The Rake Magazine

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  • Eastern Conference recap, Western Conference preview, draft babble

    Let’s start with the Celts disposing of Detroit in Game One of the Eastern Conference finals. The ESPN color crew was clearly in the tank for the Pistons during the pregame, on the supposition that having a week off after playing a numbskull Orlando Magic team was better than finishing off a grueling seven-game battle with the Cavs just 48 hours before. They were wrong, of course: If the Celts are going to be hurt by the war with LeBron and company, it will be later, ’round about Games Five, Six and Seven, and the erosion will be as much mental as physical. I expect the Pistons to play much better in Game Two. I also don’t think the world will end for the Celts if they lose at home. They’ve never *had* to win a game on the road yet, and if they do I think, at least in this series, they will.

    As for Game One itself, let’s understand that the dynamic has shifted for the boys in green since the Cavs’ Game Seven: Paul Pierce is the clearcut igniter on offense, be it passing, shooting, tempo, whatever. This is all to the good for Boston because it gives their next two offensive threats, Garnett and Rondo, the freedom to play off Pierce’s decision-making. For KG it is a welcome luxury–he can concentrate on defense, where he almost never makes a bad decision, never mind choking, and still remain a guy you have to double-team in the low block at the other end. As Jeff Van Gundy pointed out last night, the pick and roll with Pierce and KG was very effective, and unless Jason Maxiell hits that extra gear like Paul Millsap occasionally achieved in Utah, it can be a Celtic bread-and-butter throughout, freeing up Pierce and KG for jumpers and drives, and almost guaranteeing the availability of safety valve dishes to Rondo. For Rondo it is luxury not to have to handle the ball all the time, which likewise frees him up for stellar defensive energy and open outside looks. You know all those shots Ray Allen is either missing or turning down? Give them to Rondo and Eddie House, especially if Billups is dinged up.

    It was a joy to read Doc Rivers proclaiming his faith in Rondo in Marc Stein’s Daily Dime at ESPN.com today. I’ve been waiting for people, but especially Rivers, to lavish praise and heavily massage Rondo’s ego, rather than that idiotic comment he made in the Cavs’ series about avoiding "heroic shots." But I understand I’m repeating myself here, so I’ll let it go at that. Ray Allen? Lose all expectations for the guy, because he is pressing, and pressing hard. He is intelligently doing the other things to minimize his inability to stick the outside jumper, including ball movement, penetration, and decent defense. The Celts just have to consider him a 4th or 5th option right now, and muck along. And consider this: If the law of averages works itself out and Allen returns to vintage form with a vengeance, Boston has a viable shot at a championship. In fact that about the only way I see them beating either the Spurs or the Lakers.

    Before we get into Lakers-Spurs, I want to harp back on the original point: Cleveland did Boston an enormous favor by pushing them to the brink and forcing them to configure different options and adjustments, and, most importantly, to determine a pecking order. These post-Cavs Celts are no longer democratizing the Big 3, and if the question were posed to them about who should take the game-ending shot to win or lose, both Pierce and KG wouldn’t simultaneously say "Ray" as they did before the Atlanta series. Meanwhile, Kendrick Perkins is no longer having to fend off tag teams of bigs like Z and Wallace and Smith and Varejao and coping with LeBron knifing down the lane. Detroit can still win this series, of course: They are experienced and resilient and synergistically talented. But this Celtics team has found its groove through adversity, which makes it a lot tougher, and more complicated, for the Pistons to triumph than it was a couple of weeks ago.

    Breaking down the Spurs versus the Lakers, it looks to be an immensely enjoyable, high-scoring affair. How does LA defend Tim Duncan, with Gasol, Odom, or mix-and-match? (This is when a healthy Andrew Bynum would really come in handy.) Do the Spurs really think Bruce Bowen is going to contain Kobe? Derek Fisher doesn’t have the foot-speed for Tony Parker (and doesn’t know the Spurs’ sets and tendencies the way he knew Deron Williams and the Jazz), and at the offensive end, Odom will be his usual matchup nightmare. Lots of points are to be had here, especially considering that both teams are very adept at turning turnovers into buckets.

    After watching the Spurs the last three or four years, plus the regular season this year, I made up my mind I’d pick them in every series until they lost or held the trophy. Before the playoffs began, I realized that if any team was going to test that faith, it would be the Lakers. They’ve got a cold-blooded closer in Kobe, a beautiful mixture of size, speed, and depth, and one of the few very coaches as wise and playoff-wizened as Pops. In my eyes, this is the real finals.

    It’s a cliche to say about any close, competitive series between two very deep teams, but the role players really do have a chance to tip the balance here. Ime Udoka seems to be as viable an option on Kobe as Bowen, and when Bowen inevitably gets toasted and/or in foul trouble, it will be interesting to see how Udoka fares. On the other side, Sasha Vujacic seems like the latest in a long line of players to pattern his game after Manu Ginobili, and if Vujacic can indeed hit those dagger treys and become the foul-drawing pest that is Manu the Great, it is a big lift for the Lakers. It is also not that far-fetched.

