up. Wait, I forgot to do something which I am about to text Gondras about. Still, even though I am not as famous as she got to be in the book but life does get complicated when you’re trying to juggle life and work at the same time.

Rating: Five Star Pawprints out of 5! The reason hy it deserves this is because I couldn’t stop reading it even though I did have interruptions while reading since I was enjoying the book a lot! It did show the past in what the characters did as college students such as breaking into the stadium during a snow storm as an example and even streaking on the final night while being drunk. Then of course we see their lives take place after having families or careers and it does show how they can be burned out or see the chaos about to erupt. This was an amazing slice-of-life book and if you are into something like this I would definitely recommend!

That is it for this book review! I will be putting up up the interview with Josh Martin and Chris Rager soon! Stay tuned for that! I will also put up my Top 10 Songs soon as well. Stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on March 22, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Books, Reviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 22, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/22/books-in-twenty-years-by-alison-wynn-scotch/

Conventions: Assistive Technology Panel

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Now to continue with our coverage from this year’s Omni Expo with something completely different!

Devices From the Dark

This year’s convention was a first for me to host a panel. Some conventions allow attendees and press to host panels and Omni Expo is one of them, which this one was something close to my heart.

This past winter I was in Daytona doing a work experience that deals with teaching Assistive Technology since that is the career field I want to go into due to how much I use it. I need more experience like most people and one of those experiences was to add it to my press job and my Employment Placement Specialist thought it would be a good idea to showcase inclusion of people with disabilities, especially with visual impairments, through technology and Omni Expo was a good place to start since they are supposed to be a technology convention along with anime, cosplay, and other nerdy things. One of the ideas of the project was a panel on assistive technology which I titled “Devices from the Dark” which is a play off my book’s title The Blind Perspective: Convention Stories from the Dark and I talked about screen readers and even shown off some devices that I use on a daily basis plus apps that haven’t been seen before.

Did I get an audience? No! It was sad to not have one but to be fair the panel room I picked was a little far away and there were a lot of things taking place and most of the attendees didn’t come until Saturday when the big costume contest was taking place. So, Gondras and Nerdy Shirts improved as an audience and this is how the panel came to be.

Plus, I did dedicate this panel to my EPS since I didn’t know until the week before Omni that she passed away during February which was a major bummer. So, to you Shakira, I dedicate this panel to you and hope your spirit is in a better place and I will make sure I make my career goal no matter how it happens!

That is it for this post! Stay tuned for the Cinterview with Chris Rager, Mr. Satan, and Josh Martin, Magen Buu, coming up this week!

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by moonleopard85 on March 21, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions, Panels

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 21, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/21/conventions-assistive-technology-panel/

Conventions: Paul St. Peter Inteview from Omni Fandom Expo 2017!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I am back guys with my computer! You know what means! I finally get to post my coverage on here at Word Press from Omni Expo! So what is first?

Interview with Paul St. Peter: I bet you’re wondering what happened to the opening ceremonies for this year, right? Well, we didn’t go to it since we couldn’t find it on the schedule and of course I had to enter to costume contest and of course there were panels that afternoon on top of it. Go to the convention review and you will see what panels we made it to.

So, to start off the videos it will be our interview with Paul St. Peter. We didn’t get a chance to interview him last year since we didn’t know who he was at first until we went to his voice acting panels and even his Pirate Curses panel, which we do recommend if you see him at convention near you! When we heard that he was coming back for another year we had to make it up for last year and got to sit him down in the Shique Hot Seat and see what he was up to! I would say keep watching Dragonball Super because he will be in it soon from what he said in this interview so keep your ears open!

That is it for this post! Next I will be putting my panel video since I hosted one this year! Stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on March 20, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions, Gaming, Interviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 20, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/20/conventions-paul-st-peter-inteview-from-omni-fandom-expo-2017/

Books: Forsaken Skies by D. Noeland Clark

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I haven’t posted the press coverage here yet because I am still on my IPad wth a keyboard but the good news is that I will be back on my computer by next week! So hang in tight! I do have something for you and that is a review and it is on a book I just finished.

 

Title: Forsaken Skies

Author: D. Noeland Clark

 

Disclaiimer: This review is based on opinion and observation by the lead writer of this blog. Please respect her thoughts and feelings.

