All posts for the month January, 2018

Books: Reincarnation Blues by. Michael Poore

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I know I was going to do a post on Aira but I finished another book!

Title: Reincarnation Blues
Author: Michael Poore

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and opinions of the lead writer and producer of this blog! Please respect her thoughts and opinions and there might be spoilers!

Synopsis: This book is hard to describe so here I go! We meet Milo in this book who has died and been reincarnated in so many lives that he is up to 9, 995 and has five more times to do it again and do it right! He has started as a Greek warrior and then ended up on the planet of Europa. He has to do it right so he could be with his true love, Death herself, Suzie.

Suzie is known as Death and has been in love with Milo ever since. She figures out that she doesn’t want to stay in the universal unknown even after finding out that if Milo reincarnates five more times he will vanish into the light. What can she do? Can she reincarnate herself so she can be with Milo?

Thoughts: This book was confusing! I am not kidding! I couldn’t figure out what Poore was writing because he was writing about Milo the most who was reincarnating. At first he was a wise, old fisherman in Florida and then the next he’s in the world of Death where it’s apartments and houses, etc. I do like how he painted that world because we always wonder, like the Ancient Egyptians, is there an actual afterlife? I think I liked Outlaw Star’s rendition because it was mostly showing purgatory in the end. Anyways, then it turns to him killing the Buddha? Or the Buddha just dying due to a stomach ailment which that’s what cause of death back was then. And finally Europa!? They did say on Planetary Radio that there might be water up there for sustaining human life. Anyways, it was interesting but I was like, “Okay! What does this have to do with the story?”

Again, I found the book very confusing because it did start off very well and went out of nowhere with all these reincarnation cycles. I was expecting Suzie to be an actual woman on Earth not Death since that is what I got from the description when I requested this book. Also, it did say “Science Fiction” which I am still wondering “Where’s the sci-fi!?” I see it with the space travel but Poore could’ve done it better in my opinion. This could’ve worked as a standalone romance story but not just adding sci-fi into the mix. I have read better sci-fi romances in the past and they were better than this one. Sorry!

Rating: 2.5 Out of 5 Star Paw Prints! I felt that this book was just too confusing and the story was all over the place and missing its sci-fi origins. I think the only interesting bit was the idea of how purgatory was painted while the rest not so much. I admit I wanted to let this book go but I had to finish it for review purposes. If you want to read this go ahead but you might be confused as much as I was.

Reincarnation BluesWell, that’s it for this review! Next will be my post on Aira!

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by moonleopard85 on January 31, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in Books, Reviews, Science Fiction

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 31, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/31/books-reincarnation-blues-by-michael-poore/

Cartoons: RWBY Volume 5!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Today is another review but this time it’s based on an animated series that ended its latest season and that’s RWBY!

RWBY Volume 5!

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and opinions of the lead writer of this blog! Please respect her thoughts and warning there might be spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen the series nor this volume. If you haven’t seen the series, I highly recommend and you can find all of the volumes on YouTube!

Synopsis: In this volume, we catch up with Team RNJR and Qrow finally reaching Mistral in order to find Huntsmen and Huntresses to join their team to fight the evil Salem. Once reaching Mistral, they meet Oscar, the new body of the deceased Ozpen who can switch between himself and Ozpen in order to bring advice and train them for the oncoming battles ahead. Meanwhile, Yang goes and finds her mother, Raven, to find her uncle and sister, Ruby, in order to get answers to questions that have been bothering her for a while now. While confronting her mother, she reunites with Weiss and gets a warning of walking away from Qrow in order to save herself from anything that may hurt her. And finally, Blake and Sun are still in Minagery in order to get the Faunus to fight Adam and the White Fang before they head off to Mistral in order to destroy the tower so their kind can rule again. Will Sun and Blake be victorious or will the White Fang capture her and take her to Adam? And what’s up with Cinder and her crew when it comes to finding the Spring Maiden to retrieve the Spring Relic? A lot of things happen in this volume as the twists and turns to keep the world safe gets even darker.

Thoughts: I have so many thoughts especially from Gondras since he had to play catch up in the end due to school and work. The story pacing in this volume lagged because it basically told everything taking place with Yang and Weiss and then a good part of it with Blake and Sun, and not so much with Team RNJR especially after talking to Leo Lionhart about what’s going on. A good chunk of this volume was dedicated to Blake and continuing what happened with her and Sun during Volume 4 which was good and all but that should’ve been resolved in the last volume than using a good part of this one for her. I understand that it shows how she grows as a character and what she needed to do but it could’ve been used to extend Volume 4 and then focus more on RNJR for this one since we find out what had happened with Ozpen’s spirit.

I found it interesting with what had happened with Ozpen since now it seems that he always reincarnates when he dies due to a curse casted by Salem. They’re saying with all of this story that Salem is trying to cause a lot of things in the world and one thing is getting not only the Four Maidens, which she had Cinder, but their Relics too and this volume was where they went to Haven Academy in order to get the Relic of Knowledge which is for the Spring Maiden. Apparently, Ozpen is also the one behind the original maidens which if you remembered that tale told back in Volume 3 it did play a big significant role. Anyone new?

Basically the tale is that four sisters who represent the seasons visit a hermit and bestow upon him their gifts. Winter tells him to meditate and reflect, Spring, the second one, revitalizes his garden by bringing fruit and flowers, the third, Summer, convinces him to step outside and embrace the world, and finally, Fall, encourages him to be thankful for what he has. The man gives the four great powers as thanks to the four in return.

Apparently, according to Wikipedia, the Maiden storyline didn’t really come to mind until halfway through Volume 2 and that is how Volume 3 came to be with what had happened to Amber, the previous Fall Maiden. I would suggest watching Volume 3 for that explanation of how it starts which leads up to what’s going on this volume.

So, with now knowing that Cinder is after the Relics for Salem, who knows what’s going on as in what does Salem want the Relics for? I know she has Cinder to work for her and looking for Spring in this volume in order to get the Relic from Haven but it’s not explained if it’s take over the world or something. I am hoping this comes up more in Volume 6 because I’m wondering if things will start coming out. As in, will we see the other two Maidens which the remaining two that haven’t been revealed are Summer and Winter.

Gondras thinks that Salem is Winter since she can use magic but during this volume it is revealed that she is the main big bad and that she wants all the Maiden stuff. Yes, she may know about all the stuff behind them but is she using Cinder and the Relics for something bigger? Yes, she can create Grimm and did make Cinder part Grimm in order to heal her but is Cinder also betraying Salem? Why do I ask that? During Chapter 12, “Vault of the Spring Maiden,” Cinder tried to kill Vernal in order to get the Spring powers thinking she can have more than one Maiden power. I don’t think that’s how it works because how a Maiden transfers their power is based on the last person in their thoughts and I liked how it was expanded when Yang asked her mom if Spring did trust her in her thoughts when she got the powers. So, I’m thinking another part of the transfer may be based on trust besides seeing that person in the final thoughts and the reason why someone can’t have more than one is due to how greedy a person can be? That’s my own thoughts about that!

