PAX Australia 2022 & Melbourne Day 4 & 5 – Explore-It

TL;DR – We dive into PAX properly and discover all the new indies out there.

Disclosure – I paid for all products featured or mentioned here.

Set Phasers to 'Fun'

PAX Australia & Melbourne Day 4 & 5

Well, it may be almost a year late, but we are finally getting to the end of our PAX 2022 series with a look at the final days. It was the last day of PAX Aus, and for the first time, I actually took the time to stop and have a decent breakfast down by the river as the morning Sun warmed off the previous night’s rain. It was a beautiful day by any standards, but apparently quite good for Melbourne’s sometimes temperamental weather.  

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Mapping the Transformers Series – Map-It

TL;DR – We map the many locations featured in Transformers, including that one time that all the Transformers went on holiday to Havana for some reason.  

Optimus Prime.

Mapping Transformers

With the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, I decided it was a good time to go back and look at the Transformers Series as a whole. There are some areas where it is still the trailblazer it was and others that have aged, as well as blue cheese, left out in the summer sun. You can read it all HERE.

However, as I started this process, I wondered how global the series got, given its first very American focus and then that odd moment when China was bribing good coverage in Hollywood. Before I knew it, a map was being made, and it might have been the best part of looking back.  

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Indiana Jones Series Review – Exploring a Franchise

TL;DR –.We look at the varied highs and lows of the Indiana Jones franchise up to now.   

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed these films

Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Image Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Indiana Jones

There are moments when you sit around with nothing to do for a weekend and decide it is time to dive into some nostalgia from the past. With Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny coming out later this month, and it has been years since I had seen the older films, some not since cinemas, it was good timing when they all appeared on Disney+ this week. Well, good time with a massive dash of marketing. So we dive back in time not quite to a galaxy far, far away, but not, not a galaxy far, far away.

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Mapping the Indiana Jones Trilogy – Map-It

TL;DR – We map the route that Indiana Jones took on his adventures in the first trilogy of films.  

Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Image Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Mapping Indy

Whenever I upload one of my maps, I ask if there is anything else people would like to map? Often I get some excellent suggestions. After I uploaded my Independence Day Map, I probably got the best suggestion [and well timed one] so far because with the new Indiana Jones coming out later this month, it was the perfect time to jump back in and revisit the old films. Also, unlike many films today, the Indiana Jones films know how to use a map.

Indiana Jones Map - America. Image Credit: Brian MacNamara.
Flying through the East Coast of America. Image Credit: Brian MacNamara.
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Dinosaurs of Patagonia and QSO Cinematic – Explore-It

TL;DR – We dabble in some dinosaurs and music as we take a trip down to Brisbane

Disclosure – I paid for my entry and everything you see purchased in this article.

Dinosaurs and Music

As we slowly get back to a newish normal, I have been trying to get out of the house a little bit more, not that I did it a lot before. But it is time to get out and explore some more, and where best to start is always with a map.

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Mapping the War of 1996 [Independence Day] – Map-It

TL;DR – We map the carnage over four days of July in 1996 on Independence Day.

The Aliens arrive over New York.

Mapping Independence

Well, I had been feeling off, and when that happens, one of the best remedies is to go back to one of your comfort films. While everyone has their own list of comfort films, mine include Ever After, 10 Things I Hate About You, and today’s focus Independence Day.     

As I was watching the film, I wondered what the global extent of the attack would be because the film’s focus is America, but it was an international event, given what we can see in snippets throughout the film. I went through the original movie with a fine-toothed comb and any references in Independence Day Resurgence to get the locations here. However, this only painted part of the picture, and the novel of the first film differs from the movie in places, so that is an issue.

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Map-It – Worth-It – 2023

TL;DR – We map out every restaurant featured on About To Eat’s Worth-It

Image Credit: Buzzfeed.

Map-It – Worth-It

Over the years, I have enjoyed a show on YouTube with a unique simple premise, but one crafted to perfection. The show’s hosts, Steven Lim and Andrew Ilnyckyj, along with Adam Bianchi and others, visit three restaurants based around a theme like Breakfast Sandwiches, Korean Soup, or Fried Chicken, to name a few. Each restaurant is categorised into three groups, and at the end of the show, they all come together to see which was the most ‘worth it’ for the asking price.

In the before times, we put together a map of all the restaurants that the show had visited. However, with the announcement that this current season would be the show’s last, it was the right time to return to the map and give it the update it needed.

Image Credit: Buzzfeed.
There is so much amazing chicken in this show. Image Credit: Buzzfeed.
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Civilization VI: Leader Pass – Full Map – Map-It

TL;DR – Every single feature of Civilization VI (at the time of posting) in one Map, featuring the new additions from the Leaders Pass.

Civ 6 Mapped –

Well, back when I finished the New Frontier’s Pass Map, I had assumed that this was the final entry into the Civilization VI map series that we started all the way back in 2017. However, here we are in 2023 with some new additions.

To be clear, there are no significant updates, but that completionist side of me could not let it lie. With this update, several cities are being upgraded to capitals and some new additions to the city list, including the addition of Munich, which has appeared on people’s city lists for Germany since the start but is only appearing today.    

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PAX Australia & Melbourne Day 3 – Explore-It

TL;DR – We dive into PAX properly and discover the power of a queue.

Disclosure – I paid for all products featured or mentioned here.

The Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre

PAX Australia & Melbourne Day 3

After surviving my first day at PAX, I was slightly more confident about where I was in the city of Melbourne. Walking through a drying town that had been rained on, but I was still dry, I got to see more of its faces.

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PAX Australia & Melbourne Day 2 – Explore-It

TL;DR – We dive into PAX properly and discover the power of a queue.

Disclosure – I paid for all products featured or mentioned here.

The Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre

PAX Australia & Melbourne Day 2

After staying dry as the storms of Day 1 bucketed down, drenching the city, I took the first tentative steps down the shores of the Yarra River. I had explored Brisbane and Sydney before, but this was the first real-time getting to the heart of Melbourne.

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