It seems like everything from cookies to Christmas decorations comes in a clear plastic box, and although they are convenient, they leave a lot of bulky waste behind. Fortunately, these are great materials for upcycling. With December and giftgiving time now upon us, I’ll share an easy kid-friendly DIY for holiday gift giving or decorating […]
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Like many others, Thanksgiving is a pretty big deal in our house. It has always been my husband’s favorite holiday, and has a soft spot in my heart. The first time I met his entire family was when I flew over from England to Salem, Massachusetts in 2001. For many years all things Christmas were […]
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This month, Studio Ghibli collaborated with Lucasfilm for a short and sweet hand-drawn surprise, Zen – Grogu and the Dust Bunnies. The small piece was directed by Katsuya Kondo, who directed Studio Ghibli favorites like Kiki’s Delivery Service, and was accompanied by the music of Ludwig Göransson who did The Mandalorian score. There is no […]
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It seems to be more and more common to see the spooky season and Halloween decorations go down and the Christmas and holiday season glitter and glitz immediately take its place. I know. The holidays and Christmas are busy times. We need to get ready for all the responsibilities of the season. There is work […]
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It’s the most popular game in the world. It’s also one of the hardest games to master. And finally, someone has tapped into the inherent story element I have loved since reading Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Whether you are brand new to the game or looking for a way to up your […]
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It’s beginning to look a lot like… Yeah, I know, it’s still a bit early for most of us (myself included). However, while there might still be over six weeks until The Big Day itself, the beginning of Advent is just three weeks away so I hope you’ll forgive me popping in with a few […]
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One of the highlights of any convention is the cosplay. It’s the opportunity to really immerse yourself in the geek culture and share your passion with everybody. Truth be told, I am more of a casual cosplayer myself. In part due to my absolutely horrific crafting skills, my short attention span, and my lack of […]
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I am always skeptical about traveling art exhibits, particularly when they don’t feature original works. I mean, wouldn’t it be just as beneficial to look up the pieces online or in a book? This was my initial thought when I learned the touring exhibit Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition was coming to my city through […]
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The last time we met for PAX Aus Tabletop in person was in 2019. Sure, video games were still available online (see here and here), but tabletop is a bit harder to do in the digital sense. Tabletop Simulator on Steam allowed for a virtual testing ground, and for that, I am grateful. However, it’s […]
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I have a 13-year-old “new teen” and a 20-year-old college kid who both love Halloween. They are both now past the trick-or-treat phase, but they still want to do something fun and spooky as a family. Well, there’s always a scary movie night. With an age gap of seven years, finding a good mix of […]
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It’s Spooky Season once more and it’s time once again for the GeekMom Halloween Reading Roundup. As in previous years, this will be split into multiple parts, and in this final week, we’ll be looking at Picture Books. Check out the last three week’s posts for Adult, Middle-Grade, and YA recommendations. Please note: This post […]
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Even as Halloween is closing in fast, there is still time to make a quick display for the work space, table or bar top, entry way or any other small area you want to “spooky up” a bit. With one small plastic skeleton, some silk flowers, a few upcycled items, and a little effort, you […]
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It’s Spooky Season once more and it’s time once again for the GeekMom Halloween Reading Roundup. As in previous years, this will be split into multiple parts, and this week we’ll be looking at YA books. Check out the last two week’s posts for Adult and Middle-Grade recommendations and stay tuned for the final post […]
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This Halloween, we finally decided to purchase some full-sized plastic skeletons. However, we wanted to make sure ours were just a little different than others. Last week I shared how we turned one into my oldest daughter’s favorite book character, Skulduggery Pleasant, but I wanted to be in charge of giving this second bony friend […]
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Even if you’ve never been to Dragon Con, you recognize some of its host hotels and spaces. The Hyatt Regency Atlanta and the AmericasMart were seen in Insurgent and even an episode of Futurama. (Remember the lost city of Atlanta?) And I instantly recognized the Hyatt in Blockers. But likely most memorable is the Atlanta […]
