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http://www.thenerdelement.com/2018/04/25/magicians-and-killjoys-comes-to-baltimore/

Fans of the hit Syfy shows The Magicians and Killjoys can rejoice! Even though Universal FanCon has been postponed indefinitely, several of the guests from both shows originally slated to attend the con will still be in Baltimore holding panels, meet & greets, and more this weekend! Kicking things off is a 12 am Infinity War screening on Thursday, April 26^th at AMC Security Square 8 in Woodlawn, MD.  For more information about WICOMICON, check out our article “Pop Up WICOMICON Saves this Weekend.”

Chelsea Schwartz from LoMoPro worked tirelessly coordinating with WICOMICON so fans can meet their faves and get autographs on Saturday and made arrangements for Friday and Sunday at Protean Books and Records in Baltimore.  Karaoke WILL be on and poppin Saturday night at Mex Tequila Bar!

To sweeten the pot, Schwartz just confirmed that all autographs will be $20. Cash only.

Here are the addresses of venues:

AMC Security Square 8:  1717 N Rolling Rd, Woodlawn, MD 21244

Protean Books & Records: 836 Leadenhall St, Baltimore, Maryland 21230

WICOMICON: 1100 Wilmico Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Mex Tequia Bar Baltimore: 26 Market Pl, Baltimore, MD 21202

Here’s a breakdown of the events for fans, which can also be found on Lo Mo Pro’s Facebook page:

SCHEDULE

Thursday, April 26th

Avengers: Infinity War Screening. Purchase your tickets to the 12am screening at AMC Security Square 8 here: http://bit.ly/2HUp07j

Confirmed Talent: Jade Tailor, Sergio Osuna, Rizwan Manji, Hannah Levien.

Friday, April 27^th 4 pm -8 pm

Meet & Greets at Protean Books & Records. FREE for FanCon ticket holders (bring your receipt), $5 for everyone else.

Confirmed Talent: Jade Tailor, Sergio Osuna, Rizwan Manji, Hannah Levien, Tamsen McDonough, Sean Baek

Saturday, April 28^th 11am-6pm
WICOMICON presented by Black Heroes Matter and The Nerds of Color. This is $5 for FanCon ticket holders, $10 for everyone else.

There will be panels, meet & greets, professional photo ops, vendors, bands, etc.

Panel Schedule:

11am- The Magicians (Jade, Sergio, Rizwan and Hannah)

12pm- Killjoys (Sean and Tamsen)

5pm- Game Show featuring talent to be announced hosted by Yael Tygiel

Confirmed Talent: Jade Tailor, Sergio Osuna, Rizwan Manji, Hannah Levien, Tamsen McDonough, Sean Baek, Yael Tygiel of yael.tv

Also, Saturday, April 28^th 8:30pm-11:30pm

The Magicians Karaoke party at Mex Baltimore. $10 entry, open to anyone. Pay at the door. Free validated parking at the Pier V garage located at 711 E Pratt St.

Confirmed Talent: Brittany Curran, Jade Tailor, Sergio Osuna, Rizwan Manji, Hannah Levien

Sunday, April 29^th 12pm-6pm

Meet & Greets, Professional Photo Ops & Panel at Protean Books & Records from. FREE for FanCon ticket holders, $5 for everyone else.

Panel: 12pm- Women of SYFY (Jade, Brittany, Tamsen and Hannah) Hosted by Yael Tygiel.

Confirmed Talent: Brittany Curran, Jade Tailor, Sergio Osuna, Rizwan Manji, Hannah Levien, Tamsen McDonough, Sean Baek

Showclix sent refund emails earlier yesterday for those that pre-paid for karaoke night and any autographs and selfies originally posted by FanCon.  I am thankful that Schwartz was able to answer a few additional questions I had about what attendees can expect:

How many fans are you anticipating?

We are anxious to meet whomever will join us this weekend. We’ve worked hard to secure the biggest spaces we could find within walking proximity to the convention center that were still available on this short of notice.

Which company will be doing the photo-ops? Were they originally going to also do Fan Con?

