The Artwork of Kim Simonsson

I recently went to see an exhibit by artist Kim Simonsson at the American Swedish Institute.

A place I have seen some of the most delightful, whimsical art and as someone who has gone to lots of former fancy people homes I can speak with authority to the fact that it also has some of the best wood work, ceilings, and fireplaces in the world. 

It is kept up better than a lot of places and seems to specialize in unique Scandinavian art. 

This exhibit was no exception. 

It had a dreamy, romantic quality with just a touch of creepiness that all fairy tales seem to possess. 

People always point to bright, glossy wedding pictures and proclaim fairy tale, leaving out that fairy tales are darkness filled cautionary tales that include a lot of work to make it to the dreamy wedding/ending. 

I have also attended a few events at the ASI including the Loki Halloween party a few years ago and they are good fun. They sadly never have any vegan treats, but you can usually get a pretty good drink from the bar. 

In years passed, my partner and I used to purchase mystery books in Swedish from the gift shop for his hundred-year-old grandfather which was of great delight to him. 

The shop has a great number of lovely things to behold and I always stop in there as well on a visit. It's probably my second favorite in town to visit behind the Russian Art Museum's shop which has no shortage of wondrous objects. 

I leave you with a collection of snaps I took on this visit: The Moss People

DJ Curium's Dance for UnCanny Con-Goers

My playlist from my set at 2018 CONvergence this passed weekend: 

Bad Reputation from the movie Kick Ass covered by The Hit Girls

Let’s Do It from the movie Tank Girl covered by Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg

Everyone is Wrong from the movie Elektra by The Donnas

Kids in America from the television show Riverdale (inspired by Archie Comics) covered by KJ Apa and Camilla Mendes

None of Your Business (Barb Wire metal mix) from the movie Barb Wire by Salt 'n' Pepa

Backdoor Lover from the movie Josie and the Pussycats "performed" by Du Jour

I Want Your Cray Cray from the television show Jessica Jones performed by Rachel Taylor (Trish Walker) & Kandi Marks

It’s On Again (piano edition) from the movie The Amazing Spider-Man 2 by Alicia Keys featuring Kendrick Lamar

King Charles from Marvel’s The Runaways by YUNGBLUD

DeadPool Rap from the movie Deadpool by TEAMHEADKICK

Wrek tha Discotek from the movie Blade by Roger Sanchez & Soulson

Opps from the movie Black Panther by Vince Staples & Yugen Blakrok

99 Red Balloons from the movie Watchmen by Nena

Just Like Heaven from the movie Atomic Blonde (based on the comic Coldest City) by The Cure (I picked a song from this movie because there is a scene in which there is a television on in the background and an Information Society video is on)

(Can’t You) Trip like I Do from the movie Spawn by Filter & the Crystal Method

Atom Bomb from the original X-Men movie by Fluke

Poison Lips from the movie Dredd (based on the comic 
Judge Dredd) by Vitalic

Bidibodi Bidibu from the television show Wynonna Earp by Bubbles

Wonder Woman’s Wrath (edited) from the movie Wonder Woman by Rupert Gregson-Williams

That point when....

 you are measuring things in decades. 

Just some snaps for heading into CON's 20th anniversary. There so much more I could add, but I'm tired and these are just for me anyway.

Fire Mama's Spring Bizarre Bazaar

I have been working on getting ready for an event that is very unique. Something I have not yet done as a creator. It is a night market that is a part of a fire arts event. Just crazy fun stuff. Fire spinning, fashion show, bands, djs, and artist market.

You can find the information here and I'll share some photos of some of the things I'll have for sale! You should come!

Where to Take Your Vegan Valentine to Eat...

A few ideas of where to stop for a meal lunch or dinner for your vegan Valentine. I've written about these places before with the exception of Namaste Cafe and I am not sure why I haven't written about them because they are great. 

Let's start with Pizza Nea. I've recently written about my love for Pizza Nea and of course, there is always a good chance that your Valentine, crush, or buddy likes pizza too. This place is fancy enough for a date but not so fancy to weird anyone out. Wine, artisan pizza, community minded...you can't go wrong because they also have an extensive vegan menu complete with cheeses and meats from neighbor Herbivorous Butcher.

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In the same neighborhood (because let's just say NE Minneapolis has some great food and drinks) is Gorkha Palace.

A delicious sojourn into Nepali, Indian, Tibetan food. Which is well known to be vegan friendly throughout the world and some of my favorites. I love their momos and the extremely spicy Saag Dish. Melt your face off spice when you want it. How hot do you like it? And you can never go wrong with Chana!

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Head over to St. Paul to a long time favorite and "off the beaten path" as it were to Everest On Grand. 

Tofu pakoras made with chickpea flour (a far superior flour IMHO) this place is best described as AROMATIC-yes in all caps. The staff is always friendly and they have a clearly labeled menu. I love, love eating here. I've never had a dish I didn't like and they also have momos(very important).

For a touch of fancy dress up for Valentine's Day you can head over to wonderful and faithful Jasmine 26. 

You cannot go wrong with Basil Noodles, Curry Noodles, Salt and Pepper Tofu, Fried Vegan Egg Roll and their drinks. Yeah, like all of them. It's a nicer place too. I love vegan food and casual, comfy which is Minnesota's dress code just fine, but I definitely prefer to dress up and it's nice to not feel totally out of place once in a while (though mostly you just always are if you are me).

