Author Rob Wieland

Mystery Science Theater 3000 LIVE! was a great homecoming for Joel, a fine showcase for Jonah

November 16, 2018

Inevitably, when an influential band breaks up, its members gravitate back toward the thing that made the band famous. Thirty years have passed since Mystery Science Theater 3000 turned an activity once confine...

Bristol Renaissance Faire adds more cosplay to its 2018 lineup

Rob Wieland

July 5, 2018

For most Milwaukeeans, Summerfest marks the midpoint of summer in a frenzy of fireworks, free(ish) concerts, and memories that will hopefully sustain them through the next winter where February lasts for 15 yea...

Local romance author offers different kind of fantasy football with Milwaukee Dragons books

Rob Wieland

May 2, 2018

The last weekend of April featured a lot of big moments. Comic fans got to see a big messy crossover on the big screen. Winter finally decided to fuck off until September. And Packer fans got their heart rates ...

30th anniversary of Bristol Renaissance Faire offers games and thrones

Rob Wieland

July 6, 2017

For many folks in the Milwaukee area, summer doesn't begin with Summerfest or fireworks. It begins when they strap on a rapier, peel on some leather gloves, and hoist a giant turkey leg down at the Bristol Rena...

Midwinter Gaming Convention is coming

Rob Wieland

January 9, 2017

In the dead of winter, there are few precious lights in Milwaukee. The Bucks might be doing well, and the Packers are hopefully still in the playoffs. (They are and they are.) Snow has gone from holiday fun ti...

You’re a blizzard, Harry: MSO’s ‘Harry Potter’ show bravely plays on

Rob Wieland

December 19, 2016

Milwaukee has some great Christmas traditions. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater performs A Christmas Carol every year. The LED-decoration arms race of Candy Cane Lane makes WE Energies smile. Soulless automato...

Harley-Davidson rides into Marvel Universe with “Super Hero Customs”

Rob Wieland

August 18, 2016

//Exhibit 1,267 that the nerds are winning: Harley-Davidson has collaborated with Marvel to create 25 custom motorcycles themed around various heroes from the comic franchise's colorful history. While Supe...

John Carpenter builds wall of sound at Pabst Theater

Rob Wieland

July 19, 2016

//The social feeds of anyone that grew up in the '80s were lit up over the weekend by gushing praise for Stranger Things, a Netflix series coated in a thick frosting of nostalgia and references to genre fi...

Board game bender: 5 places to enjoy a game and a drink on International Tabletop Day

Rob Wieland

April 27, 2016

//Not long ago, playing a board game at a bar was an exercise in sadness. It was usually some beat-up old copy of Trivial Pursuit with 90 percent of the questions about Richard Nixon or Mork & Mindy. B...

Spock you like a hurricane: Justin Freer and Dennis McCarthy talk “Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage”

Rob Wieland

March 10, 2016

//Music is an important part of the pop culture breakfast. Theme songs, especially, spark a rush of nostalgia and emotional connection to favorite scenes or characters. But of all the pop culture franchise...

Why MKE and NXT make a great tag team

Rob Wieland

January 14, 2016

//Fun fact: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's famous "Austin 3:16" catchphrase was born right here in Milwaukee at the 1996 King of the Ring tournament. This is but one of many tidbits of wrestling history threa...

Author Patrick Tomlinson prepares to launch ‘The Ark’

Rob Wieland

November 2, 2015

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo if you’re into the whole brevity thing, began yesterday. Writers throughout the country go on something of a creative crash diet to do the one thing everybody needs to...

Throwback to the future: Cosplay Rave 3.0 vs. ’90s rave culture

Rob Wieland

July 15, 2015

Kids these days, with their hula hoops and their raps, might not realize it, but their parents may have spent their youth as part of the early ’90s rave culture, tracking down underground parties full of thuddi...

Regal definition: An audience with the queen of the Bristol Renaissance Faire, Jenny Higgins

Rob Wieland

July 7, 2015

By the time July rolls around, the itch to cram in as much summer fun as humanly possible usually means one thing: a road trip. For many Milwaukeeans, scratching that itch involves heading down to the Illinois ...

Tracklist: 6 Safe House improvements we’d like to see

Rob Wieland

June 22, 2015

Local movie money moguls Marcus Corporation announced late last week their purchase of perennial tourist bar Safe House for an undisclosed sum. With nerd bars popping up all over the city and kitsch theme pubs ...

Postmodern Jukebox brings YouTube razzmatazz to Turner Hall

Rob Wieland

June 11, 2015

Novelty acts have it rough. Not only must they catch a popular song before it hits saturation, they have to come up with a clever riff on it, record it, and get it out to the public just long enough to have it ...

Off Base: 10 Brewers/Star Wars bobbleheads we’d like to see

Rob Wieland

May 28, 2015

Wisconsin’s recent run as a contender in various sports has been a refreshing change of pace. The Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Bucks both made the playoffs last season, and are full of young talent. The Wisc...

Table Top Hobby Game Shop won’t stop until the orcs drop

Rob Wieland

May 19, 2015

Milwaukee’s nerd community is getting spoiled these days. The city has several excellent comic book shops to help folks keep current on today’s big crossover events that will become tomorrow’s tentpole summer b...

Chris Hardwick makes dick jokes for science at Pabst Theater

Rob Wieland

May 9, 2015

Scott Fitzgerald is famously misquoted as saying there are no second acts in American lives. Anyone can prove the folly of that quote by jumping onto the Internet where celebrities reinvent themselves as the su...

A certain point of view: Milwaukee’s connection to Star Wars reference site Wookieepedia

Rob Wieland

May 4, 2015

The Star Wars Expanded Universe—all the books, comics, video games, and other materials that expand the story beyond the original films—has a complex relationship with the ever-popular franchise. Some things ar...