Cristina Córdova Before the Rains, the first English language film by Indian director Santosh Sivan, is a surprisingly effective, accessible, and beautiful riff on familiar themes. Set in British-controlled 1930s India during a growing nationalist movement, the film is about love and self-destructive ambition in the face of a rapidly changing country. Despite the two-cultural-groups-that-just-don’t-understand-each-other formula, which … Read more
Be sure to check out our Great Commuter Challenge slideshow and find out who won yesterday’s race. We also have a great piece on The Films of Carlos Reygadas, and a new fiction piece by David Dorle (with nudity even — tasteful as it is). BOOKS & AUTHORSRaking Through Books This month’s Rake happy hour … Read more
Sauced is run by John Conklin, a friend of mine, and is a great addition to the Northside. I am, however, puzzled as to why John gets a great review and my restaurant, Papa’s Pizza and Pasta, gets totally ignored once again. We have been on the corner of 42nd and Thomas for three years, … Read more
When the glitz and the flash and the devilish showboating are stripped away, Ace Frehley shines as the true powerhouse behind KISS. In his legendary band, the "spaceman" often got swallowed by Gene Simmons’s fire-spewing antics and Paul Stanley’s notorious onstage preening. But it was Frehley’s axe-wielding that gave musical credibility to the band’s campy … Read more
Thin are the night-skirts left behindBy daybreak hours that onward creep,And thin, alas! the shred of sleepThat wavers with the spirit’s wind:But in half-dreams that shift and rollAnd still remember and forget,My soul this hour has drawn your soulA little nearer yet. Our lives, most dear, are never near,Our thoughts are never far apart,Though all … Read more
photo from Pander Watch (read aloud) Obama! Obama, mama! Obama mama, blackjack! Obama mama blackjack, jackpot! Smoke a lot? Brain rot? Minnesota pep rally, rock show! Let’s go! Cash flow! Are we here? Do we know? Where to go? Say so! Minnesota slam dunk. In the trunk. No junk. Put it in the mix, … Read more
THEATER & PERFORMANCEBaby Got Curves Certainly the theme of body image is nothing new. In fact, we’ve come to expect it from plays (or any art, for that matter) about women. Why don’t I look like the models in the magazines? Why can’t I be thinner? Why can’t my breasts be larger, rounder, firmer? Why … Read more
The name Son of Rambow conjures images of some hot young actor like Shia LaBeouf trekking through the mountains of Afghanistan, dodging Taliban attacks while searching for a captured Sylvester Stallone. Rest assured, this is not what you will get from this refreshingly creative twist on the coming-of-age genre. Director Garth Jennings’s (Hitchhiker’s Guide to … Read more
Today was the launch of MetroMSP — a new Web site that offers companies and site selectors instant access to comprehensive and crucial marketplace information about available commercial, industrial and retail sites in the 11-county Minneapolis Saint Paul metro region. The Web site covers the anchor cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Bloomington, as well … Read more
This just in: The Echo Nest, a music intelligence company providing enhanced music search, recommendation and interactivity technology to online music companies, launched its second hosted application, "Recommend," today. Recommend is an application programming interface or "API" that helps music services personalize their websites to each visitor’s unique music taste. Any music website — bloggers, … Read more