    Kobe and Duncan are not only going to get theirs, they’ll make sure their teammates share in the wealth. But can the Thomas/Oberto tandem stop Gasol, or hold him to mid-teens in points? How aggressively will Phil Jackson wield the Odom mismatch–I’d pound Odom off the dribble and in post-ups until San Antonio makes clear their response, then freelance off of that via Kobe and the three-point shooters. If Odom goes into one of his mental funks, it will be a huge problem for the Lakers; he really is the biggest wild card either way in this series.

    San Antonio in 6 or 7. But the Lakers in 6 or 7 wouldn’t exactly shock me.

    Longtime readers know I basically punt the draft lottery and defer to other, wiser, observers of the college, high school, and international game. My guess/advice for the Wolves in the last column was to prioritize their draft options as Rose/Beasley/Mayo/Lopez/trade down. Now that the ping-pong balls have given them a #3 pick, my excitement and interest goes up a notch. Taking a player you think will be at least the third best performer who is eligible for the pros this season is a big, big chip. I know the conventional wisdom is that it is a two-player draft, and I have no reason to dispute that. But here are the #3 picks from 2000-2007:

    2000  Darius Miles

    2001  Pau Gasol

    2002  Mike Dunleavy

    2003 Carmelo Anthony

    2004 Ben Gordon

    2005 Deron Williams

    2006 Adam Morrison

    2007 Al Horford

    The only flop is Morrison, and he still has a shot at redemption. Miles was a chucklehead, but when healthy, oh could he play. Dunleavy showed signs of becoming a player this year, while the stock of Gordon and Melo fell a bit from some lofty heights. Gasol, Williams and Horford are cornerstones. That’s a pretty good historical record. And remember, that’s just the #3 pick. If we look at the third best player taken in the first round from 2000-2007, it goes like this:

    2000: K-Mart of Mike Miller (behind Pryzbilla and Turkoglu, bad draft)

    2001: Gasol (behind Tony Parker and Tyson Chandler)

    2002: Tayshaun Prince or Caron Butler (behind Amare and Yao)

    2003: Bosh or Melo (behind LeBron and Wade)

    2004: Luol Deng or Iguodala (behind D Howard and Jefferson)

    2005: Bynum (behind Paul and Williams)

    2006: Rudy Gay o
    r Rondo (behind Roy and Aldridge)

    2007: Kevin Durant (behind Horford and Oden, although you can flip ’em)

    Okay, enough covering up my lack of detailed knowledge about these picks with thumbnail history. The abiding point is, this third overall pick is a very valuable commodity. It is hard to totally screw it up, and possible to resurrect your franchise. Kevin McHale says he likes eight people in this draft and others have said it is very deep. If true, the Wolves should consider a trade, especially if the guy(s) they like is somewhat under the radar. With that, I’ll let my smart commenters take over.

  • A. Pope's Special Day

    True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
    As those move easiest who have learn’d to dance.
    ‘Tis not enough no harshness gives offense,
    The sound must seem an echo to the sense.

    —Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism: Part 2, 362-365

    English poet Alexander Pope was born 320 years ago today.

    First things first: Tickets go on sale today at 8 a.m. for the highly anticipated Star Wars exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Tickets are available online, via phone at (651) 221-9444, or in person at the Science Museum’s Box Office. The Science Museum hopes to welcome more than 250,000 visitors during the exhibit’s eight week run (June 13 – August 24).

    MUSIC
    Percussion at Peavey

    If you work in downtown Minneapolis — or at least close by — you’re in luck today. It’s going to be a beautiful, sunny day, so pack up a lunch, or pick one up, and spend your lunch hour at Peavey Plaza with the Minnesota Orchestra. The free concert, brought to you by Target, kicks off the Orchestra’s three-week Percussion Festival with a program of Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville, selections from Bizet’s/Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite, Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3, III Allegro. Drums Unlimited and Mu Daiku will warm up the stage from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Cities 97 DJ Brian Oake will serve as host.

    Noon-1 p.m., Peavey Plaza, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; free.

    Also tonight, White Rabbits, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, and Humanboy play at the 400 Bar (9 p.m., $12).

    DANCE
    Saint Paul City Ballet Spring Gala

    What’s the Saint Paul City Ballet up to lately? As so many talented dance students thoughout the Twin Cities practive their art and hone their skills, we so often miss their moments of glory. Don’t miss this one. The Saint Paul City Ballet’s Spring Gala showcases students of all classes and levels. Start at 5 p.m., with the young children’s performance, and stay on for the more mature 7:30 performance — Jazz, Sacred Arts, and Coppelia with pre-professional and adult students.

    5 & 7:30 p.m. (tomorrow at 7 p.m. only), E.M. Pearson Theatre, Concordia University, 275 Syndicate St. N., St. Paul; 651-690-1588; $10-$15.

    FILM
    Midnight Cowboy and Manchurian Candidate

    The Landmark Edina Cinema serves up another double whammy double feature tonight. First, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight play down-and-out hustlers/drifters in the 1969 classic, Midnight Cowboy, directed by John Schlesinger. And as if that weren’t enough, John Frankenheimer’s 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate follows. You certainly can’t go wrong with Frank Sinatra and brain-washing conspiracies (even communist ones). Toss in an evil Angela Lansbury and the typically lovely Janet Leigh, and you’ve got yourself quite a treat.

