Matthew Bailey

Not often do we hear about a crossover between mixed martial mrts and nerd culture, yet recently it's become more common for people in any of the common fandoms like #popculture, #anime, #gaming or even #cosplay to become MMA fans. The draw of MMA has a lot to do with the intense nature of the sport and the massive followings that several fighters have built while MMA rose to become one of the most watched sports, surpassing Major League Baseball with over 300 Million worldwide fans.

Growing up I often had my nose buried in any number of fantasy novels, from the Lord of the Rings to Percy Jackson, from Harry Potter to Maze Runner. Each story was a new adventure and having the intensely vivid imagination that I have, these sagas would always whisk me away and wrap me up in the magic, mythos and danger that were being told.

Star Wars has become the largest generational film franchise, with sets of films bringing in audiences since the late '70s with the original trilogy starring Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill. Fans have watched as these films grew into a sprawling universe filled with novels, comics, animated cartoons, and further reaching feature films over the last four decades. Many of the original trilogy fans have passed their love for the series down generation to generation.

Although it has been rumored for some time, the official announcement came in mid December that Disney would acquire a majority of 21st Century Fox for an astounding $52.4 billion. This anticipated merger is the second largest in the entertainment industry at roughly half the cost of the AOL-Time Warner merger in 2001, and could have long-lasting impact on the future of Hollywood.

Considering that there is officially 1 day left in 2015 (at least where I am), the year is basically a wrap, and thanks to my friend Samuel we have a year-end wrap-up for 2015. Here are the quick-fire questions:

I've always been a fan of a good graphic artist who can capture the essence of whatever they are recreating or bring to life something fresh and new. I consider myself a newbie when it comes to skill even though I've been using Photoshop and Illustrator for 10+ years, and there are a few graphic artists who astound me with their work.