‘Minecraft heaven’: Popular video game gets its own festival in Philadelphia

by Stone Marshall | Oct 22, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized | 0 comments

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A festival this weekend at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks is built entirely around the video game “Minecraft.”

The event, called “Minefaire: A Minecraft Fan Experience,” is it “an experience that you really cannot replicate at home,” according to event founder Chad Collins.

“Imagine walking into 150,000 square feet of ‘Minecraft’ heaven,” he said.

If you're not familiar with “Minecraft,” Collins describes it as using Legos but in digital form.

“So you're able to create worlds and interact with other characters in the game,” he explained, “and just really let your imagination run wild.”

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Some of the highlights of this festival include live gaming, virtual reality and workshops.

“We're going to have Guinness World Records on site,” added Collins, “so you're going to be able to participate in special challenges they're going to have, and brand new this year is the escape room.”

Parents: Don't plan on just sitting back and watching your kids have fun.

“We always have every age group in mind, so we make sure that it's a 100 percent inclusive experience,” said Collins.

That includes the learning lab, where parents and their children are encouraged to participate together.

“You're going to learn something about your kid that you never learned before,” Collins said.

Minefaire takes place Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets range from $39 to $69. For more information, visit minefaire.com.

Minefaire isn’t just for those obsessed with Minecraft. It’s for their parents (and grandparents), too.

by Stone Marshall | Oct 21, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Elsewhere in the Delaware Valley this weekend, parents may have been ferrying their kids to the mall, dropping them off at soccer, or bribing their cooperation through the weekly supermarket run.

But Saturday at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, Franklinville father Chris Gordon was his two young daughters' escort to an alternative digital universe of biomes, precious ores, the Creeper, and other creatures well-known to youngsters around the globe as Minecraft.

“I love it — just to see the creativity. This one's 2 years old,” Gordon said, nodding to daughter Charlotte, “and she can build her own world.”

“I like that you can do creative stuff,” agreed sister Elizabeth, 9.

Indeed there was lots of creative stuff and as many worlds as there were kids at Minefaire, a celebration of one of the world's most popular computer games that continued Sunday at the expo center in Oaks, Montgomery County, and was expected to draw more than 10,000 people.

Steve Zawdony shooting video of his nephew in the costume judging at the Minefaire Expo at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center on Saturday.
BRADLEY C BOWER FOR THE INQUIRER
Steve Zawdony shooting video of his nephew in the costume judging at the Minefaire Expo at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center on Saturday.
Although the game is the brainchild of a Swedish game developer, Minefaire, first held in 2016, is the creation of two Central Bucks County fathers, Chad Collins, an engineer, and Gabe Young, who had a career in corporate project management. Their own kids helped spark their enthusiasm for gaming, which led to the two friends creating the first Minefaire locally and expanding it to 10 other U.S. cities. They've long left their day jobs, now also operating Brick Fest Live, inspired by Collins' daughter Jordyn's love of Legos, and their Young Innovators Fair.

“Not only do we have an opportunity to share this with our kids,” said Young, “but they actually help us.”

Minefaire is very much a family affair.

Mary Ann Elliot came all the way from Myrtle Beach, S.C., to bring her grandson Dominic Becker, who lives outside Reading, to the fair to celebrate his 13th birthday. Elliot was also giving the digital realm a whirl herself Saturday on an event-provided PC.

“Oooh, it did something!” Elliot exclaimed as a cube creation rotated on her screen. “Being a grandma, you're always learning something.”

She wasn't alone on the learning curve. On hand helping was Steve Isaacs, who teaches game development at a North Jersey middle school. Isaacs said he is one of about 300 Minecraft education mentors around the world who help teachers learn how to adapt the game to the classroom. He said it's been used in just about every curriculum, including teaching Shakespeare.

Meanwhile, some of the game's young practitioners could teach older heads a thing or two about being entrepreneurs. At this weekend's Minefaire, there were YouTubers who have developed their own Minecraft channels with their fans.

