Filed under: Minneapolis
So going back and doing a whole bunch of blog posts at once I realize how much art we see in a season. We’re lucky to live so close to so many good galleries. While we don’t go to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as often as we could, I always like to make the Bloom event – where local florists create beautiful arrangements to accompany the artwork. It’s one of my favorite art events of the year. I think Aine did a good job getting in the spirit of the pictures.
Filed under: Minneapolis
Since Patrick is gone I’ve become a little creative in childcare and going out schemes, which really means I try to find more family-friendly night time activities and I drag Aine. One such event was Futurity – a musical at the Walker. We walked in (8pm on a Friday) and Aine asks – Why are there no other kids here? I mean there aren’t even any 19 year olds.
Well, because she is much cooler than most kids and the reward was a very fun steam punk show. Here’s the description of the story from the website…
As the Civil War rages around him, Union soldier Julian Munro and Lord Byron’s brilliant daughter, Ada Lovelace, attempt to invent an omnipotent steam-powered brain designed to save humanity before it destroys itself. Featuring up-and-coming Brooklyn indie-rock band the Lisps, this quirky new music-theater piece melds traditional Americana, Brechtian choral elements, and avant-rock, resulting in a unique and compelling portrait of war, human imagination, and technological hubris.
Well I had at least a day and a night of playing hooky this spring. Billy and I went to a Twins game. I won the tickets – they were kind of fancy so that was fun. Beforehand we had some snacks at the Capitol Grille – so it’s always nice to combine fine food and sports. The twins lost – but that was OK. We had fun checking out the stadium.
My other skip day was a Summit Brewery Tour to celebrate Rick’s new job. It was fun to learn about the company. Unfortunately the tour part was cut pretty short as they were shipping or something else that meant we couldn’t hang out very long. But we did get free beer. And I got to sneak preview Summit Summer Ale, which I like!
We really had a gorgeous spring, which meant lots of good walking early and thankfully I still have one kid who will walk with me. Aine and I planned a day of walking. Out plan was to go to a Cash Mob up on Grand Avenue. I think it was probably about 2 mile away from the house – so that made for a good walk. For those not in the know – a cash mob is a reaction to the nefarious flash mobs (where people get organized to all run into a shop and wreak havoc). With a cash mob the idea is to get a group of people to patronize a local establishment at a given time. It’s kind of fun – although it seems like they pick some pricey places to visit. We went into a high end cooking sort of store, which doesn’t have a large appeal to either of us. But we were able to buy some tasty treats.
On the way up we ran into the Easter Bunny. That’s doesn’t happen every day.
After the cash mob, we dragged Patrick to The Walker for family day and to see the Reality show – OK I can’t really remember the name now – but the idea was everyday items in different scale. So we saw 3-story chairs and an 8-inch elevator. We also found a friend for Patrick. His comment on the picture – spot the State worker.
Filed under: St Paul
It’s catch-up time for the blog. We arrived in Dublin yesterday – but before I post anything on the Dublin trip I am making myself catch up on the last two months of posts. They will probably be brief.
Peeps – we did our traditional Peeps dioramas for Easter. And like last year, I left it too late for us to get into the Pioneer Press Competition. So we weren’t big winner – but it was fun and it was an excuse to eat Peeps earlier. We also took a trip to the Mall of America – where we visited the Peep Store. Well, we didn’t really visit – but we did at least get a picture.
Filed under: Minneapolis
Last night I attended the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information (COGI) John R Finnegan Freedom of Information Award ceremony at the downtown Minneapolis Public Library. COGI is a nonprofit organization of librarians, lawyers, journalists and information fans who strive to support access to government information. (I used to be involved with the group.) Named for John R Finnegan, former editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and recipient of the Heroes of the 50 States: The State Open Government Hall of Fame award for 2011 from the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Finnegan award has been awarded annually since 1989.
This year the award went to Matt Ehling founder of Public Record Media, producer of ground-breaking documentaries, such as Open Source, and creator of “Capitol Conversations”, a weekly live-streamed political talk show broadcast from the capital featuring lawmakers, political pundits, analysts and reporters.
Ehling gave a gracious speech, calling the award the Heisman Trophy of information awards as he shared his passion and views on government transparency. He spoke of how tools that promote government transparency, such as the Minnesota Data Practices Act serve to provide access to information to the general public, but they also support policymakers in their efforts to provide oversight and, finally, access to information provides a common ground for citizens and policymakers on all sides of an issue. Ehling cautioned that access to information was like a muscle – it will atrophy if unused. We need to keep MN Data Practices Act vibrant; we need more partners; we need to keep the idea of transparency alive for the next generation.
