So as you can see, I haven’t entered anything in a while due to some technical difficulty that reached its peak a couple of weeks ago. Like many of you, I am a mac user. I purchased my 13 inch Macbook after graduating high school and it wasn’t long till I started experiencing some problems. About 4 months into the school year my screen stopped working…. completely. Fortunately, i still had the benefits of the apple care support plan, so I reported the problem and had my laptop shipped back fully repaired and free of charge within a week.

So this …

Read more →

“How small everything has grown, and how terrible is the deterioration in myself!”

“Fuck shit! Fuck shit ass!”

Don’t think that, just because you’re a student, the failing economy and shaky housing market have nothing to do with you. If you’re planning on moving out of that “cozy” little dorm room of yours anytime during the next few years, you might want to hear this.

Certain areas surrounding the University of Minnesota are known by students for renting cheap, shitty and under-managed units. The growing enrollment at the U has and will continue to put pressure on the neighborhoods surrounding campus, namely Marcy-Holmes, Southeast Como, West Bank and Prospect Park.

With the added stress of the struggling U.S. …

Read more →

Bizarre, insane, perverse, and hilarious are just a few things that come to mind after watching season two of the Tim and Eric Awesome Show. Now available on DVD, this show offers zany comedy that comes from minds that are so socially and politically incorrect that they look like geniuses. From completely ridiculous fake television ads to office sex tapes, this show brings forth the dirtiest and most ludicrous thoughts to the next level, but that is also what makes the show work so well.

The show …

Read more →

The sound of police sirens. The arrest of criminals. The flashing of blue and red lights. These things can give you the chills but usually are a very noticeable around your hometown. They can be seen everywhere, except for on campus. The University of Minnesota prides itself on its police department and security division. Unfortunately, they always seem to be far away from the important action.

The recent string of gropings by one man armed with a bike has given me the chance to question how effective campus security really …

Read more →

Matthew Miller says that tapes are “very warm feeling.” While he’s referring to the sound and physicality of cassette tapes in general, Miller’s words might actually describe the heart behind his little operation: Room Tapes. This kid is concerned with the unique noises that every person makes, and he wants to make room for them in the world.

After working closely with record labels since age fifteen, Miller grew tired of the digital state of music. He says, “With the resurgence of vinyl, people are trying to get back” to a dying method of listening to music. So, about a …

Read more →

The restlessness of thinking about John Cusack may keep Ione Skye shifting in bed, but Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” is like the brush that wipes away doubt. The song reveals that true love does exists (in some form) and Mr. Gabriel can show how you are “complete.” How could anyone forget the large, late 80s style boom box John Cusack held above his head and how this specific scene is recreated by “romantic” people trying to mend their unstable, teenage angst-driven relationships?

Gabriel has had a wide …

Read more →

To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years. We will modernize more than 75 percent of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills. In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced – jobs building solar panels and wind turbines; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and …

Read more →

The meeting room smelled like coffee and Pine-Sol; fluorescent lights glowed overhead. From the other side of one wood-paneled wall came the shouts of hockey players and loud thumps as they tossed aside sticks and skates. Faculty members and local residents, plus a student or two, sat in rows of metal folding chairs and stared at the PowerPoint presentation being projected onto a screen at the front of the room, as words like “community” and “sustainability” poured from everyone’s mouths.

The gathering at Van Cleve Community Center was the last of four Master Plan forums …

Read more →

The Science Classroom Building (or SciCB) has long been referred to as a “public eyesore” and “Cold War relic”—some have even gone as far as to call it the “ugliest building in the English-speaking world” (if not the entire universe)—but it also happened to be one of my favorite buildings on campus. Here was a structure that was built to great fanfare in 1964 and now, 44 years after the fact, is being torn down to even greater applause from students and university administrators to our local and state governments alike. What began …

Read more →

Zu is a pretty weird Italian trio, made up of drums, electric bass, and barry sax. The group has been around for about a decade, put out more than a dozen records, and collaborated with Dälek, the Melvins, Nobukazu Takemura, and a whole bunch of others. This year, like a lot of other years, they put out a new album.
And it is good.

This time around, Zu are pretty straightforwardly heavy, switching between a steady-rhythmed, thick-bassed pounding reminiscent of the Austerity Program and a brain-bending mathematical lurch. Zorny sax …

Read more →

Clint Eastwood’s latest undertaking, Gran Torino, did not fail movie buffs and car fanatics this winter season (it did, however, fail to meet Oscar standards). Critics love the dynamic characters and chronicled dark history of the Hmong culture, and how it has basically informed the entire country of Hmong people’s existence. Set in a Detroit family suburb turned ghetto, Torino reports on the gangbanging nature of this neighborhood and the culture clashes that follow.

What’s surprising to know is that the roots of the film lie in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Bee Vang, who plays the shy Thao bullied by the …

Read more →

Out with the old, in with the new, or so is the idea. The new millennium saw the beginning of a new age for the arts and entertainment scene in the Twin Cities. In the spirit of looking toward the unprecedented future, entertainment outlets across the city desired space for repair and expansion. Fights over land have resulted in a number of institutions being stuffed in different locations around the city. Though much of a debate topic, space is not what’s on everyone’s mind when these proposals come to attention. Rather, it is …

Read more →