ZABAVA

Based out of Halifax, NS and Dundas, ON, this blog is dedicated to all things nerd, geek, and everything in between. Cosplay, fashion, anime, tv, movies, video games, music, literature, history - you name it. My name's Ariana Potichnyj and I want you to fan-your-preferred-gender-pronoun here with me.

[thezabavablog]

Five Subreddits to Get Your Mind Off Exam Stress

We've all been there, am I right? When you're just logging on to all the distracting sites you have a username for in the hopes of being distracted from the copious amounts of work or studying that you have to do. I know from experience that I am guilty of this over and over and over again; with each stressful season comes a new slew of Interweb distractions. And although Reddit isn't always known for its greatness, it should probably be hailed for its ability to organize small fleeting interests into full-blown subreddits. 

Reddit, I salute you for your ability to suck me in time and time again. And here are my top five favourite subreddits to hide out in while my homework looms.

#5 - r/creepypms: Internet Support Group for the Creeped-Upon No, nothing warms my heart more than failed OKCupid attempts and a sea of rejected dick pics. r/creepypms distracts us from the horrors of homework with the horrors of humanity. You thought that awkward kid in class asking you out was weird? Just get a load of these folks. You've got everything from overtly sexual content to feminist rants. 

#4 - r/harrypotter: The Great Hall Are you tired of people on Tumblr telling you that the Harry Potter fandom needs to take a hike? Flip those Muggles the bird and spend some time browsing r/harrypotter. Unlike r/creepypms, this is a happy place filled with very happy people. Here, people compete for the House Cup, win House points, discuss unpopular opinions or headcanons and are generally just not mean or awful to one another. r/harrypotter even has a Sorting ceremony and will place you in the House that is most desired by and fits you. They're such sweeties, it's hard to stay away.

#3 - r/ladyboners: Eye Candy! Yes, for those of us that are tired of staring at cell diagrams or graphs or words, r/ladyboners provides us with hot men to gawk at. You've got everyone from hot dudes to smokin' hot dudes. Have you got a ladyboner for Chris Pine? Welcome to your own personal haven of hotness. Getting tired of Chris Pine? You're still swimming in a sea of good-looking manmeat. Female gaze forever. And for those of us who'd prefer to look at some ladies who give us ladyboners, why not head over to r/ladyladyboners? All the ladybonery needs met in these two wonderful subreddits.

#2 - r/comeonandslam: COME ON AND SLAM (Space Jam Remixed) You know how you love the crap out of Space Jam? Have you ever wondered what your favourite song mashed up with the iconic opening credit song sounded like? Look no further. r/comeonandslam is working diligently to mash up your favourites with your All Time Favourite. And yes, they have a holiday playlist. I will personally recommend Feslam Navijam.

#1 - r/animalsbeingbros: Animals just being bros It's like if r/aww wasn't filled with upvote-hungry image stealers. Welcome to r/animalsbeingbros, where the coldness of your heart, brought on by hours of studying and reading texts that you didn't read for class in the first place, melts into a puddle at the sight of animals being bros to humans and other animals alike. It's the actual embodiment of that whole thing that Jesus dude was talking about, what was it? Be excellent to each other? I will, Mr. Jesus. I will.

[thezabavablog]

It's Been a While: The Update and Where I've Been

Unless you are fortunate enough to not be in school (you know who you are), you'll know that the last three weeks and the weeks to come are The Weeks from Hell. 

However, my schedule does not have any finals left and I no longer have a Canadian Literature paper looming over me. So, consider this blog back in action!

I have been thinking of how to better organize this and while I am not ready to expand just yet, that may be something I will have to face in the new year. I'd love to get more involved with this and get it into fighting shape.

I'm not entirely sure who I'll be fighting, but I'll letcha know.

[thezabavablog]

Belle and Ariel Cosplayers at HalCon2013

(If you know the names of these cosplayers, please let me know! I'd love to link/credit them!)

