With pandora.com, you can tell them what you like, and they’ll program a radio station for you to listen to.
Year: 2007
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More Frog Legs – You Got a Problem With That?
What do Kim Bartman of Cafe Barbette and Bryant Lake Bowl, Brenda Langton of Spoonriver, Lenny Russo of Heartland, Tracy Singleton of the Birchwood Cafe, Lucia Watson of Lucia’s Restaurant, Jim Grell of The Modern Cafe, Steven Brown, formerly of Harry’s Food and Cocktails, and J.P. Samuelson of jP American Bistro all have in common?
They all have a strong commitment to local, sustainable food, and they have all donated gift certificates to the silent auction at next week’s monthly Eastside Coop Food Forum, to be held Wednesday, October 10 at the Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis. No food will be served at the forum, but there will be plenty of food for thought – the event, co-sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project, is a fundraiser for the whistleblower lawsuit filed by former state hydrologist Paul Wotzka. Wotzka was fired by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency after he requested permission to testify before a state legislative committee on the levels of atrazine in Minnesota water. Also speaking will be UC Berkeley biologist Tyrone Hayes, an expert on the impact of atrazine on amphibians; and Minnesota state senators John Marty and Ken Tschumper.
The doors open at 6:15, with music by Paul Metza from 6:30 to 7, and the program from 7 to 9 p.m. Suggested donation is $20, but nobody will be turned away. -
Poets, Truckers, and Oil – Oh, My!
POETRY
Nina’s Cafe Breaks the St. Paul Poetry SceneTodd Boss is a true down-home-boy-made-good story; from his humble roots on a Wisconsin cattle farm, he has gained the title of “poet laureate” of Nina’s Cafe in St. Paul, not to mention a bit of other recognition. His swoon-inducing “The Hush of the Very Good” was selected as one of Poetry magazine’s 24 best love poems, his first collection (Yellowrocket) comes out next year, and his work has also been published in such reputable forums as The New Yorker and New England Quarterly. Join him this evening, along with other area poets, as they read their works round-robin-style in another installment of the “Verse and Converse” series. Tonight features local poetry standouts Deborah Keenan, Jim Cihlar, and William Reichard.
7 p.m., Nina’s Cafe, 165 Western Ave., St, Paul; 651-292-9816.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Trucker Love
You have to love a good truck love story. Huh? Come on now; you know how it is: spending every evening in the garage, the driveway, or the street; heading to the Mall of America every weekend, only to hit the auto parts store; paging through magazine after magazine pining for parts. Well, forget all that. We’re talking about something a touch more sophisticated here. Best-selling author Mike Perry (of Population 485) is back with another amusing memoir. Truck: A Love Story recounts his attempts to restore a 1950s Harvester truck, while cultivating his own food and discovering romance. Get a glimpse into “small-town living, laundry tips for bachelors, and the results of his own mis-firing brain.” Meet Perry in person this afternoon, and have him sign your book.2 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-626-0559; free.
FILM
Control Your Destiny, Control the Oil
“Imagine 30 percent of America unable to heat their houses, or gasoline $20 per gallon at the pump. It’s running out, and 90 percent of what’s left is in the Middle East. This is a fight to the death.” Sound vaguely familiar? These are the opening lines of the Syriana trailer on YouTube. A great commentary on American interests in the Middle East, Syriana offers up a political thriller with a message. Fittingly, tonight’s screening is hosted by the Libertarian Party of Minnesota. But don’t worry — you can use as much or as little brain power as you wish. The camera work is beautiful. The acting is superb: George Clooney won an Oscar for his role as CIA undercover operative Bob Barnes. And the film effortlessly delivers the message without disrupting your entertainment.7 p.m., Liberty Center, 799 Raymond Ave., St. Paul; 651-646-8980; optional $5 donation.
GALA
Minnesota SAGE Awards for Dance
Last week the Ivey Awards celebrated local theater. This week, we’re celebrating local dance with the third annual Minnesota SAGE Awards for Dance. Enjoy a social hour before the gala, then settle in as Masters of Ceremonies Judith Howard and Morris Johnson host a gala event chock-full-o-performances by past SAGE honorees: Brian Sostek, Morgan Thorson, and the Minnesota Dance Theater performing a work by Wynn Fricke. Awards are selected by an anonymous group of peer panelists in the following categories: performance, performer, design, special citation, and people’s choice. This year’s SAGE Award recipients will receive a commissioned work by Twin Cities visual and ceramic artist Josh Blanc.7 p.m., Ritz Theater, 343 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; 612-436-1129; $7-$10 minimum donation.