Now onto Blake’s story! Again, it should’ve been resolved in the last volume or just done it with one or two chapters rather than extending it to Chapter 10. I love Blake but she’s not the only character in this entire series. Yes, it leads up to her being with her teammates again but it would’ve been easier if they shorten her spats with Ilia and the White Fang and then go to Mistral from there to meet up with Adam at the tower at Haven Academy. I do have to say that the end fight between her and Ilia was beautiful though! Rooster Teeth did an amazing job and Monty Own would be proud if he saw the fight. I did like how they did a “Behind the Scenes” thing based on it because it does take a lot of work in many fight scenes. I even have a hard time putting them together myself in text but how they animated it was well-done and with the Raven versus Cinder fight too. That put the powers of Fall and Spring to the test! But back to Blake, I wish they could’ve explained her relationship with Adam a little more when she was with the White Fang. I can see why he was obsessed with her especially with how he wanted her brought to him but I feel like he was forcing it and his attitude a bit too much. I loved how the actor over acted as Adam but there were some parts that could’ve been fleshed out especially the motive in getting Blake back. I did like how Blake stood up to him though towards the end of this volume. I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more of the Faunus in future volumes because it seems like they were able to work with humans very well despite the past. The question is will they be trusted by the human race or will they trust them in future volumes? Time will tell!

Plus, with Adam being let go, this is going to be an even more interesting add on to the story. With him running off, the question is where will he go and did any of the White Fang follow him? Ilia did state that he may have been betrayed due to him running off and leaving everyone behind but when you look at it, a bad guy can always get new teammates and the question is that will he find Mercury and Emerald to form a new team or will he end up running into Salem? There are so many possibilities when it comes to what may happen next for him. I am now wondering what will Salem do next? There are many things that can happen due to the attack on Haven was thwarted by our main cast and characters but who knows what else she has up her sleeves. Leo did reveal to her that Ruby was among the ones who arrived at Haven before he was killed and I have a feeling she was satisfied to know that Ruby is alive after what had happened to Cinder all thanks to her eyes. Which brings me to the next point…

What Should Be In Volume 6!

1. Better Pacing: Yes! Rooster Teeth has acknowledged that the pacing int his volume was very slow. I can see how it was not the best due to coming off of what took place in Volume 4 and building up the story from Monty’s original idea of how the series is supposed to go. Yeah his brother is doing great since he did pick up as Ren but definitely the story pacing should be worked on. Next volume should be slightly longer if the pacing is worked on better.
2. More Stuff Involving Ruby! Since the pacing was off, we didn’t get to do much with Ruby herself. In the first four volumes we got to see her more and how she grew in those volumes as a character. The first was of course her being her usual young self and going to Beacon with her sister Yang and being a little wild due to being new. The second one we got to see how she interacts with her team more and even trying to get along with Weiss a little more and then the other students. Yeah, they do go on a big adventure with the one professor who has a coffee cup that turns into a bazooka, not kidding and Gondras wants to cosplay him, but we did see how the team got to grow and interact. Then the third volume comes around and that’s when crap goes down! And four, that is when she starts to grow and understand that survival in order to beat Salem is huge! Volume 5…I don’t know! I know that Ozpen/Oscar talk about her as if she was the best student but Ozpen does say she is a hard fighter and that’s it! Yeah we get to see her fight well towards the end but not much interaction with Ruby and she is the main character of this entire thing! Now I’m looking at my Ruby figure from my lunchbox and thinking, Can we see more interactions with you than Ruby Chibi? Yeah, if you seen that cartoon shorts series with all the characters, you see more of Ruby shorts than this volume!
3. What Happened to the Pyrhha Visions!? If you have seen Volume 4, in the beginning of the volume Jean and Ruby had dreams of Pyhrra and they haven’t happened since. I am still convinced that her spirit is trying to give them a message, especially Ruby since she did watch Cinder kill her! I’m hoping something gets mentioned about that because that was something that wasn’t explained yet.
4. A Love Fight Between Yang and Ilia! I know it sounds weird but during this volume, Yang and Ilia clearly have something for Blake and they both have the same reaction of, “Why doesn’t she look at me with those eyes?” Clearly there is something there but I know Blake may end up with Sun due to how well they worked out. Even thought it would be funny between Yang and Ilia next volume if they were to interact with each other.
5. Summer and Winter Revealed! Okay Rooster Teeth, five volumes down and we need to see Summer and/or Winter because things are definitely going down, especially with the criptic message from Ozpen about going to Atlas. It would be interesting to see which Maiden Salem wants next but I have a feeling one of them is in Atlas and it might be the next Relic location. It does make sense with Ironwood being involved with the whole Maidens thing after keeping Amber alive in Atlatian tech under Beacon in order to transfer the rest of her power. Who knows how that will happen but I definitely want to see Summer and/or Winter in the next volume after Raven being revealed to be the newest Spring Maiden.
6. Salem Revealing Why She Needs the Relics! Throughout this volume, Salem hardly revealed why she wants the Relics and since she has cursed Ozpen who knows why he wants him alive or kill him permanently since he has to be the one to get rid of her according to earlier in the volume. Who knows what Salem has in store for Volume 6 but I want to see what her plan is exactly and what’s the next phase? Will it be going to Atlas or seeing about Cinder being alive unless her power was transferred to someone as Fall Maiden? Hoping that is told in the next one.
7. Fall Relic Being Revealed! In this volume, Ruby asked Ozpen if his cane was the Fall Relic which is the Relic of Choice but Ozpen says it’s not and that it’s hidden away for good due to Cinder not being able to find it when she got her powers. It does make sense after Cinder being defeated by Ruby and how she ended up like she had in Volume 4, who knows what had happened to the Relic of Choice after the fall. Maybe Glenda Goodwitch sent it away or it might be found by someone who may have gotten Cinder’s powers if she had been killed because we don’t see her body in the Spring Vault anymore, we do only see Vernal’s.
8. The Silver Eyes! Throughout Volumes 4 and 5, Gondras and I have been wondering, same with the fans I hope, what is it with the Silver Eyes? In the Maidens Wiki for the RWBY Wiki, it says that Cinder was defeated by Ruby’s eyes and it’s not sure that is how a Maiden is defeated. It does show that a Maiden can be killed by normal means. It is a good question to ask since of course it is said that Ruby’s mom, Summer Rose, did have the same eyes so that means the same power. Gondras thinks that Ruby and Summer’s people were the ones who brought on Remnant. It is a good theory to think about but this is still unclear to what Ruby’s eyes stand for and hoping they get to explain it or that she uses the power again in Volume 6. Or maybe Salem might capture her and take an eye out, I don’t know but it is one of those things that should be explained.
Rating: 3.5 Star Paw Prints Out of 5! I would have given this a higher rating but the pacing kind of dropped the rating to this. I feel as though that the story could’ve been better and that we would have more RNJR moments since they are the surviving team from Beacon until now with RWBY reuniting. The fight scenes were beautiful, the music was amazing, however the story with this one was a bit off. I did like the Raven as Spring Maiden being a surprise since you didn’t expect it until she reveals it! I did like how they made Cinder think Vernal being the Maiden but of course got to love the decoy idea. I was wondering if Jessica Nigiri was replaced as Cinder because she was a little off in her voice throughout the volume. I understand that Cinder did have a long recovery and had a hard time getting her voice back but at least the tone came back towards the end of this volume. I am glad Rooster Teeth knows that they need to fix the pacing for Volume 6 bit jeu at least they know! Now onto the bests!

