Less than a week before the MLB trading deadline, the Twins are not only eight and a half games out of first place, but fourth in the wild card race behind Cleveland, Seattle, and the resurgent Yankees. Proponents of getting a desperately needed bat or two to make a late-season run always point to the … Read more
FILM WARNING: For the Truly Fearless Only Looking for some seriously disturbing subject matter to digest this evening? If you liked the film 8MM, with Nicholas Cage — or you’re just a freaky snuff fanatic, in general — then you’re in for a big treat tonight. As part of the summer preview series, Fearless Filmmakers … Read more
I finally made it to the Sur La Table that opened on 50th and France in Edina, mere steps down from Cooks of Crocus Hill. Of course I did a little comparative secret shopping. I’ve enjoyed Sur La Table in many places before, the Seattle Pike’s Place market location being my favorite. The store has … Read more
I am not black. I am white. But here is a topic that is gray. I am talking about the indelible influence of black, urban, “ghetto” culture on white, affluent America. It’s a discussion that’s been bounced around since Brown, Busing, and the The Black Panthers (Leonard the first was a big fan), yet it … Read more
MUSIC & PERFORMANCE Circus with Style Everybody loves the circus, but when you jazz it up with a little bit of class and classical music, then we’re talking gangbuster. Head over to the Orchestra Hall this evening for a performance of Neil Goldberg’s Cirque Symphony and Cirque Populaire with the Minnesota Orchestra. This European-style circus … Read more
Gene “Big Daddy” Sampson, is back at the pit – at least one day a week. Sampson, a legend on the local barbecue scene, got his start selling ribs and chicken next to Tiger Jack’s shack on Dale Street, near the I-94 entrance ramp, with his buddies Ron Whyte and Bob Edmond. Sampson gradually worked … Read more
Check it, it’s the 10,000 Arts Art Crawl on Glenwood Avenue – inspired, I like to think, by a lil’ article I recently did.
You may have noticed (at least I HOPE you’ve noticed) that I haven’t posted much lately. This is because I’ve been suffering from a monstrous head cold that’s made me pretty useless as a wine taster. It’s odd: feeling as if your one high-level skill — that ability to smell a whiff of nutmeg in … Read more
Weekend shopping notes: Work and family obligations might’ve kept me from Gwen Leeds’s legendary garage sale on Friday and Saturday, but I did stumble upon a pleasant surprise upon visiting the Lava Lounge yesterday afternoon. I’d stopped in with the boyfriend. (I’m trying to diversify his tastes–there is life beyond Len Druskin, you know.) There, … Read more
Several times in recent weeks I have mentioned that as bad as this moment is for newspapers, local TV stations, by some key measurements, are even worse off. Ratings for Twin Cities late news shows are down 15 percent from May ’06 to May ’07, a greater decline than circulation at either of our benighted … Read more