Matt Blum

Virginia

Editor-in-Chief at GeekDad

Dad, husband, programmer, all-around geek. Editor-in-Chief of GeekDad blog. He/him.

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Articles

Take Your Music With You With the TRIBIT StormBox Lava

1 week ago | geekdad.com | Rob Huddleston |Ken Denmead |Matt Blum

Portable Bluetooth speakers have become commonplace on the market today. The TRIBIT StormBox Lava provides deeper, richer sound than many of its similarly-sized competitors. What is the TRIBIT StormBox LavaThe TRIBIT StormBox Lava is a portable Bluetooth speaker, build for those who want to be able to listen to music practically anywhere.
The Age of the Anti-Hero - Why We Root for the Monsters Now

2 months ago | medium.com | Matt Blum

Matt Blum·Follow4 min read·--Remember when heroes used to be good? Capes. Chiseled jaws. Righteous speeches about justice, truth, and all that wholesome nonsense? Yeah. We’re past that. These days, we don’t root for heroes — we root for the bastard with a body count, the morally gray assassin, the vampire with unresolved trauma, and the exorcist who drinks whiskey for breakfast. The anti-heroes. Think about it: Who’s running the show right now? John Wick? Assassin. Louis de Pointe du Lac?
Book Review: 'Picks and Shovels' with a Bonus 'Bezzle'

Jan 23, 2025 | geekdad.com | Robin Brooks |Jonathan H. Liu |Matt Blum

I’ve been an avid reader of Cory Doctorow’s books for a long time and was thrilled to discover that Picks and Shovels is one of his very best. I enjoyed this novel about pyramid scheme skulduggery, during the early age of personal computers, so much, that I immediately picked up The Bezzle; a book that had languished on my to-be-read pile since it arrived last year.
Review - Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #5 - Cold Freeze

Nov 20, 2024 | geekdad.com | Ray Goldfield |Matt Blum

Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #5 – Jay Kristoff, Tom Taylor, Writers; Tirso, Riccardo Federici, Artists; Arif Prianto, ColoristRay: As we reach the penultimate issue of this dark, cold saga, we’re introduced to one of the most key figures in Slade’s life – Wintergreen, his loyal aide de camp and the closest thing he has to a true friend.
Reaping the Rewards: 'Stonespine Architects'

Nov 18, 2024 | geekdad.com | Jonathan H. Liu |Preston Burt |Matt Blum

In “Reaping the Rewards,” I take a look at the finished product from a crowdfunding campaign. Stonespine Architects was originally funded on Kickstarter in July 2023, and was delivered to backers in the spring of 2024. This review is an updated version of my original Kickstarter Tabletop Alert. The minotaur apprentices have one final project: constructing a dungeon to challenge Queen Amalia’s heroes to become Master Architect. What Is Stonespine Architects?
October 2024 Book Preview!

Oct 5, 2024 | geekdad.com | Robin Brooks |Matt Blum

Another month has started and, as ever, I’m playing catch-up. Due to the brick-like nature of The Sympathizer, my September reading didn’t quite reach its summit. This has overloaded October, so, in what will be no surprise to regular readers, I now have an over-ambitious pile of books for this month too. Spooky Children’s OfferingsIt was September’s children’s books that I missed reviewing last month, so I’m going to roll straight onto those.
'The Beanstalk Murder by P.G. Bell:' A Book Review

Aug 29, 2024 | geekdad.com | Robin Brooks |Matt Blum |Rory Bristol

There is something irresistible about the premise of P.G. Bell’s The Beanstalk Murder. A whodunnit in the land of fairy tales. It’s been done before, Jasper Fforde’s Nursery Crimes seriesbeing a particular favorite, but P.G. Bell has adapted the idea for children and run with it. What Is The Beanstalk Murder? There is no Jack in this book, but we’re clearly in a nearby fairy tale universe. There are magic beans and giants, with the land they live in having easy access to gold.
Review- ′Anansi Boys # 3′: Where Fat Charlie Talks to a Spider

Aug 28, 2024 | geekdad.com | Mariana Ruiz |Jonathan H. Liu |Matt Blum

Anansi Boys #3 is the third issue adapting the marvelous Anansi Boys into graphic form. In it, we meet Fat Charlie, a shy young man who is by no means fat, his fiancée (whom he has barely kissed until they get married sometime soon), his mother-in-law, and his boss. However, Fat Charlie’s father was a god, and now that he has passed away, things start to get interesting.
Stack Overflow: 10 New Titles Coming Up in August

Aug 18, 2024 | geekdad.com | Mariana Ruiz |Matt Blum

These are ten very varied titles, from early readers to middle school, let’s dive right in!We recently reviewed the first title of the series, and this is an item I intend to collect, not only because Rob Jensen is a superb artist, but because kids dig his style, he is a must in every classroom when learning how to draw stuff!This step-by-step guide includes 30 prompts focused on everything edible, from kawaii cakes to cute fruit, funny sushi, and cartoon lunches.
'Lake of Darkness' by Adam Roberts A Book Review

Aug 15, 2024 | geekdad.com | Robin Brooks |Tony Sims |Matt Blum

Lake of Darkness is the most challenging novel that I’ve finished in a very long time. The key word in that sentence is “finished,” because whilst I often struggled with deriving meaning from Adam Roberts’s sentences, regularly finding myself looping back to make sure I hadn’t missed some deeper meaning, I always wanted to reach the bottom of the mystery. I wanted to understand what Roberts was driving at. This is not an easy novel to read. It will not be to everyone’s taste.