The Wake

Ah, Cedar-Riverside. The mere mention of that hyphenated name is enough to get a rise out of most Minneapolitans, not to mention the ones who actually live there. It is a divisive area, a place that has been characterized as both a colorful ethnic melting pot and a miniature gangland; the last “real” corridor of the city and a bullet-riddled death trap.

This long-running debate is even more pertinent to students at our fair university, whose daily travels often take them within a stones’ throw of Riverside. For many U students, the area has long been a source of confusion and target of misguided derision. For those of you just entering the world of higher education here in Minneapolis, I guarantee you it won’t be long before you have to endure a long-winded
description of the many …

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If you remember back to 2004, you might recall that a few photos leaked from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Humiliation, shock and embarrassment were felt nationwide as we looked on in horror, watching our American values destroyed by a few amateur digital photos. While we were busy trying to forget, Errol Morris was just starting to get his hands dirty, investigating and tracking down the elusive soldiers central to the controversy for his new documentary Standard Operating Procedure (which opens Friday May 23 at the Landmark Lagoon Cinema).

Oscar award-winning documentarian Errol Morris sits down with The Wake to discuss his new documentary on the photos from Abu Ghraib.

WAKE: You must be pretty passionate about the events at Abu Ghraib to have made a documentary like “Standard Operating Procedure.”

Errol Morris: Well, …

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Despite Minnesota Film Arts’ financial and institutional problems, the 2008 Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival will continue as planned. Running April 17 through May 3, the festival promises local citizens a wide selection of cinema’s finest films, from acclaimed international films to award-winning American independent films. More than 150 films will be screened during the festival, and below are just a few that you might want to look out for. For more information on tickets and showtimes, and for a complete list of the films, visit http://www.mspfilmfest.org.

Beauty In Trouble
This is a new Czech drama from Jan Hrebejk, director of the Oscar-nominated Divided We Fall In Beauty. A woman takes her two children and moves into a crowded apartment with her mother and stepfather. There she meets a charming older …

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U.S. Senate candidate Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer

While most Minnesotans have stuck comedian Al Franken in their minds as the next Minnesota DFL Senate candidate, St. Thomas peace studies professor Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is still vying for the party’s upcoming June nomination. Despite barely being mentioned in the local media, Nelson-Pallmeyer surpassed Mike Ceresi in the race and is slowly but surely winning over the most liberal sectors of the DFL. After looking into his campaign, I found out that Nelson-Pallmeyer is a more progressive, less elite alternative to Franken. Although Franken often mentions the late Sen. Paul Wellstone as his role model, Nelson-Pallmeyer’s grassroots campaign, stances on the issues, and intellectual demeanor (he’s an educator) resemble Wellstone much more …

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Illustration by Lucy Michell

Most college students have difficulty trying to balance their checkbooks. The students in Professors Sean and Meg Emery’s class do a bit more than that. They balance themselves on chairs, ropes, and even a trapeze. One student juggles while a partner sits on his shoulders. Another practices forward rolls and leaps on a mat. Yet another student opens a fan fast as lightning with a flick of his wrist. One student dangles her body on the trapeze. This is Circus Performance class.

“Once people realize that they can learn this, they really have fun with it,” Professor Meg Emery says. Emery says the idea for another circus class at the University of Minnesota came up at a …

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Coloring by Dane Thomforde

With the black tendrils of stress still lingering after weeks of dodging failing grades on papers and midterms, students look to the freedom of Spring Break to release some tension. Destinations are meticulously planned out months in advance as exhausted and overworked studiers search for the perfect place to blow off some steam. While you may have spent the last week tanning in Florida or scuba diving in Mexico, I was hanging out with the cool kids on Sesame Street.

While late nights and margaritas were destroying your brain cells, mine were being strengthened with the assistance of Elmo and crew at the Can You Tell Me How To Get To Sesame Street? exhibit in the …

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Photo by Ben Lansky

Art. Science.

