For a New American, few things can be as empowering and liberating as communicating through writing, be it a personal journal, a blog, for a voluntary newsletter or formal academic or business communication. In response to a Facebook status in which I informed my friends that I will be doing a monthly blog, some have asked me suggestions on how to initiate writing about our immigrant experiences here in the US. So I decided to devote this month’s blog on this topic.
I know it’s a bit too early to be making resolutions, but since I rung in 2013 by having a drunk girl lick my arm at First Avenue I can happily say I’m completely over New Year’s. For me, autumn is the time for change; change in the weather, change in the leaves, and changes for one’s career. It’s a transitional period marked by awkward discomfort but also by bold evolution. Continue Reading
In November 2007, I joined the Twin Cities Daily Planet as assistant editor. I asked Daily Planet editor Mary Turck if I could also be arts editor—since, after all, there were only two of us—and she said something along the lines of, “Sure, why not?”Six years—and 1,435 articles and blog posts—later, my time with the Daily Planet is coming to a close. On October 14, I’ll be making the move from the Daily Planet’s Seward headquarters to American Public Media, in what Garrison Keillor refers to as “hustling, bustling downtown St. Paul.” There, I’ll be joining the digital music team, working as an editor and writer on the websites of The Current and Classical Minnesota Public Radio.I’m excited for this new opportunity and very much looking forward to working with my talented new colleagues, but of course it’s hard to say goodbye to the Daily Planet, where I’ve had what feels less like a job than an odyssey. 2007 wasn’t that long ago, but when I started at the Daily Planet, MinnPost didn’t exist, METRO was a promising new monthly, and The Onion’s local A.V. Club didn’t even have a website. Continue Reading
Israeli documentaries, Russian-Jewish photography from the early twentieth-century, and Yiddish radio – these are a just a few of the topics that will be covered in this year’s Community Lecture Series, presented by the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota. The series is celebrating its tenth year, and will kick off the season with three exciting programs in October. Continue Reading
Earlier this summer, I had a Deep Roots Radio chat with Elisa Camahort Page, a co-founder of BlogHer, an online community of women who blog. Although I’ve blogged for years – written and posted an online collection of farm stories and a growing archive of radio interviews – I had no idea there are millions of women doing the same thing on a wide range of issues and interests. In fact, reports Elisa, women who blog about food have made BlogHer one of the top three social media sites about the topic, along with Recipes.com and Food Network. Continue Reading
When the Minnesota State Fair opens in August 2014, traffic congestion should improve on both Como and Larpenteur avenues, if the fair’s new transit hub and gate on the northwest side of the fairgrounds works as planned, says Jerry Hammer, the fair’s general manager.
“Comments can be bad for science,” wrote Popular Science Editor Suzanne LaBarre this week, announcing that the magazine is shutting down comments. That’s a tempting option for many discouraged by racist, homophobic or just plain ignorant voices that sometimes dominate the “comment cesspools.” After reading the 78 comments on one of this month’s most-read articles, I think it’s the wrong solution.The article, Domestic violence against Hmong women: The silent truth by Kaonou Hang-Vue, is a carefully written, thoughtful and eloquent call to “Hmong men and women [to] both stand up to fight for this cause together. It’s not a man-woman issue, it’s a community issue that can only be challenged and fixed by the collaboration of the whole Hmong community.”Sure, some of the commenters displayed almost comical ignorance, such as the one who proudly stated, “I didn’t read the article but only read the comments,” and then went on to criticize the article that he hasn’t read. Other commenters misstated facts or denounced the writer for statements that she did not make. Continue Reading
This weekend is jam-packed with events to help you get a jump on the fall season–from harvest fests to cheese fests, there’s a lot on tap! Get the details below: The Nativity County Fair takes place from Friday, September 13, to Sunday, September 15, in St. Paul. A bit more info about the fest as advertised on the Nativity County Fair website:”The Nativity County Fair began in 1975. The Nativity community pulled together in order to facilitate a fun way of giving to the school that has given so much to their children and their community…The Nativity County Fair is entering its 38th year of bringing joy to the Nativity community and beyond. The three day event takes place mid September on our school grounds and has become a favorite tradition in the parish and the Macalester Groveland neighborhood.”The 30th annual Autumn Daze Festival will take place from Friday, September 13, to Sunday, September 15, in Minneapolis. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited to come and enjoy the festivities, which include a quilt bingo and live and silent auctions. Go here for more details.The 11th Annual Selby Avenue Jazz Festival will get things swinging, Saturday, September 14, in St Paul. Continue Reading
