Month: June 2007

BOOKS AND FOOD
Raking Through Books – Writing About Food

If you pay close attention to The Rake online, you’ll have already noticed the addition of at least one new voice in the vintage and victuals arena. Ann Bauer’s new wine blog, Beyond the Cask, is just one small piece of a much larger project at The Rake. Beginning with the July issues, you’ll see a new and improved food, wine, and dining section both in print and online. Eaters’ Digest brings together Rake writers Stephanie March and Oliver Nicholson with two well-known names in local food writing — Ann Bauer and Jeremy Iggers. Tonight you have a rare opportunity to get to know them both as they team up to talk food, restaurants, writing, and media mega-changes. Get the first glimpse of this dynamic duo in action, along with a taste of their books (20% off at the University of Minnesota Bookstore).

5:30-7 p.m., Kieran’s Irish Pub, 330 2nd Ave. S., Minneapolis; free ($2 parking with Kieran’s voucher at Downtown Auto Park, 4th and Marquette).

BOOKS AND AUTHORS
A Journey Beyond Normal

Less food and decadence; more realism? Follow Jonathan Mooney’s journey on the short bus. Don’t be confused; this is no magic bus, my friends. Mooney took the notion of the short bus rider — a derogatory term used for kids in special eduction — and turned it into a vehicle of triumph over conformity and discrimination. Once called “unteachable” and labeled “dyslexic and profoundly learning disabled with attention and behavior problems,” Mooney was himself a short bus rider. Many years later, he set out on a four-month journey over 35,000 miles in search of others who have come up with insightful ways to overcome the obstacles that separate them from the so-called normal world. In The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal, Mooney describes the people he meets along the way — an eight-year-old deaf and blind girl who likes to curse out her teachers in sign language, the proud owner of the Museum of Wonder, and other people with learning disabilities who share a refreshing irreverence toward social constructs of normalcy. In true anti-hobgobblin fashion, The Short Bus offers an On the Road-style celebration of difference. Despite his disabilities, Mooney lashed back at his alienation by graduating from Brown University with an honors degree in English. A recipient of the Truman Fellowship for graduate study in the field of learning disabilites and special education, he is also the co-author of Learning Outside the Lines.

7:30 p.m., Magers And Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-822-4611.

BOOKS by Brad Zellar
Mere Anarchy

It’s been twenty-five years since a new collection of Woody Allen’s short humor appeared in print. You’re welcome to argue this point until you’re blue in the face, but he hasn’t made a truly great — or at least consistently funny — film in almost as long. It’s easy, then, to forget how truly fresh and funny Allen once was. The material in his early collections (and in his best films) was marked by his trademark neuroses as well as by an ability to blend high and low culture with often inspired and hilarious results. Allen’s work occasionally pops up in The New Yorker (where many of the pieces in Mere Anarchy originally appeared), and while there’s a palpable strain in some of the more uneven selections, the man is still capable of being very funny, very smart, and hyper-literate, often within the same paragraph.

Due in bookstores today, $21.95.

FILM
Infestation and Slaughter — two local wonders

I don’t know what it is about seeing a movie outdoors that just makes it that much better. The darkness is more real perhaps? You tell me. Experience the darkness of the Edison High School amphitheater — a little music as the sun drops, followed by a movie at dusk. Tonight’s show begins with powerpop-rockers the Infestations and finishes off with a film adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut favorite, Slaughterhouse Five. Discover the world of Vonnegut’s novel through Pilgrim’s eyes as he becomes unstuck in time and experiences his life in a seemingly random order. Apparently, some of the scenes were even shot here in Minnesota. (Thanks to Max for relieving me of some ignorance.)

8 p.m., Edison High School amphitheater, 22nd Ave. N.E. and Quincy St. — opposite the soccer field, Minneapolis; 612-668-1300; free.

