Smitten Kitten, the South Minneapolis sex boutique, recently launched its own version of the in-home sex-toy party, at which such wares as lubricants and vibrators are passed around for taste-testing, manhandling, discussion, and, of course, purchase. These “Pussy Parties” are geared to have a more urban, less hetero bent than, say, “Passion Parties,” which is … Read more
It’s a bit foggy aboard the Queen Mary 2 on our second day out of New York. The sky merges seamlessly with the ocean, obliterating the horizon in mushy blue-grayness. But deep inside this massive vessel—the newest, largest, fastest, and most luxurious ocean liner in the world—and behind the doors of the Illuminations auditorium, the … Read more
I came here to lose. But the wheel won’t let me. Once again I pile all of my chips on three. People gasp. What are the odds for winning eight straight-ups in a row? Fools! Don’t they know wheels do not hold memory? That math and luck never go together? With roulette, every spin is … Read more
People will tell me anything. I have that kind of face. I got it from years of practice. When I was a waitress, I’d listen to people all day long and smile at nice folks and nitwits alike. My livelihood depended on my genial expression. In time, it bled over into my daily life. My … Read more
If Minnesota hockey were a religion (and many, of course, would contend it is), Steve Mars would be a hellfire-and-brimstone preacher whose sermons carry an apocalyptic message: Something must be done to save the faith, because the temple is melting. Warm winters of late have cut the outdoor-skating season nearly in half, and as outdoor … Read more
Andy Sturdevant—bon vivant, raconteur, interlocutor, chairman-elect of the Medicine Lake Gentlemen’s Research Society—sat down one wintry Wednesday evening to talk about history. I had last seen him perched atop a handmade shack on the frozen shores of Medicine Lake, horn-rims steaming, cheeks aflame, hollering into the wind like Buddy Holly in a one-piece snowsuit, one … Read more
I sat in a lawn chair in the middle of frozen Lake Nokomis, nibbling on chicken kabobs and sipping a tequila slushy, thinking, How serious can this pond-hockey thing be? A minute after the puck dropped in my first game, I immediately regretted my warm-up smorgasbord. This pond-hockey thing was apparently very serious. We were … Read more
A little more than five years ago a few of us sat down around my dining room table with some legal pads, a laptop computer, and a long list of ideas. Our starting point was an executive summary of an idea for a magazine that I’d written up three years earlier. The magazine had the … Read more
What’s going on with printmaking in the world’s largest metropolis? This modest but wide-ranging show offers a glimpse—some thirty works from nine artists—of the current scene where populist ukiyo-e prints first blossomed in the sixteenth century. On the prominent end are works by Tesuya Noda, one of Japan’s best-known printmakers, including a selection from his … Read more
Here’s an intriguing pairing. Amer and Mutu, both widely exhibited internationally, came to New York via Cairo and Nairobi, respectively, and focus on intersections between the woman and race, sex, power, and religion. Amer’s huge canvases are embellished with chaotic embroidery that, upon close inspection, reveals images of women from porn mags. The new works … Read more