The Wake

Dear Mr. Michael G. Myer:Reading your article in The Wake about depression being a cultural myth really caught my attention and sparked a lot of interest in me. This is a very important topic because overmedication is spreading rapidly and affects many people that we meet every day. In a way, I felt like this overmedication of people was only happening around me, and I didn’t realize that someone else feels the way I do about the whole situation. It was interesting to see your viewpoint, and some of the things you mentioned really shocked me. It seems that …

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So I have to do this thing for The Wake about marijuana. Man, this is hard. I don’t know what to write about. I mean, I like weed and all. It makes me feel good and appreciate things a lot more. Damn, this weed I just got is freaking good. I thought I’d get a bunch of ideas now about this thing I have to write. Maybe I could describe what it’s like to be high … Man, this is harder than I thought. I’m going to go watch Family Guy. That show is so freaking hilarious. That little baby. Oh …

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“Newsrooms heavy on liberals, even fair-minded ones, will see the world as liberals do. They need more conservative colleagues,” conservative columnist Patrick McIlheran recently said. “If conservatives want more news they can believe, they must involve themselves in the daily reporting, photographing, editing, headlining and producing of news as eagerly as do liberals.” The truth of the matter is that more journalists identify themselves as “liberals” rather than “conservatives.” Decades of surveys support this fact. The media’s “liberal bias,” however, has become a hot topic in recent months. Minneapolis’ own Star Tribune has been under attack for …

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The indigenous peoples of Minnesota simple refer to them as “Red Lakers.” They are a small but proud band of Ojibwe people who have occupied the lands surrounding Upper and Lower Red Lakes for more than two and a half centuries. The Red Lake Indian Reservation boasts one of the richest indigenous cultures and histories in the country — unlike any other Minnesota Indian reservation. They have maintained and preserved their language, their customs and their sovereignty while others have been assimilated into mainstream America. Despite this long and rich history, Red Lake will forever be known as the “worse …

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“General College is still a necessity at the University of Minnesota because all students are valued in this college. No one is marginalized. Thank you.”- anonymous student posting on Save GC blogSeventy-three years ago, the University of Minnesota’s General College was founded to provide education to students who ordinarily would not complete four years of university study. Today it is threatened, in danger of being lost to elitist academia. If all goes according to official plan, come 2006 the doors of Appleby Hall will no longer provide a gateway to the University of Minnesota for under-prepared students of myriad ethnic …

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April nights always seem colder when you want to die. The metallic cold of the pistol in my mouth chilled my gums. I sobbed uncontrollably into the barrel and prayed for the courage to pull the trigger. A single shell lies in the chamber, like a brass key, waiting to explode open the door to death – to release.I had never felt so withered and sapped of life as I did sitting in my car on a country road that night. My very being was morose and tired; desperate for relief. I had confessed to my mother some days before …

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The University is about to get in on the film festival action. Thursday, April 21, marks a historic beginning for amateur filmmakers as Minnesota Programs Activities Council hosts its first-ever student film festival at Coffman Union Theater. The festival was born out of need, says MPAC committee member Justin Scott. “On such a huge campus with so many students there [had] to be people interested in this.”MPAC tried to host the film festival last year, but started planning too late. At the beginning of this year, however, MPAC decided to make it a priority, Scott says. This year the festival …

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After the brutal beating and subsequent death of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in October of 1998 — a death that made Matthew’s a name a household one synonymous with words like “hate crimes” and “homophobia” — playwright Moisés Kaufman and other members of the Tectonic Theater Project traveled from New York City to Laramie, Wyoming and surrounding areas to interview those who knew Shepard and knew of him. They also interviewed those who watched as their humble, all-American town — a town in which the mantra of “live and let live” is engrained within many …

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Chicago’s blackened thrash metal band Usurper contend with the likes of Manowar and 3 Inches of Blood for the title of most metal band in the universe. They have been inducing headbanging in the underground since 1992 and have released five albums, most recently Cryptobeast on Earache Records. Recently I spoke to guitarist Rick Scythe.The Wake: Where do you rate Cryptobeast amongst Usurpers five albums?Rick:Right up there at the top.The Wake: What distinguishes Cryptobeast from other Usurper albums?Rick: A few things… first of all the line-up. We have 3 of the four original members from our debut album and a …

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Dinnertime approaches daily, like a swinging pendulum. The when and where may vary for everyone, but the eating hour will always rumble its way into your day. It is this crucial time that has your stomach asking, “how will you fulfill my needs?” while the rest of you debates whether or not you desire the same old dinner. Such thoughts inevitably lead to one conclusion: it is time for a change, and time to eat out!Furthermore, after perusing the restaurant districts you will probably reach two more conclusions: One, you will likely want to eat Asian cuisine instead of fast …

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Hippocrates once said, “Let food be your medicine.” That’s all well and good, as long as the food doesn’t taste like smoked crap rubbed in cod liver oil which leads to a series of gagging reflexes. Such is an apt description for the salmon salad now featured, for what I would assume to be a very limited time, on Subway’s menu.When I think of Subway, I picture that girl in high school who dressed in the 1980s style, off-the-shoulder shirts as soon as she found out it was popular, and who, consequently, didn’t have an original bone in her body. …

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On a rainy evening, I don’t look forward to going outside for my cigarette. But at First Avenue, waiting for the Shins to come on stage, I go outside. I smoke a cigarette. I smoke another. The photographer and I came early, to get a good spot for photos. I glanced in my wallet to see how much beer I’d be able to drink before the opening act started in an hour an a half. Enough, I thought.After a while, I inevitably end up here in the grey drizzle, smoking, glancing at my watch, talking to friends I didn’t expect …

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If only comics could save the world. We would be laughing our way to a higher moral existence and Dan Piraro, creator of the nationally syndicated comic “Bizarro,” would be our savior. We may not be there yet, but little by little, Piraro contributes to change with the help of his tongue-in-cheek mischief and humor. The University of Minnesota saw this first hand when Piraro came to speak Thursday, April 14, at Willey Hall. “An Evening With Dan Piraro: Bizarro, Cartoons, and Compassion” was sponsored by Compassionate Action for Animals, a local group devoted to educating university students, faculty, and …

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The hand of it that bends, hunched fish.
Kiss my sternum. Breath escapes
burning acid. Spring awaits us.
I picture your face, granules of flour smash against a light bulb, the rest is just dust. Where is the matter that makes up the current you?
This place you ought to know. My vagina feels right before the flowers bloom
A sting, a pinch
of remembrance telling me
Not to forget the time I swung on a tire swing and felt not my own presence of woman
But everything’s gift of …

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Me levanto de mi cama
Cansado ya
Por no poder dormir
Y salgo a la calle vestido de tristeza
Con una cara sin afeitar
En la infinita felicidad de que
Nobody really cares about me here
No tengo asi que disimular que
Desde que tus ojos grises
Lloran en mis sueños
Llevo
Pegada
A mí
Una infinita tristeza
Que nadie comprende
Y ni siquiera el Sol está de mi parte
Ni antes
Durante mis largas horas de estudio
Ni antes
Durante mis largas horas de fiesta
Ni antes
Durante mis noches de cama y foto sensiblidad
Ni ahora…

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