“Democracy’s a messy thing,” observed keynote speaker Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman, echoing Ehling’s call to action. She recounted her experience at the Republican National Convention in 2008 as an example of the power and impact of transparency, or, if not transparency, at least the power of getting information to the people. Talking about the RNC in the Twin Cities is a tricky proposition, because most of us have our own memories, but in a way, Goodman drew many of us closer, because I suspect most of us in the room were the people getting the information to more people in one way or another during the demonstrations.
A quick reminder: Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, all credentialed journalists from Democracy Now, were arrested at the RNC as they covered the demonstrations. Video of that arrest was the most-watched video on YouTube for the first two days of the RNC, which certainly facilitated their early release. The three went on to sue the St Paul and Minneapolis Police Departments and Secret Service for their treatment. They were awarded $100,000 and St Paul was required to develop a more appropriate protocol for handling First Amendment issues with the press and public in similar situations in the future.
Goodman borrowed from Woody Allen to say that 90 percent of life is showing up. It’s true for journalists; it’s also true for engaged citizens. She praised the independent media, the libraries, the dissenters. She told the story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, German Christians who published and distributed pamphlets during the Holocaust shining a light on what was happening in Nazi Germany. They risked their lives (and lost) in an effort to bring information to the people.
Goodman finished by reading from her latest book (Standing Up to the Madness); she chose a chapter called Librarians Unbound and a story of librarians who refused to share patron records with the FBI. It was perfect for the setting and amplified the heroic deeds performed by people who showed up and did the right thing in their quest for transparency and providing access to information.
Filed under: Minneapolis
This week a new club opened in Minneapolis –The Brick. It’s coporate owned. It’s moving into a town that has a lot of love (mostly) for the existing clubs, such as First Avenue. And in fact I have to say that First Avenue is bar none, the best club I have ever visited. After First Ave, we have a lot of good places around town that play a nice assortment of local and national bands. So maybe we don’t need a place like The Brick – but they got Jane’s Addiction for the opening night. So I wasn’t turning that down.
Billy and I went. We showed up about 5 minutes before Jane’s Addiction started to play (after a great meal at 112 Eatery) – and it turns out our timing was amazing – beucase apparently there had been a huge queue to get in if you were early – there were just a few people waiting when we got there. There wasn’t the best vibe in the world around the place. Tons of cops and security guards. Billy said it was nearly as bad as when Rage Against the Machine played during the RNC. And the security guards were dressed like every popular-yet-evil guy from any Molly Ringwald movie circa 1983. And I think there were frisking most people at the door – they looked at me and let me walk in. (I like this think it’s ‘casue I’m a girl; it might be because I’m old.)
But we get in and our timing is perfect – so we’re happy. But the place is super crowded. We go up to the top floor. Useless – I can see nothing. Billy can’t see much more. Billy suggests we try a monitor – but they too were from 1983 (super small) so we moved on. Second floor wasn’t much better. There balcony overlooks the stage – but it’s too deep. I bet the folks hanging off the balcony got a great view – everyone else, not so much.
So we head to the ground level. I kind of have to mention here – that the bars weren’t super impressive. We must have walked by a few – but they weren’t very appealing. Now we were focused on getting to a place where we could see – but we’re usually easily distracted by beer.
Anyways we finally sort of snake into the big crowd downstairs. We’re nowhere near the stage – but at least it finally feels like we’re at a concert. And actually we have plenty of space because we’re behind one of the many columns that seemed to wreck sight-lines all over the floor. The crowd was generally pretty happy – mostly 30-somethings would be my guess. But with all of the security, I think people were kind of looking for injustices too. And there was a least one couple that didn’t seem to realize that if you’re going to make out the whole time – courtesy dictates you find a wall!
The one thing that I didn’t love was the huge amount of secondhand smoke – not from cigarettes. I know I may be in the minority, but that’s not a value-add to a concert for me.
Jane’s Addiction was good. Who can resist Jane Says or Stop. They got everyone going – depsite the fact that even they could clearly feel the bad vibes. In fact at one point Perry Ferrel called out the bouncers – sugesting that if they didn’t stop the agro that they might haev a riot on their hands. (Probably not – again the crowd was 30+.) But I’m sure that management heard the call from the stage.
I could see the members of the band occasionally – when someone ducked down in front of me or someone on stage jumped. They did have the dancing girls on an upper part of the stage. So if you’re into dancing girls – you could see them. And Perry Ferrel is pretty theatrical so I could see some of the acty parts of the act. I’d say you’d be hurting if you were seeing a stand-and-play band (which is often the kind I like best).
We left not loving the place – but thinking it was a pretty good night. So imagine our delight when the complainers of the world united, took to the social media airwaves and scored everyone their money back!! (In fairness the tickets were $65/ea and there were a lot of issues.) The big question is – would I go back? I guess that depends on who is playing.
Filed under: St Paul
It’s been a funny winter. It’s February 1 with predicted temperatures in the 40’s! I think we’ve had 8 genuinely cold days all winter. So we were glad to get out and enjoy the Winter Carnival Ice Sculptures before they melted.
