By CJ Tiernan Remember School? That was crazy, huh? We basically worked a 9-5 (well, 7-3) everyday but, unlike most jobs where you learn what you’re supposed to do and it gets easier, we had to keep learning new stuff. Like, all the time. A constant barrage of new stuff. It was tough! Throw in cliques, bullies, and hormones and you’re talking about running through a non-stop, ruthless gauntlet at an impressionable age. However, now that it’s in the past, there is a wistful

By CJ Tiernan Shakespeare once wrote something about names and flowers (C’mon, you know the one). Anyway, he was wrong. A name can make or break the essence of a character. Han Solo tells us he’s a lone wolf. Ted Lasso tells us he’s in charge of corralling a group of individuals. Mickey Mouse tells us he’s a mouse. Sometimes, the writer just goes wild with it. Princess Consuela Banana Hammock is a name a character (who already has a name) makes up for themselves. Inigo Mont

By CJ Tiernan You ever stop and look around the English-language landscape? It’s wild out there. We have words that sound the same but are spelled differently. We have words that mean multiple, palpably different things. We, the denizens of the melting pot, have words inherited from seemingly every other language under the stars. It can be a lot to handle. Worse yet, we often ignore the available words with imbued pizazz and lean on the rudimentary and familiar (unforgivabl

By CJ Tiernan Creating something new is hard. To conjure something from nothing takes time and effort. This is a list showcasing people braggadociously showing off their skills. They have created something new, inside of something they created. My list, drawn from books, movies, and TV shows, illustrates invention within creation. Hat tip to all you intrepid writers. This is my Top 11 List of the Greatest Fictional Games in the history of fiction. 1. Jumanji – Jumanji - M

By CJ Tiernan Why do we love game shows? We all do. Whether we have a certain one or two that we try to catch every week or we just throw on Game Show Network and let the fates decide, we've all sat down and watched a game show on TV. In fact, now that we've reached the zenith of on-demand entertainment, we can pick and choose which ones we watch and conjure them at the snap of a finger. I believe that we love them for two main reasons. First, we like to play along. If it is

By CJ Tiernan Although called names like geeks, dweebs, dorks, or bookworms, the studious character of the movie is often a fan-favorite. Whether they are helping the main character save the day, or accomplishing something great themselves, we love the movie nerd. This is my love letter to the nerds of the world. Below is a list of my 11 favorite characters in movies that exhibit the nerd qualities we've all come to know and love. 1. Doc Brown - Christopher Lloyd Back to the