Froggy’s Photos will be handling the photo ops.

http://froggysphotos.com/

UPDATE: Attendees can pre-purchase photo-ops here. Presale ends 11:59 pm MT Friday, April 27, 2018

Will selfies still be offered at the guest table as well as autographs both on Saturday and Sunday?

Selfies will be offered during Friday’s meet and greet event. Autographs will be available Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Professional photo ops will be offered on Saturday & Sunday. Fans will be able to purchase their choice of solo photos, a Killjoys duo photo (featuring Sean & Tamsen), the men of The Magicians photo, the women of The Magicians photo), or a group Magicians photo.

Please note that Brittany Curran is only able to join us Saturday evening and all-day Sunday.

Will attendees have the ability to pay via credit card for any autographs and/or selfies on both days?

Cash only.

Will Protean Books & Records have enough of “The Magicians” trilogy novels for potential attendees to buy as an option to get autographed?

This is an excellent question and one that should be brought up to the people at Protean.

After tweeting at Protean Books & Records here was there response:

 

This all came together overnight, so I do not currently have sufficient copies of the books for the event.  I’m hoping the guests will bring something to supply for the signing.

— Protean Books & Records (@ProteanBooks) April 24, 2018

 

What made Protean Books & Records the venue to have Sunday’s activities?  Where there any other locations in the running on such short notice?

Protean Books & Records is hosting us on Friday and Sunday. They have a large warehouse space already sent up to host signings, lectures and panels. Our goal was to find a space large enough to hold a crowd and that would allow Universal FanCon ticket holders the ability to enter free of charge. We got everything we could hope for with Protean Books & Records.

Will the Karoake backstage meet and greet still happen as planned for UFC?

The experience was to be part of the sound check before the party starts. Unfortunately, there’s no soundcheck or backstage at Mex Baltimore.

For karoake night, will fans be able to sing songs with the guests?

That is the intention, yes.

And, if nothing else, The Magicians will be there to encourage those who are a little timid or scared onstage (besides hosting and performing some numbers on their own).

Who can someone contact about volunteering to help coordinate the attendees, especially on Sunday?

They can tweet us @Lo_Mo_Pro or message Lo Mo Pro on Facebook and we will be in touch should we need additional assistance.

 

Who are you excited to see from both shows? Sound off below in the comments!

The post Magicians and Killjoys Come to Baltimore! appeared first on The Nerd Element.

http://www.blackenterprise.com/black-vet-dining-black/

#DiningWhileBlack, a black Air Force veteran and entrepreneur is suing Cracker Barrel, the combined restaurant and gift stores chain, after he was kicked out of the establishment under false pretenses.

Randy Freeman, 57, said he’d frequented various Cracker Barrel locations in West Virginia before. This time, he walked into Store #193 with three of his customers in Cross Lanes where he said he ordered a soft drink. When he attempted to order food from a waitress, he was met by the store manager who falsely accused him of being rude to the waitress.

“As a motor coach owner and operator, prior to the incident, I had visited Cracker Barrel’s chain on a number of occasions but not at the store where the incident occurred … I did not experience this kind of unfair treatment in the past,” Freeman told Rolling Out. “I was taken completely by surprise when the manager came out and made these false accusations.”

Cracker Barrel, unlike Starbucks, rebuffed any of Freeman’s attempts for an apology communicating only through adversarial court filings. He’s now awaiting a decision on the lawsuit he filed, for racial discrimination and defamation in District Court in the Southern District of West Virginia. 

#webelong @Blklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/5cjPJm96fa

— Law Office Of Sekou Campbell PLLC (@Sekou_Law) April 23, 2018

#DiningWhileBlack:

Earlier this month, in a video that has now gone viral, two 23-year old budding entrepreneurs, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were handcuffed and escorted out of a Philadelphia Starbucks. Nelson had been refused access to the bathroom because he had to be a paying patron. They both sat waiting for a business meeting but were told to leave. According to 911 accounts, Starbucks staffers had called police approximately two minutes after the men arrived.

Getting arrested however was a risk Freeman was unwilling to take. Not only did he run Distinguished Executive Transportation, he is also a coach operator.

