Never Too Old for Cosplay

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

I apologize for the lack of entries last week – crafting cosplays, con going, and con recovery are incredibly tiring and fun. This past weekend I attended the Steampunk World’s Fair and from that con, I’ve retrieved some wisdom which has reassured me about one thing in life.

You're never too old for cosplay.

This is something I’ve learned at the Steampunk World’s Fair wherein I saw a good amount of elderly people cosplaying. They cosplayed couple outfits such as a bee and her beekeeper, an octopus and a fisher, and simply Victorian clad personas. Their outfits were wonderful and highly detailed and it made me wonder if older people spend their retirement money on cosplay.

When we think of growing old we recall things the media has shown us: travelling the world, retirement homes with Sunday bingo and crocheting, sitting around the house and knitting, grandchildren, medical bills and daily pills. Yet I find that even that concept has changed too and where some elders may engage in these activities, others might cosplay as I have witnessed this past weekend.

                                                                                                                   

Most of you are probably in your teens and twenties like me and embracing youth. None of us are contemplating retirement or when we hit our fifties. Yet sometimes in the late hours of the night or in the quietest moments of the day, we begin to wonder about ourselves. Will we be doing what we want to well into our lives? Will we still be the same person? Will we grow out of something we love by force of adulthood and responsibilities or stay true to it?

For someone who constantly wonders about the future and who I will be, it’s refreshing and wondrous to see elders cosplaying. It’s wonderful and reassuring to see creativity and passion outlast the hardships of life and our youth. It also shows that we still can have vivid imaginations and be ourselves right until our dying day. Maybe when I’m in my retirement, I can scrimp and save and craft some wondrous cosplay like what I saw at the Steampunk World’s Fair.

Will I be ninety five and still cosplaying? I would like to because it’s a part of who I am and knowing that it’s accepted by society, is strongly enticing and inviting.

Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, have you ever seen older people cosplaying?

It's Time for Hanukkah!

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

On December 6^th, we began the celebration of Hanukkah. Hanukkah is an eight day holiday often celebrated by Jewish people who give gifts and light the menorah. The menorah is an eight pronged candelabra – each candle is lit for every night of Hanukkah. Now granted, while I’m not Jewish I do respect other people’s holidays and customs because everyone celebrates the holidays in accordance with their cultures, religions, and beliefs.  But I will say in the past years of surfing the web, I have found some excellent menorah designs.

5.The Blown Menorah

This glass blown menorah has blown my mind with how the glass details seemingly hang in the air. Each intricate circle supports the eight prongs that hold candles for those long eight nights. This menorah appears as though it’s transparent and floating, but speckled with beautiful shades like ghosts of many Hanukkahs past and many Hanukkahs to come.

4. The Wooden Menorah

The modern menorah where you can shift the tiles into any shape you want like a camel, a bird, a person, or whatever your mind decides.  This menorah is suitable for anyone of any age because it reminds them of this special holiday and the wonder it invokes from childhood to adulthood. 

3. Menorahsaurus Rex

The menorahsaurus rex is the most fearsome of menorahs with its gaping jaws and golden frame. This menorah rises above other animal based menorahs, knowing it could easily tear them apart. Each flame added to this menorah will not only make it appear fierce, but also remind you of the endless flames that live on just like the fossils of dinosaurs. 

2. Steam-menorah Punk

Steampunk is a style crafted from the Victorian days where steam was used to power everything from carriages to lights. It is design featuring gears, varying shades of brown, brass, and gold, and can be found almost everywhere in our modern culture. A steampunk menorah is no exception. Designed in the industrial iconic steampunk style, this menorah uses little base lights to ignite for each night of Hanukkah.

1. To Boldly Go Where no Menorah Has Gone Before

Every season is the season for “Star Trek” especially winter. Why winter? Because you get to use this “Star Trek” menorah of course! Unlike other menorahs it’s sparked with miniature lights attached to the heads of some of your favorite characters. Not only do you get to celebrate this joyous holiday, you get to do it in an interstellar Trekkie fashion.


Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, how do you celebrate Hanukkah?

Steampunk to Go

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

As a gamer I’ve played different types of games, but always found my way back to hidden object games. Hidden object games are a nostalgic part of my life that still carry with me to this day. What I love even more is when the game incorporates elements I adore, like Steampunk.

Steampunk is a popular topic revolving around Victorian elements, distinct fashion, steam powered devices, clockwork, and metalwork.  With its fame on the Internet, the trend is now seeping its way into movies, literature, and now, even video games.

I’ve had the pleasure to play my first Steampunk hidden object game on the Ipod.  Entitled Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink, the hidden object game oozed with Steampunk based on the character designs, their outfits, modes of transportation, and even a mechanical crow that accompanies you.  Your objective is to free your friend (Dr.Ink) from the evil clutches of Barber Engineer, a wealthy general who is causing massive earthquakes for the town of Hochwald.

The casual mode could easily be completed in one hour with the help of Hint and Skip features. Advanced and Expert took a little longer, with the elimination and slower recharge of those two features. It’s a fun little game with great graphics produced by Big Fish Games for $2.99 and is available on most mobile devices. They are currently working on a sequel for the game simply titled Clockwork Tales II. There is no word of when it will be released.

I give this game an 8 out of 10, because I wish the casual mode lasted a little longer. I usually play hidden object games on casual and find that they’re more than just an hour. Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink had the shortest casual mode gameplay I’ve ever seen and I honestly wish it was a little longer, if not as long as the other modes.

Thank you for reading today’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, reblog, and/or critique.

So tell me, do you enjoy hidden object games? If so, what’s your favorite one?

Something Old, Something New

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

We live in an updated, modern society where we can obtain information at a mere touch, where solar energy is powering our buildings, and where robots are cooking our food. We are constantly being informed of new technological tools in the works that will aid us with our daily lives. Every day we are discovering new ways to embrace the future and all its modified, minimized glory.

Yet despite our evolution, why do we still love things from the past?

Image from eliteauction.com

3. Thought Provoking

The past is a time that we only know about through movies, education, stories, and many other formats. It’s a strange thing that we can’t physically visit (unless we have a Tardis or DeLorean), but only examine and wonder.  We have artifacts from the past in museums and in antique stores. While we are familiar with some of the objects’ functions, others we are not. This allows us to tap into our imaginations and question how the item worked, what it was used for, why was it used, and compare it to something we have in our modern time to help understand it better. By asking these questions we exercise our minds, attempting to discover the item’s purpose, and create a story (or many stories) for something unique and old.

2. Aesthetic

Artifacts are so different from what we have now. Today’s music players are slim and small, offering us the ability to take music with us wherever we go. In the past there were gramophones and record players and but today, they are rendered obsolete. However, we are spellbound by their rustic charm. The same goes for clothing; every day we are reinventing fashion to fit our modern tastes, but we are wonderstruck by the fictional Steampunk eras, corsets from the Victorian times, the intricate detail of the Edo era, the flashing glamour of the roaring 20s, and so many other decades.  People are even pleased over how an antique tea set appears as opposed to a modern day tea set. These items have an alluring appearance that goes against the sleek, modern aesthetic. We are drawn to these artifacts and are awed by the beauty of the past.

1. Nostalgia

But of course, we have our own past. The things we grew up with that when remembered have a sentimental feel. We still cling to these objects for the comfort they give us and to remind us of better days. There are people who use items from the past to immerse themselves in some blissful memories as opposed to using the updated version of that item (ex.: using vinyl records and record players over mp3s and ipods). We’ve even created a day of the week (Throwback Thursday (#tbt)) to celebrate toys we’ve had from the 90s, music from the 80s, and so many other things from the past that we still adore to this day.

The past is a gorgeous, mysterious thing that people attempt to understand on a day to day basis. It takes days, months, and even years to fully comprehend the past, but it only takes a mere moment to enjoy it.

Thanks for reading today’s entry. If you have any feedback or want to share it or review it, feel free to do so.

So tell me, what is a sentimental item from your past?