Archive for May, 2004

News in brief(s), not boxers

Friday, May 28th, 2004

Timberwolves, be gone with ye! I don\’t know why I do this to myself. I start actually caring about whether they win or lose. I start thinking that the outcome of this series will have some impact on my life.
But it won\’t. Despite how undeniably likeable KG and the gang are, and depite the Lakers [...]

A toast to home owning

Thursday, May 27th, 2004

This time last year I was peeling 30-year-old yellowed wallpaper off the walls in my bedroom. Or rather, off the walls of the room that would later become my bedroom.
We closed on the house (a misleading term, since really what you’re doing is opening the house) on May 1. School finished in the middle [...]

Hey baby, wanna come over to my place and Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start?

Wednesday, May 26th, 2004

Warning: this post contains graphic language and may not be suitable for young readers. Rated M, for mature.
Grand Theft Auto is a video game with prostitutes. It is not, I assume, the first video game with prostitutes, nor the last, but for some reason that has become its distinguishing characteristic.
Oh, sure, there are other [...]

Coasting through the gas-price spike

Tuesday, May 25th, 2004

2 + 2 = 4, and gas prices hit $2.20 this weekend in the Twin Cities.
Both are as obvious as three fingers slammed in a car door, but only one doesn\’t add up. And only one is making me feel like, well, slamming my fingers in a car door.
It’s the gas prices, the arbiter of [...]

We\’re all b-boys now

Monday, May 24th, 2004

If by b-boys, you mean, people who never watched a basketball game throughout the regular season, and now are not only on the bandwagon, but vying for the reins.
That\’s me. All year long my affiliation with the Timberwolves has been scant, and my attitude cold: I didn\’t bother them if they didn\’t bother me.
But now [...]

Too good to be popular: what to do about our dominance in sports

Friday, May 21st, 2004

The United States is moving up in the world. That\’s a little hard to believe, I guess, since we do pretty well in so many areas. But there are plenty of things we could be doing better.
Soccer is one of them. 30 years ago, soccer occupied the same place in the American consciousness that curling [...]

Oops..

Thursday, May 20th, 2004

Looks like the \”Popular Posts\” links on the right side were broken. They\’re fixed now. So you can go on not reading them with the knowledge that you could if you wanted to.

Review: The Magic Flute

Thursday, May 20th, 2004

If you\’re looking for a boring opera, nothing\’s better than … the opera.
Usually.
Last night was different. We went to see The Magic Flute at The Ordway, and the only boring thing about it was when it reminded you of how boring other operas can be.
It helps if you don\’t think of it as an opera. [...]

Retirement coming at wAARP speed!

Wednesday, May 19th, 2004

The wrinkled hand of age is reaching out for me, and I can\’t escape its feeble grasp.
I got mail the other day from the AARP – one of the largest lobbying groups in the country, with over 35 million members. In the envelope was my ticket to the future: a temporary membership card. And it [...]

Sorry

Tuesday, May 18th, 2004

Late night playing Scrabble last night, no time to post. It was a tight game, with words like Yawl and Cootie making the difference.
At least it wasn\’t this bad.
Back tomorrow.