Greetings from a former actual subscriber to The Rake. I’m not sure how I ended up at Ann Bauer’s blog tonight, but I enjoyed several pages of it, and only quit reading as it’s long past time I was in bed! I’d like to challenge her on her attitude about cloth shopping bags, though. Although … Read more
Kill your darlings. This is the command given young writers when they’re learning to edit their stories and poems. (It usually comes directly after the first piece of advice for novice authors: Quit now.) Kill ‘em dead. The line is attributed variously now to Faulkner, now to Hemingway. Extrapolated, it’s something like, ‘take your best … Read more
I’m of two minds about street food. Personally, I find it unsatisfying. I don’t like to walk and eat (too messy!), and I hate the taste of wooden sticks and skewers. Yet, there’s something about a bustling city street dotted with steaming food stands and vendors that makes me happy. I’ll take a stroll the … Read more
In the wake of the Great War there was Dick Tuck, and Dick Tuck begat Donald Segretti, and Donald Segretti begat Karl Rove. Karl Rove’s further begetting remains undisclosed. Dirty tricks come to politics when politics become seriously political. Before Richard Nixon spends those Watergate dollars burgling Democrats’ offices and spying on their psychiatrists, Nixon … Read more
New this week: May Day Parade slideshow, Second Runway Show slideshow, Meet Local Filmmaker Jon Springer, and Campfire. FILMGlobal Lens, or Fast and Loose The Walker’s Global Lens series kicks off tonight with The Kite (Le Cerf-Volant) and All for Free (Sve Dzaba). Tour across four continents over the next 11 days, glimpsing into varied … Read more
The screen is black. A mass of ambient sounds emerges to pull the viewer into an immediate state of hypnosis. Crickets and a plethora of other insects are making their voices heard. Cattle and roosters join in, birds chirping, all while the camera slowly spins around with the grace of a Hitchcock film. At first … Read more
Thanks for reprinting the 2003 WSJ Opinion piece. I remembered it, but couldn’t recall the source. I may print copies and hand them out the next time I go to any performance in the Twin Cities. A couple of weeks ago, Jorja Fleezanis performed Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra, which was conducted by … Read more
Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a model? Instead of boring you with a long story, I will be as brief as I CAN. I have modeled clothes for designers and done that fake (I am too sexy for my shoes) deal: Knollwood Mall in the ’80s. So, it wasn’t Fashion … Read more
Older generations often talk wistfully of times past – an era when candy was a nickel and hookers cost but sixpence. And with Minnesota’s sesquicentennial occurring this year, the temptation to romanticize is pushed even farther, with tales of subzero temperatures, white out conditions, and devouring small children to survive winter’s lean times bandied about … Read more
Local filmmaker Jon Springer’s new film The Hagstone Demon will be shown as a free sneak preview Thursday, May 8, at the Riverview Theater. The film stars Mark Borchardt, the subject of the Sundance award-winning documentary American Movie, which made him a cult celebrity of the indie film set. This locally produced film — presented … Read more