    7 & 9:30 p.m., Edina Cinema, 3911 W. 50th
    St., Edina; 651-649-4416.


    It’s also time for another IFP Cinema Lounge at the Bryant Lake Bowl Cabaret Theater (7 p.m., free).

    SPECIAL EVENT
    The Second Quadrennial Worst Political Advertising in America Awards

    Have some fun at politics’ expense tonight; make fun of everything political. Former CNN reporter and Hopkins native Aaron Brown — who has brought us news on 9-11, the Iraq War, the Columbine High School shootings, the O.J. Simpson trial, Mandela’s election — will host the Second Quadrennial Worst Political Advertising in America Awards this evening — live in Minneapolis. A number of local celebrity presenter/politicians will participate as well, among them St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Sarah Janecek, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak

    8 p.m., Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis; 612-339-7007; $32.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Cult Author Chuck Palahniuk

    Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, is in town tonight promoting his new book, Snuff, a story about an aging porn star who tries to revive her career by "doing" 600 men on screen. The book jumps from character to character as they mingle about, waiting for their moment of fame.

    7 p.m., Triple Rock Social Club, 629 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-333-7399; $30.

  • Living the Dream

    Taghazout, Morocco — It’s a postcard Malibu Beach view from the second floor balcony of a reclusive African surf camp. There’s a warm breeze. A few rocks and a broken formation of surfers crown the sea. The offbeat tinkle of a distant camel bell mixed with cries from trinket vendors is the lazy rhythm on this beach. The scene is so exotic you want to keep it a secret — then again, it’s such a beautiful place, you have to tell someone.

    Horizon chaser Craig Martinson has been dreaming up adventure trips since he was a kid. He discovered this faraway Moroccan beach location while surfing online in his suburban Minneapolis home. As trip planner and co-founder of the Boys of Summer & Winter Adventure Club, Martinson has organized off-the-beaten-track, budget vacations for Twin Cities extreme sports enthusiasts and thrill seekers for over ten years. Aptly described by his wife Cindy as "a value-oriented traveler," Martinson and his buddies have skied the black diamonds and off-trail powder from Val d’ Isere, France to the Chilean Andes, and surfed waves off the Brazilian and African coasts on shoestring budgets. After visiting forty-four countries as a competitive athlete and roaming photographer, Martinson has thousands of photographs to show and captivating stories to tell.

    The dream of getaway adventures in pristine surroundings began for Martinson after seeing a picture of Senator Bobby Kennedy climbing an Alaskan mountain in LIFE magazine when he was seven. He was a kid from Eau Clare, Wisconsin who routinely coaxed frightened third graders into exploring the woodsy trails around Half Moon Lake and thought mountain climbing would be fun.

    After outgrowing the lakeside trails he moved to Crystal, Minnesota and played conventional team sports throughout high school. In his spare time he planned inexpensive wilderness canoe trips by requesting maps and brochures from government agencies, and read books about mountain climbing and indigenous mountain people. Decidedly nonviolent at an early age, Martinson discovered that bullies would sometimes take an interest in the outdoor sports he organized for friends. Thinking of himself as more of an organizer than a leader, the soft-spoken lad grew up believing that bullies simply "lacked maturity and common sense."

    His boyhood dream of climbing mountains turned into the grit and substance of heart-thumping exhilaration after hooking-up with the Northstar Mountaineers of Minnesota at age 17, while studying photography at Hennepin Technical College in 1972. The following summer he wandered out west, living meagerly on granola and orange juice, like a hippie Boy Scout, out of a sleeping bag and junker car. He took the hazardous Gooseberry Route up Devil’s Tower in Wyoming and tagged the tops of the Bugaboo, Snowpatch, and Pigeon Spires in the British Columbia Bugaboo Range his first year.

    "Craig was like a member of our family," said fellow climber and Twin Cities peace activist Roger Cuthbertson. "We used to pick him up and drive him to climbs when he was just a teenager. He soon surpassed me with his technical climbing skills, but I remember him as a person who would always help someone else."

    By the fall of ’73 Martinson had set his sights on climbing abroad after being lured to the continent by Europeans camped out in California’s Yosemite Park. Soon he was tackling increasingly difficult mountains throughout Europe and Canada alongside top North American climbers such as Rick Sylvester, Henry Barber, Chris Jones, and George Lowe. On the European side, he roped-up with climbing luminaries Leo Dickinson and Eric Jones, from Britain, as well as Italian climbers Giorgio Bertone and Carlo Mauri, and the Czech Tomas Gross. Martinson thought, "Why would anyone not want to climb — it’s so much fun."

    His feelings of "invincibility without cockiness" caught the attention of mountaineering living legend Fred Becky in a chance meeting in Yosemite Park during 1975. They soon became friends, spending nearly two years sniffing out new climbing trails from Arizona to Alaska.

    "Craig Martinson was one of my favorite climbing partners: a natural athlete who always had a cheery disposition and a determination to be successful on a challenging route. One of our challenges was the first ascent of the West Buttress of the Fremont Peak, and the Sheer Face of the First Tower of Mt. St. Helen in the Wind River Mountains. While testing a series of difficult moves on Fremont, I took a short fall and scraped some skin. Craig took over with zeal and led right through — making it look very reasonable.