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New place alert! A great little spot just starting out with something that no one has: VEGAN CREPES! I ate my fair share of vegan crepes in NO in October(more on that later) and was sad to leave them behind only to come home to a tiny, new shop with vegan crepes and vegan ice cream! Hooray! I don't have a great picture of the crepes but what you need to know is that they are savory and delicious and you should take your favorite humans here for a treat. Crepe and Spoon would be happy to supply your daily salty and sweet needs for the afternoon.

If you need a nice lunch because who doesn't and you'd like to share your Valentine's Day spirit with a pink cocktail you should look no further than Namaste Cafe. They have GOOD FOOD. And fulfill your need for a fried potato once in a while with their amazing 5 Spice Potatoes. But don't stop there: Chili Tofu, Golguppa, Chana Chat Plaat are all delightful. Charming atmosphere as it's in an old Victorian house in Uptown.

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Go forth and spread the love! 

A note...

I was going to put up a post today about Vegan Valentine's Day food and where to get it and maybe I will do it today but likely tomorrow-I changed my mind because I came across some stuff about Climate Change in Minnesota that is worth taking a look at...you can find the information here: Minnesota.

I love this state and it's been so obvious to me and many other people the changes that have been happening here due to global warming. It's pretty disheartening because a lot of what makes Minnesota unique is disappearing. I mean, we just had our first significant snowstorm in years. I know people make jokes about how they are fine with it, but in reality it is very bad for the overall health of the state. I am only one person and I have no money or influence, but I do try to do things to better the health of the space around me. I hope others will as well. I am planning on doubling the amount of things I grow this year. I am getting better at it and I like so much having green things around. It is a learning process for sure and of course I have cats so it can also be a battle. Overall having the plants is worth the work and sure helps when it's miserable and gray. It reminds you why it's good to have snow. You need all that water for the ground to grow things. Here is some tough love suggestions on small things you can do to help on Forbes of all places. But honestly, climate change is actually bad for most business so I guess it being on Forbes isn't that surprising. Ideas how to help.

The Nature Conservancy has more suggestions here. 

I know big businesses account for the most pollution and cars and it often feels like we can't do anything about it. However, that is not true. Use your dollar to spend money at socially responsible businesses for example. It's easier to find information about them than ever before. In fact, most of them love to tell you themselves how great they are doing for the world. 

So whatever it is you need to buy or need to use or hire: spend a few minutes doing some research. It doesn't take long to compare sites here and there and note if the information seems consistent. And it probably is obvious, but if you can buy something second hand, all the better. Especially clothing since that industry is rife with so many problems. I know buying fair-wage, responsible clothing is expensive, but buying second hand is not and it only takes a little time. In fact with on line used stores now it is easier than ever. And you can always go to ebay which I've done forever. Try ThredUp for clothes. There's other out there as well. I've just used Thred Up for shopping and cleaning out my closet because they make it insanely easy. And they carry plenty of new stuff cause we are all guilty of having something with tags on it in our closet forever. 

Like they say, we've only got this one planet.

Naturephilia

Another way I decided to take a chance creatively was by opening a shop on Society6. I am not a professional photographer in anyway. However, I do really enjoy taking photos. Most especially of flowers and the outdoors. I know it's a cliche, but these things can get you through some long dark days in Minnesota. 

This is especially challenging as I am fumbling around learning to edit products. I have been pretty happy with how they've been coming out as I've had some samples of things shipped to me and I am especially pleased with the pillows and throw blanket and I am looking forward to getting more. They are well-made and high-quality and since I am someone who wants enough blankets and pillows to build the world's biggest indoor fort this is pretty important to me. 

It helped me put more of my focus on positive things and creating this last year than continuing to obsess over things I cannot change. There is a reason why they call it blind rage. It really helps if you can harness it at some point to action and then also for self-care and direction. I currently have 93 designs up. I am aiming to have 200 designs up by December 1 of this year. It's a lot to be sure, but working a little bit each week seems to be keeping me on a good pace. 

You can visit my shop Naturephilia here. 

Have a look at some of the things I've had sent to me:

Thank you for stopping by! 

What To Eat Wednesday: Pizza Nea

This year has brought with it a wave of awareness I would say we haven't really seen before in this country. Even for myself, who has been doing my best for a very long time to stay abreast of the things I want to see changed and diving deeper into the things that matter to me, I have learned many things this year. Or at least had what I suspected all along confirmed by others, which in its own strange way is helpful - to know that you are not, in fact, losing your mind. It's also a relief when you know you've been feeling something for so long and have been unable to articulate it. Then one day you stumble across even the most basic of comments somewhere on the internet, and you see something someone wrote and there it is: the one sentence expressing what has been bothering you all along. 

For some years now I have been trying and trying to find ways to spend my money better. What do I mean by that? Well, it's very simple and massively complicated. It gets down to the fact that every time I turn around, these last couple of years especially, I feel as though I have learned that I have been unintentionally supporting someone who is racist, bigoted, destroying the planet, hurting animals, exploiting women-the list of garbage goes on and on. Now, I understand people make mistakes. People say or do things without thinking or without realizing the impact or depth of what those words or actions mean. Particularly in a society where terrible things are the norm and people do things because it was what they were taught. Everyone does this no matter how they purport otherwise.