MUSIC
Bat For Lashes
British singer/songwriter, multi- instrumentalist, and visual artist Natasha Khan is perhaps best known for touring with Bjork, but the 28-year-old holds her own. Tonight, you can experience her band, Bat for Lashes (with Ginger Lee, Abi Fry, and Lizzy Carey) for yourself. Expect a lot of instrument swapping and switching, marching band drums, desert guitar, ballet school piano, harpsichord, sub-bass snarls, hand-claps, and naive beats.7 p.m., Varsity Theater, 1308 SE. 4th St., Minneapolis; 612-604-0222, $12.
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The Lonely Heavy Metal Publicist Tries His Hand At Poetry
No birds.
No flowers.
No bees.
No moon.
No water,
moving or still.
Nothing growing.
Nothing stirring
in the shadows.
No history.
No satisfying toil
or contemplation of love.
No memories.
For no one.
Dreams of leaving,
I suppose. And the cold
shoulder, sure.
Or if interest,
so fervent as to
be suspect,
if not frightening.
Foul language,
prurience, impossible
demands, and ingratitude
from the B-Squad louts with
the ridiculous hair and
the mascara and the
leather pants, etc.
Mostly, though,
no thank you,
and worse.
Or no response,
no answer at all.
And all these photos
I cannot look at,
and these discs I
can’t listen to.
Every evening I
crawl from the
office through
the dog door,
a ruined man.
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Guild Looks at Age Discrimination Action
Ex-Stribber wanted to know why, if there are now two of us blogging, why there aren’t daily posts. As mentioned previously, my colleague Mr. Lambert is off kayaking in the wilds of Utah and is blameless. I was first out of town and am now deluged with out-of-town guests who want to see every piece of art the TC have to offer. So….haven’t been making a lot of calls. Fortunately, one of our correspondents had his ear to the ground and sent in this tidbit. I have no reason to doubt this post, as I was one of the folks who was told of her “reassignment” within days of the buyout deadline. Course, then they denied my buyout, but that’s a whole different story.
Read and discuss….
The Star Tribune Guild convened a 10:30 meeting this morning to look at a pattern of age discrimination in the reassignments cooked up by editors for the paper’s owner, Avista Capital Partners. Speaking on background, one Guild officer said that by their count “only three or four” of the [30-40] reporters told they are being reassigned, “are under the age of 35”.
It is generally considered “paranoid” or “cynical” to read individualized, strategic intent in these reassignment frenzies. But when, as the same Guild source points out, the percentage of reassignees is so heavily skewed to older writers AND they are notified of their reassignment only days/hours before they have to decide to accept a buy-out and leave the paper, you really aren’t left with many credible explanations other than that this is the latest exercise in the tried-and-true corporate “right-sizing” template of — let’s describe it the way it smells — — insulting/threatening a veteran reporter with a switch to a beat usually covered by a summer intern, if at all.
There are specific examples all over the place, but when you get to Neal Gendler, a 60-something with 40 years at the paper being reassigned to overnights from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., you’re not even getting points for subtlety. In other words, police chase and flaming wreck with shoot out at 3 AM … Gendler’s your man.)
The Guild also has a problem with the peculiar sequencing of the reassignment/buy-out deadline process devised by the Star Tribune. As I asked/wrote yesterday, how else can you explain managing editors spending so much time re-mapping their employee universe BEFORE knowing for certain who they would have to work with, other than as a not too subtle and yes, fairly cynical process for “encouraging” those they most want out of the building to pack up and go?
It may be technically legal, but it runs contrary to the spirit of journalism, where your agendas, if you have them, are supposed to be plainly disclosed.
Whether the Guild alone can get any traction on the age discrimination issue remains to be seen. I happen to believe they should pursue aggressive outside counsel if only to squeeze Avista for a fatter, longer-term health benefits package. But that’s me and it wouldn’t be my money.
