Huge weekend in music, with the debut of Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes' new project at the 400 Bar, the return of DJ ESP (Woody McBride) at the Foundation Nightclub, and more. Peep the reviews and photos in Over the Weekend.
My Top 10 albums of the year are listed here, and this BoC post links to other local lists.
The Vikings are dead. Long live the Vikings. Eric Refsland caps off the season by blogging the final, playoff-eliminating defeat of the year.
BRAIN CANDY
This secret attack ad prepared by the John McCain campaign for potential use against Mitt Romney is interesting -- even more so when you discover that the people who produced the ad left McCain to go work for Romney. Those Iowa caucuses are just around the corner, folks.
We take you into the long weekend with a sprinkling of news, a dash of sports, and a metric ton of music.
DAILY DISH: WHAT'S NEW AROUND THE SITE
The action starts at Culture to Go, where we have matters musical to discuss. In celebration of Auld Lang Syne, I invite you to check out Five Songs About The New Year, an eclectic mix organized around a unified theme. All the songs are fun, and some you might not expect.
Additionally, my top 10 albums of the year post is done, and is scheduled to go up at noon.
On the Blotter, Jonathan Kaminsky's latest offers an amusing "dumbest criminals" type story, and finishes with what many would consider to be words to live by.
Briefly, on the sports blog, I offer a post detailing Jeff Pearlman's repudiation of "real man" rhetoric. Every time I look at the title of the post (and consider its relation to Peter Warrick), the song "Word Association" by 7L + Esoteric runs through my head. It has a line about Applebee's, you see.
Oh, and word on the street is to expect a Top 10 Moments posts on the sports blog soon, too.
BRAIN CANDY
Previously, I mentioned that my favorite discs of 2007 would be going up later today. Until then, check out a few other lists ...
I really like this list by local poet and rapper El Guante, a guy who shares my antipathy for the notion that any list can really constitute The Best Of All Music Produced This Year. But it's still a fun read, and has some stuff I agree with along with some perspectives I don't share, which is the best type to read.
Having expressed my antipathy for the totalizing list, they sure are fun, aren't they? Here's The Current's lists, and Steve Seel's list made me sit back and say "hmm, you know, I really did like St. Vincent and John Vanderslice this year ..." No, they didn't make my final cut, but quality stuff nonetheless.
Residents of St. Paul "show evidence of stable or increased literate behaviors, be it reading newspapers or magazines, going online, library use, or buying books from a local bookstore," according to researcher Jack Miller. In this, St. Paul bucks a disturbing nationwide trend -- it's the only city nationwide where Sunday newspaper circulation has increased per capita.
The rankings are based on several metrics within six categories, including "newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment and Internet resources." Last year's literacy champion, Seattle, slipped to second.
Verily, I think I speak for all us learned and sagacious denizens of these dual metropolises when I say: Suck it, Seattle. I hereby challenge Seattle Weekly's talented and debonair web editor, Chris Kornelis, to a read-off. Alternative weeklies at 10 paces.
On a recent Friday night, Andrew St. Michel was speeding through Brooklyn Center on I-94 when Sgt. Dan Beasley, a state trooper, pulled him over. According to a criminal complaint, when Beasley approached St. Michel's window, the 23-year-old driver explained that he was in a hurry to pick up his young son. After noticing St. Michel's telltale bloodshot and watery eyes, Beasley opened St. Michel's door and told him to get out the car.
Since it's Thursday, that means I'm going to be on the radio with Stephanie and Meredith at 107.1 FM. I'll be on in the 2 o'clock hour, talking about the weekend's events -- which today we're expanding to local New Year's Eve parties. I have my own ideas, but if you have a suggestion, ship it here.
Yes, it is what you think, and yes, the police got involved.
Children of the 1980s rejoice: you can buy the original Knight Rider car! Notice I didn't say "KITT." After reading the grisly fate associated with its owner, I think fans of the series will agree with me that this has to be KARR in disguise.
Whale shark populations are growing in Australia! This is terrific news, and apparently a sign that ecotourism is working. I'm excited by this not only for environmental reasons, but because I've been diving a few times with these gentle giants, and it's not an experience I'm ever going to forget.
This paragraph sparked a memory:
"Although the sharks are enormous creatures with 6,000 teeth, they're relatively peaceful fish that feed by simply opening their mouths. Finely meshed gill-rakers keep prey in while filtering water out. The only real danger to humans is an accidental slap from the shark's gigantic tail. Such a hit could probably knock a diver out cold."
This reminded of the time in Okinawa when, distracted by the process of taking underwater video, I did get whacked by a whale shark's tail. If you're curious, the whole story (with photos and video) is on my old blog.
And don't worry, it was just a gentle bump. Obviously, I'm still here. But you can actually see the impact of the bump as it happens toward the end of this video.
Craving more after you read our feature about Diablo Cody? We have a couple of online-only bits about Hollywood's hottest screenwriter available now.
First, peruse a slideshow gallery with a bunch of terrific photos (and notes from the shoot!) by Nick Vlcek. Hear an excerpt from Matthew Smith's interview with Diablo, as she reflects on her time at City Pages, here (MP3).
If you're just trudging back into work after the holiday -- I'm truly sorry. Would that you were reading us from home, in your footy pajamas. Whether you're comfortably starting the day in your breakfast nook or grumbling as you plop down into your chair at the historic Designers Guild Building wherever it is you happen to work, here's a summary of what you've missed.
DAILY DISH: WHAT'S NEW AROUND THE SITE
From the issue itself, there's a new in-depth interview with Diablo Cody by Matthew Smith, along with some enhanced web content I'll post about in a second.
More disconcerting law enforcement news, as Jeff Severns Guntzel tells the story of a crime that left cops without the resources to pursue it vigorously.
Our Year in Review series continues with the Top Movies of 2K7, as selected by our esteemed critics.
The latest from Culture To Go: I identify 10 Songs About Christmas that you should hear if you haven't, and should hear again if you have. The most recent Over the Weekend highlights the Soul Asylum show and some wintry good times around town(s).
... because today is Christmas, the online version of the paper will be going up tomorrow morning instead of this evening. I promise, as Janet Jackson once sang-whispered, it'll be worth the wait.
The feature is excellent -- as a hint, it covers someone whose name is a synonym for "devil" -- and includes a few web-only features, including pictures you can't find anywhere else. So there's that.
In other news, apparently those mythical individuals fighting the War on Christmas have failed once again, as the day is here. Enjoy presents, feasting and togetherness, and tomorrow you can all huddle around the warm glow of the monitor and read the issue together. As a family.
If you insist on hitting F5 incessantly to check the latest blog updates, well, I won't stop you, and in fact may want to have your babies all the more. As I hope you've come to expect, we've got fresh stuff today, with more coming in the afternoon.
The "Five Songs About ..." series on Culture to Go doubled in size for Christmas. You get 10, 10, 10 Christmas songs (and videos, where possible) for your holiday perusal. It went live at 12:01 this morning, coming down the series of tubes as if it were a chimney, and the post a present.
I loves me a cuddly bear. If it's a choice between backing a bear or backing Tim Pawlenty, well, good luck to you, Governor sir, and I hope those raw meat boxer shorts fit. I'll make popcorn.
Hence it was with delight that I read that Solo-the-sorta-tame-black-bear would be spared, and surprised to learn that it was ol' Gov. Pawlenty that was responsible. Unless the wildlife in question is a turkey around Thanksgiving, I reasoned such a pardon would be more an agency matter. But if the Strib says it's the Guv's call in the opening paragraph, then surely it's true. Right?
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