You don’t believe me? All right, well then maybe you’ll believe William Shakespeare:
Base men by his endowments are made great.
—Richard II
Get it? Base men.
No shit, Sherlock (or Shylock).
And then there’s this all-purpose taunt of opposing batters (useful for whenever The Great Santana takes the mound), from Love’s Labor’s Lost:
Thou canst not hit it, hit it, hit it,
Thou canst not hit it, my good man.
Yes, my little obsession with Target’s GO International lines persist … I actually liked Patrick Robinson’s boho beachwear better than I suspected I would. I even ended up buying this dress and these shorts – both of which get positive reviews from the likes of me, even if the fabrics leave much to be desired. But the cumulative purchase price of these items was under forty dollars, for crying out loud. What do you expect?
To answer that question: Not much. On Sunday, Target launches its next line: a bunch of Hamptons/school girl numbers from the usually artsy-punk-and just a lil’ bit prep LA-to-NYC design team known as Libertine. (Their design process usually involves re-cut, screen-printed, and then re-assembled vintage pieces – but not this time around.) I wasn’t too impressed with these pics from the Target pressroom (including that above – which, believe me, is the best of all). But Style.com showed a little love today. And the clothes certainly look a lot cuter, if somewhat cuddly, in the film-fantasy-ad on the Target website. Wait ‘n see, I ‘spose.
It’s a luck day, chums, if you know where to look.
I found a very agreeable Cobb Salad. I think that’s very lucky as some Cobb’s can go sadly wrong: not enough bleu cheese, or old nasty bacon, or odd additions like carrots. The Cobb at French Meadow Bakery is lovely. The bleu cheese is plentiful and fresh, the turkey is nicely roasted and real (not like something pulled off a Lunchables tray), and the bacon is applewood smoked and crispy. It’s all dressed in a soft avocado-lime dressing that sets the mood. Yessir.
You’ll discover in the neighborhood, as luck would have it, that Common Roots Cafe is now open. Taking over the space that was Soba’s, Common Roots is all freshness and brightness brimming with ethics and a good sense. I was sadly full from my Cobb to enjoy one of the bagels or neat sandwiches, but luckily enough, there was a small, dark chocolate truffle with my name on it. Oh and a slice of walnut banana bread.
On the way back from the market this morning, I spied a billboard for Miller’s new Chill beer. Having had something called a Chelada on my last night in Denver, I was intrigued. The chelada I had was a beer poured over ice with a lime and salted rim (yes, extra salt please), but others tell me there might be Tobasco added or even Clamato juice to make your beer a chelada. Summer beer drinkers, you may be lucky indeed.
My team (of Rakettes, yes) test drove the Mercedes Benz CLS 55 AMG* yesterday. This is another misunderstood car in fly-over country. It is one of the few cars to be seen in where that kind of thing is important (which it isn’t really). Because of this, however, it seems a somewhat naughty purchase for people around here.
The think (and they are mistaken) that they should be in a Lexus. Like the Maserati I drove recently, a quick five minute test drive will do nothing to dissuade them from that thought. Heck even ten minutes in this car can prove frustrating. But once you go to eleven (see: Spinal Tap) things change.
FOOTNOTES (READ WHEN YOU HAVE 12 MINUTES.)
Coming soon: “More” for less. We have to get through a few great yet misunderstood cars in the next few weeks. As Warren Buffet (see Benjamin Graham) will tell you, it is always better to buy a valuable asset that is somewhat misunderstood. That is why if you stick with us here we will get to all kinds of cars in all kinds of price ranges. If you are buying one today here is a little advice: stick with the letter “M” as in Mazda. They make the best bang for the buck car out there right now. Particulalry their Mazdaspeed brands like the 3 and 6 series.
(*AMG is Mercedes tuner house, as M is to BMW, V is to Cadillac,RS is to Audi, SRT is to Chrylser and more.)
The clock is ticking.
The clock is always ticking, always tick-tick-ticking.
The sun is burning, burning, burning. The moon is rising. The moon is rising. The moon is rising.
The world is turning. This world is turning, turning, turning.
Our hearts are yearning. Our hearts, our hearts, our hearts are yearning.
The days get away from us. The days roll right out from under our feet and leave us reeling, leave us tottering, wobbling, unsteady, old.
