My First WorldCon

August 26, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

I have been reading science fiction and fantasy books for as long as I can remember. I am sure there are a lot of us who can say that because it turns out there are a lot of us geeks. You know who we are: not popular, not good at sports, not very social. Books were our life and that never stopped being the case.

As I have gotten older I have branched out to many types of books, but science fiction and fantasy in all its forms has always been my mainstay. In fact, I grew so enamored of it that I started attending conventions, working at conventions, have a room dedicated to geek fandom as well as my office being filled with geek toys. You know how it is, you love it, you love it all the way.

My new step this year was to become a voting member for the Hugo Awards. I am thrilled to have finally been a part of it. And what’s more, the convention itself was not far from my own home, so attending was also in the cards this year. WorldCon74 was held in KC, MO.

(BTW KC is great but that’s a separate post.)

Attending the world’s oldest science fiction convention has its pluses and minuses like anything does. I didn’t know anyone there and geeky people are not known for being easy to friend. Despite my efforts I didn’t do so well making new friends. But that’s okay. The panels were amazing and filled with great advice and world class writers. The Dealer’s Room took a lot of my money for books and gifts for friends. I checked out parties, the art show, a Paul and Storm performance (and I got to meet them!), a John Scalzi reading (which was remarkably fun), and of course I attended the Hugo Awards ceremony.

I knew going into it that there had been drama around the awards for the last couple of years. It was more than a little unnerving that there was strife in the community. That it was aimed particularly at women and people of color, different religions and countries is frustrating since to me Science Fiction is the place where all walks of life, no matter how different, are accepted by each and every one of us (HELLO STAR TREK).

A lot of the female writers especially have been enduring an endless amount of harassment. As someone who is seeking to become a full time writer and has dealt with plenty of sexism and harassment at other jobs, I was more than a bit wary.

However, women won big this year and that was truly inspiring. The community on the whole stood behind them and their amazing talent, myself included. The night of the Awards I was quite proud, plus Pat Cadigan was a funny, funny host. There is plenty of fallout from certain overly privileged people whom I refuse to acknowledge, but the winners are holding their own against them and it doesn’t change that they did amazing work and got the recognition they deserve.

The decriers rather baffle me as it’s not like there haven’t always been women writers or gay people or people of other races (besides white). They’ve ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF OUR WORLD. And them being here and also writing and getting recognition doesn’t detract from other good writers. The idea that it does is quite puzzling. Truly it does not even serve their best interest because people get bored reading the same old stuff all the time and if you turn people off to books, you turn them off to ALL books. Which means NO ONE IS BUYING ANYBODY’S BOOKS, which totally sucks.

Anyway, they don’t matter. The complainers are a group of hate-spreading opportunists growing ever smaller, most of whom just rile up who they can to get money out of them. There will likely always be a few of them, but hopefully they will join the rest of us here in the real world full of good books and many engaging voices.

A few snaps from my trip:

Victorian Minnesota

August 3, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

Minnesota seems like such a nice, mild mannered place. Nothing weird would happen here. People wouldn’t be into odd and curious things. Well, to a degree this is true. People tend to be very practical here. But not everyone. Not all the time.

Back in May I went to/participated in three things hosted by the MN Historical Society.

The Summit Avenue Walking Tour, A Victorian Superstitions Tour at the Ramsey House on Friday the 13th and A Victorian Magic Happy Hour at the Ramsey House.

Let’s start with the walking tour.

You meet at the James J. Hill house. I have not toured this house yet but plan to do it soon. It’s a tour of some of the historical area of St. Paul. Truth be told, I get a little bored listening to how much money so and so had and the house they built with it. I tend to be more impressed by people doing things than having things. But that’s just me. There was a lot of information on who was the wealthiest person on the street and how they kept building bigger spaces to outdo one another. However, it was a nice day and there were flowers and some pretty details and at the end of the street you see a house that an Italian horror movie was filmed in. As well as the apartment and bar F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in and drank in. There is also a sculpture by an artist I love by the name of Paul Manship. My photo is not great so I won’t post it. He is probably most famous for his sculpture outside of Rockefeller Center. I first encountered his work in Chicago and then again Boston. I think I will write about him in the future.

