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Game of Thrones: Season 5 Premiere

Winter is coming, but fear not for the only snow we’re talking about here is a member of the Night’s Watch. In fact, as you may have guessed from the title, this week’s post is not centered around the winter season, but is instead centered around the HBO series, Game of Thrones. This is because this Sunday marks the premiere of the fifth season of the popular TV series based on the novels by George R. R. Martin. As a result, fans of the show can rejoice because their long wait for more battle, betrayal, brinkmanship, and beautiful visuals has finally come to an end. However, if you are a true fan of the series and you’re looking for a way to really get into the spirit of Westeros, there are a few things this weekend that are sure to help.

First, if you have children who are a little too young for Game of Thrones, but you would like to include them in the medieval excitement surrounding the series, you may want to check out Alex the Jester. Alex the Jester, who is performing at the Coolidge Corner Theatre tomorrow (Saturday, April 11, 2015) at 10:30 A.M., is a modern day court jester. He has appeared throughout the United States and Canada to demonstrate his comic skills and made several TV appearances, including appearances on America’s Got Talent and Showtime. For more information on Alex the Jester and/or to order tickets for the show, please visit the Coolidge Corner Theatre website.

Secondly, if your kids are old enough for Game of Thrones or you would really just like to try your hand at taking over the world of Westeros on your own, you may want to try the Game of Thrones Board Game. The Game of Thrones Board Game, which adds its own unique twists to familiar games like Risk and Diplomacy, will allow you and up to 5 other players to take control of one of the houses of Westeros. Your ultimate goal, of course, is to use every tool at your disposal to decimate your enemies and cement your control over the Iron Throne. For more information on the game and/or to order a copy, please visit the Fantasy Flight Games website or Amazon.com.

Finally, if you don’t have kids or you’re planning to leave the little ones with their grandparents while you find a way to embrace your love of your show, the Violet Thorn in Natick may have the perfect event for you. This is because the Violet Thorn has planned an Authentic Game of Thrones Dining Experience from 2:00 P.M. tomorrow (April 11, 2015) to close on Sunday (April 12, 2015.) This dining experience will allow you to enjoy a number of Game of Thrones-inspired dishes, including Baratheon Blood Wild Boar Rib, Beef n’ Bacon Pie, Dragon’s Tail with Fire Breath, Sansa’s Homemade Lemon Pie, and Violet Thorn’s King’s Landing Confit. For more information on the Authentic Game of Thrones Dining Experience, please visit The Boston Calendar website or the Violet Thorn website.

Photo credit: MEDIODESCOCIDO / Foter / CC BY

Things to Do When It’s Too Cold to Go Out

Is she trying to catch the snow in her mouth or she is screaming about the cold? You decide... — Is she trying to catch the snow in her mouth or is she so cold she is screaming? You decide…

Last week, I talked about some of the ways that you could embrace the winter or try to stave it off a little longer, but it appears that Jack Frost may have had other ideas. In fact, when I got up yesterday morning, it was a degree below zero with a wind chill of 15 below, and there were parts of New England where the actual temperature was nearly 25 below with a wind chill of who knows what. As a result, it’s clear that the winter is here with a vengeance, and ignoring it until it goes away is probably no longer an option. However, if you are stuck in your house this weekend because of the cold weather and you’re looking for something that you can do without opening your door (and turning your home into an icebox), look no further.

1. Board Games

When it comes to board games, people typically fall into one of two groups. The first group are the people that immediately think about how much fun it could be to try a new game or play an old favorite, and if you belong to this group, you should keep reading. The second group are the people that see the word “board” and immediately think it was misspelled (this group believes the correct spelling is actually “bored”) and if you fall into this group, I highly recommend that you skip this suggestion and move onto suggestions two and three. However, if you are one of the fine, upstanding people that belongs to the first group, board games can be a great way to keep you, your significant other, your friends daring enough to brave the cold, and/or your children entertained for hours on end.

