Category Archives: Reviews

Any review that is done for the website be it music, video, convention, concert or trade show. The sky is the limit and all are found under one section.

Testing Etymotic’s ER-20XS High-Fidelity Earplugs

etymotic logo

Some time ago I did one of those Public Service Announcements about wearing earplugs if you go to a lot of loud events like concerts and sporting things which was posted HERE. A couple of months ago I was investigating some options for our media enterprise and resultant of said perusing received a pair of Etymotic Research’s High Fidelity earplugs for my use. I’ve penned a few thoughts about them below the image. These are the actual earplugs I have been using but don’t you worry they are clean. I promise.

etymotic earplugs, earplugs,

For many months I had been using the Flents earplugs that were discussed in that other narrative but these Etymotic ones are of a different caliber and of course a higher price as well. As opposed to being soft foamy types, these are ribbed sectors on a harder piece of plastic and there is even a small grip to the end which allows for easier placement and removal. There is a cord included with the pair but I had to remove this since it got all tangled up in my camera strap and caused them to be pulled out right at a critical point in a recent Megadeth concert. Trust me my friends that is NOT the place you suddenly want to have your eardrums exposed. Like most Metal shows they are pumping at a solid 120db and I know this for a fact since I’ve been using a handy little app on my Galaxy Note 4. You readers should download that as well to see what you are exposing yourself too. So back to the earplugs – They are on the comfortable side which is important to me and while they are protecting me from the larger audio sonics I didn’t feel as though the show itself was being compromised which is also rather important since I am attending these shows for the sake of music reporting.
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Exploring Play Fair 2016: A New Event Debuts

Logo - Toy Fair - 2016

I’m hoping that you have been enjoying the posts from this years Toy Fair that I have been loading up here on the Chronicles of PiercingKen over the last few days.  As I mentioned at the beginning of those narratives, our readers are going to get to enjoy even more from the Toy Fair thanks to this site since I will featuring posts from the companies that don’t fit all that well on the PiercingMetal.com site.  This years event was super special because it was going to introduce a new side event that consumers could participate in and bring along the little ones – They called it “Play Fair” and I’m using this post to showcase the highlights.  This was the first consumer accessible event connected to Toy Fair that had taken please because remember that Toy Fair is an Industry Only event and not open to the general public.  Here we go.

Logo - Play Fair - 2016

The Play Fair event would run on the Saturday and Sunday on the same days as Toy Fair but was held way on the other side of the Javits Center in the area where we often find Artist Alley taking place during the NY Comic Con.  The press attendees were welcome to explore Play Fair at their leisure but on the first day would have an unencumbered hour to browse and meet the vendors that were present.  With a laundry list of appointments between Skeleton Pete and myself, we opted for the preview hour.  As you can see the space was guarded by a giant Lego Incredible Hulk.

play fair ny, play fair ny 2016

Here’s the space where the masses would soon assemble and everyone was rushing to get ready.  It was beyond cold today with temperatures at around 5 degrees but with the wind it was even worse.  Hopefully they get the folks lined up outside in the venue quick.

play fair ny, play fair ny 2016
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Exploring Toy Fair 2016: The TIA @ 100 Years

Logo - Toy Fair - 2016

Hello again. When last we met and began discussing the findings at the 2016 American International Toy Fair which I just called Toy Fair, I had presented the winners of the “Toy Of The Year” awards in their own post. Now before I get underway with the amazing companies that I am sharing here on The Chronicles Of PiercingKen, I wanted to share this awesome walk through history about the Toy Industry Association. They are celebrating their 100th anniversary with this years event and I felt that such a milestone deserved a post of its own. Here is the display from afar.

tia at 100 years, toy industry association history

Now that the full shot has been taken care of, let me go through this lineage panel by panel. I hope you can read them, I tried to get it all as large as possible without ruining the shot. See you at the close.
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Exploring Toy Fair 2016: Toy Of The Year 2016 Winners

Logo - Toy Fair - 2016

As previously mentioned, I was going to be a part of Toy Fair 2016 and lock in my sixth straight year at this amazing convention as a member of the online press. The coverage for this year’s go round was going to be presented to the readers of both of my websites with the more collectible action figures and fantasy stuff going to PiercingMetal.com and the more for younger audiences stuff happening right here.

toy fair 2016, toy of the year 2016 winners, toty 2016 winners

toy fair 2016, toy of the year 2016 winners, toty 2016 winners
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Exploring The PDN Photoplus Expo (2015): Part 2

Hey there, so we are back with the rest of the visuals that were snagged at this years PDN Photoplus Expo. Since I took almost 100 images, I decided to split up the posts into two. Now let’s continue on with the sights and awesome products. I’ll chime in as necessary and if you somehow missed “Part 1” from the adventure just click on THIS LINK to get up to speed.

pdn photoplus expo, pdn photoplus expo 2015

pdn photoplus expo, pdn photoplus expo 2015
Continue reading Exploring The PDN Photoplus Expo (2015): Part 2