LoTo Mojo

Song of the Day by The Hold Steady

2008-08-29T15:23:00.002-05:00

It's called "Slapped Actress" and is the last track on their new album. At first blush, the album does not stand up to the greatness of their last, but it certainly has 4 kickass songs, of which this is one. The rest of the record is just a little more dark and less sing-alongy, which isn't bad, but just isn't as fun to listen to as Boys and Girls in America. I'm sure it'll grow on me, though (except for maybe that harpsichord).

Here's "Slapped Actress"

Previously (and still) recommended songs:

David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (album)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - We Call Upon the Author
Pavement - Shady Lane plus more
New Pornographers - The Slow Descent into Alcoholism
Afghan Whigs - Debonair
Okkervil River - Okkervil River Song
Elf Power - Spiral Stairs
Sons & Daughters - Johnny Cash
Tom Waits - Ol' 55
Uncle Tupelo - Moonshiner
Spoon - The Underdog
Alpha Consumer - Unicorn Uniform
Replacements - I Will Dare

St. Paul: Where Minnesota Adventure Begins

2008-08-28T18:08:00.006-05:00

"It has been said that once you spend a day in St. Paul, you'll want to spend a lifetime."

Welcome visitors! Enjoy this cheesy promo vid from a city stuck in the middle who knows it has to try extra hard to gain your favor, but just don't heed the gentleman's advice and "walk into one of our great neighborhoods like Frogtown."

MST3K Lives!!

2008-08-27T22:01:00.002-05:00

During the Olympics, some viewers in Helena, MT were stunned to see the ol' MST3K crew of Joel, Tom Servo & Crow T. Robot show up on their screen. This blog has a pretty good recap with some more links and comments. Anybody else miss the likes of "Mitchell" and "Alien from L.A." being sent up by local comedic genius?

He's Handicapable

2008-08-26T18:44:00.000-05:00

Buckle Up, RNC Coming Soon

2008-08-25T19:22:00.002-05:00

As a resident of downtown St. Paul I'm curiously looking forward to the traffic restrictions, protesters, Republican politicos, concerts, block parties, PR stunts by hardcore left wing political rockers, and 4am bar times.

The Harriet Island concert is what I'm looking forward to most. Performing will be Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Lupe Fiasco, Tom Morello as Nightwatchman, Atmosphere, Mos Def and more. I expect to be there most of Labor Day.

And it looks like Denver is getting an early taste of the challenges of hosting a convention in the days of organization by internet where a FOX News team was roughed up a bit.

"Riot 4 Peace"? Seriously?

It's About Freakin' Time

2008-08-21T17:51:00.003-05:00

St. Paul finally steps up to the plate and offers a reasonable plan to allow bars to stay open until 4am for the RNC. Amazing how hard that was.

St. Paul bars can stay open til 4 a.m. ... for only $500
By Jason Hoppin
jhoppin@pioneerpress.com
Article Launched: 08/21/2008 12:01:00 AM CDT

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has reached a deal with the City Council to roll back the fee for bar owners to stay open until 4 a.m. during the Republican National Convention, his office says.
Under the plan, which is likely to be introduced at Wednesday's council meeting, bars that pay the $2,500 would be eligible for a $2,000 refund.
Several bar owners have complained about the fee, especially after Minneapolis rolled back its fee for private parties to $100. Public venues that plan to stay open during the convention, which runs from Sept. 1-4 at the Xcel Energy Center, are still being charged $2,500.
Other cities, including Eagan and Bloomington, are allowing bar owners to stay open until 4 a.m. without an extra fee.

MADD: Debate is Bad

2008-08-20T06:14:00.003-05:00

This was an interesting story yesterday. 100 college presidents suggested that, in light of the drinking culture in our society, we re-open the debate about the drinking age and consider the benefits and consequences of changing it.

College presidents live in a world with massive binge drinking amongst their students. Anbody who thinks this is the fault of college presidents is delusional. It is a mark of the state of our society.

But MADD sees debate as a bad thing, immediately bringing this suggestion down about 5 intellectual notches by replying that these presidents are completely reckless:

"It's very clear the 21-year-old drinking age will not be enforced at those campuses," said Laura Dean-Mooney, national president of MADD.

Huh? Are you serious? Sure, in the short-term more people drinking will probably lead to more drunk driving deaths. But that's an extremely simplified way to look at this problem. Why should drinking be legal at all, then? Think of the lives we could save by outlawing alcohol entirely! It sure worked back in the day.