And I'd say for the most part people can learn from these things even if the internet is a completely unforgiving place that will never let you move on to trying to be a better person. It is a frustrating thing to watch people act as though they themselves have never made a mistake and continue to tear at the others who messed up, were called out, and have tried to move on from it a with a new point of view. It certainly has impacted whether I visit a site or commentator anymore - the whole throw stones, glass house business. It can sometimes be seemingly impossible to earn forgiveness. I grant you, there are unforgivable things. But that is not what I am getting at here and that is a conversation for another time. And well, if all you do is sit on the internet bitching at other people and never actually do anything - give it a rest: You are part of the problem. 

Now, if you come forward and do your best, most especially in your day to day practices, you will have my support if our values align. Or maybe you even teach me something, who is to say what the possibilities might be? 

One of my favorite local businesses to eat at and support is Pizza Nea. Even before this election cycle (which, yes, has redefined a great deal for me, or at least confirmed some good things and some genuinely terrible fears) the owner was taking steps I appreciated. Making the business vegan-friendly, sourcing ingredients when possible from other local places. 

Then comes the election and, well, he spoke up - and loudly.  Quite predictably there were threats and people complaining about "getting political." Give. Me. A. Break. What a privilege it must be never to have to worry about anything. Or to be so unaware that everything that is stressing you out is probably being made worse by those in power that your apathy helped put there.

It was clear from the get-go that Pizza Nea would be an inclusive, welcoming place for everyone, and he even went as far as to form an alliance with other local businesses to make sure discrimination was not being tolerated, as well as using their growing social media platform to encourage others to get involved. 

Oh. And the pizza is super yummy. You know, which helps. 

It's a nice place, too. Not super dressy, but not so casual that you couldn't, say... have a romantic date here. 

Try it out. You won't regret it.

What to do in Winter

It has been sub-zero temps for weeks now in Minnesota and if you're anything like me you don't want to leave the house more than you absolutely have to which luckily for me is not much these days. 

However, it is actually supposed to "warm up" to about 30 degrees this weekend and I had been considering finding something to do. Not outside mind you as everyone seems to be fighting off some sort of illness, but it wouldn't be the worse thing in the world to stop going totally stir crazy by going somewhere. I was digging through places I'd been over the last year and three jumped out at me for distractions. If you like playing video games there's several places in town now where you can go have some drinks, play some games and even get some vegan food. It stayed pretty warm into the early part of December so when it got cold I'm not sure anyone was really ready this year. 

The first place is UpDown Mpls.. They specialize in 80's arcade games so if watching Stranger Things has you nostalgic for games you played as a kid this is where you'll want to go. Although in my case they have an X-Men game that I used to play when I was younger and of course was always Storm. I don't have super great pics of this place because it does get insanely busy and they don't, as far as I know, have any vegan food. They do however have some good hard ciders on tap. 

The second place in Uptown not too far from Up/Down is Tilt. They specialize in Pinball. The place is not very big, but what they lack in size they make up for with yummy "hot dogs" and cute atmosphere. They have some cool pinball machines and carry vegan sausages that you can cover with all sorts of yummy, smelly things. They have decent cocktails as well. We got great service when we were here and I enjoyed my afternoon hanging out.

The last place I'd suggest is actually my favorite, but it's a big chain and gets insane on the weekends except Sunday night when I like to go occasionally. The reason I like it is because they have electronic versions of carnival games I really like such as throwing balls to knock down clowns. It's amazing stress relief for me. I know it's silly, but it's true. They make ridiculous over the top Tiki drinks which are fun to have and order some French fries and I'm good for a couple of hours. It is the most expensive of the three places and can be very loud (though they all can be depending on the crowds). The one here is in Southdale Mall. I think there is a second MN location, but it's far from me. If you go at the right times you could probably also catch a movie. 

 

If video games are not necessarily for you or if you like really old ones you could always head over to another charming and fun place I went to: Can Can Wonderland. I love mini-golf so I am dying to go back here soon. Plus I believe they've added some vegan treats to the menu.

Resistance

2017 is a year I've started referring to as the Empire Strikes Back. Because it feels to me that there is a decreasing in size group of people who seem to think the only way to be is the way that they are and that way to be is narrow-minded, classist, racist, sexist, and bigoted. And what's worse is they do it all in God's name. 

I have always been one for politics. I have been writing letters and contacting my representatives since I was a young child as my mother never really kept her opinion to herself. It was a strange thing to experience in hindsight as I look back at our home life. But that is a story for another time. My mother was in touch with our representatives so frequently they invited her to parties and fundraisers even though we had no money. Simply because they knew that she cared. I wish I had all my letters from way back when. I don't but I do have some from a couple of decades ago still. She was even on the news for things that she would stand up for a couple of times. I mean seriously, she was involved. Unfortunately, as her mental health declined so did her activism. But she never forgot to remind me to vote. I have voted since I turned 18 in as many elections as I could be available to vote in. I was less aware of them (such as smaller, local races) 20 years ago as I am now, but at one of my more recent caucuses I was the youngest person in our group who had been to the most caucuses and primaries. Things matter to me. 

This passed year was no exception. Like many people I was horrified and shocked by the outcome of the presidential election and with each passing day having someone in power who doesn't seem to care about anyone but themselves is unsettling to say the least. Even this morning there are threats of nuclear war. This is the 21st century and this is what we wake up to these days. What's even more disconcerting is that their are others who think this is a good idea. People who support this person. To think that you could support the annihilation of another country or group of people is downright evil to me. I don't like using the word evil because I find it dramatic, cartoonish, and used to dismiss things that are more complicated than one emotion, but in this case I'd say it fits. If you think people deserve to die simply because they are different from you-you really need to spend sometime reflecting on what kind of human you are and if you do it in the name of God-well, I can't even begin to imagine the cognitive dissonance. 

