War is hell, but field kitchens do whatever they can to bring a little comfort to soldiers risking their lives for the cause. Back in WWII, that meant baking mincedmeat pie for the troops around Christmas time —even if they didn't quite have all the traditional ingredients. Tasting History has the recipe for this fascinating wartime sweet. It is quite interesting and includes boullion, corned beef, apples, sugar, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper.
You may be into Stranger Things, but do you really wish you could enter the fictional world of Hawkins? Well, thanks to the Byers Home listing on Airbnb, now you can.
Located only 15 minutes from Atlanta, this rental is the actual home where the exterior shots of the Byers' home was filmed for the show.
And the inside is all decked out to match the vibe, with 80s decor, creepy lab designs, and giant growths permeating the home from the Upside Down.
On the downside, the place will cost you over $2,000 a night and they don't have any availability until July. But I guess that's the cost of true fandom.
Think you're brave and smart enough to survive an attack from the Xenomorphs of Alien? Then head to the Wreckage activation to explore the world of Alien: Earth.
There you can investigate a crash scene on an alien planet with mysterious tubes of goo and crates filled with suspicious pods. Before you know it, you'll have alien spit in your eye and watch your comrades be snatched away in front of your very eyes.
But don't worry, at the end of it all, you can wash away the nightmares with a refreshing can of complimentary orange nova flavored Hyper Fizz. Doesn't that make the whole experience worthwhile?
Who doesn't love a good old fashioned town festival? If you're in San Diego this weekend, you can check out the 100th Founder's Day festival at Kettle Springs. But watch out! Frendo the Clown is not your friend.
Can you escape the clowns in the cornfield maze and get out of the barn before the bomb explodes? (My group didn't, but I got attacked by a chainsaw welding clown first.)
Whether or not you survive the experience, you can end the experience playing a few classic Shutter-themed carnival games, like a zombie ring toss. Then you can earn a refreshing slush, gummies, and popcorn.
All in all, it was a horrifically great experience.
Ever want to step into a Federation starship? If you're in San Diego tomorrow, you'll get the chance thanks to the immersive Paramount Lodge experience outside the San Diego Comic Con. There you can enjoy a (virgin) extraterrestrial cocktail complete with a smoky bubble on top before heading out to the bridge of the ship and then an empty holodeck.
If Star Trek isn't your thing, you can also enter a museum of killers courtesy of Dexter: New Blood. Or see yourself living out your Mission Impossible dreams with the help of a green screen. Maybe you'd rather enjoy a bourbon cocktail from Landman. Or, check out some of the fun from NCIS: Tony and Ziva.
If you aren't in the area, don't be too disheartened, this is only the fourth stop on the Lodge's 2025 tour, so keep an eye on cities near you for your chance to join in on the fun.
The last week of July, cosplayers around the globe gathered in Southern California to show off their newest looks at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con. Zeon Santos and I were lucky enough to capture the fun. Here are some of our favorite cosplay pics from the convention.
It was hot at the convention this year, so I'm sure Nick Wilde had no problem selling off Pawpsicles whether or not he had the proper permits.
And speaking of foxes, if Nick was looking for a girlfriend, he could do worse than this Foxy Tails or her friend Sonic.
If you like sexy costumes inspired by video games though, it's hard to beat this near-naked Pikachu.
Personally, I couldn't get over the intensity of this badass Storm, complete with the white eyes she gets while using her powers.
I'm not a killer pinball player, but I am a fan, which is why I always stop by the Stern pinball room at SDCC. This year, I was actually treated to a special press presentation of the John Wick machine and I am so glad I got to play this game. As you can see above, John Wick himself had the chance to play the game at the con, but sadly I missed that opportunity.
There's so much to love on these machines if you're a fan of John Wick. His dogs serve as slingshots, enemies are on the ramps, the New York Continental Hotel is right there in the center, his weapons crate pops open during play —and his gorgeous car even moves! The gameplay is fast and entertaining —you'd hardly expect anything with John Wick to drag on, would you?
Perhaps one of the coolest features of this and other modern Stern games though is that you can actually play levels, save your progress, and update worldwide leader boards when you register an account and scan your QR code. Yes, getting one of these pinball machines for your home is a little pricey, being as how they start at $6,900 (about average for a machine of this quality), but the Stern Pinball account means you don't have to fork out the money to bring the game home just to be able to master it.
My verdict: if you like John Wick and you like pinball, find an arcade with this game ASAP.
Have you always wanted to walk through the Slurm factory, enjoy a donut with The Simpsons or do an alien autopsy of Roger from American Dad? If so, you'll want to head to Hulu's Animayhem activation at this year's San Diego Comic Con.
There's a lot of fun to be had here, including a snack of green sprinkled donuts, refreshing Slurm, a Solar opposites stress test that gives you a relaxing squishy toy, and some incredible pins at the end.
