deerstalker

http://nerdywithchildren.com/best-japanese-toys-every-otaku-needs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=best-japanese-toys-every-otaku-needs

If it’s Japanese toys you want, then by all means, yonde kudasai (read on please)!

Do you love to see your favorite fandoms expanded on? Molded and mashed together with many of the products you already know and love. Well then, what I have for you is gonna get you super excited, and maybe even break some of your wallets. That’s not a joke, some of these made my already tight bank account want to explode. This list is the best Japanese toys out there, and I’ve got some really interesting finds that you’ll definitely need to have. Just don’t go overboard. Or do—I’m not your senpai.

While we have you, be sure to go here for even more anime toys and figures!

Japanese Toys & Games

Figures & Model Kits

The post Best Japanese Toys Every Otaku Needs! first appeared on Nerdy With Children.

The post Best Japanese Toys Every Otaku Needs! appeared first on Nerdy With Children.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/9-non-tourist-places-to-visit-in-the-united-states/

The way new COVID variants are appearing in what seems to be every few months makes international travel more difficult. Yet you can still please your wanderlust by traveling to places within the United States. The most visited places in the United States such as New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and Las Vegas, are losing some appeal to many Americans. Luckily if you reside in one of the 50 states, there are many non-tourist places to visit that will excite and amaze you. Here are the 9 most non-tourist US destinations.

Letchworth State Park, New York

If you like getting lost in nature, following hiking trails, and discovering waterfalls, then Letchworth State Park is a must-visit. Here there is a never-ending list of outdoor activities to do. There’s kayaking, rafting, biking, but if you’re looking to create lasting memories, the one thing you’ll have to experience is the hot air balloon ride. Floating over the park’s lush green landscape and powerful waterfalls will make you feel like you are floating in a dream.

The orange coast of Oregon

California has a beautiful coast, yet Oregon may come in as second best. Along the coastline, there are beautiful sea cliffs and vast sand dunes that bring charm to this overlooked place. In the “Sahara by the sea,” you can enjoy AVT riding and sand surfing. Once you build up an appetite, there are plenty of food options ranging from the best clam chowder to succulent steak houses.

Molokai, Hawaii

It’s not a secret that Hawaii is one of the most popular vacations spots. Often with an influx of tourism, many places can lose their authenticity. This is not the case with Molokai, also known as the “friendly island.” It’s a perfect place for anyone who wants a real getaway, far from tourist attractions, and escape to deserted beaches, a place where palm trees tower over buildings and locals greet you with an “ahola” and embody hospitality. Whether you are traveling solo, with a partner, or with the whole family, there is something for everyone to do. If you’re more active, you’ll enjoy, snorkeling, fishing, scuba diving, whale watching, and hiking. If you want to relax, you can read a book under a palm tree on one of the many white-sand beaches. Or take a mid-day nap falling asleep to the ocean waves. For more entertainment, Molokai offers hula celebrations, parades, and island exclusive festivals.

Jekyll Island, Georgia

Did you know that there are islands off the coast of the Southern states? You might be thinking of the Florida Keys; however, there are more. Jekyll Island is located between Jacksonville, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia. It’s accessible by car when you take the I-95. There’s an assortment of things to do on the island. Yet the two unique and most impactful places to visit are the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and the Wanderer Memory Trail. Visiting this trail, you can travel back in time, 160 years in the past, to visit the last known slave ship that came to the Americas, The Wanderer. Although the ship brought around 500 enslaved Africans to the South, the trail tells the story of one slave boy named, Umwalla. Through this interactive exhibit, you’ll learn about his journey from enslavement to freedom.

Block Island, Rhode Island

With a short ferry ride, you can have the best getaway on Block Island. This island offers white sand beaches and delicious dining experiences overlooking the ocean. For added fun, there are ghost tours and the glass project. If you happen to have a good eye during your visit, you can take part in an interactive art exhibit. Throughout the island, there are 550 glass floats or glass orbs hidden throughout the Greenway trails and the beaches. Once you find a float, you can keep it as a souvenir. Eben Horton, the glass artist who came up with this idea, asks that finders only keep one glass float per person, per year along with registering the float that you find with the Block Island Tourism Council.

