The Rake Magazine

Month: September 2007

  • Books Are Fashionable Too

    STYLE
    Minnesota Fashion

    907mnfashion.jpgFall Fashion Weekend kicks off with a reception this evening, and the next four days are filled with runway events, trunk shows, and other ways to celebrate Minnesota’s small, but growing, clothing design “industry.” In fact, not only does the weekend offer a glimpse of what’s great about local fashion, but it also marks the launch of a new nonprofit organization, MNfashion, that will work to serve the business needs of local designers. Some of the best-looking events in the weekend’s lineup include tomorrow evening’s Kjurek Couture fashion show, Friday’s Art as Fashion event, and Saturday’s Eclecticoiffeur Cotillion/Launch Party. But there are a host of more relaxed, less committal events, too, such as a Saturday morning champagne and truffles brunch with House of Henry and Rectangle Designs’ trunk show with a conscience — Local Flora, Fashion and Food. –by Christy DeSmith, photo by Shelly Mosman (styling by eclecticoiffeur)

    10 p.m., Clubhouse Jaeger, 923 Washington Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-332-2686.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    A Living Legend in the World of Comics

    907deitch.jpgIf you know anything at all about comics, beyond Marvel Comics and Stan Lee, then you know Kim Deitch. (And if you don’t then now is your chance to redeem yourself.) A key player in the underground comix scene of the ’60s, Deitch has gone on to become one of the most revered cartoonists of our time. Recently, some of his older works have even been getting reprinted, including Alias the Cat and Shadowland. Kim (and his wife Pam) will be doing a signing at Big Brain Comics tonight. And then tomorrow afternoon (1 p.m.) he’ll be doing a multimedia presentation at MCAD (auditorium 15).

    5-7 p.m., Big Brain Comics, 1027 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis612) 338-4390; free.

    Just Like Her Momma

    907sabotagecafe.jpgEveryone jokes about turning into their parents, but Joshua Furst’s new novel, The Sabotage Cafe, shows the disturbing side of this phenomenon. In this debut novel, teenager Cheryl seems doomed to repeat the sex, drugs, violence, and trauma of her mother’s teenage years. Set in Minneapolis and its suburbs, The Sabotage Cafe delves into the city’s past and present counterculture movements as it weaves its two coming-of-age stories. It sounds like the stuff of Lifetime movies, but Furst’s writing and wonderfully flawed characters have received extensive praise. See him tonight. –by Danielle Kurtzleben

    7 p.m., U of MN Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-626-0559; free.

    FOOD
    World Flavors at WA Frost

    907wafrost.jpgEnjoy a multiple course tasting menu with our favorite wine pairings at The Rake’s World Flavors Tour. This month, join us at W.A. Frost for New American cuisine. W.A. Frost has been providing the ultimate in dining pleasure since 1975, with a sensational wine selection, cuisine, and ambiance. Space is limited, and reservations are required, so visit The Rake Store now.

    6 p.m., W.A. Frost, 374 Selby Ave., St. Paul; 651-224-5715; $40.

    FILM
    How They Celebrate Freedom in Kashmir

    907kak.jpgWe take freedom for granted in this country. It’s true. And while some of us may question that freedom from time to time, it’s certainly less complicated — or at least less uncomfortable — than in so many other countries, among them India. As India celebrates 60 years of independence, director Sanjay Kak brings us Jashn-e-azadi (how we celebrate freedom), a documentary that explores the implications of the struggle for Azadi, for freedom, in the Kashmir valley. The film has generated quite a bit of contraversy on the web (see here and here) and may have been censored in Bombay. Make up your own mind; go see the film tonight, and meet Kak after the screening for a Q & A session. Please call to confirm, however, because I’m not finding it on the Bell Museum’s calendar.

    7 p.m., Bell Museum of Natural History Auditorium, 10 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-624-7083.

