The people in this photo were impressed by The Rake’s depth and breadth of subject matter. Some of them are Twin Citians on vacation; two spend their time now between Tucson and Puerto Vallarta (the Rake began publishing after they left Minnesota, and they have enjoyed their copies so much they are passing them on […]
A Clip Job
November 13, 2007 by
I don’t save many magazine articles anymore (I filled up too many file cabinets that way while working as an Utne Reader editor), but I intend to save Jeannine Ouellette’s very fine feature on the death of the American imagination from the November 2007 Rake. This is the kind of sweeping, thorough thought piece that […]
Brain Drain
November 13, 2007 by
Jeannine Ouellette’s puzzling article [“The Death & Life of American Imagination”] seems to cite the regimentation of children’s lives and the role of technology as a threat to the development of imagination. As a girl in the ’50s and ’60s, I faced far more restrictions to my imagination and free play than any kid today. […]
Tripping the Road Fantastic
November 10, 2007 by
Soon you may be heading off on a thanksgiving vacation. The trip may be short or it may be long. Unless your relations live next door, however, you will have to make that journey in an automobile. These days that will likely mean a minivan or small European "touring wagon" (which Chrysler attempted to call […]
Death of the Imagination: Exhibit A
November 5, 2007 by
I was going to comment on the recent article on American Imagination ["The Death & Life of American Imagination"], but I just couldn’t think of anything to say. Author(s) and Location: Jeff Miletich, Columbia Heights Letter Type: Letter of the Month
The Greatest Threat to the Imagination
November 3, 2007 by
Jeannine Ouellette‘s puzzling article seems to cite the regimentation of children’s lives and the role of technology as a threat to the development of imagination. As a girl in the ’50s and ’60s, I faced far more restrictions to my imagination and free play than any kid today. But the greatest threat to imagination goes […]
The Death and Life of American Imagination
October 16, 2007 by
In February 1953, a violent North Sea storm crashed through the Dutch levee system, killing 1,835 people and leaving a hundred thousand others homeless. In the aftermath, the country responded by building the Delta Works, the world’s most sophisticated system of flood defenses. According to John McQuaid, a reporter for Mother Jones on assignment in […]
The Genie and His Decorative Light-Diffusing Novelty Lamp
September 25, 2006 by
For a guy who spends all year thinking about Halloween, Will Niskanen could hardly be described as scary. Slight and soft-spoken, dressed in khakis and brown loafers, and exhibiting the good manners of a Boy Scout, Niskanen greets me at one of his favorite haunts, Mill City Cafe, pulling out a chair and offering to […]