Read my City Pages cover story on the Hollywood odyssey of St. Paul native Michael Bodnarchek (above, with Hillary Clinton), who helped launch A Band Apart with Lawrence Bender and Quentin Tarantino before that arrangement imploded. Below are more photos from Bodnarchek's personal album (the dark one, says Bodnarchek, is Lars from Metallica jumping through a window during a video shoot).

Speaking of trips, I just realized that in the past two years, besides a dozen or so drives to Northern Minnesota and Madison (Wisconsin), I've been to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Duluth, Moorhead, Seattle, Chicago, Kansas City (Missouri), Milwaukee, Detroit, New York City, New Orleans, Memphis, St. Petersburg (Florida), Costa Rica, and, soon, Las Vegas. Friends and family have a way of shrinking the world. I miss you all and hope to get in touch with you soon.

Out in Seattle for my best friend's wedding the other week, I ran into Mark Baumgarten. This is for him: One of the first cartoons I put on this blog (click on it for a larger image), and one of the first he liked:

Recently posted elsewhere:

Reservoir Dog Days: The True Hollywood Story of A Band Apart Co-Founder Michael Bodnarchek (City Pages 10/10/07), News briefs: Sell no boxed wine before its time (City Pages 10/10/07), A more local B96? (CPCulture.com 10/5/07), News briefs: Last chance for the Church (9/26/07), previous roundup.