While reflecting on one’s life, certain images and themes seem to dominate: God, Family, Love, etc. However, it’s occurred to me that I may have an unconscious fixation with Chihuahuas (for the record, I can barely spell “Chihuahua”). I’ve never eaten at a Taco Bell. Paris Hilton means very little to me. Yet Chihuahuas seem … Read more
There are happy gift baskets, and there are sad gift baskets. The sad ones are given by well-meaning souls who see shrink-wrapped fruit and think, “Oh joy!” Oftentimes these come year after year, stuffed with salamis and tissue paper, implying nothing other than, “Happy holidays, have a snack.” Worse yet is the revelation, upon stopping … Read more
Pat was my boss at the diner. I’d say she was around fifty years old, but I don’t know for sure. That’s just not the kind of question you ask your boss. Donnie the dishwasher was thirty-five, with the mental capacity of an adolescent. Then again, how many teens do you know who could work … Read more
— People are talking about whether Rev. Randolph (Randy) Staten will run for his old seat representing North Minneapolis in the Minnesota House of Representatives. If he did, and won, he would become Minnesota’s version of former Washington mayor and convicted felon Marion Berry: a political player who went through a very public crash-and-burn, followed … Read more
Why rent when you can own? At my neighborhood shop in Shanghai, well-ordered racks are full of the latest Hollywood releases, the Hollywood catalog dating back to the mid-1960s, and a middling selection of Chinese films and television series, most of which sell for between eighty-five cents and two bucks. The majority have English and … Read more
Our century has been remarkably efficient in the manufacture of wastelands. In Uptown you can still experience the sort of passageways down which Mr. Eliot smelt steaks, but nowadays they seem to have almost a period charm. It is the same reading about the Algiers described by Albert Camus; the delicious colonial loucheness of the … Read more
It seems like there are a number of rock icons these days who, if they haven’t burned out, haven’t really faded away, either. Take Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh. For one thing, the most influential of new wave bands never actually broke up; Devo toured again just this year. And Mothersbaugh is constantly working on new music, … Read more
You have to appreciate how the rock ‘n’ roll landmark at Seventh and First has witnessed a total transformation of its surroundings–Target Center, cheesy nightclubs, Block E, the freaking Hard Rock Cafe–while keeping the wrecking ball off its own hallowed but scummy walls. For a few weeks last year, it even looked as if First … Read more
letters@rakemag.com. Keep those cards and letters coming! Also keep in mind the following: Unless notified, we assume that submissions are intended for publication. We cannot return materials sent by mail; please don’t send valuable originals. We strongly encourage submission by email. Finally, letters may be edited for length and clarity. Can’t get enough? Is it … Read more
Brian Lambert is not my political cup of tea. Having said this, his article “Newspapers in Turmoil” [October] was a finely crafted insight into the corporate culture of our mainstream media (MSM). As a critic of MSM myself, I have watched the downward spiral of news delivery over the years with shock and awe. Lambert … Read more