New Years Wish.....

Well the end of the year is here. It is a time to look back and remember the past 365 days. Through my eyes, I can say with confidence, what a year it has been! This past year I have had the opportunity to experience more, see more, taste more, and most importantly live more. For me to distinguish what the"best" was, is hard question to answer. I just remember that I enjoyed everything that I experienced and every experience was unique.

At last count I went to about 60 different performances ranging from local bands to professional dance companies. In addition to attended several major events ranging from family or friend gatherings to marathons to food tasting benefits. Oh and I can't forget all the different restaurants that were visited to taste their different foods...yum.

For me to look back...I feel that the underlining theme of 2007, is to live life well. I have learned that to enjoy life you just have to have the right attitude, relish in the small pleasures, and enjoy the people around you. This past year I didn't travel to the far ends of the earth or spend crazy amounts of money to attend lavish events. But what I did do was attend many activities that were cheap or free, with in a 100 mile radius of Saint Paul, and continued to build a better relationship with loved ones.

My plan for 2008 is to use the past year as a spring board and not a hammock. I want to continue do more, learn more, experience more, love more, and most importantly live more.

Until our paths cross, I wish everyone hope, health, and happiness. Make the upcoming year the best year of your life.

Holiday Weekend...

It was a great weekend! My parents came down to visit, as well as to attend the the musical, "Don't hug me on Christmas."
First things first....the logistics. My parents stayed in the Hilton in downtown Minneapolis (I always forget that there are nice motels here in town.) It was the typical upscale motel in a great location (with even a beautiful fitness center).
We went to Masa to eat dinner. This was my first time there...my thoughts were that it is a very beautiful, contemporary style restaurant that has great service with average food. (Would I go there again....yes). While we were eating we were able to watch portions of the holidazzle parade that was taking place outside.
Off to the musical..."Don't hug me on Christmas" was being performed in the Hennipen Stages Theater. This was a night of firsts because I had never been to this venue. It was very intimate setting with about 200 seats and a small stage in the front for the performers. The premise of the musical is this....it takes place in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota, on Christmas Eve. Cantankerous bar owner Gunner Johnson gets in an argument with his wife, Clara, tells her he's skipping Christmas, storms out, goes snowmobiling across the lake, falls through the ice on his skidoo and goes into a coma. He then comes back in his dream where he's visited by the folk legend, Sven Yorgensen, who plays the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. Sven takes Gunner (Scrooge) on a journey similar to that in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
It was a fun filled show with plenty of slapstick humor to put you in a good mood. If you haven't seen it I would recommend it, especially if you are not a fan of the traditional Christmas shows.

Triple Threat....

Well were to begin....there has been alot going on in the past few days. The activities began on Thursday, we went to the Taste of the Cultures sponsored by Cub Foods. It was held at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Saint Paul. The venue was a typical motel ballroom, with great views of Kellogg Park (very pretty with the x-mas lights on the trees). The room itself had the different food booths along the perimeter and in the center a stage were different cultural performances were taking place thru-out the evening.


The food samples being handed out, tasted good, and covered all the different continents. My favorite was a suprise....Russian.....prepared by the Moscow on the Hill restaurant. It was a chicken blini (ground chicken with spices wrapped in a crepe) served warm. Beautiful!!! I think I ate 4 of them. Of the rest of the food samples there was nothing out of the ordinary nor was there anything that made my palate remember it later on.


Friday night...Tracy's Holiday Party for work was held at the Varsity Club in Dinkytown. It was a great time! For starters the venue happened to be my favorite place to see a show and I was excited to see how it would be decorated and laid out for a non-musical event. After first glance, I wasn't disappointed, it was decorated with the typical holiday decor, but in a formal, quirky way (nice job!). They also had an old fashion photo booth that we were able to take several pictures in (see left). I thought that was an innovative way to remember the evening and event, I am sure that it was a crowd favorite.



The food options available were "heavy" appetizers that were catered by The Loring Pasta Bar (average). The entertainment was a cover band named Orange Whip, I was surprised by them. They had a nice sound and covered alot of different musical bases. All in all it was a fun time and it was nice to meet some of Tracy's co-workers. Thanks Weber Shandwick!