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It’s Spooky Season once more and it’s time once again for the GeekMom Halloween Reading Roundup. As in previous years, this will be split into multiple parts, and this week we’ll be looking at Middle-Grade books. Check out last week’s post for Adult recommendations and stay tuned for YA and Picture Books coming on the […]
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After several Halloweens of indecision, we finally broke down and purchased a couple of full-size skeletons. Well, by “full size”, I mean five-foot-tall rather than those 12 or 20-foot giants. Still, we had been wanting a couple of good-sized skelly friends. Now we faced with the fun task of thinking of something clever to do […]
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A parent’s job is never ending and infinitely valuable, and moms come in all types. Yet, around October, when the haunting season is approaching, it is the spooky moms who get all the attention. Last year we celebrated some wonderfully spooky women as part of a look at horror and sci-fi hosts, and now it […]
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It’s Spooky Season once more and it’s time once again for the GeekMom Halloween Reading Roundup. As in previous years, this will be split into multiple parts, so keep an eye out over the next few Mondays for more Halloween reads aimed at middle-grade, YA, and pre-school readers while today’s post focuses on books aimed […]
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I’m not afraid to call it: My year’s highlight will be PAX Aus 2022. As geek event reviewers and writers, we’re not supposed to have favorites, but PAX Aus is definitely high on the list. It’s not purely because of the geekiness nor the absolute saturation of gaming goodness. There is also something extra about […]
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In this month’s Between the Bookends, we’ll be covering two months’ worth of reading thanks to me unexpectedly ending up in hospital when the last column should have been published! This double column is also (unintentionally) entirely middle-grade, so sit back and check out what we’ve been reading since the end of July. Please note: […]
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I love reading spooky tales all year long, but as October creeps up, scary books become especially entertaining. There is just something about the (sometimes) cooler weather and shorter days of the Halloween season that gives ghostly tales, classic horrors, and grisly mysteries that extra edge. Now that it is officially autumn, it is time […]
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For years, my family’s tradition was attending Phoenix Fan Fusion (formerly Phoenix Comicon) and we’ve seen it go from 13,000 in attendance numbers to just hitting one year at 106,000 attendees. We’ve loved our convention experiences, and as our kids have gotten older, our skills at taking them to these weekend long events have massively […]
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What Is F1 Manager 2022? F1 Manager 2022 is a management simulation game in which you’ll play as the Team Principal for one of the 10 teams competing in the 2022 Formula One season. Age Rating F1 Manager 2022 is rated PEGI 3 and ESRB E/Everybody. That being said, although there is no objectionable content […]
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The 2022 Be the Artist series celebrates the art of “toons” and similar fun styles. The Artist: Don Bluth Don Bluth was born in El Paso, Texas in 1937, and later moved to Utah where he spent time doing both farm work and drawing. He even remembered riding a horse into town as child to see […]
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Dear Parents, As a former high school teacher, I’ve worked with quite a few kids with ADHD and attended quite a few IEP and 504 meetings where we discussed accommodations. I taught ninth grade for almost every one of those years and this was a significant accommodation update point. This was because most accommodations were […]
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It seems like every game has a DLC these days, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe included. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great way to extend the playable experience of a family favorite. Bigger maps, more characters, extra features. It all comes down to value for money. Does the DLC really add anything to the game? […]
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The 2022 Be the Artist series celebrates the art of “toons” and similar fun styles. The Artist: Charles Schulz Charles Schulz would have been 100 years old this year. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 26, 1922, Charles Monroe Schulz was linked to the comic world at just a couple of days old, when his uncle […]
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In Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher, we follow Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and his old friend Lando Calrissian as they take on a new mission set 13 years before the events of The Force Awakens (and 17 years after Return of the Jedi). Please note: This post contains affiliate links. Luke Skywalker is […]
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The 2022 Be the Artist series celebrates the art of “toons” and similar fun pop art styles. The Artist: Yayoi Kusama Yayoi Kusama is one of those artists who can do anything in her style. She works with sculpture, painting, performance art, video, fashion, and more, but there is one thing most of her work has […]
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