June 10, 2007 - June 16, 2007

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6/15 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

We're adding new articles like DVD and game reviews every day. Use our Recent Article RSS feed to check for new content:

THESE DAYS

A study in which teetotal Spanish nuns drank a regular half-liter of beer showed that beer may help reduce cholesterol levels.

The owners of a "condom bar" in India want to raise awareness about safe sex in a country where millions of people are HIV-positive but attitude towards sex is conservative.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

The LocalMN Blog is designed to show local businesses how they can use the internet to get customers through their door.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

True stories, told in one sentence

The Tattoo Back Generator

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

It's all I've ever done since I was a teenager. People thought I was a wonderful clown. I won awards. And now everybody's abandoned me."

— Suffolk, Virginia, resident Manuela Markham, aka Spunky the Clown, who was arrested May 6 and charged with attempting to smuggle marijuana to an inmate at the Greensville Correctional Center

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 15, 2007 6:39 AM | Comments (0)

 

6/14 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Download free MP3s from local artists such as FLock of Doug, Askeleton, Hockey Night, Brother Ali, Tim Rally Gold, and more at Music To Go.

THESE DAYS

Church of England officials will send a letter to Sony demanding an apology over the use of Manchester Cathedral as a backdrop for a violent computer game.

Officials in Inner Mongolia say they have established a living barrier of trees, grass and shrubs wide enough to hold back the Gobi desert and to curb the sandstorms blowing over northeast Asia and hitting the United States.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Bandini blogs about winning the Iraq war with clowns, apartment fire poetry, and the wonder that is Angela Lansbury at Falling Chair.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Who's "My Generation" performed by senior citizens

An anti-smoking PSA starring R2-D2 and C-3PO

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"We are aware that the decision to place Google at the bottom of the ranking is likely to be controversial. But, throughout our research we have found numerous deficiencies and hostilities in Google's approach to privacy that go well beyond those of other organizations."

— Privacy International, a British human rights advocacy group, in a report citing Google as having the most abysmal privacy policies and leading a "race to the bottom" by the world's most renowned Internet firms

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 14, 2007 6:42 AM | Comments (0)

 

Convenience stores become the latest casualties in the war on drugs

Filed under: Crime

The sidewalk in front of Wafana's, a convenience store on Lyndale Avenue and North 24th Street, was for years known as a place to score all manner of illegal drugs. But last November, in a crackdown on troublemaking corner stores, the city finally forced Wafana's to close.

So far, eight stores have gotten the ax, reports Grant Wilson, business license manager for the city. "These are places people don't feel safe walking by," he says. The new get-tough policy, he asserts, has been "a great success. Some stores changed their behavior to cooperate with police. In other cases we had to revoke licenses."

Joan, a longtime neighbor of Wafana's who asked that her last name not be used, applauds its demise. She says she used to call the cops five times a day complaining of drug dealing in front of the store. "I didn't have to give an address to 911," she recalls. "All I had to do was say 'Wafana's.' And I'm calling from a cell."

While she appreciates the now-quiet sidewalk in front of the empty storefront, the peace is not total: The drug dealers, she says, have found a new spot a couple blocks away.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at June 13, 2007 11:03 AM | Comments (1)

 

Is Johan Santana one of the best pitchers ever?

Filed under: City Pages

In this week's cover story, The Art of Deception, G.R. Anderson Jr. profiles Twins pitcher Johan Santana, a two-time Cy Young Award winner bucking for a third. An excerpt: "Even Santana's rivals speak admiringly of his arm. C.C. Sabathia, the Cleveland Indians star pitcher—and one of Santana's competitors for the Cy Young award this year—isn't afraid to bow down. 'He's the top,' Sabathia says. Present company excluded? 'No, he's better,' Sabathia confesses, a rare moment of real humility from a professional athlete. That's heady praise for a player who five years ago was an unknown commodity. Raised in a remote town in the Andes Mountains, Santana was plucked from obscurity. But through what Twins general manager Terry Ryan calls 'coachability,' Santana transformed himself into one of baseball's best pitchers." Is he the best ever? Check out the story, then come back to join the conversation.