[thezabavablog]

Pam Poovey Cosplayer at HalCon2013

(If you know the name of the cosplayer, please let me know! I'd love to link/credit them!)

[thezabavablog]

Prince Zuko and Blue Spirit Cosplayers at HalCon2013

(If you know the names of the cosplayers, please let me know! I'd love to link/credit them!)

[thezabavablog]

Tunes-day Featured Artist: MC Lars

If you know me at all, you'll know that I frequently cry about how wonderful I think MC Lars is. Do I like him because I'm an English and History major? Quite possibly. Do I like him because his tunes are super catchy? You bet your ass I do. Is he cute? Well. Well, yeah, he is.

Cuteness aside, MC Lars is important for a number of reasons. MC Lars' music can be described as "lit-hop", a play on hip hop, with specific focus on literature. That's right, kiddos. You can rap and learn at the same time. The video above is arguably his most educational rap, Flow Like Poe.

As a literature enthusiast, MC Lars has written songs about Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ophelia, and Macbeth, while always having a bit of a soft spot for Edgar Allan Poe, America's favourite anti-transcendentalist (we're taking this back, way back, nineteenth century style). 

When he isn't rapping about literature, he's working on raps to preserve literary history. A strong supporter of accessible education and historic preservation, Lars has worked with the Nantucket Historical Association and the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum to make sure that historic American monuments are accessible and around for new generations to come. 

And when he's not being a badass in the academic fields, he's working with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In his song Twenty-Three, he tells us a story of how he lost a close friend to suicide. He hopes that his efforts will one day help the steadily growing rates of suicide to drop and that we will be able to replace that tormenting sadness with positivity. 

MC Lars is also just a genuinely nice dude. I, personally, met him at Warped Tour this summer in Toronto and we chatted about his mom, poutine, and books. He's an excellent hugger and a hilarious dude and if you have a moment, you should check out some of his work.

Personal Favourite Tracks

Twenty-Three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpQ3q6PE6Ls

Hipster Girl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUKM8aU_K0U

Annabel Lee RIP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR7NmXdEMCg

Signing Emo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxVPhaJtL8o

Male Feminist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuNBatKO5LY

Follow him at @mclars on Twitter! He always does his best to reply to your Tweets. I'll put my crush away now.

[thezabavablog]

Carmen Sandiego Cosplayer at HalCon2013

(If you know the name of the cosplayer, please let me know! I'd love to link/credit them!)

[muffy-artist]

What should really come in those NSCAD new student bags.

[thezabavablog]

Ukraine and America from Axis Powers Hetalia Cosplayers at HalCon2013

(If you know the names of the cosplayers, please let me know! I'd love to link/credit them!)

[thezabavablog]

Tuxedo Mask Cosplay at HalCon2013

(If you know the name of the cosplayer, please let me know! I'd love to link/credit them!)

[thezabavablog]

How Did You Enjoy HalCon2013? Tell me all about it!

Did you attend HalCon2013? Did you get stuck out in the cold? Did you not get in? Were you asked to leave? Was it the best weekend of your life? Did you make super cool new friends? Did you run into your mortal enemy? Drop me a line so we can converse about it!

[beatonna]

A couple of months ago I went through a break-up and met a border guard, a pillar of humanity who has seen this exact thing, I am assuming: So Very Many Times.

haha it’s all good now but when it happened I thought “well I’m going to draw this sometime.”  Thanks United States/Canada Border services! 

[monasterylane]

usagi 

[thezabavablog]

Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre I Cosplayer at HalCon2013

(If you know the name of the cosplayer, please let me know! I'd love to link/credit them!)

[thezabavablog]

Jack Frost Cosplayer at HalCon2013

(If you know the name of the cosplayer, please let me know! I'd love to link/credit them!)

[thezabavablog]

Cruella DeVille Cosplayer at HalCon2013

(If you know the name of the cosplayer, please let me know! I'd love to link/credit them!)

[monasterylane]

animal fall cards