Guilty Pleasures? Activities That You Shouldn't Be Embarrassed of Engaging With

We are all familiar with the stereotypes that revolve around activities such as gaming, cosplay, and comics. They often come hand in hand with what has generally been assumed to be a rather negative connotation: the geek or the nerd. But it’s time to reclaim the term geek and everything that may come hand in hand with it! The skyrocketing popularity of online forums and social media has made us realize that those of us invested in franchises and brands such as World of Warcraft, Star Trek, Zelda, Marvel and Warhammer aren’t so alone after all. There’s a reason that the companies pumping out these games and merchandise have stood the test of time: they are popular, and thus they sell. So, if you find that you are labeled a geek or nerd because of your interests, take pride in it. Here are a few stereotypically “geeky” hobbies that you should never be ashamed of engaging in.

 

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Gaming

When people think of gaming, the image of an isolated, socially inept teen spending hours in their room with a headset on often springs to mind. But the reality is that individuals of all ages, interests, and habits engage with gaming. It’s not all too surprising seeing as this market covers so many genres. There are a whole host of options out there, so it’s almost guaranteed that there’s a game that even the starkest anti-gamer would genuinely enjoy. For those who want pure escapism, there are role-playing games such as Final Fantasy. The latest edition can be easily downloaded at www.finalfantasyxvapp.com and started up in a matter of minutes. This game allows you to assume the role of a protagonist in a fantasy world, completing a whole host of tasks, quests, and battles. For those who are more social, there are MMO games. MMO stands for Massively Multiplayer Online. You can play against other gamers from around the world, engaging with people you would have never otherwise met and collaborating to succeed and move up levels. Alternatively, you can battle against one another, testing your skill against other real-life players. If you enjoy riddles and quizzes, you can try out puzzle games. These range from the traditional and simple (such as Tetris) to the more modern day and specialized (such as Big Brain Academy). Whatever your interests, there will be something perfect for you.

 

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Cosplay

If you are unfamiliar with cosplay, it is simply the act of dressing up as a character from a film, book, or video game. Most people opt to dress as someone from Japanese anime or manga in particular. Cosplay has experienced a huge explosion in popularity since people are now more capable of sharing images of their brilliant costumes on social media feeds. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are constantly awash with individuals cosplaying common characters (such as Link from Zelda, Deadpool, and Harley Quinn) to the more obscure (such as Miranda from Legend of Dragoon or characters from much smaller fandoms). Cosplay is extremely rewarding, as it allows you to live and breathe your passion. You can also meet up with individuals of similar interests at conventions, being able to bond over your outfits. What’s more? You get to express your creativity freely.

 

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Comic Books

Comic books. If you’re into them, chances are that you are already fully aware of your interest and have piles and piles of common and rare copies filling your home. But if you’re new to collecting comics, here’s a quick debrief. A hobby is essentially the telling of a story through sequential art. They’ve been around for years, but the most commonly acknowledged and successful type are those telling tales of superheroes and anime characters. The Marvel franchise is perhaps one of the most recognized around the world, with rare copies selling for millions of dollars. An original copy of Action Comics #1 (which introduces Superman to the World) sold for $3.2 million. So if you get your hands on the right collector’s item, you really can be in to make a profit. Go to specialist stores, root through wares being sold at car boot sales and keep an eye out at local auctions, just in case something astounding comes up.

 

As you can see, there are plenty of benefits of engaging with stereotypically “geeky” hobbies, and there are hundreds and thousands of others out there who think that these activities are just as great as you praise them to be. So never be ashamed of your interests and embrace what you enjoy.

Geek Shows On the Horizon We Can't Wait to Binge

It’s a golden age for fans of TV shows, streaming, binge watching and geeky TV. Every other week a new show is announced that makes geeks and nerds feel like they are eight years old ago. So, let’s look at some of the incredibly new (and old) shows that are going to be available towards the end of this year and into 2018.

 

The Punisher

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Daredevil Season 2 might have been a mixed bag, and The Defenders didn’t quite live up to the hype. Combined with the the weird pacing of Luke Cage and the controversy surrounding Iron Fist, the Marvel Netflix shows have been on a slightly downward slope lately. However, we’re confident that in November that’s all about to change because we get the punished. Arguably, this character was the brightest part of Daredevil Season 2, and Jon Bernthal has brought the character to life in a new and exciting way. The full trailer is right here https://www.youtube.com/ and we’re eager to see what Marvel have in store for this dark and bloody character with what is hopefully a truly epic full season arc. Expect this one to drop around November.

 

Stranger Things Returns

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Just in time for Halloween, Stranger Things is returning. We’ve already had tantalizing teases with the boys in Ghostbusters costumes and posters resembling those of classic horror movies. We’ve got so many questions. Will eleven return? Almost definitely but how is a completely different question. According to https://netflixupdate.com/, season 2 has a one-year time jump, so we’ll certainly have a lot to catch up when we return to that eerie American town at the end of October.

 

Young Justice Season 3 (Finally!)

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Cartoon Network viewers were truly heartbroken when Young Justice was canceled because...not enough toys were sold. WB should have realized that the demographic for this show was significantly older than they expected with a loyal fanbase made up of a significant amount of students. But now it’s returning with the original voice cast, the original show runner and a story revolving around meta human trafficking. It doesn’t sound like the TV show is going to shy away from the deep, complex storylines that made it such a hit. But where is it going to be released and when? While it seemed likely that Young Justice would hit Netflix at some point, WB has opted instead to create their own streaming service. Along with all their existing and older shows this service will include one other, exciting piece of original content.

 

Titans!

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Or rather, Teen Titans, except they can’t call it that incase it’s confused with the humorous yet shallow Teen Titans Go. The cast has slowly been unveiled, and we know it’s releasing in 2018. That’s all the information we have on this show. We do know it’s a live action series. But we’re not even sure whether it’s a half hour dramedy or a full hour action adventure drama. It could even be linked to the DCEU, and it’s the mystery that perhaps makes this one so exciting. You read more about this on http://www.denofgeek.com/.

 

So which one of these shows will be distracting you from your work? Or, are you planning on binge watching all of them?

Summer Movie Musings: Captain America - Civil War

Civil War is an embarrassment of riches, as this third outing for Captain America features a bunch of other superheroes, as well as the introduction of Spider-Man and Black Panther to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

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