    An Extra Couple of Beers

    You could go out and spend $9 for an evening at the Crown 15 with Mr. Woodcock (hell, you could also punch yourself in the face). Or you could go to the Bryant-Lake Bowl and see what your local independent filmmakers have been up to. Tonight (and on the third Tuesday of every month) IFP MN presents Cinema Lounge, a showcase of 4-5 short films by your fellow Minnesotans. Plus, anyone can submit films — come, be inspired, and send in your next cinematic masterpiece for a future screening. And it’s FREE — so save your money and buy yourself a beer or two to sip during the screening. Which you definitely can’t do at the multiplex. –by Danielle Kurtzleben

    7 p.m., Bryant Lake Bowl, 810 W. Lake St., Minneapolis; 612-825-8949; free.

  • The Par Injunction: It Ain't Over Yet

    Not really knowing anything more about legal issues than what I see on Law & Order, I confess to being among those who focused too tightly on the injunction handed down today against Par Ridder, tossing him out of the Star Tribune for one year. Obviously, the injunction was designed to remove Ridder from a situation where he could continue doing “irreparable harm” to the Pioneer Press. Now … things could get really interesting.

    Or not.

    My esteemed former competitor/arch rival, Deborah Rybak, recently separated from the Star Tribune and soon to join me here in a bigger, far better, far hipper Slaughter, sought out attorney Ron Rosenbaum, KSTP-TV’s legal expert.

    Her report:

    .
    .
    .
    Here’s what everyone missed yesterday in their rush to tell Par Ridder, “Hey, don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out”: Injunction aside, this case is HARDLY over.

    The injunction is just one step (albeit a big one) in the process, confirms our legally fluent buddy Ron Rosenbaum. Singleton’s legal team originally asked for the injunction because, it claimed, Par and pals couldn’t be allowed to stay in their jobs and keep harming the PiPress until the case meandered to trial.

    “It was a huge victory, but it doesn’t end the case,” said Rosenbaum.

    “The finding of harm [that Ridder misappropriated and distributed PiPress confidential documents] also means that–more likely than not–the plaintiffs would prevail at trial. But with a finding like this, I doubt this case will ever go to trial.”

    In other words, gentlemen at Avista, open your checkbooks and let the settlement talks begin!

    Settlement overtures were allegedly made more than once by Avista during the run-up to the Ridder hearing in June, but Dean Singleton, out for blood, wasn’t interested. So has he proved his point now? Singleton told Editor and Publisher Tuesday that he was, “happy with the ruling but didn’t want to see it play out in a courtroom.”

    Still, in trying to reach a settlement, Rosenbaum thinks putting a price tag on the damage caused by Par’s PiPress spreadsheet heist and distribution may be tough. “It’s not easy to know what the access to that information is worth and how it benefited the Strib.”

    So it’s possible that settlement talks could break down and nudge Singleton back into court. Early chatter had the MediaNews titan dedicated to ensuring that Ridder never ran the Strib again. In light of the judge’s ruling, will Avista now balk at that demand? Who knows? Nobody can quite figure out why these guys have backed him for this long. Newsroom sources and others speculate that Ridder may resign from the paper in the days to come. At least, that would seem to be the classy thing to do…

    Other newsroom gossip has former publisher Keith Moyer coming back to run what’s left of the paper. After all, it was Moyer who called some Strib reporters to compliment them on their reporting in the aftermath of the I-35W bridge collapse. Ridder never bothered.

    In the meantime, Judge Higgs has ordered Avista to fork over Singleton’s legal fees and other costs for his efforts to date, which he told E&P totaled about $5 million.

    Rosenbaum said back in June that he never understood the Strib’s defense. With Tuesday’s decision, “the chickens have come home to roost. Par tried to play fast and loose with the facts and the law, and the Court did what it’s supposed to — make the aggrieved party whole. So good riddance to Par Ridder, he got what he deserved.”‘

    Rosenbaum was openly contemptuous of Avista honcho-turned-interim publisher Chris Harte’s company-wide statement that Avista found the judge’s decision “unexpected.”