Take Jack Beck, 20, who started making videos of his Minecraft adventures and creations when he was a sophomore at Holy Ghost Prep in Bensalem. Not long after, the videos and the game became a refuge of sorts. He said his little sister Mary was stricken with cancer; the videos became a way to help cheer up her and himself.

But then Beck started showing them on YouTube and getting paid. Now, he and his avatar BeckBroJack travel around the country with Minefaire. His YouTube hobby is now a full-time gig.

“He's getting ready to hit a million subscribers,” said his father, Bill, helping out Saturday along with Jack Beck's younger brother Adam. Mary, now healthy and strong, was expected later. The elder Beck said his son's YouTube channel earns him about $20,000 a month — that's a month — pretty good for a kid who only did a semester at Temple University's business school.

Abaigeal Wallace, 8, and her YouTube Minecraft channel, Cake Longtail, aren't quite there yet, but give her time.

“She's got 32 subscribers!” said Bradin Roberts, 10, of Sea Isle City, boasting on behalf of her quieter cousin.

Abaigeal and her mother, Margaret McGrogan, traveled from Virginia Beach to attend Minefaire with their South Jersey relatives who own Shoobies restaurant in Sea Isle and also love Minecraft.

The young YouTuber may not be making a bundle on her channel yet, but in the meantime there are other rewards.

Abaigeal is on the autism spectrum, her mother said. She shies away from social settings and is measured with her words.

“But when she turns the camera on, she's like a different person,” McGrogan said. “She's like an actress. It's a positive outlet.”

Abaigeal piped up in agreement: “I love everything about Minecraft.”

‘Minecraft’ Contest Adds One Player’s Cat to the Game

by Stone Marshall | Oct 20, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Minecraft is holding a contest right now that gives one lucky player the chance to have their cat featured in the building game.

There’s already a collection of animals in Minecraft that players can breed, tame, and use for various resources, but the newest Minecraft contest will add a cat that’s quite familiar to at least one person. Mojang shared news of the contest on Saturday with a post that said Minecraft is calling for everyone’s best cat pictures.

“All you have to do to enter is take a photo or video of the cat you think deserves to be in Minecraft, then share it on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #Minecraftcatcontest,” the contest details said.

Along with the full details on Minecraft’s contest, the post said that people have until November 12th to submit their cat contest contributions. After narrowing the choices down to three different options, players will then vote on which of the three cats they think should be added to the game.

Voting will take place on November 16th with the winner chosen on November 19th, but players can go ahead and start submitting their cat pictures now. People have already started doing so with some of the best cat contestants that we’ve seen shown below.

“Mustache Cat” sounds like the perfect name for a Minecraft mob anyway, so this cat submission already has a decent chance of winning the cat contest. The furball of a cat already got a decent amount of attention on Twitter with the contest just beginning recently as well.

Instead of sharing an image of a house cat, a user submitted a picture of an actual lion. It’s not a likely winner seeing how it’s not sticking within the contest’s rules, but it’s still a viable suggestion for Minecraft to one day add much larger cats to the game.

Doing some of Mojang’s work for them, one Twitter user submitted images of what their cat would look like if it were added in-game. Pictures of the actual cat weren’t provided, but it gives an idea of what a player’s cat would look like in Minecraft.

Moving away from the stream of cat photos, one player had a different idea: Create a cat version of an existing mob. The Twitter user above submitted an idea for a “Puffercatfish” that tweaks the Pufferfish added in Update Aquatic and mixes it with a cat.

Another unlikely submission but one that’s still unique, Bongo Cat was of course suggested to capitalize on the relatively new meme. Bongo Cat has been turned into many things before, but never a Minecraft mob, so even if Mojang doesn’t add it, players will likely find some way to mod in their own version of the musical cat.

