Greetings, geek fans! Time to tackle the last of the monster cereals, Boo Berry. Boo Berry is a ghost, who for some reason is able to wear a hat and bow tie. I can’t imagine why a ghost needs clothes, but as this is a cereal mascot, I don’t think I’ll devote too much time to solving the mystery. Let the geeks begin!
For the final time, let’s start with the box. Unlike the other two, I somehow got a different version. There’s no, “we’re alive!”, which is good, since not a single one of them is a living thing. On the normal box, Boo Berry castle is basic. Strictly moonlight and nothing else. I like that minimalist look. Granted, it is still just a blue pallet swap of the others. I’ll take what I can get at this point.
Now, on to the cereal. The cereal pieces are berry flavored ghosts. The marshmallows are bats and such. The cereal itself reminds me of Berry Kix. I used to love that cereal. Finally got used to a non-frosted cereal with marshmallows. Similar to Chocula, and Frankenberry, it was like a berry version of Lucky Charms. Can’t decide if this one, or Frankenberry was my favorite of the three. I just know that Chocula was the bottom. I asked Frankenberry. He confirmed it.
My overall impression – It did get the milk nice and berry flavored, and turned it purple. Again, a fun trip down memory lane. Glad the season of this cereal is over. I think I’ll be good on this for a while. Until next time, stay geeky, and keep gabbing!
Greetings, geek fans! Time to tackle the second of the monster cereals. Frankenberry always seemed gay to me, but maybe that’s the goggles to keep the “milk” out of his eyes, the overly pink attire and coloring, he’s like a cereal version of Snagglepuss. Let the geeks begin!
Let’s start with the box, it says “we’re alive”. I know the main part of the Frankenstein story is, “it’s alive!”, but he’s still made from various corpses. Not exactly something you want to think of before eating. Luckily, he’s pink and looks cute. Frankenberry went and got his nails did; they look like strawberries, complete with seeds and stem. He went to the good salon in Transylvanian Korean town. His castle is in the background as is the full moon. Unlike Chocula’s, Frankenberry has lightning striking the castle. Gotta change it up. If it were just a pallet swap that wouldn’t be nearly as fun.
Now, on to the cereal. The cereal pieces are strawberry ghosts. The marshmallows are bats and such. Still not used to a non-frosted cereal to have marshmallows. The initial bite gave me a taste I can’t quite articulate, which is probably why I’m a retro blogger and not a food one. It was good. Can’t say if I equated it to strawberry cause that was the actual taste, or what my brain told me it should be. Similar to Chocula, it was like a strawberry version of Lucky Charms.
My overall impression – It did get the milk strawberry-y, it was better than Chocula, which I find odd, cause I’m a chocoholic. I enjoyed the character of Frankenberry most as a kid. Again, a fun trip down memory lane. I’m looking forward to what the last monster, Boo Berry has to offer. Until next time, stay geeky, and keep gabbing!
Greetings, geek fans. October is here, as is pumpkin everything, but one of the seemingly overlooked items for this time of year is the temporary return of the monster cereals. I see them every year, but it’s been a good twenty since I’ve actually eaten them. Refusing to put myself into a diabetic coma by eating all three in one sitting, I’ll tackle these monsters one at a time. Let the geeks begin!
Let’s start with the box, it says “we’re alive”. Last I checked, vampires, even cereal vampires, weren’t alive. If that weren’t bad enough, instead of fangs, Chocula has buck teeth. Brown hair, eyes, and outfit, girl is coordinated. His castle is in the background as are flying bats, and a full moon. As far as Halloween themes go, they’ve covered all the major points.
Now, on to the cereal. The cereal pieces are chocolate ghosts. The marshmallows are bats and such. Aside from Lucky Charms, I’m not used to cereal with marshmallows in it. It seems odd to be eating a chocolate cereal with marshmallow bits, but I’m dedicated to entertaining you. The initial bite gave me Cocoa Crispies and Coco Puff flashbacks. Then I got a bite with marshmallow too. It was like a chocolaty version of Lucky Charms.
My overall impression – It didn’t get the milk super chocolaty, it wasn’t the best tasting cereal I’ve ever had, and believe me, I’ve had a LOT of cereal in my life. It was a fun trip down memory lane, but I had a better flavor experience with the recent return of French Toast Crunch. I’m still excited, albeit a little hesitant to see what the other two monsters have to offer. Until next time, stay geeky, and keep gabbing!
Hello again, geek fans. Sorry for the day delay, there was a Jaxon family gathering that I couldn’t miss. That being said, let’s dive right into the cosplayers I captured while at Comic Con. Unlike Bevianna, I didn’t photoborg anyone, but I so would have if I has the cutout. Let the geeks begin!
