rakemag Certainly, the Varsity has come a long way since 2 Live Crew took the stage in the early 1990s to belt out “Me So Horny.” Now managed by the steady hand of Jason McLean, the man behind the nearby Loring Pasta Bar and the Kitty Cat Klub, the long-ailing Dinkytown landmark has been restored to … Read more
When it comes to artistic fallout from the attacks on the Twin Towers, what we’ve seen so far has been, for the most part, a boatload of opportunistic crap. (Yeah, Toby Keith, that includes you.) Foer’s second novel looks like a brilliant exception, however. In “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” nine-year-old Oskar Schell attempts to … Read more
Danny Buraczeski is trading in his dancing shoes for a pair of comfy house slippers. After twenty-five years of rat-tat-tatting in Minnesota, he’s closing down Jazzdance, the clearinghouse of kineticism, spectacle, and imagination he gave birth to. The company is cooking up a finale inspired by everyone and everything from Duke Ellington and Judy Garland … Read more
After a year of observing the construction at Walker Art Center as artistic spectacle–the slow-dancing crane, the scaffolding-as-sculpture, the huge, billowing plastic tarps–we’re as excited as the next guy to finally revisit the museum proper. Of course, the expansion, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, promises to be spectacular in its own right (see The … Read more
In the world of relationship “deal breakers,” money matters, drug issues, and infidelity tend to overshadow what I consider to be the real compatibility issues. Starting with a biggie: ultimate control over the thermostat. If, like me, you are a fresh-air fiend and need windows cracked in subzero weather, you’d best pair up with someone … Read more
Depending on how much snow we get in March, the year’s snowiest month, April can be one of the ugliest seasons. The yard is too soft to clean up, so the grimy leavings of winter are everywhere to be seen. On the upside, this is one of our favorite times of the year, because the … Read more
We’ve been on vacation in Florida this week and for us news junkies it’s been a pleasure to partake of the St. Petersburg Times, and ignore the usual suspects. In consequence, we’ve been able to read the local, rather than national, coverage of the Terri Schiavo case, and get the perspective of the people who … Read more
Well, the credit card companies didn’t waste any time. Emboldened by the Senate’s passage of the new bankruptcy bill last week (also known as the “Buy the Government Now and Pay Later” Bill,) my credit card company today sent me “IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS TO YOUR COMMERCIAL CREDIT AGREEMENT.” The first amendment is that they can immediately … Read more
Good field, no hit. But, he did have to face Steve Carlton Every little boy I grew up with wanted to be a Major League baseball player. When you are young, you think you can do anything, and you give no thought to being a teacher, or fireman, or, for god’s sake, a journalist. Nobody … Read more
The first author of The Scarlet Letter In one of the last words before the “Buy Congress Now and Pay Later” bankruptcy bill passes the Senate today, here’s Paul Krugman. All that remains now is for the DeLay controlled House to add the part about poor people having to wear a scarlet “D” (for Debtor) … Read more