Nau: Commerce Meets Conservation

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The website for Nau, a new-fangled “green” clothing company, is winning all sorts of awards. And some of their practices — such as small-footprint stores and discounts on orders shipped directly from their warehouse — seem right. But can ecologically-aware rhetoric explain the $40 sailor’s cap?

Now at Schiek's: Grade A Meat

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True story. Back in the mid-90’s, my friend M. got married. I didn’t much like the guy — he was shifty and weird — and for his bachelor party, his "friends" took him to a club downtown, where an exotic dancer slid her way across the bar, presented her spangled G-string to accept his $100 … Read more

Spouting Prelude to Open Thread: Wolves Best the Bucks

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The balmy weather and the impending denoument of my favorite season sent me up to Ely and then on to the Superior Hiking Trail for a little fresh air the past two days and I thus wasn’t able to make it back for the Wolves-Bucks tilt. Here are my questions and observations simply from gleaning … Read more

Fairytales: Who gives a damn?

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Thanks to Jezebel for steering me toward this gem: Wherein Josephine Cox, the 64-year-old British author of Atonement (among other things), wonders whether she harmed a generation of young women by perpetuating the myth of malehood. To which I respond: Hell, yes, you did! Although, for me, my notion of prince charming was shaped more … Read more

"War of the Worlds" at the Fitz: Fear Factor

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It was purely coincidental. I got an e-mail as I was surfing through cable coverage of the California wildfires and caught … Fox News … asking the rhetorical and self-serving question: Might “terrorism” be behind the multiple infernos? They had no evidence of course. No more reason to shout “terrorism!?” than I do for that … Read more

The Not-So-Friendly Skies

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The subhead on this looks like it was written by someone’s 8-year-old. But as someone who was on standby yesterday for something like 95 hours. . . .I couldn’t help but read.

A Declining Week in Wine

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I have a wicked wanderlust. This is one of the reasons I ride a motorcycle: because on any given Saturday I’m willing to take off and hit a small town in South Dakota — as long as it’s one I’ve never seen before. I’ll also seize whatever random opportunity comes my way to get on … Read more

Art: How We Communicate What It Feels Like to Be Alive

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ART & WOMEN In Our Own Right What better way to celebrate the achievements of women in the arts than to spend an evening enjoying the “expressions, perspectives, and self-revelations” of local women artists. Tonight’s In OUR Own Right performance and closing reception features performances by singer/songwriter JoAnna James (winner of two consecutive Minnesota Music … Read more