“Onslaught” Is Heavy-Metal Violence with Unfinished Business

If you told me Adam Wingard pitched Onslaught by slamming a stack of John Carpenter VHS tapes and a Terminator poster onto a producer’s desk, I would believe you. The film hits the ground running with a propulsive synth score and tactile sound design that signal its intentions from the first frame.…

How Ex-NOAA Experts Are Rebuilding a Shuttered Climate Data Website

For over a decade, Climate.gov was a reliable source of climate data for upwards of 1 million visitors every month, according to numbers published in 2021. The site, which was operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was a free, trusted resource where teachers, journalists,…

12 Tools to Make Knitting, Crochet, and Cross-Stitch More Accessible for You

I’m a member of a few online crafting communities, and there was a discussion the other day on a cross-stitch Discord regarding vision problems and magnifiers. As I scrolled through the conversation, I reflected that there is a lot of knowledge in these groups that could be really helpful for…

This Week in Geek (8/31/2026–9/6/2026)

Jump to: In-Person Events Virtual Events Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, August 31, to Sunday, September 6. Although inclusion in This Week in Geek is not an official endorsement of any event or organizer, we do our best…

Bizhiki Provides a Soundscape for the Natural World at the Walker Art Center

On August 20, the Walker Art Center presented the 2026 installment of its Sound for Silents film screening series. These events combine live musical performances with films from the Walker’s Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection as well as contemporary motion picture work. This edition featured…

“The Dog Stars” Runs on Fumes

Following the devastating news of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry passing away on the very same day, I walked into Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars the following afternoon desperately needing a distraction. The simultaneous departure of two towering cultural icons who offered decades of comfort, camp, and…

This Week in Geek (8/24/2026–8/30/2026)

Jump to: In-Person Events Virtual Events Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, August 24, to Sunday, August 30. Although inclusion in This Week in Geek is not an official endorsement of any event or organizer, we do our best…

The Crane Wives Fill First Avenue with Radical Positivity

On August 15, the Crane Wives played a sold-out show at First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. While the indie folk band was new to me, they were very well known and loved by the more than 1,500 loyal fans in the enraptured audience. I have to say it has been a while since I’ve had to wait in a line that…

The Character Alignments of 2026 Minnesota State Fair Foods, Rated

August is a reminder that the temperature will (thankfully) begin to drop soon, school is starting back up, and, of course, it’s time for the Minnesota State Fair. While some people go to the state fair to see lumberjack shows, the parades, or cute baby farm animals, I go for the food. Not the classic…

“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” Is Jane Schoenbrun’s Best Work Yet

There is an exchange in Jane Schoenbrun’s film I Saw the TV Glow that sits in my heart like a 50-pound weight sometimes. About one-third of the way into the movie, main characters Owen and Maddy sit awkwardly near each other on the outdoor bleachers of their high school. After not being able to answer whether…