What do the Episcopal Church and Kobe Bryant have in common? Both are being forced to face the consequences of earlier moral commitments that may take them to places they never wanted to go. For the Episcopal Church, the initial commitment was to social equality. For Kobe, it was marital fidelity. Next year at this … Read more
1972. I don’t remember the month, but it was warm enough for me not to be wearing a jacket, just my head-to- toe Garanimals red outfit. A T-shirt and jeans in my signature color. I was four years old. I could dress myself, and when I put on that outfit, baby, I meant business. Everybody … Read more
I like luck. I don’t understand it and can’t predict or explain it, but I enjoy courting it and can’t help believing in it. Philosopher Nicholas Rescher—author of Luck: The Brilliant Randomness of Everyday Life—contends that without luck, life as we know it would be unsustainable, that the randomness of good and bad luck gives … Read more
Is it OK for married guys to go to strip clubs? First, let’s get something out in the open right away here: Men are duplicitous scumbags. That doesn’t stop when they get married. Is there a woman alive who truly believes—in her heart of hearts—that her husband is a saint? This is the great white … Read more
A green sign on the east end of the National Sports Center in Blaine beckons young golfers with a verdant 18-hole putting course called “Tournament Greens.” On a late July afternoon, the course crawls with boys and girls as young as six years old practicing their putting. They wear lime-green T-shirts that advertise the Southwest … Read more
Independent cinema is a bigger growth industry than you might think. A decade ago, there were maybe a hundred film festivals worldwide showcasing foreign films, documentaries, and low-budget fare. Now that number’s about a thousand. Here in Minnesota, the reigning king is the U Film Society’s international festival, one of the largest yearly draws of … Read more
Wheat is under attack. Not from nasty-toothed beetles or fungus-ridden blight. This attack is more sinister, more devastating, because it comes from those once whole-heartedly on wheat’s side. The traitors are none other than the very same nutritionists who used to harp on you to eat your whole-wheat toast. Wheat and all its lovely products … Read more
I hope you are enjoying the new Harry Potter. Such a wealth of invention. And so witty. No profound psychological penetration, I suppose, but who ever expected that in a school story or a murder mystery? J.K. Rowling may not be Jane Austen, but then neither is Dorothy Sayers (who made the error of falling … Read more
It might have been a lull in the news cycle. It might have been the fact that every news outlet from TV to the daily newspaper wants to be a magazine. (Stories that make you feel good! Pretty pictures! Candid opinion!) But for one glorious week this summer, we were introduced to, fell in love … Read more
The recent kerfuffle about the telecom scandal has not yet yielded a satisfactory answer to a question that troubles millions. Ellen Anderson, for one, wonders why we are powerless to stop telemarketers from calling us. “Virtually everyone hates telemarketing calls,” said the Minnesota state senator the other day. “Why can’t we pass laws that reflect … Read more