affiliate – Spidey Librarian

It’s Time to Add Miles Morales to My Compression Shirt Collection

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I’ve been gradually cultivating a collection of Spider-Man compression shirts, and have been meaning to add reviews and links to this site after I unbox and review them on my YouTube channel. It’s a fairly recent endeavor that I’m trying to create content for on a monthly basis, and with my most recent acquisition, I figured it’s time to start linking things to the website blog now. It’s a fun, low-stress way for me to create a brand, use my affiliate links, and let others see how this apparel looks.

If you’re looking to purchase the shirt I review in the video below, please consider using this Amazon affiliate link to do so.

As a Miles Morales fan, I was pretty happy with this shirt, and was happy to give it a good review. You can see the full video review below:

If you’d like to see more reviews of Spider-Man compression shirts, I’ve collected them in a playlist on my YouTube channel. Affiliate links are also available in the video descriptions.

This Cute, Fun RPG/Sandbox Game Has Been On My Mind Lately

Video Games

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Action RPGs have always been a favorite video game genre of mine, as some of my previous posts will make clear. And while I’ve never been a die-hard fan of sandbox games like Minecraft and Terraria, they’ve always been amusing occasional distractions that usually take away the anxiety that can come with the more action-oriented titles.

But in 2016, Square Enix published a game that took elements from both genres and combined them into a Dragon Quest title that puts a strong emphasis on building and creating (as opposed to fighting and conquering) while still driving an epic narrative that focused around rebuilding humanity up in a world ruled by monsters. And while I didn’t discover that Dragon Quest Builders even existed until several years after its release, once I heard of its existence I knew I was going to have to try it out.

Nintendo Switch
Digital Link

I knew I would want to play this game, but I also suspected it would be of interest to my partner, who is a big fan of cuteness and low-stress gaming. She tried out the demo after I mentioned it to her, and before we knew it I had ordered a copy of the game, and she was soon outpacing my progress by leaps and bounds. Eventually I resigned myself to watching her progress, knowing I probably wouldn’t get as far as she had for a LONG time.

I play Dragon Quest Builders every so often, mostly as a way to decompress from many of the higher stress games in which I tend to immerse myself. And even though I have yet to make a significant dent in the story material, I did recently stream some gameplay from the game’s start on my PlayStation 5.

First go at DQB on my PS5!

I’d really like to make a go at a full run of the game on stream, but I would imagine it would be in a series of occasional, interrupted sequence of streams where I need to relax and take a break from my Breath of the Wilds, or my Marvel Midnight Suns, or even my Hollow Knights. Those kinds of games.

I know there’s a sequel, 2018’s Dragon Quest Builders 2, and possibly a third installment on the way. I plan on playing through those in the future, too. I’m just not sure how soon, or how long it’ll take me…

Gifts Your Spider-Fan Will Love For Any Occasion, Part 1: Spider-Man Media

Books, Comic Books, List, Movies, Spider-Man, Video Games

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You might have guessed it by now, but I’m kind of a fan of a certain wallcrawling, web-slinging superhero. And while I may not always know how to anticipate my enemies’ attacks, I’m reasonably attuned to some of the desires of those who think Spider-Man and his friends are pretty great. While it might be a little late in the holiday season to grab these gifts or stocking stuffers, the nice thing about them is they make excellent selections for the Spider-Fan in your life the whole year round!

This was originally intended to be a single post covering a wide range of gifting ideas, but there are SO MANY different gift categories that feature Spider-Man, I’ve decided to break it up into several posts covering different gifting areas. Each article will contain links to both specific items and to general shopping areas where you can browse for other items in that section. We’ll cover the gamut, from graphic novels and video games to movies, collectibles, clothing and accessories that feature Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and so many of the characters we’ve come to know and love over the years.

And while these are by no means exhaustive listings of Spider-Man gift ideas, they should provide an excellent start to searching for something to satisfy your beloved Spider-Fan’s web-slinging heart! We’ll start with arguably the most popular category, narrative media — movies, TV shows, books, and video games!

So with that said, let’s have a look at some of the best gifts you can grab for your Spidey-obsessed friends, family and loved ones!

