The Wake

Although depression was classified as a disorder over 50 years ago, it existed long before the advent of modern classification methods. According to these scientific methods that now characterize the disease, nearly 121 million people worldwide are affected by depression. Many of these cases are left untreated. Unlike modern diseases such as cancer, obesity), depression’s origin has been contemplated since the time …

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On Friday, Nov. 20 the Nordic community of Minneapolis lifted the cinematic curtains to unveil some of the best films from the region. It showcased films from Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and Greenland that chronicled Nordic culture, people, and politics throughout the weekend. In between screenings, presenters gave synopses and introduced the audience to the background milieu of the particular film. Taking place in …

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The quiet opening of Wally’s Falafel and Hummus went by unnoticed, even to those who live in Dinkytown. But the restaurant’s manager, Bader Jaber, says he is taking things slowly and is in no rush to publicize the joint by plastering local lampposts with flyers and the like.

“Each day is better than the one before,” Jaber says. If one were to walk into Wally’s the day it opened, one would have assumed it to …

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The ongoing quest to help the blind see has been a long, arduous endeavor that’s embarked innovation in physics and biology for centuries. Age-related blindness is a problem on the rise – the federal government spent four billion dollars on related remedies in 2005. Ten million Americans face macular degeneration – a figure that is only expected to grow. But …

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Day after night he saunters via Main Street
dead cigarette butt, hair hanging loose
shedding strands of mane
A white slip covering his knees, breasts.
Swelling with disturbance, yet
plump with proud flesh
He waits for real people
to talk,
and we wait for him
to leave
Only to clean our streets
with dirt itself
He does not speak, you see,
a meandering pace of unease
is what he knows best
And perhaps some wisdom,
but nobody
is really certain.

Mason Jennings’ Sept. 15 release Blood of Man delivers a shift from the acoustic sound that dominated his earlier albums to more amplified, pulsing compositions. Although Jennings picks up the acoustic guitar only a few times, most of the record still carries a resemblance of calm intonations periodically culminating in raw crescendos and fretful callings.

I initially feared that this album would not be full of the earnest folk that …

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Recent bursts of legal provisions allowing same-sex couples to wed have taken America by surprise. The fact that Iowa became the third state to override this ban sent people parading down the streets of Des Moines to express their heightened states of arousal, whether it was anger or euphoria. The aftershock will be felt for some time to come, as the end of April will mark the commencement …

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Nestled above the now-defunct Manhattan Loft on Washington Avenue lies the office of the Minneapolis Film Arts (MFA)— an aesthetic milieu of films that seem to filter in and out with the passing of time. Dates on Post-its and colorful writings on whiteboards line the parameters of the cozy yet work-loaded suite, while The String Quartet plays adaptations of the Arcade Fire and Elliott Smith in the background. Even on a …

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My sunny afternoon turned bitterly cold when I saw the NY Times homepage of my web browser – “At Least 12 Slain in Binghamton, N.Y.”

Maybe this gunman had his reasons, maybe he didn’t. Clearly, though, he didn’t consider life’s worth - he also took his own life. Claiming hostages in an immigration center, a place full of people craving to take part in the American dream, and showing them how ugly America can get is …

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M. Ward’s sixth album, Hold Time, encompasses a variety of styles, yet remains extremely thematic. The first few tracks, upbeat numbers replete with claps and folk-pop melodies, represent a change from his usual, brooding character. Ward even slips into familiar, romantic motifs, singing, “Honey, I ain’t never had nobody like you.”

“Hold Time,” a somber ballad built upon orchestral flourishes and mellow synths, slows …

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Fluorescent tie-dye hoodies, hemp-necklaces, and uncombed hairs peeking out from knit hats. Mouths babbling gleefully. Friends waving arms that stem from shirts growing cannabis leaves. Not too much flannel to see, only a lad who spells patriotism with his American flag leather jacket. Baja sweatshirts cover curvy bellies that have suffered through many nights of the munchies.

This is a zoom-in of the hundreds of U students …

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After a typical café or restaurant meal, I am always stifled with a particular uncertainty – what is the appropriate tip? The level of my frustration depends on the venue – sitdowns are an obvious 15-20 percent, coffee shops take change jars, and fast foods are a no go. However, the elaborate bistros and tearooms are always ambiguous. After thinking it over, I have drafted a few personal standards that attempt to qualify tip worthy …

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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 …

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A very juicy salmon I ate
smoked, toppled with balsam and yellow
cut-up tidbits unfamiliar to me (they were mangoes).

Sliced cucumber crunched amidst my teeth, it was
sipped up by coffee milky with soy
“I don’t know if I like beets,” he said, uncertain.

“Try the borscht anyway,”
He would cave eventually, but
just not that afternoon.

For most of us, the thought of a thriving sweatshop brings to mind putrid air, blazing heat, and 20–hour work days. These places are outlets of ruthless production that provide us cheap goods and allow marketers to take advantage of our country’s economic standing. But for citizens of the third world who might not even know what air-conditioning and iPods are, life is …

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