The Wake

In our society there is often a division placed between art and science. Proof of this is in every CLA joke made by jeering IT students. But is it possible for art and science to truly get along? Jamie Schumacher would like to think so, and she is not alone.Schumacher, a soft-spoken yet eloquent woman, is the curator for Altered Esthetics, a fairly recent addition to the art gallery community of northeast Minneapolis. Currently, the gallery is preparing for a new exhibit: (Scientific) Aesthetics.A friend of Schumacher’s, a geology student at the University of Minnesota, generated the idea for this …

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Entering into the second hour at the monster truck rally, someone asks if the cloud of exhaust fumes and floating dirt hovering above the rally might get a person high. Checking with Alice, the biology major, she says we would be more inclined to acquire nausea, but her words fade away when the deafening roar of Martial Law, the monster truck, echoes so hard throughout the dome that our chairs vibrate, and we’re sitting in the upper deck.But that isn’t all one experiences while attending his or her first monster truck rally, or “Monster Jam” as the children’s t-shirts refer …

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Shook evenly, the burst of petrolnostrils of children racingeyes on the back of the back of the backof the pick-me-up dirt cloudsone shiver one shoulderI see the grave digging grace of the ambulance chaseOn these wounded hills—spider-likeskeletons mashed together from the buttof rubber heels and dirty pawsof that bobcat wandering.Sing praise to beaten onelimping around the dirtan orgasmic coma shotas machine lies still on backwheels lulling a spinspin, spin.

Engines blaring loudA spectacle of powerWhere are my nachos?

“Evolution’s not dead! It’s dancing in the middle of the floor with a lampshade on it’s head!” stated University of Minnesota, Morris Professor Paul Meyers. On February 13, just one day after Charles Darwin’s birthday, the Bell History Museum held a discussion on the topic of evolution as a part of its Café Scientifique series at the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown. This evening was, of course, not without incident. Many a voice was cautiously raised in acts of interjection, bold by our mild mannered Minnesotan standards. Things failed to genuinely heat up until moments before the evening reached its conclusion, …

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Each year a graduate student in the University’s Art History Department gets the chance to work with Wilson Library’s art librarian to curate an exhibit from the Gorman Rare Art Book Collection. This year Sarah Sik created “The Birth of Celebrity Culture in the City of Lights (1880 – 1900)” — an exhibit that focuses on the Parisian preoccupation with celebrity culture at the turn of the twentieth century.The exhibit, which is presented by the University of Minnesota Libraries in conjunction with the department of art history, runs now through April 27, in the James Ford Bell Library on the …

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From the first kick to the final whistle” are words of wisdom every soccer coach has bestowed upon his players. It’s also the first line of text in the movie Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, and an indication of things to come. Directed by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno, this movie cites only one actor in its cast: Zinedine Zidane. He’s a man among boys on the pitch and a god among mortals in France. Though he’s Algerian by descent, the French love him enough that they would likely elect him president if he so desired. He led his nation …

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What do I know about being a minority? I suppose that depends on your definition. What I do know however, through leftover cold war stigma and a childhood of being the ostracized Russian girl, is that you don’t have to have different colored skin to be, well, different. What I also know is that, in retrospect, difference is a good thing, even when it involves ESL classes and eating borsch.A few weeks ago a friend and classmate of mine, Ali Jaafar, wrote an article for this magazine in which he explained his belief that any classification based on …

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You’ve seen them in restaurants, cocktail parties and at the grocery store. You’ve heard them talking in class, on the bus or at the coffee shop. You watch the skinny, unshaven guy lock up a ten-speed outside of Subway and listen to him order the veggie delight, and then it hits you. There are people that live and work in the real world that don’t eat meat. Somehow they don’t shrivel up and die and their bones don’t shatter from the impending force of gravity. They call themselves vegetarians.I’ve been a vegetarian for a while now, and if there’s anything …

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Valentine’s Day is the perfect example of a holiday that has been co-opted by the Hallmark Card. Although each year February 14 seems to become more publicized and more commercialized, for every person giving roses and chocolate there seem to be just as many who aim for something more unique. This year, the Minnesota Historical Society provided one such opportunity for lovebirds in search of something off the beaten path.Victorian Poetry Slam. That may look like a typo, but on Saturday February 9, The James J. Hill House opened its doors for an event that could not be described any …

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Walking into the Fitzgerald is like walking into the 1920’s: Vaudeville, radio plays, top hats and flapper dresses, champagne and dry martinis. It is surprising that this place which your grandparents would probably feel right at home in is hosting the ongoing Minnesota’s Public Radio The Current’s Fakebook Series – which covers topics of music and popular culture. The Current’s Fakebook series is in the business of bringing rockers and writers together for interviews, music and all around good times while exploring the word through writing and song. Having played hosts to such bands as psych-pop …

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In a world of endless technological advancement and media convergence, it is refreshing to find an organization producing something of genuine beauty. One such organization is the Twin Cities Metropolitan Ballet Company. On February 10th I was fortunate enough to witness the Metropolitan Ballet’s rendition of classic Romeo and Juliet, which left audience members with a renewed sense of life.The ballet was performed at the State Theater. Built for “Cinema,” “Opera” and “Pantomime,” as the ornamental plaques suggest, the State Theater was opened in the 1920s, during the era of silent films. Reminiscent of that time when going out was …

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Ian Anderson is a passionate man. He loves music and his palpable obsession has led him to early and remarkable success; starting his record label, Afternoon Records, just out of high school. Now, as a senior majoring in English at St. Olaf College, his label is garnering more interest and continuing to expand. In addition to his label, Anderson also founded “Sliver” magazine, a music website. He hopes to begin a career in journalism upon graduation in addition to promoting his label. He’s a shining example of how adolescent exuberance fused with a love of the universal language can …

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Paws riddle the bark
claws scratch on the back of this leaf
these are not marks meant for you,
tree.
Birds, wings skid along the sky
fly,
cease molting,
longevity.Cat’s eye felt the rush of the tree
its teeth the leaves
its whiskers the wind
bird the fur flushed back again
evergreen screens hide the screamsof the teeth behind the window pane
eyes waiting for the glass to …

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The beggar
is starving
but always
clothed.