We get broken.
That puppy that used to strain at his leash and lunge his way through every day, where has he gone? And how did he go so quickly?
The dog that could never get enough of life, who wore out hours and whose heart blazed like a great, burning thing, that dog who lorded over an entire island every summer and who was ever ready to go wherever there was to go, our bright and raging boy, paragon of ‘good dog’ if ever there was one, how could he have grown old already?
How is that possible? How could any just and loving god allow such a thing to happen?
It hurts. It aches in a million ways. It shakes my faith to the core.
Yet at the end of another hot, rough day I nonetheless find myself begging for grace, for mercy, for patience, for time. More time.
Please.
More time.
ART
Leave the Jogging Suit at Home
Tonight is the opening reception for Not the Running Type, featuring art works by Cheryl Wilgren Clyne and Kimberly Tschida Petters. These two artists have come together for the first time in this joint exhibit. And in a most unusual and interesting move, they’ve even included collaborative pieces. What ties their solo pieces together? The answer is in the title, which refers to the two artists’ commonalities: asthma, fearlessness, academic-mindedness rather than sports mindedness, and clumsiness. That’s bound to make for some good art. The show is composed of drawings, photographs, mixed media, and sound art with film — even some works that are undefinable.
Friday from 7 to 11 p.m., Rosalux Gallery, 1011 Washington Ave. S. (Open Book), Minneapolis; 612-747-3942.
FILM
It’s Friday, and that means new movies. This weekend we’ve got Broken English opening. Let’s avoid redundancies. Have a look at Rake intern Eeva-Liisa Waaraniemi’s review of Broken English — “The movie is actually quite full of clichés, but you know what? Most of the time, it works.”
Breaking the Case with a Martini and a Dog
Of course, sometimes the oldies work just fine; and this evening you can help yourself to the triple rare treat of seeing The Thin Man… outdoors… on the big screen. A Hammet crime comedy with the dapper William Powell, adorable Myrna Loy, and their sleuthing dog Asta — wow! It really doesn’t get much better than this. Just make sure to take a flask full of martinis. I know, it sounds strange; but when Nora orders six martinis and tells the bartender to line them all up so that she can catch up to her soppy husband Nick, you’ll be glad you can raise your flask to her and join her in drink. Watch out, you don’t want to wake up in the morning asking, “Who hit me?”
Friday at 9:15 p.m. (dusk), Kellogg Boulevard Courtyard of Central Library, 90 W. 4th St., St. Paul; 651-222-3242; free.
MUSIC
As usual, there’s a lot of great music to see this weekend: Andrés Prado at the Artists’ Quarter on both Friday and Saturday, Paul Metzger and Low on the Weisman Art Museum lawn on Saturday evening, and Grand Master Flash at Foundation Night Club on Saturday night. Talk about variety! There’s something for everyone, so you can’t complain. Choose from these, or a couple of options below; and don’t forget to check out the festivals this weekend, too. There’ll be plenty of music for everyone.
Screaming Canooks
Perhaps I’m starting to show my age, but I confess, I just don’t care for big nightclubs, not even in the boondocks, maybe even especially not in the boondocks. And as far as I’m concerned, Maplewood is in the boondocks. Truth be told, I’ve never even been to Myth. I’m scared of the suburbs, I guess. But for the brave among us, here’s a reason to go: a bunch of screamng canooks. In support of their new album, Arrivals & Departures — released earlier this month — Silverstein will perform on Saturday as part of their North American tour with Rise Against, Comeback Kid, and 2 Cents. Up for an evening of full-throated rock rock’n’roll? This seems the perfect time to see Silverstein, just as they’re breaking their way into critical mass. And it’s an all ages show, so you can bring the kids. OK, that might be a joke; but chill out on the youth, eh? At least they’re not playing video games. Come to think of it, it’s quite appropriate for the band to have an all ages show. They quote children’s author Shel Silvertein’s poetry in their songs, and they’re clearly named after him. These screamers are kid friendly. Who’d-a-thunk?
Saturday at 5 p.m., Myth, 3090 Southlawn Dr., Maplewood; 651-779-6984; $25.