The Greatest Batman Movie, Mask of the Phantasm, Will Return to Theaters in November

by Stone Marshall | Oct 20, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized | 0 comments

When it was originally released in 1993, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm didn’t receive anywhere near the reception it deserved. It’s reasonable to assume that most audience members were still thinking of the Caped Crusader in the terms of Tim Burton’s two live-action films, and didn’t think that an animated Batman implied a film aimed at adults as much as it was children. But although few saw it at the time, the secret of Mask of the Phantasm gradually began to get out. Some 25 years later, it’s rightly recognized as the finest Batman animated feature … and by many as the best Batman movie, period.

Sure, you can have your Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan’s film is a masterpiece, but it’s more of a crime epic than it truly is a traditional Batman story, of the type you’d find in the original comics. Mask of the Phantasm, on the other hand, is a classic Batman comic come to life; the synthesis of everything that was already great about the style-defining Batman: The Animated Series. Its Gotham is a blood-skied, terrifying megalopolis of gothic architecture. Its villains are chilling, but not afraid to ham it up at the same time. Its style is gratuitous and bombastic. It’s much more BATMAN than something like The Dark Knight ever attempts to be.

And now, it’s back in theaters! Yes, for one night only, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm will be returning to select theaters on Nov. 12, 2018, via Fathom Events. It’s your chance to see the best Batman movie in the way it was always meant to be seen! Oh, and we should probably mention that Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman will also be returning to theaters in the same way on Nov. 25 and 27, but come on—we know which of these films is cooler, right?

Directed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, Mask of the Phantasm features many classic voices from the animated series and Batman lore, including Kevin Conroy as The Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker, along with Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred, Dana Delany as Andrea Beaumont and Stacy Keach as The Phantasm.

You can buy tickets for Mask of the Phantasm in advance by clicking here. In the meantime, enjoy this modern recreation of a new Phantasm trailer.

Fans Petition To See Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man Sequel (But Not As Spidey)

by Stone Marshall | Oct 19, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have launched a petition for Tobey Maguire to play a pizza delivery guy in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Before either Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland suited up as the wall-crawler, Maguire played Peter Parker in Sam Raimi’s trilogy, concluding in 2007 with Spider-Man 3. Now a Change.org petition seeks to bring him back to the franchise, only in another role.

RELATED: Spider-Man: Far From Home Set Photos, Videos Show Off Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio

Petition creator Owen Lee explains how a Maguire cameo could work in the 2019 sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. “Think about how cool it would be to get the OG movie Spider-Man to make a cameo in the MCU as a pizza delivery guy,” he wrote. “It could also open possibilities to the Spider-Verse in the MCU.”

Casting Maguire as a pizza delivery guy is also a nod to his role in Spider-Man 2, in which Peter Parker balanced his work at the Daily Bugle, complicated love life and superhero activities with a part-time job at Joe’s Pizza in New York.

One fan has taken Lee’s idea further and suggested Garfield could also join the Far From Home as the person who ordered the pizza. As it stands, however, there is only a petition to see Maguire in the superhero sequel. Sorry, Andrew.

Marvel movies are packed with references and cameos from the likes of Stan Lee, and some might remember how The Incredible Hulk TV actor Lou Ferrigno appeared in Louis Leterrier’s 2008 movie of the same name.

At the time of writing, more than 41,000 people have signed the Maguire petition, and with filming under way on Spider-Man: Far From Home, there is every possibility that director Jon Watts could find a cameo for the actor.

Spider-Man 2 is often cited as one of the best superhero movies of all time, and set a high standard for comic book movies before the MCU. It sounds like a great idea for Watts to homage Raimi’s legacy, and although Lee’s idea is a clever one, does it really top Tom Holland’s idea to have Maguire play Uncle Ben in a flashback sequence?

Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Far From Home stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Hemky Madera, Tony Revolori, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cobie Smulders and Samuel L. Jackson. It hits theaters on July 5, 2019.