C'mon, MADD. Why are you so afraid of open debate? Feel free to bring your statisticians and your sad stories of drunk driver induced deaths to the table. 100+ college presidents are willing to listen and discuss. Why aren't you?

Song of the Day by Byrne & Eno

2008-08-19T22:29:00.005-05:00

Legendary musicians David Byrne (Talking Heads) and Brian Eno (everybody) have collaborated on a terrific new album that is only available for purchase online. Take a listen...

Previously (and still) recommended songs:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - We Call Upon the Author
Pavement - Shady Lane plus more
New Pornographers - The Slow Descent into Alcoholism
Afghan Whigs - Debonair
Okkervil River - Okkervil River Song
Elf Power - Spiral Stairs
Sons & Daughters - Johnny Cash
Tom Waits - Ol' 55
Uncle Tupelo - Moonshiner
Spoon - The Underdog
Alpha Consumer - Unicorn Uniform
Replacements - I Will Dare

At the Cabin

2008-08-10T10:43:00.005-05:00

I drove up to the cabin Thursday evening and there's internet access up here now. I'm not really sure what I think about that, because here I sit on a glorious morning writing a blog entry instead of sitting down at the beach or something. But I guess it is pretty practical to have. It's nice to be able to check email and keep up on the news and not be completely disconnected.

And we did spend plenty of time outdoors the past couple days. Friday and Saturday each held a 35-mile bike ride, yesterday's split between Lake Itasca State Park and the Mi-Gi-Zi trail up at Cass Lake. There's a beautiful 15-mile one-way road loop at Itasca that is like a roller coaster and super fun to ride on. Mi-Gi-Zi was similarly enjoyable, winding and hilly and scenic.

It's NHRA drag racing weekend at BIR (Brainerd International Raceway) and you know what that means: great people watching! Yes, the rednecks are out in force and Mikko and I had quite a fun time at the bar last night. You've never seen so many sunglasses perched atop backwards baseball caps on goateed gentlemen indoors after dark.

Six Random Things

2008-08-04T20:24:00.000-05:00

Spirophita tagged me to write 6 random things about myself. Thanks for the tag. Here goes...

I'm a bar snob. Some people are super sensitive about how their hair looks or their car. Me, I'm super sensitive about the bar I'm drinking in. Atmosphere is extremely important and I can be a whiny bitch in a lame bar. My choices are generally (but not always, depending on my mood) outlined here.
I didn't really drink until I turned 21 and was in Japan for a month for school. It would have been rude of me to turn down the sake from my host father. I've made up for it since then, though. But I was a good kid. Quiet. Smart. Had my 4 or 5 really good friends but wasn't very social beyond that. I think there was actually a time (probably 7th gradeish) where I wore different MN Gopher shirts to school 3 or 4 days each week. Ouch.
I'd love to be an eco-architect, but am not sure if at this stage of my life I want to go to school for 3.5 years full time and then make half as much money as I'm making now for another 3 or 4. At any rate, I'd love to find me a career where I could make a comfortable living in a sustainable way.
I have seen the Supersuckers play live rock shows in Mpls, Seattle, Boston and Austin, TX. However, I haven't seen them in a few years and probably never will again. They were fantastic in their day, though.
I was mailed 2 recently published books, photo histories of Mpls and St. Paul, with the hope that I would favorably review them on this blog. I read through them both and they each had a few photos which made an impression on me, especially the ones along the river and Swede Hollow in the St. Paul book "Historic Photos of St. Paul". They might make a nice gift for someone of an older generation who could reminisce much more than I.
My car has been broken into 6 times. Every stereo stolen was a very average stereo, but the bass guitar stolen was a hamburglar gem.

1987 - Radio stolen from my Mom's Pontiac Safari station wagon when I had the family truckster at a Twins game (parked for free near the Cabooze)
1991 - Radio almost stolen from my 1980 Ford Fairmont Futura when I was a senior at St. Olaf. The security guy scared off the thief while they were in my car. They ran and dropped the pull-out radio. Remember pull-out car radios?
1995 - Stereo stolen from my 1995 Saturn when parked on Bryant Ave. while I was watching a movie at the Lagoon
1996 - Stereo stolen from my 1995 Saturn when parked in the lot on Selby next to the Cathedral and across the street from an old apartment.
2001 - Bass guitar stolen from trunk when parked in Mac-Groveland after that show at O'Gara's where I talked back to some annoying drunks in the crowd. Did they follow me?
2006 - Stereo stolen from my 1995 Saturn when parked in my supposedly secure parking ramp in Lowertown.

