Tucked neatly into a shelf of dainty Victorian houses on the bluffs of St. Paul, the home of Charles Arndt and Kelly Bjorklund was the site of U.S. Senate incumbent Paul Wellstone’s February 9 fund–raiser. The Rake was in attendance to savor the food and sample the politics. Contributors to the Wellstone campaign were confronted … Read more
The marine iguana, which is found only in the Galapagos archipelago, spends most of its time sunning itself on the volcanic rocks and sneezing. For nourishment, it dives in the sea and feeds on algae. Consequently, it has to rid its body of sea salt somehow. To do so, it expels a salty mist out … Read more
To really appreciate how much the seemingly normal people of St. Paul love hockey, take a look at how they continue to support the Wild as the team finishes its second season in an unnerving display of expansion-team ineptitude. Take one recent loss to the New York Rangers, a 3-2 overtime gaffe that should have … Read more
It was Ole Bull’s eighth birthday party, and the concert master took full advantage of the open bar, rendering himself unable to fulfill his duties with the house band. Bribed with candy, the boy filled in, ripping through a Louis Spohr composition. The performance was so spectacular that an uncle rewarded young Ole with his … Read more
“Don’t worry if you fuck it up. Just go out there and have a good time,” said Jay Leno. That was the backhanded advice he gave Nick Swardson in his dressing room, moments before Nick’s Tonight Show debut a few weeks ago. And Nick didn’t. In the vernacular of stand-up comedians, he crushed. There’s something … Read more
Art by Yasmina RezaPark Square Theatre, through April 13What is Art? Three answers come to mind. First, it’s a play that asks the question, What is art? In other words, Art has genuine intellectual content—something we don’t encounter very often in the contemporary American theater. (More’s the pity.) Second, Art is a play with a … Read more
It’s hard to believe that Jeune Lune has never before staged a Greek tragedy. The highly stylized drama of that period would seem to provide fertile ground for the highly stylized productions of this French-derived theater company. Medea, however, is a bit of a surprising choice. Of all the ancient Greek tragedians (all three of … Read more
“That comes to $7.10,” says the laconic clerk at Byerly’s. The woman in front of me methodically unsnaps her purse, unfolds her pocketbook, fumbles with a ballpoint, and begins to write a check. She drafts the month, F-E-B-R-U-A-R-Y, while I begin to simmer. Why can’t it be May? She applies her careful, mid-century penmanship now … Read more
It holds up pretty well, all things considered, but then we’re suckers for baseball movies. Tim Robbins’ turn as screwy southpaw Nuke LaLoosh (a baseball picture without clichés just isn’t a baseball picture) represents the funniest performance in le cinema du baseball since the hapless, ever befuddled William Bendix assayed the title role in The … Read more
In the gritty alley behind Sex World, in downtown Minneapolis’ notorious Warehouse District, you can stumble upon a whole microcosm of vibrant activity. We’re not talking about the inebriated college kids pissing in corners after a night of drinking, though there is plenty of that, nor any of the unseemliness you might hope to encounter … Read more