These Weeks on The Geekiary

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Tara Lynne

Yes, once again, I’ve missed gathering up my weekly Geekiary posts for a while. Even now, I’m technically posting this on the wrong day of the week – Monday instead of Sunday – though it’s only 1 AM, and it’s a holiday weekend, so I think that’s a good excuse.

That said, I’ve actually been way better about keeping up with this blog, so check out my other recent entries along with my Geekiary articles, if you have the chance 🙂

June 14th, 2016
Disney’s Moana Official Teaser Trailer Finally Arrives
Fourteen years ago this week, Disney released Lilo & Stitch, their first animated feature film set in Hawaii…and now we get to look forward to another Disney movie set in the Pacific: Moana! Disney released the Moana official teaser trailer just a couple of days ago, and not surprisingly, it made me even more excited for this movie.

June 17th, 2016
Chi Wizard Tournament 2016 Registration Extended to June 18th!
I love visiting Chicago; it’s a beautiful place, I have friends there, and I always have fun. It’s also a city that hosts many amazing geeky activities (for instance, C2E2 earlier this year), which of course is another draw. It’s great that I’m able to combine my love for Chicago with those geeky activities, so it shouldn’t be very surprising that my next visit is basically planned around the Chi Wizard Tournament 2016!
Knights of the Borrowed Dark: No Harry Potter But Still a Good Read
Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden is the last of the Advanced Reader Copy books I picked up at C2E2 this year, and while it may not be the best middle grade/YA novel I’ve ever read, the story was pretty interesting. Perhaps if I were younger I would have connected with it more.

June 22nd, 2016
This Week in Star Wars Gaming: Battlefront Expansion & LEGO Star Wars
Between Star Wars: Battlefront and the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s as much a golden age for Star Wars gaming as it is for Star Wars movies – and this week, both of the aforementioned games are in the news!

June 25th, 2016
Star Wars and Baseball: You Just Can’t Go Wrong
Tonight I attended Star Wars night at Greenville, South Carolina’s local minor league baseball stadium, Fluor Field. This is an annual event that I stumbled upon many years ago but constantly seem to miss…so when I got the email about this year’s Greenville Drive Star Wars night, I knew I had to attend – because you really can’t go wrong when you combine Star Wars and baseball. (At least in my opinion.)

June 26th, 2016
Independence Day Resurgence: Just the Cheesy Nostalgia I Wanted
Here’s the thing: I went to see Independence Day Resurgence assuming that it would be heavy on the nostalgia and just as cheesy as the first movie. I even re-watched Independence Day recently because after seeing the previews I hoped that this sequel would be as close to the first movie as possible.

June 28th, 2016
Game of Thrones Finale Episode Update
Before Sunday night’s season 6 finale, many fans were still in the dark about what the Game of Thrones final episode count would be. And while we still don’t have an exact answer, producers Benioff & Weiss have been very clear about one thing: it’s not that many.

June 29th, 2016
Game of Thrones Season 6 vs. A Song of Ice and Fire: Round Three
I have to admit it: I’m both astounded, excited, and depressed about what happened in the second half of Game of Thrones Season 6.

Ice and Fire Con: A Goal, A Reality, A Lifestyle

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Tara Lynne

Nearly four years ago (in September 2012), I sat down with two other A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fans and put together a track proposal for Dragon Con – one that would entirely center around George R.R. Martin’s works, both television and writing, as well as HBO’s hit new series Game of Thrones.

Unfortunately, Dragon Con wasn’t accepting new tracks – in fact they were (understandably) combining a few things. Even as we submitted our proposal, we knew deep down that we had no chance. And so, while we were waiting, we started making plans for the first-ever Ice and Fire Con. We wanted a beautiful location, but we needed a place that would work with us in regards to money, because we were basing our future on possible ticket sales.

Thankfully, Ravenwood Castle in New Plymouth, Ohio went out of their way to accommodate us. The new owner (at the time, remember, this is 2012) was (and still is) an ASOIAF fan, and he was very excited to host Ice & Fire Con. That’s not to say that creating this convention wasn’t difficult at all – I even wrote an article about the 5 [not so] easy steps to organizing a convention after our first event – but from the moment we started selling tickets, it was like I’d said “Friend” and the doors of Durin opened for me.

Only, you know, without all the orcs and the cave troll and the Balrog. Just feasts and ale and treasure.

Wait, we’re not-for-profit, so no treasure. But hey, feasts and ale!

Seriously though, since that first year my life has been consumed by this event. Not every hour of every day, but enough that it has become part of my very being. Though there have been times when I’ve thought perhaps it would be better for me to step down as an organizer, in the end I never could do that, and so here I am – preparing for Ice & Fire Con 2017, which will be our 5th year anniversary. And this time I’m organizing this event with one of my closest, most trustworthy, and hardest-working friends.

But it’s not just that. As always, we have an amazing team of volunteers – people who started as friends and became volunteers, people who started as attendees and became friends and then volunteers. Regardless, now more than ever we are all a team, and the next ten months of planning are going to be amazing…but also too long.

The Ice and Fire Con Small Council

Because when I am at Ice & Fire Con, I am home. Whether it’s Ravenwood or Mountain Lake, whether I see certain people several times a year or only at this one event, I am home.

And of course, the fact that we’re all ASOIAF/Game of Thrones fans, the reunion itself, the discussions, the games, the parties, and more…they all make everything that much better.

I love this convention. I love what it has done for my life. I love the people I’ve been able to spend time with, the people I’ve met, and I can’t imagine not loving the people I’ve yet to meet.

I’ll leave you with some of my *personal* highlights from Ice & Fire Con 2016…and the hope that you’ll check out our website, Facebook page, Facebook group, Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram…and consider joining us for our 5th anniversary in 2017!

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.”