No Pain, No Gain?

2008-08-04T19:33:00.003-05:00

Ahh, the pain following the 100-minute run. It turns out Friday's run (eloquently described below) left me with one helluva pain in the leg. Tight hamstring. Sore left glute. Actually the whole left leg was tight and sore. Inflamed IT band? I don't really know what I did, but for the rest of the weekend it was extremely irritating and turned my nights into 45 minutes of tossing and turning, alternated with 30 minutes of sleeping (if ice was applied).

So I desperately called Theresa, my massage therapist friend this morning, hoping that she could help. I wasn't sure if I should try a doctor or a physical therapist or a massage therapist, but I figured she was a good place to start.

60 minutes of painful massaging later, I'm in pretty good shape. Not 100%, but hopeful to be able to sleep through the night.

100 Minute Run

2008-08-01T12:26:00.005-05:00

Ahh, the beauty of a Friday off. I went for a run this morning and intended to do the ol' Warner Road to Indian Mounds Park loop (about 6 miles), but decided to turn off on a path that I always thought just went to a parking lot for this DNR equipment storage location. It turns out that path kinda followed the river down near Pig's Eye Lake to Battle Creek park.

It ended up being one of those great runs where you go exploring, maybe get a little bit lost, but feel good the whole way and end up staying out longer than planned.

Last summer I was first introduced to the wonders of Battle Creek park when I was training with the Finn Sisu x-c ski group. So I was excited this morning to stumble into it from the back door. Two weekends in a row now I've had fun connecting the dots between some St. Paul landmarks. And it's probably been a couple years since I've been out for an hour and 40 minutes.

Everybody's Mad for Mad Men!

2008-07-31T23:32:00.004-05:00

Last season I started watching Mad Men early on and hung with it for most of the season. I really enjoyed watching the retro style and mannerisms like the vintage office furniture, three martini lunch, smoking in the office and slapping the secretary on the ass.

But that's all it had for me. All style and no substance. At its heart it is just another hour-long prime time drama/soap opera. Those shows are very popular with many people, but have never been my thing. There's something about that week to week dramatic story line that just doesn't draw me in.

It's not you. It's me.

p.s. Notice the tag below. To me, tv falls under "art".

Best Gin & Tonic

2008-07-31T23:20:00.005-05:00

According to Outside magazine, one of my favorite mags, the best G&T is made up of Plymouth gin, Q tonic, and half a lime. However, the commenter notes that Q tonic is not available in St. Paul, MN. Bummer.

I usually drink mine with Bombay Sapphire or Hendricks gin, but have never given much thought to the tonic.

My Balanced Life

2008-07-30T17:55:00.003-05:00

On my bike into work this morning I had an amazing run of luck with the stoplights. Westbound on Summit is downhill after Snelling, but there are many stoplights that normally impede my momentum. Today, however, I smoothed through all of them and was able to keep up a great pace onto the river road. It felt like the gods were smiling on me.

But that wasn't all. When I got to Riverside the same thing happened. There are a bunch of lights there, too, and normally I end up stopped at at least a couple of them, but not today. This was surely my day! Everything was going right and I could tell it was going to be a terrific day. These thoughts were actually running through my head, though only half-seriously.

Then I turned left off of Washington Ave downtown onto Portland. One block to 3rd street and I had another beautiful green light. Unfortunately, the pickup truck westbound on 3rd street must've thought he had nothing but green lights all day, too, because he had to stand on his brakes and screech his tires in order to avoid hitting me as he almost when through a solid red light. Missed me by a couple feet. I mumbled and grumbled as I biked the last few blocks to work, completely having forgotten my prior good green fortunes.

But that still wasn't all. This evening on the ride home going eastbound on Franklin through Seward some guy made a mid-block left turn right in front of me, never seeing me. He was going slow enough so I was able to stop, but it was then that I realized the tremendous balance of my day:

Good for the lights on Summit
Good for the lights on Riverside
Bad for the pickup truck that almost killed me
Bad for the piece-o-crap other car that almost killed me.

I guess I'm even.

Minnesota Bridges: What's Going On?

2008-07-27T01:32:00.005-05:00

What the heck is going on in MN with our bridges?

First there was the 35W collapse which has been well documented.
Then there was the deal in Duluth.
Then the problem in Stillwater.
Then the one in Moorhead last week.
And now on 35E at Maryland.

