Monthly Archive:: July 2019
Jul 31 2019
Lizzo Brings the Tiny Desk Concert to New Heights
Minneapolis-based Lizzo has become synonymous with personality and groundbreaking performances—her shows often involve choreographed dancing, outrageous outfits, and a plethora of confidence. With that amount of character and talent, it is hard to imagine it took this long for her to be granted…
Jul 31 2019
CONvergence 2019 Thrives in Downtown Minneapolis
The semiofficial motto of CONvergence the past couple years has been “CONvergence is not a hotel, it is a people.” It emerged over the course of the tumultuous months leading up to the 2018 convention, which featured unexpected delicate negotiations with the hotel that had been its long tenured home.…
Jul 31 2019
Dusk Is the Classic First-Person Shooter at Its Best
The video-game industry was lucky enough to have a slew of top-tier first-person shooters in the late 1990s by some very talented companies: the likes of Doom, Quake, Half-Life, and Duke Nukem 3D reigned supreme. While we have plenty of greats in the genre today, these shooters of the late ’90s that popularized…
Jul 31 2019
Minnesota Game Makers Head to Gen Con 2019
I’m excited to be attending Gen Con for the first time this year. The convention boasts that it’s the largest gathering of tabletop gamers in North America, and I have always been a board gamer, a Magic: The Gathering deck builder, and a player in various role-playing campaigns.
Gen Con…
Jul 30 2019
Comics I’m Picking Up the Week of July 31, 2019
Here are the books I’m looking forward to seeing at my local comic store the week of July 31, 2019.Dear Justice League
Publisher: DC
Words/Story: Michael Northrop
Art/Colors: Gustavo Duarte
“The greatest heroes in the DC Universe, the Justice League of America, answer mail from their biggest…
Jul 30 2019
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Provides an Excellent Throwback Castlevania Experience
If you’ve been paying attention to video games for the past few years, you’ll know that Kickstarter is a popular platform for developers to try to create new IPs heavily influenced by their previous successful franchises. Games like Mighty No. 9, Yooka-Laylee, and Broken Age turned to…
Jul 29 2019
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Is a Unique Experience for Fantasy Fans
When it comes to anime genres, fantasy is like the color black—it goes with pretty much everything. It can contain elements of comedy and whimsy à la KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!, be more centered on love and romantic encounters as in Princess Tutu, or else have a gritty and grim tone…
Jul 28 2019
Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood Is a Sunset Trip
When studio filmmakers turn the cameras on the sausage factory of the film industry, it is usually hilarious, occasionally unbearably pretentious, and sometimes sublime. This can be an opportunity to take the audiences behind the scenes in very personal guided tour, a chance to shine the light on…
Jul 28 2019
This Week in Geek (7/29/19–8/4/19)
Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, July 29, to Sunday, August 4.
Monday Night Game Night
What: Gaming
When: Monday, July 29, at 5:00 p.m.
Where: Level Up Games (South St. Paul)
While it may be tough diving back into the workweek…
Jul 28 2019
Shasn Is a Board Game That Challenges You to Think like a Politician
A person’s commitment to their values can be measured by how much they are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of them. But what if that pursuit comes at the cost of the values themselves? This is the paradox that plagues politicians every day, as it is sometimes necessary to compromise one’s…