Reliving the glory days
By Colleen Powers
Posted in Cities | Comments Off
Once upon a time, the movies were something magical. Lines like “Here’s looking at you, kid” were written into the collective unconscious and a few soft-focus close-ups gave us the most beautiful women in the world. Shown with newsreels and serials, a movie was a real experience, glowing from the screen in places with gilt arches and thick carpets. They were called “movie palaces” then, and they had names like the Paramount and the Alhambra.
Now, of course, it’s a grim shuffle from blowing half a day’s …
The University of Minnesota announced on Feb. 9 that the graduate school would undergo a reorganization, effective fall of 2010. According to the U, the reorganization is a way to cut costs. With the current economic woes the country is facing and the state’s higher education budget cuts, it may seem like a good idea to cut costs wherever possible. Especially if, as the University claims, this reorganization will not negatively affectthe quality or prestige of graduate programs in any way.
The United Nations has, unfortunately, become somewhat of a joke, a shell of what it was intended to be. From ignored genocides in Rwanda and Sudan, to the tepid response to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, to the constant stream of “nonbinding” measures that issue from the General Assembly on pressing world issues, the UN is often spoken of with a scoff and the question, What can they even do?
Over the past decade, the Black Keys have had no trouble gaining notoriety for their blues driven power rock, and it was only a matter of time till guitarist/singer Dan Auerbachvreleased a solo disc. After reaching new heights with their critically and commercially successful 2008 album, Attack and Release (produced by Danger Mouse), Auerbach retreated to his home of Akron, Ohio, to begin work on his recently released solo album, Keep it Hid.
It may have been inconceivable in decades past that the end of Pax Americana would come so soon. Oh, there were movies, of course. Little tongue-in-cheek nods to what we smuggly, privately “knew”: that our age was different. The world had reached a new epoch of development. This time around we would stave off the pitfalls that have dampened economic “progress” in the past. The new, everexpanding network of producers and consumers would expand, without bound, providing jobs to all of the disenfranchised third world and bringing developed nations more wealth than had …
Legislators in Minnesota are trying to amend the constitution with a nod to the second Amendment. It would read: “The right of a citizen to keep and bear arms for the defense and security of the person, family, or home or for lawful hunting, recreation or marksmanship training is fundamental and shall not be abridged.” Amen. Why doesn’t the United States Constitution go into such detail?
Science fiction and fantasy literature have much to offer the reader: escapism, high adventure without