Addicted to Oil

2008-07-25T21:55:00.002-05:00

Good Thomas Friedman article in the Times the other day. Here's the link and a snippet:

What doesn’t the Bush crowd get? It’s this: We don’t have a “gasoline price problem.” We have an addiction problem. We are addicted to dirty fossil fuels, and this addiction is driving a whole set of toxic trends that are harming our nation and world in many different ways. It is intensifying global warming, creating runaway global demand for oil and gas, weakening our currency by shifting huge amounts of dollars abroad to pay for oil imports, widening “energy poverty” across Africa, destroying plants and animals at record rates and fostering ever-stronger petro-dictatorships in Iran, Russia and Venezuela.
When a person is addicted to crack cocaine, his problem is not that the price of crack is going up. His problem is what that crack addiction is doing to his whole body. The cure is not cheaper crack, which would only perpetuate the addiction and all the problems it is creating. The cure is to break the addiction.

What? No Dems?

2008-07-22T14:29:00.004-05:00

So the Strib is reporting that Michelle Bachmann wants more oil drilling in the USA in order to stem the rising tide of gas prices. Fine. Whatever. I think all my bicycling posts lend a hint to where I stand on the whole gasoline thing. But what disturbed me was the second paragraph (shown below).

My concern: How come only Republicans went for a tour of the energy sites in CO and AK? Were only Republicans invited? Do all Democrats have their minds so stubbornly made up that they don't want to learn more or ask challenging questions? You'd think all involved on the pro-oil side would want to convince the Democrats of the benefits of more oil, wouldn't you? Michelle Bachmann didn't need a trip to AK to be won over.

Last paragraph is pretty funny, too.

Rep. Michele Bachmann says the United States needs to tap its energy reserves and that only Congress is standing in the way of making a dent in rising fuel costs.

Bachmann, R-Minn., held a conference call today after returning from a tour of energy sites in Colorado and Alaska with other Republican members of Congress.

She says Congress should open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and allow for the expansion of oil exploration in other areas including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and off the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.

Bachmann predicts that if the U.S. more thoroughly taps its own energy sources, gas prices could be cut in half. Other energy experts have disputed that projection.

Song of the Day by Nick Cave

2008-07-20T16:49:00.003-05:00

I picked up the latest album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds last week and this song has been stuck in my head ever since. Looks like a great live show, too. Enjoy...

Nick Cave - We Call Upon the Author

Previously (and still) recommended songs:

Pavement - Shady Lane plus more
New Pornographers - The Slow Descent into Alcoholism
Afghan Whigs - Debonair
Okkervil River - Okkervil River Song
Elf Power - Spiral Stairs
Sons & Daughters - Johnny Cash
Tom Waits - Ol' 55
Uncle Tupelo - Moonshiner
Spoon - The Underdog
Alpha Consumer - Unicorn Uniform
Replacements - I Will Dare

Strip Club Review

2008-07-20T15:32:00.003-05:00

The Monument Club adjourned at the Strip Club in St. Paul last night and were very impressed. It seemed like the restaurant might have been a bit lightly staffed with the bartender also serving our table, but the food was tremendous. The highlights for me included the deviled eggs (seriously...I'm not a deviled egg guy and these were amazing), meat & cheese tray, and my NY strip steak (though I ended up scraping off most of the Mama Mia sauce -- this steak needs no extra flair). Others at the table raved about the scallops, cold seafood soup, rabbit & prime rib.

Check it out. It's located just off of East 7th just up the hill from downtown and it is also great to see a restaurant like that succeeding in that neighborhood. Hopefully it'll spark other new businesses in the area.

Only Good Bar in Boulder, CO

2008-07-19T00:16:00.006-05:00

It took a little searching and my companion, Big D, was getting tired of my attention to bar minutae, but as some of you know a good bar is hard to find.

Yesterday I asked the concierge at my Hotel & Spa where the best bar bar was in town. You know, a bar bar. A dark, most-likely long and skinny bar with a long bar down one side to which a gentleman can belly up and order a cold one (not Fat Tire). He told me of a couple places on Pearl Street which is the lame, over-touristed pedestrian mall with new brick buildings built to look old. I skeptically examined his two recommended joints last night and was quite disappointed. Even after examining the part of town near the university, I was still disappointed.

So I trucked D around town to bar after bar, decreeing each below my standards. What standards, you ask?

