You pretty much have to trot out ever dis– word in your arsenal to describe the nightmares of the first five weeks of the 2006 Twins season: Discouraging. Dismal. Disheartening. Disgusting. Disgraceful. Disappointing. Discomfiting. Discombobulated. Distressing. Disastrous, E…T…C…. A team can be some of those things and still manage to be entertaining, but thus far … Read more
I spent much of my early life looking for fables, and can remember the days when the spring woods would be full of them. If you climbed back up into the bluffs above the Bitterroot creek and nosed around under rocks and in the shady areas beneath the stands of big oaks, you’d find fables … Read more
Many people wrongly believe that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day. It’s actually a day celebrated in memory of the Battle of Puebla in 1862. On this day, the struggling Mexican army rose up and defeated the stronger (and probably very well dressed) invading French army. What if they hadn’t had the moxie … Read more
This weekend is all about festivals. The Cinco de Mayo Fiesta is all about Mariachi, salsa, and the lowrider car show and hydraulic showdown. The May Day Parade and Festival is all about puppets and maypoles. Am I missing anything? I’m all about being comprehensive.
Mission: Impossible III, 2006. Directed by J. J. Abrams, written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Abrams. Starring (and that’s all you can call it) Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Maggie Q, Michelle Monaghan, Simon Pegg, future Dracula Michael Berry Jr., and Saginaw, Michigan’s own Ty … Read more
A couple of notes to add to yesterday’s gathering fumes. I see my old friend Chris Lehmann has written at length about the Colbert routine, and as usual it’s a smart and biting essay worthy of his best work back in the day at Suck. Still, I think he’s wrong. So is this guy. It … Read more
You lost this one, Osama For probably the first time since we invaded Iraq, the U.S. can claim a victory in the war against terror. Zacharias Moussaoui said “America, you lost. I won,” but that shows just how crazy he is. The citizens of the United States, as represented by 12 people in an Alexandria, … Read more
Last time I ventured to give my opinion on the modern state of opera, there was a little bit of a backlash. It’s sort of understandable, I guess. I have been accused of being a dilettante in this area, which could be something of the truth. I don’t have a master’s in voice or anything … Read more
I have no idea what to expect of tonight’s Shiek’s Singers Reunion. Somewhere along the way this event entered my consciousness, probably because of some press release that slid across my desk, with great velocity, and into the waste-paper basket, ultimately ending up right there with the rest of ’em. In any case, just this … Read more
You want truthiness? You can’t stand the truthiness. Well, I’m a little late to be commenting on the Stephen Colbert performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner except to say I wish I’d been there to see him ram the rubber chicken up the press’s ass in person. I was reminded of Mencken’s comment: Democracy … Read more