    "Craig, Eric Bjornstad, and I once drove an old Cadillac along the Alaskan Highways to pursue the climb of the Tusk (a sharp spire in the Alaska Range). Despite fourteen flat tires, we reached Alaska and experienced grand weather in an almost unknown glacier region without any communication with civilization until a ski plane returned two weeks later. Then, we had to drive the car home, and Craig did his share of tire changes."

    —Fred Becky, mountaineer; Seattle; Oct 18, 2007

    News of the Becky/Martinson alliance spread quickly, and it wasn’t long before Martinson accepted a spot on the Soviet-American Climbing Team during the Cold War, under the Ford administration. Surmounting language barriers, the climbers moved cautiously around corners communicating with hand signals while trusting their lives to one another. "It was nerve-wracking if you couldn’t see the person ahead of you and didn’t understand his language — we had to be very careful." recalled Martinson. Climbers overcame political differences by sometimes using Communist propaganda sheets distributed at Russian airports for toilet paper.

    After three climbs in the Pamir Mountains, Caucasus, and Tian Shan ranges of Asia, Martinson was considered one of the premier mountain climbers of North America. He became the new poster boy for Fila athletic clothing, and a smiling picture of him glossed department store windows across Europe.

    Returning to America, Martinson took an interest in Native American culture, reading up on the Apache, Hopi, and Navahoe Indians before climbing the Moses and Titan Desert Spires with Italian climbers Mauri and Bertone, near Moab, Utah. He was a team member on the second ascents of the Moses and Sundevil chimney routes among the lofty, wind-carved Titan Spires pinnacled in the Fisher Towers region. A film made about Martinson and these climbers on high, vertical spikes in the American Southwest won an award at the 1977 Trento Film Festival in Italy.

    His most memorable climb was the Corona Peak Route in the Central Asian Tien-Shen Range with American George Lowe and two Russian climbers. The most challenging route was the North Face of the Dru in the French Alps with Czech Tomas Gross. "The Dru was imposing, scary, dark, and foreboding; but it was exhilarating to reach the top," beamed Martinson.

    It wasn’t all triumphant shouts and breathtaking views from the top, though. Martinson somberly recalled the disappointments of having his photograph
    s rejected by National Geographic after working as a climbing photographer in the Canadian Baffin Islands, and the shaky exhaustion he felt after retreating from unsuccessful climbs. "Sometimes I couldn’t wait to get off a mountain. I didn’t care how far back it was to the car; it felt so good to walk on flat ground, and I’d tell myself, ‘I’ll never do that again.’"

    But, he would do it again, and he did it until he stopped climbing professionally. After losing twelve friends in climbing-related accidents, Martinson recalculated the odds. He already had five major climbing expeditions under his belt, along with numerous side trips throughout North America. He’d climbed in Greece, across the Dolomite Region of Italy, near Chamonix in the French Alps, and around the Lake District and Devon areas of England. After earning the moniker El Tigre, Martinson decided to pack it in when he figured he had "better than a fifty-fifty chance of dying" if he continued the pace.

  • In Defense of Tou Saiko Lee

    Good morning,

    My name is Chris DeLine, and I’m the editor for a local music site
    called Culture Bully. Today we posted a rebuttle written written by one of our writers, Kyle Myhre, regarding Jason
    Lewis’s discouraging comments on local Hmong artist Tou Saiko Lee. Kyle is also a local MC,
    spoken word artist, and activist. I thought you’d be interested in
    checking it out.

    Thanks for your time!

    Chris DeLine, Culture Bully
    Letter

  • Barnes & Ignoble

    For summer reading, Barnes & Noble recommends The Diary of Anne Frank. So here’s the presumed scenario: The sun is out, you’re under your candy striped umbrella at the beach, children in the near distance are making sandcastles on the shore, and you are immersing yourself in the magical world of WWII-era Amsterdam, through the eyes of a 13-year-old Jewish girl whose family was forced into hiding, and who later perishes in a concentration camp. If this is a bit light for you, Barnes & Noble suggests Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales as a summertime alternative, so you can brush up on your Middle English, like you’ve been meaning to. Or if Objectivist philosophy is your thing, an anthology of Ayn Rand’s previously unpublished writings – The Early Ayn Rand (only 508 pages)- is a welcome member of the B & N "Summer Reading" display.

    Really?

    By now it’s old news, if it was ever news at all, but in this year’s edition of City Pages‘ "Best of the Twin Cities," Barnes & Noble Booksellers took "Best Bookstore (New)" in the reader’s poll. In a city with as many funky community bookstores as ours, this was a bit surprising to me, because in terms of customer experience, I’ve always found B & N a bit lacking.

    I don’t want to rant about how B & N is bad for the universe and promotes global warming and cannibalism and pedophilia. We’ve all heard it all before. So I’m going to try and make a good, old-fashioned pro/con list consisting of the chain’s merits (which it certainly has) and demerits, and see if maybe one outweighs the other.