Quality Bar Standards

Be dimly lit
Primarily a bar, not a restaurant
Have quality music (i.e. stuff I like like Yo La Tengo & Whiskeytown)
Have an actual bar to which a gentleman can belly up
No string of branded major-label beer flags
Not a chain
Good, decent folks

So last night after dinner I was scoping out the town knowing that D and I would be looking for a quality establishment tonight. The one place that looked as if it has potential was called The Attic. It was an upstairs establishment and fit many of the above criteria: dimly lit, no beer flags, actual bar. But for the other two I was unpleased. Reggae music piped from the speakers and hippie trustafarian Boulder types hung out.

Tonight I reserved it as a last option, and then needed to pull it out. We got skunked at a number of joints, none of which D understood for he does not share my scruples for such things. We popped in The Attic only as a last resort, and when I heard The Verve wafting down the stairs my hopes rose. As we sat down I noticed that last night's trustafarians were replaced by regular folksy folk, and there was decent art on the walls (no beer flags). A hit! As we ordered a round of Left Hand Sawtooth beers and Yo La Tengo's "Tom Courtenay" began playing, I knew this was the place. Our waitress was cute, too.

Best Hockey Offseason?

2008-07-16T08:47:00.002-05:00

The Wild?

Whatever they put in the water in Columbus, I want some!

He apparently didn't take into account the goal scoring the Wild lost. Here's the full story.

Best offseasons

1. Chicago -- With all that "Youth Gone Wild" up front, the Blackhawks landed offensive-minded defenseman Brian Campbell and No. 1 goaltender Cristobal Huet to balance the attack. They could be the next Pittsburgh Penguins.

2. Detroit -- The Red Wings are so good, talent comes knocking on their door. Witness Marian Hossa taking a one-year deal to leave Sidney Crosby's wing and move to Motown. The Wings lost nobody except forward Dallas Drake (retired yesterday) and still have salary-cap room for the future to stay intact.

3. Minnesota -- Gained goal-scoring with Andrew Brunette and Owen Nolan and some offense from the back end, too, with Marc-Andre Bergeron and Marek Zidlicky.

4. Tampa Bay -- Koules may not know what he's doing -- Oren, these are guaranteed contracts -- but the dude can run a shopping spree. The Lightning added eight forwards and two defensemen and killed numerous trees with all the news releases.

5. Columbus -- The addition of Huselius, Umberger and Torres represents a solid step forward. Finally, the forwards are legit. If Tyutin is as good as management thinks, the blue line will be, too.

Bicycle Myths & Facts

2008-07-16T08:31:00.003-05:00

These are just a sampling of bicycling myths and facts from Roadguy blog in the Strib via the Mpls Police Dept:

MYTH: Bicyclists have to ride in the bike lane, or on a trail when provided.
FACT: Cyclists do not have to ride in a bike lane if it is not safe due to surface hazards and parked cars. Cyclists also do not have to ride on trails. Most Minneapolis trails have a speed limit of 10 mph. As a result, many bicyclists who want to travel faster use the road.

MYTH: Cars can drive as close as possible to a bike lane without entering it.
FACT: Passing cars must provide a minimum of three feet clearance from a bike at all times even when a bicyclist is in a designated bike lane.

MYTH: Bikes must use the street.
FACT: Cyclists may ride on sidewalks except in business districts or where posted. Studies have shown that it is often safer to ride on the street.

Boulder Bound

2008-07-16T08:25:00.007-05:00

I'm off to Boulder, CO today for the Lean & Green Summit for work. I've never been there before and am looking forward to it. I expect to have some time to get out and enjoy the city and environs. Alas, I am taking the work laptop along to keep up on emails and such, but at least I still get to go after all the recent cost-cutting announcements where I work. With this economy people just aren't buying financial services like normal. Go figure.

Can you recommend any hikes, bike rides, bars, restaurants or other in Boulder? Is $59 too much for the Mork & Mindy tour?

Song of the Day by Pavement

2008-07-10T21:13:00.007-05:00

Today's SOD features many terrific lyrics, the best of which is one of my all-time faves:

A redder shade of neck
on a whiter shade of trash

"Shady Lane" by Pavement

Heck! Let's make it a Pavement Rock Block,
Here's "Stereo"

"Spit on a Stranger"

"Major Leagues"

"...And Carrot Rope"

Previously (and still) recommended songs:

New Pornographers - The Slow Descent into Alcoholism
Afghan Whigs - Debonair
Okkervil River - Okkervil River Song
Elf Power - Spiral Stairs
Sons & Daughters - Johnny Cash
Tom Waits - Ol' 55
Uncle Tupelo - Moonshiner
Spoon - The Underdog
Alpha Consumer - Unicorn Uniform
Replacements - I Will Dare