Blog Post

Minnesota Noir

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It’s about a year old already, but just in case you missed it, the economist explores the Twin Cities’ obsession with literary gore.

MPR & Taxpayer Dough

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(UPDATED WITH RESPONSE FROM MPR) As certain as the cycle of the sun and stars is the question of how much money Minnesota Public Radio gets in state subsidies … and why. The issue bobbed up again in the context of Joel Kramer’s to-be-announced on-line news site. Thanks to Julie Dinger in the Minnesota Legislative … Read more

To Shop (and Sigh) Without a Wallet

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Two great events to be aware of this week: Soo Visual Arts hosts +/- (or “plusminus”) Thursday evening, an event at which locally hand-made clothing, jewelry, and household items will be available for sale and show. My picks of the lot are Labrador, a collective of local clothes-makers, and Milkypop, the pseudonym of a brilliant … Read more

Hairspray: A Strange Little Ray of Hope

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by Ann Bauer There are hundreds of movies that have informed, moved, touched, piqued, or entertained me, but only a handful that have filled me with unmitigated joy: Bringing Up Baby, an off-the-wall 1938 Katharine Hepburn/Cary Grant comedy; Bagdad Cafe, a film from 1988 that got mixed reviews but has one of the most haunting … Read more

Music — Seen and Unseen

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MUSIC & FILM See the Unseen, Listen to the Sound It’s not much of a secret by now, but the Sound Unseen Festival opens this evening. The 8th annual film and music festival brings together live music with music documentaries, rare concert footage, and music videos. Explore Minnesota’s rich music history. Tonight’s opening event includes … Read more

No Dylan

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Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello join forces for their tours, but Costello will come alone to Minneapolis.

Eddie Griffin runs SUV into a train, dead at 25

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As the blues tune laments, some folks are born under a bad sign, and Eddie Griffin was one. Despite all the stupid, wrong-headed things Griffin did to sabotage his basketball career, not to mention his life, over and over again, I never heard one of his teammates or basketball bosses speak of him in anger, … Read more