I still can’t say whether the act of reading is more exit or entrance. Even as books and criticism concern about half of my professional life – and my professional life concerns about half of my life-life (er, carry the one…) – when I’m reading a novel, assigned or otherwise, I still feel like I’m … Read more
While the Forbes recent “The 20 Hottest Royals in the World” list serves only as a dire warning of the horrific effects of inbreeding, now that the polls have closed on Minnesota’s first annual “Most Beautiful People at the Capitol” awards it’s safe to say that the state’s residents can rest easy in the knowledge … Read more
Stone has always struck me as a latter-day Gladys Knight, a lady who sings like she knows her way around the church and the high-rise and the rural South, who’s comfortable to a fault with conservative soul trappings, not realizing that her best moments come when she steps beyond the mix and indulges her supple … Read more
Hi! I’m Brandi. I’ve been invited to guest post on The Rake for the next two weeks. Unlike the previous Just Passing Through bloggers, my posts will not have a specific theme. The only thing I can guarantee is that I will find some way to link whatever I’m talking about to the Twin Cities. … Read more
(Photo by Evan Gole/NBAE via Getty Images) For casual basketball fans who stop by only in the postseason to get their taste of the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers made their four-outta-five domination of the defending champion (now ex-champion) San Antonio Spurs exceeding simple to understand. MVP Kobe Bryant played exceptional basketball, particularly on the … Read more
FESTIVAL Electric Eyes: New Music & Media Festival The 2nd annual New Music and Media Festival is right up your alley, if your alley is cluttered with electronics, video, and weird/cool music, that is. Get futuristic with performances by The Cosmic Engine, Super Marimba, Unfamiliar Geometry, and more, along with amazing video and electronic art. … Read more
What do you get when you take the cult classic Monty Python and The Holy Grail, add a bit of the British comedy troupe’s other great movies and music, toss in a pinch of Broadway cliché and a dash of pop culture, and throw it all into a blender? SPAMALOT! With such an incredible following, … Read more
In the last decade or so, Stephen King has been winning praise from institutions that, if not reviling him, had at least brushed him off as a not-so-serious author. Lisey’s Story and Duma Key, his last two novels, received overwhelmingly positive criticism from The New York Times and other reviews; in 2003 he was awarded … Read more
I seem to have gotten on an Indian cuisine kick lately – not just Indian restaurants, but also grocery stores, where I can buy those colorful Indian sweets, made with condensed milk or lentil flour or sesame seeds, and flavored with pistachio, coconut and mango and all sorts of spices. Patel Brothers Groceries and Video, … Read more
AP Photo/Orlin Wagner As I sat staring vacantly at the TV in the ninth inning of last night’s Kansas City-Minnesota game, I had another of my brief, increasingly pathetic revelations. My God, I said to my dog, This really is my life. Which is something I find myself saying to my dog with alarming frequency … Read more