Month: February 2006

  • Place

    Since Minnesota is not a noted home to the polar bear, one might wonder where the name White Bear Lake comes from. If you believe Mark Twain, it originated with an Indian legend. In his 1883 book, “Life on the Mississippi,” he tells of a Romeo and Juliet type romance between a Sioux maiden and…

  • Season of Swag

    Goody bags are getting foisted upon the undeserving in staggering numbers these days. They reward sports fans, conventioneers, talk-show guests, and five-year-old birthday-party attendees. Celebrities, of course, gather oodles of loot throughout the winter awards season, from the Golden Globes and Grammys on up to the Oscars. We decided it’s time that our readers joined…

  • Thin Ice

    Loyal collectors believed that Russell Kern was due for a revival. His dealer had kept faith; the right curators showed interest. But this was still the bad year that dear friends whispered about, the year Kern lost his wife in a car wreck, discharged a load of bird shot into a threatening shadow, burned a…

  • Trust But Verify & Serve With A Light Burgundy

    A few weeks ago, Twin Citizen waking up to their coffee and toast were surprised to hear that one of our beloved local bakeries, the French Meadow, had been raided by federal agents. Was the French Meadow aiding and abetting terrorists with its awesome vegan lunch menu? Or was its name a tip-off to general…

  • A Tale of Two Tales

    I just saw Memoirs of a Geisha. In the movie, there’s a scene where the geishas play a drinking game with their clients. Somebody tells two stories, and then everybody else has to guess which is true. With that idea in mind, I have two stories for you this month. Story #1 goes like this.…

  • Who are you calling an “underperformer”?

    Close your eyes for a minute and picture a typical academically challenged, underperforming student. If you are really honest with yourself, you probably see one of the “boyz from the hood”—in other words, a black, brown, or Latino male raised in bad circumstances and going nowhere fast. For many years, the desire to avoid students…