Julie Quist wants to save your children from the horrors of knowledge about other countries. A story in the Strib today mentioned growing opposition in some quarters (such as the sixth district Republican ones that nominated Michele Bachmann for Congress) to the growing trend in Minnesota school districts to adopt the International Baccalaureate method of … Read more
I don’t go out nearly as often as these posts might have you believe. And as I grow older, I find myself becoming more and more of a “coach potato,” sprawled out leg-long, eating chili-cheese chips, and watching second-rate DVDs some nights, when I’m not out trolling for stories or reviewing theater productions. So, while … Read more
Man do I want tickets to Saturday night’s Symphony Ball! Mostly because it’s the closest thing Minneapolis has to the Costume Institute Gala, and the Strib folks always end-up doing some sort of fashion run-down after the fact. I wonder which over-embellished, designer dresses have been plucked off the Oval Room eighty percent-off rack in … Read more
It’s hard enough to find a good Ice Cream Social anymore, let alone an Ice Cream Social associated with a beautifully enigmatic water tower. The familiar icon of the Prospect Park/East River Road neighborhood is locally referred to as The Witch’s Hat and Friday is its day of days. One day a year the tower … Read more
One of my favorite scenic runs is along the stone arch bridge/west bank/mill ruins corridor–mostly because I so love seeing the Mill City Museum from this vantage. Same goes for the new Guthrie. But it’s truer of Mill City, or at least it has been for the past several years. The building is especially beautiful! … Read more
By the way, that’s not me, that’s my Tummy-Double. Yes, I read cookbooks from cover to cover, like a novel. Truly, I snuggle down into the couch with a big glass of wine and read them, skimming the recipes while conjuring events and parties that might support my new creations. Now that June is upon … Read more
The Third Man, 1949. Directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene (with uncredited help from Alexander Korda and Orson Welles). Starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee, Paul Horbiger, Ernst Deutsch, Siegfried Breuer, Erich Ponto, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Hedwig Bleibtreu, and Orson Welles. With the person of Holly Martins, Graham Greene created a … Read more
I’ve reserved a special place in my heart for the St. Paul-based Zeitgeist new music ensemble, probably because cultivating new classical and chamber music seems like such a long row to hoe. Have I mentioned how I hate the term ‘classical music,’ by the way? Probably. The folks at Zeitgeist prefer “new music” or alternately, … Read more
Never quite the bottom, and still rising. That old mystery: buoyancy. The body’s ability to float, the mind similarly gifted. Emerging in a green world, seemingly intent on growing ever greener. The clear, bright splendor of other blooming and glistening things. The furtive kingdom, underworld, underfoot, moving in the shadows at midnight, creeping in the … Read more
A long weekend and I’m still tired. Guests on the horizon–four adults, two children, and a pair of eight-month old twins–and I haven’t yet mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, or etc. Had the movies I sat through this weekend warranted discussion, you’d have a pair of reviews. However, they stank, so I’ll spare you … Read more