There was a Minion
Edea from Final Fantasy VIII
Aquaman
Lulu and Sephiroth
Both versions of Captain Hook
Ghostbusters (with Jason and Aisha in the background)
Super Saiyan Goku
Gambit & Firestar
Spider Buns
Spider Bulge
And finally, Lady Loki & Loki
No, seriously, this guy is practically a clone of Hiddleston. I almost swooned.
I’m gonna go slip into the tub and enjoy this feeling. Until next time, stay geeky, and keep gabbing!
Greetings, geek fans! I just had what may be my one and only day at this year’s con, but it was amazing! I’ll break things into two posts, because I took a lot of pictures.
For starters, I rode to the event via a bike service, dressed as a minion. He was, not me. I was dressed in my authentic Animaniacs shirt from back when the show was new. There was a Tardis in front of the Salt Palace and that was just the beginning of the good times.
There were so many people that I got a tad claustrophobic, but it passed. There were so many nerd vibes in the air that the oxygen of my people kicked in and I was good to go. I took my initial lap through Artist Alley, examining the potential prints I could splurge on. Side note, if anyone ever wanted to get me anything, Loki art isn’t a bad way to go. Another side note, my birthday is in two months. Anyhow, I went to see Lance Conrad, fellow author and friend. We were neighbors at Fantasy Con last year. I got his latest book, and wished him well at the con. As a professional courtesy, here’s a link to his Amazon page. It’s good stuff.
Next I went wandering through the celebrity area. There was no way I was getting anywhere near the Weasley twins, so I kept wandering. I was saddened to see that the Winter Bucky and Maleficent weren’t there, but I did get to see Aisha (Karan Ashley) and Jason (Austin St John) of Power Rangers fame. She commented on my shirt, and that she’d met the voice actors before, but didn’t know it was them at the time. We had a moment, and she was super nice. That moment was nothing compared to the next.
I saw the lines for Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, but next to them was Erika Akexander, Max from Living Single. She was talking to two ladies, and there was no line. I walked over, and got to hear about how she’s still friends with the cast, and how Latifa made this gathering, but didn’t go to another. I got to hear about her show with Kim Coles, as well as how awkward it was kissing Kyle on the show, as they share a birthday and are like family. The ladies left, and it was just me and Erika. She asked my name, and what I did. I told her I’m a writer/author. She asked what I write and I told her about my books, including that I have LGBT characters visible in every one. She got a piece of paper, and asked me what they were called and where to find them. I wrote down Knights of Sefrix, and my name. Then I told her that since I plan to be famous with them someday, she could have a free autograph. I winked and signed the page for her. She wished me the best of luck, and couldn’t have been nicer. She’s an absolute angel. I started to walk away, but realized the ladies had gotten a pic with Erika, but I hadn’t. I stepped back over, and asked if I could trouble her for one. She said, of course, and had her assistant/friend take two. Moments like those are worth their weight in gold. I was on a natural high for quite awhile. Still am, writing about it.
To help repay such kindness of spirit, here is a link to her comic series, Concrete Park.
I was flying pretty high after that, but since I love voice actors as much as I do, I decided I still wanted to try and meet the Warners. I started in Yakko’s line, er, Rob Paulsen. I got to hear him doing Yakko, and Mark Chang while I was waiting in line. He was a very nice gentleman, and when my shirt got mentioned, he said he could tell it was authentic. I got to shake his hand, and tell him how much I appreciate his work.
Next I got into the line for diva/goddess Tress MacNeille. Babs Bunny, Dot, Mom, Ms. Skinner, the list goes on. I was standing right there as I heard her say “cram a squirrel in it” in Mom’s voice. She even said she liked my shirt. I was in geek heaven. Knowing that she doesn’t usually come to events, I decided I did want a picture with Tress. She wanted to make sure she was pointing to Dot on my shirt, even though it didn’t quite make it in the frame. Not only that, she tried to tickle me to ensure I was smiling. She even asked the picture taker if I was. I SO was. She was a delight.
I got in line for Dee Bradley Baker, as there was no time to make Wakko, Jess Harnell, before he had to go to their panel. I wish I could say I had another moment with Klaus from American Dad, but it was a handshake and a have a nice con. Can’t win them all I guess, but I was already a winner so many times over.
To round out my celebrity encounters, I stopped at the booth of artist, and fellow Irishman, Sean Ricks. Sean does incredible artwork, and I’m proud to say I have some of his prints in my collection. He’s raffling off Deaths Decent, and I had to enter for the chance at it. I got a print copy as well. Being the great guy that he is, I was also given an autographed wolf print. He asked how my books were going, and mentioned one that he’s working on as well. I love being able to visit and talk shop with fellow creative types. Much like musicians, I admire artists. I know what it’s like to have something in your head that you have to get out. I use words, Sean uses pictures, others use instruments. All of us put a piece of our soul into our works, and love it when others are able to appreciate them. I’ll include a link to his Facebook page, so that you’re able to appreciate his visual medium of expression. Celebrate artists both local and not, for they are what keep the spirit of creativity alive in an ever darkening world.