Now to the Friday the 13th tour. This ONE was FASCINATING! I couldn’t take pictures that night but I could the night of the happy hour so I do have a few snaps of the Alexander Ramsey House.

So, the tour takes you through the house and I was on the later one so when we ended up on top floor in the nursery the creepy factor was about as high as it could go. Complete with murderous looking dolls and creaking floors. If you can ever tour the house at night I highly recommend it.

Some of the highlights of the enormous pile of information they gave us include:

-Alexander Ramsey attended a seance at the White House hosted by Mary Todd Lincoln. When this was first discovered researchers became quite excited to learn what happened. Harry Houdini was also said to be in attendance. Governor Ramsey was a meticulous journal keeper. All that it said on this night: Went to party and dinner at White House, nothing of note happened. So, I guess he was a skeptic. And when you also ask why there is so little art in the Ramsey House, you find out that the Ramsey family wasn’t “into art” and thus we have your practical Minnesotan trait.

However, they did have their daughters participate in Victorian magic tricks popular at the time, such as peeling apples to uncover the initials of future mates and tea leaf readings.

If you wrapped a ring in a cloth and put it under your pillow, it was said you would dream about your future husband. They read us a letter where the daughter sarcastically mentioned she would end up a polygamist as she dreamt about three brothers in one night.

There are so many parlor tricks and games filled with mating, impending disasters and death that this would be about ten thousand words long if I continued on.

The last thing I will mention that sort of blew my mind was this: TB was ravaging parts of the world at the time. Especially rural, uneducated areas. The natural conclusion was that there were vampires(The word vampire became in use because of the British Press) as the idea that TB was “sucking the life out of you” was where this came from. People were dug up, heads chopped off, bodies burnt and in one very hysterical and odd case, a heart was ground up and consumed to protect a family(it did not work, they died). In fact, the part of this that was completely nuts to me as this went on as recently as the last exhumation of the Great American Vampire Panic took place in Winona, MN in 1922! Minnesota, crazier than you think.

The Victorian Happy Hour was great. Seriously I loved it and I want to go to the ones in the Fall. It featured magician Michael Callahan. Boy, did he know his stuff. He was so filled with facts and stories that I could probably listen to him for 24 hours straight. He is so passionate about his craft that I really hope I get to see him again. The Happy Hour included treats and wine as well as wandering on the main floor. He focused on the 19th century and spoke about tricks I’d not heard of before. He spoke about “mind reading” and coercing attendees to participate in ways that they would not expect.

Below are my photos from the walking tour and then my snap shots of the Ramsey House. There’s lots of strange and compelling things to learn in Minnesota. And you really never know where you can find out something that might seem more than a bit mad.

Odd (Geeky) Minnesota: Caponi Art Park

July 24, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

I am always looking for the less known spots in my adopted state. Not that I don't love plenty of popular spots but the dusty corners and lesser known nooks tend to be where the unusual and unexpected stories live. Caponi Art Park is no exception. I had learned about this park from a friend who has family that lives nearby. I've lived here 15 years + and had never heard of it till this year. I looked into the history a bit to learn that the founder had passed away not all that long ago at the age of 94. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 15 from Italy. Anthony Caponi served as a translator in World War II and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He was employed by MacCalester College in St.Paul for nearly 42 years, having a big impact on the art department there.

He bought the land that eventually became the park not too long after starting to work there and did all the labor on the park himself.

He accomplished a great many more things which you can read about here.

This is a perfect example of finding great accomplishment in the everyday person.

The park hosts many events throughout the warm months and I recommend heading out for a picnic. Be sure to bring a camera, there's lots you'll want to remember.

Some of my pictures from my visit:

Happy Exploring!

Minnesota in the Summer

July 11, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

Minnesota is green, lush and gorgeous in the summer time. Just a walk around the nearest lake and you can see some beauty in the smallest places. Here are some pictures form this weekend taken by the nerds in the household. Back soon with a long post!

Adventures in Science Fiction Reality...CONvergence 2016

July 10, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

It's that time of year again. When CONvergence has come and gone, all that remains is memories. But, like 16 years worth in my case. In the past I have hosted parties at CONvergence. They are huge, expensive, amazing undertakings. I took the year off this time around and tried to just enjoy being an attendee. The last couple of years of parties had coincided with the release of my Sci-Fi Novels. I didn't release a full length novel this year but I did put out a little short ebook about some of my previous CON adventures which you can find here: Adventures in Science Fiction Reality

It's the story of a girl who without meaning to be so, is sort of an idiot. By accident.

