Re-use of the day: Alec Soth’s art crate becomes Aunt Betsy’s patio table

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My aunt Betsy Gabler—a regular Daily Planet contributor—worked for a time at Alchemy Architects, a firm sharing a St. Anthony Park building with the studio of well-known photographer Alec Soth. Soth’s work is shown around the world, and his prints would return to the studio in wooden art-shipping crates. Betsy remembers that Alchemy principal Geoff Warner, a re-use advocate, would say, “Don’t throw away those crates!” Continue Reading

A new media manifesto: Set my content free

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“Are you really coming out against Record Store Day?” my friend wrote in an e-mail. “Like, for real, not just in an attempt to gain online traction?”

I stopped and thought about it. It had been a few days since I wrote a post titled “Why I’m Not Celebrating Record Store Day,” and in retrospect it did seem a little strange. Had I actually become a person who would rip on record stores?

Well, yes and no. Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park on the Mississippi? University of Minnesota architecture students suggest grand plans, encounter grander obstacles

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For years, the future of Minneapolis’s riverfront along St. Anthony Main has been rich in promise but lacking in follow-through. New proposals for the area poured in after a plan to reinvigorate the area collapsed in the 2008 recession. To help educate them on options for their neighborhood’s future, residents of the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood and the greater University District sought the help of Ignacio San Martín.

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WEDNESDAY PICK | The world’s first skyway

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You’ve been inside the Twin Cities’ skyways all winter; now that it’s warming up, it’s time to step out and take a look at the skyways from the outside. Or not…but at least take a glance up from Fourth Street between Robert and Minnesota in downtown St. Paul. You’re looking at what is certainly Minnesota’s highest skyway, and is believed by many to be the world’s first. It was built in 1931, connecting the 17th floor of the First National Bank Building with the 16th floor of the Merchants Bank Building. The skyway’s construction was simultaneous with the construction of the First National Bank Building, which overtook the Merchants Bank Building as St. Paul’s tallest skyscraper and held that distinction for 55 years—until Galtier Plaza went up in 1986.

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Minnesota Beard-Off 2012: Ragnar the Viking and the Mustache Rangers will let it all hang out at First Avenue

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This year The Minnesota Beard-Off is on Saturday March 24. I participated in the event two years ago, the very first, which was fabulously put together by the punny and clever Art Allen. I met some wonderful(ly hairy) people that night and even became a finalist in my category (“freestyle,” which includes the fake lady-beards). I ended up covered in glitter and delightfully happy (even though I didn’t win) when I wore my bacon beard home that night. Continue Reading

On the Internet, it’s amateur hour—and that’s a good thing

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In a Thought Catalog post titled “Why I Hate ‘Fashion,'” Chelsea Fagan defends herself against a commenter who told her to stop posting photos of her outfits, since—according to the commenter—Fagan will never be as stylish or interesting as professional fashionistas. It reminded me of a comment on one of my best-tweet roundups for The Tangential: “If you’re going to include comics/comedy writers on this list, you might as well just pull everything from Favstar or Witstream. I don’t see the point in including the general public when pretty much everything on there is bound to be funnier.” In other words, leave the tweeting to the pros. Continue Reading

THURSDAY PICK | Minnesota designer Sarah Holm: Red carpet worthy

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When our writer Courtney Algeo and photographer Jamie Millard were headed to the Academy Awards and needed an answer to the question “Who are you wearing?”, they turned to Minnesota designer Sarah Holm, who whipped up custom dresses for both women to wear proudly. But you don’t need to be on the red carpet to wear a Sarah Holm original: her designs are available through multiple outlets locally and online, and are often seen on Twin Cities runways. (Yes, we have runways.) Visit Holm’s website for more information about this designer inspired by “mid-century silhouettes, femme-fatale attitude, modern art and architecture, ridiculous horror and science fiction films, and the forms that we encounter in everyday life.” Continue Reading

MONDAY PICK | Grab a Minnesota-made tallboy at Grumpy’s NE

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It’s Monday, which means there’s a Minnesota-themed happy hour at Grumpy’s NE: all local beer is half-price from 5:00-9:00 p.m. There’s no better time or place to grab one of the flashy and (relatively) new “Big Friendly” cans of Grain Belt Premium, a beer that will make you feel like summer’s just around the corner no matter how much snow is on the ground.

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The Sabo Bridge and the right-wing attack on urban aesthetics

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The recent structural failure on the Sabo Bridge was disconcerting, though thankfully far from calamitous. In the ensuing discussion, I was surprised—though probably I shouldn’t have been—to see how forthrightly people came forth and criticized the fact that the bridge was constructed with attention to form as well as function. One commenter wondered why we felt the need to spend so much money “to look like Copenhagen,” and another weighed in by suggesting that we need to be “fiscally responsible.” Continue Reading