Sometimes I get the urge to do something besides hit the couch and watch the television on a friday night. Other then hitting a bar with friends, or blowing out my eardrums at a local rock show I like to check out some art.

Hitting a local art gallery or museum can be an enlightening experience. You get to sip a beer or glass of wine, hang with hipsters and pretend you might just know something about art. Plus you can be home by ten or hitch a ride on the hipster express and find an all night DJ blowout somewhere.

Two events come to mind this weekend, but they are both on the same night and start at the same time. Maybe you can do half and half!

Hot Ink: Comic Art In Minnesota - All the cool local underground comic artists will be displaying their work and recently published books. Friday, October 3rd, 7:00pm at the Minnesota Museum of American Art at Kellogg Boulevard and Market Street in St. Paul - www.mmaa.org

Tales From The Black Lodge - From the press release -  “Tales from the Black Lodge will feature surreal and otherworldly artwork inspired in part by the creative genius of David Lynch.” This one takes place Friday, October 3rd, 7:00pm at Altered Esthetics - 1224 Quincy St. NE in Minneapolis - www.alteredesthetics.com

A great place to look up art events is at www.mplsart.com

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It’s time again in Minnesota for a change of seasons and all that comes along for the ride: leaves are turning colors, sunflowers are starting to droop, the pumpkins are getting orange, and people are changing up their routines.

One thing that never changes around here is wanting to turn up the music and rock out the weekend.

(photo originally uploaded by epmd )

Although, my palette does seem to have changed a bit. I’ve switched from white wines to red, I’m now craving heavier foods, and summer songs just don’t sound the same.

Are there any songs that defined your summer?

What’s in your shuffle?

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This year’s McNally Smith River Rocks Festival was a success on all levels. It had it all; great music, awesome weather, beautiful atmosphere, two stages of entertainment, and an outdoor festival sound quality that I’ve only heard in a few outdoor venues around the country. The Gorge Amphitheatre comes to mind.

Although, on the surface this was a musical festival just like any other, upon closer examination it was an exploration of diversity and culture wrapped up in Minnesotan influences: from the “Nordic stock” that Mike Doughty claimed as his heritage as he flirted with the crowd, to the Puerto Rican infuesed grooves on history and life by Maria Isza, and the intelligent composition of the Heiruspecs.

Sure, this festival also had historical dream concerts put on by The Roots and Semisonic.

When I spoke with college co-founder Jack McNally, who was more  Richard Branson meets Ty Webb than stuffy college founder, I began to realize this show really was a tribute to the students. He spoke of their hard work, dedication, and help putting it all together. He spoke of their diversity, from the metal bands,to the classical ensembles, to the classical ensembles that may play Led Zepplin sets, and he spoke of their promising Hip Hop community and being one of the few colleges in the world that offers a music degree in Hip Hop. And while I did give Jack plenty of opportunity to expound on the college and it’s unique and ever growing influence with music, he continued to speak about the students.

Jack, I like you, hook up some Twitter.

So after several great shows, interviews with fans and musicians, and that little extra something something that comes with all outdoors festivals; I came to the conclusion that River Rocks is probably the best Minnesota outdoors music festival and I got an idea of just how much the students contributed to the whole show; from help with the infrastructure,to band selection, and giving performances. Lock, stock, and two smoking barrels of action packed stage performance.

I get the feeling River Rocks is getting better every year and with the reasonable prices I have a hard time imagining why anyone would miss out. I only hope that next year I can make it to all the shows.

Read the reviews, interviews, and see some pics: The Roots, Mike Dougty, Maria Isa, Semisonic,and Heiruspecs.

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The Minnesota Participation Project (MPP) is a “nonpartisan nonprofit voter mobilization program” sponsored by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

MPP will be offering free rides to the polls on Election Day, November 4! We will have six accessible vans and several other vehicles throughout the metro area, ready to give free rides. We’re looking for folks to volunteer to drive the accessible vans and receive the necessary training to do so, as well as folks willing to drive their own vehicles.

If you would like to request a ride, volunteer, or for more information, call 1-877-NOV-2008 (1-877-668-2008) or send an email to vote@mncn.org. Please share the rides phone number and begin scheduling rides now!

MPP has a ton of info and some pretty neat tools for helping get folks registered to vote and get folks to the polls to do so. Like Voter Reg-in-a-Box which allows you to register people to vote at your nonprofit or community event (and training to go with it).

Step 1, cut a hole in the box.