A.T.O.Y. Is a Testament of Youth Gone by
Back in the early ’80s, when I rolled into this town for the very first time (this is now the fourth round, I believe), ATOY was actually pretty well known throughout the region. And… well… we can’t seem to get enough of our past — even the band members, of course — so we might as well set the scene within which to relive it. If you’ve still got the mullet or the mohawk, you’re in luck. This isn’t just a reunion show, my friends. The band has re-formed. Yes. They’re kicking off their summer tour this evening at Wain McFarlane’s Sight and Sound Gallery. Get there at 7 p.m. to mingle, meet, and greet the band. And catch their show at 8 p.m. (Careful, you’re not as flexible and resilient as you were two decades ago. For dirt’s sake, no stage diving!)
Friday at 7 p.m., Sight and Sound, 501 1st Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; free.
Can’t make Friday’s performance? Catch them on Saturday: 9 p.m., Stasiu’s Place, 2500 University Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; free.
BIKING
Motor or Not
Got a bike? It doesn’t matter what kind — motor or not — this weekend’s for you. Got a motor? Head over to the Bearded Lady Motorcycle Rally on Saturday. With a name like that, how can you pass it up? Enjoy the freak show and motorcycle spectacles all day at Diamonds. Then head for the 331 Club in the evening for drums, bands, and burlesque. The day’s acts include Le Cirque Rouge Cabaret & Burlesque, Jehovah’s Shitlist (pure goddamn smut), Caddilac Kohlstad and the Flats, Brass Messengers, and Fatalla Express.
Saturday from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Diamonds Coffee Shop331 Club, 331 N.E. 13th Ave., Minneapolis; 612-331-1746.
No motor? No problem. Reserve a spot in the Jazz88 Bike Day event on Sunday. It’s a Sunday bike social and tour. Yippee! (Sorry. The sarcasm slipped out. I’m a motor girl myself, as much as I love the idea of bicycles.) Get some air. Get some exercise. Relax. And enjoy a unique social experience as you tour four stops along the Midtown Greenway. It actually sounds quite fun. (I mean, they’ve scheduled smoking breaks along the way, right?) Meet in the morning (8:30 – 9:15 a.m.) at the Midtown Global Market Greenway access point. You’ll find a welcome tent, coffee, and treats with live jazz. Nice! At 9:15, you’ll depart for the Soo Line Community Garden and Fire On the Greenway Gallery (next to the garden), where we’ll have fresh treats from the garden, refreshments, a gallery tour, and a presentation. At 10:30 a.m. you’ll head for the the Bryant Lake Bowl for more fun and treats. And at 11:45 you’ll return to the Midtown Global Market for a salsa lesson and some shopping. Screw my sarcasm; this is a great way to spend a Sunday.
8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Midtown Global Market, Lake St. & Chicago Ave., Minneapolis; Reserve your spot by e-mailing KevinB@Jazz88fm.com or calling 612-668-1735; $10 donation for KBEM’s summer student intern program at North High School.
FESTIVALS
There are just too many interesting things going on this weekend worth mentioning. On top of everything, there are more festivals beginning. They just don’t seem to stop. For crying out loud, the Minnesota Beethoven Festival hasn’t even ended, and we already have about three more beginning? It’s Minnesota, alright. We end up packing everything into one or two months. Alas.
If only It Were a Celebration of Aqua Man
This weekend marks the opening of the 2007 Minneapolis Aquatennial Festival with a Subway Block Party on Friday night, free canoeing in Lake Calhoun on Saturday, and an Arts & Crafts Fair at Lake Calhoun on Sunday. Be sure to keep an eye on the schedule, as there will be many more events taking place over the next two weeks, including some of the best fireworks in the Twin Cities.
“Yay, Summer!” Again?
Time to celebrate summer? (As if you haven’t been doing so since April.) Do so in style. The Minnesota Orchestra’s 27th annual Sommerfest begins at noon today with 24 hours of free music. We’re talking non-stop music for 24 hours! Do you get it? This is Minnesota. How often can you go catch a free concert at 4 a.m.? And I’m not talking any old crap here. I’m talking grade-A jazz, classical, pop, rock, country, blues, world music, folk, acoustic, and dance. OK, from 1-6 a.m. all you’ll find is DJs mixing dance, but, really, if you’re up at that hour you can’t really be wanting a folk song; can you?