 

Synopsis: Since I don’t have the NetGalley page in front of me for the synopsis so I will describe best as I can! Forsaken Skies takes place in a universe where people colonized into space and on planets that can support human life after a war that almost depleted resources. Between Mars, Galamine, and Earth which caused Mars and Galamine to surrender. When we thought we were at peace, Miria, a planet that relies on farming, religion, and engineering technology for searching the stars, gets attacked by an unknown species and former military officer Lano along with pilots and a rich kid must defeat it or Miria is lost.

 

Thoughts: Whoa! Where should I start? This book was amazing! It is one of those that you have the right twists and turns that you expect in a story like this. It brought me back to Titan A. E., Independence Day, and so much more. It brought a nice break to the romance novels I’ve been reading due to how action-packed this book was and it is a nice start to Clark’s series which the second one should be out soon or already. I did recommend this to someone who did get me into Hunger Games since this is also available as a recorded book on Bard which I did add to my Wish List to listen to later on. I do like the futuristic setting of the Hexsus which is your normal city-like colony and then you have Miria, which is almost like a wasteland of craters but it does support human-life in them. It gives a nice switch of what happens when a peaceful planet is in danger for its resources of mines by aliens since they did disrupted it. It was a really well-thought and well-written book even with great characters which…

 

Characters: The characters in this book , except for one, had a major connection that brought them together and that is due to the war. That led them to where they are. For instance, Lano dead to retire early due to actions that cost him his rank and there is also Mags who has debts in his background that he feels like he must pay back and he scams two people that show up at the Hexsus from Miria for help that catches Lano’s attention. Not only that, he does hear his dad time to time in his head giving him strategies in how to act and what he thought of everyone, especially his mother later on. We also meet Jang which is an interesting character who ended up losing a half of her body in an accident that she got to switch bodies with a girl who was blind with cybernetic eyes, which in this world you can switch your consciousness with someone else and be in their body or put your own mind in another body when you’re dead. Gotta love technology! Then you have Caroline Ita who ends up with a condition that causes her to no longer fly and finally Vorc, my fave character of them all, who was placed into a heavy space suit after getting four degree burns all over his body in one accident. I know it sounds brutal but it is interesting when they reveal what really happened to him. And finally, we have Tom! Tom is a runaway due to how he killed his dad, who is a big politician, after finding out that he was created to take on his dad’s consciousness after he dies due to an illness. He does grow into a speaker himself and then a fighter which I am hoping that we get to see more of him in the next book. I did like one other character’s growth and that was Roan. She left home due to abuse and became an Aspirit of the religious sect with Elder Mackree. She felt like a misfit as in she joined the sect in order to become an elder herself but when she met Tom things changed. As in not only falling in love but thinking that her home is important to her and the only way of saving it is to disobey the rules which causes her to grow into someone else in the end. Hoping that Roan also gets seen in the next one but going through as a different person. Depending on what the author has planned to do with the next few stories. Would be interesting that she joins the military or engineers despite her lack of creativity.

 

Rating: Five Star Pawprints Out of Five! Because this book was amazing! I loved the characters, the story, the setting and how the tech gets used and even get to see how someone finds different solutions to take on an alien fleet. I do like the idea of switching your consciousness since that shows how much technology can advance but who knows when it will be in reality. Hey, they started doing Jordy’s visor from Star Treak a little while ago.

 

That is it for this review! Next book is a slice-of-life book! Until then, I will be doing my Convention Spotlight on MegaCon 2017! Also the Top Ten Songs of March. Sorry if I didn’t do February’s so I will loop into this month’s list! Stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on March 16, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 16, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/16/books-forsaken-skies-by-d-noeland-clark/

Favorites: January and February 2017

Hello Shiquers and welcome back o Nerdy Shique Universe!I am playing catch up with some of the posts I haven’t done since my computer went down at the end of February, so will be doing my January and February Favorites for this year! Let’s see what I have in store!

 

Hair Faves:

 

Suave Almond and Shea Butter Shampoo and Conditioner: First up is shampoo and conditioner and it is by Suave! I remembered using Suave for many years and have gone back to it for the past few months and the one I have been using is the moisturizing one in almond and shea butter! I was trying to find the Biotine one but couldn’t find it which sucks since I loved that one for hair growth and when I found this one pair in the almond and shea butter, I love the scent and it does moisturizer my hair. It also helps with getting anything that built up during the week out and refreshes the hair from any of the hair products I tend to use as well. That is really awesome that this exists! I hope to find this again or anything since I feel Suave is getting more into the more natural ingredients for their hair care line.