    “I doubt very seriously he was surprised. I doubt that any lawyer who advised him to be surprised ever went to law school.” Rosenbaum’s derision excluded Avista’s local hired gun Bob Weinstine: “He’s a first-class lawyer and litigator. I doubt very seriously that Bob was surprised; he’s too smart for that.”

    Rosenbaum also opined that Ridder’s mini-reign of terror might never have happened had Randy Lebedoff — the Strib’s recently reinstalled in-house counsel — been in place at the time of his hiring. Now, Rosenbaum says, “I assume that she will bring good counsel to a case that is nothing more than a huge black eye and an embarrassment to what used to be a venerable institution.”
    .
    .
    (Thank you, partner. Back to Lambert.)

    My question is this:

    Dean Singleton would appear to be holding a very good hand — make that “extraordinarily good.” Judge Higgs’ decision essentially confirms that Singleton’s case is rock solid. (He wouldn’t have granted an injunction if it wasn’t.) Conversely, Avista is stuck with squat. A pair of twos, at best.

    So why, looking at the millionaire gimps across the table, wouldn’t Singleton press on for punitive damages?

    As I understand it, a push for punitive damages would grant Singleton access to something Avista’s close-mouthed, close-to-the-vest partnership would never ever want … namely, full disclosure of their worth. The mere thought of having to lay out who Avista actually is and what is in their tax returns would be enough — you’d think — for them to approach Singleton on bleeding knees — pleading for a settlement that puts a bullet through the head of this beast.

    Dan Oberdorfer, one of Singleton’s attorneys from Leonard, Street and Deinard, was tight-lipped this afternoon about where his client might go next. “Let’s just say we are pleased with today’s decision.” If I were Oberdorfer I wouldn’t screw up a good deal trending bigger and better by the minute by making any irrationally (or rationally) exuberant comments to the press either.

    So here’s my speculative analysis, based on following this tawdry, but outrageously expensive saga for the past few months. (One inside-Strib source, not a check-to-check reporter, puts Avista’s legal bill well north of Singleton’s. So, get out your calculators, Avista could very likely be looking at a legal bill of, at minimum, $10 million or more … to date. And for purposes of perspective, I am advised that $3 million buys 40 reporters per year at $65k plus $10k in benefits.)

    As much as Singleton may have been annoyed by Ridder’s cavalier disregard for professional ethics, I’m still not buying that what he wanted most is to see the little rich kid slapped down in open court, or even to be proven right in his interpretation of ethical publishing. All that strikes me as too small potatoes for an operator like Singleton. This is a guy who sees himself as the only real newspaper man in what is very quickly devolving to a one-newspaper universe here in Minneapolis-St.Paul.

    My guess is that Singleton, someone who understands the meaning of the word “ruthless,” sees Par Ridder’s almost adolescent bungling as a gift … which he can exploit to create very serious suffering for a group of dilettante publishers (Avista) who were hoping to make a quick killing and blow out of town without scuffing their tassled loafers.

    The end game to this scenario has a battered Avista, already watching every Star Tribune revenue indicator fall into the toilet, becoming receptive to a fire-sale buy-out offer — from Singleton — years before they originally planned.

    Here is an excellent Editor & Publisher story on the current state of Twin Cities newspaper finances.

  • Legal Shocker! SHOCKER!: Par Found Guilty

    With OJ Simpson all over the news again, reminding everyone how subtleties like evidence, logic and common sense occasionally have no bearing at all on the American legal system, I was prepared to hear that after reviewing the evidence in the matter of Par Ridder’s multiple, uh, indiscretions, Ramsey County Judge David Higgs had decided that all being fair in love and private equity, this was a case of no harm no foul.

    On the other hand … since Ridder conceded virtually every point in Dean Singleton’s complaint you’d have to be a blind horse in a deep forest on a moonless night not to see the guy was guilty as hell. So the ruling is … he sits for a year …

    Then this morning, in what has to be regarded as a textbook example of generically obtuse
    executive “communication”, Chris Harte, Strib owner Avista Capital Partners’ “face of journalism” and now interim publisher, issued a memo stating “this was clearly not the result we EXPECTED” (my emphasis).

