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Martha Clarke has seldom pursued the linear in her storytelling. Like many of the artists she’s interpreted—Franz Kafka and Hieronymus Bosch, for instance—Clarke has a taste for collaging imagery with such a ravenous appetite that the final product invariably takes on the taste of a three-day acid trip. Vienna Lusthaus (Revisited) is no exception. Capturing … Read more

Finally someone (besides us) has noticed that the expansive area north of the old warehouse district, recently filled with new condos and townhouses, offices and studios, is ready for a restaurant and club appropriate for the crowd that works and lives nearby. Babalu is that, and a certain draw for heat-seeking souls from the entire … Read more

After the black cloud of hell that is known as the holidays in my family, I came down with the “cruise ship flu,” a name which doesn’t begin to paint this evil in the proper light. Never in my adult life have I been this sick. As god is my witness, I shan’t be kneeling … Read more

We tried to do our part by prying open our wallets and swabbing out the residue of our consumer confidence. We were on the lookout for cheap but meaningful gifts. We were especially interested in one stocking stuffer that was widely advertised—a faceplate for the cell phone described as “patriotic.” What makes a faceplate patriotic? … Read more

The other day, the Minnesota Zoo announced the birth of a baby dolphin. The zoo is soliciting $25 sponsorships to help pay for the little calf’s all-fish diet. Once she’s weaned from her mother, she’ll eat up to 20 pounds of fish a day. Where will all that fish come from? Perhaps our thriving local … Read more

The other night, two-dozen hockey fans milled around the Iron Range Grill. They were biding their time. Across the corridor, in a half hour, the puck would drop on the big sheet of ice at the Xcel Energy Center. The Wild, enjoying a hot streak early in the season, would be facing the Vancouver Canucks, … Read more

“We are looking for the person on house arrest. Please press the BAT button.” Daniel Lemke hears this on his phone three times a day. It’s called the Alco-sensor. Developed by Mitsubishi, it is one of the few devices that can be called Orwellian without exaggerating. The Alco-sensor is essentially a home breathalyzer with a … Read more

There’s ice on the banks of the Mississippi, a fact I might have put to good use if I’d noticed earlier. As it is, I’m halfway across—and neck-deep in—a backwater somewhere near Fort Snelling. I can only hope these are the last few steps of a run organized by the Minneapolis Hash House Harriers. The … Read more