http://www.accommodatingly.com/?p=646

Not political news– there’s enough of that elsewhere, and I have nothing to add to the best of its writers– but good news anyway: Elixir Press appears to be back in action. This was a good smallish literary press and magazine based in Minneapolis that became hard to contact right around the time they published Tracy Philpot’s stunningly good third book, which I reviewed a while ago. (They also published her cracklingly good second book. I don’t recommend her first.)

I knew the press had moved to Denver along with its chief operator, the poet Dana Curtis; I knew that it had continued to accept and publish books, but I wondered whether the books would become widely available… and today they sent me a big stack of their recent pubs, as if to say: we’re back! I look forward to reading the rest of them, and encourage you to have a look. It’s not avant-garde, it’s not “mainstream” (whatever that means), it’s usually energetic and serious, and it’s always work Dana genuinely likes.

Also in Denver: Monica, whom we haven’t seen for a while because she’s been busy trying to get Barack elected, tells Slate what it’s like on the convention floor. “Sweet trusting Coloradans… Enjoy your time in the tar pits!”

As for the fruitless distraction that ensures from my own, and others’, quasi-obsessive following and parsing the speeches, the polls, the pols, the windbags, the winds, and seeking reassurance therefrom, this letter to Josh Marshall nails my recent mood. I want our guy elected, and the Republicans gone. But I don’t really know how to bring it about. Maybe the people who are making plans around Obama do. I’m glad I’m not one of them. I would be pretty terrible at doing politics for a living, except maybe in a verrry specialized, writing-intensive capacity, and I’m glad it’s not my job.

Part the First here.

Day 6 - we spend the morning in Detroit rather than Hamtown, checking out the Heidelberg Project, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Scarab Club, where Sean wants to revive his idea of some years ago to hold a CAPTION-inspired comics event - but in Detroit. I urge him to do it and give him hints and tips before we all head off to eat Polish food back in Hamtramck. R and I head off afterwards to Niagara via ferry - a good idea on the part of Sophia, though she later worries whether she has given the right advice or not. Our late arrival at the trip's first motel is not due to her advice but to our own slowness, however.


Day 7 - having arrived late in Niagara-on-the-lake we were fairly determined to get out early, but with the motel's own breakfast starting only at 10:30 and our own sheer inertia we don't manage to get to Niagara itself until all the other tourists do. We park in the same car park as all the tourists and get fleeced the same 20 bucks Canadian that they do (before noticing on the way out that there are much cheaper parking areas). The falls are truly spectacular nevertheless though we don't make it onto the Maid of the Mists boat or the behind-the-waterfall walk before heading off to Brookyln for the night.


Day 8 - Once again we'd got into our destination late the night before and couldn't face a proper early start in the morning. So we mooched around the neighbourhood (including moving the car a couple of times because of the odd restrictions around there - all to ensure that street-cleaning machines get a fair whack at the street). It was really nice to have a day with that sort of possibility - even down to me getting my nails done and having a facial, while R bought a new digital camera.


Day 9 - Time to get properly stuck into seeing NYC, you'd think - except that we're hijacked by the huge huge frustrating queues for going up the Empire State Building, after which we feel much less like sight-seeing. Never mind, we still end up walking from Central Station / Pershing Square (great breakfast) to the Empire State (via OUP on Madison Ave), to guide-recommended food on Lexington & 30th, to SoHo, and eventually to the Brooklyn Bridge and back to friend James' apartment. Yes, that's right, we walked from 42nd Street back to Brooklyn, in stages but pretty damn footsore by the end.


Day 10 and the end of the trip is perceptibly drawing near. We swear to make it to the Metropolitan Museum (having given up on the idea of also making it to the Cloisters Museum long ago) and thence to Central Park, honest, except that after looking at the Egyptian tombs (serious proper lumps of stone, given not looted) and death masks, and Richard's first sushi lunch in a direction that is away from the museum, we give up the idea of getting Central Park in this time and head back to the car and a series of long bridges and tolls. Beautiful weather though, at least until we reach the supposed location of the hotel in Salisbury, Maryland - a black spot that no online maps or GPS ladies seem to know. Got there in the eventual end though.

I just bought a new place down in Lakeville and am looking at acouple of options for internet.  One is Charter, which I've heard mixed reviews on, and the other is visi via Frontier DSL. 

Anyone have any comments either way? :)

Thanks

I just bought a new place down in Lakeville and am looking at acouple of options for internet.  One is Charter, which I've heard mixed reviews on, and the other is visi via Frontier DSL. 

Anyone have any comments either way? :)

Thanks

The Minneapolis Police Department has confiscated the equipment of Vlad Teichberg and his two assistants. Vlad Teichberg is well known nationally for documenting instances of police misconduct on video. Most recently he taped the assault of an NYPD police officer on a bicyclist; once the video surfaced the officer was relegated to a desk job sans badge & gun. The police department's rational for their search and the confiscation of the equipment was particularly nebulous: "[We] would have stopped anyone seen near transportation infrastructure late at night.

Eh? Ever heard of Terry stop & the 4th amendment? I hope they're lining up a good local tort lawyer.

Here's the full 'CCO article:

http://wcco.com/rnc/confiscated.video.equipment.2.804214.html

An article in City Pages suggests the MPD might not be too quick to return the equipment: "The property is being kept to determine its true owners."

Since when is media equipment subject to confiscation as potentially stolen property?

Here's the full City Pages article:

http://blogs.citypages.com/gop/2008/08/minneapolis_cop.php

I don't think either 'CCO or City Pages is catching on to the real story. In all likelihood this is an intelligence operation by the combined police agencies manning the Republican convention, and they want Vlad Teichberg & crew out of action and out of the way.