Because of this passed presidential election, my activist gene has kicked back into high gear. I went to protests, wrote letters, made calls, gathered people to participate, donated, and have done my best to support businesses that are inclusive(which often seems impossible, but I do try). I spend time researching anything I see people talking about and I quit Twitter because wow do I think that is HUGE part of the problem. 

The one year anniversary of the astonishingly well attended Women's March Protest is approaching and I am seeing more and more about the Mid-term elections which are so crucial this time I can't even imagine what might happen if things don't change. For a while I saw no hope. I was quite frankly traumatized by the outcome of the election. The idea that so many people supported someone who thinks it's funny to harass and assault women, who is racist and makes fun of differently abled people, who sees anyone with a different skin color and looks at them as an enemy, who thinks our planet is a trash can-I was not in a good place. 

However, I see more and more reasons to be hopeful and if anything came out of this garbage election it is that people are becoming more and more aware that the world is bigger and more diverse than they ever could've imagined. That on the whole, your average person wants the same things they do: to be healthy, employed, and not contributing negatively to the world-no matter what they look like and that has helped. Just like going to these events helped. Seeing so many people ready to fight for what they believe-it pulls you out of the dark place. Plus, there is something immensely empowering about genuinely exercising your rights. In America, people constantly holler about gun rights forgetting we have a whole bunch of other ones that are in my opinion a whole helluva lot more important. Without the others, there's no point in having a gun. Because what the hell are you defending then? The right to own a weapon? That is not what America is about and it's not even what the second amendment is about-and using your rights reminds you of that-using your voice and your vote reminds you of that, you're not fighting for your right to own gun, you are fighting for your rights to exist, thrive, and to belong to something much bigger than any one person. 

And even though we seemed determined as a country to do every dumb ass thing every other country has already done and suffered the poor results of which easily could've been avoided, I do believe there is truth that America is the only country that was founded on a good idea.

Wild Hare Salon and Gallery, #shoplocal

Some completely lovely humans invited me to bring some objects and books of my own creation to add to their gallery they opened this year. 

I get my hair colored here, and well it's a wonderful and magical place. Not like how everyone uses the word magical because they can't think of another word. It is actually magical.

There is an event again this weekend. Look at the pictures and tell me I'm wrong. You cannot. 

Info here: Art shopping event

Art by: Rudy Fig, Rachel Girard, Masha, Gabrielle Angelicus 

Party Pictures

A second Featured Album I have on Facebook is party snaps. These are from parties I've helped plan and host as well as decorate through the years. You can sure tell when our(mine) photography skills got better and I got a better camera. These are from NYE, a cute one at my house  8 years ago, from a science fiction convention and my book release parties.

Nice breaks from the day: Normandale Japanese Garden

As someone who works at home most of the time I found myself in need of places to go to get out of my own head once in a while. This is especially true as I am also an obsessive news reader and each day brings with it untold stress and worry. I walk around the lakes near my huose frequently, but sometimes it's great to venture a little further away to have some quiet moments. 

I recently went to the Normandale Japanese Garden for one of these breaks. It was Sunday morning and a bit overcast and there were almost no people the entire time I was there sans an occasional walker or jogger. It's a charming little setting in an unexpected place and you can also feed the many koi fish. Bring a book and coffee and take that much needed break from reality. 

I'll include links to some other posts I've done about good places to take a break during your day after the photos. Remember, breaks are very important to productivity and our society is not very good at telling us that. Working till you drop is not good for you. 

 

 Normandale Japanese Garden

A walk round the Chain of Lakes.

A jaunt to the Franconia Sculpture Garden.

A visit to the odd and beautiful Caponi Art Park.

What to Eat Wednesday but on Tuesday: MN State Fair

I’ll start with the food.

 

New Things We Tried: 

Produce Exchange- The peaches are amazing. They have lots of other fruit as well.

Fresh French Fries-These were quite good and not as greasy as I thought they would be. 

Harry Singh’s-Chickpea Roti was so good that we went back so my friend could take one home for dinner. (The little restaurant in Minneapolis is stellar.)

Minneapple pie no ice cream-I bought one to bring home.

Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee with soy milk-dark roast with soy milk was great.

Strawberries and Creme-non-dairy whip-I loved this a lot.

Island Noodles-I do like wok-fried noodles. Very filling. (They also use compostable containers.) 

Dole Whip-Three of us split one. It was sugary and fun. I don’t think I’d get it again though just not for me. The vanilla is not vegan from what I understand.

Fried Green Tomatoes(small stand by main entrance)-was surprised that I liked these more than I thought.

Manny’s Tortas-Non-alcoholic Pineapple Pina Colada-this was fantastic. 

Sara’s Tipsy Pies-The Vegan Whiskey apple pie was fabulous. I loved it. 

Juanita’s Fajitas -beans with tortilla-add some habanero salt and it’s super yummy(request without cheese).

 

Things we’ve had before other places:

Tot Boss-plain tater tots

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds in the International Bazaar

French Meadow-brown sugar scone

Holy Land-all their vegan things which I highly recommend.  

