Monthly Archive:: January 2017
Jan 31 2017
Lemony Snicket’s Unfortunate Series
My dear readers, I try to always give you my best when I write a review. I also try to be as brutally honest as possible, no matter who I offend. With that said, I feel as though I have reached new ground when it comes to the new Netflix original series Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.…
Jan 30 2017
Nostalgic, Cheap, and Satirical Thrills in Roger Corman’s Death Race 2050
There’s nothing quite like the campy joy of Death Race 2000. The ridiculous cars, the gory kills, the politically incorrect point system of slaughter, and the hilarious production values of conference rooms dressed up as hotel rooms all made for one heck of a fun B-movie. It was remade in 2008…
Jan 29 2017
Let It Die Is “Probably the Greatest Game Ever”
Let It Die is a freemium Sony exclusive. Described as a “super action game,” it is, on the surface, a fairly straightforward hack-and-slash adventure. Then things get a bit, well, weird.
Luckily for you, a skateboarding skeleton in 3-D glasses who enthusiastically refers to you…
Jan 29 2017
This Week in Geek (1/30/17–2/5/17)
Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, January 30th through Sunday, February 5th.
Knitting Social
What: Crafting, Meetup
When: Tuesday, January 31st at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Minnesota History Center
Get social and hang out with…
Jan 27 2017
Minnesota Gaming Conventions to Check Out in 2017
Minnesota, and particularly the Twin Cities area, is a great place for gamers. Maybe it’s all the time we spend indoors due to the weather, or maybe it’s just a natural evolution of the fan culture that has thrived here for over 50 years, but it’s difficult to do a perception check…
Jan 27 2017
Making the Nerdy New Year’s Resolution to Watch More Anime
I go back and forth a bit on whether I think New Year’s resolutions are a good idea. On the one hand, I like the nice, clean starting point that January 1st brings—manufactured or not, it gives me a fresh feeling of determination every year. But on the other hand, I don’t really think there’s…
Jan 26 2017
Minnesota Conventions for Writers and Book Lovers in 2017
With all of the great bookstores, publishers, authors, and writing programs in the Twin Cities, most of us aren’t surprised that Minneapolis and St. Paul are repeatedly ranked as some of the most literate cities in the country. As part of the literary culture, there are plenty of conventions…
Jan 26 2017
Throwback Thursday: With No Melodrama or Space Battles, 2001 Is Still a Space Opera
Throwback Thursday examines films from the past, “classic” films that might not be in the current cultural zeitgeist but can still be important, interesting, fun, or all of the above.
After a short overture, we’re brought into this film by the opening strains of Richard Strauss’s “Also sprach…
Jan 25 2017
Free Code Camp Twin Cities Brings Local Geeks Together to Learn
On a brisk Sunday afternoon, I got off the bus and headed toward the Minneapolis Central Library to meet some Internet strangers from Free Code Camp Twin Cities, a local community for people who are learning code on the website Free Code Camp.
The site is exactly what it sounds like: a place to learn to …
Jan 24 2017
Should I Bring My Child to a Convention?
Kids can have a great time at conventions, or they can be so miserable that the result makes a Ringwraith tea party look great by comparison. And even if your kid does have a great time, managing them may completely suck the joy out of your convention experience to the point you’re questioning why you even…