The Wake

The first time I heard the story of my two acquaintances being beaten with the barrel of a gun, their assailants collectively stealing around four grand of money and drugs from them, I knew it was time to delete some numbers from my phone. The minute your life starts to sound a bit too much like an Elliott Smith song, the first time you survive a chat with the cops while wasted, it’s probably time to reevaluate your priorities.If you or someone you know gets into drugs, there only are two outcomes. What hopefully happens is that the person realizes …

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A year ago, life was good. I had just graduated high school and was about to go to a stellar college. I had a ton of really badass friends. I was dating a boy with whom I’d been obsessed for three years, who was also attending the U of M. I had moved out of my father’s house, and we were finally patching things up. And I was finally, finally leaving the stifling boredom of Manhattan, Kansas.But I was sad consistently and unsure of why. When I was with my friends or boyfriend, I was trying to figure out why …

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Omaha, Neb., has been an incubator for up-and-coming indie acts since Saddle Creek Records led the charge out of the laughably Midwestern town and into the rest of the country’s stereos and concert venues. Tilly and the Wall stomped its way to the forefront of this lauded music scene thanks to band member Jamie Williams’s tap shoes and a wooden platform placed on stage. There are no drums in this whimsical quintet’s tracks. Instead, two feet and a pair of tap heels supply the percussion—picture Riverdance minus the plaid and on the Triple Rock’s stage. Equally important are the musicians …

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Experimental indie-punk trio The Slats has constructed a raw and witty, if not intelligent, album in Boom Patrol. Their fifth full-length disc opens with the ballsy, anthem-like hook of “Ironman,” boasting gold-plated fists and proclaiming “there’s no use crying,” before continuing on through the dirty bass sound and pseudo-rap of “Ignatius,” a song with brash lines like “iconoclastic and drastic/I’ll break any law that I don’t think is right.” Track seven, “I Wrote the Code,” is one of the albums highlights, with lyrics such as “I don’t think that I’ve ever seen/poetry so sharp and clean/since the samurai/cut off their …

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What happens when you mix spoken word with dance, and artists with urban planners? Or when students dress in Velcro suits and play with giant tarps? And what does the guy in a squirrel costume have to do with anything? You’ll find out at ArtsMosis, the Arts Quarter Collective’s annual event where anything is possible. The AQC, an eclectic student group in the West Bank Arts Community, also hosts grant writing workshops, cabarets, and art festivals. But none are as big as ArtsMosis. This year’s festival includes about 10 projects, ranging in content from spoken word and multimedia presentations to …

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It’s the last week of August, and for three days, all I’ve thought about is what I’m going to drink when I get home. Last night, I perfected the Black and Tan. But tonight, I need something harder. It was my third straight thirteen-hour day of working at the Minnesota State Fair.My booth wasn’t bad: there were no deep fryers, no corn batter, and no products to sell. I was working for a local media channel, and I was in charge. Most of my days were spent in an air-conditioned office, though I also had to work the autograph tables …

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Dinkytown’s first high-end clothing store, “Covered,” is nestled on the corner of 14th Avenue SE and Fourth Street. The shop, owned by Stacy Larson, is the newest addition to the student neighborhood’s ever-changing landscape. But don’t let the flashy tags fool you; while some of the clothes may be out of most college students’ price range, Larson’s boutique might have what you’re looking for.“The store may seem upscale,” Larson says. “But once you get in the door, I promise you’ll be sold.” And sales seem to be the only thing on Larson’s mind, “Last weekend for our grand opening (Sept. …

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The distance began with a tone;
a decision to set my steps forward
with reason—I began in a crescent of concrete and stone,
whose center bears the lines
under a tired wooden pole.
They skated from rooftop to rooftop
to the circuits of the stores lining the streets.I took the alley with scattered gravel
and the signs of a beginner’s tags
over business stone
covered black and re-tagged again—
The scars of the garbage truck’s
teeth kick into my sandals,
scrape my feet.The burden of the bridge
as I crossed over the tracks of commerce,
whose engines snarled slowly as …

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In the Porcupine Mountains
in the upper peninsula of Michigan
the autumn air is already seeping
into the leaves.
I see Hoffmaster,
the pioneer of this place, pressing his palm
against the cool rock at my feet.
He slowly washes his eyes
with the sunlight coming off
Lake of the Clouds.
The trees shudder in the wind and
I see him
drift over the cliff
crumbling into the jagged bluffs below.

I bear your likeness, it’s been said
Lorelei swimming the liquor of my eyes
The press of your cheek against the blue mirror sheen
Shivers
You’re dying to glean a glance
At us. At what the mirror’s reflecting.Though I’ve tried to dissect
To split the coat of scales
Splay the sleek spine
Beneath a rusty constellation of pins
Not even that sepchural skeleton can say
Where mother ends and daughter beginsMy fingers in a stiff, merciless display
How they scratch and pluck
How they wring and wrench your silk slick limbs
Tearing you to tangles
Your broken angles a pile …

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A new exhibit on the West Bank features photographs, set models, costume sketches and other items from the Guthrie collections that have been part of the Guthrie history since 1965. These items have been on display in the Elmer L. Andersen Library since August 7. The display allows for guests to get an idea of the early history of the theater and its creators as well as a feeling for all that goes into a show and how this has changed over the years. Sir Tyrone Guthrie announced his plan for a theater outside of New York City in …

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If you were beyond devastated upon hearing that Pluto was recently demoted to dwarf-planet status, you are not alone. On Sept. 14, in the first of a weekly series of events hosted by the University’s Institute for Advanced Study, Pluto admirers came from far and wide to mourn the loss of their beloved planet. The series of events, titled “Thursdays at 4:00,” selected Terry Jones as their first speaker. Jones has been working in the University’s astronomy department since 1982 and sought to provide information about Pluto’s discovery, its brief stint as a planet and why it got the …

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Some say that the race to become the next U.S. Congress representative from the 5th District was decided in the Sept. 12 DFL primary. But Republicans are mounting an attack on the winner of the primary, Rep. Keith Ellison, that could shift the district from the liberal stronghold it has historically been to more conservative ground. DFL politicians have represented the 5th District, which encompasses all of Minneapolis and some of the surrounding suburbs, since 1963 when Republican Walter Judd was in office. Because of this, many doubt that the other candidates in the race (Republican Alan Fine, Independent Tammy …

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“Katrina-style incompetence,” “priority, pessimism, politics” and “appalling,” were among the labels experts slapped on the United States’ policy regarding current nuclear and humanitarian crises on the Korean Peninsula at a recent Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs panel discussion. Former political leaders and government officials gave their take on the U.S.’s diplomacy – or accused a lack thereof – at the presentation, “Beyond the Nuclear Issue: Crisis on the Korean Peninsula” in mid-September.“The development by Korea of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons is one of the gravest threats that we have had in our lives, and in our …

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The origins of rugby date back to London,1175, where a monk, William Fitzspephen, documented youths “playing with a ball in open spaces.” If you would like to be a part of history, join the women’s rugby club. It’s a club requiring no prior experience, simply a commitment to learn, give your all and have fun! Be careful though, when a rookie scores on their first try, they have to run around the field naked – that’s the rules.The Wake: I have to know. Has anyone actually scored on their first try and run around the field naked? Kristy Lear: …

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