Quit Your Bitching, 48-Hours Is A Lot of Time

The Minneapolis/St. Paul 48 Hour Film Project wrapped up this past weekend, and it’s time for the screenings to begin. See what our local filmmakers can do with 48 hours, a selected genre, and a random prop and line of dialogue. Films will be screened at the Riverview Theater over the next three days, and the Audience Award Favorites (voted on by the viewers) will screen at IFP’s Cinema Lounge next Wednesday. Max, over at MNSpeak was kind enough to offer links to previous years’ selections, both nationally and locally.

7 & 9:15 p.m., Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-729-7369; $2 ($3 tomorrow and Thursday).

ART AND LECTURE
A City Sleeps

Enjoy a night of photography and lecture at Gallery 13. The Minnesota Center for Photography will be presenting an artist-led slide lecture and talk with Chris Faust and Joan Rothfuss. Faust will present selections from his new book, Nocturnes, a collection of more than 70 tritone photographs representing our world in the nighttime hours. The slide show will be followed by a conversation with writer, art historian, and former Walker Art Center curator, Joan Rothfuss, a question and answer session, and a book signing. Stick around after the presentation for a reception and exhibit closing.

7 p.m., Gallery 13, 302 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; 651-592-5503; $5 (free for MCP and MIA Photography Council members).

THEATER AND PERFORMANCE
Gender Queercore

This evening, Homocore Minneapolis presents Gender Queercore with Actor Slash Model, from Chicago. This transgendered indie-grass music and performance duo, comprised of Simon Strikeback and Madsen Minax, conveys mega-queer, trans-centric, and kink-aware music through simple melodies and witty lyrics. Their show tonight features tough tough skin, zibra zibra, and thunder thighs. Interesting enough?

8 p.m., Bedlam Theatre, 1501 S. 6th St., Minneapolis; 612-341-1038; $5.

STYLE
Sneak Peek

Nordstrom is hosting the Chanel Spring Trunk Show today and tomorrow. Get a sneak peek at the top designer pieces that will clothe the most fashion-conscious and help set trends for lower-priced lines. Just stop by to have a look, talk to Chanel representatives, or place special orders.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nordstrom, Mall of America, Bloomington; 612-883-2121.

MUSIC
One Is No Longer Enough

Get out and celebrate the release of not one, but two CDs this evening. Weaver at the Loom and Klaus are joining up for a double CD release party at the Varsity, with The Drive Back and City of Sound. See here for a review of the new Weaver at the Loom CD.

6 p.m., Varsity Theater, 1308 4th St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-604-0222; $8.

Take a little break in your day for a great outdoor show in front of Northrop Auditorium. Join Michael Hauser and Friends at noon for an hour of flamenco. Enjoy some Spanish music with free ice cream cups while supplies last.

FILM
Heroes of Athleticism

“We are all familiar with the traditional epic sports films depicting great heroes of athleticism. Dodgeball is no exception. The only difference is that the sport is a childhood favorite and that our heroes are Vince Vaughn’s crew of unlikely champions. Ben Stiller plays the ruler of a fitness empire who has his mind set on taking over Vaughn’s rundown neighborhood gym. The only way to save the neighborhood home of the awkwardly athletic is to take first place in the national dodgeball tournament. With cameos from David Hasselhoff, William Shatner, and Chuck Norris, how could you go wrong?”

9:30 p.m., Coffman Memorial Union, Theater, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-624-INFO; free.

ON THE NET
Really? Paris Again?

Ask most people around here what’s going on in Venezuela right now, and they have little to say; but ask them about Paris Hilton, and they’ll pour out the latest gossip gleefully. I’ll refrain from making any judgements just now. Suffice it to say that this woman’s life generates an astounding response. As soon as anything new happens — and it seems there is always something juicy in the works — bloggers are blogging it, reporters are reporting it, singers are singing it, mimics are mimicking it, and we the people are swallowing it all up. Here are some amusing video responses to her recent jail debacles:

Paris Hilton Goes Back to Jail!
Paris Hilton in Jail
Paris Hilton: Walking the Streets Again
Paris Hilton (Go Away) Music Video

You think Paris is inane?
President Bush Hears Voices

After that lovely reference, you need a couple cool things to watch. These are just cool — no other reason.
Beat Souffle
The Zimmers My Generation

Tired of all this technology bullshit? Get Back to the Basics.