Enfin et Sourtout
Saturday is Bastille Day. Not French? Don’t let that stop you from celebrating their national holiday. I’m not suggesting an uprising, storming a prison, or even organizing an empty parade — no, then they’d start calling me a commie again — but maybe some French food, drinks, music and pétanque would be OK. And maybe, when it’s all said and done, you can explain to me why a French holiday is being celebrated with a Cuban ensemble and West African rhythms. Maybe, just maybe.
Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m., Theatre de la Jeune, 105 N. 1st St., Minneapolis; 612-332-0436; $10 (children under 10 free).
And if you don’t get enough of Bastille Day on Saturday, you can continue the celebration at Barbette on Sunday. See how that works? We don’t have to stick to the calendar; a party’s a party. Again, the event features an odd mix for Bastille Day, but, like I said, a party’s a party, I guess. You can certainly get your fill of organic food and cold beverages while you chill and enjoy the performances and the flea market. The lineup includes Ruby Isle, Vicious Vicious, Dance Band, Omaur Bliss, Moon Maan, and Maria Isa.
Sunday from 4 to 10 p.m., Barbette, 1600 W Lake St., Minneapolis; 612-827-5710; free.
Am I the only one irritated by Posh’s posture here? Yes, yes, I know she’s got her some awesome clavicle, but jeez, jutting one’s bones in such a manner (and you’ll see more of what I mean if you click through Style.com) is just so obnoxious.
I’ll get to the Twins later this month, I promise, hopefully in tandem with Brauer and Zellar but also to talk about whether Terry Ryan ought to go for it or punt.
Meanwhile, this board is delightfully full of Wolves fiends. I owe you my two cents on some of the things you’ve been talking about.
First of all, there is no way you can play Craig Smith at the 3. Under the new rules, he actually is better suited as a 5, although his natural position is as an undersized power forward. Does anyone else remember poor Smith trying to guard Vlad Rad, who killed him from outside during that second collapse against the Lakers? Shedding 14 pounds doesn’t make Smith quick enough to play a swingman out on the open floor, and anytime a Wolves opponent saw the opportunity that’s what would happen.
Used right, Smith is a valuable piece. And paired with the right pivot man–Yao Ming would be ideal–he’d be a solid starter. Yes he works well with Garnett, and yes there are definitely periods of the game when they should play together. But the matchups have to be right: the flow, the foul situation, and what you’ve got as your next sub rotation, are all factors.
If Smith continues to improve, and also gets the benefit of the doubt on more charging calls this season, I can see him averaging between 20-30 minutes a game, but the time would fluctuate game to game.
I don’t want to open this can of worms, but I am not entirely convinced KG is here to start the season.
I think McCants is generally going to be streaky. That’s certainly been his m.o. the first two seasons, and the key is to feed the beast when he is going off, and to have him have enough maturity and the coaches and teammates enough clout and sway to stifle him, either by ball-sharing or Shaddy-benching, when he is in a funk. If he plays the kind of defense he showed last season, the rope on his offensive ego should be longer. Bottom line, he is a bigger wild card than Foye–less of a sure thing to be solid, but with a higher upside–and now is the time to play wild cards and find out if they’re aces or jokers.
Brewer is a great pick for this franchise.
Great team attitude, and the kind of virtues–defense, athleticism, versatility–that really fit into any scheme or system. Richard is a smart choice for the second round. Rip McHale all you want–and I do a regular basis–but that’s three pretty good drafts in a row.
It is very hard to talk about this franchise without seeing what other shoes drop. The braintrust has made no secret of the fact that there are other deals on the table, and there are a lot of teams in flux right now, either stocking up for the future and trying to win now. But one thing that can be said: The best argument for why Randy Wittman is here is that he will demand better chemistry in the locker room and on the court this season. Last season he essentially benched Trenton Hassell for attitude problems, then the squad went out and drafted a better Hassell. Fine, I like Hassell, but am willing to concede he’s not so valuable now. Bujt what about Davis and Blount? What they did to the team and their own reputations–not to mention Wittman–last season is not easily forgotten. If one or both is still on the roster come opening day, there needs to be a dramatically different dynamic at play. Otherwise, the Wittman rehire and the stand pat on corrosive chemistry will stink to high heaven.