Best Song: “This Life Is Mine” and “This Time In Shadows Part 2!” If you haven’t heard the music from RWBY, well more of the rock/operatic music you’re missing a lot! “This Life Is Mine” is pretty much the extension of the song that was heard in the one episode in Volume 4 where Weiss’ dad asked her to perform at a benefit event he put on to raise money for something. In this one you hear more of that song where she is on the airship and it was amazing! I would say listen to the entire song and you will see why! While the other one, “This Time In Shadows Part 2” was used as the ending theme for this volume but it was glorious and the best song to end the volume on!Casey and Jeff Williams do major justice with the music for this entire series and this song to end the volume made it even better! I can’t wait for what they will bring to the next one!

Best Character: Yang! I give Yang Best Character this time because she has grown so much throughout this volume! The actress even did a really good job doing it! I can see why Qrow refers to her as Firecracker because in the beginning she was stubborn and easy to start a fight but now after regaining her arm all thanks to Atlas, she changed a lot! I did like how she confronted Raven at the end of this volume because it shows that Yang may be scared of facing Salem but she is still willing to fight! Way to go Yang!

Best Voice Performances: Chermie Leigh-Kune as Ilia, Aaron Dismuke as Ozpen/Oscar, Barbara Dunkleman as Yang, and Anna Hullum as Raven! This season had four strong voice performances and I will explain why. Cheramie as Ilia was one of her best performances next to Airi from Erased (if you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it), Lucy from Fairy Tail, and and many more but this role fit her very well! You enver suspect her at first but when you listen closely, it is her using her Seagland voice from Dragonaut. Even though her character was a little confused in this volume, she did come out on top even with how Sun paid her back for hurting him. Aaron Dismuke was amazing as Ozpen/Oscar which I do phrase it like that since he did have to do double duty in this series. It felt like you were watching FMA all over again since Vic is Qrow in this one but now as the wise character in this one than Ed. As in, what if they had Al be more of the character of wisdom than Ed. Brenda as Yang, again, she made her into a strong character for this volume and how she interacted with Raven even made it better. I am hoping she keeps this performance up because it was beautiful this volume! And Anna as Raven, at first she sounded slightly forced since she hasn’t seen Yang in so long even though she did appear during Volume 2 to help. Towards the end the performance got better and her interactions with Yang made it even more memorable. I can’t wait to see what happens with Raven and I am wondering when Qrow will know what really happened to the Spring Maiden which reminds me that he doesn’t know yet and can’t wait to see how he reacts to it. Still, it was a beautiful performance for Raven.

Well, that is it for this review of RWBY! I can’t wait to see what Volume 6 brings since this one ended with a very rounded ending. I know there is supposed to be RWBY Chibi if they keep making that but Volume 6 should be stronger and the story should pace a lot better.

So, what’s next? Another Access Tech post on a device that is gaining some popularity! Until next time!

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by moonleopard85 on January 30, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in Cartoons, Internet, Reviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 30, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/30/cartoons-rwby-volume-5/

Convention Spotlight: Omni Expo 2018 in Orlando, FL

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Another year and another Convention Spotlight!

Convention: Omni Fandom Expo
Dates: March 9-11, 2018
Location: Florida Mall Resort & Convention Center, Orlando, FL

It’s the fifth year for Omni Expo and even a fifth year for us to cover the convention for press which we’re excited about! It will be at the Florida Mall Resort again. It seems like this convention was had a major success at this hotel and glad it did since it is easier to navigate and walk around in in my honest opinion. For anyone new…

Hotel: This hotel is attached to the Florida Mall which is a huge tourist trap for us here in Orlando. People from all over the world come to this mall and also stay at this hotel year round. For anyone who are veterans of this mall, they have changed up some of the layout and moved some of the shops. Trust me, it wasn’t easy finding the new location for Hot Topic last year when I picked up my new Rise Against shirt but you do have the food court for meal time, even discounts from what we’ve seen with some stores. I will link to the entire website this time because I figure it’s easier to take a look at everything that way.

In case you guys want to know what’s in the food court and some of the food kiosks, here are a few:

Joey Fatone’s Burgers and Hot Dogs
Five Guys Burgers & Fries
Subway
Chicken Now
Taco Bell
Auntie Ann’s

And so much more! There are places outside and even a plaza with a Publix next to the mall in case if you want something different. Make sure you hit Chick-Fil-A Friday and Saturday and if you head further west, you can hit International Drive for more places to eat.

Guests: Of course we can’t forget the guests coming and coming back!

Returning Guests:

Bruce Karr: Oh yes, No Ordinary Balloon Man is coming back for another year. He is well-known for his balloon creations. If you were at Omni last year, he made a Hercule Satan and of course you can request for him to make something for you.
Paul St. Peter: He is back everyone! The voice of Wyrmon, Stingmon, Kokomon, and Xemnes is back for another year at Omni Expo. Hoping he does Pirate Curses again and check out his voice acting panels while you’re at it!
Mesumi Sempai: She’s back for another year and if she does her Lolita panel, I suggest going to it if you’re wondering how to dress in the popular Japanese style. She has really good info.

New Guests:

Sawa: New guest to arrive and from Japan! Sawa is making their first appearance and you may have heard their music in the game The World Ends with You!
Derek Steven Prince: The Digimon Emperor has arrived for this year’s Omni and can’t wait to meet him and get my copy of Digimon Season 2 signed by him!
Josh Seth: He’s returning to Orlando for another convention! We’ve interviewed him at Holiday Matsuri and hoping to do it again and without interruptions. Anyways, you may know him as the voice as Tai from Digimon and Tetsuo from the forever famed movie Akira and one voice from one anime called pilot Candidate as the voice of Zero!

You can see other guests on the Guests tab on the Omni Expo page!

Panels & Events: I did mention above that we’re hoping to see Paul’s Pirate Curses panel which is a lot of fun especially when people yell things at each other and of course get to learn more about pirates outside of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He should teach a pirate class at UCF. Just saying; Some other events, which one I am excited about is the Crystal Carnivale Ball and this year is going to be based on the Beacon Dance from RWBY and it’s $5 at the door. So grab your formal wear even formal versions of your cosplay and a mask if need be and join in on the fun! Another event that keeps popping up is the Dance, Death, Rumble! I guess it’s like Suicide Karaoke but with dancing. We may have to check this out. And of course the Café Au Lait Maid Café events taking place during the weekend. These events are what you would experience at a real life maid café in Japan. CanadaJin3 did do a video talking about these but she deleted everything but you can find other videos experiencing these things in case if you’re interested. I will update you guys on Twitter in case of panel info for me since I did put in a panel form with Nerdy Shirts’ idea. The Assistive Tech panel video is still up from last year if you haven’t seen it. If you want to check out more events, you can check out the link below!

Well, that’s it! Better follow us on Twitter because I will be updating with things as the convention gets closer with any interviews that will be taking place, any panel updates since I’m crossing my fingers, and much more! We’re hoping to take some pics this year since last year we didn’t do many and definitely apologize with that. And of course we have the business cards for the blog, my first book, and now my second book, Love Found in Cinders.