“I was embarrassed and worried about the consequences of resisting my ejectment because I owed my ultimate responsibility to my motor coach passengers who would’ve been stranded had I been arrested for refusing to leave,” said Freeman told Rolling Out. “So, I left without raising my voice or otherwise resisting the managers’ commands.”

As it turns out, black people really can’t publicly eat in peace sometimes and the hashtag #DiningWhileBlack continues to trend on social media with many different stories of their own experience while eating out. Early in February, comedian Leslie Jones who had visited Atlanta Fish Market for lunch said not only was the service bad, she said the manager was rude to her and her friends.

“I wanted a nice meal and wow Atlanta Fish Market gave me the wors(t) service I’ve EVER gotten,” she tweeted. “Then instead of the manager coming to make it better, he came and gave me the wors(t) attitude EVER! I can’t believe this!”

Ok dam I wanted a nice meal and wow Atlanta Fish Market gave me the worse service I’ve EVER gotten. Then instead of the manager coming to make it better, he came and gave me the worse attitude EVER! I can’t believe this!

— Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) February 7, 2018

The week prior, Alexis Brison and her friend had stopped at an Applebee’s location in Independence, Missouri, for some chicken wings and mozzarella sticks. Before they received their orders, the police had been called on them because the Applebee’s staff “believed they had eaten at the restaurant the day before but had left without paying for their meals.”

pic.twitter.com/A25FPxR24Y

— Applebee's (@Applebees) February 12, 2018

In Harlem, Tara Fitzgibbon and her two friends visited Angel of Harlem restaurant on Frederick Douglass Blvd, and like Brison and her friends, the trio was accused of previously dining and dashing out of the restaurant without paying.

The manager showed the women a surveillance footage of a black woman, which Fitzgibbon said looked nothing like her. “What, do all black people look alike to you?” Tamara Young, her friend said to the manager who they said humiliated and abused them as they were being kicked out of the restaurant.

In Ohio, Samora Savage, a Youngstown State University student had stopped by Royal Grill Buffet with her friends for an after-class celebration. Jay Dong, the restaurant manager asked Savage and her friends to pay upfront, because “people steal.” Savage said her friends agreed but that she noticed other customers weren’t being asked to pay up front.

“A lot of people steal from me. If I don’t know them, and they all pay together and they try to run, I can usually catch one person and make them pay the bill. But if they all pay separate and they run out, I can’t catch everyone,” Dong told local Ohio paper, Vindicator.

Dong said while he does make some people pay beforehand—and he acknowledges more often than not the customers who pay first also are black—he said since he doesn’t make all black customers pay first, it isn’t discrimination.

As a reminder:

While we are being distracted by Ye and his “free thinking”, a woman was still thrown to the ground, chocked, and threatened to have her arm broken — because she asked for @WaffleHouse’s corporate phone number. #DiningWhileBlack #BlackLivesMatter

— Jalon Nichols (@jdna) April 25, 2018

The post #DiningWhileBlack Veteran Kicked Out of Cracker Barrel Files Federal Suit appeared first on Black Enterprise.

http://blacknerdproblems.com/infinity-war-review/

One does not consider fun while balancing the universe, but this does put a smile on my face.

The ominous and sinister words spoken by Thanos in the trailer also bend towards the direction of Anthony and Joseph Russo. The writers and directors of some of the best Marvel films thus far, have taken on the responsibility of fulfilling the promise that the previous dozen and a half Marvel films pledged ten years ago. While many directors have turned in outstanding takes on the Marvel heroes in separate films, it’s hard to imagine another team more poised for this ambitious of a film. And even harder to imagine them getting it wrong. My one spoiler is that they don’t. Infinity War is strange (Doctor or otherwise), sprawling, hilarious, awe-inducing and of course, really damn good.

Even after seeing Infinity War, I can’t imagine it being the consensus best Marvel film for most folks. (While not undeserving, there’s just something for everyone in the MCU.) But it never needed to be. It needed to be the culmination of all the stories that came before it and the movie doesn’t waste any time showing that. Almost no previous movie is without a character, callback or significant plot point brought forward in the big payoff film, making it more than lip service that this was a film 18 movies in the making.