Princess Zelda, much like Princess Peach has been around since the early days of the NES. Also like Peach, she was the damsel who needed to be rescued during her franchise’s inaugural adventure. Not to mention she was originally a brunette, or maybe a redhead, sprites are hard to identify. However, the similarities to Peach end there. We’re gonna explore how this princess took her destiny in her own hands. Let the geeks begin!
As anyone who played the original Legend of Zelda back in the day will tell you, there’s no real plot to the game itself. Without reading the manual, all you know about the game is that you’re a tiny green guy destroying monsters. Now, it’s true, you could watch the small opening credit if you let the title screen sit for a while, but without it, you don’t really have a clue that there’s a princess that needs rescuing. We’ll excuse any shortcomings of NES era gaming, as the games themselves were some of the best ever made, launching several enduring series. However, Zelda was an eight-bit character back then. Get it? Moving on. She spent all of the Adventure of Link asleep in the starting castle. Since Link doesn’t swing that way, I’m guessing the thought to kiss her never crossed his mind. As such, Zelda was a damsel in distress for her second outing, while Peach had been given temporary playable character status in hers. Don’t worry, Zelda is about to take the lead.
While she did have a better role than damsel in Link to the Past, it was Ocarina of Time that really allowed us to get to know Zelda and see her shine. Young Princess Zelda was suspicious of Ganondorf, and asked Link to look into it, teaching him her lullaby. However, just as kid Link returned from his initial quest, he gets to watch Impa ride off with Zelda as Ganon pursued them. She did manage to share her titular Ocarina on her way out of town. Link seizes the Master Sword and gets transported to the future, and learns of Ganon’s reign. The mysterious Sheik tells the young hero that Zelda is safe, but in hiding. At each dungeon/temple, Sheik uses his harp to teach Link a new song, and offer him information. Even as a teen, I wondered if they were going to show signs of a possible same sex attraction, but alas, Sheik was merely Zelda’s drag king persona; which confused the hell out of Link’s master sword, if you know what I’m saying. Anyhow, Zelda shows that she has the power of the Triforce of Wisdom, and is captured by Ganon. Unlike a standard damsel rescue, once Link beats Ganon’s first form, Zelda says she’ll help against the second. Skilled with a bow, and able to use the power of light, she allows Link the use of light arrows, and channels her power to hold Ganon steady while Link delivers the final blow. In the final moments of the game she sends Link back so that he can still have a childhood. How sweet of her.
Not really present in Majora’s Mask, Zelda did get to play a significant role in the events of the Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess. Once again we get a princess in disguise, in the form of Tetra. Tetra is a pirate, and takes Link on her ship in a quest to retrieve his sister. She loans him the use of her pirate stone, allowing him to communicate with her, and the King of Red Lions. Towards the end of Link’s quest, we discover that Tetra is actually Princess Zelda. Much like her incarnation in Ocarina, Tetra-Zelda has light powers, and is just as skilled with a bow. Once more, she assists Link, allowing him to stab Ganon in the head, turning him to stone. Can’t get her hands dirty, after all. Or can she? Twilight Zelda uses her power to heal a critically injured Midna, allowing Link to save not only his world but the Twilight Realm as well. Zelda reappears in the end, because let’s face it, these are her legends after all.
Skyward Sword gave us our greatest version of Zelda yet. Hear me out. Not only has this Zelda known Link since childhood, she has her own purpose in the story, rather than just being a convenient plot point. While Link is going through the game trying to stop Ghirahim, Zelda is with Impa trying to prepare and purify herself to be a vessel for the goddess Hylia. She’s actively questing to do what she can to help save the world. She’s not captured. She’s not asleep. She’s not in drag, or an amnesiac. What’s Peach doing? Being taken, again, playing go-carts, sports, partying, etc. Zelda is working to become a freaking goddess. Even though Zelda isn’t the exact same person in each game, the developers have worked very hard to make her different and unique as time passes. The Mario series seems to go with, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. The Zelda series takes risks with each new entry. They even killed her off, technically, in Spirit Tracks. Even without a body of her own, Zelda is useful, and required to beat the game. That entry was actually her legend. She’s the co-star, not just the female lead.
Now, like Peach, Zelda has stepped into the Brawl universe, and even brought her Sheik persona with her. This is one princess that kicks ass and takes names. I’ve not had a chance to play Hyrule Warriors outside of Best Buy, but I know that Zelda is at the forefront of the action. From her initial appearance in the NES days to now, Zelda has become a hands-on warrior princess, lookout Xena, willing to do whatever it takes to protect her land and people, and to me, that’s pretty glorious.
Gay Geek Gab 