Omni Expo Official WebsiteWhat is next? The RWBY Volume 5 review since this newest season just ended recently and like with the first four there will be a review so stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on January 29, 2018  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, Cartoons, conventions, cosplay, Panels, Travel, Video Games, Voice Acting

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 29, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/29/convention-spotlight-omni-expo-2018-in-orlando-fl/

Books: Royal Pain by Tracy Wolff

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I am back with another book review!

Title: Royal Pain
Author: Tracy Wolff

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and opinions of the lead writer of this blog! Please respect her thoughts and opinions. Warning there might be spoilers!

Synopsis: In this book, it is the first in the Royal Hotness series by Tracy Wolff where we meet Kian who is known who is a playboy at first but a part of twins who are heirs to the throne of Wildmar. When his brother gets kidnapped, that is when Kian takes his brother’s place for a little while until they find his brother. As he fill in his brother’s role, he meets Savannah, a woman from America who came over to study in Wildmar, after rescuing him from some fans at a benefit event. She is all he wants in a woman but he is not what she wants due to how she used to be with his brother. Will love bring these two together or is Kian going to choose his country over her?

Thoughts: I liked this story a lot because it does give a bit of a modern fairy tale aspect but without the magic. Kian did appear to wanting to be himself not just a royal and pompice brat especially with how his dad wanted him to be but we get to see his sweet side towards Savannah throughout the book. I know Savannah was acting awkward since she didn’t know if he was going to be like his brother after breaking up with him and she always had the same commoner thoughts such as, “Why does he want to be with me when there are women chasing him?” “Should I let him in?” And more but when they’re having their love sessions it seems like those thoughts get blocked out. You do see her care for Kian’s brother a little during the book after knowing that he was kidnapped and how Kian always wanted to find him but you see him caring about her more throughout the entire book. I find it interesting that the brother was letting him be with her after knowing who Kian ended up with. I did like how Savannah rescued Kian in the beginning of the book because I could see how awkward being a prince can be especially when two women, one older and one around his age go after him, and she finds that right time to spill some drinks on a Tom Ford tux. I bet that was a fortune but he dealt with it.

Rating: 5 Star Paw Prints Out of 5! This was a really good romance book and yeah it is the boy meets girl start but it did it in a very clever way. I liked how Kian and Savannah clicked and then it moved on from there. It wasn’t forceful throughout the book and I feel that the next one will either continue with how it ended here or it will show Kian’s brother with Felicity, which was the girl he ended up after Savannah. Time will tell!

Well, that was a short review since I felt it was a pretty light read. I am still trying to read Nimuscine 1 and now doing the next Net Galley read Royal Pain: A Royal Hotness Novelwhile I’m at it. Next post will be the Omni Expo Convention Spotlight if I haven’t finished the next book yet. Until next time!

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by moonleopard85 on January 22, 2018  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in Books, Reviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 22, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/22/books-royal-pain-by-tracy-wolff/

Books: Sadie’s Highlander: A Highland Protector Novel by. Maeve Greyson

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! A second post of the day and it is another book review for you all!

Title: Sadie’s Highlander
Author: Maeve Greyson

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and opinions of the lead writer of this blog! Please respect her thoughts and opinions! Warning! Spoilers may be ahead!

Synopsis: This book is the first of a new series from the author of the Highland Hearts series with the Highland Protector Series.

In this one, we meet Alec MacDara was transported to the 21st Century North Carolina with his other brothers, sister, and parents from 10th Century Scotland in order to protect the Heart Stone as a cover of working a theme park known as Highland Life and Legends.

Alec holds back a film crew from filming a Scottish Romance film on their property until he made the appointment with Sadie and Delia Williams all thanks to the emails Sadie has written. He agrees unless Sadie reports to him every day while staying on the property since Sadie still has to work as her sister’s flunky assistant.

Sadie is an adopted daughter and is always told by her sister that she’s ugly despite the curve to her body. She always wants to be a screen-writer but her sister is always holding her back and having her work as her assistant even writing certain parts of a film or her emails for her due to the writing talent she possesses. Once she starts hanging around Alec and his family, Sadie gets accepted for who she is and accepted by Alec for her beauty and wins his heart forever.

Thoughts: This book was a very quick read for me! I didn’t know it took me two days until I saw my spreadsheet. It was a very cute story and it did have a very sweet ending. I have read one of Maeve’s other books and that was My Tempting Highlander from the Highland Hearts Series. My Tempting Highlander from the Highland Hearts Series and need to read the other ones in order to understand it a little more but I did enjoy her writing and since I got to read this one it did give me a bigger idea of how she writes. I like how she does the characters doing the time travel thing from ancient Scotland to our time and this one shows it very well even if Alec is speaking in his old tongue. I also imagine the kilts very well. I guess no matter what you are, blind even, you have something for men in kilts. Anyways, I did like how Alec and Sadie acted around each other even if they aroused each other for sexy times. I am thinking what if Chris Hensworth voiced Alec in this one and man it would make it sexier unless if we have to get a sound alike. I am not sure about Sadie since she did have to build her courage up even against her sister Delia, which I can imagine Mandy’s voice from Totally Spies coming out of her. I need to wonder about that while reading, there was a point where explosions take place at the ancient castle and Delia went missing. I am not sure what had happened to her and it would be interesting if she does come back and end up with one of the brothers in a later novel. Maybe that would stop her from being so cruel even to Sadie since I can see how hard she wants to impress her sister even working as her puppet. I did find it awesome that she finally stood up to her since I knew she wanted to put her in her place. I still find it funny in the start of the book when Delia broke one of her heels. I am hoping to see Sadie again and that the rest of this series can be available for on Net Galley.

Rating: 5 Star Paw Prints Out of 5! This book was a cute story and I liked the characters since they were going through a new 21st Century setting and even running a theme park. It does show that anyone can accept you for who you are rather than how you look since I know that feeling very well. I am hoping with the next one, Joana’s Highlander, keeps this theme going unless Maeve does a different theme for each book. I am also hoping to see Delia come around again and probably fall for a MacDara brother? Let’s see!

Well, that’s it for this review! Next book will be another romance novel and I am still reading another book at the same time so stay tuned for that Sadie’s Highlanderone too. I will also be doing the Convention Spotlight on Omni Expo 2018! Until next time!

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by moonleopard85 on January 17, 2018  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in Books, Reviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 17, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/17/books-sadies-highlander-a-highland-protector-novel-by-maeve-greyson/

Response & Opinion: YouTube Changing Their Partners Program

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe. It’s time for another Response & Opinion Post on here.

YouTube Changing Their Partner Program!

Disclaimer: This post is based on thoughts and opinions from the lead writer of this blog! Please respect her thoughts and opinions and thank you!

Last night I got an email from YouTube about how they were changing their Partners Program to safe guard their program and their creators which now you have to reach a certain threshold in order to monetize your stuff as a starting YouTuber. Well, I only have 50+ subscribers and well now my monetization is terminated until I can hit the threshold in a month or I have to meet that threshold in order to monetize again. In case if you’re wondering what that threshold is, here it is:

I have to reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time within a year. I know, it is harsh and I think I know why YouTube had made these changes and my gal pals were talking about it earlier when I told them what is going on since they have channels and our collab channel together.