Falafel King (which has improved dramatically over the last few years)

 

I was disappointed to learn that Hot Indian Foods samosas are no longer vegan. 

 

Things we didn’t try but I’ve read other people say are vegan:

Corn Roast-no butter

St. Martin’s Olives

Los Ocampos -Guac and chips

Veggie Pie’s -Frozen Grapes on a Stick

Burrito Mercado- Chili lime mango

Sonny’s Sprials-Potato on a stick

Preferred Pickles fried pickles

Ballpark Cafe – Onion rings, garlic fries

Chan’s Chicken on a Stick – Vegetable Fried Rice

Oodles of Noodles – Spicy Thai Noodles, spaghetti or penne with marinara

OOF-da Tacos – Vegetarian Taco without cheese

Potato Man and Sweety-Sweety’s Churros without whipped cream, unsure about dipping sauce

 

**Please consider rinsing and bringing home containers you cannot recycle at the Fair (I had a tote bag and would just rinse things in the bathroom or hand wash stations) or requesting no silverware or straws by keeping the first plastic ones you get. Nearly everything has a number on it, but they don’t have the same facilities as we do in Minneapolis. 

Thank you.

 

 

I’ve never spent the day at the fair and truth be told it was pretty surreal to me. I decided to try to see as much as possible but I do not go to the animal barns. I just can’t. 

That said, there is plenty to see that is not about having to eat animals. The Horticulture building is pretty amazing and there is quite a lot of art. 

I know lots of people go here with families and situations like that and there’s no need to be left out if you’re vegan or vegetarian. And for that matter, the more vegan things that sell, the more they’ll make. The Tipsy Pies were sold out at first but they made more. Pretty great, as they are clearly marked vegan on the menu. The french fries had lines all around.

Your best bets are the International Bazaar and the Food Building for lots of choices. Though the strawberries and creme were near the Kid’s Midway and the Farmer’s Union is near the main entrance. 

There were three of us and we shared everything we bought. It was still more than enough food that way. Most of the time we only got one of each thing. The couple of times we got two of something it was nearly too much.

So go out and enjoy the fair if you like such things. There’s lots to see, and it helped distract me for a bit from some personal things I can’t do anything about right now because there is absolutely so much to take in. 

 

And if you can, drop a a few bucks into the Houston food bank so others can get something to eat as well as disaster clean up begins. You can donate here: Hurricane Harvey Relief. 

Have a wonderful time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EASY TO CUT AND PASTE LIST: 

Produce Exchange- The peaches are amazing. They have lots of fruit.

Fresh French Fries-These were quite good and not as greasy as I thought they would be. 

Harry Singh’s-Chickpea Roti was so good that we went back so my friend could take one home for dinner. 

Minneapple pie no ice cream-I bought one to bring home, made  nice treat for breakfast. 

Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee with soy milk-dark roast with soy milk was great

Strawberries and Cream-non-dairy whip-I loved this a lot.

Island Noodles-I do like wok-fried noodles. Very filling. 

Dole Whip-Three of us split one and it was sugary and fun. I don’t think I’d get it again though just not for me. 

Fried Green Tomatoes(small stand by main entrance)-was surprised that I liked these more than I thought.

Manny’s Tortas-Non-alcoholic Pineapple Pina Colada-this was fantastic. 

Sara’s Tipsy Pies-The Vegan Whiskey apple pie was fabulous. I loved it. 

Juanitas Fajitas -beans with tortilla-add some habanero salt and it’s super yummy(request without cheese).

Tot Boss-plain tater tots

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds in the International Bazaar

French Meadow-brown sugar scone

Holy Land-all their vegan things which I highly recommend. 

Falafel King (which has improved dramatically over the last few years)

Corn Roast-no butter

St. Martin’s Olives

Los Ocampos -Guac and chips

Veggie Pie’s -Frozen Grapes on a Stick

Burrito Mercado- Chili lime mango

Sonny’s Sprials-Potato on a stick

Preferred Pickles fried pickles

Ballpark Cafe – Onion rings, garlic fries

Chan’s Chicken on a Stick – Vegetable Fried Rice

Oodles of Noodles – Spicy Thai Noodles, spaghetti or penne with marinara

OOF-da Tacos – Vegetarian Taco without cheese

Potato Man and Sweety-Sweety’s Churros without whipped cream, unsure about dipping sauce

Weekend Road Trip: Runestone Museum

I am always a little surprised when people don't know about the crazy shit in their own state. I don’t mean about politics because that is raining on us everyday. And as someone who lived in Texas for over a decade I can confidently say that politics is not crazy fun shit. Just crazy shit.
No. What I mean is its myths, legends, history, and lore. Every place has them, and every place is filled with things strange and wondrous, big and small. 
Minnesota is no exception. In fact, Jon Stewart once referred to Minnesota as “crazier than you think” and he quite accurately hit the nail on the head with that statement. 
One of the odder pieces of Minnesota history involves a very large stone. 
Named the Kensington Runestone, it was uncovered by Oolof Ohman, a farmer in rural Solem, Douglas County, Minnesota, in 1898. (The stone is named for Kensington, MN, the nearest town). It weighs 202 lbs. and was supposedly found under an aspen tree by Oolof and his son. Currently on display at the Runestone Museum in Alexandria, MN. 
And I write “supposedly" because it is highly contentious whether this is real or not. A lot of people say it’s not and a lot others say that it is. But whether it is or not, it’s still part of Minnesota’s myth and history. Absolutely worth going to see. 
It is carved with Viking runestone symbols that at the time had fallen far out of use in this part of the world. It is argued that Oolof, who had nothing higher than a grade school education, would not have been able to know these 14th century markings. What’s more, the markings themselves are not just the usual runestone symbols used 500 years before the stone’s discovery, but there is also an underlying code in them. Additionally, if it is real, it would indicate that the Vikings had made it further inland, and earlier than first thought. But the whole of time is a very large concept and its continuous shifting to fill in missing pieces should no longer surprise us, yet it still does for some reason. 