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 13, 2007 8:29 AM | Comments (3)

 

6/13 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Rob Nelson interviews horror scholar Adam Lowenstein about the broader themes in movies such as Hostel Part II at Culture To Go.

Peter Schilling Jr. commends Justin Verlander, who threw a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers last night. Get the low-down at Balls.

Download free MP3s from local artists such as Flock of Doug, Askeleton, Hockey Night, Brother Ali, Tim Rally Gold, and more at Music To Go.

THESE DAYS

Large doses of vitamin D may reduce the risk of cancer, according to a four-year study published on Friday involving nearly 1,200 women over the age of 55 in rural Nebraska.

Europe's seas are in serious decline from coastal development, overuse of fertilizers, chemical pollution and over-fishing, and over the next 20 to 30 years will deteriorate further unless action is taken.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

A group of Minnesotans studying energy policy blog about climate change, alternative sources of energy, and the environmental policies of big business at Energista.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The ugly mailbox blog

Ron Jeremy's filmography if he had played the banjo instead of having anal sex

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"My dog is racist. Not me."

— a Belgian businessman, rejecting a Nigerian job applicant arriving at the Belgian's business and confronted by a barking dog

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 13, 2007 1:04 AM | Comments (0)

 

Budget blues

Filed under: St. Paul

The City of St. Paul is facing a projected $15.8 million budget shortfall for 2008. Solving the fiscal puzzle will not be easy. For instance it would require a 25 percent increase in property taxes to close the gap in the city's general fund. What's more roughly two thirds of that money is slated to pay for police and fire services--not an area that politicians are usually eager to cut.

City finance director Matt Smith lays out the grim news in a nifty new video (complete with really strained metaphor about a swimmer being attacked by LGA cuts!) posted on the city's web site.

Municipal finance geeks can also try their hand at solving the city's fiscal woes by utilizing the city's "Budget Cruncher." The gizmo is making an encore peformance after last year's budgetary difficulties. Personally I'm waiting for the Wii version.

Posted by Paul Demko at June 12, 2007 4:05 PM | Comments (0)

 

Former Strib publisher contemplates online journalism project

Filed under: Media

Newspapers are dying. That's been the inevitable conclusion in recent years as papers across the country watch profits plummet and readership decline. The Star Tribune's announcement that it's shedding 50 jobs from its newsroom, including some of the newspaper's most high profile bylines, is only the most recent grim harbinger.

But Joel Kramer senses opportunity in the bloodletting. Kramer formerly worked as both editor and publisher of the Star Tribune. Since stepping down from the latter post in 1998, he's taught at the University of Minnesota, dabbled in politics, and founded a think tank called Growth & Justice. He's now contemplating the creation of a start-up newspaper—albeit one that would likely be restricted to the Internet.

"Watching the rapid deterioration of the business model of the major metro paper prompted me to think about it and also prompted lots of people to call me," Kramer says. "The need is there because the metro model is declining fast. The opportunity is there from the point of view of available people. That's all I can say for now."

Posted by Paul Demko at June 12, 2007 12:23 PM | Comments (2)

 

6/12 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Steve Monaco gives up the lowdown on Cop Hater from 1958, starring Robert Loggia and Vincent Gardenia at Couch Pundit. The picture of a young Jerry Orbach is priceless.

The City Pages Media Taster lets you actually hear the great music you read about in City Pages—just launch, click, and listen. Simply download the Media Taster and you'll automatically receive a digital mixtape of music on a semi-regular basis (including free MP3s), legal and free of charge. A new taster has been posted today!

THESE DAYS

A Dutch smoking ban will come into force in July next year for all restaurants and cafes—including coffee shops where cannabis is the top attraction, the government decided on Friday.

Authorities in India are to investigate claims by terrified villagers that "bigfoot"-type hairy giants are roaming the jungles of the remote northeast, a local official said.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Max Sparber, Steve McPherson, Courtney Mault, Nancy Sartor, and Sailor Martin review liquor, offer drink recipes, and recall favorite drinking games at the Bottle Gang: The Twin Cities' Guide to Sophisticated Drinking.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Hot Chicks with Douchebags blog

Will Smith plays a scientist who's the last human survivor in New York City after a viral epidemic in I Am Legend.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"You're Van Gogh. You're Modigliani. That's who you are."