Reason? One reason I think is John Kuckian’s stupidity and we all agree what Logan Paul had done in Japan. For those of you who don’t know what had happened, I will re-cap:

Logan Paul went to Japan and has done a lot of things that were disrespectful such as throwing coins into the prayer box instead of placing it in at a temple, being loud in those places, and even hitched a ride on the back of truck, also throwing Pokeballs at people and things. Not only that the worst one to date is how he went into the Sea of Trees and found a dead body hanging and should’ve called the police but no he filmed it and used as a thumbnail before he took it down. I did do my response post about this and you can read it on here.

John Kuckian, on the other hand, I admit I used to be subscribed to him but I unsubscribed from him recently due to some things that Peter Monn had revealed and John falsely accused Peter for things that were worse and that was accusing him for being a pedophile and that he sexually harassed him through text messages. Peter was upset and I saw the videos of him being upset and well what John did was in response to the videos about his makeup brand, Kuckian Cosmetics, not getting any good reviews, people were asking about ingredients but deleting those comments, and did hear that he was supposed to have a release party and people paid but it got cancelled and didn’t pay them back nor sent any free cosmetics from his line. As retaliation, making a summary of this, he went onto a Tumblr that was supposedly belonged to Peter and said there were horrible pics of kids that he had worked with, even “shown the “Texts” etc. The Kucki Fam were believing what John had to say but here is the thing Peter had only worked with teens that were abused for thirteen years and had to leave when his mom was sick and she did pass away later. I understand emotional distress can cause you not to go back to where you worked originally and I would have not gone back if it had happened to my mom too. Even though one part of the “evidence’ that John got was how a kid with A. D. D. went to a center where Peter was working and went through therapy with him when it is not true. I bet you’re wondering why the quotes around evidence? Well, Tawny Michelle had made a really good video proving the lies when people said she didn’t have proof, she had shown clips of Peter talking about how he hasn’t gone back to the center he worked at and also demonstrated an app that John had used that faked the text messages from Peter where you can create a fake account, which does happen in our age of tech, and then use a different email but same number to make his own account and then do it that way. I would say check out her video because I loved her demonstration and she does make a point even with the time differences between England and the United States which is six hours apart and the time stamps for both us and England are in different formats too. So, I would say see her video.

So back on track! All thanks to the material that have been posted recently by these two, I know there are other offenders with equally as bad content on YouTube may have been a huge reason for the “safe guards” to be placed. It is YouTube’s responsibility to protect the viewers from seeing this material but punishing creators by taking away monetization even the newer creators or the ones still growing little at a time aren’t going to get these benefits of being able to get ad revenue even though it is not much. YouTube did punish Logan by taking him off of their Red service but not enough to take him off of YouTube completely and that is due to how popular he and his brother are but not everyone watches him or they don’t do content like he does.

Take my content for example! I do convention videos and the reason why I started the channel to put the interviews and other things up is that it’s not easy transcribing interviews and after how long the answers Troy Baker gave in his interview it was best to do video and it worked! Our biggest video TO THIS day IS THE Attack on Titan Cast Panel from 2015 and now our Idol Fest videos from Holiday Matsuri 2017 are rising in numbers because it was their first Idol Fest. Reasons for not posting as much is due to my actual life finding my career path, volunteering, and working on my newest book and not having many funds to go to other cons in the year, getting the videos can be a challenge and also doing videos here or at Gondras’ place can get interrupted by family. Trust me, I had my mom interrupt my beauty videos when I have my sign up!

Anyways, I am planning on falling onto Patreon and Go Fund Me at the moment since those can help us out. As in it can help us travel to some of these conventions, possibly get some new equipment since we did have that mishap with some videos which an external hard drive can help, and many other things. So please if you can support us by donating either $1, $2 or even $5 to either of them because of how Adpocalypse took place and now with the changes to the Partners Program.

And back to the protection part, I think I mentioned on the Logan Paul post that YouTube should not allow any content that can be harmful to young crowds. Yes they do have the “restricted Mode” but it’s not helping especially with what Logan did and the video that John had done. Yes, I know the specific John video was privatized onto a different channel of his but it was posted and viewed and he did do supplement videos to his points. Still this is another thing that shouldn’t have been posted nor allowed to be posted like with Logan’s Suicide Forest video. I still remembered the days where YouTube was a great platform to be creative and able to post things but now it is in very dark time, more like a dark, dark, DARK time! As in, we’re being punished for material that is not all of our material. I still miss the days of watching a beauty review one product I might be interested in without any finger pointing. And I even miss haul videos that were interesting to see the newer products but it feels like there is mostly one brand mentioned. I guess that’s why I did that one post about brands not being mentioned all that much. Still, I miss those days and it would be hard to back to after knowing what’s being posted now and all the changes being caused.

I am still going to be posting on YouTube for everyone and I still want you guys to enjoy the content we bring from Omni and Holiday Matsuri since those are the only two conventions that still have us do press. I will also leave the links to our Patreon and Go Fund Me and please donate if you can and also support and subscribe to our channel and other channels that may be affected by this new change that YouTube is placing because who knows how long YouTube will be accepting a new creators.

What Vivi suggested and me and Stellar agree is that Twitch should expand their streaming and do stuff besides just streams. Stellar also mentioned they have a Partners program too. Hoping that is a lot more fair than YouTube’s.

Anyways, that is it for this post! It was a long one I know but I had to get my thoughts out about this since I feel like what YouTube is doing is unfair especially to the new people. We will be passing out business cards, also we still have an affiliate link, and I am going to put another one in there soon so keep an eye out for that! And also check our Patreon and Go Fund Me out because since we’re not going to be monetizing anything until we PatreonGo Fund Mehit a thousand subscribers these pages are the only way for any revenue. Thanks everyone!

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by moonleopard85 on January 17, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in Response and Opinion

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 17, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/17/response-opinion-youtube-changing-their-partners-program/

Books: Heroine Worship by. Sarah Kuhn

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! It is time for the first book review of the New Year and it is…

Title: Heroine Worship
Author: Sarah Kuhn

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and opinions of the lead writer of this blog! Please respect her thoughts on this book and warning there might be spoilers!

Synopsis: In this sequel to Heroine Complex, it’s been three months since another portal has opened in San Francisco to let out a rampage of demons and Annie Chang, also known as the kick ass super heroine Aveda Jupiter, and her once personal assistant turned fireball shooting super heroine, Evie Tanaka into a time without fighting any demons and living in peace and dreaming for something to do. Once they get called to a lingerie shop known as Pussy Queen (Not kidding on that name) due to some strange happenings, both Annie and Evie find out that the portal in the shop that was closed off to the demon world was gurgling and letting out something invisible. Now both Annie and Evie have to solve this new issue and on top of that noticing the brides in San Fran are acting weird and going after Evie, who is engaged to her mostly human boyfriend, Nate, and Annie has to not only look out for the menacing Bridezillas, an invisible enemy, planning her best friend’s wedding as her Maid of Honor, but also try to figure out the closest best friend, Scott, is not as close to her as they have been in the past. Is Annie having a major identity crisis due to her Aveda Jupiter side or is it just that she wants to stay in the limelight even if Evie is the main attraction after saving the city before from a major threat?

