Somewhere after the Red Lake shootings the numbness settled in for good. I hope everyone younger than me can still react with unalloyed shock at another campus massacre. But I’m sorry, and I truly am sorry, the cycle of these things has become too frequent for me to be shocked anymore. From the first reports, … Read more
If you’re a resolute glass-is-half-full sort of character I suppose you could find something to bitch about from last night’s game. I’m not sure what, but I’d be delighted to hear from you all the same. I’m always delighted to hear from crackpots. Another entertaining and efficient Ramon Ortiz performance (fifteen ground balls). How often … Read more
FILM Eat, Drink, and Lounge for Cinema IFP’s monthly Cinema Lounge is a great way to find out about local filmmakers, meet them, and see their work. (It’s also a great showcase for those of you who do film.) Stop by the Bryant-Lake Bowl tonight for a frosty beverage, perhaps some sesame-crusted ahi tuna, and … Read more
A Small Appreciation of Bracey Wright First off, thanks to those who gave me feedback on how to handle this disheartening point of the season, when the only intelligent thing for the Wolves to do is lose. Which is a bittersweet bit of good fortune, because about the only thing this squad is capable of … Read more
Apparently struck by the rather dicey appearance problem of having your publisher accused of theft and a variety of other disreputable activities, the Star Tribune’s Guild officers this afternoon, sent the following letter to Chris Harte, of new owner, Avista Capital Partners. . . . . Guild colleagues, We will be sending this letter to … Read more
piquillo peppers are part of our flavor … Doesn’t this dreary day call for a trip to Solera? Their Restaurant Week menu deal is a tapas spectacular for a measly $32. It’s like a little schooling in Spanish flavors. I know a few ambitious home cooks who see the tapas menu as a little project … Read more
Sunday night I had had enough of Imus. It wasn’t quite, “Get me back to Anna Nicole,” but the pile-on was complete … in terms of Imus. As I’ve said previously the whole episode is fascinating for the sense of cultural tipping point it brings. Worse things have said by worse chronic offenders. But several … Read more
LECTURE AND PERFORMANCE Your Brain is Not Your Friend! Tonight is the monthly Cafe Scientifique happy hour forum at Bryant Lake Bowl. And this month’s guest speaker happens to be Dennis Cass, author of Head Case: How I Almost Lost My Mind Trying to Understand My Brain. Cass, who was working as a freelance journalist … Read more
Dane Smith, the Star Tribune’s capital guy for umpteen-God-million years — that’s a joke — has traded up to a job as president of his former boss, Joel Kramer’s non-profit, Growth and Justice think tank. I quote the release here: Hello friends and colleagues, We invite you to join us in welcoming Dane Smith as … Read more
St. Paul Pioneer Press union chairman issued this note today regarding ex-publisher Par Ridder’s system for squeezing ad execs. Obviously Ridder’s successor, Fred Mott, was willing to play along. 21-year veteran terminated after two years on so-called ‘PIP’ Fri, April 13, 2007 at 12:56 Longtime advertising account executive Larry Olson was fired today — after … Read more