My fiancé and I were planning to go to Seattle despite Emerald City Comic Conbeing canceled. After further consideration, we decided to cancel everything. I thought of my mom, who’s retired, and I would hate to be responsible for getting her sick. In all honesty, I was disappointed. I recognized later on that with the virus, I have to be considerate of the people around me. My fiancé suggested taking a last-minute road trip through Michigan, and it was the vacation I needed.
We left on Wednesday for Traverse City, Michigan. From the Twin Cities, we drove through Wisconsin, up the Upper Peninsula, across the Mackinaw Bridge to Traverse City. I live for road trips, and I liked being able to catch up on my podcast backlog.
Traverse City is a bay town with a cute downtown shopping area. I kid you not, Traverse City has at least five bookstores. My heart practically burst with excitement. I spent $90 on books, graphic novels, and comics. It was fun to walk to all the shops Traverse City had to offer. Traverse City has many breweries downtown and driving access to at least thirteen nearby wineries. This was a weekend where I ate good food and drank beer and wine throughout.
There’s nothing worse (in my opinion) than being so busy on a vacation that you need a vacation from your vacation. This weekend, I was able to read a whole book start to finish, along with listening to a variety of podcasts. There were times when my fiancé and I took time to relax, and it was needed. I feel rejuvenated to return to work.
I’m fortunate that I was able to take a trip despite the Coronavirus spreading. My work just sent a mass email permitting all of us to work from home. I’m personally looking forward to lying around in comfy pants, wearing a geek t-shirt, and having my mug of coffee on my desk. I’m happy to be back in my normal routine, and I will be posting blog posts on a much more regular basis. Thanks for sticking around.
One of my best friends messaged me asking if I was still going to Emerald City Comic Con. Many creators have cancelled their appearances due to the outbreak. My fiancé and I had a long conversation about this and whether we wanted to put ourselves at risk by traveling. After much deliberation, we agreed to still fly to Seattle, but I would limit my four-day press badge to one day. Should Emerald City Comic Con cancel the convention entirely?
Earning the press badge for Emerald City Comic Con was going to be a major highlight in 2020. Seattle is a city I have always wanted to visit. I was happy my fiancé wanted to come along, so I didn’t have to travel alone. I felt disappointed at the idea of cancelling our trip.
Emerald City Comic Con is responsible for the safety of its guests. On Emerald City’s main page, it lists how they’re preparing for the virus by upping sanitation efforts. While this is comforting, it doesn’t eliminate the mini panic I had about getting sick. The artists who cancelled had loved ones, small children, or older family members whom they didn’t want to put at risk. Is my trip going to endanger people I love?
Ultimately, I don’t know what the right decision is for Emerald City. Some say cancel, others say no worries. I believe in doing what’s best for you. I have stopped reading random internet articles about the coronavirus because there’s so much panic and inaccurate information spreading. I’m monitoring the Seattle State Health Department along with the CDC for updates, and that’s about it.
Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts in the comments. Should Emerald City Comic Con cancel its show?
Usually, I don’t watch gaming streamers. However, The Command Zone YouTube channel is one of my exceptions. The Command Zone is a Magic: The Gathering channel where they almost always play Commander. Commander is a format where one card is your Commander, and your deck complements this card. This is the form of Magic I play because I can utilize every single card since the game’s existence in the early ’90s. If you play Magic: The Gathering, I cannot recommend this channel enough.
Hosted by Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong, they bring two other players onto their show to play a round of Commander. I’m currently watching the episode where they bring fans onto their show to play. This episode has been my favorite as the fan they chose is really good at the game and gives both Josh and Jimmy a run for their money.
Each episode of Game Knights features four players playing against each other. These episodes can range from forty-five minutes to an hour and a half. I don’t have the attention span to watch an episode in one sitting, so I watch ten minutes of each episode whenever I have free time. I have the Game Knights playlist in one of my internet tabs, so I can return to it at any time.
Discovering The Command Zone has inspired me to start deck-building again. I’m building a red/green big creatures deck with the new cards from the Theros Beyond Death set. I haven’t built a deck in a few years, so it’s exciting to feel inspired to return to crafting decks. This inspiration has come from the Command Zone.
I have had a love/hate relationship with Magic: The Gathering for a while, and watching The Command Zone has invigorated my love for the game. It’s not often that I become this invested in gathering cards from my collection. If you’re a Magic: The Gathering player, this is a YouTube channel you need to subscribe to. They have a podcast if you prefer podcasts over YouTube. The Command Zone can be found on YouTube or through their podcast available on Stitcher or Apple Podcasts.