Sunday....British Commercials....Thanks to Tracy's parents they invited us to the Walker Art Center to watch the commercials. My take on the commercials were that they were not all that funny, as I first thought before the showing. (Of course there were a few, but nothing different then watching the half time show during the superbowl. ) But I thought that the majority of the commercials were more serious in nature. The type that may cause a smile or chuckle now and then. I was also surprised by the length. Many of the commercials were more of a short film about a product they were advertising. Very well directed and performed.
My final though was that I enjoyed how brutally honest they were. In particular, one about anorexia, or driving a gas guzzler vehicle or another about the repercussions of drunk driving and the people it effects. They leave nothing for the imagination. Well done.

Zenon...

Last Saturday night Tracy and I went to the Zenon Dance Company's fall show, which was held at the Guthrie. Before I give my thoughts about the show, if you haven't gone to the new Guthrie yet, you need to put it on your list of things to do. Pretty Cool.

Back to Zenon. This is going to be quick and easy....it was great. They performed 5 pieces, of the 5, I really enjoyed 3 of them. They were very artistically done, professionally choreographed, and beautifully performed. The 2 that I didn't enjoy were pieces, in my opinion, done for the masses. They would be something that you might have seen on TV...Pretty forgettable.

None the less. It was a great performance. I was able to see some good friends and enjoy the Guthrie Theater.

First Snow!!!!

...."It has arrived," she said. I agreed with the woman I crossed paths with this morning, while on a walk. As I walked in the opposite direction, I chucked to myself about the "it has arrived" comment. It is almost as if the apocalypse had started or that chicken little was right and the sky did fall. No matter how you look at it. The first snow fall of the year is here.

I enjoy the snow and everything it brings. The holidays, skiing, colder weather, ice fishing and maybe the most important a reminder to slow down. It is a time of the year to reflect, take stock of the good things in your life, and to live in the moment.

This morning after coming back from the walk. I took my winter clothes off, warmed up, ate a warm piece of banana bread (thanks to Tracy!), looked out the window and thought of nothing. This is exactly what I should be doing.

It's been awhile....

Hello....It has been awhile since the last post. We have been kind of in between events, but no fear we have attended two events the last couple of days. The first being the Baniff Mountain Film Festival held in conjunction with the Midwest Mountaineering Expo. The second being Tu Dance held at the O'Shaughnessy, on the St. Kate's campus.

My impression of both events was that they were good, but not great. Maybe it is that I have had more exposure to independent films and dance performances then in the past, which has made my expectations to get higher.

Lets start with the Baniff Mountain Film Festival...I enjoy everything wild that planet earth has to offer. I have spent countless hours exploring and experiencing what it has to offer. I equally enjoy hearing about other people's experiences, travels, and rites of passage. But what I don't like is a human highlight film with the best thing being the music and possibly the scenery. This was the case of 3 of the 5 films, I saw on Friday night.

I have seen enough films that show a few individuals who have the economical background or have solicited a major sponsor to endorse a fun filled trip. Many of these individuals have shrugged off human responsibility and have followed their dreams. Good for them. Keep doing what you are doing, in fact call me I would love to join you.

But, when it comes to documenting your trip. Create a film by introducing a storyline, instead of having highlight shots of an epic ski run down a mountain face or an interview of a trip member saying, "You need to respect the mountain...." or "...that was crazy sick...." It has all been done before.

Of the two films I liked, they both had a storyline. They had the human element. The first one was about a female BASE jumper who was addicted to the sport and couldn't stop until she crashed landed into a tree breaking both her legs. Even after multiple surgeries and several years after the accident, she still can barely walk. The entire film had a sick uneasy feeling that something bad was going to happen. It was like watching a slow motion train wreck.

The second film was the shortest. It was about a band, the Black Eyed Snakes, who traveled from Duluth to Colorado for a music tour and Nordic skied along the way. It was simple, non pretentious, showed the enjoyment of the sport, and was entertaining to watch.

Saturday.......Off to dance. Tu Dance is a great company. I have heard about them from Tracy and I know she really enjoys seeing them perform. As well as respects the athletic and artistic talent that the dancers have. After seeing them, I agree they are very gifted individuals and I enjoyed seeing their show. Of the five pieces, my favorite was a very contemporary, abstract piece that had a woman bound by elastic bands who was being pulled in and out of the spotlight by her fellow dancers. Beautiful....


My take on the entire show. I would have enjoyed it even more if the other pieces performed were more of the abstract bazaar style of dance rather then the traditional style. I am aware that there were a lot of technical dance moves being performed. But, I personally enjoy more stimulus from the overall production of the dancing and not the technical side. But that is just my opinion.

The New Rockstar Persona: Mr. Nice Guy, parts I and II

If I were a rockstar, I'd want to be Craig Finn (small scale) or Bruce Springsteen (world-domination scale).

