The Rake: Blogs

May 16, 2008: A Great Weekend... Finally!

Jimmy Gaines — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:39:47 -0500

Whirly Girl

Cristina Cordova — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:14:11 -0500

SPECIAL ART EVENT
2008 Art-A-Whirl

May 15, 2008: It's May 15th

Jimmy Gaines — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:52:03 -0500

Rootclip Starts the Film, You End It

Cristina Cordova — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:42:50 -0500

This just in:

Rootclip offers a new venue for amateur and indie filmmakers who want to take part in a joint story-telling experience.

How It Works
read more

John McCain Nude - 64 Results

Glen Ross — Thu, 15 May 2008 02:26:07 -0500

It was on the far right, literally. A tiny block of space someone had purchased to help The Rake live another day. Pay up, and you can paste your sign/add your link/sing your song on my web page/television/telephone/window/door/floor/car/bus/butt/etc...

In the ultimate capitalist pervasion of everyday life, this heat-seeking piranha of an ad jumped at me, propelled by the finely tuned instincts of specialized software, somewhere in cyberspace, sensing Barack Obama's name on the page and inferring from it the presence of intellectual prey.

Northeastern Winds

Cristina Cordova — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:05:39 -0500

MUSIC
Heliotrope V

Papa's Pizza: Classic Italian-American

Jeremy Iggers — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:21:11 -0500

My recent posting about Sauced, the new neighborhood bistro in north Minneapolis brought some enthusiastic comments from neighbors, and a slightly disgruntled note from Mick Brogan, owner of the nearby Papa's Pizza & Pasta.

"The fourteenth day, we landed all our men"

Cristina Cordova — Wed, 14 May 2008 02:09:04 -0500

We finally have a new Call for Artists page on our website. You can access it directly through the More for Rake Readers links at the bottom of each page. Be sure to check in periodically for new listings. To submit a listing, send your description via email with Call for Artists as the subject line.

Legal Lolitas

Chris Birt — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:58:08 -0500

I have always wondered why certain cars remain off limits to men of a particular age.

Love and Loss in India

Brandon Root — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:11:50 -0500

Before the Rains, the first English language film by Indian director Santosh Sivan, is a surprisingly effective, accessible, and beautiful riff on familiar themes. Set in British-controlled 1930s India during a growing nationalist movement, the film is about love and self-destructive ambition in the face of a rapidly changing country.

Pawlenty's Spandex-Clad Aspirations

Rich Goldsmith — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:02:53 -0500

Every hero needs a sidekick. Tombstone had Hammerhead, Batman had Robin, Thundarr the Barbarian had Princess Ariel and Ookla, and Paris Hilton had everyone. Repeatedly. Now, in the twilight years of his life, John McCain yearns for the same sort of comforting companionship that comes from a bosom buddy who can double as an effective lackey in a pinch. And while recommendations for this coveted position have streamed in from the furthest corners of the United States and beyond, some say

May 14, 2008: Senator John McCain!

Jimmy Gaines — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:13:05 -0500

Guts and Small Ball

Brad Zellar — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:38:41 -0500

^{AP Photo by Jim Mone}

Francisco Liriano was almost as disappointing as Nelson Liriano. There has been a disquieting wave of injuries—to Michael Cuddyer, Kevin Slowey, Adam Everett, Scott Baker, Nick Punto, and, most depressingly, to Pat Neshek.

The Defenestrating of Josef K

Max Ross — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:46:15 -0500

It could have been so good.

That was the biggest disappointment - not how bad it was, but the discrepancy between its actual and potential levels of quality. I'm speaking (writing) of The Ballad of Josef K, a puppeted interpretation of Franz Kafka's The Trial, on stage now at the Illusion Theater.

Warning: This Post Contains Words

Cristina Cordova — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:25:51 -0500

Be sure to check out our Great Commuter Challenge slideshow and find out who won yesterday's race. We also have a great piece on The Films of Carlos Reygadas, and a new fiction piece by David Dorle (with nudity even — tasteful as it is).

BOOKS & AUTHORS
Raking Through Books

American Idle - Achin' Aiken - [Insert Pun]

Max Ross — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:49:52 -0500

Originally written for Realbuzz

May 13, 2008: I Can't Complain...

