These Weeks on The Geekiary: 4+ Months of Highlights

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Tara Lynne

I feel bad because I was really enjoying sharing my Geekiary articles, but the past five months have been VERY busy, so my somewhat regular posts have long been pushed to the wayside. In order to play a bit of catch up, here are just some of the more important Geekiary articles that I’ve written since July 31st (more important in my opinion, at least) 🙂

Because it’s been so long, this time around I’m going to go back in time starting from some updates I made today…

December 17th, 2016
UPDATED: The Walking Dead Season 7 Masterpost
Check out my reviews and news of the current season of TWD!
UPDATED: Steven Universe Masterpost
I’ve written several SU news posts and episode reviews since I last shared my Geekiary articles 🙂

December 16th, 2016
Rogue One: Dark, Gritty, & Reminiscent of The Empire Strikes Back
Let’s be honest: Star Wars hasn’t always done the best job of telling a story to which we know the ending (see the prequels). Yet in Rogue One they did just that, and while it didn’t give me quite the sense of amazement that I felt when I saw The Force Awakens, there is no denying that it is a success in nearly every respect.

December 6th, 2016
Ashley Eckstein and Ashley Taylor at Walt Disney World
When I found out that Ashley Eckstein and Ashley Taylor were holding a signing at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World, I couldn’t wait to attend.

November 20th, 2016
Tara Lynne’s Geekiary Gift Guide 2016
I had so much fun putting together my 2015 Geekiary Gift Guide that I knew I had to reprise it this year. So for 2016 I aimed to do what I did in 2015 – include geeky items that not only speak to me, but are also suggested by both Geekiary writers and fans.

November 26th, 2016
Netflix Gilmore Girls Has its Moments, But Leaves a Lot To Be Desired
The Netflix Gilmore Girls revival is both not enough and too much, at least for this fan. Despite the fact that there was plenty that I didn’t love, I keep hoping to hear that we’ll get more than just those four episodes/six hours…although sadly it doesn’t seem like that will be the case. (At least not in any foreseeable future.)

November 19th, 2016
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Screenplay is Where It’s At
I made it very clear that I felt there were a lot of issues with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but I have to say that if you’re a big Harry Potter/Rowling fan, the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them SCREENPLAY clears a lot of things up.
Katheryn Winnick Wakes Up, Kicks Ass, Repeats on Vikings
The first half of Vikings season 4 ended on an odd note, with an episode that saw Rollo vanquish Ragnar and his fellow Vikings as they attempted to attack Paris again and then featured a time skip of several years. Season 4 returns on November 30th, and this past week Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha) was on hand to give some juicy details about what has happened and what’s to come.

November 17th, 2016
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: A Fun Frolic with Some of That Harry Potter Magic
The absolute first thing that I have to say about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is that I wish I could write a spoiler-free review – one that people could read before seeing this movie – because I think that before you walk into a theater to watch it, you should ask yourself, “What am I expecting from Fantastic Beasts?”

November 14th, 2016
Good Girls Revolt is Mad Men for Smart Women
If you want a history lesson combined with a scary reminder of how crappy things can still be for anyone who isn’t a straight white man, all wrapped up in the drug-, alcohol-, and sex-fueled setting of the late 1960s/early 1970s, then Good Girls Revolt is the show for you.

October 31st, 2016
MegaCon Tampa Bay: A Successful First Year
I’ve been to a lot of conventions, and I’ve hosted several first-year conventions. That said, MegaCon Tampa Bay was one of the best first year cons I’ve ever attended, which was honestly a pleasant surprise.

October 20th, 2016
First Red Dead Redemption 2 Trailer Finally Released!
Here’s to all of my fellow Red Dead Redemption fans who have waited so long for the oft-rumored Red Dead Redemption 2…because not only do we have a vague release date (Fall 2017), we also have the very first Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer!

October 16th, 2016
Bojack Horseman: A Difficult Yet Worthy Recommendation
Listen, the first half of the first season of BoJack Horseman is really, really hard to get through. And to be honest, there are parts of the third season that are difficult to watch as well. But as a whole, the payoff is worth it. Trust me on this.

