I first landed on the St. John’s campus almost sixty years ago as a prep school student. In six decades I have come to know the place and the Benedictines well, as a high school and college student, lay staff member, parent of several students, and board member of the university and some of its … Read more
Readers would be well advised to remain skeptical before swallowing the water peddled by Dr. Masura Emoto [“Message in a Bottle,” the Rakish Angle, June]. Dr. Emoto has no scientific or medical credentials; his title refers to a degree from the Open International University in India, where such degrees may be obtained by mail for … Read more
In “One Toke Over the Line” [Over the Coals, June] Nathan Rabin does a commendable job of dumpster-diving beneath the surface of our government’s cesspool of anti-pot propaganda. However, I think Rabin may have gone one toke over the line himself. He writes that once kids see through the government’s lies about pot, “who’s to … Read more
I loved reading Emily Carter’s public transportation manifesto [“The Unreformed Bus Rider,” June]—it’s the kind of writing that grabs you, pulls you in, and, well, takes you for a ride. However, I disagree with some of the key points—ironically, points that those right-wing folks on the radio also made, that only the marginalized and poor … Read more
Finally, someone who hates beige [“Being Beige and Nothingness,” Over the Coals, May] as much as I do! My entire family thought I was finally going insane, when I open The Rake and there’s an article on what a horrible color beige is. Are people now realizing that they don’t have to paint their houses … Read more
I have a seven-year-old daughter now, and though I consider myself one of the “cool” moms who won’t shelter her child from the Real World, my thinking has been challenged these days. Ah, the memories of our argument back in kindergarten over none of her shirts being short enough to merit the title of “belly.” … Read more
Personal Rapid Transit [“My Pod,” the Rakish Angle, April; Letters, May] has an essential role to play in the transit mix. In Europe today there are several PRT systems in development, including an EU-funded collaborative effort called MAIT. The EU is also exploring the feasibility of installing the Welsh system, Ultra, in four European cities. … Read more
In my humble opinion, your magazine has the best journalism I’ve seen locally. The piece on Matt Entenza [“Wrestling Matt,” May] was so helpful for those of us in despair about the state of the state, and Entenza’s goals, background, and motivation give us hope. We parents of special-needs kids are heartbroken that Minnesota, known … Read more
“Our Word, Not Yours” [Free the Jackson Five, May] is an extremely well-written and eloquent discussion of a sensitive topic. I’m a white thirty-year-old man. I grew up in Apple Valley. The family I was raised in was made up of Jehovah’s Witnesses and issues of race were basically never issues. My childhood friends were … Read more
I really enjoyed your column addressing the N-word. There are few words that can be used in an acceptable manner in one setting and unleash a firestorm in another. SNL had viewers bent over with Chevy Chase doing word association with Richard Pryor on a job interview (White? Black. Negro? Whitey. Colored? Redneck. Tarbaby? Peckerwood. … Read more