My last experience with the Riverview Theater was when my mother took my sister and me to see a movie called The Other Side of the Mountain. It was the true story of a skier who plunged off a cliff while training for the Olympics and was paralyzed from the chest down. She rode around in a motorized wheelchair, learned to paint, and fell in love with a downhill medalist named Mad Dog, played by Beau Bridges.

So it’s a cool, windy June evening nearly 30 years later and I’m sitting in the Riverview Wine Bar, staring at the theater marquee and remembering the scene where she sobs and tells him she’s never had sex. He pulls out a handkerchief, wipes her nose for her, and says something like, “Don’t worry about it. Sex isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” then strides off and promptly dies in an airplane accident (isn’t that how all 70’s love stories end?).

My mother and sister were weepy for days. I was unnerved. Imagine my relief, years later, when I discovered Beau was only being kind. . . .

I have plenty of time to muse about this, because I’m waiting for Johnny Hodges — the manager, a spiky-haired musician in skin-tight striped pants who could be Billy Idol’s little brother — to create a flight for me. It’s a wonderful thing, this service: you go into the Riverview wine bar, tell Johnny what you like, and he’ll dream up a tasting for you. Four two-ounce pours that match your yearnings. Nine and a half bucks. What a deal.

I’m a woman who loves a big red, on the dry-ish side with tons of fruit and a very long finish — particularly on an unseasonably chilly night in June. So after working the room and making recommendations all around, Johnny pulls out a card and makes some cryptic notes. Then he pours my four miniature glasses.

The first one is a big miss. Johnny describes Villa Carafa Sannio Aglianico D.O.C. 2001 (Italy — 13% alcohol) as “like a Chianti that has all the things I love and none of the ones I hate. . . .plummy and raisiny with a nice, tart finish.” I, however, find this wine bitter, shrewish, and empty, with no finish but for a lingering tongue-curling taste. And at $40 a bottle and $10.25 a glass, it’s on the pricey side — especially as I drink only a couple sips, leaving a good ounce and a half to be poured down the sink.

But Johnny’s second selection, Chateau Couronneau Bordeaux Superieur 2004 (France — 13.5% alcohol), is a great antidote. Smooth and round and big, tart around the edges of the tongue with a body of oak and wild strawberry, this wine is drinkable and versatile. It’s great alone, but I can easily imagine having it with cheese, artichokes, or the crisp, fragrant Margarita pizza that’s being enjoyed by the people at the next table. A full bottle of the Chateau Couronneau will set you back $34, but a glass is only $8.75.

The third, Sobon Estate Fiddletown Zinfandel 2005 (California — 15.1% alcohol), is “hot”: the vapors coming off it as boozy as rum. This wine is big, too — full of flavor that marches through the mouth, blackberry, cherry, a little butter, licorice, pepper, and meat. I will rarely say this, but the Fiddletown is so weighty, it’s not for drinking solo. This Zin requires food to balance it out, some chewy bread soaked in olive oil or an antipasto platter with plenty of peppers and smoked meats. It’s $39 a bottle and $10 per glass, but given the alcohol content, you can’t drink much.

Finally, there is the Mas de Gourgonnier 2004 (Provence — 12.5% alcohol), a lush red that takes my breath away. “So earthy, you could stick a pitchfork in it,” Johnny tells me. And he’s right. This wine is warm and soft and jammy, with a hint of mushroom and peat. Drinking it makes me think of fresh rain in the morning; the rhythm of horse hooves at a canter; black soil and yellow sun and blue sky. Plus, it’s a bargain! The Mas de Gourgonnier sells for just $28 a bottle and $7.25 a glass. I could drink this one all evening and, in fact, I do, sipping slowly, gazing at the marquee across the street, thinking of movies, mountains, and the well-intentioned lies men may tell.