Thoughts: I had to read the first one, Heroine Complex, in order to read this one and oh man I enjoyed both books! I did read them in audio since NLS had them in audio and having Text to Speech reading this one wouldn’t be as entertaining as the first since the comedy and actions were best in audio. Also, the onomatopoeias were even great in audio (where sounds are in word form for anyone who doesn’t know, best example is the old Adam West Batman TV show.)

I think I giggled the most during Heroine Worship because it did bring out a Buffy the Vampire Slayer mood to it since in that to show you have a lot of snark and this one does have that too. I do like how throughout the book Annie was trying so hard to be herself but her Aveda side kept on coming out instead and trying to force it out in every chance she gets. One good example was when they were trying to find Evie the perfect wedding dress and the tent at the vintage show was a hard to get in type thing but she did use her Diva Power to get in. I would have to say with this book shows the reason why I don’t watch the show Bridezilla since I will be getting married myself and hoping I don’t act like that or any of the women in this book despite having a demon puppy running around in every dress. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention demon puppies? I do like how it did call back to the first book with the demon cupcakes because in the first one when it starts you see Aveda go up against demonic cupcakes at a cake shop. You do get to see them at that same cake shop in this one and I have to say is Letta, the owner, does remind me of Mod from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic because the reader for this book made her sound like that. If this was an anime I would get that actress to be Letta because I was hearing her during that scene. What I find it even funnier is that she might be Goth is how she has porcelain unicorns. Well, when you look at it, you got to have something cute to love and I do have my Twilight Sparkle plush and unicorn earrings.

Now onto the relationship part. Well, since superheroes do have their love interests, these books did blend that in very well. In Complex, I was not expecting Evie to fall for Nate but they do share that personality trait of over explaining things in a way of being comfortable and they do get along with each other while working a case and of course their relationship was really cute and enjoyable throughout the book. It was almost like how Gondras and I met, as in when Nate first shown up and first saw Evie at the front door from when he told her when he first loved her in the cartoon duck shirt, jeans, and a pair of Chuck Taylors, he really wanted her since he thought she was gorgeous. With Scott and Aveda, it felt like a sad build up to their relationship because Scott was the outcast due to being picked on since his mom was working to be a lawyer and keep on providing him food and clothes to survive. Plus, it was even sadder how Aveda always pushed him away and he saw that and had to put a No Love Spell on himself. I see Ren from RWBY a little bit in him since he is a bit a tragic love story but when Aveda and him finally get together it was cavity inducing, as in very, very, VERY sweet and also a heroic rescue by him. Will they actually get engaged? I am hoping to read the third book through Net Galley because I loved every page of this book as it kept on going. I also loved every character:

Bea: Evie’s sister who is very smart and knows how to bounce ideas off of Nate and even joins in with the report making for Officer Rowryk when they have any demon updates to do.
Lucy: Even though she can be a little bit perverted with her lesbian side but she is also badass as much as Aveda and Evie since she may not have super powers but she does know how to back them up with weapons and wear a Lolita style dress while she does it!
Nate: He does have his smarts but he does have a soft side when it comes to Evie.
Mazie: Even though she was the bossiest blogger in the first but she knows how to run a stylish boutique and help small business owners while she’s at it even if her skin is always flaking off due to her demon form.
Shruti: Even though she knows how to have style due to having a vintage shop but she knows how to solve a mystery when it comes to it and of course her power of using her hair as a weapon and able to grow it or make it shorter makes it even cooler!

All in all, Kuhn knows how to make an awesome group of main characters and supporting characters. I can’t wait to see what comes next in the next book!

Rating: 5 Out of 5 for both! This story was a really good superhero story. It takes the idea of Charlie’s Angels and makes it more badass. You have a lot of characters with a ton of personality and ones with style too. If I had to choose which one I relate to more, I would have to say both Evie, Bea, and Nate because I can be a bit technical with my explanations even in writing but I do sometimes have a shy side and get nervous with spotlight but other times I can really shine if the moment is right. I am hoping that the next one is even more action-packed as these two. Last one it went from demon cupcakes to hybrid demons and this one shown that Bridezillas can be scary and now wondering what is next since this is supposed to be a trilogy. Sarah Kune, your books get the “Paw print of Approval!”

Well, that’s it for this review! I will include links to both of these books so you can take a look. By the way, I did redo the link for Coastal Scents in the Affiliate Links page so you can check that out and get some awesome makeup and sales at affordable prices! Heck, their brushes are awesome!

What is next for Nerdy Shique Universe? My Convention Spotlight on Omni Expo 2018 and of course another Access Tech post on the device called Aira and Heroine ComplexHeroine Worshipsoon I will be reviewing RWBY Volume 5! So stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on January 15, 2018  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in Books, Reviews, Science Fiction

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 15, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/15/books-heroine-worship-by-sarah-kuhn/

Conventions: Holiday Matsuri 2017 Idol Festival!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! It’s time for the final coverage from Holiday Matsuri 2017!

Saturday, December 16, 2016 Idol Festival:

This year introduced a new event to Holiday Matsuri and it is known as the Idol Festival. These are pretty popular in Japan even with how much Vokyloid has been a huge part of that popularity. In Japan, idols go onstage and perform either solo or in a group and here is kind of the same thing where women act as the idols and dance or play instruments along with the music.

We only were there for a few of the acts from the start of it since we were heading to J. Michael Tatum’s panel right after we got some footage. Sorry if the video is not as great since there were a lot of people at this thing. I did like some of the music since I do like J-Pop and still listen to it on my I Heart Radio app even when it pops up on my Favorites radio with Baby Metal, Asian KungFu Generation, and I think I have High & Mighty Color and a bit of Gackt time to time.

I hope you enjoy these videos and the rest of the coverage we have brought you from this past Holiday Matsuri. Now they are gearing up for this year’s and already have some of the forms up. We are definitely going back and hoping to stay at the World Center since that was great too.

Speaking of press, good news is that we now have press passes for Omni Expo 2018 and excited about it! I will be doing the Convention Spotlight either towards the end of this month or early February since the convention is in March again. So, stay tuned everyone!

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by moonleopard85 on January 7, 2018  •  Video  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions, Music

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 7, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/07/conventions-holiday-matsuri-2017-idol-festival/

Access Tech: Voice Actors Learning About Braille Tech

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Time for a new post in the Access Tech category on here and I think this will be a nice one to start the New Year off in this category!

Voice Actors Learning About Braille Tech from a Blind Person!

I know this topic seems a little silly to talk about but I was inspired by Brandon McInnis to write this post after this year’s Holiday Matsuri!

I have been an anime fan for most of my life and still remembered how Toonami first started when I was in elementary school and remembered how I came home through those years to catch Voltron, a little bit of Gundam Wing or DBZ and most of the time Sailor Moon. I even remembered how Fox Kids started showing Pokémon and Digimon to get into the anime broadcasting game and even started to draw in the anime style since I thought the art style was very interesting. As time went on, I did find out that I was going blind with Retinitis Pigmentosa and still enjoyed anime and didn’t think I would be doing press later on in my life like I had now nor get into Braille tech.

