Month: August 2002

  • Woebegone Me

    illustrations by Brian Barber The Rake gains access to one of public radio’s most celebrated—and feared—geniuses, Harrison Taylor, the mastermind of A Prairie Groan Companion and all subsidiaries, subdivisions, copyrights, and service marks thereof. Since this is a pure work of parody and satire (we couldn’t decide what the difference is) any resemblance to living…

  • Any Resemblance to Living Persons…

    Being a concise survey of bizarre coincidences in the life of real public figures and wholly manufactured fictional characters. 1. Astonishingly, Garrison Keillor was included in the top 10 of Playgirl’s sexiest men of 1986. Others on that list included Sen. Robert Dole, Billy Crystal, William “The Refrigerator” Perry and Donald Trump—so one begins to…

  • The Op-Ed Slam

    Top honors for the July 11 Op-Ed Slam went to Tim Shea of Minneapolis. Judges were an assortment of folks who were challenged by the wide range of 3-minute presentations. Some sang, some shouted, some railed, some simply read, and some waxed poetic. Some had opinions. Other awards went to Colleen Kruse of The Rake…

  • Uptown Diner

    So you walk out of a late show at the Uptown Theater on a Friday night and your stomach is angry with you for stuffing it with Sour Patch Kids and popcorn instead of dinner. You only have $10 in your pocket and you don’t feel like sitting in a dingy, smoky bar waiting for…

  • Napa Valley Grille

    On a recent weeknight, we had the few odds and ends to pick up at the Mall of America and decided to see what was cooking at Napa Valley Grille. Chef Tom Anderson was up to his usual stuff, so it was extremely hard to decide what to order—not that the menu is terribly long,…

  • Mr. Show Live

    While their movie Run Ronnie Run languishes at New Line Cinema, the comedy duo of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross has released the first two seasons of their now-legendary HBO program, Mr. Show , on DVD. The sketch comedy follows in the tradition other recent HBO hooters such as The Larry Sanders Show and Curb…