The Rake: Blogs

Radio K Turns 15 Years Old!

Kate Iverson — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:10:00 -0500

MUSIC
Radio K 15th Anniversary Show

Oct 7, 2008: "Cats" ISN'T Forever

Jimmy Gaines — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:21:41 -0500

Around the Horn: Baseball playoffs, Vikes vic and Wolves preseason romp

Britt Robson — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:10:16 -0500

It was a blast bouncing back and forth between the Red Sox and the Vikings pulling out squeakers last night. Bereft of Tivo, there is an stubbornly (stupidly?) old-school desire of mine to let caprice take its course, knowing that Sportscenter would have the *really* spectacular sports moments that I missed in the flipping. (BTW, PBS's excellent three-hour doc on Jimmy Carter also put in a strong claim on my viewing habits, but fortunately their stuff is widely available on video and reruns.)

Compañia Flamenco José Porcel Dazzles at Northrop Auditorium!

Kate Iverson — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:42:52 -0500

DANCE
Alma Flamenco

Quick Hits On The T-Wolves Saturday Scrimmage

Britt Robson — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:13:23 -0500

Don't get too excited or bummed out by anything I'm about to say. Like the rest of you, I'm itchy for the beginning of the NBA season and took great joy is sussing the action Saturday night in Mankato as the Wolves had a 35-minute intrasquad scrimmage in front of the general public. But the team has had exactly one week of practice. Their star, Al Jefferson, is recovering from a knee injury, and their most valuable off-season pickup, Mike Miller, was gimpy with a hamstring or thigh problem. I'll be more confident in my judgments when the sample size isn't so infintesimal.

Oct 6, 2008: Maverick

Jimmy Gaines — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:35:28 -0500

Pop!! in Downtown Saint Paul

Jeremy Iggers — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:45:34 -0500

Okay, so, I just saw one of the best plays I have seen in ages, Distracted, at Mixed Blood Theater, about a kid with ADHD and his family. But I cover restaurants, not theater, so I am trying to figure out a tie-in between Distracted - which is funny and moving and beautifully acted, and runs through October 19, and the restaurant I am going to tell you about, Pop!! at 6th and Wabasha in downtown Saint Paul, and I think I have come up with one:

Local Chef and Author Steve Lerach Fries Up A Good Story

Kate Iverson — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:35:45 -0500

READINGS
Steve Lerach's Fried: Surviving Two Centuries in Restaurants

Who Is Hotter Than a Hockey Mom?

Chris Birt — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:21:22 -0500

That would be moi. Ski Mama Maximus.

I am also leading the finest SKI SWAP around at Hyland Hills Ski Area next Friday from 5-10 and all day Saturday. That's Hyland Hills in Bloomington right down the street from the big ski jump on 494 (you can almost see it from downtown).

Unlike a typical hockey parent (or political poster mom for the cause), I am bright enough to speak in polished syntax while I purchase lightly used world-class equipment for my whole family at 85% OFF RETAIL.

RIP jP American Bistro; Who's Next?

Jeremy Iggers — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:35:06 -0500

JP Samuelson never did return my call - he obviously had more important matters on his mind - but it turns out the rumors are true. Here's the announcement from jP's website:

Blindness

Jill Yablonski — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:42:20 -0500

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Blindness director Fernando Meirelles mentions that an early screening of the movie was so upsetting some 12% of the audience walked out because of the graphic sexual violence onscreen. His response was to "soften the film a bit" because he didn't want to make a film that could possibly provoke the audience to leave. Can this be the same man that made the brilliant and unrelentingly brutal Brazilian gangster tale City of God?

Artists Pay Homage to David Lynch at Altered Esthetics!

Kate Iverson — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:07:20 -0500

ART
Tales from the Black Lodge Opening Reception

Oct 3, 2008: Uneven Forecast/Uneven Debate

Jimmy Gaines — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:29:23 -0500

Oct 2, 2008: Frost?!

Jimmy Gaines — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:51:45 -0500

Reel Jazz in Uptown & Real Art in Northeast

Kate Iverson — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:28:18 -0500

FILM
Reel Jazz Film Series

Philip Roth Aint's Gonna Win This One

Max Ross — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:52:00 -0500

And Horace Engdahl, top member of the award jury for the Nobel Prize in Literature, was all like, "You can't get away from the fact that Europe still is the center of the literary world ... not the United States...The U.S. is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature.

Some Things About Some Things

Glenn Gordon — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:12:46 -0500

The Ron Jeremy Plan for U.S. Economic Performance

Rich Goldsmith — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:38:26 -0500

The latest version of the bailout bill being voted on tonight in Congress doesn't just amount to lipstick on a pig. It's Rush Limbaugh smothered in fetid road kill.

Why Is jP American Bistro Closed Tonight?

Jeremy Iggers — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:35:59 -0500

jP American Bistro didn't open for dinner tonight. A sign on the door says "jP American Bistro will be closed the evening of September 30, 2008."

That's all I know for sure. If you know more than I do, please write me at iggers@rakemag.com, or post a comment.

Meanwhile, in other news, I have a couple of books to recommend:

Oct 1, 2008: Rosh Hashanah!

Jimmy Gaines — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:04:02 -0500

Celebrate Local Magazines at Open Book!

Kate Iverson — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:27:16 -0500

SPECIAL EVENT
Magazine Celebration

Beck and MGMT at Roy Wilkins

Max Ross — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:13:25 -0500

Beck opened with "Loser." Talk about instantly winning over a crowd - a good portion of the audience mouthed along with the semi-non-sensical lyrics, and kept their lips moving Franny-like for the rest of the show. Mellow Gold came out fourteen years ago, and because this was an eighteen-plus show, this means some of the concertgoers were only four years old when it dropped.

Shane West Channels Darby Crash

Kate Iverson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:45:17 -0500

FILM
What We Do Is Secret

Live Blogging Twins-White Sox, Game #163

Britt Robson — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:28:23 -0500

Pregame

Sept 30, 2008: Cool Hand Dutch

Jimmy Gaines — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:49:41 -0500

Fuck The Beatles

Todd Smith — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:53:20 -0500

Note to Rake Readers and the Mpls Music Community: I sincerely apologize for offending anyone in the original posting of this story. My intention was to celebrate the diverse wackiness of Roadrunner and it's patrons. Not rip on a guy I hardly know. I would never consider myself better than anyone. Please read my piece entitled "Pharma Chameleon" to see how much of a freak I am. That being said, the proper edits have been made to the following piece. Once again, I apologize.

Sept 29, 2008: The Poll

Jimmy Gaines — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:29:59 -0500

Mango Thai Cuisine

Jeremy Iggers — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:47:56 -0500

Strictly speaking, I am not sure the dishes I sampled the other day at Mango Thai Cuisine at Selby and Dale in St. Paul really qualify as authentic Thai cuisine. I don't remember seeing any western-style broccoli the last time I was in Bangkok, and I am pretty sure I never saw a seafood salad served over baby field greens in an oversized martini glass, or raad na noodles topped with curled strands of carrot. Ditto the crab avocado rolls, and the mango spring rolls, and the

Bring on Brokaw -- Lehrer Doesn't Deliver the Goods

Rich Goldsmith — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:49:33 -0500

Even as Wall Street continued its end run into a cold nuclear winter's meltdown, leading some former investment bankers to seek comfort in the