I’m with you: The smoke has got to go [Good Intentions, November]. My deep disgust for breathing other people’s poisonous crap, not to mention the stinging eyes, stinky clothes, achy head, and nauseous stomach that result from the poison keeps me from enjoying a multitude of otherwise fabulous venues here in the Cities and I’m … Read more
The idea that other regions of the country contain more grandiose beauty per acre than does Minnesota is hardly to be disputed [Good Intentions, October], but the sublime vision lauded in the review of the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s show is also distorted and pretentious. As a landscape artist who’s chosen to live here precisely … Read more
What is this we Dakotans hear about you folks wanting to move your football team to South Dakota [“Gopher Football: New Stadium or We’re Moving to Yankton!”, The Rake’s Progress, October]? Don’t we have a say in this? We don’t want your team. You may be having a good season but it will probably be … Read more
To avoid the static of a wool ski cap, I bought a black, small-brimmed fedora. My friends greeted me with “Hey mafioso!” An Italian friend of mine had the opposite reaction. “Hey Tex! Ciao Cowboy!” he said. Obviously, we have become a hat-illiterate society. John F. Kennedy wore a silk top hat to his presidential … Read more
It’s easy to be cynical about certain holiday traditions—especially the one where we’re expected to buy presents for a list that begins to read like the phone book. What’s more, we must stay ahead of increases in the cost-of-giving index by which we quietly measure ourselves each year. (What is the minimum expected for a … Read more
If Christmas marks the birth of Jesus, then you know who deserves most of the credit. As interest in Mary increases among the unwashed masses, the Church has more trouble trying to manage her image, her meaning, and her legacy. Anne and Joe were a typical couple. They married young and drove hard for success, … Read more
Last week, the whole office adjourned to the Walker to see the British TV advertising awards. It got me wondering, among other things, whether somewhere in Great Britain , there was a crowd of urbane hipsters gathering to see the American TV commercial awards. Probably not. Which is not to say that we can’t make … Read more
The American legal system and the parents of a certain Breck School senior took a pounding in the press and on talk radio last week. For the few of you who missed it, here is the story: Andrew Stanoch, a high school senior at Breck, was caught with a small amount of marijuana during the … Read more
Many readers write to ask about Rake contributor Jem Casey. He is modest, and unlikely to speak up for himself, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to answer a few questions that frequently come up. Under several different pen names, Jem Casey has written stories for magazines like the Oxford American, Ploughshares, the Prairie … Read more
Fritz Mondale said Wednesday that the effect of the tragedy on those closest to Wellstone didn’t justify the tone of his memorial service, “But we’ve all made mistakes. Can’t we find it in our hearts to forgive?” I certainly hope so—for a couple of reasons. First, how do we blame Rick Kahn for an electorate … Read more