In fact, you can always pull out an old classic like Battleship, Chess, Checkers, Clue, Monopoly, Risk, Scrabble, Sorry, Twister, or any variation thereof; or you can try a new game like King of Tokyo or King of New York if you’ve always wanted to be a rampaging monster, Pandemic if you’ve always wanted to be part of a team tasked with stopping a deadly outbreak, Power Grid if you’ve always thought you could handle a region’s infrastructure better than the power companies, or any of a countless number of other games. Best of all, if you don’t have one of these games, you can always find them at a local department store, comic book shop, hobby shop or, if you’re really determined not to leave your house and you’re a member of Amazon Prime, you can always pay the $3.99 for one-day shipping and have your new game tomorrow.

2. Video Games (Online or Otherwise)

If you would rather play a video game than a board game (or you prefer your board games when they are on a TV screen), you may want to check out some of the sites that will allow you to play or purchase video games. If you’re looking for free video games, you can always try out sites like ArmorGames.com, Kongregate.com, and/or Newgrounds.com. Armor Games and Kongregate both offer thousands of free games, many of which are user-submitted. These games include action, adventure, puzzle, RPG, shooter, strategy, and sports games. Newgrounds also offers thousands of free user-submitted flash games in addition to user-submitted art, music, and flash movies.

If, on the other hand, you would prefer to purchase a game rather than just play it in your browser, you can always try Amazon or Steam. These sites have a number of games that you can purchase (usually at a discounted price) and download as soon as you pay.

3. Movies / TV

If you’re a movie buff who would like nothing more than to just sit in your chair and watch your favorite films, you can always just grab a pile of DVDs from your closet or movie rack and go to town. However, if there’s a new movie or TV series that you would really like to see, but you don’t have it on DVD yet, you can always try Amazon.com, Hulu.com, Netflix.com, or the On-Demand services for your television provider. These sites and services often have some (but not all) of the latest movies and television shows, and they will typically allow you to watch them immediately for free, a one-time fee, or as part of a service with a monthly fee.

Photo credit: Luis Hernandez – D2k6.es / Foter / CC BY

The Day After Christmas: Ideas for Unwanted Gifts

About a month ago, I talked about Black Friday, the day that every business loves and all retail employees dread. However, now that Christmas is over, there’s another day that not only retail employees dread but the stores that they work for dread as well. This day that lives in retail infamy is of course today because the Day After Christmas, which is also known as Boxing Day in a number of countries and states, has become the chosen time for people to return all of their duplicate gifts, broken items, and all of the other stuff that they simply didn’t need or didn’t want.

In fact, more returns occur on the Day After Christmas than on any other date on the calendar, so it has become a day for many stores to watch their hard-earned (or, in some cases, not-so-hard-earned) money disappear in a puff of smoke. Fortunately, if you’re feeling a little guilty about that fact (which you shouldn’t be because most stores make all their money back from impulse buys before you have even left the store), you don’t know where your gift came from, or you simply don’t want to brave the crazy mobs at the mall to wait in line for the rest of your natural life, here are some ways that you can get rid of your unwanted stuff without going back to the store.

1. Give it to Someone Else.

If you have an unbroken gift that you don’t need or you don’t want, you can always pass it on to someone else like a proverbial fruitcake (and if you like fruitcake, I do apologize for the implication.) In fact, just because you don’t like a gift or already have three of them doesn’t necessarily mean that someone else won’t love it and/or find it extremely useful. There are a number of charities that will happily accept any clothing, large items, toys, and/or other gifts that you may be trying to get rid of, and if you can’t find a charity that wants your gift, you can always give it to a friend or family member that will love it (and, if they don’t love it, they’ll just begin the process all over again.)

2. Sell it.

If you have an unbroken gift or, in some cases, a broken gift that could be repaired, you may be able to convince someone else to buy it. Yard sales, auction sites like eBay, online stores like Amazon or Etsy, and the classifieds in your local newspaper or on Craigslist are all great ways to find a potential buyer and get rid of all of the stuff that you don’t want. Best of all, you can even get rid of some of the stuff that has been sitting around your house since long before Christmas because you’re selling stuff anyway.