    I assume there might be some crossover in readership between City Pages and The Rake – possibly even some with this blog – so I invite anyone and everyone to comment with why they like (or don’t like) Barnes & Noble, and to educate me as to what I may have missed – probably a substantial amount.

    So here goes:

    PROS

    Squatter’s Rights – You can sit in a Barnes & Noble for as long as you want, without feeling guilty. (I tend to start feeling guilty after about fifteen minutes in Magers & Quinn if I don’t find anything I want.) It’s kind of like a library, but with newer, better smelling books.

    Bathrooms – I’m pretty sure that most B & Ns have bathrooms that are functionally, if not explicitly, open to the public.

    Author Events – Probably the biggest benefit B & N brings to its communities is their ability to get big-name authors in otherwise-skipped-over towns. The branches Downtown and in the Galleria are especially good at getting some writers of note to Minneapolis and St. Paul. To name a recent few: Keith Gessen, Darin Strauss, and, thank God, Mario Lopez.

    Discounts – When it comes to the bottom line, B & N is the best on giving us fairly significant price cuts on our favorite magazines and books.

    Kids’ Sections – I suspect this may have had a lot to do with its City Pages ranking. Maybe the one thing that many indy bookstores lack is a decent children’s section (though check out Birchbark Books in Kenwood). It seems B & N caters as much to youngsters as to any other demographic, fully aware that they still have imaginations to be stoked and exploited.

    Har Mar – More than any other B & N I know of, the branch by Har Mar mall serves as a neighborhood hub. They have one of the corporation’s rare ‘used’ sections, and are willing to host a Chinese conversation group. Also, I’ve heard it’s a good spot for singles to meet.

    And the CONS.

    Before I start, I want to say that I’m going to try and keep the cons to problems encountered within the actual bookstores. Whatever B & N‘s global ramifications may be, the CP poll was about user experience, not where we shop with the cleanest conscience, or where we shop because everywhere else has been mysteriously put out of business.

    More Discounts – No, I don’t want to save another ten per cent today by signing up for a new credit card. Nor give you my zip code in order to buy a magazine.

    Selection – It’s often hard to find the book I’m looking for. Despite their vast shelving space, B & N‘s management mandates that branches constantly cycle through their shelves, weeding out the books that don’t sell as well as they’re supposed to. Because of this, it’s difficult to come across older books. A lot of the time they’ll have an author’s best-seller, but none of the rest of that particular author’s output. Perusing the Calhoun Village branch, I was unable to find any books by Celine or Bernard Malamud, and they had only one book each of Chekhov, Grace Paley, and Proust. The poetry section is even more barren – a sort of Blockbuster video approach to stocking. Only one collection each by local heavyweights Robert Bly and Louis Jenkins, and several omissions (There were, however, several copies of the poetry collections by Jewel and Ani DiFranco.)

    Books, but not Reading – This is my biggest beef: B & N promotes books, and the selling of materials bound in traditional book form, but only minimally and incidentally promote any actual reading. Their ‘Summer Reading’ display, for example, is simply preposterous, and shows the company’s complete lack of attention to their readers.
    As is now well-documented, the books that appear up front and on the chain’s various ‘favorites’ tables aren’t selected by staff; publishers pay to have their books in those spots. This means that advertisers determine what we see, not people that care about what we’re actually reading.
    Because of this, some mismatching authors appear linked together. I especially liked how the new cardboard Ernest Hemingway display is next to the display with Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson’s books. It’s kind of like putting Skittles next to the organic fruits.
    Call me condescending. But I assure you there is no way in Hell I’m more condescending than the Barnes & Noble executive who commands that there be a rack for "Magazines America Loves" in his stores.

    I think that’s all I’ve got. It seems the list is weighted toward the pros, though I have to say the last two cons are really the clinchers for me (I don’t live anywhere near Har Mar, nor do much shopping for kids, which effectively mangles my personal pros). Again, we here at The Rake are all about opinions, we thrive on them, so if you’ve got one, or many, throw it out there, yo.

  • Healing from Talk Radio Rage

    The sad truth about the Secrets of the Day is that the last-minute nature automatically rules out the hottest (most publicized and most popular) events, because they sell out. Unfortunately (though it is, in fact, a very good thing), such is the case with The Rake’s RestauranTour: Belgian Beer Night at Barbette this evening. I hope you got your ticket already, because it sounds like it’s going to be one great meal.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Terri Persons’s Blind Rage

    Local author Terri Persons is celebrating the release of her new book this evening with a reading and signing at Once Upon a Crime. Blind Rage, the second in Persons’s Bernadette St. Clare series (following Blind Spot), continues the adventures of an FBI agent with unusual powers of sight — the ability to see through the killer’s eyes. This time, Agent St. Clare is determined to get to the bottom of a slew of apparent suicides. Of course, it’s a crime novel — a psychological thriller, in fact — so I’m guessing they’re not suicides at all, but the work of some poor, twisted soul.

    7 p.m., Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th Street, Minneapolis, 612-870-3785; free.