Video Games

Spider-Man has been featured in an enormous amount of video games, from a self-titled Atari 2600 game in 1982 to the spectacular 2018 Marvel’s Spider-Man and its superb half-sequel Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. In addition, he (and other Spider-Folks) have been a part of various Marvel video games, such as the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel Ultimate Alliance games. While there are probably too many to list here, and not all of the games he’s been in are guaranteed hits, there is no denying that the web-slinger is a hot commodity who’s basically made for video gaming.

In addition to the two latest Spider-Man games, we’re getting a sequel in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 in 2023. Here are a few personal recommendations for video games in which you can play as Spider-Man.

Graphic Novels — Spider-Man was created 60 years ago, and has been starring in his own comics as well as guest starring in others ever since. There is a LOT of lore that has developed in that time, much of which the movies, video games, and other media have pulled inspiration from to portray their particular depictions of Peter Parker, Eddie Brock, Miles Morales, and so forth. The adventures, trials, and tragedies Peter and his friends have endured in the comics over the decades feature compelling narrative, fantastic artwork, and tie-ins to the greater Marvel Comics universe.

Some stories from Spider-Man lore are truly iconic and stand out among the others. While I have many more recommendations than what’s shown here, this is a good sampling of tales from Spidey’s very storied history.

Movies — Spider-Man’s influence at the box office can not be denied. Filmmakers, moviegoers, and critics can’t seem to get enough of the webhead, no matter what they might actually say. While they’re not all smash successes, the overall body of Spider-Man films–as well as those of Spider-Man adjacent characters–makes for a much beloved and well regarded collection of stories. While I often watch the films digitally, I also like to have DVDs or Blu-Rays of them in case I somehow find myself without internet and craving a Spidey movie fix.

TV Shows — My first memories of Spider-Man come from the cartoons, and I struggle to remember a time when there wasn’t some iteration of the wallcrawler on the small screen. While there have been many versions of the webbed wonder on television–mostly, but not exclusively in animated media–it goes without saying that some shows were better than others. With that said, television has often been the first point at which children meet the arachnotastic superhero, and through which some of them are cultivated into Spider-Man enthusiasts.

A good number of these series are not available in boxed sets, but you can make up for some of these gaps by checking which streaming services, such as Disney Plus, offer them.

Books and Novelizations

While comic books and graphic novels probably come to mind first when most people think about Spider-Man, it is well worth noting that there is plenty of (primarily) prose media that covers the exploits of the wallcrawler, both in the fictional and non-fiction realms. While many of the novelizations are products of their time from several decades ago (and therefore difficult to find), there exist plenty of guides, encyclopedias, timelines and so forth that discuss the chronicled history of Spider-Man and his friends. These resources tend to get updated every so often, as Spidey’s adventures are always ongoing on the comics.

As you can see, there’s no shortage of adventures to read, play, and watch where the web-slinger is concerned. The items featured above are worthy additions to any Spider-Fan’s library, and will hopefully inspire some gift ideas as you shop for them.

Keep an eye out for the next post in this series, covering Spider-Man collectibles, in the near future!

The Components For My New Computer Have All Arrived!

Technology

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I’ve built one or two computers for myself over the years. While I’ve generally gotten through them with a working machine that runs really well, it’s sometimes necessary to have one of my more tech-savvy friends around either during or after the build in case there’s something I’ve missed. Building a computer is a fun, relatively inexpensive way to get a decent desktop PC that you can hopefully upgrade and keep around for a number of years, but if you don’t regularly do it, the process can get a little intimidating as benchmark standards, component ratings, and so forth shift and change.

For example, I’ve at least twice built myself a desktop PC. It’s been a few years for me, and when I went to look into the process of doing it this time, I nearly tossed my hands up in frustration and considered looking at pre-built computers.

Fortunately, I have a number of friends who either immerse themselves in this kind of thing or who once did, and they pulled me back from the brink. “You want better performance for your buck!” “That thing’ll be obsolete in 3 years, tops!” “Come on, you can basically futureproof this thing with enough ports and space!” These were some of the sentiments I got, and when paired with my memory of can-do computer making, they were enough to convince me to come back to the world of building one.

One of my more enterprising friends came to me with a build that looks like it should significantly upgrade my desktop PC capabilities, and put together a list of components I’ve been fortunate to get relatively quickly. Now that they’re all here, my friend and I are going to assemble them into what will hopefully be a machine I’ll be able to hold on to for a very long time.

