“The Winter Carnival suspended the 2005 Vulcan Krewe and ordered future krewes to wear their real names on their costumes. In the past they have used character names, including ‘Baron Hot Sparkus’ and ‘Grand Duke Fertilious.’ The new Vulcans will also stop placing garters on women’s legs and attaching pins to their clothing. They will … Read more
It’s one month and counting until the Twin Cities release of Factotum, the Minnesota-made film based on a semi-autobiographical book by Charles Bukowski. Since filming of Factotum wrapped late in the summer of 2004, anticipation in the local film community has been eclipsed by other higher profile, more star-studded projects—with the fall release of North … Read more
A lot of people think they should envy Nancy Gross. Her job is to make sure that the shop at Walker Art Center is arrayed with ultra-gorgeous and ingeniously designed things—things that, above all, you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. “When you say you’re a buyer, people think it’s glamorous, like you just run around and … Read more
LAKE MICHIGAN—MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2005 Second Mate Patrick Pettit was in the map room as the American Spirit sailed out of sight of the Upper Peninsula and eased its way into Lake Michigan. Pettit was chatting up a visitor while hunched over a map on the drafting table, charting the boat’s course with a pencil, … Read more
Asha listened to the knocker fall against her door again and flipped onto her stomach, wiping her nose on the couch cushion as she turned. She was wearing the unwashed green robe she’d been using as a housedress since November. The robe had begun to stiffen, especially at the bottoms of the damp sleeves, which … Read more
Karl Commers was first up. The earnest mail carrier went through a door behind the stage and came out a few minutes later in a comprehensively sparkly shirt, the spitting image of … James Taylor. He gets that a lot, he said, but has no immediate plans to impersonate James Taylor. Firing up the fog … Read more
If there is a single structure in Northeast Minneapolis that captures the neighborhood’s long history and rotating cast of immigrants, it’s the flesh-colored ARCANA building at the corner of Lowry and Central. Home to several chapters of the mysterious Masonic Lodge, including the “Order of DeMolay,” the “Order of Eastern Star,” and the “Cryptic Masons,” … Read more
Name: Jerry Color: Off-white Habitat: Though he’s been spotted as far south as New Mexico, as far east as Vietnam, and as far north as the Arctic Circle, the Abominable Snowman spends most of his leisure time in rural Wyoming. But when he wants to go on a real bender, he frequents the taverns and … Read more
If you need guidance in repairing the clutch in your ’57 Ford pickup, quieting your stuttering Edsel, or locating the lubrication specs for that turn-of-the-last-century Stanley Steamer in the garage, here’s a suggestion: Check out the Minneapolis Public Library. The Central Library downtown is the proud possessor of an automotive manual collection that is second … Read more
Tucked into an out-of-the-way corner in northwestern Minnesota, Alexandria is a small town known for its twenty-eight-foot-tall Viking statue and a famous runestone museum. What most of the rest of the state doesn’t know is that this is where a mass slaughter of one of the humblest species of fish is taking place. Each year, … Read more