There once lived a very rich man in Hudson, Wisconsin, who suffered from manic-depressive disorder. A couple of years ago, during an upswing, he drove to Seattle and bought five cars at an auction. Among them were a purple mid-eighties Jaguar with gold trim and rims, and a 1972 red Mercedes convertible. I first saw … Read more
“Dig around and find something!” Steve Jevning said, poking through a box of doll heads. “That’s how we do it here. See it, touch it, if something talks to you, grab it!” Jevning is the founder and executive director of Leonardo’s Basement, a South Minneapolis educational center for children of all ages. In a space … Read more
In 1970, Bob Rabin had flunked out of law school and was in search of a Plan B. A friend from Sheboygan, his hometown in Wisconsin, helped him land a job at KQRS, a fledgling station that was then headquartered in a small house in Golden Valley. Manager Dick Poe had just abandoned jazz format … Read more
Spending hours essentially motionless, neck-deep in art supplies, trying to draw a believable rendition of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an ear half-cocked to The Young and the Restless wafting in from the living room—this is when Ryan Kelly tends to get a moment of clarity. “You have to make yourself a little nutty to draw … Read more
Imagine paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a house you’ll never set foot in—because it doesn’t exist. Every day, legions of people buy virtual merchandise online, including real estate, tools, weapons, and creatures, in a real economy surrounding MMPORGs, or Massively MultiPlayer Online Role-Playing Games. If you aren’t involved in these games yourself, you … Read more
On a chill December night last year, hundreds of artists and art lovers of a certain age poured into the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to view a departed friend’s art collection. Dressed in eclectic attire, including one necktie that had formerly been its wearer’s ponytail, they milled about, hugging and shouting and laughing. They seemed … Read more
It was Monday morning at Treasure Island casino near Red Wing, somewhere in the vicinity of 5:00 a.m. It was hard to say for certain; I didn’t have a watch, my cell phone was dead, and there were no clocks anywhere. I know the slow, grinding pace of late nights, though, can feel the hours … Read more
I long ago discovered the correlation between the price paid for a pair of sunglasses and the speed at which I lose them. I once dropped a sweet pair of Ray-Bans over the side of a friend’s Sunfish and watched them sink to the bottom of Lake Michigan after only one week. Eventually, frugality had … Read more
Solid, sturdy, maybe a provincial flourish at the leg—this is the sort of wooden furniture most of us grew up with. A scratched pine dinner table—the utilitarian plinth on which the evening’s steaming noodle casserole is served—likely played a central role as a family gathering spot. Squat shelves are another of these universals, the collecting … Read more
The Stella McCartney for Adidas clothes get the haute treatment on their specially designed altar at Paiva, the new shop trading in high-fashion fitness gear at the Mall of America—track lighting even lends them a halo glow. Indeed, these hoodies, swimsuits, and track pants are not at all humble, especially by Midwestern standards. Those who … Read more