Please have a read, laugh at my misery.

There are so many things to see and do at CON, I can never keep up. I visited all the parties, attended some panels, art show, dealer's room, Vilification Tennis (always amazing), went to the dance, visited the Space Lounge. And I get nowhere near doing everything.

Here are some of my snaps this year!

More from past conventions here, here, here, here, and here.

Happy Geeking!

Book Review: The Fireman

July 4, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

The Fireman by Joe Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As with much of Joe Hill's writing, this is an odd book. Not to be confused with being a bad book, just odd. There are a lot of weird cultural references, new and old. J.K. Rowling dies a hero(of course). A reference to The Road is made and it's one of the first times I've ever seen anyone write about it in a way I feel about that book. Humanity's inevitable doom not withstanding, you should read this if you like Mary Poppins references, sarcasm and Martha Quinn(yes, you read that correctly).

View all my reviews

How to Order Vegan Part 3: Indian Food

June 15, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

Today in my third part of How to Order Vegan we’re going to cover some but likely not all, Indian food. There are so many types of Indian food that I doubt I could get it all. I mean the country does have a billion people in it so, probably they’ve created more types of food than my tiny brain can comprehend.

However, I am going to try to give you some advice for ordering in Indian restaurants or Indian fusion restaurants. The great part of this is that a large part of the population of India is vegetarian. It is part of their largest religion to honor animals and not to consume them. This usually means it’s not too hard to find vegetarian and vegan food in Indian places.

*All the delicious things at Namaste Cafe. — *All the delicious things at Namaste Cafe.

That said there are a few things to look for:

-Indian breads such as roti & naan are amazing. Many of them are made with butter. If you ask you can generally find out easy enough and they can be made with oil instead. Some also contain milk products so you’ll want to check on that as well.

-Ghee is a clarified butter commonly used in Indian cooking. Many vegetarian dishes contain Ghee so make sure to check that your dish is free of butter.

-Paneer is a word for types of cheese used in Indian cooking. It is a popular vegetarian dish but if you’re looking for something vegan you'll want to steer clear.

-Most curries and Chana type dishes, Chana Aloo and Chana Masala, are based in coconut milk. Which is delicious, healthy and accents spices. So if your dish looks creamy and you are told it’s coconut milk, you are in the clear.

*Chana Saag from Gorkha Palace. — *Chana Saag from Gorkha Palace.

-There are many ways to garnish Indian dishes. Chutneys are remarkable mixtures to dress up food. You will want to look out for yogurt based ones. A lot of them are made with coconut milk but if it’s creamy, I’d double check.

*Tremendous pile of food from New India in Austin, Texas. — *Tremendous pile of food from New India in Austin, Texas.

*Side note: Indian food can be HOT as HELL if you want it to be. If you’re more on the mild side, be warned when asked about spice level. Hotter can be VERY HOT. I love it but I know not everyone wants to melt their face off.

*Art by The Playful Indian. — *Art by The Playful Indian.

-If you can get it vegan, you should have Dal soup. It is wonderful. It can be hard to come by vegan as the lentils are often cooked in ghee beforehand.

-I don't feel that I need to get into the "avoid meat part" of this too much. I think you know that is the first step. The last bit I can suggest is that appetizers are one of the best parts of Indian food. Getting to stuff your face with pakoras and samosas is about as wonderful as appetizers can get. I have never had this happen personally, but I have been told that on occasion the breading is made with diary or chicken stock. If you have have any questions about this, ask your server. They will either know or will go find out for you.

With that, I heartily encourage you to explore Indian food. It is unmatched for aromatic magic as far as I am concerned.

Art in Bloom and the Origins of Gardens

June 6, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

I went to this year’s Art in Bloom and of course, love being surrounded by the art and flowers.

But it also sparked a curiosity as to where gardening came from and how it started. So I did a little poking around and found a few interesting bits.

Gardening was first used for food and later moved to growing plants for medicinal purposes. The first known being called Forest Gardening. Generally near water sources. Hazardous plants, shrubs and vines would be identified and removed by whoever was tending to the area.