October 11th, 2016
Gravity Falls: Season Two Makes It Worth a Watch
I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t really sure about Gravity Falls after watching the first season, but now that I’ve binged both seasons, I’ve added it to my must-watch cartoons list along with Steven Universe, Polar Bear’s Cafe, Kuroko no Basuke, and more.

September 27th, 2016
The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is Perfect in its Imperfections
I was surprised when the CW renewed their entire lineup for this coming season, and one of the more shocking renewals was that of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a show whose first season had some of the lowest ratings on television.

…and last but not least, there were also quite a few updates to The Geekiary’s Dragon Con Masterpost in September!

I know this was a lot to take in all at once, but I *will* try to do a better job of keeping up with my “These Weeks on The Geekiary” posts throughout the coming months…but you know, please keep your fingers crossed that I can actually do so 😉

Who I am in Three Fictional Characters (Sort of)

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Tara Lynne

So this “which three fictional characters represent you” meme has been going around for…oh, I don’t know, over a week now? I’ve participated on Facebook but also thought it would be fun to share my answers here! I had some thoughts as to who I was most like, fictional character wise, but I also asked my friends what they thought…

Now, my first reaction was Cersei Lannister and Starbuck, but I couldn’t come up with a third character. Then I realized that I was only including Cersei because I identify with minor parts of her character…and because I cosplay her a lot. Thankfully, my friends’ suggestions helped a lot, and even though I didn’t choose all of them, I wanted to share some of the comments:

My initial idea was ‘can we just squish Pearl and Cersei Lannister into one character? Cerarl? Persei?’ – Brian W

Part Lightning from Final Fantasy 13…mixed with some Rikku from Final fantasy 10 for the [light-heartedness] and kindness. – “Aussie” Scott

I do wish I knew more about Star Trek because my good friend “Admin Angel” from The Geekiary – said, “You are the Doctor McCoy to my Kirk. You help me keep my ship running and include plenty of sass along the way.” I mean, I know enough to get it, but I think I’d fully appreciate it if I knew more about Star Trek and these characters 😉

I also thought I was more Garnet than Pearl. Yes I’ve grown to love Pearl a lot more in recent seasons of SU and certainly see some of myself in her – or some of her in myself, but at least one person agreed that I was more like Garnet. I will never argue with that. Garnet —>>>

However, my Hufflelove settled at least that argument with specifying that I’m Ruby, which I definitely agree with…

…and although I totally understand why he included Cersei and Penguin from Polar Bear’s Cafe, I still had to think about things (and get a few more suggestions) before deciding on my final three. Another cosplay buddy of mine suggested Lagertha from Vikings and Andrea from the Walking Dead *comics*. Lagertha because, in his words, I am “strong, able to overcome people that betray her trust, and love/loyalty for her family and friends”; Andrea because she “has dealt with loss and is still putting one foot in front of the other” 🙂

So in the end, my friends all kind of played a part in who I eventually chose…which makes me feel better about how realistic these choices are, at least. Those being Starbuck (Battlestar Galactica), Ruby (Steven Universe), Lagertha (Vikings), and my own addition – an honorable mention to Eowyn (Lord of the Rings):

Now, we also had a discussion going in the Ice & Fire Con Facebook group about what three ASOIAF characters we would be. While I think I was Sansa once upon a time, and have probably been Cersei now and again as well, in this case the “honors” went to Oberyn Martell (because I am a Martell but too temperamental to be Doran), Daenerys (which is a bit of a “sigh, do I have to” for me, but I know it’s true), and Asha Greyjoy (Queensmoot FTW).

A Geek Saga ASOIAF 3 fictional characters

All images (c) the ASOIAF Wiki – http://awoiaf.westeros.org

Who were your three fictional characters? Did you have any honorable mentions? Did you ask friends to help you identify them?