Besides being an avid coffee drinker, I enjoy a good pint of beer. Breweries are one of my favorite places to hang out on a Friday night. Bring a couple of board games, meet up with friends, and possibly play Pinball or Shuffleboard, depending on the brewery. My friends invited me to the 11th Annual Winter Beer Dabbler that occurred this past Saturday, February 22nd. Outdoor events can be risky in Minnesota, but I couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous winter day.
Walking into the Beer Dabbler, many brewery tents were lining the grounds. We were given these smaller glasses, which we could bring to the brewery tents for unlimited beer. I tasted an Oreo-flavored stout, which wasn’t half bad, but I probably wouldn’t order it again. I also tried the “Winona Rider” beer from Winona, MN. I was disappointed because I didn’t love the taste. My favorite breweries include Back Channel, Castle Danger, and Modist. There were also plenty of photo opportunities, including in front of the Beer Dabbler Ice Sculpture.
I was slightly nervous with the event being outdoors and there being only porta-potties. I consider myself to be a bathroom snob, so if I can avoid porta-potties or bathroom lines, that would be ideal. However, I was surprised by how many there were, and there were indoor bathrooms in one of the other indoor buildings for the event. There is a special kind of hell in which you have to pee, but you cannot find a bathroom.
I genuinely felt I got my money’s worth in this event. I paid $57 to drink unlimited beer from my favorite breweries. I was able to keep my souvenir glass, and live music was playing the whole time. Next year, I want to come prepared in a special Beer Dabbler outfit with a food necklace. If you’re a beer drinker, I’d highly recommend doing an event like this. I’m all about supporting local breweries, and this is one way to do that. I was able to drink beer, take pictures with friends, and have a fun night outside in the Minnesota winter.
My favorite season is, without a doubt, Autumn. It’s the reason that my fiancé and I have decided to get married in October. When I heard about the graphic novel partnership between Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks and how it revolved around an apple orchard, I knew this would be an automatic purchase. Pumpkinheads is the cutest, fall-themed graphic novel I have ever read. Instead of writing a typical review, I decided to use this inspiration to do my ABCs of Autumn. One word per letter of the alphabet to summarize fall. Here we go:
A is for. . . Autumn
Autumn is a better word to describe the season than Fall. It’s a beautiful word to say.
B is for . . . Books.
Being able to read a book with the sunlight filtering in my reading corner is heavenly. I plan on re-reading Pumpkinheads around August to get myself hyped up for the season.
C is for . . . Cinnamon / Apple Cider floats
A tradition I hold for attending the Renaissance Festival is ordering an apple cider float with cinnamon ice cream. It’s slightly spicy, less sweet, and the best beverage for Autumn. I believe you can make this boozy by adding cinnamon schnapps or hard apple cider.
D is for . . . Dress Code
Autumn is for cardigans in themed colors. Plaid shirts with dark jeans and thigh-high boots in light and dark browns. Graphic sweaters with fall-themed patterns. The style this time of year is what I live for.
E is for . . . Exercise
When Autumn hits, I walk outdoors for exercise. Looking at the colors of the leaves, seeing the sun rising high in the sky, and feeling the cool breeze move my hair. It’s truly bliss. I will work out outdoors instead of being stuck indoors.
F is for . . . Friends
Doing fall-themed activities with friends. The Renaissance festival, apple orchards, and visiting the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. ‘Tis the season for fun events with friends.
G is for. . . Grantolini
Grant is my fiancé. Early on in our relationship, I started calling him Grantolini. The name has stuck.
H is for. . . Halloween
Halloween is my favorite holiday that’s not a typical holiday. I adore costumes, reading horror-themed literature, watching scary movies, and wearing a costume. Last year, I was the Angel of Death, which was a spontaneous costume idea I had on Halloween. Me and a few friends went to a brewery and had a few beers in costume. Last year, Halloween was a special memory because the day after was the last day at my old job. I started my new job, which I’m currently in, and I’m super happy at.
I is for . . . Igniting Candles
Grant has picked up numerous fall-themed scents in candles. Being able to light a pumpkin or cinnamon smelling candle makes our apartment smell amazing.
J is for. . . Josiah & Deja
Josiah is one of the main characters in Pumpkinheads. He is emotional, real, and passionate about the apple orchard. Deja is outgoing, quite the opposite of Josiah. These two characters make Pumpkinheads as enjoyable as it is to read.
K is for . . . Kitchen
When I have the time to cook, I enjoy being in the kitchen preparing a new recipe. Fall-themed recipes include hot dishes (in Minnesota, we don’t use the term casserole), chilis, and soups.