Part I
In a world where we have musicians known for bad behavior and ungracious performances, Finn was downright giddy with appreciation during the Hold Steady concert at the State Theater on Thursday, Nov. 4. He personifies "nice guy," offering a new take on what it means to be a rockstar. The whole rockstar persona is given new meaning with Finn and the rest of the Hold Steady. The band consists of five guys -- four of whom I understand are Minneapolis-area natives -- who seem to be bound together by a simple love of fun times and head-bobbing music. Their latest release, Boys and Girls in America, is one of my favorite CDs, so seeing them live was a thrill, and they didn't disappoint.

The show? Bone-shakingly awesome. The music was solid and fun in that clap-your-hands and sing-along-at-the-top-of-your-lungs sort of way. Or was it just Finn? Hard to separate the two...he is the heart and soul of the band. From the get-go, when the show started with "Party Pit," Finn was high energy, running around and clapping his hands in a maniacal but lovable sort of way. Minnesota loves him, and he wasn't shy about showing his love for us. Every round of applause and cheers evoked true appreciation from Finn, evident in his hands covering his mouth, clasped in fists under his chin, or his fast-forward dance moves. He even said, at one point, how much joy and love he felt. Could this guy be any nicer? I'd almost expect to receive a thank-you note for coming to the show.

The guy's a true poet, setting years of his life and a multitude of experience to music that exudes tales of a fun, carefreeyouth. I could almost taste the keg beer and feel the crowded house party around me while listening to the bar-band songs. That's just the way of the Hold Steady: Guilty pleasures and irresponsibilities of the past have never sounded like so much fun. And while we may have grown up from our, say, irresponsible college days (for some of us), or entire decades of haze ("The 80s almost killed me," Finn sang at one point), that's just what they are -- memories of the past, safe for revisiting in song.

Part II
And now we move on to Bruce Springsteen, also Mr. Nice Guy and Brilliant Poet -- THE ORIGINAL. I'll admit that I don't know many Springsteen songs beyond the classic 80s standards (Born in the USA, I'm on Fire, Born to Run, etc.) or his movie soundtrack songs (Streets of Philadelphia, Secret Garden [from Jerry Maguire]). But when my dad called Friday afternoon offered Derek and I free tickets he came upon through a friends -- well, I would have felt like quite a prominent schmuck in musical history for turning them down. Luckily Derek felt the same! Add to the fact that they were first row and, well, I was very spoiled in my first Springsteen experience.

I probably can't ever see another show of his again, for fear that it will never live up to this one. His opening line -- "Is anyone alive out there?" or something like that (I know, Springsteen lovers everywhere are cringing at my ignorance) -- was enough to jolt the GINORMOUS crowd into collective cheers and screams, and from there it never stopped or let up for the entirety of the show. For a bunch of guys pushing 60 (some might even be there), Springsteen and the E Street Band wore me out with their power rock but won me over with their cohesiveness and infectious music. Add to that Springsteen's thoughtful lyrics -- apparent both when he was shaking the arena with his thunderous vocals or soothing the crowd with his more lyrical, acoustic songs -- and the show was a lesson from Rockstar Performance 101. Some of Springsteen's songs took a political tilt (it's no secret that he's no fan of the Bush administration), but he always countered with a hard-rocking, soul-shaking song that had the crowd singing in unison -- an unbelievable sound in itself. It's clear why New Jersey's favorite son has become a timeless piece of American culture.

The crowd in itself was a sight to behold. I would have fit in with a) 80s bangs b) a jean miniskirt and stilletos c) Tony Danza hair and a muscle shirt (if I were a guy) or d) a polo shirt and khakis. Springsteen attracted an eclectic crowd filled with fashion throwbacks to decades past, harley lovers, regular middle-aged business men and people such as yourself. You know you're in the presence of rock royalty when a diverse crowd like this can come together and sing and dance in unison to your musci for 2+ hours, demanding encore after encore.

I've never been to an arena concert like this before, and I'm not sure if I will again...I tend to favor more intimate venues (and let's be honest -- I ain't rich, so cheaper shows are more my style). But like the Hold Steady's Craig Finn during Thursday's show, Springsteen's sincerity, love for what he does and genuine appreciation for his fans transcended space and venue. The result? Another excellent show that felt more like an event, which will forever be etched in my memory as one of the best shows I've experienced. I may not know most of his songs, and I don't own any of his albums, but Springsteen is a true superstar, and I'm glad to have experienced a show from such a legend.

Free Tickets?!?!?!!!