The only thing to keep in mind is that selling your stuff will require you to deal with customers, so it is important to make sure that whatever you say in person or on the listing is detailed and accurate and that you a have a plan for how to actually get the item to the person that buys it. This is especially important for broken items that you are attempting to sell online (or even at a yard sale) because you may find the whole process to be a much bigger hassle than it’s worth if you don’t make it clear that the item you are selling is damaged.

It’s also important to remember that if you are selling a gift, you should make sure to sell your gift somewhere that the person who gave it to you is unlikely to see it. This is important because it’s going to be pretty awkward when your aunt or uncle shows up at your yard sale only to find out that you are selling all of the stuff they gave you.

3. Find a Use for It.

If all else fails and/or you just feel too guilty to get rid of one or more of your Christmas gifts, you can always use your gift in a way other than it was originally intended. For example, if your child got a teddy bear that is big enough to be seen from space, you could always use it as a chair in your child’s room. If you got six calendars that you absolutely love, but, like most people, you only really need one of them, you can cut out the images from the calendars that you like and use them as posters. And, if you got enough socks to outfit a small armed force, you could always turn them into your own sock puppet army and entertain all of the little children in your household or even your extended family.

Photo credit: Corey Ann / DecorLove.com / CC BY-ND

A Truly Terrifying Friday the 13th

When you stop and think about it, we’re a strange species. I mean how many other species actively seek out things that frighten them? The answer, of course, is probably not too many because, when you get right down to it, humans are one of the the only animals that has shown any interest in scaring themselves silly at all. However, even though we appear to be in the minority, there’s nothing wrong with seeking out the catharsis that comes with a little controlled horror now and then. And, if you’re looking for a way to truly terrify yourself as the full moon rises on this Friday the 13th, here are a few things that you should definitely check out.

First, if you’re a video game fan looking for something that will give you nightmares, I highly recommend the Nintendo DS game, 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors. This game, which is often abbreviated as 999, is a visual novel in which you take on the role of a 21-year-old college student who finds himself aboard a sinking ship. However, your character’s problems don’t stop there for, shortly after you awake, you come to the realization that you have been kidnapped and placed on board the ship to participate in a disturbing game. The game, as the game’s title indicates, is to work with nine people to escape through nine doors within nine hours, and failure to do so (or failure to follow the rules) will lead to your untimely demise. If 999 sounds like something you just have to check out, you can find out more about the game on the Official Aksys Games 999 website or purchase the game from Amazon.

Secondly, if you’ve already played 999 or you’re just looking for an escape game that’s a little more “real”, you may want to check out Trapped in a Room with a Zombie. Trapped in a Room with a Zombie, which is presented by Room Escape Adventures, is a live-action escape game in which 12 people have 60 minutes to solve a series of puzzles. The only problem is that you and your friends (whether you brought them with you or just met them) won’t actually be alone in the room. In fact, there will be one extremely hungry zombie chained to the wall and his chains will get a little longer every five minutes. As a result, you need to be pretty fast. For more information on Trapped in a Room with a Zombie, please visit the Room Escape Adventures website.

Finally, if you’re a big fan of the AMC series, The Walking Dead, and you think dodging one zombie is child’s play, you may want to head over to the Westin Waterfront in Boston. This is because the Westin Waterfront is hosting Walker Stalker Con from 12:00 P.M. today (Friday the 13th) to Sunday, June 15th at 5:00 P.M. This event will allow you to meet a number of actors and actresses from The Walking Dead, including Jon Bernthal (Shane), Steven Yeun (Glenn), Lauren Cohan (Maggie), Michael Cudlitz (Abraham), Chad Coleman (Tyreese), and a bunch more. It will also give you the opportunity to meet some of the stars of The Boondock Saints and AMC’s Comic Book Men, attend a variety of panels, purchase a wide assortment of zombie-themed items in the Dealer’s Room, and more. For more information on Walker Stalker Con, please visit the Walker Stalker Con Boston 2014 website.

Photo credit: Luz Adriana Villa A. / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)