The Wake

When the U.S. Congress passed the Communications Act of 1934, it established the Federal Communications Commission, an independent federal agency responsible for regulating interstate and international communications of radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC regulated the rates of telephone companies, controlled business relationships between networks and their affiliates and limited the number and types of services a single person or corporation could own in a single market. It acted as a comprehensive government agency to protect Americans from being screwed by big market forces by encouraging options and competition.But on Dec. 29, 2006, the FCC approved the $85 …

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The latest album from Neil Young, titled “Living with War,” is full of politically charged content coming from someone who is known for making bold statements on political and social issues. I can’t say I’ve listened to it much, but the name is certainly thought provoking. What does it mean to be living with war? Obviously the experience of war for those in the bloody streets of Baghdad is totally different from that of the American masses, whose far-detached understanding of the occupation and violence is constrained by the sneaky filters of the news media. We are encouraged to think …

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From ice-skating at the Depot in downtown Minneapolis to building anatomically correct snowpeople in the back yard, Minnesotans have always found ways to endure and even celebrate the deep chill that has traditionally descended upon the state for a good portion of each year. Indeed, the earliest Scandinavian immigrants to this state were a stubborn lot who seemed eager to prove that they enjoyed the climate of this winter wasteland and that their settling here wasn’t some sort of tragic mistake.For the past 121 years, there have been none with grander delusions than the organizers of St. Paul’s Winter Carnival, …

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Two pianos begin an enchanting waltz as the company joins in a whimsical, yet poetic romp around an illuminated white circle. Couples dressed in authentic 1940’s garb pair up as they blissfully circulate around this imaginary carousel. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic Broadway musical, “Carousel” is now underway at West Bank’s Southern Theater. Presented by Nautilus Music-Theater, this new production is centered around themes of love, social class, domestic abuse, and redemption. Combining idealistic American dreams with a tragic and heartbreaking chain of events, the characters paint a vivid picture of a hopefulness found somewhere between daydreams and reality. The remake …

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I’d never encountered a presence of such unwavering intimidation. It may have been due to the fact that the first I heard of Tony Glover was in Bob Dylan’s Chronicles: Volume One. Not only that, but the words with which Dylan spoke of him. “-And then there was Tony Glover,” he recalled, “A harp player who played with me and Koerner sometimes… I played the harp too … I couldn’t play like Glover or anything, and didn’t try to.” It did nothing but add to my growing feelings of great inferiority when I looked into his work further and found …

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For the uninitiated movie film enthusiast, the task of sorting the junk from the gold can be daunting. Enter Harlan Jacobson. Jacobson is a New York critic with a thirty-year background in U.S. media who tours the country with a series called Talk Cinema. The goal of this tour is to expose film enthusiasts to the best of foreign and independent films before they are released to the masses. Before you start searching for a list of titles offered by the series, it’s worthwhile to know that the movie screened is a surprise until the film starts rolling.The path to …

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Even if you’ve never heard a song, you’ve likely heard their name. It’s not uncommon to hear stories in passing of Low’s mastery as songsmiths and performers, especially when you’re in Minnesota. Hailing from Duluth, Minn., this trio is the brainchild of tormented genius Alan Sparhawk. He formed the trio with wife Mimi, filtering through three different bassists since they formed in 1993, with Matt Livingston currently holding the honor. Low’s list of accomplishments is long in length and unquestionable in consequence. They’ve released eight albums to much critical acclaim and a consistent showing in the top ten across the …

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He couldn’t teach me how to be a Mexican,
The Spanish sticky sugar in my mouth.
It tasted sweet, but never would roll off,
Just stuck there, caramelized, a latent thing
That I would never really speak, just hear
From my father’s fluent foreign tongue.I looked a bit like him, but my own tongue
Was my mother’s, Minnesota’s. Mexicans
Made beautiful “R’s,” like the sound you hear
From a contented cat, but my own mouth
Produced the sound like lawnmowers, snow blowers, things
That I grew up with and could not shut off.It would seem only natural to be put …

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Rapson Hall is hosting an art exhibition starting January 16 and running through February 17. Architecture + Graphic Design boasts a collection of work that blends the boundaries between two different disciplines. The exhibition is sponsored by WPA inSeattle. The show is located in the HGA Gallery in the commons outside of the Dean’s office in Room 101. Along the front and back of a long row of panels are brightly colored signs in various shades of primary colors. On theses panels is a compilation of 48 photographs of buildings and structures that demonstrate the work of WPA, Inc. …

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On the landing of the steps outside the Regis Center for Art, atop a trailer flatbed sits a large, red “A.” Part of the “A Project” by Minnesota artist Peter Haakon Thompson and a component of the current exhibit inside the Katherine E. Nash Gallery this month, the “A” symbolizes a system like that of Scruff McGruff—the Crime Dog and pal—but for artists. Instead of posting a sign in the window to indicate that a house is safe for kids, the idea is for artists and art supporters to display a window sign with the red “A” (provided in the …

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So the football analysts and pundits finally got what they needed in order to crown Peyton Manning the greatest quarterback of all-time. Yes, he still must win the Super Bowl, but as soon as he does the talk will begin.Manning finally decided to step up and play the game rather than whining about non-calls against his wide receivers. He led his team to victory like the quarterback we came to know during the regular season. The feat he accomplished should not go unheralded, because his team looked flat in the first half. Whatever somebody said in that locker room certainly …

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Throwing rocks down a sheet of ice may not seem exciting to most, but at the St. Paul Curling Club it’s all the rage.Joe “Splash” Cloutier explains that curling is a really friendly game. The loser usually buys the winner the first round after the match, and they talk about the game over a few drinks.Sitting at the bar upstairs, the rest of the group introduces themselves. There’s M.O., Blue, Big Al, Scott, a pitcher of beer and a bottle of whiskey.“Everyone has a nickname here,” says Blue aka John Carey. Everyone except Scott anyway, and they try to come …

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Shortly after Christmas, my sister gave birth to her second baby girl. She and her husband are happy parents and very proud of their two girls, but they don’t plan to have any more children. That is, they will never be able to experience having a boy. If they had been given the chance, I imagine they would have gone for it. But wait, duh, it’s the 21st century. We can already do that. Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis, or PGD, allows prospective parents to screen their embryos for genetic diseases, choose the gender of the child and soon choose more characteristics, …

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If you want to see what high school kids know about history, start judging debate rounds. If you want to see what college kids think about race relations, sit in on Journalism 1001. I was discussing the Danish cartoon fiasco in the aforementioned class when one of my classmates decided to point out that there is such a thing as a “Moderate Muslim,” a genteel creature who apparently never gets offended and welcomes all facets of American culture with open arms. Another student applauded Grey’s Anatomy for featuring a black man in a position of power. Some brave souls …

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Nine is a tumultuous age, lying (or flailing or screaming) between childhood and adolescence. It’s a time when we leave “the sweet, dreamlike world of early childhood,” and become conscious of our bodies and their surroundings, according to the Waldorf education founder Rudolf Steiner. For performance art mavericks Gary Winters and Gregg Whelan, nine years is how long they’ve been traveling the globe, recording their encounters, and dressing as blindfolded cowboys to line dance for 12 hours straight. (More on that later.) The duo, who go by “Lone Twin,” were commissioned to perform at art-houses in Belgium, Australia and Canada, …

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