MUSIC | Dodos entrance the Cedar Cultural Center by Kyle Matteson, TC Daily Planet • San Francisco band the Dodos brought their brand of folk-infused indie rock to the Cedar Cultural Center on March 23, with openers Reading Rainbow. They are currently touring supporting their fourth album No Color (2011), a great return to form after their 2009 release Time to Die. I’d seen the Dodos twice previously, both at the Turf Club, and as much as I enjoy their records, live is where they truly shine; this show was no different.
STYLE | University of Minnesota fashion design senior spotlight: Alix Nettnay by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet • If these clothes were in a movie, what would it be named? Silk Skirts (1954).
Betting on change by Nick Busse, Session Weekly/Session Daily • One of this year’s smallest budget bills could bring about some of the biggest and most transformative changes for state government.
BOOKS | Books & Bars selection The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: A living legacy by Courtney Algeo, TC Daily Planet • Rebecca Skloot also remembers the day she learned about HeLa cells. She was “sixteen and sitting in a community college biology class” when her professor explained that the HeLa cells from Henrietta, the first ever able to live and grow infinitely and successfully outside of the human body, have been invaluable to science since their discovery in 1951. He also added, briefly at the end of class, that “she was a black woman.” Skloot couldn’t believe that there wasn’t more to the story, and spent the next decade curiously searching for the story behind the cells. Thus, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was born.
MUSIC | The Wailin’ Jennys’ Bright Morning Stars fairly glistens by Dwight Hobbes, TC Daily Planet • A wonderful thing about acoustic icons the Wailin’ Jennys: they’re a trio of amazing artists, each with fine solo releases, and the group hasn’t been plagued by public squabbling or other such nonsense as seems to often come with the pressures of success. Their fans have to be among the happiest in music that these gals stay intact, making gorgeous music together year after year.
Watered down stem cell ban added to higher ed omnibus bill by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent • The Senate Higher Education Committee on Wednesday adopted an amendment by Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville, that would prohibit state or federal money from going to somatic cell nuclear transfer, a type of embryonic stem cell research, in Minnesota. A broader bill, which would criminalize that type of stem cell research, awaits a vote on the Senate floor. The full omnibus bill passed out of key committees on Thursday and has moved to the Senate floor for a full vote.
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SAINT PAUL ALMANAC | In nomine patris by Marianne McNamara • The year was 1933: FDR had just succeeded Herbert Hoover in the White House, the first episode of The Lone Ranger aired on the radio, Fay Wray co-starred with a giant mechanical gorilla in King Kong, and the chocolate chip cookie had just been invented.
THINK FORWARD | Tale of two farms in Brazil by Ben Lilliston • Today, we got our shoes dirty. We visited two very different types of farms outside this bustling agriculture town of Lucas do Rio Verde. One, struggling to survive, the other seemingly thriving. One small, one large. One growing all food, the other nearly all agricultural commodities. The stories of both farms reflect the challenges and promises of Brazilian agriculture.
MENNONISTA | Creating peace via Skype by Steve Clemens • We were told to expect the AYPV boys at our office lodgings at 4:30 AM because the Global Day of Listening was scheduled to begin by 5:30. They arrived a little late because they had been on the phone to others around the world since 10 PM last night. The plan for today was to continue the conversations over Skype connections on the internet. We rented a local internet café for the day but it wasn’t schedued to open until 8 AM so the conversation across the ocean(s) began with just telephone conversations.
OPEN SECRETS MN | Trials and tribulations of a people lobbyist by Rich Neumeister • This week was a very busy for me at the Minnesota State Legislature. As readers of this blog know I like going to the Capitol to help the policymakers do good legislation. This week was the beginning of the busy time which will last up to adjournment in May.
ARTS ORBIT | Notes from the tipsy Twit-Pit: How Patton Oswalt earned me a retweet from John Moe by Courtney Algeo • Caveat: this two-part story involves me getting drunk in both parts.
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