Oolof insisted throughout his life that he did not fake this stone, and it cost him dearly. One of his children committed suicide over the humiliation and ridicule the family endured. Another left home to never return or speak to the family again.
There is great deal more information out there about the debate, but what I will tell you more about is the museum itself, because it offers up a few surprises of its own. 

Rumored to have been a favorite Minnesota haunt of Neil Gaiman (seems likely, given his fascination with folklore and mythology) it is also home to an impressive collection of regional Native American artifacts that were gifted to a doctor throughout his career in exchange for helping care for the community around him. They filled his office, basement, and home. 
Additionally there is an extensive collection and timeline set up about Pioneer life focused specifically on Minnesota’s Scandinavian roots. It culminates into an entire mock town set up outside the main building that has a pioneer shop, church, town hall, home, as well as… a building that is home to an almost life-size replica of a Viking merchant ship. 
There is also a section coming together that looks to be filled with geologic information about Minnesota that includes paleontology about the region. 
(The museum is also not far from the delightful Carlos Creek Winery - more on that later, and the spoiled, caviar-eating cats.)

Strange enough to make it onto Atlas Obscura , you should definitely put it on your weekend road trip bucket list.

What to Eat Wednesday: Vegan Target

I am someone who is lucky (and privileged) to live by a couple great grocery stores and have easy access to good food. This is not something that was true when I was younger. I did not know it at the time but I lived in what they call a “food desert” now, meaning it was difficult to get to healthy foods for my family. The store closest to us was over 5 miles away, and we did not have a car for a long time. The transit service that was available we had to walk over a mile to reach, and it ran infrequently. In the unrelenting heat of Texas, you can imagine this was not a great way to have to live, and my story is not unique. The store was a chain and marketed all the prepackaged, advertised foods that we are all familiar with, and that was also what was on sale normally, not fresh fruits and vegetables. As such, much of my childhood was based in canned foods and processed goods since that was what the store had that was affordable. Add in that we bought large quantities to store for the large family I belonged to, well... healthy eating was not on the menu. And what’s worse is that this is what we believed was supposed to be normal. 

Things seem to be starting to change even if our relationship with food is still not great. Plus when life is busy it can be hard to want to expend the energy to also think too much about where to shop and what to get, so convenience is a necessity for many people and so is affordability. Love them or hate them, this is where big box stores come in and are often the only places some people grocery shop. 

One place in Minnesota that has grown its grocery business significantly over the last ten years is Target. They’ve expanded what they carry that is vegan by a large margin as well. I would imagine that, store-by-store, this is going to be a bit different because they did offer up local brands of items here in the Twin Cities. But this is a picture-heavy post to give you some ideas of what you can look for that is vegan at Target. Local things, lunches, snacks, dinners, basics, and yes… some treats. 

Front and center at Target is produce and it included some regional items. I am not going to post a ton of photos of this because obviously fruit and vegetables are vegan:

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I was glad to find tofu there as it as good foundation food for vegans and people who don't want to eat meat all the time:

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A lot of the Target brand bread was vegan. Not all, as some had eggs and milk, but still a fair amount, including dinner rolls (very hard to find at the holidays):

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For on your bread:

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Plenty of hummus including local favorite Holy Land and their own line:

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There is the biggest selection of non-diary milk I've seen anywhere, and some easy breakfast stuff (besides cereal, which is plentiful):

Road trip (and work) snacks abound. Though please... for the planet, recycle the packaging as they are not exactly earth friendly. But I know that snacks are the best.

One thing I used to run into back when I was microwaving my work lunches a lot was that the sodium content was really high. These aren't the best they can be, compared to fresh food, but they are better and Target has a lot of easy lunch stuff (some are clearly marked as Vegan):

Some helpful dinner basics ideas:

Mayo, crackers, treats, including Target's own brand of cookies, crackers, as well as Haagen-Dazs Vegan ice cream:

This is just some of what they have, to give you an idea what to look for. There are also many cereals, chips, juices, fruit leathers, grain based lunches, etc... There are Targets nearly everywhere you go around Minnesota, so getting to vegan food should be a little easier. I hope this is a trend that continues and I will update this in the future as the seasons change. Thank you for reading!

