The Day After

What do you do the day after a bridge collapses? Maybe just stay in. True. But it’s also the start of Fringe Festival today, and you don’t want to let fear push you around. (Respect it. Yes. But don’t let it push you around.) Here’s what you do. Regroup. Breath. Inform yourself. I’ll give you … Read more

Aschburner on Garnett

Even from the coast of SW Florida I get the feeling of KG overkill in Twin Cities media. Nothing like a blockbuster sports deal in the dog days. I count myself among the “fans” who pretty much ignored the Timberwolves start to finish last season. I don’t recall (TM … Albert Gonzales, Dick Cheney) listening … Read more

Taste of the Nation: Chow Down and Help Kids

If the $150 a plate gastronomic Taste of the Nation Minneapolis-Saint Paul extravaganza scheduled for September 16 at Graves 601 Hotel is a little too rich for your blood, the organizers of this year’s Share our Strength fundraiser to fight childhood hunger have a more affordable option: a $35 grazing dinner next Wednesday, August 8, … Read more

Educate Yourself with Book and Film

BOOKS & AUTHORS by Max Ross Release of Barack Obama’s Biography Since the beginning of Barack Obama’s campaign for a seat in the Illinois Senate, David Mendell has covered Obama’s career. Now Mendell has compiled a biography of the politician, Obama: From Promise to Power, culled from his observations, as well as from exclusive interviews … Read more

Now on DVD: They Live by Night

by Peter Schilling Director Nicholas Ray’s first film (from 1948) has been called the most auspicious debut in American movies since Citizen Kane. Based on the dynamite Depression-era gangster novel Thieves Like Us, They Live by Night begins with the daring prison break of three men: a 23-year-old killer named Bowie and the aged, hardened … Read more

Cleaning Up the Act

I feel like the guy sweeping up after the elephants. Only I’m also the elephant. My lovely bride and I are enjoying a little beach time with family in sweltering, blustery Florida this week: Captiva Island — where, before you start building, a quarter acre of limestone gravel with no view of either the Gulf … Read more

Tracy Reese Report

File this under drivel: I just got back from a long weekend in NYC, where I spent most of my time fanning the flames of my other life (theater critic/writer). But I made time for a stop at the Tracy Reese store, and even scored a delightful summer frock for a mere thirty-eight dollars! Also, … Read more

A Small Defense of Keith Ellison

What is being handed over in this illustration is the fasces, the Roman symbol of power. Look up “fascist” in the dictionary, if you wonder where the word came from. I was on vacation two weeks ago and so missed most of the tempest in a teapot blown up by Keith Ellison’s conflation of Bush’s … Read more

You Can Always Stay in with a DVD or a Book

FILM – DVD RELEASE by Peter Schilling Jr. They Live By Night Director Nicholas Ray’s first film (from 1948) has been called the most auspicious debut in American movies since Citizen Kane. Based on the dynamite Depression-era gangster novel Thieves Like Us, They Live by Night begins with the daring prison break of three men: … Read more