    Now, “hoped for” I could accept. But “expected”? Did it occur to Harte that he was communicating to a group of several hundred professional skeptics? Not what you “expected”? As in. “It never occurred to us … .” Now that’s a reassuring display of critical judgment.

    To say you “expected” something different in this decision, is kind of like Britney Spears’ (former) managers saying, “Despite the fact she showed up 20 pounds overweight, five margaritas and god knows what else to the wind, refused both a corset rehearsal, we fully expected a brilliant performance.”

    Harte also had the bad sense to drag out the rusted, toothless saw about how “recent events [that would be the mendacity and ham-fisted lack of ethics displayed by your hand-picked publisher] will only make us stronger.” As I have said before, if there is one reporter, editor, sweet old lady at the call center or delivery driver so stupid they believe that anything in the past five months has made them “stronger”, they deserve to be fired — or worse, sit on a beach for a year with Par Ridder.

    I will continue to gather comments throughout the day, but I have to note a curious line in an early version of Matt McKinney’s official Star Tribune story. It read, “Officials for the Star Tribune and its owner, Avista Capital Partners, could not be immediately reached for comment.”

    Really? Granted, Higgs’ decision came out first thing this morning, but we’ve all been on alert since last Friday, awaiting the decision. Neither Harte or editor Nancy Barnes had given McKinney a cell-phone contact for the perfunctory comment? (A later version by McKinney included a bland quote from Barnes asserting the need to continue putting out “a great paper.” I’m not ripping McKinney here, rather the lack of basic coordination on what was going to be a major story.

    As the legal battle continues — despite the judgment and the significant cost to Avista of defending Ridder, (very likely more than the $3 million the paper’s former owners put into the Star Tribune Foundation) — the question over the next few months will be, “Why ever let this guy back in the building?”

    One prominent Strib writer, requesting anonymity out of an on-going need to support a family, remarked, “The guy has already been overwhelmingly publicly rejected by the journalists he is supposed to lead, and now his tenuous claims to legal legitimacy have been stripped away by the court.

    “So now he has a year to rearrange the mirrors in the Magers’ mansion to better advantage, important if you’re a fellow his size. But why bother waiting for him? These guys,” referring to Avista’s stated short term interest in the Star Tribune, “aren’t going to be here that long.

    “Ridder got what? $600,000 from Knight-Ridder for promising to stay in St. Paul? Well, that was a contingency for any inconvenience he might suffer. So he’s been paid. This is the inconvenience. Take the money and take a hike.”

    More to follow.

  • Grandfather

    rural route.jpg

    I learned early that I’d never be the king of anything.

    I can for damn sure live with that the short time

    I have left. Nobody needs to tell me what I am, and

    I don’t have the time of day for a notion so foolish

    as who. Leave that horseshit to the pansies.

    I know only that I was born a small man and never had

    much of an appetite, but I got by, even if I didn’t do

    diddly with what I had and never amounted to a hill of beans.

    I guess you could say my old man was something of a

    prophet on that count. All the same, I have no

    use for a preacher trying to make something tidy of

    my time in this disgraceful place. I got no use for

    monkey business, period. But since you asked what I need,

    I’ll tell you: Give me five minutes of peace and quiet

    and remember whatever the hell you want. And when time

    washes its hands of me just let anybody who might be curious

    know that I’m gone. Tell them that long ago I came to the

    crossroads and chose the wrong damn fork. Happens all

    the time. Tell them I never wanted much except to sleep

    when I was tired. And tell them I was a goddamn liar.

    Tell them I was the hungriest man who ever lived.

    rural route 2.jpg

  • Odd Characters

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    A Sexy Twist on a Classic Tale

    Rocky907.jpgOn a dark and stormy night, after getting a flat tire, the innocent Brad and Janet are forced to take refuge in an old castle. What they find inside is perhaps in keeping with the expected mad-scientist scenario, but there’s a definite twist. Sure, you have your man-made creature. You have your loss of innocence. And you even have a touch of cannibalism. But you also have some seriously sexy goth all the way through: men in corsettes, sexual confusion, and a clear indication of a decadent morality. “Touch-a touch-a touch-a touch me. I wanna be dirty,” sings Janet during her sexual awakening. If you grew up doing the “Time Warp” in movie theater aisles after midnight, you’ll perhaps appreciate a live production of the now classic (and cult) movie. But beware, this is probably not something to which you want to take your children.