When I was in my Summer Semester of University back in 2011, I started bringing my Perkins Brailler since due to my past few semesters Braille did help me pass my classes, I even made Braille flash cards for myself to help myself study with the most important things I knew that were on the test and did pretty good and even started bringing a full page Braille Slate with me to class during the spring and it did work but it was hard always knowing when to change the page in the slate and where I was doing my characters because the cells were on the back and you pretty much had to write in backwards fashion to get the characters to show. Plus, having the stylus in my hand at all times did hurt. I did have a laptop but the track pad always moved my notes around Word and made studying a bit harder on myself. After having a teacher not liking my Brailler, I contacted Blind Services about the issues with my notetaking especially when I almost left class a few times due to how the teacher was complaining about the Brailler in class and I was told about Braille tech and I was all in for it. During the fall term, I was introduced to devices by Freedom Scientific and H. I. M. S. and was supposed to be introduced to Human Ware but due to how close it was to the end of the semester I decided on the H. I. M. S. Braille Sense Plus and chose the QWERTY which is what you just have a computer keyboard and give it a Braille display underneath and you type as normal and whatever you type it will translate that into whatever Braille grade you chose in the settings. If you chose Grade 1 it will be uncontracted Braille and if you chose Grade 2 it will translate into contracted Braille even the contractions for most words too. These were the only two Grades with Nemeth, also known as math code, that has been around for a long time until the new Unified English Braille Code that came around two years ago where some of the contractions were eliminated and made some of them look different to make translation a lot more easier even for Ducks Bury which is the program that helps print out Braille documents.

Having this device did help me out for the rest of my time at college, even in my Japanese classes I had to take as a language requirement and feeling the words in the notes helped with studying in order to pass. As time went on and after starting this blog, I didn’t know doing press at conventions existed until Career Services suggested it to me. I remembered volunteering at conventions in the past but doing press was a whole new world all in itself. Not only it gave me awesome opportunities to work for conventions but it also gave an awesome learning experience.

“Take A Look At That!”

When I started with press, I was totally new to it and didn’t know what to do either since I hadn’t done it before. I figured that I would use my Braille Sense for taking notes and writing interview questions. Even though MetroCon 2013 was our first time doing press, I didn’t get that many notes since we were hanging out and observing the layout, hosting panels, and of course going back and forth between the con and hotel. We did learn some things from our first time which includes don’t wait until the end of the year to post anything. (I didn’t transcribe our interviews until the end of that year.) The following year, 2014, Omni Expo did ask us for press but that year I was the only one out of the three of us to go since Gondras had a test that weekend. I did also have a cold that year too and it wasn’t easy getting up early to catch the paratransit van after having Nyquil and surviving on Monster Javas but I did get through it. The first person who was amazed by my Braille Sense, since I did put my questions on it and recording with my Olympus recorder, was Carrie Savage who you may remember her as the voice of Mokona in Tsubasa and XxXHolic and now Lisana on Fairy Tail. I did explain how it worked as in when I typed it shows up on the Braille display and I can read off of it by feeling the characters. I was surprised that someone would have a reaction like she did because not a lot of people have seen a device like I had and even a volunteer did ask me about it during the weekend and knew that more people would probably ask me what it was as time goes on.

During that same year, we did return to MetroCon since we did enjoy it the year before and that year was also testing my cosplay design skills with .hack since it was hard what to do and I created my own character. Besides cosplay being tested, I found out that Dante Basco was going to be a guest that year and chose him along with Troy Baker, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and and Richard Epcar to interview. Not only I had to show my blog for the agent but also interview questions to see if I get to interview him and it was hard to ask him because I didn’t want to ask the wrong question. After making them and sending the link, I did get the schedule and he was the first to be interviewed by me and when I show up to the guest room that Friday and I did surprise him with my cane in hand and explained my eye condition since he did ask me about it and was even more surprised with the Braille Sense since it gave him a new person to meet and that is someone who is blind. I did tell him I used to be a fan of American Dragon Jake Long when I was sighted. He did ask me questions about how I learned Braille and how long it took me to learn which I was honest with taking me two years to learn especially having a tutor for Grade 2 because it is not easy trying to learn the many different rules for every contraction in all the textbooks. He even watched me go around the File Manager getting his questions and pop up on my Braille display. It still felt amazing getting to have that one on one with him and showing him my Braille Sense.

I did have to upgrade after one of the keys broke off and did have to scramble with a backup plan for Omni Expo the following year while Blind Services was purchasing my Braille Sense U2. I felt it was time to switch to the Perkins Brailler keyboard since I wasn’t in college anymore and would help expand my tech skills even in typing and using chord commands where you would use the Braille letter and the spacebar together. I even surprised the guy who trained me since I was familiar with the H. I. M. S. product before and able to transfer some of the skills from that to this one. During the time the unit was purchased, I had to bring out the old Brailler again and type out my interview questions and put into a binder due to not able to use the old QWERTY during that Omni. Lauren Landa even asked to feel my Braille pages after my interview with her and she told me about some neighbors she had that were deaf and it was cool that she knew people who were disabled and had to explain that I normally had my device that with the questions but waiting on a new one in the meantime and she thought it was cool that I had a physical Braille copy with me. It did take me days to get this binder together when it usually takes me hours on my device and when I got the newer one I was really relieved to have it for the summer and able to practice typing until Holiday Matsuri came that winter. It was our first year doing press and first time to bring the U2 to it and I think we surprised the Guest Relations people that we wanted to interview some of their guests that year and had go through some bits of complications especially when it was being done during their signing time but we eventually got to interview Todd Haberkorn and Josh Seth. Josh was the one who was surprised by my Braille Sense U2 since he never saw something like it before and I did explain how it worked and how it was a new keyboard for me due to it being a new device that year for me and I let him touch some of the Braille on the display so he could get a feel for the dots. The one that got even more mesmerized was Brian Beacock at Omni Expo the following year since not only he was the first guest to have a con give us a good word about our work but throughout our interview even on camera he was like, “This thing is so cool!” Which I would never have thought that after the experiences I had with other actors would find my Braille tech amazing even on camera.

This past year at Holiday Matsuri, we did catch Brandon McInnis’ eye with my little Braille Sense due to being at the very front of his panel with J. I was taking my notes as usual while listening to them talk about their life experiences. That Saturday evening before we had to cover the Idol Festival we did drop by his and J.’s tables and Brandon told me about being a software programmer if I got it right and asked me about the Braille Sense because he told me how he was watching me take notes and I was surprised that he did notice my finger movements since I did have to type like if I was using a Brailler. I did explain what it was and about H. I. M. S. a little since he and J. live in Texas and that is where it’s located and even explained the internet and how that worked, etc. He was wowed by it and it made me feel good for the rest of the evening and had me thinking about this post since I did feel like I was teaching these actors something from my own world as a blind person and that there are blind people enjoying their work as much as the sighted does.

