How Mrs. Claus saved Christmas

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There are those who pull down their Christmas decorations as soon as the clock strikes 12 AM December 26. There are some, I am told, who keep their tree up until Easter. I am the sort who keeps the tree up until at least Julgransplundring, which is conveniently right before my birthday. In honor of the continuing holidays, I present to you one of the most precious gifts my family ever received. How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas is a story my mother read to us five sisters every Christmas Eve after Mass, before bedtime. I wrote about it here a few years ago. If I close my eyes I can still hear Mom’s voice imitating Santa and Mrs. Claus. I remember stifling tears when the children receive presents they’d always wished for but that they thought Santa didn’t know about. I wanted Mom to read each page slowly, so that I had time to absorb the mesmerizing illustrations. Continue Reading

“Black Hippie” David Daniels comes back with a tale of “Cancer, Love, Peace and Assorted Realities”

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When spoken-word-artist/playwright/actor David Daniels told me a couple or so years ago that he was going to retire, I took the news with considerable disappointment. After all, the infamous and beloved Rasta Bard is truly is one of a kind.To elucidate, Daniels is infamous in that there are easily a half-dozen reputable Twin Cities venues where he’s no longer welcome to perform, because his performance can be a bit more authentic than mainstream sensibilities permit. When a script of his calls for smoking ganja, there are vegetable cigarettes he could use as a stage prop, but David Daniels does no such thing. He lights up the real thing. He’s beloved as a maverick spirit holding over from the storied counterculture of eras ago.Retirement ultimately turned out to not be in the cards, something for which his fans, most of them with lifestyles modeled after the flower-power generation, are profoundly grateful. Continue Reading

CENTRAL CORRIDOR VOICES | “April,” a poem

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nature abhorstaxationas does thepopulace,yet rain showersand sunshineblend well this monthas do last minuteimportantimaginativedeductionsthat give usa running chanceto refundourselves.Diego Vázquez Jr. writes poems to flowers, birds, rocks, rivers, salmon, and people, too! Vázquez’s stories were included in Twelve Branches, and his novels include Growing through the Ugly and The Fat-Brush Painter. You might meet him in your school through a COMPAS residency. He is proud to have his poem stuck in cement (in a Saint Paul sidewalk).Coverage of issues and events affecting Central Corridor communities is funded in part by a grant from the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative. Continue Reading

MN VIDEOS | White Bear Lake man discovers the meaning of life

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White Bear Lake author John P. Lynch is nothing if not immodest: the press release for his new online “book” Extreme Thinking (A Theory of Everything) says that the book “literally covers everything.” What does he mean by extreme? “It is EXTREME because the THINKING is like snowboarding a McTwist.”The “book” presents itself as a metaphysical treatise arguing for a “Terran” worldview that emphasizes our existence as physical beings and dismisses the existence of any supernatural powers. “Idealism and spirituality,” writes Lynch, “both fall to your own body’s physical need to live, breathe, eat, drink, piss, shit, sleep, fuck, feel pain and die.”In this video, Lynch explains “The Meaning of Life,” which turns out to be…well, watch and see for yourself. If you dig Lynch’s vibe, you can send a donation to “unite the humans of Terra into a world community of nodes, cantons and regions.” Continue Reading

NEIGHBORHOOD NOTES | John Capecci, Marcy-Holmes author, earns national acclaim for “Living Proof”

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“Highly readable, this engaging manual never veers from its focus of providing the basic skills one needs to tell a story that can truly make a difference.” That’s what Kirkus Reviews had to say in May about Living Proof, a book co-authored by John Capecci and Tim Cage. Now, Living Proof has been named one of Kirkus’s best indie books of 2012.Capecci, a resident of the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood in Minneapolis, is a writer and consultant who specializes in helping people tell their stories effectively. (He’s taught a class on the subject for the Twin Cities Media Alliance, nonprofit publisher of the Twin Cities Daily Planet, and participated in our 2012 Fall Media Forum.) In a press release, Capecci says that “We’re delighted to be recognized by Kirkus Reviews. It’s a special honor because we took on the publication and marketing of the book ourselves. Continue Reading

Columbia Heights writer tackles bullying

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Columbia Heights writer Jennifer (Jenny) Elaine Jones-Sorge’s recently published children’s book about bullying, called Monsters, Monsters, Monsters! The power in me is bigger than any monster I’ve ever met! includes her own paintings, drawings, and a lifetime of good and bad experiences.

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A fantasy all-star cast for “A Christmas Carol”

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Ghost of Christmas Past: Betty White in the Christmas episode of Golden Palace. In the holiday episode of this short-lived Golden Girls spin-off, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia appear as ghosts to bring the holiday spirit to their cook Chuy. Rose, appearing in veil and halo, briefly confuses Christmas dreams with wet dreams before escorting Chuy first into his bathroom and then into his past, where it’s revealed that Chuy’s hatred of the holiday stems from his father’s making him dress as a giant Navidad cake.Ghost of Christmas Present: Carol Kane in Scrooged. Bill Murray’s yuppie Dickens update frequently sags, but never when Kane is on screen beating the hell out of the TV executive who’s forgotten how to love.Ghost of Christmas Future: Guthrie Theater, 2010-2012. If you like your Ghosts of Christmas Future to be pants-fillingly terrifying, the dramatic first appearance of this spirit—a giant crow-like prop dropping suddenly from the ceiling with a shuddering gong strike—will not disappoint.Bob Cratchit: Kermit the Frog, The Muppet Christmas Carol. Continue Reading