It was about 5:00 on Friday evening, I was just about ready to put on some lounge wear and put my feet up for the night then the phone rang. It was Tracy's Dad, he knew someone who had a brother, who had free tickets to Bruce Springsteen. Two hours later, Tracy and I were handed front row tickets to our section. I about crapped!!!

So here Tracy and I were standing one row up from the floor about 50 meters from the stage at the Xcel Energy Center with 18,000 people above us. The half hour or so we sat there we were able to see the "X" fill up with people. Shortly after 8:00, the music began with a bang and didn't let up for over 2 hours. Bruce was unbelievable. I was amazed by the non stop action, number of songs, how professional the E street band was, the crowd, and how he was able to deliver such intensity song after song.

After having a couple of days to think about the show. I have realized that Bruce is truly the Boss. The way he controlled the stage, his band, and the crowd was truly awesome. He is a piece of music Americana. A musician who has the influence to sell out arena after arena, create wonderful songs, and put on more then a concert, but create an unforgettable event.

In the end, am I glad I went, hell ya! Thanks to Patrick (Tracy's Dad) for the tickets!!! I was lucky enough to see Bruce perform a great show and create musical memories that I will remember for a long time.

...Hold Steady...WOW!!!

If the band Hold Steady were an engine it would be a supercharged turbo V8 that was firing on all cylinders last night. They were cranking out so much horsepower you could feel the energy, excitement, and joy it created at the State Theater.

If the all ages crowd didn't move you (look out Dad, the kids are coming thru!!!) Then Craig Finn would have, he danced and jumped around on stage, like a giddy school girl excited for her first date. By just observing the band play you could see that they were truly enjoying what they were doing. In between and during the songs the band members were given each other high-fives' and truly savoring the moment.

I didn't get an official count on the number of songs that they sang or how long they played (not long enough!!!) But I can tell you this, they played songs from the "Lifter Puller" days; as well as past, present, and future Hold Steady songs. They sounded as great, given the size of the venue.

The last song before the encore was amazing...I had never heard it before but, it didn't matter because it rocked! The Hold Steady engine roared out of control and the RPM's red-lined with excitement. Finn, was so entertaining skirting around the edge of the stage singing, clapping, dancing, jumping, and expressing his joy to the crowd.....WOW

The call back encore was great! Of the 3 or 4 songs they sang. They sang their signature song, "Southtown Girls," my favorite. I hate to say it but, if you missed this show you missed seeing one of today's powerhouse bar bands perform. The only thing that was missing was the confetti falling at the end of the show.

...Rally the Troops...

Well the theme for Saturday evening seemed to be a “rally the troops” kind of night. I felt kind of under the weather and I could have very easy sat on the couch and watched TV. But, Tracy won tickets to the Electric Amp Radio show and we wanted to put the tickets to use.

We started off the evening by going to Eat Street and eating at New Delhi Indian Cuisine. Being one of my favorites, I knew that they have a great menu with even better food. Maybe it was me not feeling well or having different impressions of how good the food was the first time I came here. But the food didn’t measure up to my expectations the second time around. I wouldn’t say it was bad, but it wasn’t great.

The highlights were samosa’s, a pastry stuffed full of root vegetables and peanuts, which was an appetizer and a sweet condiment dip with chewy bits of fruit in it (dates?) The main dish that I ordered was saffron chicken with rice and Tracy had a hot plate of veggies and fish (think fajita). We also had a side order of some nana bread. We shared the two dishes and I would say that the food was average, a nice combination of flavors and spices but the food didn’t blow me away. Would I return there again. Yes, but not right away.

On to the show…The Electric Amp Radio show took place at the Woman’s Club located in Minneapolis. This performance is a great example of, “what was once old is now new again.” I could imagine this performance taking place back during the early 1900’s.

The premise of the show is this: …”four writers living together in a little house on a city street. They holed up in a back-yard tree house and a punk poet next door. One individual plays the clarinet, badly, the punk poet steps up on occasion to lay down a few soft words about life, living and the pursuit of whatever, and the writers invite a band to stay with them as they all scramble around each other's egos.”

The show opened up by having a guy dressed in a bear costume, doing a comedy act. The material was mostly about one liners, poems, and other random writings, it was funny and mildly humorous. The entire act was a typical stand up act, the only thing that was atypical was the way he was dressed which was strangely funny and odd.

Following the bear costumed comedian, the musical guests for the night were Fran King and Duncan Maitland. They were a duo from Ireland. Upon hearing them they reminded me of the band, Better then Ezra and a solo musician, Michael Penn. They performed acoustically, contemporized style of adult folk music who were enjoyable to listen to.

