Blog Post

Seriously, I'm Asking You Nicely

by

I had this period in my early thirties when I would have what I guess for lack of a better word I’d have to call visions. I once saw a woman –a stout, elderly woman in a disturbingly translucent gown– levitating in the lovely chapel of a huge hospital in the Midwest. This chapel was … Read more

That’s More Like It

by

Sixteen hits, thirteen runs, three home runs, a grand slam, a nice recovery by Brad Radke, and a swell 2006 debut for Francisco Liriano. Very encouraging, I’d say. But this is what I really want to know: Rogers Centre? What the hell kind of name for a baseball park is that? Seriously, that is just … Read more

Children of Persephone

by

It’s time to light the fires. It’s above 45 degrees, it’s time to reclaim cooking outside. Nothing is more significant to a warm April evening than the smell of a freshly ignited grill wafting through the neighborhood. I guarantee that campus kids all over town will be huddled around their mini-Webbers, grilling up burgers and … Read more

And How Quickly A New War Began…

by

Images from Me and Mr. Marshall (top) and The Bridge (bottom). “Selling Democracy: Films of the Marshall Plan” at the Walker Art Center, April 5 – 8. Tonight, Part One, Out of the Ruins. Featuring: Hunger, It’s Up to You, Between East and West, The Bridge, Me and Mr. Marshall, Life and Death of a … Read more

Pistol Opera

by

I happen to be of the mind that there’s nothing very interesting happening tonight… And you know what that means: movie night! Cinema des Artistes is the fittingly pretentious name for a recurring event sponsored by Cinema Revolution, that foreign and indie DVD shop that’s located just above one of the three-dozen new Dunn Bros. … Read more

Driving Above .300

by

Hitting a baseball is one of the most difficult feats in athletics. Engineering a car that is well-engineered at the right price is equally tricky. A lot of things have to come together at the right time and price. That is why getting a car that’s one-third right rarely happens. While rare, the Americans have … Read more

It's Time To Get Behind The Mule

by

I guess this is really it, huh? My God, it doesn’t seem possible. One of my problems with baseball of late is that everything that could conceivably be said about the game in its past and present incarnations has already been said. I feel like I’ve said plenty myself, and the older I get the … Read more

Notes on 'The Natural Look'

by

Did any of ya’all see the done-up harlot modeling the “natural” look on the back page of the Signature section in yesterday’s Star Tribune? Hmpf! Here I’d been thinking I was rocking the natural all along–for some ten years now, ever since I gave up on foundation, back in college, when I figured how poorly … Read more