Did you see the All-Star Game home run derby? The derby itself was sort of a snooze –too drawn out, too much digressive commentary, too many commercial breaks– but it was the bullshit beforehand that really had me stomping around my living room and foaming at the mouth.
I mean, seriously, doesn’t it chap your fat ass to think that there is someone out there –probably a whole committee of someones– who gets paid, and more than likely paid handsomely, to think up such nonsense?
Let’s see…oh, shit yeah, this will be brilliant: let’s build a great big stage right in the middle of the infield at Pac Bell (or A T & T, or whatever the hell it’s called) Park, and get a bunch of amps and shit and drag the Counting Crows (or Hootie and the Blowfish, or whoever the hell it was) out of mothballs to play one lousy song while we explode some really cheesy flash pots, and after the has-beens have finished their one lousy song we’ll have, like, some military jets come flying over the ballpark.
Fuck yeah! That’ll be so cool! What a perfect way to kick off the home run derby and waste a shitload of money and time!
My God, what a disgraceful bunch of nonsense.
What a ridiculous country.
I almost threw up an entire bag of Swedish Fish.
And, what the hell, as long as I’m on my cranky-old-man-on-the-mountain high horse: Would somebody please, please, please tell John Cougar to shut the fuck up?
I’m very happy –happier than you can possibly know– to have all that All Star monkey business behind me so we can get back to playing baseball.
The Twins are facing a decidedly uphill battle, but I’m not budging: For at least another week or two I’m going to insist that they’ve got what it takes to win the AL wild card.
Wednesday’s meeting of Star Tribune Guild stewards ended with the 25 gathered employees blowing past a proposal to put a “no confidence” vote on publisher Par Ridder before membership. Instead, arguing that “no confidence” was “a little soft” considering Ridder’s behavior, the stewards voted unanimously to have membership vote on demanding Ridder’s resignation.
The membership vote is scheduled for 4:30 pm next Tuesday.
Reporter Chris Serres, a Strib Guild officer, says, “It became a pretty long discussion. The prevailing view was that if we believe what he has done is a violation of our code of ethics a ‘no-confidence’ vote is kind of soft. So then we had to work out questions of a proper statement and timing.”
Serres says some of the 25 or so stewards felt it would be better to wait until Judge David Higgs makes a judgment on MediaNews’ request for an injunction against Ridder, something that make take another month or more. But eventually the winning argument was that regardless of the fine legal definitions, Ridder’s behavior is already beyond what is acceptable within the Guild’s Code of Ethics. “We do have one, you know,” Serres joked. And that the membership, another several hundred Strib employees, should be given the opportunity to express themselves on the matter.
Prior to Wednesday’s vote I had spoken with several veteran Stribbers who were taking a, “What’s the point?” view of the “no confidence” idea. Since there was no money or job security in it for the Guild or the newsroom, they said, it struck them as a bit limp-wristed.
The counter-argument was that a vote of “no confidence” is unusual enough it would make a valid statement to the local community and journalists nationally that Ridder has violated a standard of professional behavior his employees value and feel themselves bound to observe. Put another way, whatever the legal decision, professional journalists are required to hold themselves to a higher ethical standard than what the law may allow, and Ridder isn’t anywhere close to that standard.
Whether a call for his resignation, (formally: For Avista Capital Partners to request Ridder’s resignation), ups the ante over “no confidence” I don’t know. But Serres says a committee within the stewards will go through the Guild’s Code of Ethics and produce a statement detailing Ridder’s transgressions in preparation for next Tuesday’s vote.
Incidentally, not to bury the lede, but corroborating sources at a recent meeting with MediaNews owner Dean Singleton confirm his statement that he has already spent $3 million on his suit against Par Ridder. While Singleton has laid out serious cash for lawyers and forensic work on the Pioneer Press computer files Ridder booted into the Star Tribune system, at least one prominent local attorney believes it is reasonable Avista has or soon will spend as much defending him.
Last time I checked $6 million was somewhere in the range of 40% of the Star Tribune’s annual newsroom budget. Obviously I don’t have the precise numbers. But the point is you can cover a lot of Minnetonka Sewer Commission meetings with $6 million … and eventually the loser in this disgraceful mess will be looking to paper over their losses with another round of “right-sizing” (to quote Ridder) in their Twin Cities subsidiaries.