I’m a gamer, streamer, and content creator, and while my current computer’s done me decently for the last few years, its age is becoming apparent. So, in order to hopefully make things go smoother and faster, I’ll be putting together a PC with these parts:

Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX PC Case – Black

If the size of the box is any indication, this tower is going to be HUGE! I don’t do a lot of research into computer chassis brands and manufacturers, but I’ve at least heard of Corsair, and I have a positive enough recollection to realize I should be getting a decent house for my machine’s inner workings. My friend is big on cable management, and this allows plenty of space for the components, as well as room to work in to keep all the cables untangled. It’s also got room for a large number of USB ports, which is something I’ll definitely need and appreciate for all my gaming, content creation, and productivity peripherals.

Motherboard: MSI X570-A Pro

Speaking of extra USB ports, this particular model has at least seven of them. That’s a lot of back-facing accessibility, which I’ve come to hear is important for certain apps and processes actually “seeing” and interacting with them. Aside from making sure it (1) fits well with the case, and (2) is compatible with the processor, the ports, inputs, and ability to keep everything cool and working well together are good reasons for making sure you choose a motherboard that can give you the flexibility and duration to help you make a PC that can last a long time.

Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 8-Core, 16-Thread with Radeon Graphics

The last time I built a computer, when it came down to the processor, one of the bigger metrics to determine speed was megahertz, gigahertz, etc. Cores were just becoming a marketable unit of measurement. Now, it looks like hertz speeds are all but irrelevant, and cores, threads, and processor generation and series numbers seem to be the more important measures of a good CPU. With that in mind, I bought my first AMD Ryzen at the suggestion of my friend, and he assures me this model will be more than adequate for my particular needs for a good long while. It also my have helped that there was a substantial price drop at the time I grabbed it.

Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB Nitro

The graphics card is usually the biggest technological, and financial, piece of a power PC, and this acquisition was no exception. With my friend’s knowledge of benchmarks and overall price points for GPUs, we were able to find a pretty nice price on a card that is leaps and bounds ahead of the one in my current PC. While it’s still a big bite out the build budget, I’m optimistic this graphics card will keep me gaming and editing videos nice and smoothly.

SSD: TEAMGROUP T-Force CARDEA Zero Z44L 1TB Gaming Internal SSD

The SSD used to be known as the internal hard drive, but I’m happy to see that solid state drives are supplanting the older, slower, magnetically vulnerable spinning drives that acted as the mass vault of memory for a computer’s files and programs. They’re now faster, more durable, and overall, simply more reliable. I’m certain this acquisition will do a fine job of keeping and storing the bulk of my computer’s data.

RAM: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4 32GB 3200MHz Desktop Memory

Ah, RAM, that good ol’ random access memory. It’s been around forever, and it’s probably not going anywhere for a while. RAM is another form of memory for your computer, but where your main drive holds EVERYTHING, your RAM keeps record of all the tasks and data you’re using frequently. More is better in computing, so the more RAM you have, the more it’ll help you. I’m not sure I’ve ever had 32 gigabytes of RAM on hand before, but I imagine this amount will help my processor and GPU keep things smooth and cool.

Power Supply: Rosewill SMG650 80 Plus 650W Fully Modular Power Supply

We’ll of course need to keep all these components powered! And not just powered, but making sure that each of them receives enough power that they can all function smoothly. While the model I’m using (pictured) doesn’t seem to be in stock as of this writing, I’ve linked to a power supply from the same manufacturer with similar numbers and price point as the one I’m using. I can’t guarantee it’ll be compatible with everything else here, so please do your research before you buy! With that said, I would imagine as long as it provides the wattage you need and you have the appropriate adapter, power supplies should be among the easiest components to switch out in a PC build.

Cooler: DeepCool AK400 ZERO DARK PLUS CPU Air Cooler

I’m going to be honest and say I don’t remember buying a cooler specifically for any of my previous builds. It’s possible I did and simply forgot, or I just didn’t need them for my previous computers. In any case, with the amount of hardware I’m running, and the amount of high intensity work I know they’ll be doing, it’s perfectly plausible that some extra help may be necessary in addition to anything the motherboard can provide. I’ll be happy if this cooler can keep my computer plugging along without overheating, and doesn’t get noticeably loud while it’s doing so.

Each of these components looks promising, and my friend and I will be getting together soon to get my new computer up and running. Keep an eye out for the livestream, which should happen this week! I’ll leave a link once the event happens.