What should be obvious, but is still disheartening, is there is all the screen time and yet not enough of it. No long monologues from new fan favorites like M’Baku or Mantis. There simply isn’t enough time in a super dense, two and half hour film. What it does provide are very poignant sections that both legend-build and raise the stakes. Infinity War manages to both give us multiple heroes’ quests without the film feeling too disjointed or scattered. Every time a team breaks apart, there is a thread where we inevitably feel like a reunion is upon us, usually in grand fashion.

Also, the stakes are real – very real. While the strength of the film is in the renewed familiarity and chemistry of so many favorites, the success would always hinge on how viable Josh Brolin’s Thanos would be. Whether you’re a comic book fan or not, Thanos was always going to be a difficult character to make relatable and able to be taken seriously. A hulking, purple and monstrously strong demigod of sorts, could go wrong in a lot of places. While not a perfect depiction, you don’t get Josh Brolin if you didn’t plan on trying to bring nuance to the character.

There are a lot of scenarios that I can imagine of someone explaining to me the humanization of Thanos. All would have resulted in an instant eye roll. Infinity War almost completely nails it, showing Thanos as not simply the mad Titan, but an antagonist with a very clear plan and will to execute: no matter how troubling he found it. While not as relatable a villain as Killmonger, or as spellbinding as Hela, Thanos is foreboding and deserving to fight the galaxy’s strongest.

Which is to say, that the action is the top of the heap as far as action films go. The disappointment often lies in not getting to see characters in action for longer stretches because there’s another locale to cover. Whether on a crowded New York street, on Thanos’ homeworld, Titan, or in Wakanda itself: the action and CG are still operating at a much higher level than anything else in the genre (yes, yes, I’m looking at you DC). In doing so, the heroes look like phenomonal badasses and can still be seen to be mostly over-matched by the seemingly insurmountable Thanos.

What we can’t skip over is the amount of levity in the film and its overall use. Infinity War isn’t just funny, it’s downright hilarious in parts. They spend a lot of time setting up jokes and situational dialogue which helps throw the balance of the film into line. And it’s necessary. Infinity War is essentially a dark film. Perhaps the gravest film of the whole universe. The stakes are high and it lets us know in the first 10 minutes that everyone is extremely vulnerable. I often resisted the urge to check on the contract status of an actor because I truly believed that any of them could die at any moment.

This is perhaps the biggest curve that Marvel has thrown in their universe. The basis of these heroes is that they often overcome impossible odds to earn their title. Infinity War is littered with battles that seem like they could end in heartbreak, which some of them definitely do. When it was announced that this would change not only the MCU but comic book movies as we know it, that was no exaggeration. A few hours later, I’m still not sure what to make of it except that I didn’t anticipate how far things would go and how dire the situation could become.

Infinity War is a ridiculously ambitious film that definitely benefits from the absolute juggernaut that was Black Panther before it. But the film is great on its own, bringing together so many heroes who not only have a chemistry with each other but with the environment itself. This chemistry helps give lots of individual shine to a sprawling plot and cast. Infinity War is an absolute achievement on a logistical level and as daring as any comic book movie has a right to be. It automatically becomes one of the most essential comic book movies ever made and proves that any idea or story is not only possible, it should be encouraged.

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The post Everything You Love Is At Stake in Avengers: Infinity War, a Movie You Need to See Now appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

http://nerdist.com/how-to-fix-the-dc-universe-on-nerdist-news-what-the-friday/

Avengers: Infinity War is finally here and it’s the culmination of 10 years of marvel filmmaking. But instead of spoiling the movie for those who haven’t seen it – We are going to look at their number one competitor – DC. What can they do to turn around their universe – We’ll break all of that down today. Plus Star Trek gets it’s first female director. Speaking of directors, Colin Trevarrow had some interesting thoughts about his flop, The Book of Henry and it is a carbon copy of Star Wars: A New Hope. And finally – in honor of Infinity War out in theaters, we thought we’d attempt to stump our panel with some Justice League related trivia… all of this and more on today’s Nerdist News: What The Friday!

Be sure to check out WTFriday live every Friday at 1PM (PDT) on Alpha!