L is for . . . Leaves
Leaves falling everywhere. Seeing the leaves pile up and kids playing in them… so cute.
M is for. . . Maroon
Maroon is an autumn color. It’s one color I would love to have as my wedding color.
N is for. . . Nippy
This is how the temperature is like in Autumn. I can walk outside with a cardigan or light jacket. I could wear a cute hat or gloves and I would be warm.
O is for. . . Orange
Maroon, burgundy, and orange would be my three color choices for an autumn-themed wedding.
P is for. . . Pumpkin Coldbrew Coffee
There’s a coffee shop/game store in my area that makes the best pumpkin infused, cold brew coffee. It’s a cold, black coffee with hints of pumpkin. It’s so good. Every year, I message this shop asking when it will be available. They used to sell growlers of it and this year I’m committed to purchasing one.
Q is for. . . Quilts and blankets
Sitting next to me is a quilt I received from Grant’s twin brother. This quilt comes from Senegal where he is in the peace corp serving his last year. I’m also using a quilt made by my grandmother. I love cozying up underneath multiple quilts and blankets.
R is for. . . Renaissance
The Renaissance Festival in Minnesota. I go almost every year. It’s fun to walk around, see the shows, and eat some fall treats. As mentioned, I always order the apple cider float. Another fun part of the Renaissance Festival is shopping for jewelry. I look for earrings, necklaces, and rings.
S is for. . . Spooky
Last year, we made a trip to Goodwill for Halloween decorations. We found so many cute items to hang. It made me happy to see Halloween stickers on the windows and knick-knacks on our sofa table. We will need more window stickers for this year.
T is for. . . Tea
I drink more tea in Autumn than in any other season. I like vanilla black tea if I want caffeine. Green tea is more for when I need less caffeine. If I’m feeling in the mood or sick, I like spicy cinnamon tea.
U is for. . . Umbrella
Autumn can be a rainy time of year. I lost my polka dot umbrella and I’m notorious for forgetting to bring an umbrella even though I know it’s going to rain. Additionally, I love breaking out my British / Union Jack rain boots.
V is for. . . Vivid
Vivid colors! Enough said.
W is for. . . Wedding
I will be disappointed if we don’t get married in October. We haven’t found a venue, but we toured one we like. We want to make sure we settle on a venue we love. Weddings are expensive.
X is for. . . being Xtra
Taking a selfie with the first Pumpkin coffee drink or using Instagram to take a boomerang of you throwing leaves. It’s a time to be Xtra this season.
Y is for. . . Young
I’m not a mom. If I decide to have children, I will take my kids to the apple orchard, the Renaissance Festival, and other fall-themed events. I want to share my joy with my kids again if my life path allows for kids.
Z is for. . . Zigzagging through a Haunted House or Maze.
I haven’t done a corn maze in a while. I went to a haunted maze at Valleyfair’s Valleyscare. Valleyfair is a small amusement park south of the Twin Cities area where I’m from. I don’t like going to the amusement park in summer, but in Autumn, they make it up to be Halloween-themed. I haven’t been back in a while, but I hope to go this year.
Yay, I found a word for every letter of the alphabet. If you haven’t read Pumpkinheads, you need to. Pumpkinheads is written by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks. Pumpkinheads can be purchased at any place where books are sold, though I highly recommend supporting your local book store.
Content Warning: Discussions about harm to children and violence against women. This is a truly horrific crime. I won’t go into any details about the crime itself because I don’t want to glorify it. However, I will touch on a basic background of the case.
With the writing I do for Twin Cities Geek, I’m on all kinds of early access emails. One of the emails I received was about the book My Daddy is a Hero: How Chris Watts Went From Family Man to Family Killer. This details the true crime story of Chris Watts. I was graciously sent a review copy of this book to read. This is a heavy book to read, and while it was interesting, I don’t think I can ever re-read it again.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
I remember watching Chris Watts on TV stating how much he wanted his wife and their two children to be returned. Turns out, Chris murdered them all, and he’s now serving consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. What’s so scary about this is that Chris didn’t look like a killer. He looked like an ordinary person. Detailed in Lena’s book, not one person who was interviewed in this case would have believed Chris would have killed his entire family, so why did he?
Lena does a great job detailing the background information leading up to their deaths. She goes to great length in painting a picture of Shanann. Shanann is a beautiful, loyal, and happy mother who moved to Colorado from North Carolina to raise their daughters. It seemed like Shanann and Chris had a perfect marriage.