Jimmy Gaines — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:43:16 -0500

The True Powerhouse Behind KISS

Erin Roof — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:05:57 -0500

When the glitz and the flash and the devilish showboating are stripped away, Ace Frehley shines as the true powerhouse behind KISS. In his legendary band, the "spaceman" often got swallowed by Gene Simmons's fire-spewing antics and Paul Stanley's notorious onstage preening. But it was Frehley's axe-wielding that gave musical credibility to the band's campy allure. He is

Southern Swing: Gastronomic Gems in Rochester and Decorah

Jeremy Iggers — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:26:36 -0500

Carol and I got really lucky last night. We were on our way back to the Cities from visiting her folks on the farm, not too far from Decorah, when we decided to stop for dinner in Rochester. I wanted to check out Söntés, the new tapas bar and restaurant at 4 3rd St. SW, 507-292-1628. The lucky part was, ordinarily, Söntés isn’t open on Sundays, but they made an exception for Mothers Day. And the food itself was really delightful. We had been

Obamania

Glen Ross — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:46:01 -0500

^{photo from Pander Watch}

(read aloud)

Obama!

Obama, mama!

Obama mama, blackjack!

Obama mama blackjack, jackpot! Smoke a lot?

Brain rot?

Minnesota

pep rally, rock show! Let's go! Cash flow!

Are we here? Do we know? Where to go? Say so!

Minnesota slam dunk. In the trunk. No junk.

Put it in the mix, punk!

Hoosier daddy

May 12, 2008: Dutch, A Mild Mannered Weatherman By Day...

Jimmy Gaines — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:53:23 -0500

A Precise Poem

Max Ross — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:32:02 -0500

Employing a tactic I'm pretty sure I've picked up from the current presidential administration, I've decided to take a new approach to truth. Namely, I'm going to make it up. And make it up in such a way that justifies every decision I decide(r), and in such a way that makes me feel better about my life, and the enveloping society thereof.

Insomnia

Cristina Cordova — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:47 -0500

Thin are the night-skirts left behind
By daybreak hours that onward creep,
And thin, alas! the shred of sleep
That wavers with the spirit's wind:
But in half-dreams that shift and roll
And still remember and forget,
My soul this hour has drawn your soul
A little nearer yet.

Our lives, most dear, are never near,
Our thoughts are never far apart,
Though all that draws us heart to heart
Seems fainter now and now more clear.
To-night Love claims his full control,
And with desire and with regret
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Leave me alone... I am trying to sleep

Melinda Jacobs — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:49:49 -0500

I used to think that when I was up at night and my hubby was snoozing, rubbing his back was a nice thing to do.

Guess it's not only not nice, but it's annoying.

All this time I thought I was being little miss affectionate, but instead... I have been waking up my partner when he is just trying to get some deep sleep. I never knew this until today.

The Future of the Past

Hannah Simpson — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:54:00 -0500

Everyone ponders the future. Whether it's five minutes from now or five million years from now, it is bound to creep up in some form or another. Stanley Kubrick reinvented what it means to be a filmmaker in 1968 with the design of a fictional world in the year 2001 that questions the mysteries of science, technology, and evolution.

NBA Second Round Update Thread

Britt Robson — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:15:51 -0500

Celtics-Cavs Update: Squared series after 88-77 Cavs win last night.

Mother's Day: A Stupid, Manipulative Holiday

Ann Bauer — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:10:12 -0500

I think we're all in agreement (aren't we?) that Mother's Day as it is currently practiced is by far the most commercial, needlessly costly, guilt-induding holiday of all time. For years, I've insisted it was begun by a consortium of greedy florists and greeting card manufacturers, and I've told my children. . . .please. . . .never to observe it.

momoughttamobiles

Chris Birt — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:00:38 -0500

(pictured: the AMG R-class Mercedes. 502HP, 0-60, 4.7 seconds. Meet the Mom who owns one--lives in Excelsior.)

Mother's Day manipulative?

Not for Road Rakes.

I have always found, for example, that Mimosas pair nicely with a late model Mercedes and/or Maserati. For this reason, you ought consider taking your mom car shopping. Women buy more cars than men anyway (a fact that seems lost on most dealers.)

Chop It Off

Todd Smith — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:41:24 -0500

My squat little body houses a record number of physical calamities. If you have read my latest published story, "Pharma Chameleon," (in the March issue of The Rake) you already know that I'm pretty much a bubble boy. My latest impediment is a Pterigium (kind of like a nasty veiny weed) on my right eye. As the weird red growth pushes on my pupil, the formerly blue eye is now always bloodshot and weeping. The Pterigium was caused from my over exposure to sunlight. For

A Minimalist, Light Approach to Shakespeare

Max Ross — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:51:38 -0500

There are two things that need to be done, I think, when adapting a Shakespeare play. First, respects must be paid to the language — the actors must own their lines, the director must choose the emphases that suit his/her interpretation best. And second, the cast must act as translators, using their bodies to re-interpret the script and make it relatable for the modern audience, so that thumb-biting, say, can actually be perceived as an offense.