The main act itself was about 70 minutes in length; it was entertaining, funny, and interesting to see how radio shows are created. I found that the actual plot was fun to follow because, it was mostly was made up in your head. The writers would give the dialog, but you as a viewer, had to fill in the details. There were a few good laughs, interesting play of words, songs from the guest musicians, and interaction from the audience. My bottom line is that the performance was entertaining and I would attend it again.

Laying Low

Laying low tonight and just enjoying the couch, the t.v. and the company. Nothing to review or critique at the moment (unless you count my praises for the dinner Derek made). I guess it's my turn for random thoughts:

• Derek clued me in to this one: Tapes N Tapes is performing in a free Pabst-sponsored show at the Triple Rock on Nov. 30, according to yesterday's Pioneer Press. Sounds like their new album will be out in the next couple of months. Don't know if the Nov. 30 show is in the cards, but I'm sure it will be good. We saw them at First Ave. last December and they were in prime form. One of the best shows I saw all year.

• Has anyone seen the trailor for Lars and the Real Girl? Anything that prominently features a blow-up doll along with the words love story is going to pique my curiosity, if nothing for the seeming absurdity of it all. Plus, it's written by Nancy Oliver, who also wrote for Six Feet Under. I just read this review by Roger Ebert and the opening line of his article was enough for me: "How do you make a film about a life-sized love doll, ordered through the Internet, into a life-affirming statement of hope?" That says enough to make me want to find out.

"Sea" it soon before you can't: Sea Salt Eatery

Ever try something and wonder why you didn't do it sooner? Hmmm, don't answer that. Anyway, we ventured over to Sea Salt Eatery in Minnehaha Park last night, hoping to salvage what we could of this charming establishment before it closes for the season this Sunday, Oct. 28. I don't typically go out for seafood simply for the fact that I'm cheap and I don't know of any "cheap" seafood places. But we gave Sea Salt a try (I figured it couldn't be too expensive since it's in a pavillion in a park) and came away pretty happy.

Now, let me preface this review by saying I'm a little extreme when it comes to my love for seafood. I'll have it cooked or raw, and when I say "it," well, there's no type of seafood I've met that I didn't like. I bet my mouth would water at the smell of Sparky's treats at Como Zoo (anyone get that reference?). It doesn't take much to make me happy when it comes to seafood.

For appetizers, we tried some calamari and shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were a good size and my only complaint was the shell...there's nothing more frustrating -- aside from being hungry -- than having to "work" for my food. Call me lazy. But aside from that, they were just what I expected, and very good at that. The calamari was equally good, but in a different sort of way. It was the kind of "good" that you say about fried anything. Can you really taste much of the "anything?" When you say it's good, you might as well say you're digging the fried, greasy batter hugging whatever it is you're eating. Fry me up some pigs feet and I'm sure I'll like 'em if you coat them with enough of that stuff. And I'll say it for the calamari...that was some mighty fine fried batter.

For our main course, Derek and I both had the grilled marlin tacos. Aside from the portion size -- I could have eaten another one in addition to the two that came with the order --everything was great. The marlin was grilled nicely and perfectly spiced -- lightly, thankfully, to complement the fish's natural flavors. The marlin was served in a soft corn taco, which was a departure from the usual flour kind that I'm used to, and a definite welcome change.

We also shared a seafood soup, which consisted of mussels, shrimp, scallops and possibly squid (Derek? Do you remember?) in a tomato-ey broth. I'm a bit of a seafood soup connoiseur...if it's ever on the menu somewhere I'm eating, chances are, I'll end up ordering it, so last night was no exception. Overall, awesome flavors...but it was a classic case of too much broth and not enough of the good stuff. This is usually how it is, though. The only time I've really gotten a lot of seafood in my soup was when I tried the soup at El Patio on West 7th St. in St. Paul. Does anyone else know of places that serve good seafood soup?

My experience at Sea Salt was pleasant, and it's definitely a place I wish I would have gone to sooner -- i.e. in the summer when it was warmer. Perfectly situated in Minnehaha Park, it's the ideal place for an outdoor meal, and outdoor seating there is abundant. It was indoors for us, though, since it is fall, after all. I guess there's always next summer.


THIS JUST IN: As much as I like to get out and about, I also like t.v. (I have a somewhat embarrasing fondness for the reality genre, in fact) and was happy to find out that the Amazing Race starts on Nov. 4. Woohoo!

