Whether your cause is landmine removal in Afghanistan, or supporting people living with HIV/AIDS, there are lots of opportunities in the next week or so to dine well and do good, all at the same time. Tony Kaczor, the fish fry guy, passed along his latest church supper dining tips, including a couple of upcoming … Read more
Be it his folk-blues amiability or his pervasive wide-brimmed hats, Eric Bibb favors Taj Mahal. His voice is less basso and gravelly (more reminiscent of Spearhead’s Michael Franti), and his musical palette less diverse and worldly than Mahal’s ’round the globe hybrids, but Bibb is the superior songwriter. The latest evidence of this can be … Read more
I just got this email from the Center for Media Research, outlining demographics on bloggers. Who is out there? There don’t seem to be any real surprises. What’s A Blogger? Bloggers are younger and higher percentages are Hispanic & African American than the general population. A higher percentage of Democrats than of Republicans are blogging. … Read more
Being a mother may not be the easiest of jobs, but being the most influential person in most women’s lives has its rewards. In Kathryn Kysar’s journal Riding Shotgun: Women Write about Their Mothers, various authors, teachers, scholars, and mothers tell the heartwarming and powerful stories about the mothers who have loved and raised them. … Read more
First of all, I apologize for the inactivity vis a vis On The Ball, and once again offer my kudos to my dedicated commenters who are proving perfectly capable of continuing intelligent discussion without me. That said, I owe readers a little heads up about how I’ll be handling postseason posts. I went to the … Read more
Oil is hovering around $115 a barrel, the lowest price of gas in the Twin Cities is $3.18, foreclosures are still a-rising, and yet, in her latest column, the Star Tribune’s Katherine Kersten believes all we need to weather the storm of inflation, diminished access to credit, and skyrocketing healthcare costs is a shit-eating grin … Read more
CRAFTThe American Craft Show More than 250 craft artists from across the country will come together in St. Paul this weekend to exhibit and sell their handmade jewelry, clothing, furniture, and home décor. Peruse the exhibits, learn about their craft, and take home a little something to remember them by. The American Craft Show will … Read more
Ryan Montbleau’s shoes may need a shine, but that’s a tough thing to do when you’re a travellin’ man. Montbleau and his band play an average of 200 shows a year, bringing their eclectically influenced soul across the country and back again on a nocturnal circuit only the hardest working bands feel compelled to journey. … Read more
Having already tackled the legacies of Duke Ellington and Count Basie at medium-sized band concerts at Orchestra Hall last June and August, trombonist/curator Delfeayo Marsalis returns tonight with a tribute to Louis Armstrong, and wisely decides to deploy two musicians—Nicholas Payton and Kermit Ruffins—as stand-ins for Satchmo. As with his paeans to Ellington and Basie, … Read more
Over the years, the Kentucky Derby has drawn comparisons to such high profile annual events as the Super Bowl and Academy Awards. But in comparing these events, the celebrity status of the participants in the Kentucky Derby seems to fall short compared to the other two. In the 133 year history of the Derby, the … Read more