Tennessee Valley, California

This is a great trip for hikers. As trails in the Tennessee Valley allow you to walk along the Pacific Ocean. The trails in the valley vary from easy to more strenuous. No matter the level of difficulty the refreshing ocean breeze will help ease the journey. There are even options for camping.

Orca Island

With orca in the name, you can guess that within these San Juan Islands, off the coast of Washington state, orcas swim all year long. Other wildlife to see include humpback whales, stellar sea lions, and minkes. The fun of this island doesn’t stop with whale watching. Visitors can also enjoy farmer’s markets, wineries, and breweries.

Sedona, Arizona

Surrounded by beautiful red rock scenery, Sedona has a lot to offer. Sedona tourism lists over 100 things to do including helicopter tours, live entertainment, hiking trails, and so much more. Whether you try to check off all 100 things on your visit or pick your top 10, you will marvel at the beauty of the desert valley.

Burlington, Vermont

Burlington, Vermont, is a welcoming city. Here you can make your own teddy bear at the Teddy Bear Factory or experience one of the most important aspects of Burlington, which is agriculture. The local farmer’s markets are an opportunity to experience organic produce and artisanal baked goods. If you visit in autumn, you can warm yourself up with a warm cider donut. If you have a sweet tooth you won’t want to leave without a pint of real Vermont syrup.

A commonality amongst many travelers is not exploring their home country enough. Yet with the United States having 50 different states, it only makes sense for more of its citizens to go out and explore. These 9 destinations are ready for your arrival.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/euphoria-season-2-premiere-recap/

Euphoria is back like a rager that never ended. From the somber specials that gave us extreme close-ups in lingering slow motion – this episode is going 100 miles an hour… literally. All of our favorite characters are back and the ones we love to hate too. Everyone is talking about this episode because there’s so much that transpired that you need more than a couple of days for it to sink in. Without further ado, this is the Euphoria recap you’ve been waiting for since the premiere of the Coronavirus. Although it goes without saying:

Spoilers Warning! It’s a recap. Please also note, some of the content is triggering. The show features drug use, sexual behavior, and many experiences that are traumatic in nature. Feel free to skip sections and take care of your well-being.  

Fezco’s Grandma was a MotherF-ing G 

Yes! We begin with Fez’s grandmother, a bad mother – shut yo mouth! Ok, she’s not Shaft cuz she’s still a white woman, but I won’t deny she was a G. She rolls up in the royal blue pantsuit strolling through the strip club-ready to throw hands, and everyone can see it. She steps into the head office, head for more reasons than one, and shoots the head honcho in both legs and walks out. You then see a young Fez in the car, and his grandmother says she had a talk with his father and Fez coming to live with grandma. Soooo Fez’s dad is the Ron Jeremy of Euphoria, and she just shot her son in both of his legs. OKAY, I think I understand the ride we’re going on this episode.

We then take a hot and heavy trip through Fez’s childhood. While our grandmas were giving us Werther’s candies while we sit in the car at the post office, Fez’s grandma was asking him to keep the car running while she beats the sh*t outta this guy with a crowbar real quick. 

We also get a glimpse at Ash’s origins. He was plopped into Fez and his G-ma’s house as collateral by his mother. The saddest story isn’t even the fact that Ash’s mom used her own kid to pay off some debts, but that the debt was too large she left her child and never came back. That better be some Squid Game level of crippling debt. But Ash had Fez at a head nod, and on some Fast and Furious vibes that baby became his flesh and blood that day. Through thick and thicker, Ash will F-k someone up. Oh, and his name is Ash cuz as a baby he ate some cigarette butts that were next to the sink while he was getting a baby bath. YUP! Ash is for ashtray.  

Oh back to brass knuckles, I mean brass hammer – excuse me brass taxes. Last we saw Fez he was handling a mess he was stuck in with his supplier. The same guy who forced Rue to take Fentanyl and almost die is back looking for his cash. Before they can square everything away, Ash does a barrel roll over the couch and molly whop this dude in the head with a hammer! That man got knocked the F-out! No forreal! He is out for the count…forever! In the same swing, he knocks off the henchman’s nose. Now we’re in a pickle… 

To iron this out, it seems Fez and Ash are being taken to the head supplier’s home to –  ya know, just talk it out over dinner. For some reason, Rue is with them in the car. I feel like she would have learned from the last time she got involved and was force-fed fentanyl but learning from mistakes is not totally in her character. They stop and meet the no nose henchman and his high AF girlfriend who gets in the car and proceeds to shoot up heroin while Jules gets freaked out. They both get ripped from the car and taken inside and told to strip. Yea, it’s getting even realer than a hammer to the skull. Thankfully, Rue does not strip but is thrown in a shower and forced to prove she is not wearing a wire. Now, a very well-mannered soft-spoken white woman brings over a suitcase of drugs ready to do business. WTF! 