Lena Derhally is a licensed psychotherapist who specializes in relationship therapy. She mentions red flags in a relationship that shouldn’t be ignored. The sad part about reading these is that I have seen these in my friend’s relationships, along with my relationships, in the past. I want to list them out for you all:
They exhibit no empathy for you or your perspective. – Empathy isn’t the same as sympathy. The definition of empathy is understanding and sharing the feelings of someone else. Sympathy is offering condolences, but not trying to understand what that person is going through.
They’re ready to walk away or retreat emotionally. – This is seeing someone become a different person. Did they used to do romantic gestures, and now will go days on end without talking to you? This might be a leap in predicting if someone can be violent, but it’s something to be aware of.
They gaslight you. – For those who aren’t aware, gaslighting is where someone makes it seem like it’s your fault for something they have done. For example, if a partner is caught cheating. If their first reaction is to say that it’s your fault they strayed, run the fuck away. You have every right to feel the way you do. This is incredibly abusive and manipulative.
Trust your gut. – Women, especially, are taught to be respectful and kind to everyone they meet. If you feel unsafe or if someone keeps trying to talk to you, be rude. This is difficult for me as I’m generally a nice person, and feeling rude feels out of character for me. Our gut is usually right. Be rude and get out. This is easier said than done, but it’s worth noting.
This is a True Crime book that’s extremely well written. It gives a couple of gentle reminders about what can be signs of an abusive relationship. I don’t want to forget Shanann’s existence and how she was an exuberant person in the lives of many. Bella and CeCe were bright and spirited girls who carried their dolls around with them everywhere. I hope they’re all at peace.
Once a month, I get together with my brother, uncle, and our family friend to play games. It’s either a whole day spent playing Magic: The Gathering or it’s a day entirely devoted to board games. Towards the beginning of January, my uncle brought out Star Wars: Outer Rim for us all to try. This will be repetitive, but my favorite way to enjoy Star Wars is through gaming. I mentioned this in my Star Wars Destinyarticle I wrote recently. Star Wars: Outer Rim is no exception, as it’s a strategic game meant to be played with a decent-sized gaming group.
Star Wars: Outer Rim focuses on the planets within Star Wars that are filled with villainy and chaos. Each player picks a pilot, a ship, and a scorecard to track progress. Picking a pilot was easy when I saw Jyn Erso was included in this game. Jyn is easily one of my favorite female Star Wars protagonists to date. Seeing Rogue One representation in Star Wars: Outer Rim gives me a great first impression of the game.
The board is designed in a half circle with planets and travel routes for movement. The goal of the game is to be the most famous flyer in the whole galaxy. This can be done by completing jobs, defeating various patrols, or adventuring with more complex quests. Sometimes skill checks are required to complete a job. For example, Jyn starts with skills, but none of those skills include piloting. I had a mission where I had to utilize the piloting skill specifically to complete the mission. I spent multiple turns rolling and failing my roles because I was at a disadvantage of not having the piloting skill already. This is a huge reason why I lost the game we played.
Star Wars: Outer Rim isn’t an easy game, but not too difficult either. As I mentioned with my failed skill check, it can be difficult to complete missions without having the proper skill. Although you can pick up crew members who have varying skills to help you succeed in missions. One of my fellow players stole K-2SO from me, and I’m still salty about it.
One benefit of this game is having the freedom to do what you want with your character. With Jyn Erso, I ended up taking down a couple of tie fighters, which lowered my reputation with the Imperial fleet. It doesn’t matter who you partner with, but having alliances or enemies will impact how you fly throughout the Rim.
The only minor complaint I had was how turn order can take a bit. We had four people in our group, and I found myself feeling bored when it wasn’t my turn. I don’t think this is something that can be fixed with Star Wars: Outer Rim. The game is strategic, so game turns will take a little longer.
Star Wars: Outer Rim works best with more players. I would say three players would be ideal, recognizing that with four players, turns take longer. Star Wars: Outer Rim is made by Fantasy Flight Games and can be purchased through FFG’s website or your local game store.
If you have been active on Twitter in the past six months, you have probably seen some tweets about a hot priest. Andrew Scott from Sherlock is the one to blame for this trend. He stars as the love interest in the Amazon Prime TV show, Fleabag. This hot priest trend is what got me into watching Fleabag in the first place. Fleabag is a cleverly written, inventive comedy, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge deserves all the acting awards.
Fleabag stars. . . Fleabag. Fleabag is a confused, sexually active woman played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Fleabag lives in London, where she runs a guinea pig cafe that’s failing miserably. Her co-owner and best friend died after committing suicide after discovering her boyfriend had been cheating on her. Each episode reveals more about Fleabag’s life and her troubled relationships with her family. Olivia Coleman plays Fleabag’s manipulative and annoying step-mom. Both Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Olivia Colman do an excellent job of creating this family dynamic.