    8 p.m., Ordway Center for Performing Arts, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; 651-224-4222; $32, $37.

    Tragic Pride

    coriolanus.jpg“Only at nightfall, aethereal rumours / Revive for a moment a broken Coriolanus.” When T.S. Eliot references something in one of his poems — particularly his most famous, “The Wasteland” — you know it’s worthy. Coriolanus is a Shakespearian tragedy based on the life of legendary Roman leader Caius Martius Coriolanus. Not unlike many of Shakespeare’s heroes, Coriolanus’s militaristic pride makes him a less than sympathetic character. In fact, the play seems to indicate that heroic ideals no longer serve the increasingly sophisticated needs of government. For this reason, in fact, many twentieth century playwrights, including Bertolt Brecht, have adapted the play to reflect on modern politics (both left and right). This week, Flaneur Productions, probably one of the best experimental troupes in town, explores what the play might mean in America today. Director Bridget Escolme (author of Talking to the Audience: Shakespeare, Performance, Self) presents a promenade-style performance in Bedlam’s new theater. Players include Flaneur Co-Director Jim Bovino in the title role, Don Mabley-Allen, Christian Gaylord, Barbara Meyer, Jillia Pessenda, Scott Reynolds, Kym Longhi, Ben Kreilkamp, Dave Schneider, Jeff Broitman, Tracie Hodgdon, and Jim Wescott. Feel free to go early for dinner and drinks in Bedlam’s new bar and restaurant.

    8 p.m. (through Saturday), Bedlam Theatre, 1501 6th St. S., West Bank, Minneapolis; 612-338-9817; $12.

    FILM
    Cries & Whispers

    criesandwhispers907.jpgOak Street Cinema’s Bergman Tribute comes to a close this week, with one of his most visually seductive works, Cries and Whispers — “an eerie, intense, lurid, death-obsessed dream play á la Strindberg, with a large dollop of Chekhov.” Bergman’s masterpiece depicts the emotional and physical pain of the woman’s world. The film, set in an elegant turn-of-the-century manor house, revolves around four women, a young virginal woman who is dying of womb cancer (Bergman was never known for his subtle metaphors), two unhappily married sisters — one of which is suicidal and actually self-mutilates her sexual organ — and a maternal-type servant who loses her children. This is not a pretty world, my friends — and men might take offense at their utterly useless depiction; but the acting is impeccable and the camera work is spectacular. Bergman uses his lens to highlight the pain of each woman, to show the physical and emotional fragmentation. And he does so brilliantly. His color palette — another metaphorical representation of the pain and suffering — and his use of silence, seem to transcend the narrative and take on a life of their own.

    7 p.m. & 9 p.m., Oak Street Cinema, 309 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis; $8 (seniors $6, members/students $5).

    DVD
    The Threepenny Opera

    3penny907.jpgKurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht may never have had it so good. G. W. Pabst, who brought Louise Brooks to fame in his silent (and seductive) 1929 masterpiece Pandora’s Box, this time took to sound production and dirtied up the silver screen like never before. The Threepenny Opera tells the story of Mackie Messer (a.k.a. Mack the Knife) and the beautiful Polly Peachum. It’s is a feast for the eyes, ears, and the soul, wallowing in the underworld and bringing the original characters to life as if they had wandered on-screen straight from the gutter. It will be interesting to see how or if Criterion can clean up this film, however, since the original 1931 prints were destroyed by the Nazis. Notwithstanding potentially scratchy images, Threepenny is perhaps the greatest study of poverty and corruption ever filmed, and, like Pabst’s other films, a delicious romp as well. –by Peter Schilling, Jr.

