We all know Brenda, don’t we? (see: urban, organic, goddess.) If you don’t, you should, because Brenda Langton is an entrepreneur who has successfully fought commonism for years. Brenda in crisp white jacket and soon chillin’ white ride. Brenda owns two joints with her totally cool husband, Tim. One of their places, Cafe Brenda, just … Read more
Remember the Dark Ages? I sure do. Man, do I ever, and, holy shit, were they ever painful. Remember 1996, the season that began with the announcement of Kirby Puckett’s forced retirement? That team went 78-84 (not that bad, really, all things considered), but the pitching staff had an ERA of 5.28, the third straight … Read more
by Danielle Kurtzleben Let me start by pronouncing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the best Harry Potter film yet, by a long shot. Then again, this isn’t much of a pronouncement. There was a lot of room for improvement after the saccharine, slick, and over-produced first four movies. Director David Yates, though … Read more
THEATER & PERFORMANCE Looking at Our Town through a Different Lens I guess one Pulitzer Prize is never enough. Ten years after winning the Pulitzer for The Bridge of San Luis Rey (in 1928), Thorton Wilder won another one for his play Our Town. The play, inspired by his friend Gertrude Stein’s The Making of … Read more
Back when Zeno opened, its New York owners — two attorneys, no less — thought they’d make millions bringing their ultra-hip wine bar-sandwich shop-coffeehouse concept to Minneapolis. And they might have, if they’d stuck it out with their flagship storefront in Uptown for more than about 30 seconds. Instead, they rushed to open a second … Read more
On the Seventh Day you are supposed to take a break. With that in mind I’d like to write about something other than cars for just a day. I’d like to write about the difference between stars and heroes. Its a little diddy about two men named Barry and a boy named Bill (I’ve changed … Read more
I am planing a little road trip this suumer. I hope I end up somewhere better than this steel internet kiosk in O’Hare. The seat is as comfortable as a prison toilet. That being said, I once wrote a piece about groovy books to buy. If you could find a librarian these days, they would … Read more
You don’t believe me? All right, well then maybe you’ll believe William Shakespeare: Base men by his endowments are made great. —Richard II Get it? Base men. No shit, Sherlock (or Shylock). And then there’s this all-purpose taunt of opposing batters (useful for whenever The Great Santana takes the mound), from Love’s Labor’s Lost: Thou … Read more
Yes, my little obsession with Target’s GO International lines persist … I actually liked Patrick Robinson’s boho beachwear better than I suspected I would. I even ended up buying this dress and these shorts – both of which get positive reviews from the likes of me, even if the fabrics leave much to be desired. … Read more
It’s a luck day, chums, if you know where to look. I found a very agreeable Cobb Salad. I think that’s very lucky as some Cobb’s can go sadly wrong: not enough bleu cheese, or old nasty bacon, or odd additions like carrots. The Cobb at French Meadow Bakery is lovely. The bleu cheese is … Read more