    TOUR & MORE
    Radio’s Drive Time Divas

    Did you happen to read Rake blogger Melinda Jacob’s post on Lori and Julia back in December? She certainly talked up the talk radio duo. "Lori and Julia are not afraid to put themselves on the line, be
    self-deprecating, and most important, have the confidence and gift for
    gab that it takes to pull off a national radio show!" Lori Barghini and Julia Cobb host The Lori and Julia Show, Hubbard
    Broadcasting’s popular drive time program on FM 107, the women’s talk
    radio station. And this afternoon, if you’re a fan (of theirs, of the show, of talk radio, or of women anywhere), you’re in for a very special treat. Arrive at Hubbard Broadcasting at 4:30 p.m. — sharp — for a tour of the facility and a chance to see the audacious duo live, and on the air. Get an inside glimpse into the nuances of the station and learn how women’s talk radio evolved from concept to reality.

    4:30 p.m., Hubbard Broadcasting, 3415 University Ave. (a few blocks west of Hwy 280), St. Paul; free.

    CLASS
    Introduction to Esoteric Healing

    While I know what healing means in a literal sense (you know… you get cut, it heals), I have to admit, I get a bit skeptical when people speak of healing on a broader, spiritual and emotional level — when they talk about healing, awareness, and energy. But you’ve got to love the term "esoteric healing." You’ve just got to. Regardless of any claims made by the Grand Ole Dictionary, we have come to associate "esoteric" with things that are beyond understanding. Funny thing, really, considering the word’s true meaning comes from "inner" knowledge, or "enlightened" knowledge. Should we not all look inward and strive to be enlightened? Why would we associate this with something more obscure and unattainable? Perhaps we need healing after all — esoteric healing. This evening, Well Within will show you how to access and work with the human energy system to affect healing shifts and balance. Class activities will include centering mediation, a Soul Awareness Chart, and exercises to sense energy.

    6:30-8:30 p.m., Well Within, 1880 Livingston Ave., Suite 103, West St. Paul; 651-451-3113; $15 suggested donation.

  • Hoops Delirium: Hit and Run

    (AFP/Getty Images/Chris Graythen)

     

    In just a few hours, the San Antonio Spurs will either add another bullet point on their dynasty-like resume, or flip the championship torch toward the winner of the Hornets-Lakers series. I called the series for the Spurs in 6 or 7 and will gladly ride my choice-is-made-for-me decision to pick San Antonio until I see an opponent drive the stake through their enormous heart.

    Have six relative blowouts in a row ever been this much fun to watch? Whoever owns home court seems to exert their will over the other team–to the tune of double-digits. Here’s why I think that changes tonight:

    * The Spurs have three guys who come up huge at crunchtime. In what order does New Orleans seal them off? If I’m Byron Scott, I try and single-cover Tim Duncan with Tyson Chandler and pray for lenient refs. If the Hornets can limit perimeter ball movement and force Ginobili to put it on the floor rather than pop treys from outside, the odds of victory rise in their favor. If Ginobili is the Spurs’ leading scorer and gets more from behind the arc than he does in the paint, I don’t see how the Hornets win. And that’s what I think is going to happen.

    * David West’s aching back. Chris Paul is becoming as reliably spectacular as LeBron or Kobe, but if West is at all compromised, Paul will need a game for the ages–say, 35-40 points and 12-18 assists–to put his team into the conference finals. Peja has been a pleasant surprise a couple of times in this series–more than just a catch and shoot guy–but I don’t think he exerts his will over Bowen in a Game 7. If West doesn’t get his usual 24-38 points, it will have to be Pargo or MoPete or maybe Julian Wright, plus elevation in Paul’s numbers. BTW, the Spurs fans chanting for Horry after he put an extra nudge into West’s sore back the other night, plus all the flopping and bitching and Pops hack-a-whoever, plus the innate charm of West, Paul and Chandler, has this confirmed lover of Spurs style basketball not minding very much if New Orleans short-circuits that San Antonio legacy tonight.

    * Veterans off the bench. It still blows my mind that the Spurs have Kurt Thomas. When teams are as closely matched as these two, having a tough, smart vet who knows when to shoot and when to pass, when to foul and when to concede the hoop, when to show hard on the pick and roll and when to stay home–and he’s either playing beside Tim Duncan or giving Duncan a precious breather–is huge. Then there are the outside gunners: Finley, Barry, Horry, and even Udoka is no spring chicken. The pressure is really on the Hornets bench, especially Pargo and Wright, to negate that advantage. It might happen, but a better case can be made that it might not.

    Of course Hornets’ fans have some nice cards to play in their game-winning scenario. Paul consistently gets in the paint and drives the Spurs nuts. Chandler and the oddly timed double team frustrate Duncan. West has enough pain-killers and will-power to work his marvelous midrange game, a platter of foul line jumpers and left block left handers mixed with the occasional transition hoop off turnovers. Parker gets joustled off his game. And this young and very talented team doesn’t know from pressure, expects and then experiences their four straight home thrashing of the older, finally vanguished Spurs.

    Just before yesterday’s Celts-Cavs Game 7 I had decided to pick Detroit over Boston or Cleveland over Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals. Then I saw the game. Hey, the Celtics have a go-to guy, and with it, a genuine pecking order! Okay, give me the Celts over the Pistons.

