Author: rakemag

After reading Wm. Steven Humphrey, I find it strange that you published in a Twin Cities magazine an article by a columnist based in Portland who is writing about his Portland cable system. Not all cable systems are alike! If Mr. Humphrey lived in Minneapolis and had Time Warner Cable he would find a service called DVR, a cable box that has a TiVo-type device built in which enables the viewer to tape two programs while watching another without the need for videotape.
Jerry Blizen, Minneapolis

To point out hypocrisy is often to belittle or ignore the larger argument. Colleen Kruse points out that her friend, Megan the Vegan Pagan, eats only organic food in an effort to be healthier, yet she smokes [Motley Krüse, April]. A clear hypocrisy, even if they are American Spirits. President Bush promotes the building of hydrogen-powered cars, yet in the same week offers a big tax break to businesses that buy SUVs and pickups. Hypocrisy? Yes. It doesn’t follow, however, that organic is pointless or that hydrogen-powered cars are bad. The Environmental Protection Agency, surely the president’s most beloved organization, just released stricter guidelines for evaluating the risks of certain chemicals used in pesticides, having discovered the greater likelihood that children will get cancer from exposure to pesticides than adults. To explain all the reasons why it is better to avoid pesticides would be just as trite as the incongruity Kruse points out in her stereotypical depiction of someone who buys organic foods. Colleen Kruse and her ill-used friend can keep their cancer, and I will keep a wary eye on hypocrisy.
Steffan Hruby, Minneapolis

You bet, the Twin Cities area had a great transit system before Green and Ossanna got in and wrecked the streetcar empire in less than three years time, 1951–1954 [“Get Rail!,” March]. Twin City Lines did have buses to augment the streetcars and a fair amount of private right of way. The vast majority of the train cars were built right here in the Twin Cities. They were high-speed machines, capable of 50 mph. The TCL home-built tanks were comfortable and efficient. One TCL “standard car” could hold a “crush crowd” of 150 bodies. A bus can only do about half that many. Electric traction has quicker acceleration than the noisy, two-speed “slushbox” transmissions on most buses. Electric traction vehicles can be coupled into multiple unit trains. The Twin City area needs many more LRT lines, and commuter rail too. Rip out the “insane lane” of I-394, and put in LRT all the way from Long Lake to Hudson, Wisconsin. Minnesota needs to get into the 21st century.
John Kennedy, St. Paul

In the most recent issue of The Rake [April], there is an article entitled “Smashing, Glass” in which reference is made to “NPR’s ‘This American Life.’” This is incorrect. National Public Radio (NPR) has nothing to do with either the production or distribution of this very popular program. “This American Life” is produced by WBEZ/Chicago Public Radio and distributed to public radio stations nationwide by Public Radio International (PRI), located right here in Minneapolis. Public Radio International and National Public Radio are the two major distribution services for public radio. Individual public radio stations can be affiliates of both PRI and NPR, selecting programming offered by each. Public radio is a generic term, while Public Radio International and National Public Radio refer to specific distributors.
Linda Sue Anderson, PRI Executive Assistant, Minneapolis

When a publication goes national and even international, steps have to be taken to make sure that local writers are not confused with national and international figures. The March edition presents an article entitled “Taters” [Down the Hatch]. The author is Stephanie March. The failure by your editors to include a brief note on the author Stephanie March, indicating she is not Stephanie March, the lead actress in Law and Order SVU, is an oversight that should be corrected. Many fans of Stephanie March the actress know that she has an interest in food, so an article about potatoes with Stephanie March’s byline unreasonably suggests that the actress wrote the article. This misconception is reinforced by Google searches which list Stephanie March, the author of “Taters,” in the same results as for Stephanie March, the actress. The only upside is that many of Ms. March’s (the actress) fans read the article by Ms. March (the food writer) and quite enjoyed it. However, given the national and international popularity of Stephanie March the actress, posting a clarification would be considerate to both Stephanie March’s fans and a sign that this is a professional publication.
Malcolm J. Scully, Quebec

In reading Mr. Singer’s letter [Letters, April], I couldn’t help but notice the absence of any mention on his part of the fossil fuel emissions/greenhouse gases that would be produced by the increased demand for electricity from the existing infrastructure—as to whether or not the air quality of the city would be improved by mass-transit’s conversion to electricity. This seems to me to be contingent on where the power plants are located and what fuel is being used. But something tells me that Newton’s First Law of Thermodynamics might be of use in this discussion.
Robert Carter, Eagan

Thanks for your article on global warming. We are not hearing much about it in this country from the corporate press. My opinion is that Minnesota will be a “warm Nebraska” much sooner than 50 years from now. One of the factors that is not taken into account in some of the computerized models is the diminishing snow cover that will reflect less infrared radiation back into space. Another factor is that obsolete technologies, such as the internal combustion engine, are growing faster than the world’s population. In Beijing, the streets were once clogged with bicycles. Now they are clogged with automobiles. When the nations of the world should be scrambling to build renewable energy technology that doesn’t create greenhouse gases, and when we should be taking emergency action to deploy a national and worldwide conservation program, our oil-friendly leaders are carrying on with a war that will spew megatons of unnecessary toxins and gases into the world’s atmosphere. Even if most of the scientists around the world are wrong about global warming, is it still OK to fill our air with cancerous filth? I don’t think so.
Don Johnson, Minneapolis

One day at college, in New York City, we were discussing getting smacked by a cab or a bus. What would they do with you if you were not identified [Hidden Treasures, April]? I was told you would be brought to Potter’s Field—taken across the river and buried standing up, after they took a snapshot of your face. So one fine Saturday in May, we went to the old Potter’s Field in New York City, burial site of the unwanted and unknown. I could not believe the files and files and files of photos, some dating way back, many children (of the streets) and others who were just found and not claimed. It was fascinating. There are no markers, just land. They did, indeed, bury you standing up and on top of one another. Kind of creepy and mostly sad. We intended to stop a few hours, and spent nearly eight looking through these files of men, women, children, and some with both woman and child—nameless photos of people buried over the period of a century. This was way back in 60s. I never thought of Minnesota as having any potter’s fields—I thought that name was just for New York City’s.
Joy Kangas, Hamel

Thank you! I was absolutely thrilled when I saw your interview with Louise Erdrich [“The Novelist at Rest,” March]. I’ve been a long time fan of hers, but had no idea that she had a bookstore right in my old stomping grounds. I cannot wait to go there and spend an entire afternoon shopping and reading. I haven’t ever seen your mag before, but will definitely look for it from now on. It’s fabulous, and I look forward to reading it for years to come.
Melinda (Lin) Galarneau, Farmington