— Andy Garcia, honoring his Godfather: Part III and Ocean's Thirteen co-star Al Pacino, who recently received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 12, 2007 6:37 AM | Comments (0)

 

No so Minn-esota nice

Filed under: Minneapolis

When he was a Minneapolis City Council member, Steve Minn was never afraid to take on the bureaucracy of the city or the perceived hypocrisy of his own colleagues. In the years since, as Minn has become a prominent developer around town, he's still fighting City Hall.

For more than six months, Minn's latest battle has been over a project called Pacific Flats, which at various times has called for condos, a hotel, or retail as high as 28 stories on what's referred to as the "Monte Carlo block"—after the downtown restaurant on Washington Avenue North. In December, the city's Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) raised several questions about the project's design and scope within the historic Warehouse District. Since then, Minn's been quietly fuming.

Or perhaps not so quietly. "After getting my chain yanked by the HPC yet again, I blew up and threw a fit," Minn says in an e-mail to Blotter, forwarding correspondence between him and Lee Sheehy, the city's director of Community Planning and Economic development. "Well, read it and laugh."

Sheehy takes issue with Minn's behavior at a preservation commission meeting last month. "We received direct and indirect reports... that you continued to speak loudly without being formally recognized by the chair, shouted an expletive and threat and kicked the door on your way out of the chambers," Sheehy wrote to Minn. "This behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable."

Minn's response: "To the charges that I: 1) Spoke loudly without formal recognition by the Acting HPC chair; 2) Shouted an expletive at staff member Jack Byers; 3) threatened court action against Mr. Byers; and 4) Hit the door of the council chambers with my hand on the way out, I plead guilty. But then again, the HPC is functioning like a Kangaroo Court anyway, so a few little antics should fit right in with the rest of HPC's 'performance.'"

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at June 11, 2007 2:45 PM | Comments (0)

 

Visual Plagiarism

Filed under: Media

Vita.mn, like most faux-alternative weeklies produced by dailies, tries desperately to be hip. But creativity is not its strong suit: most issues feature re-packaged content from the Strib's Source section, seasoned with a few cringe-worthy stabs at edginess.

This week's edition is no exception. Look no further than the cover story: "Sex al fresco," a paean to making whoopee in the great outdoors. After reminding us that Minnesota is cold in the winter time, author Alexis McKinnis finally gets to the point: "So is it any surprise than an unscientific poll of Vita.mn readers revealed that we also like to have sex outside? Of course not."

While the prose feels about as creative as the missionary position, the cover is an even worse example of phoning it in. Although the painting of ladybugs humping at first seems clever, if you plug the headline—"Summer Love"—into Google, you'll find the artist's obvious inspiration: a photograph of ladybugs humping posted on flickr.com, under the name—wait for it—"Summer love!"

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 11, 2007 10:22 AM | Comments (25)

 

6/11 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Steve Monaco has the newest Monday Movie Quiz posted at Couch Pundit.

Peter Schilling Jr. appears flummoxed about the Twins' loss to the Washington Nationals over the weekend. Read the screed at Balls.

We're adding new articles like DVD and game reviews every day. Use our Recent Article RSS feed to check for new content:

THESE DAYS

The man who plays Adam in a video aired at the Bible-based creationist museum also has a website called Bedroom Acrobat that features explicit stories and photos.

The Olympic Games have displaced more than two million people in the last 20 years.

Poland's 1,200 troops assigned to NATO forces in Afghanistan will not achieve full combat readiness for up to several weeks due to stolen vehicle keys, the defense ministry said.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Former Hüsker Dü singer/guitarist Bob Mould blogs about his latest work, hitting Coachella, and working the grill at Boblog.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

For the past 65 years, the BBC has been asking notable figures which eight records they would take with them to a desert island at Desert Island Discs.

Boxing cats

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I do see a resemblance, particularly the left eyebrow."

— Rosemont village spokesman Gary Mack, on a sycamore tree outside a health club that supposedly resembles the recently-deceased mayor of the Chicago suburb

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 11, 2007 6:31 AM | Comments (0)

 

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