Ken Newquist 
Star Wars and Star Trek dominated the early days of the Geek Tree, because those were the only ornaments that Hallmark and others were making. Thankfully, the rise of geek culture – and nostalgia for the 80s – led to a proliferation of other ornaments. The flying DeLorean from Back to the Future, Part II is one of them. … Read more
Alien (1977) and Aliens (1986) are two of my favorite science fiction movies. I never expected any characters or monsters from the films to be rendered in ornament form, so I was pleasantly surprised in 2014 when Hallmark released the original xenomorph. The creature is crouched down and ready to strike, and I like to nestle it among the … Read more
Summer 2019 is long over, and so is my summer “to do” list. The list, inspired by similar lists in 2015 and 2017, was meant to focus my scatterbrained self on a few goals for the summer. Stuff that would be fun to accomplish … but didn’t matter much if I didn’t finish. Summer Reading List 2019: My Summer Reading List … Read more
I have mixed fillings about Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. Visually, it’s a beautiful film with some of the best sequences we’ve ever seen in Star Wars (I’m thinking specifically of the desperate hyperspace jump that slew the First Order’s flagship. On the other hand, the narrative flowed unevenly, it seemed to disregard much of what came … Read more
The Mandalorian is all the rage right now, and rightly so. It’s an excellent series that pays homage to the lore of the Expanded Universe and delivers a show that’s loyal to the look, feel, and themes of Star Wars. Of course, it all began with one of Star Wars’ most enigmatic characters (and Day 4’s featured ornament): … Read more
Released in 2000, the Gungan Submarine was the follow-up to 1999’s Naboo Starfighter. The submarine appeared in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace during Qui-Gon and Obi-wan’s journey through the watery core of Naboo. It’s a powered ornament, with its cockpit, biomechanical tale, and underbelly light illuminated. It doesn’t play any sounds. It’s also the … Read more
Arthur C. Clarke is one of my favorite science fiction authors. I devoured the science fiction grandmaster’s books as a kid and I couldn’t tell you how many times I watched 2010: The Year We Make Contact in high school (and listened to the soundtrack while studying in college). Of course, I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey … Read more
The Geek Tree has a long and storied history at Nuketown. Beginning with a humble 4-foot tree back in the late 1990s, the Geek Tree is now a 9-foot-tall (albeit narrow) tree packed with ornaments from dozens of movies, TV shows, books, and other geeky inspirations. While I’ve spent a fair amount of time discussing the … Read more
I’m kicking off the Ornament-a-Day 2019 with 1999’s Naboo Starfighter. Taken from Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the Naboo Starfighter is an unpowered ornament that still manages to shine thanks to its highly reflective silver underbelly and engine pods. The silver sheen is offset by the Naboo fighter’s yellow paint job. It’s a distinctive ornament … Read more
Skill challenges were one of the few things that everyone in my gaming group liked about Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. Thought it had its issues in its initial iteration, Star Wars: Saga Edition further refined the idea, and we used it to great effect. It’s a subsystem I was sad to see missing from 5th Edition, but … Read more