Moving into places like Ancient Egypt, gardens were built to honor gods and please deities.

Wealthy Egyptians also planted gardens to create shade around themselves and their homes.

Indoor planting began to take place as a way to clean the air of spirits. Filling temples with flowers and plants to please the gods and goddesses.

Growing vines became popular to create wine for the wealthy leisure class of Egyptians.

Assyrians were well-known for their magnificent gardens in ancient times as well.

The Black Death is responsible for the rise of gardening in the 13th century as so many people died more land became available for gardening.

The biggest difference between gardening and farming tends to be that gardening is done for beauty as opposed to purpose.

Some pictures from Art in Bloom at the M.I.A.

Flowers, Flowers and Probably More Flowers

May 31, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

As I am working on a long blog post enjoy some snaps from this year's Macy's Flower show: America the Beautiful. It took place back in April. It wasn't quite as large of an exhibit as it has been but there was some neat things to see. Be back soon with a long post!

Curiosities and Oddities Collection

May 26, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

I've been happily restocking my little ETSY shop with what I've decided is my contribution to the world of wearable oddities. I've used so many new types of materials. Well, not new actually, some are very old. New to me I suppose.

Objects made with real scrimshaw bone fragments, replica compasses, heavy weight Druzy Crystals, vintage rosary beads, keys that are nearly 100 years old, jade, onyx, quartz, Rhodochrosite, Vintage German Lucite, stone skulls, black sand and all things to make unique, conversation starter jewelry. (You'll also find some Blade Runner inspired and Sherlock Holmes) More details at: GirlyGeekChic.

Time Travel Thursday: Talamanca Reserve, Costa Rica

May 12, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

Going back through my travel posts as I've gotten completely off track with them: I realized that I never even posted my favorite place that I stayed in Costa Rica at the end of January this year. I had some genuine adventures in the jungles and on the wild beaches but when we headed into the mountains to Cerro Chirripó, I was so in love. This is Costa Rica's highest mountain range and it is covered in what is called cloud forest. Meaning the elevation is so high that the land is often veiled in clouds. It is so beautiful and so ethereal it is like being in another dimension. The place is teeming with birds and butterflies all in the brightest, most magical of colors. Flowers grow in abundance and the hiking gives you glimpses of breathtaking sights. And when you are all worn out at the end of the day you can stay at Talamanca Reserve. A gorgeous, comfortable haven nestled into the mountains with luxurious accommodations that included hot water showers(solar powered), gourmet food and a great bar. They accommodated my vegan diet with a variety of delicious and healthy dishes. The cabin was near a river that as you walked you passed dozens of plants and species of butterflies. In one short walk I must've caught a look at over 30 kinds of moths and butterflies. I cannot recommend this place enough. The staff was phenomenal to us and took care of everything as well as answering our millions of questions. I had a hard time picking through my pictures to share. So here is some and the next thing will be Cloudbridge Reserve which you can hike to from Talamanca.

Happy Adventures!

I HAVE THE POWER!!! Or a little about female action figures.

May 5, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

I collect female action figures. This all really started when I couldn’t find Eowyn from the Lord of the Rings movies. I was more than a little miffed that there was finally going to be a sword wielding ass kicker in one of the biggest movies ever made and I could not find her anywhere.

Over 20 years ago now, I bought myself my first action figures. It was an X-Files set that I still own. I loved Agent Scully and her unending skepticism no matter what she witnessed. Growing up I had Barbies. Lots of them. My mother loved Barbies and my brother had G.I. Joe and plenty of other superhero type guys. My mom was all about gender oriented toys. I don’t believe this was intentional, I think she was simply a product of her generation of women. My sisters and I never even considered that we also couldn’t let our toys have superhero powers, constantly making up elaborate story lines and having absolutely no problem with being able to kick the crap out of any villain, male or female. Our giant Barbies would date tiny G.I. Joes whenever Ken wasn’t available. But as I got older and started to read more and more, I started to realize that Barbie was not going to cut it anymore. I didn’t relate to her corvette, dream house and endless desire to be a cheerleader. I had Jem for a while, but as someone who has never felt the need to be a rock-star, I lost interest in her pretty quickly.

