Last time I went to Sapor Cafe, it was with a man who used to say things like, "Don’t you think that dress is a little low-cut?" and "I don’t think I could ever marry a woman who’s as smart as I am." Also, he was a Republican who lived in the suburbs and went … Read more
It’s Thursday night at Pancho Villa on Eat Street, and thejoint is jumping. The Mexican restaurant on Eat Street has karaoke four nightsa week, but Thursday night is contest night, and more than a dozen singers arelined up to compete. The prizes in tonight’s semi-final round are small stuff –a bottle of wine, a gift … Read more
Holy eyeballs Batman! The latest newspaper website readership numbers were released today by Nielsen Online (and printed on the Editor and Publisher website) and startribune.com placed third (behind the Arizona Republic and New York Times websites) in the amount of time readers spent on the site. Readers in October spent an average of 27 minutes, 40 … Read more
Damn! Over here I keep a list of great story ideas and names of people I’ve really got to get around to catching up with, just to see what their story is today. Like MPR’s Bill Kling. Like all the guys who played in The Warheads years ago. And like Kirk Anderson, the former cartoonist … Read more
It’s go time. It’s the opening of Feast Season, are you ready? This is the week that my head starts spinning with potato options and I rip through the internet trying to find the cranberry recipe that will outshine last year’s. Thank goodness one of my kitchen walls is made of slate, because it is now chalked over with lists … Read more
For many months, on her way to and from school each day, Gloria had paused at the pet shop window to gaze with a combination of adoration and desire at the pretty little accordion nestled there in wood shavings and newspaper confetti. Each night at the dinner table she would beg her parents to let … Read more
MUSIC Bad, Beautiful Women with Big, Bad Voices What do you say about a woman who describes herself as a Japanese classic music, Christian rap, regional Mexican artist? Holy crap?! Well, if anyone merits this phrase, it’s Meshell Ndegeocello. Or is it Me’shell Ndegéocello? Or Michelle Lynn Johnson? Who knows. And who cares. She’s utterly … Read more
This ancient mountaintop city is a beautiful and mysterious place, sure. But our own Peruvian puzzler is this: Why on earth is Machu Picchu such a popular Red-Handed picture spot? Our records indicate it gets quite a few visits from Rake readers. And they look to be a tough bunch, too. St. Paulites Katie and … Read more
I don’t save many magazine articles anymore (I filled up too many file cabinets that way while working as an Utne Reader editor), but I intend to save Jeannine Ouellette’s very fine feature on the death of the American imagination from the November 2007 Rake. This is the kind of sweeping, thorough thought piece that … Read more
Jeannine Ouellette’s puzzling article [“The Death & Life of American Imagination”] seems to cite the regimentation of children’s lives and the role of technology as a threat to the development of imagination. As a girl in the ’50s and ’60s, I faced far more restrictions to my imagination and free play than any kid today. … Read more