These are two words that may seem to be hanging out on opposite sides of the room. Science is a tool for progress based on structure, rules and repeatable results. Art on the other hand takes structure and renders it unrecognizable; twisting rules and exploring the antipodes of expression and meaning. At times they almost seem like unrelated opposites. Many may ask what they have to do with each other. Lately the two have been necking in the corner and many people hope that they go farther. Because they have so much to offer each other. When art and science do hook up, it usually happens away from the crowds.

All children have their own farfetched illusion of the glamorous, successful and fame-induced journey that they will embark on later in life, signaled by the common expression “When I Grow Up…” Some dream of becoming astronauts, actors or actresses, dancers, or firemen, while others dream of riding orca whales at Sea World. One of the most common childhood dream careers is the rock star. Fantasies come and go, but for some particularly musically inclined individuals, the dream becomes an actuality. The progression of musicians to the level of “rock-stardom” is a challenging and sufferable path. Few will reap the glorification and wealth of fame. The few who make it to the top must combine impeccable musical talent with a great deal of luck and scores of highly regarded connections. All aspiring artists need some sort …

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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 sister Hillary Clinton too, although she’s not going to win this one.” On racist crappy politicians: “They categorize you and pin you as something you’re not.”

He talked about filmmaker Carl Franklin’s proposal to …

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Illustration by Anders Carlson

In the debate over what the apocalypse will consist of, I side with film director Richard Kelly over Al Gore, if only because I’d rather see the species implode through a combination of hyper-pervasive entertainment, mad scientists, and interfering parallel universes – à la Southland Tales – than by hearing until death the latest measurement of ever-shrinking polar bear testicles and what that means for my children.

By this I don’t mean to deny the very real effects of global warming, or even to imply that polar bears can go to hell while I watch movies. I simply ask why Mr. Gore, for a person who bears the largest grudge against the …

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Minnesota held statewide caucuses on Tuesday, February 5, and it was a sight to see. Ford Hall was the place to be for young Republicans on campus. Caucus organizers expected a measly 10-20 people, while roughly 300 decided to make their voices heard. With no organization whatsoever, lines stretched across the first floor of Ford Hall, and classrooms were standing room only.

When I left my small mid-western town to attend the U of M Twin Cites, it was for the greener pastures of cultural diversity and open-minded discussion. This objective was largely achieved. I’ve made new friends of varied upbringings and beliefs, and I feel a more well-rounded and educated person for it.

Photo by Scott Tuska

A few hundred yards off the eastern shore and onto the frozen Medicine Lake lies a village of sorts. In a way, this village resembles the ice fishing communities that often dot the lakes during the winter. Instead of grime-covered trucks, quasi-public urination, and Coors Light cans, there are art car taxis, receptacles for empty beers, and one giant robot ride. Why hell, it is the fifth annual Art Shanty Projects!

This twist on a quintessentially Minnesotan past time presents a challenge for local artists and performers: create something that is interesting in construction and purpose while keeping spectators warm. But the primary concern for artists is the drive for interactivity. This is destination-art after all, and last year’s projects …

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Between the years 2004 and 2007 the Drive-By Truckers maintained the same line-up for the first time in their nearly ten-year existence. While guitarists and vocalists Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley remain the core of the band based in Athens, Geor., drummers, bassists and others have come and gone and returned.

Brad Morgan has been a constant behind the drums since 2001, while bassist Shonna Tucker joined the group before 2004’s The Dirty South. Guitarist and singer Jason Isbell recorded three albums with the group, starting with 2003’s Decoration Day.

But in April 2006 Hood announced that Isbell would be leaving the Truckers to pursue a solo career. After three years and two albums the line-up would change again.

Courtesy Drive-By Truckers

They wasted no …

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While reading Dan Savage one afternoon, I stumbled upon the website of a certain high-profile porn blogger and was taken in by her rhetoric. She seemed down-to-earth about pornography, admitting that most of it sucks, but holding that it serves a purpose and should not be looked down on. Interested, I took a look at her recommendations section, and though most of what she recommended seemed fairly standard, one film caught my eye: The Fashionistas. She calls it “the best porn film I’ve ever seen, the film that made me sit up and realize that there really were porn filmmakers that could make a real fucking movie.” In her glowing description of it, she mentions its “great acting and . . . very clever storyline.” Well God damn, I was sold. I paid a visit …

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