If you are in the area this weekend, stop by for some fun.
One of the great things about the San Diego Comic Con is that there is always something fun to do - even if you don't have a Comic Con badge. A perfect example is the Paramount+ Lodge, where visitors can get an inside look at the some of their favorite shows.
Want to get a better feeling for your favorite Ghosts character? You can smell a perfume representative of the sitcom's different ghosts. They even send you home with a small sample.
If you prefer making ghosts over hanging out with them, you can always explore a little blood splatter at a killer's crime scenes from Dexter: New Blood.
If you're hungry, you can grab a bite of pizza and a gourmet lemonade with the Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Or if you're thirsty, consider grabbing a drink at the Tulsa King Bred2Buck.
Other fun activities: get a custom-made Star Trek tee, go jellyfishing in Bikini Bottom, or get a picture with an imaginary friend from IF (though the photo op was broken when we went, so we didn't get to hang out with an IF).
If you find yourself in downtown San Diego this weekend, drop by the lounge for a good time.
The San Diego Comic Con was a few weeks ago, and as always, the cosplayers came out to celebrate. We were there to capture the fun and here are some of the most fun costumes we saw this year.
All images by Zeon Santos.
This Mask cosplayer looked simply Smooookin' and he had the personality match.
There were Barbie cosplayers everywhere this year, but we really loved this great cowgirl Barbie.
Here's another great Barbie, who even had perfect matching nails for the cosplay.
Not everyone really seemed to be living in a Barbie World —this Other Mother was delightfully creepy, just like the one in Coraline.
Speaking of creepy, this Sandman crew was downright freaky, especially The Corinthian.
Along those lines, Leatherface is always a bit freaky.
Comic Con finally returned this year after two years of cancellations due to covid. While attendance was lower and the vibe was a little more relaxed than usual, the con certainly wasn't short on cosplayers who were thrilled to be back to one of their favorite hobbies.
All images by Zeon Santos or myself. While the con was a whole month ago, due to personal reasons, we couldn't get the images up until now. Hope you all enjoy them!
This guy was so great, when I asked him if I could get a picture, he yelled "why are you taking pictures of me when you should be out there taking pictures of Spider-Man?"
While I didn't happen to get any great pictures of Spider-Man, Zeon happened to catch this gorgeous Elektra in action.
When it comes to spot-on superhero cosplays though, it was hard to beat this Captain America posed right beside a bust of the real thing.
Then again, sometimes originality trumps authenticity -and it's hard not to love this chancla-throwing Wonder Woman.
I wonder how she would get along with this chimichanga-loving Deadpool.
The first WonderCon since the convention had to be cancelled back in 2020 took place last month and I was there along with Zeon Santos to photograph all the wonderful cosplays from the convention. Regretably, I still fell victim to the dreaded convention plague (though thankfully not covid) even while wearing a mask, so I wasn't able to get these photos together until now, but I'm happy to finally be able to share them all with you.
One of the great things about WonderCon is the number of awesome Disney-inspired cosplays since Disneyland is right across the street from the convention center. This brillliant Haunted Mansion cosplay was easily my personal favorite both for their impressive skill and because the source material is a personal favorite of mine.
This cosplay of Cinderella's evil step sister is also quite enchanting -even an awful character can have a brilliantly gorgeous dress.
After the regularly scheduled July Comic Con was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus, the organizers were finally able to put together a "Special Edition" version of the event on Thanksgiving weekend. This special edition was also a bit of a "limited edition" since the con was dramatically smaller than the regular event, with far fewer exhibitors, attendees, events and everything else that makes the San Diego Comic Con so famous. That being said, there was still plenty to enjoy, including plenty of fantastic cosplayers like these.
All images by Zeon Santos or myself.
This Final Fantasy group cosplay looked fantastic together and made me want to start playing the game.
Similarly, this Yennifer cosplay by Sewpoke is loaded with absolutely breathtaking details.
Every Star Wars fan has their own favorite bounty hunter, with many switching from the original fan-favorite, Boba Fett, to either The Mandalorian or IG-11 once Baby Yoda fever swept the internet. But while favorites are totally subjective, when you look at the bounty hunters from a legal perspective, Boba Fett is clearly the best bounty hunter in Star Wars, at least, according to San Diego defense lawyer Peter Liss. A short bit of his reasoning:
Boba’s insistence that Han be kept alive also means he is following the law to the letter unlike Greedo by not using deadly force unnecessarily. In fact, Boba even argues against freezing Han in carbonite despite Darth Vader’s insistence on it out of fear that his target could be harmed. While many people unfamiliar with the law like to argue that this would be false imprisonment, it would actually be a legal citizen’s arrest by a bounty hunter...
Wonder where Greedo, IG-11 and the Mandalorian fit into this attorney's rankings and who is the least law-abiding bounty hunter among the group? Then check out: The Best Star Wars Bounty Hunter from a Legal Perspective