For readers outside of our area… St Paul has celebrated a winter carnival since 1886. It’s happens over the last week of January and first week of February. It is kind of a fun gage of weather. Like trick or treating, I can always remember the weather for Winter Carnival events. Last year it was cold and snowy. And while this winter has been warm, it was kind of chilly when we were looking at the sculpture – but I think that kept the crowds down – or rather moving. I suspect lots of people came to see the art – but hustled right through and didn’t linger.
We saw a few of the sculptures being made, which is always fun. The range of sawing tools, and melting tools and detailed tools and axes is kind of amazing. The sculptors generally appear to be dressed for the weather – in fact I’d like to know where the get some of that fleece – but it seems that inevitably there’s a time when you have to take off the gloves and use your hands. It’s cold work. But as the pictures demonstrate – it’s worth it. The hard thing is that the sculptures are particularly beautiful in the sun – but harder for me to capture on film.
Oh added extra bonus (for us) this year’s Winter Carnival was the Beer Dabbler – think outdoor wine tasting with great bands – except swap out the wine for beer.
Filed under: St Paul
Last year we went to the Red Bull Flutag – and I will give it to those guys – they know how to do it big! This year they have brought the Ice Crash Course to St Paul. The Ice Crash Course is 1300 feet of a downhill ice skating race track. It is hardcore. Aine and I went to check out the course this afternoon. I don’t’ know what I was expecting, but I completely forgot that Red Bull does things big.
The course starts at the Cathedral and winds down across Summit and down towards downtown. It is sheer ice. And it’s very steep in places (both going up and down) and there are a lot of intended bumps. In a million years I can’t understand why anyone would want to skate down it – but I’m now seriously tempted to go back to watch it!
Filed under: Minneapolis
I’ve been very negligent with updates but I did two fun things I wanted to post about today – first the Art Shanties. The Art Shanty Project is a collection of arty ice fishing houses. I don’t know the rules but it seem like you just have to have something that will last out on the lake. Some include ice fishing holes; many don’t. Some include heaters.
For folks outside Minnesota (or other cold parts), some people around here like to fish in the winter by drilling a hole in the ice of a frozen lake. They like it so much they have houses they can put around the hole. Some folks have huge mansion type ice fishing houses and they usually include heaters – because the ice is generally so thick around here by this time of year, it’s safe. This year has been unseasonably warm. It was 50 degrees earlier this week. So we were worried about the Art Shanties – but they got permission from the County to move forward. And on Wednesday it got cold. Today it was about 10 degrees when we were out there.
Due to the earlier warm weather, the shanties are much closer to shore than in the past, but that’s OK. There were a couple dozen I think. They are very cool (no pun intended)and the artists who create the shanties are generally pretty friendly and are happy to tell you about their project and they might even have an interactive component to the shanty. Here are a few brief descriptions of some of the shanties:
- Basketball Shanty – has a baseball hoop set up with bleachers and a score board outside the shanty. Inside the shanty is a locker room with the smallest lockers I’ve ever seen. The artists bought them on eBay and apparently they were in a school. The only graffiti we saw said “ACE ‘79”. The artists thought that it was probably a kid named Ace. I pointed out it could be an Ace Frehley fan.
- Robot Reprise – giant robot – think transformer in looks – shoots rocket-like fireworks. Need I say more?
- Reflection Shanty – include a glass wall (well not glass, but transparent and very clear/clean wall) and a few mirrored walls. Very calm – beautiful view of the frozen lake.
- Fort Shanty – don’t think army. Think card table and all of the blankets in your house – plus a few cubbies.
- ICE-Cycles Shanty – ride a bike around the like! Include at least one bike with an ice skate for a wheel.
- Nordic Village Bridge – bill goat clothing for you, a bridge, a troll – be sure to have a fast answer to get by is all I can say.
- Camera Head: Invert Your World – very cool idea where they have head-mounted camera obscura. Look through and see everything upside down. (Cemented lessons we learned about camera obscura in Scotland.)
- Monsters Under The Bed Shanty – very cute inside and out, inhabitants are monsters. They asked Aine to give a monster description to their sketch artist.
- SitandSpinShanty – This has to be a crowd favorite. It looks like an ornate egg. You go into it and it’s like the tilt-a-whirl. You turn the wheel, it spins. The artists mentioned that it took a lot longer than they expected, but it’s cool. I took a quick video from inside, which I actually wish was longer – and I rarely wish that.
- Letterpress Shanty – another cool one. They have a working letterpress and will be creating a newsletter/newspaper each day based on Tweets they receive online and pen and paper Tweet on site. Aine and I each made a postcard. It’s very cool to see how the presses work – and amazing to think what was involved in spreading the news back when they used them.
