Monthly Archive:: December 2020
Dec 22 2020
3 Flavorful Hot Drinks to Make This Winter
Even though the temperature keeps popping up above freezing, we all know that we’ll get some winter chills eventually. I personally like cold weather a lot, in part because it means I can enjoy hot drinks without feeling like I’m going to spontaneously combust. Tea is my go-to and the easiest,…
Dec 21 2020
Love & Olives Takes Readers on an Emotional Journey to Greece
No matter what is going on in the world, I have spent the past few years relying on Jenna Evans Welch when I’m in need of a lighter book to read. Love & Gelato is one of my favorite YA novels because it’s a mix of coming-of-age, summer romance, and touring the sights of Italy, and it’s…
Dec 20 2020
What Do Parenting and Fanfiction Have in Common?
Chances are you’ve probably seen at least one of the various alignment memes that have made the rounds on social media over the years. Some of them are straightforward, evaluating the traits of fictional characters or real-life people. Others, like the one about tea below that has come across both my…
Dec 20 2020
This Week in Geek (12/21/20–12/27/20)
Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, December 21, to Sunday, December 27.
Please note: Due to risks from the global COVID-19 pandemic, and in following current health guidelines recommending both social distancing and…
Dec 19 2020
Sound of Metal Is a Strong and Moving Take on Hearing Loss
Sound of Metal, now on Amazon Prime Video, soars past the cliché “disability drama” by placing us right in the middle of the anxiety that comes with someone coming to terms with hearing loss.
Riz Ahmed plays Ruben, a drummer who makes the horrifying discovery that he is losing his hearing.…
Dec 18 2020
Deep Rock Galactic Is One of the Best Cooperative Shooters in Ages
We could really use some cooperative games right now, and Deep Rock Galactic is just the game for the occasion, appealing to the grumpy dwarf in everyone. As an employee of the titular organization, you shoot and mine your way through the planet of Hoxxes IV in the never-ending quest to satisfy corporate…
Dec 18 2020
A Minneapolis Parking-Lot Projectionist Keeps the Lights on for Black Lives Matter Every Friday Night
On any Friday night, if you drive south down Lyndale Avenue near the western edge of downtown Minneapolis along I-94, you’ll spot an underpass where a projector has filled an entire 40-foot wall with animated lettering: “Black Lives Matter.” “When Is Enough Enough?” “F*** Trump.” At first blush, it…
Dec 17 2020
Getting Started with DIY Gin Infusions
If you domestic geeks have been keeping up with the articles by my fellow Twin Cities Geek writer K. N. Hamann, I’m sure you noticed her introduction to DIY vodka infusions at the beginning of October. I spent a few years as a bartender, and infusions have been one of my projects this year as well (when I’m…
Dec 17 2020
Jupiter and Saturn Will Align on the Night of the Winter Solstice
If you’ve gotten the chance to look up during the evenings recently, you’ve probably gotten at least one opportunity to see Jupiter and Saturn relatively clearly in the night sky. The two planets have been particularly visible throughout much of the later part of this year, especially…
Dec 16 2020
How Pokémon GO Helped Me Get through 2020
It’s October 2020. Origin Forme Giratina, a ghost dragon Pokémon of immense value to Pokémon GO players, is in raids—and for the first time, its shiny variant (rare alternative coloring) is available. My phone vibrates next to me as I feed my toddler a snack, and it’s a text from one of my managers…