  • Is Anybody Alive Out There?

    Is anybody still paying attention?

    Some of us, of course, can’t help ourselves. Some of us actually watched that game tonight.

    And some game, huh? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a game end on a dropped pop-up to the second baseman. That there qualifies as tee-ball heroics.

    Still, the Twins did come back after Nathan blew the save. Michael Cuddyer did hit a home run to tie the game. And Ian Kinsler did drop Jason Bartlett’s pop-up to give Minnesota the win.

    But still, again, what the hell? Why is Ron Gardenhire still handing Juan Rincon the ball in close games? Why doesn’t Justin Morneau hit home runs anymore? What’s wrong with Joe Mauer? How could Johan Santana have lost twelve games? How is it possible that virtually every single key guy from last year –with the exception of Torii Hunter and Joe Nathan– could decline in performance? How is that catching for the Twins has become the baseball version of drumming for Spinal Tap?

    And now Ron Gardenhire is purportedly musing aloud about opening next season with Nick Punto as his everyday second baseman? Great. I’m pretty sure Luis Rivas is out there somewhere and available, and he’s still only 28 years old.

    I really don’t get it. The entire second half –shit, the entire season— has been a series of infuriating streaks: four wins, three losses, five wins, four losses, five losses, three wins, five wins, four losses, six losses, three wins, four losses.

    Yet I just keep watching, because at this time of year it’s hard-wired in me how quickly the darkness begins to descend when that heavy black curtain is finally drawn on the season and winter begins its relentless march. It hurts. It still hurts, every year. It’s a terrible withdrawal, and a brutal disruption of routine at exactly the time of year when a comfortable routine is exactly what I need. So I’ll hold onto that routine as long as possible, and every day I’ll continue to hope that I’ll see something I haven’t seen before.

    At this point I’ll even be plenty happy to see something I have seen before. A well-played game, for instance, or a Justin Morneau home run.

  • Grab your rifle and head to the MOA

    index_01h.jpg

    Last time I went to the Mall of America was about ten years ago. My sister was getting married. And my mother swore I would find a good deal on a rehearsal dinner dress at Nordstrom.

    I parked on Level 26. Entered through a door that I would find out later looked like every single other one at the mighty mall. Walked a few miles through oodles of gadgets and clothing tables, burping electronic devices and at least three Disney stores. Then I found myself in what was then Camp Snoopy: roller coaster overhead, children screaming, lights flashing, and the smells of all those foods that aren’t really — hot dogs, cotton candy, synthetic nacho cheese — wafting through the air.

    I fled, dress-less, and promised myself I would never go back.

    Yet, here I am — not only going to the Mall but asking you to go as well. Because on Wednesday, September 19, winemaker Barbara Snider will be hosting a food and wine pairing dinner, featuring Fess Parker wines, at the Napa Valley Grille.

    I’m not quite old enough to remember Fess Parker. But I hear he played some frontiersman, Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone — one of those guys who carried a long, mean gun and wore a dead animal atop his head — on 1950’s-era prime time TV. After several decades of wearing a coonskin cap, Parker was typecast. (Who’da thunk?) So in the ’80’s, tired of the acting gig, he took his Hollywood riches, bought some land in Santa Barbara, and opened a winery.

    Against all odds [at least, if I were making the odds], Parker’s wines are terrific.

    There’s Frontier Red, a big, happy beefsteak of a blend, made from a half dozen different kinds of grape. A Chardonnay that’s full and fruity and rich, not quite buttery but creamy smooth. And Parker Station Pinot Noir, a nicely structured cherry-forward wine that’s better than most in its price range.

    Nothing but wine of this quality could make me brave the monstrous mall. But for dinner with Barbara, I’m willing. Meet me at Napa Valley Grille for a menu of onion toast with smoked trout, lamb lollipops, oysters, braised oxtail, octopus salad, corn cakes, and coffee ice cream sandwiches, served with four select Fess Parker wines. Tickets are only $55, and 10% of the proceeds will go to the Sow the Seeds fund, helping regional farmers who lost their crops due to flood.

