Author: Cristina Córdova

SEMINARS
Unsatiated Appetites

Are you in marketing? Communications? Public relations? Public affairs? Advertising? Brand management? Web publishing? Or just generally interested in the digital world and American consumption? The fabulous thing about the Internet is its vast span — the scope, the range, the access to information and communication. But you have to know how to use it. And you have to take the opportunities presented. Today’s free video webcast, Tails from the Long Tail, explores online video as “the force that has unleashed the true power of the ‘long tail’ of the Internet.” Find out how the various realms of content-producers out there (mainly marketers of sorts — hell, everybody is selling something these days) are addressing the endless demand for web video. The live program will be followed by an email Q & A session.

1-2 p.m. eastern, MediaLink; free.

FILM
Intimate Dimensions of a Cataclysm

Dig out that military uniform (or respectfully pick one up at Ragstock) and head over to Northrop for a preview screening of award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns’ s World War II series, The War. Burns will be present to discuss the making of his film and share personal stories of men and women from four American towns: Waterbury, CT; Mobile, AL; Sacramento, CA; and the tiny farming town of Luverne, MN. Through personal pieces of a common history, the storytellers in this seven-part series illustrate how the second World War touched the lives of every family in the country. Tonight’s event will feature clips from the film, as well as a Q & A session for the audience. Looks like no matter what you choose to do tonight, you’re apt to get answers. (Just make sure you know what questions you have.)

7:30 p.m., Northrop Auditorium, 84 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-624-2345; free.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Journeys, Learning, and Transformations

“What a small person I was before this little child came into my life,” writes Ann Bremer in Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives, edited by Kathryn Lynard Soper — mother of seven. Gifts tells the triumphant stories of mothers whose children have Down syndrome, their journeys, learnings, and transformations. These days, with many women choosing to have children in their 30s and beyond, the “threat” of Down syndrome is very real; but these women turn the alleged threat into a thing of beauty, into what is almost an angelic state of being — and they would know. “After much study it seemed apparent that I was no longer the mother of a typical family… By the end of the course I came to the conclusion that many of my assumptions were incorrect, my lack of sainthood being the obvious indicator.” Meet the woman of these words, learn from her, and simply bask in the beauty behind the strength. Bremer will be be signing books along with two other local contributors, Leah Spring and Emily Zeid.

7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Booksellers – Mall of America, Mall of America, 118 E. Broadway, Suite 238, Bloomington; 952-854-1455; free.

Weather Obsessed

I hate it when this happens, but I get a lot of events coming across my desk these days — be it through external intervention or my own digging; and sometimes I add events to my calendar without noting the original source — not when it’s a matter of giving someone credit (which I believe is excessive but essential), but when it’s important to verify the source. So, what happens when you can’t verify the source? The point is, I received the above information from someone, but I can’t seem to confirm it. I find nothing on the Barnes & Noble website, but I’m fully convinced it’s happening. Still, if you want to play it super safe (though you can always call first), what I did find on the website was this: WCCO meteorologist (for 25 years) Mike Lynch, author of Mike Lynch’s Minnesota WeatherWatch: A Complete Guide for Weather-Obsessed Minnesotans, exposes the truth behind Minnesota weather, its history, and its lore. That ought to appeal; I mean, there’s nothing about which we like taking more than the weather. I’d say we’re weather obsessed here, in fact — and with good reason.

7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Booksellers – Roseville II, Har Mar Mall, 2100 N. Snelling Ave., Roseville; 651-639-9256; free.

POETRY
We Build to Last

Author and poet Bill Holm was in Iceland during the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge. He heard about the sad affair on Icelandic state radio. His response? A poem. When Holm returned to the Twin Cities just a few weeks ago, Scott Beyers — audio engineer, producer, and publisher of EssayAudio.com — upon hearing his poem, asked him to record it immediately before driving back to his home in Minneota. Holm cheerfully agreed– jet lag and all — and now you can read and hear his poem online. (Read it quickly; the link will be active until September 11, 2007.)

BOOKS
Now in Bookstores Near You

An entrepreneur who sells his memories for three thousand dollars per decade, a verisimilitude inspector for a Civil War-themed amusement park, ghosts who relive their deaths every night when their son comes home from work: This is the stuff of a typical George Saunders story. What, then, happens when Saunders turns his pen to nonfiction? Consisting of essays on literature, travel, and politics, Saunders’s narratives in The Braindead Megaphone continue his explorations into the absurdities of modern life — only now his writing stems from observation. Here, his humor assumes a doleful tone, as does his subject matter. But it is undeniably real and equally intense and as disturbing as anything Saunders has conjured from his imagination. –by Max Ross

Denis Johnson’s new novel — his first in nine years — continues the author’s studies of sympathy and redemption as integral parts of human physiology. Still, as in most of Johnson’s work, a feeling of desolation pervades. Set in the ’60s, each segment of Tree of Smoke: A Novel follows a year in the lives of the narrative’s several characters, all of whom are either fighting in the Vietnam War or dealing with its effects. Sympathy often comes with feeling sorry for a murderer, and redemption is found in a dive bar with air conditioning. Their various plights and salvations coalesce into a single American experience that Publishers Weekly calls “a closure [on the Vietnam War] that’s as good as we’ll ever get.” –by Max Ross

MUSIC
It Sings because It Has a Song; It Writes because It Has the Words

We call them musicians, but they’re writers, too. (Clearly, I’m not referring to Britney Spears here.) Join host Chris Thompson this evening for the Secret Songwriters Ball, featuring Rich Preiner, Andrew Lynch, Steve Smith, Frank Boyle.

9 p.m., Lee’s Liquor Lounge, 101 N. Glenwood, Minneapolis; 612-338-9491; free.

In the Face of Catastrophe

It seems lately, we have been surrounded with so much tragedy. Perhaps this is not unusual. Perhaps the world is somewhat bleak. But the beauty that has arisen in the wake of all this tragedy is not to be dismissed, overlooked, or forgotten. Just as Bill Holm wrote a poem in response to the collapse of the bridge, many other artists have come together to voice concerns and demands, to raise money, to honor victims and rescue workers, and to help assuage the fear and pain caused by recent catastrophic events. Along this vein, Grammy Award-winning composer and trumpeter Terence Blanchard has chosen to express an entire range of emotions evoked by the Katrina tragedy in his latest album, A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina), released August 14th. Known for his African-fusion style, Blanchard has been among the top jazz trumpet players for more than two decades.

7 & 9:30 p.m., Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis; 612-332-1010; $40 & $30.

Wilco Stops Scratching

Back in mid-August, Wilco had to cancel its Bayfront Festival concert due to a “rather nasty case of the Chicken Pox” contracted by guitarist Nels Cline. Now, after a three week delay, the show is finally scheduled to go on. All tickets for the original date will be honored, and refunds are available to those who have tickets but are unable to attend tonight’s show. But the best part is that there are actually still tickets available. Perhaps a brief trip to Duluth is in order. Wilco’s melodies and lyricism are certainly well worth your while; and if that’s not enough to warrant the drive, our very own Low has now been added to the bill.

7:30 p.m., Bayfront Festival Park, 700 W. Railroad St., Duluth; 612-605-7957; $35.65.