I am a gearhead, or as they say across the pond, a "petrolhead." While this ostensibly disqualifies me from writing a movie review, my British friends think otherwise. Particularly if I am writing about British films. The flim you need to watch is called This Sporting Life from 1964. It is a classic of the … Read more
DISCUSSIONS/ART MAEP Community Meeting Attention artists and art appreciators! As many of you already know, beloved coordinator of The Minnesota Artist’s Exhibition Program, Stewart Turnquist, who held his post for the past 31 years, resigned unexpectedly last week. Many local artists are concerned, fearing the future of the artist-run program – which under Turnquist’s … Read more
"Don’t wait for the critics to jump on this dude before you start giving it up," says everybody’s favorite Albino rhymer, Brother Ali. He’s speaking about Muja Messiah, the latest local rapper to make a big splash in the national underground hip-hop scene. "Muja is the shit. The man is right with his." So this … Read more
I could tell jokes about Tsarist Russians all day long, so I’ll just leave it to the folks at the Guthrie’s Wurtele Thrust Stage, where a new adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s 19th century comedy The Government Inspector runs through August 24. Local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher (The Falls and the screenplays for Stage Beauty and Casanova) … Read more
I just got back with a shitload of red lights. You know, Christmas lights, my wife calls them twinkie lights. At the junk store they were 20 cents a box, dirt cheap, so I bought 170 boxes. 100 lights to a box, that’s a shitload of lights. I come in the house with as many … Read more
"Probieren Sie mal, Herr Professor," says the guy behind the counter at the market stall, as he holds out a freshly fried felafel ball. "Have a taste." (I guess the beard and glasses make me look like a Herr Professor.) A few feet away, another vendor holds out a green olive on a toothpick. Strolling … Read more
Zum Alten Fassl, a typical Viennese tavern-restaurant. Image from Zum Alten Fassl website. Greetings from Vienna, one of the great food cities of the world. Americans may lump Austrian cuisine together with German cooking, but Vienna has its own distinctive cuisine, and it’s a lot better and more interesting than German cooking. In part, this … Read more
The Dark Knight is an impossibly good crime drama, populated with memorable characters and constructed with textured ideas about morality and justice and society’s ability to effectively mete it out against the world’s evils. It is an instant classic for comic book fans and is one of the most intensely entertaining films in years. Those … Read more
SPECIAL EVENTBeer, Brats and Bribery What’s better than sitting in the shade of the modern marvel that is the Guthrie Theater while enjoying a picturesque view of the mighty Mississip, a juicy gourmet brat and an ice cold Summit beer? Not much, say I! The last patio party I went to at the Guthrie was … Read more
Reclaimed Memory at Rogue Buddha through July 27th andDots and Loops at Midway Contemporary Art through August 2nd Outsider art, a concept derived from Jean Dubuffet’s 1948 coinage Art Brut, is the work of artists who live in extreme mental states. Dubuffet thought these states of consciousness placed the artists beyond the reach of official … Read more