Juneteenth (June 19) commemorates Black freedom and is recognized as a “time for assessment, self-improvement and for planning the future.” It is often celebrated with picnics, celebrations, guest speakers, and family gatherings. The origins of Juneteenth date back to June 19th, 1865, acknowledged as the day that the remaining African-American slaves in the Confederacy were […]
If there’s one winner of the COVID-19 pandemic (aside from Zoom), it’s Nintendo. Their low-stakes social simulator game Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out on March 20, just as Americans’ lives started to radically change, and it has scored the third-highest launch sales of any Nintendo game ever. Animal Crossing, with its customizable islands and […]
As mundane as it can feel to talk about, it’s impossible to separate the culture of the Twin Cities from their frigid winters. Even the toughest born-and-bred Minnesotans can find themselves down in the dumps during cold months. With subzero wind chills and mountains of graying snow, calendars across the cities become dotted with residencies: […]
It’s good to be back at the wheel for Friday Five! I’ve been out for a couple of weeks and would like to thank Jay Gabler for filling in admirably. In fact, I’m on the road again this week — coming at you from Wisconsin, where I’m emotionally preparing to attend Eaux Claires Hiver this […]
Gully Boys – “Neopet Graveyard” Gully Boys — aka rockers Kathy Callahan, Nadirah McGill and Natalie Klemond — gallivant around the Mall of America in their first-ever music video. Filmed by Keegan Burkhard, “Neopet Graveyard” sees the Boys explore the Sea Life aquarium, the Old Time Photos studio, and the theme park formerly known as […]
I have a certain admiration for angry people. As a citizen and scholar of the United States, I’ve read about the provocative suffragettes; the can’t-be-tamed flag-wavers; the defiant revolutionaries. I’ve imagined myself joining their fights. But when I think about the issues threaded through present-day America, I feel numb and/or scared more often than roused. […]
This month, musicheads far and wide are sitting down to their notebooks or computers, tapering their 2018 listening into one shining top 10 list. We took on a similar task with local albums: not a top 10 list, per se, but a collection of music we found especially memorable this year. These albums roped us […]