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Minstrel Show or the Lynching of William Brown
Variety reviews a play by our very own Max Sparber. (OK. That’s a bit overly possessive perhaps.)
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Breast Awareness, Part 2
I was — perhaps rightfully — taken to task by a reader (see comment on the entry below) for downplaying the risks of wine by posing questions about whether the most recent study to find a link between breast cancer and alcohol consumption also controlled for things such as smoking, high-fat diets, misreporting, etc. Mr. Johnson’s comment was well articulated and I took it to heart.
I also became curious about what the nation’s medical news experts are saying. So I looked at articles by a few of the big ones, including a blog by Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s CNN health team. (If you click on the link, scroll down to the October 1 entry.) And it turns out even the widely-revered Dr. Gupta and his associates were criticized for their handling of the Kaiser Permanente study which found red wine is as prone to enhance breast tumors as beer or hard liquor.
Several readers — including a few medical professionals — wrote to CNN hawking a paper from 2005 that was authored by a team of Melbourne-based researchers and claimed high levels of folate (a B vitamin necessary for the production of red blood cells and the synthesis of DNA) may mitigate the effects of alcohol when it comes to breast cancer. It’s worth noting, however, that at least one of the people responding to Gupta was a doctor (of what kind, I cannot say) with the American Roots Winery in Napa Valley.
For the record, I’m not recommending that women swallow handfuls of B-complex capsules before slugging down liters of wine. . . .I’m only putting out all the information I can find so careful readers and cautious drinkers can make informed choices of their own.
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Apologies
In my comment of yesterday, I accused the Strib of sending a photographer to illustrate the top of the front page story on the news that the airport was going to lower the dividers in some of the men’s room stalls.
As many astute readers pointed out, it was an AP photo. I don’t recall seeing the AP photo credit on yesterday’s Strib web version of the story, but it’s there today.
So, they only sent a reporter to cover the bathroom, not a photographer, too. So, they aren’t quite as lame as I thought. Almost, but not quite.
Is no one willing to jump to their defense for putting the story at the top of the front page? How about for editorializing about it (and running the photo yet again, although not on the website) today? Any takers?
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Tam-Tam's African Restaurant
You don’t really have to be a gastronomic adventurer to enjoy the cuisine at Tam-Tam’s African Restaurant in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, but if you are looking for something out of the ordinary, the option is there. The menu really covers most of the continent, ranging from Ugandan Hunter’s Ribs ($11.99), an enormous portion of grilled marinated beef ribs, served on the bone, to West African palm butter stew, served with your choice of chicken beef or goat ($11.99), and Ethiopian Injera n’ Wot, a dish of spicy chicken and vegetables served over flat bread ($9.99). I stopped in recently and had the lunch special of beef stew ($7.99 / $11.99 for dinner), tender chunks of beef in a rich gravy, accompanied by a couple of sides.I chose the collard greens, and the ugali, a steamed corn meal dumpling that’s perfect for sopping up gravy. Ugandan-born owner Steven Kaggwa is a genial and engaging host, happy to answer questions about the menu.
Tam-Tam’s now also offers wine and beer, including South African and Ethiopian vintages, as well as Tusker beer from Kenya – and highly rated Bell’s beer from Uganda is expected to arrive soon.
Tam-Tam’s African Restaurant, 605 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis,. -
Pre-Season
October is the kick-off for eating season. As the weather gets chillier and damper, our bodies crave that extra layer or warmth … and that means baking.
One of my favorite October things is when all my windows are open and the house is freezing, except for the kitchen which is ablaze with baked goods.
My poor family never seems to know what has hit them. During summer I am all about simple fruit desserts or ice cream, then WHAM October arrives and the once dusty cookie jar is jammed with treats.
Firstly, I am obsessed with quick-breads: a dense and spiced pumpkin bread, an earthy banana bread, even Nigella’s chocolate loaf laced with something new … like sage or cayenne.
Cakes can not be traditional (we have enough of those for all the summer birthdays in my house) so they have to be different or made with a new technique.
Cookies of course reign supreme. It is the warm up to the Holiday Cookie onslaught. But October cookies can be darker and less joyful, they have permission to be edgy or sly without all the pretty pretty of holiday bites.