Random Thoughts...

Since we haven't gone to an event for several days, I thought that I would list some of the things I have heard or read about.

Salute' of Edina is going to be opening up in the defunct Sydney's location on Grand Avenue.

Crazy that Atlanta may only have 3 more months of drinking water left???

Pop! restaurant owners have plan to open a new location in Lowertown in St. Paul.

St. Thomas University is getting a new student center, to be built in the existing parking lot of the football stadium. In addition they are also going to be building a new 5 story, 700 car parking ramp near Cretin and Grand Avenue.

Trader Joe's may open another location in Highland Park.

The MPR Christmas Concert is going to be awesome.

My friend Dave Busta's fundraiser is coming up please click here to read about it: http://bustabenefit.org/

I think that the proposed 35w bridge is need to be revised again and made into a showcase bridge, something that will be remembered. The current plan for the bridge is very forgettable.

The new Dan Wilson album came out. I really enjoy his music but, in my opinion he sounds better doing a solo gig, then with a band.

The musical A don't hug me Christmas Carol looks funny.

I really enjoy the weather the past few days...clear, cool nights.....bright, sunny and warm days...Did you see the moon last night???

I look forward to seeing the results for the men's olympic marathon trials.

Ballet Minnesota Fall Concert: Ballet, blah blah blah...and HIP HOP!

Let me start out by saying I have been a dancer at times in my life. I'm on a bit of a hiatus right now but trained/performed as recently as five months ago so I'd like to say I have a honed appreciation for the art. And I still like to attend performances. That said, Derek found this random listing on City Pages.com for a free performance at the Fitz. Ballet Minnesota + hip hop act Desadomna and Carnage. Huh? Intrigued, we headed over to claim our free tickets and enjoy a potentially awesome show.

By the way, thanks for mentioning my gimpiness, Derek...yep, we had good seats thanks to my compromised mobility.

Anyway, the first act was fine...albeit very classical, no hip hop. I soon learned that Ballet Minnesota is a very fine group of technically sound, well-trained teenage ballerinas. And that was my biggest hang up. I was expecting adults, and I watched younger females -- talented, no less, but young. Here's the thing: you can be great, technically, but if you're young, chances are you don't have the maturity or performance skills of an older counterpart. The result was a show that had the feel of a really awesome dance school recital. The choreography was beautiful, the dancers were beautiful, and the performance was technically-sound, but it lacked the maturity to bring it up to a professional-level performance.

The highlight was rapper Desdamona and beat boxer Carnage, the hip hop duo also known as Il Chemistry. You can read about the show's premise of hip hop meets ballet here. Unfortunately or fortunately -- I guess whatever way you look at it -- this highlight came in the last 15 minutes of a two-hour show. The dancers traded the recorded music that had guided their movements for the majority of the show for the sounds of Il Chemistry -- rhythmic poems and beat-boxing. Funny thing, I stopped watching the dancers and just focused on Il Chemistry...their stage presence was overpowering. Desdamona's lyrics were clever, thoughtful and powerful -- a true, strong woman! -- and they fluctuated between rapping and singing. Her singing voice was as rich and soulful as the lyrics themselves. Carnage's beat boxing was equally incredible. This is one act I want to see more of in the future.

According to her Web site, Desdamona has a new CD ("The Source"). I'll have to check that out. Not sure when her next show is...Apparently she just performed at Mayda's CD release show on Oct. 18 at the Varsity. Anyway, she's an artist I'd go see again.

Back to ballet...good dancers, decent show -- but glad it was free. I'll save my money for other upcoming dance performances, including TU Dance, James Sewell and the Zenon Company.

Ballet Minnesota's-- 2nd Annual Fall Concert

Friday, I was checking out City Pages.com and came across this "free" event which took place Saturday, at the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown Saint Paul. We arrived early and collected our tickets and noticed that we had balcony seats. Tracy on crutches, had no problem climbing the 2 flights of steps to our seats, but the volunteers did. It worked out to our advantage because they assigned us wonderful seats on the main floor in the back.

There were two acts. The first being very traditional ballet with the dancers performing along to stringed instrument's. The second act was a more contemporary approach to ballet. The dances were choreographed to music from a variety of remixed R&B, acoustic, B-boxing, and rap music.

The concert was entertaining, the music was great, the price was right, however the dancers were very amateur. Or I should say, not experienced, they were high school age individuals who were very talented, but lacked the confidence of older more experienced dancers. The reason being, by observing the dancers it appeared that many of them were thinking about the next move rather then being in the moment and creating fluid movements.

