Author: rakemag

This month, we paid homage to all the fabulous, Minnesota-made jewelry that’s available. Now you can see ‘n touch it for yourself. One of my favorite boutiques in all of Minneapolis is throwing a jewelry trunk show this evening. Between five and eight p.m., you’ll be able to check out necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings off local labels like Farahbean, Bella Designs, and La Belle Bijou. As I understand it, there’ll be an opportunity to swig some champagne and snag a couple bonbons, too.

I never could bring myself to watch Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ. And I’m afraid that now, after doing just a hair of research, I feel much the same about Gibson’s latest project, Apocalypto. No Fin de los Tiempos for me, thanks. A short history of my apocalypse fears: As a little Catholic kid, steeped in the traditions of mysticism (and unquestioning faith), I feared for the world based upon one of my older cousin’s prediction that Ronald Wilson Regan was the anti-Christ. Note that there are six letters in each of his three names, said the cousin. Ronald Reagan was to bring about the end of the world on the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of his presidency. My math might have been a little off, but I recall that I was quaking in my Roos on June 6, 1986. And years later, I all but hid on my closet in New Year’s Eve 2000.

In any case, this latest Gibson flick takes inspiration from the fact that various biblical texts are in agreement with the old Mayan belief that the big end-all will take place on December 21, 2012, when, coincidentally, the earth and sun will align with the center of the Milky Way galaxy. There’s a free preview of Apocalypto tonight at Oak Street Cinema, if you’re into this sort of thing.

Assuming you do not have tickets to tonight’s Bob Seger concert, and because plenty of us are plenty stressed about holiday shopping, you might consider focusing your energies on two important going-out-of-business sales. The pink palace of local luxury retailers, Alfred’s Grand Petit Magasin, is closing its doors on or about Christmas Eve. The seminal clothing boutique, Josi Wert, is shuttering up too, but God knows when. What’s important to know is that, for now, both stores have redlined everything. However, shopping will require of you a long lunch or sick time, as neither store is open past the evening rush hour.

What’d I do with the days off? I slept. I slept through the After-Thanksgiving sales, slept through my friend Sam’s birthday party. The weird thing about getting enough sleep, and finally chipping away at that sleep deficit, is that it actually makes you feel more tired than ever. How’m I gonna drag my butt out of bed and to the Brazilian Girls show tonight?

If you don’t already know of this band, you can get a little taste at their website. It’s good, catchy music, but not exactly the sort of stuff that keeps sleepy heads on straight.

It is, of course, a big night for the bars. It’s the busiest bar night of the year, if my memory for statistics serves… Bowing to that, here are a couple bar show picks: Martin Devaney Band and Friends will be at the Turf, The Ike Reilly Assassination at First Ave. I still haven’t found the Tina and The B-Sides/Lola and The Red Hots show.

Since I’ll be signed off until Monday, I thought I’d toss off some great theater happenings, too. I used to work in the theater biz, you know… And while there are no figures to back this claim, I recall the day AFTER Thanksgiving being a big, big day for the stage. So, in honor of that, here goes: Still haven’t seen it, but Worldwide Church of the Handicapped seems promising (I’m taking mom on Friday), A Christmas Carole Petersen was short ‘n funny when I saw it two years ago, and then there’s the ever-recommended Ligustrum Vulgare at Bryant Lake Bowl. Happy Thanksgiving!

So, the foragers have finally swept the local grocery stores… How many people are you hosting for Thanksgiving dinner? The only comfort (for some of us) is that we’ve got the next several days off, so I thought I’d mention a couple free art exhibits, should you care to avert your attention, if only for a moment, from the kitchens and shopping malls: The Fashion of Architecture, whereat chothiers, architects, and collaborations show their creations (see what Julie Caniglia wrote about it); and Afterwar, an excellent exhibition that examines the everyday lives of retired soldiers throughout the world.

Happy short week, eh? There aren’t a lot of notable arts and entertainment happenings going on tonight. But there is that sneak preview party for the Minnesota History Center’s Baseball As America exhibition–although a ticket will set you back a little ways ($25-$50). Won’t it be worth it, though, to hang out with Baseball Hall of Famers like Harmon Killebrew, Ryne Sandberg and Paul Molitor?