Month: August 2008

  • Hamlet 2

    For many people the very idea of a sequel to Hamlet is preposterous. But if Shakespeare fans want to see a good tragedy, they should check out the last act of Hamlet 2. A truly funny slapstick film for the first hour, the tragedy of Hamlet 2 is that it turns away from its comedic…

  • Step Right Up: Free Stuff at The State Fair!

    STATE FAIR TIP OF THE DAY The Education Building aka "The Free Building" I love free stuff. Even free stuff that sucks. I will happily snap up that pencil with a dentist’s website printed on the side of it, or any kitten/bald eagle/generic landscape calendar that comes into my hemisphere. I think free food tastes…

  • The Citidiot

    My friend Nick and I strolled into the Looney Bean coffee shop in the tiny northern town of Crosby, Minnesota. We were grabbing some morning coffee and inquiring about the town’s upcoming community festival that we thought was called "Crosby Days." It was taking place that weekend and it sounded like a fun thing to…

  • The Black Mamba Finally Gets His Moment

    Well, now we know the reason behind Kobe Bryant’s curiously fitful and misguided play during the first seven games of the Olympic tournament: An absence of pressure. Nearly universally (and accurately) regarded as the best clutch shooter in the game today, Kobe’s commanding crunchtime aplomb was a superfluous virtue as the USA men ran roughshod…

  • Italiani's Family Restaurant Grill & Bar

    I got a hot tip recently – a sighting of a pasta making machine at Italiani’s Family Restaurant Grill & Bar, 3508 E. Lake Street. That’s pretty rare these days – making pasta by hand is very labor intensive. Back when I lived in the neighborhood, the place was known as the Lake Street Garage,…

  • 40 Minutes from Gold

    Perhaps it’s because I’m so NBA-centric and the Olympic team from Argentina has so many quality NBA pros on its roster (Gibobili, Scola, Nocioni, Oberto), but I always thought today’s semifinal would be USA’s toughest game of the tournament. And it probably was. After racing out to a huge lead that was 30-9 with six…