These Weeks on The Geekiary

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Tara Lynne

I had a couple of slow weeks writing for The Geekiary, due to my travel schedule and just generally getting ready to attend San Diego Comic-Con. But now it’s been over a month, which means it’s past time for me to update my article round-up!

July 4th, 2016
X-Files Reboot Vinimates Are Great Collectibles!
It’s no secret that we at The Geekiary love Diamond Select Toys. I was lucky enough to interview their Marketing Supervisor Zach at C2E2 earlier this year, and I can’t imagine not being a huge fan of their awesome collectibles – so when they added the X-Files reboot Vinimates to their product line, I was excited to add these figures to my display shelves!

July 5th, 2016
PositiviTEA Tuesday with The Geekiary (7/5/16)
Those of us who write for The Geekiary are a pretty close-knit community. We don’t just discuss the website with each other; we share life events and fangirl together. Depending on who’s fangirling at the moment, it could be about anything from Bryan Fuller to One Direction to Hogwarts Houses and more. Yes, sometimes we need to face things that are serious and probably not fun or positive, and it was due to one of those more serious conversations that we came up with the idea of “PositiviTEA Tuesday”.

July 12th, 2016
PositiviTEA Tuesday with The Geekiary (7/12/16)
Welcome to the second week of our new series, PositiviTEA Tuesday with The Geekiary! For today’s round of fun posts we bring you X-Files, Iron Man news, and more…including Pokemon GO, of course…

July 13th, 2016
Pokemon GO Isn’t Just Fun – It’s Healthy
It’s no secret that the new Pokemon GO app has taken the world by storm, but this writer is coming to you as someone who never before paid any attention to Pokemon and has had her life improved by playing Pokemon GO.

July 18th, 2016
First Picture of Bilquis from American Gods
San Diego Comic-Con is fast approaching, but apparently Starz isn’t waiting until the end of this week to give fans more American Gods updates. Today they released the first picture of Bilquis, and not surprisingly, it looks amazing!
FEELINGS…with The Geekiary: Ghost Girls
The new Ghostbusters movie came out this past weekend, and considering all of the drama surrounding it – combined with the fact that so many of us at The Geekiary saw and enjoyed it – we put together an impromptu episode of FEELINGS…with The Geekiary: The Ghost Girls Edition.

July 19th, 2016
Dragon Con 2016 Guest Announcement: Gillian Anderson!
As a huge fan of basically everything about Gillian Anderson (and, of course, a huge fan of The X-Files and Dana Scully in particular) I for one am very excited to announce that she has been added to the guest list for Dragon Con 2016!

July 20th, 2016
Steven Universe 3×9 Review: Too Short to Ride
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Steven Universe episodes that we’ve been treated to so far this week. (Especially “Mr. Greg“!) But when “Too Short to Ride” opened with Peridot, I was immediately excited, because after three episodes without her I was missing her quite a bit.

July 21st, 2016
Secrets of Comic-Con: The Things Most Attendees WILL Tell You
Earlier this week, Buzzfeed posted an article about the “15 Secrets People Who Love Comic Con Will Never Tell You”. Well, I’m here to debunk that, because it’s ridiculous. Will I or anyone else ever know all of the secrets of Comic-Con? I highly doubt it. But that doesn’t mean that most people won’t share them with you – because in every case I’ve encountered, they absolutely will.

July 26th, 2016
Comic-Con 2016: Diamond Select Toys Produces Even More Amazing Items
I had a great time interviewing Diamond Select Toys Marketing Supervisor Zach Oat at C2E2 this year, so I was excited to be able to get together with him at SDCC to chat about DST’s Comic-Con exclusives and some of their newly-announced items.
PositiviTEA Tuesday with The Geekiary: The Comic-Con 2016 Edition!
Several members of The Geekiary, including myself, attended SDCC this year, and while we had an amazing time, it wasn’t just our experiences that made Comic-Con 2016 great…so we feel it more than deserves it’s own PositiviTEA Tuesday post!

