The Wake

Rage, bewilderment, wildly throwing punches in the air all are common symptoms of being “booted,” or having one’s vehicle immobilized for parking in the wrong spot.Because of the nature of the practice, immobilizing vehicles often results in an intense confrontation between the person who has been booted and the person collecting the fee for removing the boot, which is usually around $100. For this reason, some Minneapolis City Council members, including Paul Zerby, are in favor of enacting a ban on devices that immobilize vehicles. Zerby’s ward includes the University of Minnesota campus and its surrounding areas, where booting …

Read more →

When the Student Public Affairs Coalition organized the October 20th debate among State House District 59B candidates, they created a platform for the four to argue. Surprisingly, there was a lot of agreeing going on.All four candidates say the budget is their highest priority for the upcoming term, and agreed that the state must restore funds cut last year from the “U.”On how the state would find money for the “U,” incumbent Phyllis Kahn (D) said, “Unfortunately, there isn’t a line in the state budget that says, ‘fraud, waste, and inefficiency.” She attacked Gov. Pawlenty’s “no tax policy,” suggesting that …

Read more →

Women’s HockeyAlready off to a stellar start, the number-one ranked lady rink-rats are intent on defending their national championship and have the returning players to do so. This will be another big year for coach Laura Halldorson’s dominating crew. Player to watch: Krissy Wendell. Last season’s Frozen Four MVP, WCHA player of the year and All-American is set for a monster year.Men’s HockeyThe roster may not look the same, but the Gophers always seem to have talent lying around. A balanced attack will make coach Don Lucia dangerous in March if they can stay healthy enough to mesh. Player to …

Read more →

As I drove with my friend in the 1989 Chevy Cavalier we painstakingly transformed into a spray-painted maroon and gold Gopher-mobile, I asked myself: what more can a Golden Gopher football fan ask for than tickets to the sold-out Michigan-Minnesota football game in Ann Arbor? As we sped across the St. Croix River into Wisconsin on I-94, I heard the answer in the form of a blown spark plug. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the beginning of a typical Minnesota-Michigan football game-weekend.Alarmed by the strange noises and inability to accelerate up hills, I was cautious, …

Read more →

Many, if asked what their dreams for the future are, start with the, “after college I plan to…” line. It’s rare to find people, at least at this stage, who are at the top of their game. Someone with the best-it’ll-ever-get-downhill-from-here-no-way-could-it-ever-get-better-than-this-living-in-the-moment attitude. Aimee Barmore, the Feature Twirler of the University of Minnesota Marching Band, feels this way about her twirling.“I wanted to twirl for a Big Ten school, and it’s funny because my mom –- we just moved – pulled out a whole bunch of my papers she had. In second grade, ya know when you write, ‘When I Grow …

Read more →

On September 11, 2001 I lost my faith in the shiny, happy people. Before that day I was a believer in Chomsky and Zinn. I believed that violence was never the answer, and I believed in the fundamental sameness of people. Before that day, I thought that the only thing keeping people from true fraternity was economics — namely, the system that was set up by those with money to keep those without from having or gaining their own. I believed that if people were left to their own devices, they would naturally fall into systems …

Read more →

Happy presidential election, college liberal –- this is your shining moment! Soon you will cast your hard-earned vote and oust that tyrant from his high throne. I can see the puffs of smoke streaming from your ears when you think about Dubya…take it easy! I know he waged war against a random country, proclaiming victory overseas while flag-draped coffins kept coming back home. If that weren’t enough, he has demonized America in the eyes of many of our allies, sounding a “with us or against us” mantra all the while.I don’t know about you, but I can’t take another four …

Read more →

Many Christian perspectives exist for most issues. Therefore, I must start with a disclaimer: I don’t represent all who call themselves “Christians.” This article is to explain what I believe, based on Scripture, should be the Christian perspective of the election, not what is every Christian’s perspective.To get a proper Christian perspective, we must start with the Bible. Micah 6:8 says, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” God …

Read more →

What is it about First Ave that makes a group of 400+ dance the “Nelly” to a Talking Heads cover tune? The mother f*cking Faint, that is what! Opening the show on the evening of October 5th with a cut from their new album, “Wet From Birth,” the five-piece from Omaha, Nebraska rocked the hell out of the dance floor for a steady hour. The crowd’s enthusiasm proved an hour to be on the conservative side: but still only one encore. Opening the show, however, was the surprisingly good Beep Beep who blended painfully belched vocals with melodic guitar riffs …

Read more →

“I don’t listen to the lyrics,” she says, “I just like the beat.” Erase the beat and listen again. My newest un-favorite: “Drop down and get your eagle on, girl.” Nelly tells me in “Flap Your Wings,” “Hoe! I need to see you take it down to the floor/Spread your wings/ If you will ma, fly real low/Pause for a second ma, grind real slow/And if you do it right, hoe, there we’ll go.”Yah I know, “I’m not a hoe and he’s not talking about me,” we say. Please, I’ve heard this again and again. So he’s not talking …

Read more →

Joe Bob Briggs is an American hero. He has been one of the greatest promoters of B-movies the world has ever seen. From his Dallas Herald Times column “Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In” to TNT’s classic program “Monstervision,” he has brought the three B’s of blood, beasts, and breasts to the masses. He certainly helped shape my taste in movies… Recently, I was lucky enough to interview Joe Bob.How did you initially gain interest in B-movies?I took a job as the mainstream critic at the Dallas Times Herald, but I discovered that I was bored with the run-of-the-mill Hollywood …

Read more →

While waiting in Dinkytown to interview JoAnna James, a stranger sitting next to me at the café struck up a bored conversation about karaoke saying how great it is that she “can perform live any night of the week at the bars, so long as she’s drunk enough.” It struck me as oddly amusing considering the juxtaposition of musicianship once my interviewee arrived. James is, by all accounts, on fire; she released her first full-length album last year, recently wrapped up her Midwest tour, just recorded a compilation CD and now, backed by a full band, is due in the …

Read more →

How can a person describe an auditory experience that leaves them filled with emotion and lacking words? Happy Apple does this all too well, inviting listeners into their intoxicating sound, supplemented by their brotherly love for one another. The jazz trio is known and respected, both here in the United States and across Europe, for expanding audiences’ notions of jazz. The foundation of Happy Apple was a two-person group: Dave King and Mike Lewis. Before there was Happy Apple, the pair played their first show at the Bryant Lake Bowl in the fall of 1995. The show took …

Read more →

The neon green star, a beacon for empty bellies, illuminates the night sky with promises of innovative American cuisine and a convivial atmosphere. Located in a historic building of northeast Minneapolis, The Sample Room, a hybrid bar and restaurant, serves succulent dishes in a timely and amiable fashion. The sexy lighting with black and muted gold décor simulates jazz lounge ambiance, minus the musical instruments. The Sample Room is true to its name by offering patrons a variety of seating and eating options. One choice that is not available, however, is the nonsmoking option. Service is procurable at the …

Read more →

The last time I saw Ben Folds was in 1997 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was still with Ben Folds Five, and Brick had flown up the charts of Modern Rock and Top 40 radio and their album Whatever and Ever Amen was consistently in my dinky five-disc boom box. Ben Folds Five rounded out a daylong festival, and one of my fondest memories is seeing Folds throw his stool at his piano at the end of their set.Now, seven years later and halfway across the country, I made the trek down to Northfield, Minnesota to see Ben Folds play …

Read more →