Culture

Over thousands of years of history, language has been essential to the world’s progression forwards into the next generation. As time has passed, it has evolved and changed to suit different circumstances. Technology in part has accelerated this process and has in itself contributed to further evolution and shift in culture. This is giving rise to different social groups such as geeks who each, in turn, have their own slang - here’s where it all comes from.

On the same day Critical Blast announced that Gina Carano had been selected by our readers as the Best Series Actor for 2020 based on her work in the Disney Plus streaming series, The Mandalorian, came the shocking capitulation from Lucasfilm to social media outrage over postings by the actress. The postings addressed historical methods of the government dividing people by turning friends and neighbors on each other before moving in themselves to take over the process.

Streaming services once again dominated the voting for the category of Best Series Actor of 2020, with not a single traditional broadcast medium making a statistical showing.

Hulu's The Great saw leads Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult both achieve 3% of all votes cast, in a three-way tie with DC Universe's Stargirl's Luke Wilson, while the superhero lead for the aforementioned Stargirl, Brec Bassinger, pulled in 4%.

DC Universe also saw Doom Patrol's April Bowlby stretch past the pack to nab 9% of the ballots, but Anya Taylor-Joy doubled that with 18% for her work on Netflix's The Queen's Gambit.

Every year, Critical Blast opens up the polls to our readers to select the best of everything entetainment, in multiple categories. And while some categories slimmed down this year due to the spread of coronavirus forcing people to stay home, the comic book business has seen a boom, thanks largely to a number of independent creators who have turned away from the traditional publishing market and toward crowdfunding to get their four-color fantasies fit to print and into the hands of readers.

It's February -- the month of hearts and flowers, stuffed bears and romantic greeting cards, and all in the name of love.

One of the things we here at Critical Blast love is cosplay, which is why every month our staff combs the cosplay community for up-and-coming cosplayers who deserve to have a broader audience for their work, taking into account not only costuming skills and spirit, but also how they use that ability in service to others. Through this, we've not only met some talented cosplayers, but also some fine human beings.

Which brings us to Steffany, who uses the nomme-du-cosplay New Moon. So let's dive right in and get to know her better! Critical Blast is proud to introduce you one and all to the...

Being a college student is no walk in the park. There are plenty of things that require your immediate attention: classes, communities, parties – for many even jobs. It is easy to forget about healthy habits and start drifting. Regrettably, wrong choices can lead to life-damaging outcomes in the future, and now is the best time to prevent this.

Making a decision to stay healthy and well in college is halfway to success. These tips will help you to figure out how to do that.

Build a Healthy Eating Routine

Food is the main source of energy that helps us go through the day, stay active, and focused. For students, their academic progress and productivity largely depend on what they fuel their bodies with. That is why it is crucial to build healthy eating habits that will help you go forward rather than pull you back.

Okay, everybody. You don't need us to tell you that 2020 is a year that belongs in the dustbin of history. We did our best to brighten it once a month with some colorful positivity in the form of cosplay, and we're going to continue that on into this new year, in the hopes that things get better.

Every month the staff at Critical Blast combs the cosplay community for up-and-coming cosplayers who deserve to have a broader audience for their work, taking into account not only costuming skills and spirit, but also how they use that ability in service to others. Through this, we've not only met some talented cosplayers, but also some fine human beings.

So let's get this year started off right! Critical Blast is proud to introduce you one and all to 2021's first...

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

Actually, it was 2020, so scratch that first bit entirely. But as ugly as the past year has been, there were still a few moments that perked things up. So as loath as we may all be to actually look back at this year, we're asking our readers to do so for just one more month as we collect votes from you, our readers, to select the award winners in our BEST OF 2020.

The movie theaters were bereft most of the year, but production companies found ways around that, and many movies went straight to streaming services. Streaming options also presented us with several nominees for our Best Series.

But it was the crowdfunding renaissance in the comic book arena that really shook up the nomination processes this year, shouldering their way past the mainstream giants to stand side-by-side with them for Best Comic, Best Comics Writer and Best Comics Artist.

Some days the eyes roll so hard the pull at the optic nerve and make them just ache. Today is one of those days.

The Star Wars fandom has been split of the idea of Rey ever since The Force Awakens debuted in theaters. It's one of those debates that's never going to be settled, never going to have a substantial closure, because it's a matter of taste. You can't convince a person they don't like something that they do, and vice versa.

Every month the staff at Critical Blast combs the cosplay community for up-and-coming cosplayers who deserve to have a broader audience for their work, taking into account not only costuming skills and spirit, but also how they use that ability in service to others. Through this, we've not only met some talented cosplayers, but also some fine human beings.

2020 has been one of the strangest years in the lifetime of most who have gone through it. We've had to quarantine ourselves, avoid large gatherings -- all of which is antithetical to what our favorite cosplayers are used to (with, perhaps, the exception of wearing a mask). It's a year that we'll all be happy to see in the rearview mirror as we cross over into 2021. And to help give this year the boot, weve brought in a talented cosplayer who looks ready to give 2020 the swift kick it deserves. So without further introduction, Critical Blast is proud to introduce you one and all to 2020's final...

Sometimes when an actor finishes a film, he or she retains a prop of some kind, a souvenir or memento they can look to in the future for a conversation piece.

