Triangulating for Fun and Profit
Amy Hartman’s tales of horror about the adult cabaret industry [Letters, July] have about as much relationship to reality as George Bush’s tales of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.Randall TigueMinneapolis
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Beer Me!
Joe Pastoor’s fine article [“Beer Town!,” July] omitted one aspect of the new Grain Belt Beer: the taste. The original Grain Belt was the first beer I ever tasted. The enchanting, spicy bouquet from one bottle poured into a glass could fill the entire kitchen at home; a few pitchers could fill an entire tavern … Read more
Art With Text
Near the entrance of this Northeast gallery, there’s a photograph of a rabbi studying the Torah, which nicely encapsulates the theme of this month’s show—that the printed word, far from being the opposite of the image, is itself a visual icon with special power to unlock life’s mysteries. As a nice counterpoint, just a few … Read more
Charles Ezell: Make Room for Love
Cue the hometown-boy-makes-good-then-comes-back-for-a-show music. St. Cloud-born comedian Charles Ezell has been a writer on Court TV (the funny parts), Burly TV, and Imposter on TBS. He can be seen this month in The Real Roseanne, a new ABC reality show about the titular star’s attempt at creating a cooking/lifestyle program. His first show in Minneapolis, … Read more
The Mystery of Irma Vep
Two heads are better than one, sure, but how about eight? Charles Ludlam’s enduringly popular drag satire tests that proposition by casting just two actors (in Park Square’s case, Charles Hubbell and Steve Lewis) to play all eight characters, male and female, in a goofball sendup of penny dreadfuls, Alfred Hitchcock, and horror films. Ibsen … Read more
Kicking Depression’s Butt
Thank you for your favorable review of Unplugged, my novel about depression and recovery [The Broken Clock, May]. I appreciate the attention your column brought to my performance and signing at Ruminator Books—and, more important, to the cause of suicide prevention. Your piece did, however, contain one error. I am not a “lifetime victim of … Read more
Orson Welles Rehearses Moby Dick
Orson Welles was a world conqueror in 1941 when he came out with Citizen Kane, a career high point he never reached again, though sporadic successes over the years kept reminding people what he was capable of. Kent Stephens’s new play centers on one of those later productions, Welles’s 1955 London stage production of Herman … Read more
El Camino Real
I loved the article on the Subaru Baja [“Dude, where’s my truck-like car thing?,” July]. The article mentioned the trouble all car manufacturers are having as they chase the Gen X, active-lifestyle, mountain-biking crowd. That crowd is not interested in most of these vehicles! Charlie Rassouli admits that older folks and “part-time gardeners” are buying … Read more
JP American Bistro
With all the present turmoil in the restaurant business and the malaise of the economy, it’s wonderful to see someone buck the odds and throw caution to the wind. You can do that when you get so many great ideas all at the same time, and execute them the way J.P. Samuelson has with this … Read more
Getting It Down Pat
Please spare me the kinder, gentler spin on Pat Awada [“Is This Woman Ruining Our State?,” July]. As state auditor, her responsibility is to oversee $17 billion in local government spending. As the previous owner of Capital Verification, a telecom industry oversight company, she failed consumers to the tune of $222,000 in her clients’ fines … Read more