The Rake Magazine

In Russian, “bolshoi” means “grand”—in the word’s fullest sense of being both huge and fine. In every other language, the word has come to be associated with the fabled excellence and grand spectacle of the dance troupe. When the Bolshoi Ballet Company arrives here for two rare performances of Swan Lake and four of The … Read more

You were a world-class hairdresser from Austria. You settled in Minneapolis and became a world-class party animal. You got deathly ill, and decided to heal not only yourself but the world. You sold Aveda for $300 million. Meet your Rakish readers, HORST. Horst Rechelbacher is filthy rich. He’s also a pure soul, spending as much … Read more

Most everyone who has stepped into The Purple Onion coffee shop in Dinkytown has noticed William “Bill” Grimes IV, a regular for nearly a decade who whiles away the hours sipping mochas, reading Kierkegaard and science fiction, and “flapping with cats.” You can’t miss him: Grimes is a 6’3”, 170-pound man in his early 30s … Read more

Few artists who paint dogs have found the vision to deviate from the time-honored themes of poker games and doe-eyed poodles on velvet. Armed with acrylics, canvas, and lots of costume jewelry, newcomer Amy Brazil has finally broken the mold. “Best of Show,” a recent hanging at Hopkins Center for the Arts, has people stopping … Read more

When Senator Norm Coleman takes office in Washington next month, he’ll have some big decisions to make, on everything from war to social security. He may also need to decide on a new dentist, a process that certainly can tax a man’s courage. Norm has already proven himself on that score: In 1999, he underwent … Read more

Rick Kahn was in seclusion. Scorned by Republicans and Democrats alike, he wasn’t opening his door or returning calls. T. Trent Gegax picked up the phone and called anyway. Gegax is a Newsweek reporter from the Twin Cities. The University of Minnesota graduate grew up in Burnsville, but has since lived in Boston, Atlanta, and … Read more

It sounded like something only a Wisconsin native could crave: a butterburger. As a strict vegetarian from Minneapolis going to college in Madison, I couldn’t imagine anything more disgusting. Yet Culver’s, the fast-food restaurant offering it, were everywhere. For years, I wondered what could possibly be good about a sandwich whose name was so suggestive … Read more

Tucked away in cardboard boxes in hundreds of basements and attics lie the forgotten, dusty remnants of “artistic phases” from our younger days, often remembered, if at all, with mortification. A couple of years ago, D.R. Martin found his cardboard box, and what he thought was, “Hey, these aren’t bad.” He had 200 sheets of … Read more