This weekend, I went to DIVA MN–which was quite fun, in part due to the attentions (or maybe it was just ass kissing) I received from a male model. I meant to bring my camera so that I could share with you the takes, but alas, it was forgotten at home. And then yesterday afternoon I went to see Love, Janis at the Ordway. Now, try as I might to be open-minded, I was feeling rather snobbish about this one as I walked in (automatic against biopics n’ -plays). But once inside, I was happy to find a fine local performer, Kate Eifrig, in the title role. There was a fine singer doing Janis, too. She had the raspy, bluesy voice anyhow, even if she couldn’t quite reach the high notes and squeals. Which is all a roundabout way of saying I rather enjoyed the thing. Then, last night, I went to see Don Juan Giovanni, which was entertaining, even if some of the singers’ voices were inaudible. But, being the nice person that I am, I’m just assuming they overdid it the night before, on opening. The production’s use of an old, 50s-era Plymouth was cool as hell, though. And Bradley Greenwald, I’ve decided, has a voice of pure gold. But this production didn’t show him off the way others have. I hope Jeune Lune remounts Carmen yet again just so I can hear him sing La fleur que tu m’avais jetée and C’est toi! C’est moi! all over again.
Author: rakemag
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Must Go On
For the brave among us: The Exonerated, an anti-death penalty plays, opens this evening at Mixed Blood and Mark Mothersbaugh: Postcard Diaries (i.e., art from the frontman of Devo–yes, we’ve covered this endeavor of his before) opens at Creative Electric Studios.
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Fear to Trudge
In the cards for tonight, so long as I’m not buried: The Stephen Petronio [dance] Company at the Walker Art Center. Don’t know much about ’em, I’m afraid. But they come recommended by my friend, the very knowledgeable and talented Ms. Linda Shapiro.
Looking on the bright side of all this powder and slop: I guess this means we’re in like a lion, at the very least. But it couldn’t be a worse weekend, in terms of happenings, to get snowed out. For now, I plan to strap on my snowshoes and trudge to the DIVA MN fashion event (wouldn’t that be something?) as well as to opening weekend of Don Juan Giovanni.
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Best Documentary, in Fragments
More on movies: the film that, in my humble opinion, should’ve won for best documentary is playing at the Bell–through tomorrow only! Not that I disliked An Inconvenient Truth. But let’s face it, folks; it was, essentially, a PowerPoint presentation, whereas Iraq In Fragments took some very bold, and quite poetic, snapshots of three different Iraqi subsets: the neglected Sunni schoolboy; the rambled and radicalized Shiite south; and finally, the seemingly quiet life of a rural Kurdish schoolboy. Rich in hot reds and cool blues, the pictures are beautiful to boot–and considering how difficult the content was to gather, that must’ve been the filmmaker’s happy accident.
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Gone to the Gowns
If there was one resolution made during last night’s Academy Awards viewing, it was this: I resolve to go see The Queen. I missed it, thinking it looked tearfully boring at the time of its release. Plus, I generally try to avoid biopics–unless, that is, they have something to do with Truman Capote. But in an evening wrought with political handouts and unflattering eveningwear, Helen Mirren was the class-act standout. For one, she wore her dress, by Christian Lacroix, better than anyone else wore theirs–kudos to her to her for daring to wear something so low cut. And at her age!!
(Here’s my parenthetic thoughts on last night’s dresses: Penelope Cruz’s Versace was the best dress, in my humble opinion. I also liked Nicole Kidman’s red Balenciaga number with the big shoulder bow, although her plasticized forehead did nothing for the overall look. Cameron Diaz’s white, origami-inspired Valentino was also nice; this is something I’d actually want to wear! But aside from that, I’m not diggin’ the futuristic metallics, which can make even a starlet look paunchy. Jennifer Hudson, I love you ‘n all, but get rid of that Oscar de la Renta rag–and fast!!)
In any case, for those, like me, who still haven’t seen The Queen, it’s playing at The Heights this evening through Thursday.
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What is a Conservative, Exactly?
I have a new respect for the lady [Katherine Kersten, as profiled in “The One-Woman Solution,” February]. Does the Star Tribune know that they have readers in out-state Minnesota that may be conservative? What is your definition of “neo-con”? That word is thrown around and many people have no clue what it is. I think that Kersten is intelligent and has a desire to dig into subjects. It could be that she is far above the other Tribune writers and they are jealous. I’m not sure why the writer of this article doesn’t think she would appeal to redneck conservatives. The rednecks that I know in Brainerd are Democratic-leaning in their voting. I think the Tribune and possibly the writer of this article don’t know what a conservative is.
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Springfield, Illinois
David Speers of Madison, Wisconsin and Nancy Miller of St. Paul recently called upon the Lincoln Family at the new Lincoln Museum in Honest Abe’s hometown of Springfield, Illinois.
They had along The Rake’s October 2006 all-music issue, and it inspired some fairly solid verse. Writes Miller:
In these times of war and strife,
Lincoln led a similar life.
So we decided to stop and see
Just how this country came to be.
Here we are at the Springfield place,
Where Lincoln’s history can be traced.
What tunes today would Lincoln deem
Worthy of the local music scene? -
A Careful Reading of the Facts
In his profile of Katherine Kersten, Brian Lambert states: “nor does she stoop to … cynical mangling of facts…” You can argue about her cynicism, but as I recall when she was writing occasional policy pieces for the Star Trib op-ed page, those pieces were usually followed by letters to the editor stating where she got her facts wrong. As for Central America, she says that “in particular [her] experience with Central America” was very important. Nowhere in this piece does she say anything about the death squads and massacres. Brian Lambert doesn’t raise the question either. You can do better.
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But Wait! Did He Read the Same Piece as that Last Guy?
It’s rewarding to see Brian Lambert back in print once again. Despite being a failed newspaper columnist and a fired radio talk-show host, Lambert’s hiring by The Rake must be complimented. By employing him—“an embalmed white man”—to “sneer about” Katherine Kersten. The Rake displays both its hostility to conservative viewpoints and selective devotion to diversity.
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Nothing But Love
With all due respect, your “raking” over of the Strib [“Go Down Moses,” February] doesn’t resonate with me, a Strib subscriber. Au contraire, I’m of the opinion that the Strib is actually turning out a much-improved product since the takeover. I have no other conflict of interest in coming to the aid of the Strib. Also, we in the Twin Cities do not have a lack of other significant news sources, especially with the availability of the Internet and other media resources. I think it’s a bunch of bunk that media law apparently still considers concentration of newsprint sources as a competitive factor! It’s ludicrous!
By the way, I believe that The Rake is a superior journalistic publication. I also read City Pages and sometimes local immigrant/foreign-oriented publications (e.g., Chinese, Vietnamese, Hmong, Latino, for a contrasting viewpoint). It’s very interesting how our primarily Scandinavian culture has become transformed by other cultures, leading to cultural diversity.