Highlights for me was the price, seeing the musical acts during the performance, being mildly entertained, and spending time with Tracy :)

Strap the feed bags on.....

With an empty stomach, a knife and fork in hand. Tracy and I walked in the door at the International Market Square for the City Pages Iron Fork benefit. With an 30 dollar price tag and 100 percent of the proceeds going to Second Harvest Heartland. I thought it was an excellent event.

While many of the attendees (about 700) seemed to be going straight for the beverages (wine and beer). We went straight for the food. From the 28 of the restaurants I think that we managed to taste just about all of them. We skipped over a few of the because of food that we didn't care for.

The food was in three different categories; appetizers, signature dishes, and dessert. Regardless of the categories, it was prepared in ways that were found from all corners of the world. All in all, it was a great event that benefited an excellent cause. I left full, satisfied, happy and look forward to this event next fall. By the way here are my favorites.

Appetizers:

Barbette: Chicken liver patte w/ cherries----Excellent, dry brothy taste with sweet undertones from the cherries.

Sea Salt Eatery: Oysters on the half shell----Clean tasting, no grit, beautiful!


Signature Dishes:

Marla's Indian & Caribbean Cuisine: Jamaican jerk Chicken, vegetable curry, rice and beans----This was awesome, chicken fell apart in your mouth, the curry was unbelievable mild spice that warmed your mouth, the rice and beans were pasty and wonderfully spiced.

Shish Mediterranean Grill: Spinach pie, falafel, hummus, grape leaves, and pita chips----It was very clean tasting, not heavy but healthy tasting, spices that surprised your mouth, and a great aftertaste of garlic that reminded me that I should eat here again.

Dessert:

Afton House Inn: Mini pumpkins filled with pumpkin custard---This should be the new pumpkin pie! They were cooked then frozen with wonderful smooth custard, placed in the gutted pumpkin cavity, I had 3 of them...need I say more.

Wild Cards....worth mentioning.

Pizza Luce': Baked Potato pizza---imagine mashed potato's instead of tomato sauce on a pizza. Try it! Trust me you love it!

Jay's Cafe: BBQ pork and wild mushroom pasty---These were excellent, smokey, warm, doughy, moist, excellently done. I had many more then one.

Eat Your Face Off! (Tracy's take on the Iron Fork)

Doing our best Andrew Zimmern impression, Derek and I attended City Pages' Iron Fork event at International Market Square on Thursday night and ate ourselves silly while sampling an impressive variety of signature dishes from restaurants around the Twin Cities -- all for a good cause, of course. With all proceeds going to Second Harvest Heartland, shelling out $30 per person wasn't too bad. And once we read the event description, we knew we'd be in for a treat.

The premise: An "Iron Chef"-type competition for chefs from around the Twin Cities. The bonus? 28 different vendors at stations surrounding the main floor, where the competition took place. I'm sorry to say I have no idea who won. I heard the event hosts bantering back and forth while the chefs took part in the competition, but I was too busy trying some incredible food to pay attention to who came out on top.

I did come away with a desire to visit some restaurants in the near future based on what I sampled. Here's a rundown of the highlights:

Restaurant: Afton House Inn
Food: Mini pumpkins filled with pumpkin custard and spice anglaise.
Review: Oh. My. Can we say decadant? Deliciously spicey, sweet and silky? My response to dessert has always been "no thanks, I'm not really a dessert person." And it's usually the truth. After trying these, though, I now have an exception, and the 2.5 pumpkins I consumed are proof of that. Forget pumpkin pie; this should be the new Thanksgiving dessert. These alone are worth paying a visit to the Afton House Inn.

Restaurant: Marla's Indian and Caribbean Cuisine
Food: Jamaican jerk chicken served with red beans and rice and vegetable curry
Review: God bless Marla for introducing me to Indian and Caribbean food with such a bang. The spiciness of the three dishes actually seemed to occur in phases, with an initial sense of spice followed by subsequent kicks moments later. Chicken, veggies and rice: a simple concept done right.

