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Welcome to Minnesota: A Conversation about Immigration and Human Rights

May

25

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Mark Weaver

About me

Mark Weaver (mrkdwvr@yahoo.com) grew up in Fairborn, Ohio and then embarked on a life journey that has taken him across the U.S. and around the world. He has spent the last ten years teaching linguistics and English as a second language at colleges and universities in Texas, Minnesota, and California. Before that, he worked with a linguistics organization in Ethiopia. He is currently a freelance writer living in Minneapolis. Besides writing articles for the Daily Planet, he contributes to the Arts Orbit blog.

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Manga and anime at MCAD: Taking cartoons seriously

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

The influences of manga and anime are everywhere, even if they're not always identifiable. Japanese artists often go unnoticed in the US because people often dismiss manga and anime as mere comics and cartoons. Despite this prevailing attitude, manga and anime are making significant and transforming inroads into the cultures and economies of the world.MORE »

Japanophilia at MCAD

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

Speed Racer ran Sunday afternoons. My brother and I never missed an episode. As far as I know, this was the only Japanese animation I watched as a kid, and I was enthralled. In the early 1980s, as I was leaving the nest to begin my adult life, a tsunami of Japanese artwork and culture headed for the US and flooded the hearts and minds of the emerging generation.MORE »

Book note: New tome on Minnesota's historic bridges

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

Over one year has passed since the collapse of the I-35W Bridge over the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. Before that, I didn’t think much about bridges. Sure, I might have noticed the body of water, a charging locomotive, or a gridlocked freeway as I passed over, but the bridge itself rarely captured my attention.MORE »

(10 seconds x 100 films) + beer

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

In recent years, the possibility of recording anything, anytime, cheaply, and conveniently has led to the capturing of countless everyday moments. Chris Pennington—high school teacher by day, artist and rogue filmmaker by night—amassed a sizable collection of ten-second snippets using the video feature on a new digital camera and began wondering if others had similar gems to share.MORE »

Bending circuits, subverting consumer culture

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

Squeaks, squeals, blips, and borps emerged from every corner. Techno music was the soundtrack. Computerized voices, farm animal sounds, and well-known childhood melodies rang out. Conversations reflecting the complexity of a schematic prevailed.MORE »

The world coming to St. Paul

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

Have you ever tried a pocky? Do you know the difference between kimbap and sushi? Do you know how to make a yurt? How about a hardanger? Have you ever wondered what life, entertainment, crafts, music, and food is like on other parts of the planet? Did you know you can find out relatively easily and cheaply?MORE »

The Bent Festival, a toy (horror) story

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

If genius and insanity are often fused, so are creativity and destruction.MORE »

On the bus: public moments, personal stories

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

A woman exposes her breast to feed her infant. A pedantic, self-appointed social and fashion critic disparages four pony-tailed men. Overly energized frat boys mock a Dale Earnhardt fan by chanting “Dale is Dead.” A kooky old man wears a mousetrap on his ear. Have you ever ridden on a city bus and had similar tales to tell?MORE »

Book note: "The Latehomecomer," a stirring family journey

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

If you type the word “Hmong” into a Microsoft Word document, the spell check dictionary underlines it with a squiggly red line. The Hmong, a significant part of the Twin Cities community, are evidently unknown to Microsoft—and perhaps to most Americans.

The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang, published by Coffee House Press (2008). $14.95.

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Interview: "Latehomecomer" Kao Kalia Yang

By Mark Weaver, TC Daily Planet

Kao Kalia Yang’s book The Latehomecomer tells the story of her family’s flight from Laos into Thailand, running from the North Vietnamese Army who intended to wipe out the Hmong for fighting with U.S. troops during the Secret War of Laos from 1960 to 1975.

Yang was born in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in 1980, and then at the age of seven came with her family to the U.S.MORE »