July 28th, 2016
Welcome to Deadland: A Refreshing Take on the Zombie Apocalypse Genre
Last month I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Zachary Tyler Linville’s debut novel, Welcome to Deadland. Now, while I’ve read all of the Walking Dead comics, I’ve only read a few zombie apocalypse novels, and this one is definitely near the top of that list in terms of being both interesting and featuring good storytelling overall.
Steven Universe 3×15 Review: Alone at Sea
When “Alone at Sea” began with Steven and Lapis, I was definitely excited. This week of Steven’s Summer Adventure has featured two very lighthearted Beach City episodes followed by the lovely but heavy “Monster Reunion“; based on the first few minutes of “Alone at Sea”, I really thought we were heading back in that lighthearted direction.

July 31st, 2016
Comic-Con 2016: Diamond Select Toys Spider-Gwen Exclusive
One of the Diamond Select Toys Comic-Con exclusives for this year was a gorgeous PVC statue of an unmasked Spider-Gwen, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on one, which is exciting on several levels.

…as you can see, despite the first couple weeks of July being slow for me in terms of writing articles, I definitely spent a lot of time doing so the last half of July! And to be honest, when I wasn’t writing articles I was working on my next novel or binge-watching shows like The Expanse, Sherlock, Penny Dreadful, and Stranger Things. (Meanwhile, I still haven’t finished season one of Daredevil…whoops.)

These Weeks on The Geekiary

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Tara Lynne

For once I’ve missed posting my Geekiary articles not because I’ve been busy with other things, but because I’ve had so much more to write about, like my amazing trip to Key West, the fact that my novel is now available as a paperback, and how hashtagblessed I am to be a part of Ice & Fire Con.

But I have been writing other things, too, so here is a list of the past few weeks’ worth of my Geekiary articles!

May 24th, 2016
A Josiah Bancroft Interview: The Adventures of the Books of Babel Continue!
Nearly two years ago I read what is to this day the best self-published novel I’ve ever discovered – that being Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft. As it turned out, he also attended C2E2 this year, and I finally got my hands on a copy of Arm of the Sphinx, Book 2 of his Senlin series “The Books of Babel”. Needless to say, once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down…although at this point I’m no longer surprised by that.

May 26th, 2016
Steven Universe 3×4 Review: Barn Mates
Considering how much I loved the first three episodes of this “In Too Deep” series, I was surprised to find that I wasn’t all that fond of “Barn Mates”…that is, until I rewatched it.

May 31st, 2016
San Diego Comic-Con 2016 Announcement: A Podcast of Ice & Fire Panel
I’m very excited for this San Diego Comic-Con 2016 announcement, because not only will A Podcast of Ice & Fire be hosting a Song of Ice and Fire panel for the second year in a row at SDCC, but it means that I will be returning to Comic-Con as well!

June 2nd, 2016
Walking Dead News: Season 6 Finale Backlash, Ezekiel’s Tiger, & More
We’re almost two months removed from The Walking Dead Season 6 finale, and the show won’t air again in October…but there’s still a lot of Walking Dead news crowding the Internet.

June 3rd, 2016
Julia Vanishes Features Great Writing Marred by Average Storytelling
I picked up an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan at C2E2 earlier this year because, while I don’t usually read YA, this novel sounded intriguing. I just wish that in the end the blurb on the back hadn’t turned out to be quite so misleading.

June 4th, 2016
Game of Thrones Seasno 6 vs. A Song of Ice & Fire: Round Two
Here it is, folks – we are halfway through Game of Thrones Season 6.

June 6th, 2016
Loot Pets May 2016: The POWER Collection
I have to admit, May 2016’s Loot Pets box was the first one that I wasn’t really happy with. I liked the items that came in my Loot Crate Level Up POWER Collection package, but I don’t think Loot Pets was on par with May’s theme.