One of the main messages in the show is owning your mistakes. Fleabag makes a major mistake, which I won’t reveal because it’s a big spoiler. This mistake haunts Fleabag, and she struggles with forgiving herself and moving forward. The last episode of season #1 got to me, and I started crying along with Fleabag as she unravels all the decisions she made.
Now I have to mention the hot priest. The chemistry between Andrew Scott and Phoebe Waller-Bridge is unreal. The way they act together makes you genuinely believe they could make it as a couple, even though the hot priest can’t have sex. These two are my favorite OTP of 2020, and the year has barely begun.
Fleabag is only two seasons long with six episodes per season, so it’s a quick watch. Phoebe Waller-Bridge took home a Golden Globe for this role, and Fleabag won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series. If this doesn’t convince you to watch the show, I’m not sure what will.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy Star Wars is through gaming. The Star Wars fandom can be toxic at times, whereas the gaming community is more about bonding over the fandom and playing board games. A card game I used to play,Star Wars: Destiny, is officially being discontinued by Fantasy Flight Games.It’s a shame because this game was fun, but I’m not surprised to hear it’s being discontinued.
I was introduced to Star Wars Destiny in 2016. My friend worked at a game shop while we were in college. She called me and told me to come try out Star Wars: Destiny as the pre-release was happening that day. I was broke thanks to getting my degree, but I borrowed cards from other players to create a deck. I was enthralled with the game mechanics.
However, Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) didn’t do the best at judging how popular this game would be. Our game store ran out of stock immediately.This puts a damper on playing a deck-building game if you can’t buy the cards. It took FFG a long time before stock became available.
In the summer of 2017, I started working at a game shop as a side gig. My store had trouble selling Destiny because of a lack of interest from not finding the cards. By the time FFGgot around to getting stock in stores, interest had declined to the point where my store stopped selling Destiny because it wasn’t profitable.
The fact that Destiny has lasted this long in production completely shocks me. If only FFG could have predicted how popular this game would be, I don’t think they would be stopping production of the game.
Recently, I gave away all my Destiny cards to my brother as he still actively plays with friends. I have great memories playing Destiny and being introduced to the Star Wars gaming fandom. The Covert Missions boosters haven’t been released yet, but they will be the last boosters for the game. The Star Wars: Destiny championships will happen on May 1st through May 3rd at Fantasy Flight Game Center in Roseville, MN.
Lastly, if you would like to learn how to play, I have posted a video from FFG’s YouTube channel describing the gameplay. With the discontinuation of the game, I would purchase the product before it becomes unavailable.
I was at a work sponsored happy hour, drinking beer and mingling with my coworkers. The conversation turned into this guessing game of “Which high school superlative would you be?” We went around the circle coming up with which superlative represented each person in the group. My turn came and within fifteen seconds, someone shouted “the loudest.” Everyone started laughing. I was nervously giggling. I recognize that I’m a loud person, but it’s a deep insecurity of mine.
When I was younger, I was soft spoken. My teachers were concerned because throughout elementary school, I had one close friend. In 3rd grade, I started meeting other friends, but I didn’t approach anyone I didn’t know. This behavior continued into middle school and high school. I stuck with my closest friends and didn’t socialize with anyone else. This all changed when I went off to college. My mom and brother came to visit me within my first month of being at school. My mom made a comment I will never forget. She said, “You’re a different person in the short month you left. You’re flourishing here.”
There was a shift in college. I became more open, less insecure, and more comfortable meeting new people. This contributed to my so-called “loud voice”. Since graduating from college, I have worked two different jobs. In my first job, I was shushed when my voice increased in volume. When I say shush, I mean one of my managers put her finger to her mouth and shushed me in front of co-workers. I felt disrespected and ashamed. This is the start of my insecurity in my loud voice.
Another reason I feel insecure about how my voice carries is that people can hear me. If I’m heard, it allows anyone to judge me. If people hear me, they may debate me on certain political discussions or gossip behind my back. I believe this is a huge reason why I’m insecure about the volume of my voice.
I believe there are pros and cons to having a loud voice. I don’t want to change who I am, but I have to match the person I’m with. This is called mirroring. If I’m with someone quieter, I attempt to lower the volume of my voice. I wouldn’t say I’m changing who I am, instead, I aim to be respectful of the world I live in and who I’m socializing with.
Bizarre Brunette 