Back in the car, Rue is reeling on the experience as if she was just in a scene of a movie and none of it was actually real which ticks off Fez. Honestly – fair reaction. Like, she keeps getting in these life-or-death moments and just keeps it pushing. But if we remember from our special Euphoria episode, she does not plan on being around that long. Ooof, yea what a devastating line. 

There’s Some Girl Like Passed Out in Here

Now, we’re at a New Years’ party, and it looks like the cops should have showed up like hours ago. But we are in rural CA, and I guess this is where no one cares if teenagers are doing coke in bathrooms. We see Lexi frantically looking for Cassie. Apparently, they had a huge fight, and now she can’t find her. I have a lot of questions. One, how did you have a fight in the car, and she gets out and what? You just leave her? Did the Uber just drive away? It is confusing how Cassie got left at a convenience store, but we see her sitting in the parking lot eating a donut when the worst human being on Euphoria steps into the scene…Nate. He looks like he’s been gaming all school break, because his hair is not styled and he just looks kinda…tired. He offers to give Cassie a ride to this party, and she says yes. While LITERALLY drinking and driving, he speeds up to 100 miles an hour and Cassie looks terrified – then turned on?? Mind you she is drunk AF, but what in the hell is even going the F**k on?! Nate? Maddy’s Nate? I don’t want this, Cassie – you don’t even want this. Euphoria then cuts to them smashing in the bathroom at the party. Is it weird that I’m like, “oh thank God?” It’s better than them dying in a horrible underage drinking car crash. 

Maddy is at the party in her best 90s skin-tight attire and has to pee (of course.) She is banging on the door that – yes her ex and best friend at Fking on. Cassie looks like the fear of God has just crept inside her and can’t even operate her limbs. Now, we’re in a horror film. I’m thinking Maddy is gonna break down the door and kill everyone in the room. Euphoria cuts to us at a funeral, and we finish the season with Maddy’s prison story. (She’d be a G in prison.)

BUT instead, Cassie hops in the shower, Nate comes out, Maddie comes in and pees, and then arer joined by another gentleman waiting for the bathroom. Welp, Cassie is stuck in the tub. 

Euphoria got the suspense is out of control. Not to mention there was no toilet paper, so Maddy wiped her pee on a towel and threw it in the tub on Cassie’s face. Her phone is now going off. The nice gentleman throws open the curtain and says, “There’s some girl passed out in the tub.” It’s over. Cassie is caught. Maddy is going to prison. Instead, in true Maddy fashion, she says “so what,” and asks her gentleman caller to dance. Crisis averted. But oooh girl – that happened…

To make matters worse, Cassie’s ex Chris shows up. Like dude, why are you at a high school party right now? You’re in college…BUT obvi he is there to see Cassie. She looks messed up. He’s just trying to get closure. Why did they break up? As far as he knows, there is no reason. However, her choice to not keep their baby is most definitely weighing on her mind, and she says she doesn’t think of herself as a “good person.” This triggers Chris, and right now I bet he’s thinking she cheated on him or something to that tone. He doesn’t really have a choice but to leave it at that. What happens after is the disturbing part. Nate, once good friends with Chris, starts asking in a disgusting dude-bro way what happened in the room. Chris is honest and says they just talked, but Nate cannot let it go. He keeps berating him, getting more and more explicit asking where he came and legit uncomfortable about it – in his face and getting violent (as Nate does.) Chris is like, man get off me and leaves. Why are we at high school parties anyways? 

I Didn’t Mean to be Mean 

We also see Fez and Rue have made it to the party. Yea after casually being stripped searched by major drug lords they were like let’s stop off at this high school party real quick. Either way, it’s great to see all of our Euphoria friends, Kat, and her new boo Ethan. Lexi is having a couch confessional session with Fez, and it’s an interesting development. He gets her number, is like aight I’ll holla, and has a quick chat with Nate involving fists and teeth. It was a mess! Although Lex looks absolutely terrified, I feeeel like it’s not terrified enough to completely count him out of the dating pool. I really hope they get together, despite Lexi’s obvious fawning over Rue. 