    For more information, call 952-858-9934.

  • On Tour with SPCO

    Check out Minnesota Stories’ latest video, Budapest to Berlin: On Tour wth the SPCO.

  • Spanish Wine Syndrome

    Twice since I began this blog, someone has told me, “It’s painful to read your entries on red wine. I love the taste. But I can’t drink it; I get a terrible migraine if I take even a sip.” One, a male, said he’d been this way all his drinking life. But the other, a woman about ten years older than I am, told me it had come on suddenly in her mid-40’s. This, I found frightening. So I’ve done some reading on the syndrome, sometimes called Red Wine Headache.

    I count myself as lucky that I’m not generally sensitive to wine — especially as I’m a pale-skinned redhead who’s allergic to about a dozen other things, including mushrooms, which I love, and lanolin, one of the greatest natural moisturizers on earth.

    I do, however, have to be careful. Every once in a while, a wine will affect me poorly: causing me to feel tired and headachy but making me restless when I do sleep, leaving me listless and dyspeptic the next day. And I can’t even tell you why. . . .

    Here’s what I can say: when this does happen, it’s nearly always after an inexpensive Spanish, Portugese, or South American wine made exclusively from Tempranillo or Malbec grapes.

    Last night, for instance, I drank a single glass of the Bajoz Tinta de Toro Crianza. It’s an interesting wine: soft on the tongue at first, then full of dark cherry and oak, with such a tannic finish it makes the insides of your cheeks pucker and leaves them dry. Typically, I like a fuller, warmer finish. But the bottle was open, and my husband — who lived in Barcelona for several years — loves a Spanish red.

    bajoz.gif

    Today, however, I’m regretting my adventurous, it’ll-be-different-this-time attitude. Though I enjoyed the flavor of the Bajoz Crianza, I felt totally wiped out just 40 minutes after finishing it (which was frustrating, as I’d drunk only one glass because I had a lot to do) and went to bed early but was fitful all night. I slept in a little yet awoke this morning with that dull mallet-to-the-head feeling that I associate not with overindulgence but with certain wines.

    Make no mistake: this is in no way an indictment of the Bajoz — any more than my allergy to mushrooms reflects negatively on wild shitakes or morels. I, for some reason, simply don’t respond well to Tempranillo, particularly if its very tannic.

    I used to believe it was added sulfites causing my adverse reaction. According to experts, such as this biochemist-turned-winemaker, that simply isn’t the case. And if the problem is indeed a slight tannin or histamine sensitivity, it’s possible I might circumvent it by drinking a cup of black tea (whose bioflavonoids are anti-inflammatory) beforehand.

    With so many wonderful wines in the world, it’s not hard to find alternatives. Even four-dollar Chiantis tend to agree with me. But for the sake of science, and the woman I know who can no longer drink red wine, I may try the tea cure on a night when I can afford (in case it doesn’t work) to lose the sleep.

  • MNfashion Weekend

    The week’s big event is MNfashion Weekend, starting Wednesday (well, sort of) and lasting through Sunday. I made a guest appearance in yesterday’s Strib to talk about the lineup, and to recommend some of the happenings. But, of course, there has been at least one update since I wrote the piece: I’ve since learned that the only invite-only event at MNfashion Weekend, an Eclecticoiffeur launch party and runway show, will star my two favorite local designers: Katherine Gerdes and George Moskal (lust!). If you didn’t already know, Eclecticoiffeur (I always spell it wrong … ) is a hair-makeup-fashion styling consortium. And, as these bookings indicate, the group has impeccable taste. In fact, one of their stylists, Jahna, has been featured on this blog at least twice. (She’s quite the classy lady … ) If you weren’t lucky enough to procure an invitation, you can always check out the after-party. But know that this is the wave of the future, folks. If ever anyone is going to take MNfashion Weekend seriously, then we’ve got to drop the Minnesota Nice and inject the thing with an air of clubbishness.