That’s when I met She-Ra. My mother started buying me She-Ra story books in grade school and when I made the honor roll, the action figures. I loved them and let me tell you, I wish I still had them. She-Ra had a sword, rode a flying unicorn, and could match her brother He-Man blow to blow with the bad guys. Around the same time my aunt started to send me Star Wars stuff and I dressed as Princess Leia for Halloween more than once. A friend’s mother would put my hair up for every holiday in her trademark braided buns. She was the ultimate Princess to me. She was the boss, resourceful, and got to wear a spectacular space dress when she felt like it. I will say I never really got her attraction to Han Solo as a kid. Then you grow up and realize that we can idiotically be attracted to “Bad Boys.” Whatever. Leia put Han in his place when he needed it, and I thought she was all the more awesome for it.

Fast forward a decade, Agent Scully comes into my life and then I start to realize there’s really something important here. A toy that represents something that wasn’t known to me as child. That I could be a smart, capable career woman of some kind. That’s why these toys matter. Because if you don’t know you could be a doctor or a hero of some sort you won’t ever consider it. For the longest time, and even now, it’s hard to find toys for females that cover the endless possibilities of growing up. No one ever doubts a male can be a hero but a female? Maybe not. Maybe she should only be in well-defined traditional roles? Well, if that’s what she wants then so be it. But all the options should be offered to everyone. And that includes in toys.

I don’t have a huge collection of female action figures. Maybe 30 or 35. But they all mean something to me. I noticed recently that I knew where they all came from, what stories they were from, or in some cases (like my Cleopatra figure) what time in history. What I didn’t know was anything about the history of the action figure toy itself. So I did a little research. And where it’s easy to find out what the first attempt at a female action figure was, it’s pretty hard to find much about it after that. I’m still looking into it. I have a lot of questions, including things like what was the first African-American Female Action Figure?

Here’s a little information for you to start:

-1959 Barbie is released by Mattel

-1964 Hasbro creates the phrase “Action Figure” and releases G.I. Joe

-1967 Hasbro releases what is thought to be the first action figure for females and is the first female G.I. Joe. Action Nurse. She is a complete failure. Girls don’t want to play with G.I. Joes and boys don’t want to play with dolls.

-1975 Marvel creates Storm and she is the first African-American Female in a feature role in a comic.

-1978 First Princess Leia action figure released by Kenner

-1997 G. I. Joe releases a second female action figure, a helicopter pilot.

-A friend of mine randomly found Eowyn for me in a Target she stopped at on a road trip some 10 years ago.

"Houston, we have a problem."

April 22, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

The news has been filled with amazing space things lately. From Scott Kelly returning from a year on the ISS to Space X landing a rocket successfully, it’s a renewed and exciting time to keep your eyes turned upwards.

I love visiting NASA facilities, any space related exhibits, museums, etc..I love to learn about the great adventurers of our time. I have to say I do often feel a sense of sad wistfulness that I will never go to space. My most recent visit at the end of January was to Johnson Space Center in Houston. It was glorious. This was somewhere I had wanted to go as a kid and many of my friends went. We never had money for vacations and as such rarely went out of town. Traveling is a pretty big deal to me no matter where it may be. When it happens to be somewhere that is the site of monumental human achievement: all the better!

To add to this I recently watched American Spacemen and followed it up with the movie The Right Stuff. I don’t often use fictional retellings as a point of reference but according to those involved in this movie the story is pretty close to reality. It shows the parallels of the American Space program and Chuck Yaegar breaking the sound barrier.

American Spacemen also tells the story of a Minneapolis company that helped break altitude records and was pioneered strongly by a woman(I feel a vested interest in this, being a female and all). There is a great article about it here: High Altitude Balloon Innovation

My visit to the Space Center was epic. It included a tour of not only mission control, you know: “Houston, we have a problem” but also the Vehicle Mock-up Building where all the astronauts come to learn how to use space equipment and the warehouse that stores the last Saturn V rocket that never got to launch because Nixon cut the budget. There is also a stray photo of the deer that live on the grounds. There were more animals as NASA does all that it can to preserve it’s surrounding environment. In fact, in Florida, all the grounds that belong to NASA are an animal sanctuary and protected space.

As Neil Degrasse Tyson would say: Never stop looking up. (I also listened to his Great Course Lecture Series…wonderful. You can find it here: My Favorite Universe.)