Which reminds me. Rue! She is looking bored and makes her way back to the car to explore that stash of heroin the whacked-out girl had in an Altoids tin. I’m like girl, girrrrl, guuurrrrl – no! Heroine?? That is a step too far. That’s not even a, find euphoria high. That’s a let’s alter my body chemistry and forget how to live otherwise high. You don’t wanna go down that road. We don’t actually get to see what she does with it. She just flicks the bag and cut to – she is back at the party. Now, what I’m hoping she didn’t do is heroin of course, but I’m also hoping she didn’t cook that shit up and use that random girl’s needle. THAT would be a whole new low. At most, I’m hoping she rubbed it on her teeth. OK, I am getting too far into the many uses of heroin. Back at the party, Rue sees Jules hanging with Kat and is actually hiding – not avoiding or evading – literally ducking under counters. She makes her way to the laundry room where she meets a sweet loner kid snorting off the dryer. She convinces him to share and then feels herself start to go into cardiac arrest. Now, I am not a licensed physician, but can you even really feel that? She tells the kids to crush up some Adderall so she can snort it and restart her heart. Is that even a THING? I swear Rue – you need to carry naloxone around like a damn EpiPen. 

Later, we see Jules looking for Rue. She knows she’s here…she can feel it. Once she finds her sitting by a bonfire, she takes our young drug Padawan’s seat, and they chat. Jules can obviously see she is off the wagon. She asks her when she relapsed, and, flippantly, Rue denies like she isn’t obviously high on multiple drugs and says it’s just weed. She then fesses up and tells Jules it was the day she left. Heartbreak – check. The pressure, the sadness, the feeling of responsibility it’s all too much and I’m just a spectator! Back at the party, Rue finds Jules to apologize.

She says she didn’t mean to be mean, and she misses her. Jules misses her too! And they kiss, and we’re all crying. But secretly, the pessimist in me was like, none of this is happening, and Rue is about to wake up passed out by the bonfire. Thankfully, it was real. We then have again one of the most beautiful cinematic moments where each corner of the room is seen like the flash of a polaroid. Snapshots of this overworked party are being lit as if burned into our memories and everlasting portraits for our characters. This is the beginning of an unforgettable season for sure of Euphoria.

Catch up on past recaps of Euphoria here.

Cover image via TVLine

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The post Euphoria Season 2 Premiere Recap: Trying to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/justice-league-incarnate-3-review/

Writers: Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver / Artists: Ariel Olivetti, Nik Virella, Todd Nauck, Andrei Bressan, and Hi-Fi / DC Comics

Justice League Incarnate spins out of DC’s Infinite Frontier book that set up the landscape of the new DC Multiverse. 

This Justice League team is made up of heroes from across the multiverse as they team up and combine their resources to act as the protectors of every world in every universe. We’ve got Earth-23 Superman, Flashpoint Batman, Captain Carrot, Avery Ho Flash, and Doctor Multiverse to name a few. They’ve got a tall task, but for the most part, they’re able to keep the peace.

That is until a rift in the multiverse is opened. The destruction of everything is already a stressful enough situation, but to make matters worse, Barry Allen is on the other side of the rift, in unobserved space. Darkseid is hellbent on opening the rift wider, causing more death and destruction as a result. The Justice League Incarnate have a lot on their plate, and to be honest, it doesn’t look like they have what it takes to get the job done, at least not yet.

Justice League Incarnate #3 follows the team as they’re split up into different worlds. They’ve got to find their way back to each other so they can resume their time-sensitive mission. Superman and Doctor Multiverse are on a world where comics tell the stories that they live, Batman is on the cartoon world where Captain Carrot comes from, and Flash is on a world with Amazonian pirates. It’s pretty fun stuff. 

Traveling to different universes also gives the artists the opportunity to convey the differences between worlds with different stylistic choices in the art. That’s why we’ve got five different artists on this issue alone. Each one brings a unique aesthetic to their world, hitting home the point that everyone is in a different place. This is a technique I see a lot in comics, and it never ceases to amaze me. It’s so simple, yet so effective. 

8 Nimrod Squads out of 10

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The post Justice League Incarnate #3 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.