In the end, after these experiences, I feel like I was giving a new learning experience not to just myself while interviewing the actors or even asking a question during a panel but also giving them a learning experience with my own device. I have been using Access Tech for many years and remembering times in college where there were some people who do notice what I use in class or they just pass by like it’s nothing but it feels like it has changed because technology is growing at fast rates, heck there is now Braille Note Takers taking on Android tech and I would like to get my paws on that. Plus, it gives a voice actor a new insight on what their work means to a lot of people even the blind themselves. I still remember how I told Steve Blum “Thank you for all the work you have done!” When he talked about the dad who had an autistic son during our interview when I asked about his favorite convention experience. It still kind of brings me tears because of how touching the story is and now with me telling these actors about my own experiences as a blind person and how I can talk to them about my Braille device it feels like they are learning from me a little more. Heck, even some of the other Press people I met before the Cosplay Runway got to know that a blind person has been doing press alongside them during the weekend after seeing my Braille Sense on the table. I guess I not only have taught some blind people in Access Tech but also sighted people including the ones who have voiced many of our favorite characters on screen for many years.

Well, that is about it for this post and man it did bring a lot of memories and knowing that I can keep on going with my Access Tech Specialist dreams makes me feel even better. I am not going to let it stop because technology has been my element even if I have my writing skill and working on my third book. No matter where my path leads me I know I will keep on following it. I can’t wait for next year’s Omni Expo where we get to catch up with Josh Seth and Paul St. Peter and get to meet Derek Steven Prince and get to see his reactions to my Braille Sense and cane when I hand him Digimon Season 2.

What is next? The final bit of coverage from Holiday Matsuri 2017 with the Idol Festival. And again major thanks to Brandon McInnis for inspiring me to write this after asking me about the Braille Sense, it was a great thing to bring up and glad I gave you a nice learning experience. Who knows I may run into you at another convention probably as a guest or just doing press as usual or working in Texas teaching someone tech.

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by moonleopard85 on January 5, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in Accessibility, Braille, conventions, Technology, Voice Acting

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 5, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/05/access-tech-voice-actors-learning-about-braille-tech/

Conventions: Friday Panel Summary from Holiday Matsuri 2017!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I am back and with more coverage from Holiday Matsuri!

Friday, December 15, 2017 Panels: So, I have some bad news! At first we had video footage of the two Friday panels from the con but due to some technical difficulties and not being able to replace the files, we could not be able to upload videos but the good news is that I did take notes on the panels and will be giving you a summary about them. I am really sorry and we will make sure that the files work next time and have copies for now on. Normally this is a rookie mistake and lost one video once and hoped not to do it again but what can I do when it comes to tech wanting to mess up. Be glad that I take notes for reviews on my handy dandy Braille Sense U2 and will be doing a post on that soon with how voice actors are mesmerized by it. Let us get onto the panels shall we?

Christina & Nate Wants to Battle Panel: First panel we covered was the Christina & Nate panel that started the convention for us since we did not get to Holiday Matsuri until 1:30 that afternoon.

This panel was a pretty good panel with a lot of questions and answers. When they introduced themselves, Christina was a guest at Hol Mat back in 2013 and I remembered that year since we were at the con at the time hosting a panel before we started doing press for Hol Mat and I still have my Homura mug box signed by her which she played her in Madoka Magica and she is also the voice of Sailor Mars in the re-dub of Sailor Moon and in Sailor Moon Crystal. While Nate has been a guest at Hol Mat every year and has been a tradition for him to be a guest. If you want to know what he does, he is a musician and does some voice work. In case if you are on YouTube, you can catch some of his music there, even covers of anime songs including the theme song for the anime Erased by Asian KungFu Generation. (By the way, it is on Hulu in EngEnglish, the series I mean.)

There were a variety of questions being asked at this panel. One of them happened to be their start in voice acting which Christina started at the age of twelve while Nate had his start when he met Tyler Walker, the Director of Fairy Tail, and was sent a script to read. He does have a role in something Fairy Tail but forgot which role it was. I will hear him and look it up when I buy more parts since I am a little behind. I did ask Christina about her role as Sailor Mars since it was one of my interview questions for her in how does it feel to b her and if she got to meet Katie Griffin and her answer was meet it was so so surreal to be in it because she watched Sailor Moon at a young age and she got to meet a lot of the cast from the original series but Katie. Maybe you will get to do that someday Christina.

One interesting question was the methods in getting the character that they are voicing and Christina says that she is visually oriented when it comes to developing the voice which she sees the character and comes up with it and Nate is the same way. Another was the hardest roles they have done and for Christina it was Homura because since she was the youngest on the cast at the time. I found that interesting since I figured Lauren Landa, who was also on the cast as Sayaka (I think I got her name right) probably would be the same age. Nate, on the other hand, his hardest role was Chad 2054 because he had to do a raspy voice.

There were a lot of other questions and Gondras did bring one up and that was about Christina has participated in the Power Rangers Hyper Force RPG which you can watch over on the Hyper RPG YouTube channel and it is pretty good from what we have seen. She plays as the first female black power ranger and she gets to play alongside Paul Shrier and Andres the Black Nerd and so many more. Heck, the first episode had Jen from Time Force!

It Gets Better Panel with J. Michael Tatum & Brandon McInnis: Next panel with J. and Brandon and that that day was. This panel was something I was not expecting because I thought it was going to be all about voice acting but it was about the It Gets Better Project and the LGBTQ community since these two…well J. is gay and Brandon is bi-sexual and they have been dating for a while now. I must confess that I thought when Brandon mentioned he was J.s partner that I thought work at first but everything was revealed.

If anyone does not know about the It Gets Better Project is, it is where actors in the LGBTQ community reach out to the youth in this community and J. mentioned how it is social suicide in Texas if you come out as gay, lesbian, and the rest and did not know about that part. After this panel and during it, I did think back to an article I had to read in two of my writing classes from Rolling Stone from 2010 about how a small town went through suicides of young teens who were a part of this community and this also around the time Rise Against did their song Make It Stop (Septembers Children) from their End Game album which ended with some of the teens saying It Gets Better and now I know know.

It was great to know about J. and Brandon a little more because we always hear them in Black Butler and other anime but not who they are out of the booth. I even found it amazing that I do relate to J. because I had a speech impediment myself when I was younger like he had and did work myself out of it. You do not hear it in my videos but I had issues with the s sound and the sh sound when I was younger and everyone thought it was funny.

What I did find true was how bullies can be created out of jealousy and fear and also it is a phase in high school which you can make friends with your bullies later on, heck I did it a little while ago when I found my worst enemy on Facebook and she apologized for picking on me when I told her who I was. Now we are pretty close even though she lives in Cali but I do comment on her posts time to time.

Well, that is it for this summarizing since there was a lot from both panels and would love to put it all down but it would take a long time writing and translating my notes. Too bad I do not have the videos of it but I do with the Idol Festival which is the last coverage we have from this past Hol Mat. But in between, I want to do my post on voice actors learning about my Braille Sense because it does fit with this since Brandon watch me type since we did have front at his panel with J. Until next time! The

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by moonleopard85 on January 4, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions, Internet, LGBTQ, Panels

Posted by moonleopard85 on January 4, 2018

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2018/01/04/conventions-friday-panel-summary-from-holiday-matsuri-2017/

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