    I understand that going with Boston at this juncture is as shaky as picking the Spurs tonight. And I know the Pistons have formidable matchups for each one of the big three–Prince on Pierce, ‘Sheed on KG, Rip on Allen. Plus Jason Maxiell might be a tad too quick for Kendrick Perkins and Chauncey Billups a tad too large for Rajon Rondo. But in retrospect, I’m sort of amazed the Celtics survived two series without having established alphas and betas among their stars. That’s an incredible amount of uncertainty that no longer exists: This is Pierce’s team on the offensive end as much as it is KG’s on the defensive end. I know Prince did a nice job on him in the three games they played this season; that the numbers favor KG being the man. But Pierce just got through with seven games against LeBron James; Prince is going to feel like balsa wood after that.

    That said, the Pistons have a big edge in the backcourt. If Eddie House drinks the same crate of adrenaline he swallowed for Game 7, I’d stick him on Billups for a little rubber hose action. Even so, it is time for Rondo to step up his consistency; he needs to stick more open jumpers (and take more treys to open up the floor), and either get more steals or draw more charges–generate turnovers on Detroit, in other words, to be truly effective. As for Rip Hamilton on Ray Allen, well, hopefully Allen sleptwalked through the Cavs series to store up energy to chase Hamilton through multiple picks. And that Game 7 plan of putting House and Rondo and Allen into a rotation, until Allen’s shooting eye warrants more minutes, should remain in effect.

    All the games during the regular season were low scoring affairs, but I expect that to rise some this time; the Celts are freed from uncertainty and the Pistons should score plenty from midrange according to Flip’s fat playbook. Who knows, the winner might even hit 100 one of these times.

    Celtics in 7, with each team winning once on the road.

    Quick hits…

    Aside from Kobe, the most valuable Laker in the Jazz series was obviously Derek Fisher. How classy is the Utah franchise for letting Fisher go so he could have a better place to take care of his daughter? The Jazz were not only deprived of a gutsy, cool-headed crunchtime performer, but Fisher spent the previous two years helping Deron Williams learn the offense Fisher wound up defending. That was a huge advantage.

    But we’ll get into the Lakers during the Western Conference Finals preview in a day or so.

    Count me among those who think Mike D’Antoni in New York is idiotic. Hey, it’s not too late for a coaching swap: Scott Skiles to the Knicks, where he knocks Curry’s and Zach’s heads together and gets Balkman and Lee excited about real 94-foot basketball; and D’Antoni to Milwaukee, where Redd and Mo Williams and Yi and Bogut are tailor made for his flash and pass go-go ball.

    Last and least, my uninformed preferences on Wolves’ draft picks:

    Rose/Beasley/Mayo/Lopez/trade down

  • Beat your ploughshares into pens

    Employing a tactic I’m pretty sure I’ve picked up from the current presidential administration, I’ve decided to take a new approach to truth. Namely, I’m going to make it up. And make it up in such a way that justifies every decision I decide(r), and in such a way that makes me feel better about my life, and the enveloping society thereof.
    So here goes: Everyone is reading.

    And because everyone is reading, there is a high demand for poetry.
    And because there is a high demand for poetry, once a week, possibly on Mondays, but certainly not limited to Mondays, I’m going to try really hard to post a Poem Worth Reading on this blog.

    I know I know I know, this is supposed to be a blog about books, and probably shouldn’t contain any actual literature, unless it’s hyper-linked. Nevertheless, poems are great. They’re (often) short, and powerful, and sometimes they even rhyme, which makes you feel happy for reasons you probably can’t define very well. And people should read more of them. More, even, than they already are. Which is lots. Because everybody is reading. Obviously.

    This week’s Poem Worth Reading is by Marie Vogel Gery. It’s part of a collection entitled Penchant – an anthology comprised of poems written by women from Northfield, Minnesota. Though I can’t quite put my finger on it, there is definitely a quality that unites the verses of these poets. "The eleven writers gathered here show an easy abundance," notes Scott King in his introduction. And I think that’s as close to a definition as one can get – a vague yet precise "easy abundance" – a lovely ability to meander, paired with the certain (Minnesotan) simplicity that underlies each stanza

    Read it. Everyone else is.

    "Sleepover"

    My son and I battle weekly over whether he can sleepover there
    or they can sleepover here, he has a lust for places
    filled with smells other than my cooking
    for rooms without his stepfather’s voice
    even for places without his brother’s scent
    still soft like his, like their cheeks when I kiss them goodnight

    He longs for that future when the telephone is his
    the refrigerator, the stove, the car, the front door
    when he can have makko boards on all the walls
    and Samurai swords in place of umbrellas

    He longs for staying up all night at a party
    where something wonderful happens and everyone knows
    he is grown up and popular and everyone wants him to sleepover
    be their best friend and they’ll live on pizza and Mountain Dew

    He wants that freedom not to get lonesome
    as the dark comes in through the house
    things he doesn’t want to think about
    slide down the chimney and hiss in the rooms
    fear, like a cat, comes and sits near him
    follows him into his room, plays under the bed

    Each week by Wednesday we screech in tangled logic
    magic and hope that he will sleepover there this time
    or they will sleepover here for a whole weekend
    and something wonderful will happen

