The Center for Media Research informs us that 630 thousand execs control two-thirds of the U.S. workforce.
Year: 2007
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Minnesota Mom Bashed by Media after Losing Music Upload Battle
CNET explores the negative publicity around the music upload trial of a Minnesota woman: “Almost everybody agrees Jammie Thomas is thumping the recording industry in a battle for hearts and minds.”
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Che It Ain't So
In an honest attempt to always show all sides of the spectrum, I point out this article, in which The Huffington Post’s John Ridley explores the legend of Ernesto “Che” Guevara. One way or another, I assume most people will have some reaction to it — though perhaps not mine.
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New Huffington Post Director.
I’m not quite sure how this flew over my radar, but apparently, The Huffington Post has named Betsy Morgan as their new chief executive officer. Morgan comes from CBS interactive, where she oversaw the network’s 24-hour news service.
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Curry Up
What’s a girl to do when she’s snacky for a quick samosa?
Sure there’s the appeal of a buffet lunch at one of the all-stars … but then there’s the pre-schooler and his crankiness level and the crunch of time that doesn’t allow for full-service AND an on-time arrival at school.
Thank goodness I was in Maple Grove. (NEVER thought I would write that.)
Spying the modern logo for Curry Up, I turned into the strip mall parking lot. This little place has big intentions. Currently an extremly clean and cute grocery/take-out, they’re building out a restaurant in the back.
The take-away counter is stocked with all sorts of goodies, including shake-shake bhel and batata vada. We had some lovely samosas with tangy chutney and the pre-schooler downed his mango drink in 2.2 seconds flat.
Look for great things from these guys, more than a simple mom and pop, their website is all about education and lowering the barrier to Indian foods.
If the close proximity to the new Hindu temple has anything to do with their success, Curry Up could see many new competitors, and Maple Grove could become a hotbed of samosa snacking. Please please please.
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No Bridge Funding Yet
The Minnesota House of Representatives informs us: For the third time, a transportation working group declined to sign off on $195 million for the Interstate 35W bridge reconstruction.
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City Encourages Trashing Your Home
Ann Bauer turns us on to this WCCO story about a garbage house in Crystal. Apparently, the city will pay the owners — whose property has filled up with raw sewage — “fair market value” in order to take over the house and clean it up (which may involve razing it to the ground). In a time of rampant foreclosure, this sounds like a dangerous practice. Trash the house you can’t sell and the city will fork over the money!
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St. Thomas Uninvites Tutu
According to JTA Breaking News, The Anti-Defamation League is urging the University of St. Thomas to invite Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak. Apparently, he was scheduled to come this Spring, but the university reconsidered, determining that Tutu’s comments against Israel deem him inappropriate.
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Take Your Chances
AUDITIONS
Ready to Rock!
Have you always dreamed of being a rock star, but somehow life kept getting in the way? Ready to Rock! wants to give you a second chance “to be the rock star you know you are!” I’m not a big fan of reality TV… (Actually, that’s a lie. I’m totally hooked, appalled, and mortified.) But a show with Lizz Winstead behind it is nothing to scoff at or ignore. Minnesota-born and probably one of the best political satirists out there today, Winstead has a slew of admirable credits to her name, not the least of which is co-creating The Daily Show. That’s right, the woman responsible for the original Daily Show is right here in town this evening, looking to cast a new music-oriented show for Fuse music television. (Actually, she’s in town casting two shows, but I’ll tell you about the other one later this week.) Ready 2 Rock is looking for the kind of guys we all know — over 40, probably settled into a comfortable job, but never got over having to give up the dream of being a rock star. Sound familiar? Why not give it a try? Still unsure? Watch this video: Lizz describes for us what she’s looking for. 5 p.m., Java Jack’s Coffee Shop, 818 W 46th St., Minneapolis; 612-825-2183.
MUSIC
Spoon Mixes It Up
The best pop-rock music is also the most difficult to explain. It saunters and bolts and trots along with the occasional dropkick, stub-toe, or click of the heels, instantly recognizable in its rhythms and attitudes, yet feeling so fresh it makes you giddy. After turning out a handful of very good pop-rock discs, Spoon, from Austin, Texas, has cut a great one in Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. It nods to the Beatles and Motown and Steely Dan and Dion, dapples in some ambient repetition, drum ‘n’ bass, Clash-style ragamuffin, and ’80s alterna-rock. Britt Daniel sings with a timbre of fine sandpaper, and his arch but sweet lyrics likewise leave their little abrasions. Do you still remember giddy? –Britt Robson6 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-338-8388; $22.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
The University of Minnesota Bookstore has really been doing a bang-up job maintaining a steady stream of interesting author events, and today they’ve got two — one in the afternoon, another in the evening: fire in the afternoon, Vikings at night.
Under a Flaming Sky
On Saturday, September 1, 1894, with only two inches of rainfall since May, a massive fire broke out in Hinckley, Minnesota, destroying 350,000 acres and killing more than 418 people. One life claimed by the great fire was that of writer Daniel James Brown’s great-grandfather. More than a century later, Brown set out to document the second deadliest wildfire in American history in Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894. Head out this afternoon to hear Brown talk about the 300 people who survived the fire by crouching knee-deep in mud, and the 100 people who survived by hiding in a gravel pit. His book explains how man and nature conspired to create the nearly perfect fire conditions as he relates the experiences of ordinary citizens who, when faced with danger, performed extraordinary acts of courage and kindness.
2 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-626-0559; free.
No One Tells a Viking Woman What to Do
If fire is not your thing, perhaps you’d prefer a tale of a Viking woman who traveled to the New World 500 years before Columbus. This is no made-up tale, my friends. Through exhaustive research and archaeological studies, Nancy Marie Brown has managed to reconstruct the life of Viking woman Gudrid in her latest book, The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman7 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-626-0559; free.
SHOPPING
Storm Sister
Just under a year ago, longtime stylist and esthetician Becky Sturm opened her own hair, skin, nail, and body care business. Actually, she began the business online a couple years prior to this, but she now has her own brick-and-mortar boutique. It’s a cute little shop, and Sturm is a fascinating lady. Stop on by and have a look, peruse the products, pamper yourself a bit — winter is coming, and our skin is going to need some serious help once it falls victim to the dry heat — and get some great tips from Sturm herself. If you can’t make it in person, you can still enjoy her wisdom on her blog at StormSister Spatique.10 a.m. to 5 p.m., StormSister Spatique, 635 S. Smith Ave., St. Paul; 651-221-4668.
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John Lennon's Tower of Light
It’s John Lennon’s birthday (he would have been 67), and Yoko Ono unveiled a tower of light in his memory, calling on us all to imagine a life of peace.