 

Garnier Fructis Dry Shammpoo: I am mentioning a dry shampoo since I had to get a new one because Walgreens stopped carrying the Got 2 B one I loved to use and that was a bummer because I loved that one a lot. I did get turned onto the Garrnier one since I have been loving the Sleek and Shine line for the longest time and did use the color control shampoo and conditioner wheghlights for a little while and never thought I would use the dry shampoo which it smells like mangoes! I know it is supposed to mean fruit. But this has the mango smell and I feel like I am back in Puerto Rico having mangoes time to time. Plus, this stuff doesn’t make my hair feel weird after using it and no white cast if you went “I love this stuff!” On your hair with it either. I will definitely buy again and hoping WalMart carries it since it is weird that they used to have their hair masks and not anymore.

 

Garnier Heat Protectant: I switched my heat protectant as well during January because the Tressemee one I have been using, which I found out that it was the one I had, made my hair feel wet before straightening and it wasn’t drying when I use my flat iron. The Garnier one, on the other hand, does dry when I go through with the flat iron because it is not a heavier spray due to the nozzle being more of a standard bottle sprayer than the spray gun style you tend to see on other products. What is also great is that it makes my hair really soft since the flat iron I have is supposed to keep my hair from fizzing up and damaged and this one spray keeps it extra protected and soft. Plus, it does have that signature mango scent! Definitely a re-purchase when it comes to it!

 

Marc Anthony Grow Spray: Next is a new item by Marc Anthony and is that their Hair Growth Spray with Caffeine and Ginseng! I never thought I would find this one and this was bought in hopes of helping my hair growth which is slightly helping since my hair is so uneven and tried to get the uneven ends but some of the hairs in the back are growing all thanks to this spray. I even notice some of the hairs in the side are growing back too and this spray is something I use everyday when I brush my hair. The smell is pretty fruity too since you don’t smell the caffeine part, so yeah your hair won’t smell like Starbucks when you spray this. I hope to find this again at Ulta since I can’t find the oil treatments much , well in the bottle for leaving in your hair. Also, I do find it weird how the girl thought Marc Anthony was pro-hair care when it is drugstore. I know it should sound fancy but it is also is carrried at Walgreens.

Makeup Favorites:

 

Wet N Wild Liquid Cat Suit Liquid Lipstick: Next up is a new item by Wet N Wild and that is their Liquid Cat Suit Liquid Lipstick. I got two colors in Goth Topic and Gimme Mocha. These don’t budge when they dry down, even after doing swatches for my Walmart and Walgreens haul I had the Goth Topic swatch still on my hand even using Dawn on it shows how stubborn it is in being on the hand. What I didn’t like is how it did move around on my lips, Goth Topic I mean, when I finished applying it. I need to get back into the habit of lip liner which I have been lately for those that love to move around. Gimme Mocha was a major complimented one since I wore it on Galentine’s Day where my gal pals said it fit me in color which is interesting since pinks do get matched more with me. I guess brown nude lipsticks look good on me.

 

Wet N Wild Lengthening Mascara: I have to mention this one which is very awesome so far. It is the lengthen mascara from Wet N Wild since I never tried mascara by them until now. People did say they make okay mascaras but it is how it works on people and it made my lashes long. I can see why it lengthens.

 

Rimmel Retro Glam Mascara:  This is something that I tend to reach for whenever I reached for my tubes of mascara and that is the Retro Glam mascara that Rimmel makes. I suggest trying their mascaras because they are pretty good for their brand. I neeed to replace my tube of this at some point despite how it doesn’t irritate my eyes after so long of having it but it still holds a curl. I can’t stop reaching for it.

 

Well, that is about it for these faves! I tend to have more but January and February was mostly more hair stuff and less makeup since I couldn’t find any of the new NYX stuff in my part of town. I did have to order the Duo Chrome highlighters since I could only find them on Ulta’s website and the location I got the Hair Growth Spray only had testers. Really? Should have them in already but some places here do get the items a month later than their release here in my part of town.

 

That is it. Next I will have my Top 10 Songs for Feb next!

 

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by moonleopard85 on March 8, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 8, 2017

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2017/03/08/favorites-january-and-february-2017/

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