If they gave awards for networking and self-promotion, Star Tribune columnist James Lileks would long ago have been handed a gold-plated trophy for Lifetime Achievement. It has not passed without notice that amid the wholesale turmoil of the latest round of staff cuts at the Star Tribune that Lileks somehow made himself a centerpiece of … Read more
DINING Meet The Chef: Grand Café One of the great joys of dining out is not having to worry about the cooking, but wouldn’t it be nice to see what happens behind the scenes? Wouldn’t it be nice to watch and learn, and perhaps even be able to recreate the experience at home? Tonight might … Read more
This week on DVD: What to watch, what to watch? Hollywood seems dead set on shoving its worst garbage down our throats this week, what with Spider-Man 3 devouring all the screens at the Multi-Plex. There’s not a whole lot that’s new this week down at your local video store, either. Breaking and Entering is … Read more
Because registration just opened for the Twin Cities Marathon (and, as of now, is still open), I’m still stuck on the issue of running fashion. Huge strides (hardy-har!) have been made in this area as of late, with much thanks to the running skort (an Adidas version is seen at left, as modeled by my … Read more
Word from the still on-going meeting Star Tribune publisher Par Ridder is holding in the paper’s jam-packed assembly room-cafeteria is that Avista Capital Partners will cut approximately 50 more newsroom jobs within the next two weeks through an enhanced buy-out plan. The plan will compensate employees two weeks for every year of service up to … Read more
MUSIC No Frills, Just Thrills What really separates a great singer from the mass of decent voices out there is a certain kind of effortless maturity, a natural grace. When Karrin Allyson sings she does so without pretention, without fanciful ornamentation. Instead, she simple works the song in a genuinely artistic fashion. She tosses in … Read more
Every year I get the fever to forage. The thought of walking around a park for a couple of hours and coming out with an armload of wild edibles is like winning the lottery to me. Pirate like, even. Today I am especially craving mushrooms, morels. Maybe it was the overdose of cheap and tawdry … Read more
As previously mentioned, James Lileks, was one of five Star Tribune columnists summoned into meetings last week and, uh, “offered” the opportunity to volunteer to give up their columnizing for straight reporting gigs. As Lileks himself writes here, it seems he was given something firmer than an offer, and his mini-column, “The Daily Quirk”, will … Read more
Waking, by reason of their continual cares, fears, sorrows, and dry brains, is a symptom that much crucifies melancholy men. —Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy All he could do was transcribe the interminable babbling voice of the night, the insinuating perverse voice of the demons. —Pietro Citati, Kafka What if an individual is perceiving … Read more
Things would seem to be trending downward at the moment, wouldn’t you say? The Twins have scored a total of 12 runs in their last five games, and managed just five in the weekend series with Boston. Their best hitter is headed for the disabled list –he’s already there, actually. The reigning MVP is batting … Read more