A good video is everyone's friend ... except the cops'.

This also happened today:

• 17:41 A sign in Eynsham general stores: "is there a vacuum in your life? We have the bag for it!" in shaky capitals (and me without my camera).
• 19:45 Bike oil tucked above the lintel. Smart car parked out front. Fifty paces on (fast doubletime) a house with a newbuild concrete block henge.
• 20:23 Tragedy in the garden! A slug has partially consumed one of my baby courgettes :(

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Yes, unfortunately.

Can anybody recommend a few reliable local temp agencies? 

Thanks!

Dear Mr BBC,

In a day when I've already been shaken to the core by an evil slug consuming part of a home grown baby courgette, I really didn't need more nasty surprises. So whose idea was is to ask the cast of Torchwood to reinterpret Tess of the D'Urbevilles? And, dear god, why?

Also -- Pacific Abyss? Cut out the manufactured diving crises. We really don't care.

In other news -- and bah to those (well, geroge) who were tutting at my lackadaisical way with vegetables! Not pinching out your tomatoes? It's gonna be a trend.

4300 HWY 7
Saind Louis Park, MN
55416

Early tomorrow morning--think 7am, for you hardcore garage 'sailors'.

Repeat sale on Saturday morning, again around 7am, taking a short break from 10-11:30, resuming at 11:30am.

Video game systems, games, and accessories. Boy's size 6 clothing. Lots of stuffed animals. TMNT figurines. Bucket of crayons. Couch. Bedside table/night stand thing. Come and take a look! :)

So, I'm going to the "Take Back Labor Day" concert on Labor Day.
It's on Harriet Island.
On the first day of the RNC.
Lovely.


I would STRONGLY prefer to drive down there since I am absolutely clueless with transit and will be traveling alone. BUT - I am also completely CLUELESS about Harriet Island and if there's parking there (can you even drive onto the island?)

But, plus with the RNC I'm not sure if everything is going to be taken up or if parking will cost an arm and a leg (actually not too opposed to that if it's relatively easy.)


Um. Help?


ETA: I've also never been to a concert there. Would it be wise to bring a blanket or something to sit on?? Probably?

Minneapolis cops hand police watchdog group a story on a silver platter

Have to steal that attention away from the Denver Police when they can, eh?

Hello, Twin Citians. I come to you asking for advice on something I know very little about. I'd like to give someone power of attorney (for health care) and have no idea where to start. My ignorance makes even state-specific Google searches baffling. Any suggestions? Many thanks.

I'm getting married in a couple of weeks, and I was wishing I could incorporate some taste of Stephin Merritt. Unsurprisingly, our wedding harpist doesn't know any Magnetic Fields songs, but he does know "They Were You", which is mentioned in "I don't believe you." So, while everyone else is going "aww, what a pretty and slightly obscure song" I'll be going "OMG, awesome."

Hi everyone, I checked memories and couldn't find much on this- if I'm missing something, I apologize.   

I'm just moving to Minneapolis, and I'm in need of good internet service.  My desktop computer does NOT have a wireless card, and I'm looking for cable or dsl.  Not dial-up, basically.  I'm specifically looking at AT&T.  Any thoughts on that?  Suggestions for other companies?  Any info would be greatly appreciated.


EDIT-  I ended up going with USI Wireless (I'm promised that I don't actually have to BE wireless...).  Thanks to everyone for all the great info!  The Qwest/Comcast war of the roses is kinda interesting. :)  Best of luck to everyone who has to fight that battle.

I got an email from a friend about this today:

From the Communications Director of 1000 Friends of Minnesota:

1000 Friends of Minnesota and Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) are working together to create dozens of Legacy Letters — short videos about what people treasure most in Minnesota. These minute-long videos will air statewide on the Minnesota Channel numerous times over the course of the next year, with the potential for select Legacy Letters to air on TPT’s weekly public affairs show, Almanac. The videos will also be posted online on the 1000 Friends of Minnesota website.

The goal of Legacy Letters is to have articulate Minnesotans express our collective values and the future they envision for the state. Participants will describe their own "places of the heart," establishing a personal connection between themselves and an aspect of the state that makes Minnesota feel like home. They will choose an object to be included in their video that represents what they treasure in Minnesota. They might be describing a physical place, such as their favorite town, neighborhood, river, cabin or bike trail, or they might be capturing an intangible quality they hold dear, such as a feeling of community, a connection to the land, or strength in the face of adversity. The object they choose will help shape their story.

Do you know of someone who can tell a good story, is passionate about Minnesota and might want to share their thoughts with a public television audience? If so, please encourage them to check out our website.

There they will find more detail about Legacy Letters and how to propose one. The deadline for this first round is September 5. We will be filming between mid-September and mid-October, with the first ones airing in late November. We will continue to seek Legacy Letters in the winter and spring so we can film in all of Minnesota’s seasons.

In all the excitement of being on holiday and suchlike, I never did that version of the 100 foods every omnivore should try some time. I think a bunch of my friendslist has already done this, cursed it for being very american, and got fed up of it or something - but given that I opined on some of the foodstuffs contained within, to a greater or lesser extent, lemme have a go at the finished version.

Ta, anw, for this list - interesting, especially in its divisiveness!

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

( details to be skipped as desired )

I go to college here in St. Paul and my boyfriend goes to college at UW-Stout in Menomonie, WI. As I am a poor college student, I do not have a car. My boyfriend's b'day is coming up, and I would like to surprise him by unexpectedly showing up. :)

So, how does one get from St. Paul to Menomonie without a car?

Thanks!

This also happened today:

• 11:36 Seven black sacks of autumn leaves in front of a garage door; on top of one, a single black court shoe rests like a sinister clue.

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