  • Tin Fish, Belgian Beers, and Anonymous Comments

    Tin Fish is open for the season, and on sunny days, the long
    lines are back at the Lake Calhoun Pavilion. These guys have the formula
    figured out: start with very fresh ingredients, and then prepare them as simply
    as possible. Prices seem to have gone up a bit since last year – as have
    seafood prices everywhere – but they are still quite reasonable: you can get a
    Mini Tin sandwich (two pieces of cod on a toasted bun) for $2.75 and a big
    grilled shrimp taco for $4.95. The fried tin fish combo (four pieces of cod,
    three shrimp, two scallops and six pieces of calamari) with fries and slaw has
    gone up to $15.95 this year, but it is big enough to share. The little bits of
    fried squid were nothing to write home about, but the cod was perfect – moist
    and fresh – and the scallops had the succulent sweetness of the very best. And
    the view of the lake is priceless.

    There are still a few seats left for the Belgian beer
    dinner, tomorrow (Tuesday) night at Barbette, 1600 W. Lake St., Minneapolis. It’s a benefit for KBEM Jazz 88,
    but The Rake is co-hosting, and I’ll tag along and tell a story or two.

    Belgian beers happen to be a passion of mine. Back in the
    early 80s, when I had fantasies of opening my own micro-brewery, a friend and I
    spent a week driving around the country in a Citroen deux chevaux trying every
    local brew we could find. Last time I checked, there were around 300 different
    brands, many of them tiny farmhouse operations, and nearly every brewery had
    its own distinctively shaped glass.

    Belgium is kind of a Galapagos island of brewing, where all
    kinds of weird brewing styles survive that had gone virtually extinct elsewhere
    on the planet. Many of those brewing styles have been rediscovered in the last
    few years – beers brewed with fruit and herbs and spices, and wild yeasts.

    I haven’t seen the list of beers that will be poured yet,
    but chef Sarah Masters’ menu sounds promising. She’s using domestic
    Belgian-style microbeers for cooking, in each course, including a starter of
    1Chevagne goat cheese with pumpernickel toast points and Rejewvenator-
    marinated fig, followed by pastry-wrapped garlic sausage with braised cabbage,
    duo of mustards and side of greens tossed with a Biere de Miel vinaigrette;
    Flat Earth Pale Ale-marinated eye of round roast with creamy polenta and
    spinach, and a Chocolate tart
    with raspberry-Brother Thelonious reduction as a grand finale.

    Tickets are $50 benefiting Jazz88. To make online
    reservations, CLICK HERE or call Kevin Barnes at (612) 668-1735.

    Confidential to "Anonymous": (i.e., anybody who posts anonymous comments): Anonymous coments are welcome, and negative comments about restaurants (and about restaurant critics, for that matter) are okay, too, but it seems to me that if you are going to be harsh, and especially if you are going to single out an identifiable individual for criticism, you ought to sign your name. Or better yet, become a Rake Restaurant Rater, and post your critique there.

     

  • Legislatin' Sexy

    As the 2008 session draws to a close with no small amount of
    pomp and ceremony today, it is a time to reflect upon the marvel that is the
    modern democratic process. More particularly, it is a time to think about the
    countless hordes of people at the Capitol who toil every day to grease the cogs
    in the great machine that is our state government, their pleated khaki pants
    and skirts billowing softly in the gentle breeze coming in off the Mississippi.
    For it is not just the Sex
    Hog     who deserves recognition. All who emerge dripping with sweat into the sunlight after months of drafting bills and desperately
    searching for common ground – even if that common ground consists simply of
    looking across the aisle gazing longingly at a particularly striking member of
    the opposition party.

    So today, to recognize the profound brilliance, and hotness,
    that is our public servants at the Capitol, marks the launch of The Defenestrator’s
    first annual "Most Beautiful People at the Capitol". The award recognizes the
    beauty and brains of all those who will emerge today on the Capitol steps,
    hungry for the alcohol and thousands of hours of comp time that is their due.
    And the top 10 most beautiful people at the Capitol, five men and five women,
    will receive a fabulous prize package and a photo shoot to be featured here, on
    The Rake. But to find those souls most
    deserving of this award, we need your help.

    Yes, it’s up to you to help determine who the top 10 most
    beautiful people at the Capitol are. So if a legislative assistant caught your
    eye from across the aisle, if a fetching intern’s work on health care reform
    dazzled you in its brilliance, if you were stopped in your tracks by a
    strapping researcher with rippling triceps balancing a daunting stack of books
    that rivaled any of Hercules’ 12 labors, or even if the dizzying smile of a
    Capitol police officer brought to mind fantasies of being "taken in" for petty
    larceny, let us know in the comments below (yes, we take anonymous comments) or
    send us an email at goldsmith@rakemag.com.
    Simply let us know who at the Capitol, from legislators to interns and lobbyists, fits the
    bill by Friday, May 30, and we’ll tally the votes.

    So before you run off to The Liffey to cope with the shock of
    effective legislative compromise, take a moment to nominate a colleague who
    toils in obscurity despite their obvious beauty and brains. For what is
    politics if not yet another quest for beauty, truth, and possibly someone who
    fills out Dockers in all the right ways?