The Girl With All The Gifts

April 17, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19418277-the-girl-with-all-the-gifts">The Girl With All the Gifts: Extended Free Preview by M.R. Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, Zombies.

I've read World War Z (I did like this), Zombie Survival Guide, a crap ton of Walking Dead, Marvel Zombies, Pride Prejudice and Zombies, Graveminder-the point is-I've tried and I just don't get into zombie stuff.

Walking Dead drove me nuts because I can only read/watch people making bad choices for so long. I know zombies are biologically impossible. Half my family is in the medical profession and they always treat the CDC in these stories as if they are the dumbest people in the world as opposed to what they actually are: the most intelligent. I get that it's a statement on the human condition but one only needs to read the news to also grow exhausted reading about it for amusement.

The dumb part is, I like vampire books. I've read so many vampire books, I made my friends intervene (no joke). Perhaps it's like classic rock: you can like the Rolling Stones or the Beatles but you can't truly love both.

My friend did not tell me what this book was about, giving it to me because I love Lucifer, which is also written by M.R. Carey. I have to be genuinely surprised by a book these days to be completely impressed by it. I know, I am a snot.

This book blew me away with its unique rendering of a brave new world after the zombie apocalypse. It didn't presume people were stupid, it didn't presume they were without heart or only possessed with dysfunctional decision making skills. It walks the thin line of horror based in reality successfully. Something that I find more unsettling than all out gore. Telling a story that blurs the lines as to who gets to be deemed living or not living. And what it really means to be a civilized human being.

View all my reviews

How to Order Vegan Part 2

April 15, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

I am back with the second part of my How to Order Vegan posts. You can find the first post here: How to Order Vegan Part 1.

In this installment of how to order vegan we are going to cover Mexican food, Mediterranean food, and Pizza.

Growing up on the Mexican border, I spent a fair amount of time eating in Mexico. I love Mexican food. That said, living this far North can make it a little tricky to find true Mexican food. Be that as it may, the variations including Tex-Mex share some similar features in recipes. These tips tend to be things that can carry over into all the types of Mexican and Tex-Mex you come across. There are always the obvious things: no cheese, no meat. Likely it will include no sour cream as well. This is especially important since most sour cream is not even vegetarian as it contains gelatin.

Other things to note:

-Rice can be cooked in chicken stock

-Beans can be cooked in an animal stock

-Mole is rendered with lard

-Tamales and Enchiladas can often be made vegan if they are made fresh. If they are made in advance they will often have cheese or beef stock in them.

-Tortillas can be fried in lard

-Double check that guacamole does not have cheese added to it

That said, there is almost always something that can be vegan at a Mexican/Mexican-like restaurant.

tostadas from Nico's Taco Bar.(Drinks, food and patio! Woohoo!)

I don’t get to travel as much as I’d like. Probably a lot of people will say that. However, they likely won’t say that they try falafel everywhere they do get to go. I do. I love falafel and it’s many trappings- hummus, tahini, fresh chopped veggies.

Mediterranean Food is an excellent vegan food and it’s not too terrible for you either. I know it might seem that gyros(lamb), chicken, and beef dominate this type of cuisine but they most certainly do not have to.

Grilled veggies abound and a lot of things are based in chickpeas and sesame seeds. Eggplant is also a prevalent ingredient.

Things to check for include:

-Nearly all falafel is cooked in grapeseed oil or olive oil. It can also be baked(Egyptian style)-on occasion it is cooked with an animal stock in it.

-Greek salad is easily made vegan by leaving off feta cheese

-Avoiding things that have yogurt. Sometimes you can get tzatziki sauce without diary but not always. Definitely ask about this if this is what you want.

-I’ve on occasion run into hummus having gelatin in it. This is a rare occurrence but not impossible.

-Ask if rice is free of chicken stock

-Various types of samosas and dolmas are out there but you can run into ones having meat in them. It never hurts to double check.

Mediterranean food is an excellent way to dine out vegan. All the places I’ve tried falafel have their own way of making it from varying spices, cooking methods and sauces. I’ve even had it wrapped up with a thin tortilla type wrap, filled with hot sauce and grilled(yum).

I also find it to be great comfort food. If I am feeling especially bad, most places offer french fries as a side and dipping those in hummus that is usually fresh made can make anyone more cheerful.