Measuring CONvergence in Decades, Part 2

The second time I attended CONvergence, which was the third year of the event, was a strange affair for me. Very strange indeed. I was ill. 104 degree fever type of ill.
But I was not going to miss the convention. I double-checked with my doctor that I was not contagious and, since what I was diagnosed with was meningitis, after a week I was given the ok to head back out in public. It wasn’t a great idea - I actually stayed sick for well over a month and experienced migraines from the spinal tap I had to have. I wouldn’t say I am overly gifted with common sense. (It also turned out that my diagnosis was probably wrong since the spinal fluid tests are pretty much inconclusive for several of these mosquito-borne illnesses. They just treat your symptoms as best as they can.)
I didn’t have a hotel room, but at one point I had to go get one before I passed out from my fever as I was trying to watch masquerade from the tech table and almost fell off. This particular CON passed in a bit of a haze, as my headache meds kept me from thinking too clearly. I do recall that I went to several panels about prop-making that were just awesome, and kept walking around and around the parties trying to decide if I wanted to host one. By the end of the convention I was sure that I did and had the only semi-ok idea of a villains party. I ended up dismissing the idea quickly because as I threw out the idea to people they kept bringing up Disney villains and I was pretty much sick of Disney at this point in my life. (They have been slowly winning back my love with the female relationship focused movies now.)
I did spend time in the main foyer of the hotel talking with different people throughout the night after my fever broke and I couldn’t sleep. 
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do or who I was going to do it with, but I definitely decided to have a party. 
When the convention was over I was spending a lot of time collecting comic books that I wanted. It suddenly occurred to me that my favorite one, The Sandman, was filled with party themes. Plus, a lot of my new friends were Sandman freaks the way I was, so it made sense. 
Welp, it didn’t work out for a lot of random personal reasons… some serious, some not. 
So go to the convention, wander the parties and finally get someone who genuinely wants to try hosting a room party. Little did we know what we were getting into…
We settled on trying to put together some sort of Library of Lost Dreams. Books, as many of you will know, feature prominently in the Sandman series. Creating a bit of the atmosphere became the goal. The first big decorating project ever attempted for CON became bookshelves. It seemed like we should just carry in shelves and fill them with books but seriously, who wants to haul around boxes of books in the heat? No one. Plus there was nothing about that idea that seems particularly wonderful. It was too literal - not the impression of an illusion which parties should possess. The big catch with these things is also the amount of money you have to spend. Because, especially at this point, we were on a budget. (I might add I can’t even begin to describe what I would do with a giant budget… just know it would be spectacular, spectacular*.)
Brainstorm. When you are stuck, get everyone you can around you and just start throwing ideas out, no matter how dumb they may seem. We had already decided that we wanted one big project to center the decorating around and we knew we wanted it to be book related. I had collected dollar reprints of Sandman comics to make a collage wall (which was both met with adoration and horror during the CON “How could you cut up comics?” ). We cut giant, foil paper butterflies for the ceiling, had a project from a co-host's previous event, and some smaller details. It just took time to figure out the book part.
Cut to the idea of seeing if used bookstores had books they didn’t sell. 
Turns out that they often do. In fact, the bookstore we went to I ended up working at for many years, and long before that they gave us many, many old books which were not fit for selling that we could reuse.
We sat for more hours than I can possibly count, taking the spines off of old, sometimes rotting books. We had to cut through ancient glues, papers and dried up leathers. Sometimes finding highly unpleasant things in them. In addition, in order to recycle them we had to take them completely apart, which took somewhere near the end of time. 
We used 4’ x 8’ sheets of wood to be the backdrops of the shelves and became very familiar with the use of a glue gun, and thus the Library of Lost Dreams came together (and after many years of party decor, it is now a permanent resident at the Saloon as a Goth Prom decoration). 
The party went off pretty well. However, I immediately took note of the fact that, despite seeming like we had too much decor, I didn’t think we had enough. When all was said and done that CON, the room was still a hotel room, and that wasn’t good enough for me, so for the next year leading up to CONvergence the ideas got some water in order to grow.

We also managed to not have enough alcohol to serve people and ran out at one point. I had baked 400 chocolate chip cookies and those disappeared very quickly. Getting comfortable with greeting the most awkward of people, trying not to put your foot in your mouth, and trying to make sure all the rules (which sometimes are not always clear) were heeded - the first year was a learning experience. And many, many notes were taken…

*Five points for Gryffindor if you caught my Moulin Rouge reference.

Part one is here, if you missed it.

What to Eat Wednesday: Vegan Food at the Mall of America

Love it or hate it, there are times when you end up at the Mall of America if you live in the Twin Cities (and even if you don't). I recently was there because, in my personal situation, it is a good place for me to go bra shopping -- the one time the internet does not cut it for me, as I wear an unusual size range. 

It can be a long day. A trying affair. It's crowded, bright, and loud (and you can take hours trying things on that don't fit right). And if you think you can't eat anything but french fries when everyone else is eating a full meal, it can make the day even longer. 

Things have come a long way in vegan food eating. And it even shows in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. The Mall of America even has its own Smart Dining Guide(though it does have a couple of things on here that are no longer, like my love... Disco Fries R.I.P).  The phone app is also pretty handy for such things. 

There are some obvious places such as Chipotle with vegan options like the Sofritas dish and Noodles and Co. which has a separate vegan menu you can request.

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Other places I have tried and like for fast food are Pita Pit and Naf Naf Grill- which has a clearly labeled menu of what is vegan or what is not, including a baklava.

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If you want something a bit nicer I would suggest two places that I like. My most recent discovery on Friday was a great surprise. 

First up would be Masu. A Japanese place that has a vegan menu with some good stuff on it such as this "caterpillar"

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The surprisingly great place, and not just great for mall food-actually good food, was Cantina Laredo.

Our server, Alexis, was all about helping out. She didn't hesitate for a second and listed entrees that could be made vegan and checked on tortillas without my asking. The restaurant offers "Modern Mexican Food" and well, it's yummy.