Restaurant: Shish Mediterranean Grill
Food: Spinach pie stuffed with organic spinach and special spices, falafels, grape leaves stuffed with some sort of spicy rice concotion, pita chips, hummus, roasted egg plant spread and some sort of garlic spread that's still haunting me two days later.
Review: Apologies about the somewhat nondescript food listing; I can't remember all that we had and my trusty food guide that they gave us at the event doesn't list all of Shish's offerings. But a bad memory does not equal a bad food experience. I should note that I've been to Shish before, and it's got the feel of a pretty simple college-y cafe (it's about a block from the Macalestar College campus, you order at the counter, etc.) -- nothing too fancy or exciting. The times I've gone there, I've played it safe and ordered a simple veggie wrap. This time around I took a no-holds-barred approach (actually, that was kind of my approach to the whole evening). When I made my way to the front of line I told the woman serving to fill up my plate with everything. And I'm glad she did. I'm a somewhat health conscious eater in that I don't like fried, greasy fatty foods. The times before that I've had the type of food Shish offers (from other places), I haven't been a fan. Falafels, for example, typically just taste like fried breading. But Shish had a definite quality thatg far surpasses any other Greek-type food I've eaten before. I think my return trip for seconds was proof of that.

Overall experience: Awesome premise for a good cause. I did feel like Derek and I were in the minority with our eating, though. For $30, we came hungry and determined to get our money's worth of food. I was kind of surprised, though, at how many people seemed to be just drinking and not doing much eating. Yes, the $30 covered beer and liquor, too, but with so many great dishes to try, beverages took a back seat. Plus, the beer was Amstel Light. 'Nuff said.

Mother nature...death becomes her? The Death of Enviornmentalism

I'll admit it...Compared to Derek, I'm not the most engaged when it comes to environmentalism. Well, I take that back. I take out the recycling sometimes -- right, Derek? Anyway, sure, I care about our planet. I like nature. Pollution sucks, nature is nice. But when we're talking about the whole planet, well, "saving it" sounds a bit daunting. And when there are smaller-scale things to think about -- I'm talking about those things that, when ignored, will land me in hot water (e.g. paying bills, calling my mom, etc.) -- the environment, global warming, etc. isn't going to be the first thing to keep me up at night.

On Tuesday, Oct. 16, we attended Policy and a Pint: The Death of Environmentalism, hosted by 89.3 the Current and the Citizen's League at the Varsity Theater. First of all, let me say that the Varsity is a sweet venue with a hip enough atmosphere to make any topic interesting (note to my college econ professor...). Luckily, the atmosphere was simply a bonus to what turned out to be a pretty interesting discussion. The speaker, Michael Shellenberger, and his coauthor, Ted Nordhaus, recently came out with a book called The Breakthrough in which they assert that "the old ways of talking about pollution and acid rain will never change how people go about their lives, and that 'environmentalism' has to die in order for real change to happen to protect our water, air and land." They believe controlling global warming won't happen with more calls to end pollution; instead the government must make substantial investments in new technology (solar, etc.) and new models, ways of thinking, policies, etc. that take into account economics, job creation and people's quality of life.

It seems that the idea of expanding technology instead of focusing on limiting/restricting carbon emissions through pollution is gaining wider traction when I look in the paper, watch the news and listen to what others are saying, like on Tuesday. And it makes sense to me when I think about human nature...who responds to restrictions and limits? Shellenberger talked about the limitless potential of humans to create and innovate. Harnessing that power toward technologies that create clean energy breaks out of that "restriction" mentality and focuses on moving forward. The difference is subtle, but it’s there. The only trick, though, will be for government to carry through on the idea by backing it financially, of course. Definitely a topic to keep in mind heading into November 2008...

So maybe I'm more of an environmentalist than I thought. Better yet, maybe I just needed to change my thinking to become part of a new kind of enviornmentalism. I think that's what Tuesday did for me...definitely a worthwhile event.

Policy and a Pint presents the Death of Environmentalism

Policy and a pint….My thoughts on the event was very education and informative. First things first; the location was the Varsity Theater. This is a great venue, very intimate, comfortable and very inviting. There was seating on the main floor as well as more comfortable chairs around the perimeter of the main floor and standing room in the back. The audience was a mixed bag of individuals from all age groups, with one common thing in mind…environmentalism. The way the night played out was on the stage Steve Steel a DJ from the The Current, interviewed Michael Shellenberger, one of the authors the book Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility.

I found Shellenberger very informative. He first described what the enviroment is. Does it include humans or just the trees, plants, animals, land and so on? He stated that he believes that it involves everything that lives on planet earth. I can see both sides, and this topic could be argued in depth, but anyways.

What I remember the most is that the underlining theme that Shelleberger mentioned was that you have to admit that there is a problem. There is no mystery, today’s society is a huge consumer of energy (there’s the problem!) and we need to slow the consumtion process (way of maintaining the situation) and create a different way to produce energy (What a great solution).

http://minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2619
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977144939