The Gay Pop Culture Nerd

I wish that I had a neat little intro to this piece but there is nothing neat or fun about this article. It does not fit in with the rest of the pop culture content on my site, but it is an awful and emotionally draining situation, and I need a place to share my experiences. As I am sitting here, wondering if I should even be writing this post in the first place, I find myself wanting to get…

“We are all red inside” is the tagline of the film, The Welder, which explores the horrors of racism and racial division. Co-written and directed by David Liz, the indie horror film follows a young interracial couple, Eliza (Camila Rodriguez) and Roe (Roe Dunkley) as they vacation on an isolated ranch to help Eliza cope with PTSD from her days as an army medic. Once on the ranch, however, the…

Five More Underrated Skyrim Mods

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, developed by Bethesda Game Studios, was released in 2011 and continues to see a thriving community of gamers and modders a decade later. The world of Skyrim modding is a core element of the game’s longevity and replayability value. Talented coders and modders release daily content fixing gameplay glitches, enhancing graphics, and adding plenty of additional content to…

Podcast: Evil Dolls & Why We Find Them So Scary

What is it about evil dolls that makes us so afraid or intrigued? Why have these terrifying little nightmares maintained such a strong hold in popular culture? In honor of M3GAN, the newest addition to the pantheon of evil dolls, Mack and Candace discuss the history of these seemingly innocent plastic demons, from Talky Tina to the king of horror, Chucky. Enjoy the episode and let me know in the…

The Final Girl Support Group: Book Review

The Final Girl Support Group is a horror novel written by Grady Hendrix (My Best Friend’s Exorcism, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires) following the life of Lynette Tarkington, one of the women who make up the Final Girls Support Group. Final Girls are women who’ve survived gruesome massacres, and the ones in Hendrix’s book mirror fictional Final Girls from franchises…

Star Trek: Deanna Troi is Great, Actually

Scrolling through the Trek forums, fan pages, and blog posts dedicated to all things Star Trek, I was surprised to learn that many Star Trek fans have a low opinion of Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), one of my personal favorite characters from The Next Generation. Deanna Troi serves an interesting function on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise as the ship’s counselor. Maybe it’s because of my own…

Space Waffles Podcast Episode: Andor Finale Review

This week Mack joins the crew over at Space Waffles to discuss the Season 1 finale of the Disney+ streaming series, Andor. Join Arezou, Candace, Maggie, Noor-Hal, Mollie, and Mack as we dive into the emotional final episode of Season 1 and why we love this show so much. Listen to the episode of the Geeky Waffle Network.

Modding Games: Why Modders Deserve Credit Too

I never thought I would get into modding video games. A few years ago, the most experience I had experimenting with modding was downloading mods on my Xbox One for Skyrim. Now that I have a PC, I’ve been enjoying mods like never before. Modding is short for “modify” and it usually refers to alterations talented programmers and designers make to existing games. Mods are an important part of the…

Mack’s Musings: The New Frontier

Good morning Musers! I wanted to share some news with you: for the second month in a row, Mack’s Musings reached 2,000 visitors! Thank you to my followers and to those who have followed my website since the early days. I started this website seven years ago and I’m proud of our growth. Not only are we ranking well in Google, but I have welcomed several contributing writers onboard. I’m so…

Saddest Deaths from Horror Movies and Television Shows

The horror genre is a battlefield, and the Final Girls, killers, and victims who find themselves participating in this brutal game of cat-and-mouse are usually guaranteed one thing: Death. Only the luckiest and the strongest survive. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how lucky or strong you are. If the bloodthirsty writers of a particular horror movie or television show have slated a character for…

Sims 4: Random Tips and Tricks to Living Your Best Sim Life.

Many things are happening in the world of the Sims. EA recently announced The Sims 5 after footage of the game was leaked online, and the The Sims 4 base game became free to play. If you’re like me, you downloaded The Sims 4 almost immediately after the announcement and have spent the past week diving into everything this zany game has to offer. I’m not exactly a Sims newbie; in high school, I…

Troy (2004): An Underrated Hollywood Epic

I recently watched the Director’s Cut of the 2004 epic war film, Troy. I love Greek mythology, and the story of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world who men went to war for, has intrigued me since I was a child. Over the years I’ve seen a few scenes from the 2004 film directed by Wolfgang Peterson, but I never watched Troy, much less the Director’s Cut, in its entirety until…

The Evolution of Vampires and Queerness in Media

Ahh vampires—the sexy and dangerous creatures of the night. What makes vampires so compelling are the ideas and themes of death, forbidden sexuality and fascination with the mysterious that surround these bloodsuckers. For some, vampires are the symbolic rebels advocating for alternatives to conformity. They’re the embodiment of suppressed sexual urges, of lust and desire. Thanks to their…

My Favorite Final Girls of All Time

The Final Girl Trope and the women of horror who best embody it is something I’ve written about many times and I never am bored of it. With Halloween several weeks behind us as we inch closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, I thought it was the perfect time to remind everyone that talking and writing about horror never gets old. There is always a time to celebrate the genre, the killers and the…

Star Wars: Andor Proves Mon Mothma’s Story in the Sequel Era Makes No Sense

From the moment she appeared onscreen, Mon Mothma commanded nothing but respect. The beautiful and stern leader of the Rebel Alliance made quite an impression for such a brief role in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the third film in the original series for a part amounting to two minutes onscreen and even less in dialogue. But Mon Mothma was much more than a mysterious figurehead in white. It…

Top Five Underrated Futurama Characters

Despite its on-again-off-again run, Futurama, an animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening, made a name for itself in the world of popular culture, thrusting iconic characters like Phillip J. Fry, Leela, and Bender to the forefront of meme culture and bringing plenty of laughs and heart to the small screen. The series released 140 episodes throughout its lifespan, but Futurama‘s…