Archive for 2008
By Erik Helin and Joey Peters on March 5th, 2008
Photo by Ben Lansky
The Cedar-Riverside intersection has tons of authentic ethnic restaurants to offer, so what makes K Wok stand above and beyond the others? Well, nothing in particular, except for maybe its towering blue sign that makes it an easy spot to target.
The Vietnamese/Chinese eatery is a family-owned joint that, in the spirit of its Hard Times and Wienery neighbors, dimly resembles a do-it-yourself diner. The décor is a muddled mish-mash of Chinese regalia and out-of-place pieces like a painting …
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By Ali Jaafar on March 5th, 2008
I’m thinking of a number between one and ten. Okay, bear with me. I’m just going to ask you some questions. So: I’m thinking of a number between one and ten. What is it? Now, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “dog?” Now, quick, what neighborhood do you live in?
Strangely enough, that last question is a difficult one for a lot of students. While college is often viewed as this big, communal vision quest through the forest of knowledge, (or something like that) it has, ironically, caused our generation to become more isolated from the …
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By Hannah Johnson on March 5th, 2008
Society perceives scientists and artists as mutually exclusive, polar opposites. Artists are right brained, left leaning,free spirits while scientists are logical, analytical, left brainers.. Conventional wisdom says that scientists do not make art and artists do not do science. In However, one only has to look at Bohr’s model of the atom, inspired by Cubism, or the highly controversial Body Worlds exhibit to realize that art and science have more in common than meets the eye.
“There has been a trend recently of a lot of art which responds to current science,” says Chanai Matteson, the organizer of the Bell …
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By Anthony Kiekow on March 5th, 2008
Illustration by Ben Alpert
“No black man will ever be president.”
This phrase has been uttered countless times by blacks, but with Senator Barack Obama on the cusp of the Democratic presidential nomination, one would think that such rhetoric would dissipate. Unfortunately, though, it has only increased.
Why are we so set on the notion that a black man will never call 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home? Was Tupac Shakur right in the song where he professed it to be a white-man’s world? Or was …
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By James Spillane on March 5th, 2008
If you’ve ever taken a high school psychology class, you probably have a vague recollection of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow probably thought that he was designing this hierarchy in order to direct humanity down the road to happiness. It is my contention that his actual achievement was to demonstrate to humanity how totally fucked we are. To illustrate this point, I will run through each of Maslow’s needs and discuss how it indicates fucked-ness.
1. Physiological Needs. This includes food, water, and, more provocatively, sex and excretion. Well, like a billion people plus on this planet don’t have clean drinking …
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By Briana Bierschebach on March 5th, 2008
Do you ever find yourself longing for the old days, a time when music was dipped in a vat of sweat-soaked plaid button-ups, distorted anguish, and raw power? Perhaps your nostalgia runs deeper – back to a time when psychedelic guitar solos reigned supreme. If this be the case, you may find comfort in the reminiscent stylings of Retribution Gospel Choir’s self-titled debut.
Retribution Gospel Choir, a three man band out of Duluth, Minnesota, features front man Alan Sparhawk, drummer Eric Pollard and bassist Matthew Livingstone. Sparhawk and Livingstone are originally members of Low, a band dubbed one of the pioneers …
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By Nick Nelson on March 5th, 2008
As the calendar rolled from February to March a year ago, things looked awfully glum for the Gopher men’s basketball team. Holding a 9-21 record, the Gophers were still adjusting from a mid-season coaching change, and looking towards a very uncertain future.
What a difference a year makes. With new head coach Tubby Smith at the helm, the Gophers have returned to respectability. His Gophers entered this March with a 17-10 record (7-8 in the Big Ten) and as outside contenders for a spot in the NCAA Championship Tournament.
The effect …
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By Trey Mewes on March 5th, 2008
Illustration by Srijon Chowdhury
Columbine. Rocori. Red Lake. Virginia Tech. University of Texas. When we think of these words, we think of the tragedies they represent. We think of the sadness and despair caused by individuals who spread their pain and fear across our country in a vast media blitz of bullets. Since 1999, high school and college students haven’t worried about exams so much as they’ve worried about the lone wolf in the student population climbing up the bell tower and shooting up their …
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By Joey Peters on March 5th, 2008
Photo by Joey Peters
As part of a speech at the Coffman Union Theater, Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale called for a broader and more profound progressive movement. In the voice of a veteran revolutionary, he brought up a wide range of issues, many of them on the current national radar.
On Iraq: “We need to end this damn war.” On global warming: “It’s interconnected to every civil rights issue.” On the upcoming Presidential election: “Obama is a very progressive brother. I like …
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By Carl Carpenter on March 4th, 2008
The race for top songs of the summer is going to be a heated battle. With mammoth releases set to drop in every genre, it’s hard to tell which albums will make the splash. There are a few certainties though, particularly in terms of what the club and bar DJ’s will be playing to get patrons off their feet and dancing.
Firstly, Dr. Dre’s third full lenth LP, Detox, is scheduled to flood the airwaves this June. He’ll be releasing each of the 12 or 13 tracks as singles. There won’t be a city block safe in the country safe from …
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By Scottie Tuska on March 4th, 2008
I yearn for a time when we didn’t have computers or instant communication. I look back at a simpler time, while I look forward to a relaxing summer breeze. Damn Windows Vista and Final Cut Pro. I’m not sure what this has to do with beer, but I sure could use one. The past year has been full of great experiences (ie London, Summer in Minneapolis, New York, etc), but some kind of technological voodoo has been following me. First my brand new digital camera broke when I was in England, TWICE! Then I spilt tea on my six month …
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By Carl Carpenter on March 3rd, 2008
My days of running the point for the Imperial College Medical Basketball Team may be numbered. Team captain, Xu Wang, has grown weary of my months worth of excuses for not yet paying my dues. A hefty forty pounds, which I’ve been able to avoid through an intricate web of stories. However, he’s finally layed down the law, “pay at the game or you’re out.” We’ll see what a few carefully worded emails can’t do, but here’s a summary of our season so far.
We’ve lost four of the five games we’ve played since I’ve joined, but this is not to …
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By Carl Carpenter on March 3rd, 2008
Last Sunday (or was this a few weeks ago…) I went down to Trafalgar Square for the Chinese New Year Celebration. They had a large stage with several Kung Fu and dance acts. I then went over to the China Town area for some authentic Chinese cuisine. The festivities concluded with the last of a series of hourly fire works displays in Leicester Square. I then separated from my friends, and went to go find a pub that was playing the Cameroon v. Egypt match before going to a concert in the area that night. It was the final of …
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By Carl Carpenter on February 28th, 2008
I finally attended my first premiership game, Fulham v Aston Villa at Fulham. Given the number of Americans on the Fulham team, we opted to support them. They hadn’t won in several months, and Aston Villa was towards the top of the league. We went down to a local pub before the match and took down a few with the faithful. We went to the Fulham store and bought scarves, and then headed down to the field. Down 1 goal early, the energy was momentarily stolen. American Clint Dempsey continued to play well, and Brian McBride made a dramatic return …
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By Scott Doane on February 27th, 2008
Let’s move to the local scene for this next post. For the first time since Gov. Tim Pawlenty has taken office in Minnesota, the state house and senate overrode one of his vetoes. Way to finally grow a pair state reps.
The bill that was vetoed and then overridden was a $6.6 billion transportation plan for the state which included the first gas tax increase in 20 years for Minnesota. All of the money will go to rebuilding and repairing roads and bridges in state. The gas tax will increase 5 1/2 cents by …
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