There are three entrees that can be made vegan and I tried two: Portobello Fajitas and Avocado Enchiladas (the third is Stuffed Poblano Peppers). They prepare guacamole fresh at your table and serve house made, spicy (not too hot) and more importantly-flavorful salsa. 

It is a place that is a bit more expensive than your average sit down place, but if you want a good meal while out at the mall you won't regret paying for it. I had plenty of leftovers that reheated nicely with some avocado mashed on top with salsa. The chimchurri sauce on the fajitas was aces and they made their own flour tortillas. The rice does have milk in it, so she doubled up on our black bean servings which was fine by me.

If you still have room for dessert afterwards there are two surprises that I adore at the MOA.

Cupcake offers at least two vegan flavors a day (sometimes more). I've had a fair number of them and like them all but I love anything with the strawberry frosting. And you can get them to go if you had too much to eat already.

If cupcakes are not for you, you can head over to Paciugo for vegan gelato or my new favorite a gelato "shake".

They have lots of flavors that are water and soy based. I had a "shake" made with strawberry gelato and orange San Pellegrino. Delightful.

Things to make your day easier.

Measuring Convergence in Decades, Part 1

You reach a point when you suddenly realize you are starting to measure things in decades. You are generally surprised by such revelations, and as you awake to this startling bit of information it occurs to you that perhaps you may be living in another dimension of time that normal people do not exist in because it doesn’t feel like the years are dragging by without magic or anything remarkable happening, that you are in fact, not headed for the dreaded mid-life crisis. (Of course, there is also the possibility that you’ve just been living your life in mid-life crisis mode all along and as such you don’t have to acknowledge or deal with any sort of grown up activity short of showing up to work and keeping the minimum amount of bills paid so you can throw parties on a semi-regular basis). 
I am at this point where I am looking around noticing that I’ve been doing certain things for a while. My blog just went past 500 posts, I am well on my way to having sold 600 individual, unique pieces of handmade jewelry, I’ve produced hundreds of thousands of words of creative writing, I’ve hosted hundreds of social gatherings, large and small, and I’ve been attending Convergence for 18 years (or as I recently heard someone describe it -- Burning Man for nerds). 
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the convention and I was genuinely surprised to learn this fact. It has me reflecting on the many years that have passed, how each one has been a singular experience, and coming to the evolving conclusion that I’ve actually learned things about myself and others from attending this Sci-Fi/Fantasy hoedown. 
I only missed the first year of the convention. I didn’t know the cities well yet, nor did I know any people here really. The handful of acquaintances that I did have thought such things were beneath them and as such I would often keep my preferences to myself, just going along with whatever they wanted to do (never a good idea as you spend countless hours bored out of your mind at baseball games and mediocre concerts) (remember: I’m a geek and a darksider-sports bore the crap out of me).  I enter the “dating scene” (for you kids this is when you go out into the world to bars, clubs and various public places to awkwardly meet people and on occasion make the dubious decision to give someone your phone number-which they would then call you. On the phone. To Talk. I know-weird-and likely the way humans do it now by app is a better use of your time). I had been out of it for a while and was only really deciding what I was looking for and one of those things I made up my mind about was that I was not going to date anyone who didn’t at least respect my love for Sci-fi/Fantasy. I was done being shamed and made to feel like an idiot because of my tastes and quite frankly, realizing that my self-esteem was so low at the time that I let people manipulate me into pretending to enjoy things I didn’t was getting frustrating. You spend a lot of your young adult life recovering from trauma that you don’t even realize that you are suffering from, so giving up the things that made life better just gets to a point where it is not worth it anymore. 
One fateful afternoon as I was dipping my toe into the shallow end of the pool of things I liked by using the internet to look up stuff I could buy on eBay that I was quite sure I needed to collect, I stumbled upon an advertisement for an event in which the Guest of Honor was going to be Neil Gaiman.
Now, I had read his work a few years before that and had adored it, but never in my young, wildest dreams had it occurred to me that at the time he was working and living around Minnesota/Wisconsin. 
So I put the event on the calendar.
I showed up to this hotel in St. Paul on a particularly sweaty afternoon and bought a badge that had some sort of image of Trinity from the Matrix on it. I had no real idea what to make of what was happening around me as the very first thing I encountered was people in costumes. And I don’t mean your ordinary run-of-the-mill Halloween costume. I mean a full-on -I doubt I could tell if you were in the movie or just pretending to be- handmade piece of artistic craft. I was beyond impressed. I meandered about the hotel a bit having no real clue what to do and went to sit in a room where Neil would be reading and talking. 
About 25-30 people joined me at some point and then the writers showed up. It was delightful to say the least. Neil was engaging and afterwards sat at the table to sign books and that weekend I went to every panel he was on and they also included writers Emma Bull and Will Shetterly talking to and speaking with some of the most nervous, geeky, flustered and shy nerds (including a girl who informed Neil she didn’t find him especially creative and he was just a total sweetheart to her and rather agreed that she was right) I have encountered and I was so, so very happy. 
I was taken underwing by a few people and shown around parties that included Klingons and futuristic cityscapes, a concert by the Flash Girls and having my first real conversation with writers I truly admired. And under the non-stop lightning and unrelenting thunder of a Minnesota summer storm-I made the plan to attend the next year……more to come….including how Convergence helped me deal with the death of my mother….