Yesterday, the people who organize the Gay Pride parade in the Twin Cities filed a complaint against the Star Tribune. This one could sting: They are complaining to the Minnesota Commission on Civil Rights because the Strib apparently refused to publish an advertisement for the parade that showed two men kissing. Many interested readers who … Read more
I found an old scratched-up CD of Nirvana’s “In Utero” in my desk drawer today, no jewel case. I put it in the tray, pressed play. Of all Nirvana’s records, I like it best. It is the most raw, the most punk rock. At the time it was released, I remember, it was kind of … Read more
If there is a holy trinity of writers who capture the spirit of what we’re trying to do here at The Rake, we would identify them as follows: E.B. White, H.L. Mencken, and Flann O’Brien. Much to the wife’s irritation, we have taken to hauling these three separate volumes all around the house, sort of … Read more
Especially clever readers of The Rake know what we think of E.B. White. He is one of our pole stars. When things seem to be getting a little too serious or ornery or inhuman or just too damn wordy, and the readers are in trouble, we refer back to the American master of the humane … Read more
Last night, we stayed late at the office in order to crash a party upstairs. We were finishing the new issue, too. Needless to say, we were thirsty. Someone here in the art department (always the hipsters at any magazine) had received an invitation to the WEA/ADA office holiday shindig up on the seventh floor. … Read more
We were thrown into a mild fit of nostalgia today, courtesy of Slate magazine. In graciously quoting an article from The Rake written by Albert Eisele, Timothy Noah erroneously cited it as being from the current (December) issue of the magazine. We certainly don’t mind if Slate quotes us and makes us look smart and … Read more
We were amused to see StarTribune.com, along with virtually every other online news outlet in the country, trot out the “Breaking News!” banner yesterday for the Scott Peterson trial, whatever that was. In an effort to string this along, first the big news was that the jury had reached a decision. Then, a few minutes … Read more
We’ve carped a lot lately about that annoying person who claims that “the mainstream media” does not cover this story or that story. Our boilerplate response is that this person has simply not looked hard enough. (Hint: Most public libraries now provide free web access—when they are open.) As an afterthought, we often ask: What … Read more
You might find this hard to believe, but we get writers around here who constantly want to use the F-word in their stories—and presumably in their lives. (My daughters call this the “F-swear,” which they’ve heard daddy say once or twice, I’m sorry to say. To which I have responded, “Do as I say… not, … Read more
Today, the AP reports the tragic news that a person with a gun charged the stage at a rock concert and opened fire. Last night in Columbus, Ohio, Damageplan was one song into its first set when a man opened fire and killed three people before being shot and killed himself by police officers. Among … Read more