Inside the Daily Planet, 12/03/08

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Todo sobre mi bicicletaby James Sanna and Cass Sanford, TC Daily PlanetThis summer, it seemed like everyone was riding a bike. Whether people were commuting, running errands, or just cruising on a sunny day, Minneapolitans and St Paulites were putting the fun between their legs and going for a ride. It felt like The Twin Cities, Land of the Bicycle, where Thor cruises on his Schwinn World Tour.Advise and Dissent: Noel Nixby Emily Bright, TC Daily PlanetWhat would you like to tell president-elect Barack Obama? Advise and Dissent features Minnesota opinions on what the new president should be thinking and doing.Mr. President, this country needs you to truly govern in a bipartisan way–even when it gets hard and everyone from the left or from the right is attacking you–in order to bring about a change in the tone of politics.THEATER | Soap opera star returns home to Osseo to pull off a Christmas Miracleby Jean Gabler, TC Daily PlanetYellow Tree Theatre is a professional theater created in a space vacated by an Osseo furniture store. Two months ago, with rehearsals set to begin, they suddenly lost the rights to their holiday show: Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol. Continue Reading

Inside the Daily Planet, 11/28/08

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Advise and Dissent: Katie Matsonby Emily Bright, TC Daily PlanetWhat would you like to tell president-elect Barack Obama? Advise and Dissent features opinions on what the new president should be thinking and doing.Mr. President-elect, I have three pieces of advice. One: Part of why you were selected is that you seem so cool and centered and balanced. Weekend What’s What 11/27-11/30: Turkey dazeby l’etoile magazine staffThe holidays have officially arrived! We trust by the time you read this, you’ll be pleasantly stuffed with Thanksgiving feast and your quota for family interactions will have been filled. Continue Reading

Gran Torino connects Hmong Minnesotans with Hollywood

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The Hmong shaman had come to the movie set fully equipped. Normally he’d have worn a shirt and slacks, but for Clint Eastwood’s new movie, Gran Torino, he dressed as he would have in Laos. Using his own equipment and mostly his own traditional dress, the shaman was ready to shoot the ceremonial scene. That is, until they hit a snag. He’d left the equipment he needed to perform the ritual in his trailer. Continue Reading

Tibetan community voices support for “Middle Way Path”

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On March 10, 2008 the Chinese government suppressed riots in Tibet, killing more than 100 people. That riot worried Tibetans and Tibetans in the exile, including Tibetans in Minnesota, which has the second largest Tibetan Community in the United States. On October 19 more than 150 people, mostly Tibetans in exile, gathered at the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul to discuss the situation of the Tibetan Government in Exile. There was a question and answer panel discussion with Tibetan Community of Minnesota board members. Continue Reading

Inside the Daily Planet, 11/14/08

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Secretary of State lays out details of Senate recountby Paul Demko, Minnesota IndependentSecretary of State Mark Ritchie announced the formation of a five-person statewide canvassing board today that will oversee the mandatory recount in the U. S. Senate race. Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Ramsey County Chief Judge Kathleen Gearin, along with two other judges, will join Ritchie on the panel.Workers seek support as foundry lockout enters third weekby Steve Share, Workday MinnesotaA lockout idling 160 union workers at a Plymouth foundry is now in its third week – and the union is reaching out to the rest of the labor movement for support.Heather Henson’s puppet film collection comes to Minneapolisby Jay Gabler, TC Daily PlanetHeather Henson, daughter of Jim Henson, hasn’t fallen far from the tree—she’s dedicated her life to creating and supporting puppetry of all kinds. Among her many projects is collecting short films featuring puppetry; selections from that collection will be screening this weekend at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, with a live performance by puppet miniaturist Laura Heit. Henson is based in Orlando, where she heads IBEX Puppetry; she spoke by phone about the short films, her father, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul puppetry scene.MUSIC | U Opera Theatre student signs with Metropolitan Operaby David Introwitz, Minnesota DailyBig productions are in place this year at the University of Minnesota Opera Theatre, as it kicked off its 2008-09 season this weekend with “The Rape of Lucretia.” Continue Reading

Inside the Daily Planet, 11/09/08

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INSIDE THE DAILY PLANETReaders, Writers and BooksBook note: New gay mystery is Sweet Poison for the Ellen Hart cultby Jay Gabler, TC Daily PlanetA few months ago, the Daily Planet received a galley of a forthcoming mystery novel: Sweet Poison, by local author Ellen Hart. I was about to pass it to another reviewer when I noticed the publicist’s accompanying letter, which quoted Entertainment Weekly calling Hart “a top novelist in the cultishly popular gay mystery genre.” There’s a whole genre of gay mysteries? It’s cultishly popular? One of its top novelists lives in Minneapolis? What’s a “gay mystery,” anyway?150 best Minnesota books #32: Maps of “vigorous and lusty” Minnesotaby Patrick Coleman, Minnesota Historical SocietyIn 1873 salesmen covered Minnesota like locusts, hawking a landmark publication: the first illustrated atlas of any state. Continue Reading

Pictures at the polls

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Are your kids watching the election results? Eden Prairie resident Wade Johnson remembers staying up late during the first Reagan election and eating popcorn as his family watched the election returns, his parents crossing their fingers for Reagan to win. “I remember seeing the states were blue or red, and my parents would guess which state would go which way,” Johnson said. “As kids that was something very visual and we were able to attach one party to one color.”
Amy Twedt also remembers driving twenty minutes to the polls from her rural home near Hutchinson to watch her parents vote. “I don’t recall the political campaigns, but I remember the activity of the evening,” she said. Continue Reading