Independence Party candidate Roger Smithrud, who ran for Minnesota State House in district 58B, is best at summarizing his political party’s current trouble.

“I’m sad — I only got seven percent of the vote. I thought I’d get at least 20.”

His short frame, long grey hair and lit American Spirit give off a look of a working class American conspiracy theorist. He was standing outside the IP’s election night party at the Minnetonka West Sheraton, which mostly centered on the IP’s biggest hope of 2008, U.S. Senate candidate Dean Barkley.

The …

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Marnie took her time walking through the campus, being careful of where the sun hit the pavement, doing her best to keep close to the trees. She couldn’t help the humidity, but she could stay underneath the canopy provided by rows and rows of green. It was the one thing she appreciated, among other things, during the languid summer months. Shade, air-conditioning. If she had those two things, then she was that much closer to being content.

A biker in a hurry zipped past her. She felt the wind he created, along with a fine shower of sweat that splashed against …

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Welcome to The Wake’s first graphic novel. Being our first attempt at something like this technical difficulties may occur. Enjoy:

The story has two titles because there are two separate but related stories occurring at the same time. The main story takes place within the dreams of the main character as he falls in love with a girl named Stella. Slowly, fear begins to creep into his mind (the scribble monsters) and his dreams slowly turn into nightmares overrun by monsters. This gives way to the …

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An article that I’ve written is being published in the upcoming Wake issue #5 this Wednesday about the writing of Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation. I thought I’d preface it before it came out.

Even if you aren’t a reader, even if you are one of those kids who kept on reading Matt Christopher books and Goosebumps in the sixth or seventh grade, you can read. You. Can. Read. Read whatever you want. Don’t be intimidated by those pretentious college fucks out there who talk about Infinite Jest or Proust or whatever like they’re in this Elite Club of Readers …

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Judging from the rampant celebration over Barack Obama’s historic presidential win, this weekend looks to be a time for great ra-ra and inspired good times. Stop doing your homework, forever, and go do something awesome this weekend.

City Pages Picked To Click artists Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles kicks off a miniseries stint at the Nomad Pub tonight, with the first of three Thursday concerts in a row. Lead Lucy Michelle conjures up the vocal talents of Jolie Holland as she plucks away at …

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Hi, it’s your friendly neighborhood web editor. As an avid photographer I had the idea of a photo album, a place for good photography in the midst of great change. Photos that tell everyday stories and sometimes none.

For the first installment here’s a series of photographs from the last week in the election. An encounter with Al Franken and Bill Clinton’s rally for Obama and the aforementioned candidate along with some from the Nader rally. If you have photos that you would like to be included now or in the future email me at stuska@wakemag.org. If you want to …

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Dumpster diving is nothing new. People in dire financial straits have been going through the garbage for years. Though recently, those without money problems are diving in order to minimize trash export and find great deals on items which cost loads of money retail. This “green” trend has been underground for the last several years, but it is slowly coming to the surface through some very thrifty college students. Many have made a lucrative business out of trading their trash and selling high demand items like DVD players and game consoles. “It’s mostly electronics and stuff,” says Sam Tietze, a …

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If everyone lived like me, we would need 3.82 planets of resources to be sustainable. This is severely disturbing and in fact quite disgusting. I had a very high food footprint compared to the national average, and I think this is because I eat out probably more than the average American. I’m not a vegetarian, I don’t buy organic and natural foods, and I eat at least two large meals a day. If I wanted to decrease my footprint in the most effective way possible, I would definitely have to start with my eating habits. Unfortunately, being a college student …

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We have all heard the basic ways to save energy, turn off the lights when leaving a room, shut down your computer when you’re not using it, etc.

So, what do you do if you are already a typical energy conserver and you want to do more? As college studenta most of us aren’t ready to buy our first Energy Star washer and dryer or insulate our living spaces; but we still have other options to help reduce the energy we use. Here are five easy ways to do more in the effort waste less.

1. As winter approaches, it …

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A gaunt, bald figure in a loose-fitting shirt and baggy plaid sweatpants posed in front of a camera with his new guitar. He grinned, in spite of the life-threatening tumor inside his abdomen. The tumor rotted cells throughout his body, absorbing the nutrients from his food and encasing his organs, trying to shut them down. Andrew Kippley, a 15-year-old youth from Farmington, Minnesota, had it tough for a teenager. While most teens his age dealt with high school, Andrew dealt with death itself, trying to prove he was tough enough to beat it twice.

Doctors diagnosed Andrew in May with neuroblastoma, …

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Rich Americans spend countless hours using the technology to which we’ve so quickly become addicted. The current college-going generation is the first that grew up with electronics for the masses. As toddlers some of us were running around with gameboys in our hands. Now as university
students, it’s rare to find one of us that doesn’t claim our own computer, mp3 player, or cell phone. Personal electronics have become accessible enough for us to use them daily without even knowing their effects on health. Try this: Turn your iPod up to full volume and touch the ear buds together. When I …

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In today’s technology-driven society, innovations are abounding. The presidential election is just around the corner and people have gotten so swept up in the intoxication of it all that they didn’t stop to think about what “presidentia strategies” really imply. Naturally, technology has become a
significant portal for politicians to use in marketing themselves. Many of you probably know what it means to get an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). These scans “visualize a structure and body” so that physicians can determine differentdetriments or assets to our vitality. Neuroscience has
especially been focusing on research centered around MRIs more …

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I watched the first vice-presidential debate with a pair of Democrats (please note the difference between Democrats and Liberals; I’m quite fond of one, but annoyed by the other) and – of course – they mocked Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin’s accent throughout the proceedings. Every time
she said one of her Wisconsin-by-way-of-Alaska O’s they would giggle and repeat the sound. Every time she used a folksy phrase, my apartment was filled with titters. This is a problem.

Though politicians’ accents have been discussed for a very long time, the one that is clearest in my mind – and probably yours – …

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For years the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has had a considerable chokehold on price fluctuation of the oil market. Since its inception in 1960, it has used (and abused) its power as a consortium to intervene with the cycle of supply and demand, sometimes with disastrous effects.

With oil prices currently plummeting, OPEC is scrambling to form a plan of action. After peaking at $147
dollars per barrel in early July, the price of oil has more than halved in just a few months. As businesses make cutbacks or close their doors altogether, demand has dropped significantly below production. …

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With the American public facing crippling financial and energy crises, you might expect some deep thoughts and tough questions regarding the upcoming election. You might also be wrong. The latest question that seems to be concerning the public about the upcoming presidential election is, “Where can I get those rimless specs?” Sarah Palin’s Kazuo Kawasaki 704s have sold over 9,000 pairs since her debut in St. Paul, issuing a fashion frenzy and creating a pop-culture platform that seems to be stealing the spot light from the more imperative issues of the moment.

The blurring of pop-culture and politics …

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