As dead-on as Colleen Kruse always is [“Satan in the Litter Box,” January], James Boswell may have said it best in his couplet: The only problem with a kitten is that / Eventually it becomes a cat! On the QT to Ms. Kruse: A helium balloon tied to an unsuspecting tail can yield hours of … Read more
I haven’t a clue how to fix most of our huge national scourges. Global warming, gang violence, reality TV. These issues are just too big and ghastly and amorphous. What’s one person to do? But hunger. Now there’s a solvable problem. People are hungry, you feed them. Even tiny efforts make a difference. And every … Read more
MUSICLearn about the Bird and the Bee, LA Style The middle of January may be the best time to warm up to The Bird And The Bee’s stylish, airy continental pop sounds. Steeped in bossa nova, solid-gold AM pop and classic new wave, this fetching boy/girl duo from LA are favorites of both critics and … Read more
Typically, it is heat that frightens me. Perhaps this is because I grew up in Minnesota, but sweltering temperatures seem more sinister — thick and canopy-like and unavoidable — whereas cold has always struck me as surmountable. Until now. It was just last week, on what I assumed then would be the coldest night of … Read more
It’s almost time for those beautiful little pink stone crab claws to hit the market. The first time I ever put claw to mouth was in a kitchen cooler with my friend Wade, the guy behind the fish at Oceanaire. We stood in the chilly box furtively dipping the black-tipped gems in a little mustard-mayo … Read more
Game #34, Home Game #17: Miami 91, Minnesota 101 Season record: 5-29 1. The Importance of Glue Other players scored more points, grabbed more rebounds, doled out more assists, and generally exerted a higher-profile on tonight’s rare Wolves victory than the two glue guys I consider to be most crucial to the win, Ryan Gomes … Read more
I’m feeling very married these days. More than when I stood in front of the judge, more than when I opened a joint checking or co-signed a mortgage. And even more than when I drove away from the hospital with our first child. While my marriage has seen its share of compromise, we’re on the … Read more
DANCEIt’s Getting Hot in Here You might have to wear your full-body parka snowsuit to the show, but once you step inside, The Rabbit Show Dance Ensemble promises to turn up the heat with some hotter-than-hot dancing. Representing an elusive Minnesotan summer and sunshine is the goal of the thirteen choreographed dances that are part … Read more
So how was JesusChristmas for you all here in the United States? I have been away over the holidays but I have not been wasting time. Au contraire. You see I have been busily working in France test driving cars that most people can only dream about. Cars even hotter than France’s new President’s bride … Read more
2007 was almost certainly the first year in my adult life that I abandoned more books than I finished. For years I was a masochist about reading, and once I made any sort of investment in a book –bought it, checked it out from the library, cracked the pages– I felt obligated to finish the … Read more