Thoughts of Ceviche and Peru!

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I just got off the phone with Doug, the tour guy in Cuzco, and I’m super excited. I asked, "Is it nice out there?" I imagined him looking out his window over the Plaza de Armas squinting a little from the sun. "Yeah, I guess," he answered. I informed him that our spring welcome has … Read more

First Day of Rehearsal Jitters

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Rehearsals for my play at Gremlin Theatre begin this evening. For a playwright, rehearsals are the beginning of a particular kind of hell. For an actor, rehearsals are sometimes the best experience of the play. Anything is possible in a rehearsal room. You don’t know the character yet. You start crawling in to the skin … Read more

Suburban World: The Norling Photos

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"Where is Brad Zellar?" you might ask, as his hiatus from The Rake has created quite a void. Happily, he’s been busy promoting his new book, Suburban World: The Norling Photos, from Borealis Books. Zellar discovered Irwin Norling in 2002, when he unearthed Norling’s neglected negatives from the Bloomington Historical Society archives. Struck by the … Read more

The Best Jazz Club in the Midwest

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While I appreciated the long-overdue article on Lowell Pickett and the Dakota ("Planet Pickett," February 2008), I did not like the implication that St. Paul jazz fans won’t cross the river. As someone who’s been attending Dakota shows since 1988, I don’t care if it is in St. Anthony, Sauk Centre, or Staggerford—it is the … Read more

Last Tango for the Cul-de-Sac of Love

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The Minneapolis-Saint Paul Craig’s List is a colder and more lonely place these days as foreclosures reach a feverish pace in otherwise sleepy places like Anoka County. Cul-de-sacs once buzzing with activity and excitement now lie fallow. Residents no longer stumble, drunk in hedonistic delight, from house to house, relieving boredom and ennui with the … Read more

Covering the Goods and Grooving My Soles

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The billing was Ray Bonneville with Tim O’Reagan: Blues for a Good Friday or Good Blues for a Friday. Good grief, anyway you phrase it, the show covered goods and grooved my soles. A flock of roughly 200 audience members braved a spring snowstorm to hear Tim O’Reagan, former drummer for the Jayhawks, morph into … Read more

From Minnesota to Italy to Vegas — I Do!

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BOOKS & AUTHORSThe Natural Wonders of Our State Learn about the natural wonders of Minnesota and explore the human and environmental characteristics that define our home. Join University of Minnesota geography professors John Fraser Hart and Susy Svatek Ziegler this afternoon for a discussion of their new book, Landscapes of Minnesota: A Geography. Illustrated with … Read more

Rakish Dinner at Via

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This Thursday, I plan to be at Via Café and Bar in Edina, along with my co-blogger and wine connoisseur Ann Bauer, for this month’s Rake World Flavors dinner. This should be a fun evening – not just a great dinner, but also a chance to meet other Rake foodies, talk to Ann about wine, … Read more