Month: February 2007

  • Murder by Numbers

    Viewed through the prism of memory, some years take on a character, a distinctive tone. In 2006, crime reclaimed its place on the front pages of newspapers across the United States, including the Star Tribune. And in this year of murder, Courtney Brown and Trevor Marsh were like twin poles on a violent globe. Brown…

  • Spinning "Climate Change"

    Aquatennial and Winter Carnival to merge. More Speedo time! Northwest Passage soon to be completed. Global Warming: Beats the hell out of an ice age. It’s treatable! Sort of like a meteorlogical bi-polar disorder. Won’t that hole in the ozone be a handy escape hatch when the planet blows up?

  • Peddling Pleasure

    Smitten Kitten, the South Minneapolis sex boutique, recently launched its own version of the in-home sex-toy party, at which such wares as lubricants and vibrators are passed around for taste-testing, manhandling, discussion, and, of course, purchase. These “Pussy Parties” are geared to have a more urban, less hetero bent than, say, “Passion Parties,” which is…

  • Learning to Speak

    It’s a bit foggy aboard the Queen Mary 2 on our second day out of New York. The sky merges seamlessly with the ocean, obliterating the horizon in mushy blue-grayness. But deep inside this massive vessel—the newest, largest, fastest, and most luxurious ocean liner in the world—and behind the doors of the Illuminations auditorium, the…

  • House of Anything You Wish

    I came here to lose. But the wheel won’t let me. Once again I pile all of my chips on three. People gasp. What are the odds for winning eight straight-ups in a row? Fools! Don’t they know wheels do not hold memory? That math and luck never go together? With roulette, every spin is…

  • Nice Folks and Nitwits

    People will tell me anything. I have that kind of face. I got it from years of practice. When I was a waitress, I’d listen to people all day long and smile at nice folks and nitwits alike. My livelihood depended on my genial expression. In time, it bled over into my daily life. My…