Sitting thirty feet up in an old spruce tree, on a little metal throne tied onto the trunk, I’ve got quivering legs. My fear is intensified by the knowledge that old spruces are brittle, and this one is waving gently in a fairly stiff breeze. A few hundred yards away, traffic and voices from the … Read more
Photo courtesy city of circle pines; An early brochure touts the cooperative, courtesy minnesota historical society The landscape of Circle Pines is bleak. Entering town off I-35W, drivers are greeted by a stretch of newly constructed townhouses in varying shades of fawn and ecru. The wayside scenery along Lake Drive, the main thoroughfare, is similarly … Read more
I lived for a year in a basement apartment with roommates who, despite our subterranean situation, were always switching off the lights. They hated overhead lighting, they explained, and yet no one was willing to invest in even the cheapest floor lamps. I was, for my part, unwilling to fund this improvement on my own, … Read more
About seventy-five people who had not won the lottery waited outside the Department Store Formerly Known as Dayton’s at Rosedale Center. The manager of the store talked into a microphone that rendered his voice unintelligible, then some instigators tried to incite the crowd with a rousing countdown. After a lackluster “ … two, one,” the … Read more
Rimming with myriad curiosities, the Uptown office of Jawaahir Dance Company looks something of a crowded bazaar. Persian rugs, strewn end to end, cover the floor. A herd of carved wooden camels congregates on a shelf lined with gold fringe. A tangle of brightly hued scarves is heaped in a corner. And in the entryway … Read more
For anyone who grew up out in the sticks and harbored big-city dreams fueled by pulp novels and Hollywood noir, Minneapolis’ Elliot Park neighborhood is living evidence that there are still little pockets around the Twin Cities that could give Brooklyn and Chicago’s Southside a run for their money. Tucked away south of downtown, penned … Read more
I was ten years old when I first encountered the Swatch. I was flipping through the pages of Seventeen, idly rubbing perfumed strips on my wrist, when a glimmer of high design caught my eye and never let go. There, starkly positioned on a blank white page, was a black plastic watch covered with mysterious … Read more
Yo, Steve-O . . . Just finished reading the Bozeman Chronicle articles on ATR (A Thoughtful Revolution / Alternative to Rage) and am impressed by your movement’s mission to ease the town’s growing pains: cyclists fearful of cell-phoning drivers, Peach Street becoming the local speedway, the scary dawning of “Boze Angeles.” These days, you could … Read more
I’ve been going to the gym pretty early these days: Monday through Friday, 5:30 a.m, whether I want to or not. I’ve turned over a new leaf, you see. I now realize that abdominal muscles do not appear magically as a result of wishing on Starburst wrappers. I have now reached an age at which … Read more
Today, Tom Green’s profile in the world of pop culture is so marginal it’s easy to forget how prominent he once was. But in 1999, after MTV imported his eponymous show from Canada, the hyperactive slacker hit America like a virus. “He’s become famous faster than anyone I’ve ever been associated with,” exclaimed Brian Graden, … Read more