Zachary Levi seems to have come away from his stint on SHAZAM with the coolest and most valuable vestige ever: The Wisdom of Solomon. (The superhero character more commonly known as Captain Marvel gains his powers by shouting out an acronym, which gains him the combined powers of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.)

During the trying and tiring time of the last few days, as votes were being tabulated with deliberation and states were switching colors more slowly than leaves in autumn, Levi interected a thought onto Twitter -- a place designed ostensibly just for that purpose but, ironically, in abject opposition to the ideal on most days.

Every month the staff at Critical Blast combs the cosplay community for up-and-coming cosplayers who deserve to have a broader audience for their work, taking into account not only costuming skills and spirit, but also how they use that ability in service to others. Through this, we've not only met some talented cosplayers, but also some fine human beings.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it may be a struggle after this trying year we've all had to find things for which to be thankful. Social distancing and self-isolation are new, contributing factors impacting many as a cloying, smothering hopelessness. But there are lights in the darkness, and yes, we can find those lights among the cosplayers we encounter through our search for this monthly feature. So the time is not just ripe, but well past due, for us to introduce you one and all to our...

Vaping has become common among many people, and this is because of the benefits it has over smoking. It is quite different from smoking cigarettes since it involves the inhaling of vapor instead of smoke. This also adds to the experience that vapers get. According to resourceful data, vapers could outnumber smokers in the coming years. Apart from more new entrants into vaping, many smokers are changing camp to get this new experience and reduce the health risks associated with smoking.

The consumable part of a vape device is the e-juice, which comes in many flavors and types. Some have a high ratio of propylene glycol to vegetable glycerin or vice versa. Today, there are healthy e-juices that are made of marijuana, hemp, and other natural herbs with medicinal purposes. All of these options leave users in a dilemma and it is sometimes hard to choose exactly what you want.

Every month the staff at Critical Blast combs the cosplay community for up-and-coming cosplayers who deserve to have a broader audience for their work, taking into account not only costuming skills and spirit, but also how they use that ability in service to others. Through this, we've not only met some talented cosplayers, but also some fine human beings.

With Halloween upon us, the whole world is looking to change into somene -- or something -- else. What better time to pull out some exemplary cosplay to get you, our readers, into the right frame of mind. And so, dear readers, with no tricks and all treats, we are happy  to share with you, our...

Every month the staff at Critical Blast combs the cosplay community for up-and-coming cosplayers who deserve to have a broader audience for their work, taking into account not only costuming skills and spirit, but also how they use that ability in service to others. Through this, we've not only met some talented cosplayers, but also some fine human beings.

With summer now in full swing, the heat is definitely on -- but it has nothing on the cosplay of this month's featured cosplayer! With her ability to bring to life our favorite characters but also place them in settings that complement the scene, as well as finding ways to make a character cosplay uniquely her own, we find ourselves awed at the talents on display, and we think you, dear reader, will be similarly blown away by our...

It seems a day doesn't go by that the Twitter trending list doesn't include a "...isCancelledParty" hashtag. Today it's THE WINTER SOLDIER star Sebastian Stan's turn in the online outrage grinder, as the #SebastianStanIsOverParty tries to gain traction in social media.

The cybermob is stirred up on two fronts.

The tempest-in-a-teapot began when a Twitter user, @angelas550, shared a photo of Alejandra Onieva -- Stan's rumored paramour -- dressed in a kimono, with the caption beneath reading "Asian Night."

That's literally it. Onieva replied to the caption with "Menuda noche de chinos. [What a Chinese night.]"

Bleeding Fool Writer Outs Secret Facebook Group of Comics Professionals from Inside

On July 8, the pop culture website Bleeding Fool broke the story that a group of comics professionals were colluding in a secret Facebook group (a level higher than 'private' which allows it to evade being found by search results) where they would target and mock male peers within the industry.

It was a year of turmoil for comics professionals. Livelihoods were on the lines as those who worked in the industry began to see their peers picked off right and left, as the field of comics was being laid waste by the scythe of a force that had found it ripe for harvest. There were rules, arbitrary and unwritten, that had been broken, and the piper had come with the invoice, stamped "Past Due." In a rush of adrenalin-fueled panic, those still standing cobbled together a promissory note, a token to the aggrieved that they would change their behavior, codified for the world to see.

If you think this is a summary of the events of 1954 that led to the Comics Code Authority, it would be understandable. But it's 2020, and the professionals in comics are circling the wagons to protect themselves from threats internal, not external.

Some television shows take the viewer on cross-country trips to find the best hidden restaurants. Others take you on house-hunting journeys, or tag along with CEOs who get an incognito look inside their own companies from a new perspective.

Madison Young's trek across America is to discover, illuminate, and partake of the sexual kinks practiced in different regions. And if you think that this is all something that stops with leather and handcuffs, then you've only read the opening sentence of the opening paragraph of the encyclopedia set of sexual paraphilia.

In February of 2019, Alterna Comics publisher Peter Simeti was on a live stream broadcast from his apartment, when a knock at the door drew him away from his microphone. The stream was left running, and viewers could clearly hear the police enter the apartment and question Simeti, in response to a 911 call about a violent domestic disturbance.

The violence did not happen. The call was faked -- what is termed a "SWATting" in which the perpetrator calls the police pretending to be in distress or emotional turmoil, specifically the kind that would urge police to enter with weapons drawn. The obvious intent is that the person targeted would thus be harmed by the police.