Falafel from Holy Land in the Midtown Global Market.

The final part of this second installment we’ll go over everyone’s favorite: PIZZA!

It’s a great time to be vegan as more places than ever offer at least SOMETHING for an option. This has not always been the case, sadly.

If you go to a place like Pizza Nea or Pizza Luce around the Twin Cities you can even get alternative meat options including, at Pizza Nea, choices from the first vegan butcher shop, Herbivorous Butcher.

But, the reality is more often that there is not alternative meat or faux cheese options. That does not mean that you cannot have a delicious meal. One of my favorites in town is from Punch Pizza called the Gigi. It’s simply thin crust, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and basil. I often add mushrooms and artichoke hearts to it as well. It’s divine.

Things to look for:

-Ask if the crust is vegan because it can contain lard making it not even vegetarian. This tends to be true more for the cracker-style crust pizzas rather than Neapolitan-style or deep dish.

-Cheese can have rennet in it which is an enzyme that comes from animals, again making it not even vegetarian.

-Make sure sauce is meat and cheese free. Chunky tomato sauce tends to be a good bet if you’re unsure.

-Bianca sauce can be difficult to find vegan. Luckily for Minneapolis, you can go to Galactic Pizza and have their aromatic, melty perfection.

*An extra thing to note: If you have the option of a seasonal veggie pizza, I would go for it. This usually means the freshest possible ingredients. Minnesota has amazing mushroom pizzas for this very reason. If you haven’t had morels on a pizza you are missing out.

I’m working on Part 3 which will include Indian food and it’s vast varieties! Happy EATING!

Midnight Special

April 12, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

A fair number of the last few superhero movies have a left a bad mark on my love for the genre. The rampant sexism is not helping. Even with Wonder Woman finally appearing in DC's latest disaster they couldn't help the "I thought she came with you" comment.
And as much as I enjoy the Avengers movies I am close to finding them tiresome. Too much CGI, too many big stars who are themselves and not the characters-yawn, yawn, yawn.
So, I went to see Midnight Special last night. It is wonderful. It is quiet, thoughtful sci-fi and strangely possessed of moments that feel as though they are happening in real life. It's a small budget movie and as it often seems for that reason more gets poured into it from the people working on it. It's nice to see something that is not a franchise nor just a remake of something that didn't need resurrection in the first place.

Unicorn Art Show

April 11, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

Last Thursday I stopped into the Casket Arts building in Minneapolis. I had not been there before. It's super cool. Filled with artist's studios and unique spaces.

They were hosting a Unicorn Art show. The second one to happen there apparently. I am sad to say I missed the first one but this second one full of sparkles and glorious manes was magic(of course).

I need to get better at keeping my eyes open for art invites. I love going to see art but since I'm not an art "insider" as it were it's not always something I know about happening. There is a huge art scene here. It's something I like a great deal about the Twin Cities but it's also something that is hard for me to be apart of. I nearly always find some gems at these shows. If only I had endless money and space...

What to Eat Wednesday: Madison, Wisconsin

April 6, 2016 Trimid Dew Lanns

I've written about eating in Madison before, right here. The food is pretty great in this pretty great town. My most recent trip there a few weeks ago was no exception.

I've been to the Green Owl Cafe in the past but I don't recall having had a dessert that they serve. Well, I had one this time, a vegan Chocolate Lava cake with ice cream and it was scrumptious. I have not had a dessert that good and perfect and fabulously rich in some time. Dinner was tasty as well. In particular, the Vegan Caesar Salad with grilled lemony tofu. It's a cute place, casual. Most of Madison is casual and laid back.

A favorite place to eat in Madison is Monty's Blue Plate Diner. I love breakfast here and actually, had the almond milk vegan french toast for dinner one night. Other yummies: Vegan Country Breakfast, Vegan Curry and sandwiches.

Even though I love eating at Monty's I have to have coffee from EVP Coffee in the morning. A friend introduced me to this place and now I even bring it home with me from my visits.

A place new to my palate on this visit was a trip to The Roman Candle. They had these breadsticks that made my mouth super happy and the pizza was fantastic. They make a spicy sauce on a pizza called the Vegan Destroyer. Absolutely worth a stop.