June 7th, 2016
The Fangirls Coloring Book: An Exciting Release from Her Universe Press!
A lot of us here at The Geekiary love Her Universe – personally I think at least 10% of my wardrobe is from Ashley Eckstein’s clothing line. And recently, they put together Her Universe Press to publish books, which was another thing to love about HU…a company that is now bringing us “The Fangirls Coloring Book”!

June 9th, 2016
Star Wars Episode VIII “in the home stretch”
Can it be true? Is filming for Star Wars Episode VIII close to being wrapped up?
Click Here to Start: An Engrossing Middle-Grade Novel
Click Here to Start by Denis Markell is another book that I picked up at C2E2 back in March, and now that I finally got around to reading it, I am so, so glad that I did!

June 11th, 2016
Roses and Rot: Intrigue and Rambling
It’s funny that when checking out other reviews for Roses and Rot by Kat Howard (before cracking it open myself), one person said “this book is actually a romance novel” – because that isn’t the impression I got at all. Yes, there are romantic aspects to it, but above all Roses and Rot is a Tale of Two Sisters, if you will.

These Weeks On The Geekiary

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Tara Lynne

Last Sunday I was still at the fourth annual Ice & Fire Con, so I missed my “This Week On The Geekiary” post…which means I have two weeks worth of links to catch up on!

But first…how awesome is this Iron Throne banner that my close friend and fellow Geekiary author K-K created?

Needless to say, the convention was awesome as always, and eventually I’ll collect my thoughts and share them here…let’s just say it’s been a very busy week since I got home. I still don’t know how I’ve kept up with my Geekiary articles, but clearly I did 😉

April 20th, 2016
Ruby and Sapphire’s Story “The Answer” Being Released as a Children’s Book
“When “The Answer” aired back at the beginning of January, it immediately became my favorite SU episode of all time. So my excitement knew no bounds when I heard that Ruby and Sapphire’s story is going to be made into a book – and even better, a *children’s* book!”
First The Magnificent Seven Trailer Reveals Diverse Cast & More
“I grew up watching the late-90s Magnificent Seven TV show with my family, so between that and my love for Chris Pratt, so far I can’t see anything to not love about the first The Magnificent Seven trailer.”

April 21st, 2016
Game of Thrones Season 6 vs. A Song of Ice & Fire: Round 1
“This year I’ve waited until the last minute to write this first Game of Thrones Season 6 vs. A Song of Ice & Fire article, because as many fans know, the show has separated itself from the books quite a bit – and is now, in many respects, moving on from them in this upcoming season. It’s something that many fans are seriously concerned about; with all of the deviations (both the good, the understandable, and the downright crazy) Benioff and Weiss have already made, what’s going to happen when they have next to no source material to guide them?

April 26th, 2016
Walker Stalker Con Joins Boycott Against Discriminatory North Carolina Law
“Yesterday Walker Stalker Con announced that they will be postponing their Charlotte, North Carolina convention. This change is because they, along with many other companies boycotting North Carolina, hope for a repeal of the state’s bigoted law which forces people to use the restroom of their assigned birth gender regardless of their actual gender identity.”

April 28th, 2016
Star Wars: Bloodline to be Important Franchise Installment
“Bloodline, the next Star Wars book by Claudia Gray, is being released on May 3rd, 2016 – and needless to say, the hype is strong with this one.”

April 30th, 2016
The 100 3×13 Review: Join or Die
“I have to be honest, when A.L.I.E. ordered that the gates of Polis be opened, I wasn’t expecting the horror that we were greeted with in “Join or Die”.”
Loot Pets 2016: The Quest Collection
“The past couple of months, the Loot Pets boxes I’ve received have been heavy on the treats and accessories…but The Quest Collection definitely included some different and fun items.”
Children of Earth and Sky: An Interesting Premise That Doesn’t Quite Work
“As someone who enjoys history (and has a B.A. in it, in fact) I was really intrigued when I heard about Guy Gavriel Kay’s new novel Children of Earth and Sky. The fact that it’s essentially billed as a fantasy novel that is loosely based on actual history drew me in for sure; I just wish that alone had been enough to keep my attention.”