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From the City of Minneapolis Bicycling Update email list, updates on two bikeway closures. One regards downtown traffic during the Marquette/2nd Ave construction. One regards the Washington Ave bridge.

Two bikeway closures are affecting bicycle travel. The first is the reconstruction of Marquette and 2nd Avenues in downtown. A Bicycling Community Advisory (pdf) has been issued by project staff. Sections of the bike lanes are closed on both streets. Work will continue through the end of 2009. Alternative routes are on Hennepin Avenue (bike lanes) and 3rd Avenue (no bike lanes).

At times general traffic lanes will remain open, and bicyclists may use those lanes. Please use extra caution when bicycling through this area. Here are a few tips to keep you safe:

• Ride with the flow of traffic, unless a contra flow bike lane is open.
• Stay visible by not riding in the gutter. Ride where the right wheel of a car would be.
• Follow traffic signals, and signal turns and lane changes.
• Use headlights and taillights after dark.
• If you would rather be on the sidewalk, walk your bicycle. Sidewalk riding is prohibited in the downtown business district.
• Use heightened awareness at intersections, and be particularly cautious around turning motorists. Read more about defensive bicycling.

When Marquette and 2nd Avenues reopen, the bike lanes will no longer exist. At that time Nicollet Mall will be reopened to cycling traffic 24 hours a day. The City Council has directed City of Minneapolis staff to study the possibility of bicycles using the bus lanes on Marquette and 2nd. A recommendation has not yet been made by staff to the Council. For more information on this project, visit the MARQ2 project website.

The second closure is the Washington Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River. Hennepin County has eliminated the bike lanes due to concerns over the strength of the upper deck of the bridge. Because of high pedestrian traffic, bicyclists must walk their bikes through the enclosure. University police are enforcing this rule. Read more about the closure on the University of Minnesota website. A signed detour route using Bridge #9 is currently being developed. The bike lanes on the bridge are expected to reopen in the spring.

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Actually, coming into work today in downtown St. Paul wasn’t really any different than any of the other times I had to come in. I did opt to take the 94 bus, rather than ride the scooter from Minneapolis, and it sounds like a made the correct choice. One of my co-workers rode her bicycle and discovered that all the bike racks around here have been removed. The police are also removing any bikes chained to signposts. She had to lock her bike up in a ramp near Union Depot. The 94 bus ended up being routed around the capitol before coming back over to Cedar, which only added another 10 minutes to the commute. Granted, I don’t have to cross any checkpoints, so it makes things a bit easier for me. I did overhear a woman on the bus say she was a delegate, but I thought it was a bit odd that she was on the bus, and not taking a shuttle from her hotel, or have some other form of transportation.

Overall, nothing really to report so far today. I’ll stroll around a bit during lunch, and see what’s going on in the skyways. After work, I plan on heading to either Innuendo or Camp, and see how the convention is affecting the two downtown St. Paul gay bars.

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The Money Life Network has a series called “Frugal things to do when you’re in…“ featuring free or cheap things to do.

From the Minneapolis-St. Paul list:

• Lake Calhoun: A great place to go for the day to enjoy some sun, a canoe ride, maybe some beach volleyball and a nice walk around the 3+mile lake. It is the place to see and be seen in the summer months (FREE)
• Minnehaha Falls: The falls are a natural wonder, and definitely a must visit for shutterbugs. In the area surrounding you can take nice long walk from the falls down to the Mississippi river. Beautiful! (FREE)
• Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: A 1,047-acre garden and arboretum about 20 minutes outside of Minneapolis. Because of it’s natural beauty this is often a chosen as a great spot for weddings and for just getting some great pictures. (15 and under free, $7 adults. Free all day Thursday in the winter, and free on Thursday evenings from 4.30 p.m. until 8 p.m. or sunset in the summer)
• Lyndale Park Rose Gardens at Lake Harriet: Lake Harriet in south Minneapolis has a beautiful Rose Garden that has been blooming every year since 1907-1908. It’s a popular place for weddings, photography and peaceful reflection. If you’re going to Lake Calhoun anyway, stop by the Rose Gardens, it is just a short walk away. Also, right across the street is a beautiful Japanese Gardens (FREE)

Also on the list, Como Zoo, MOA, Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, Sculpture Garden, MIA, food, sports, museums, etc. etc. Full list here.

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Beer and bikes?

Yes please.

I’ve been following the PedalPub story on my blog for awhile now and I’m pleased to say it’s finally a reality.

“The PedalPub concept came from Amsterdam, where passengers have always been able to drink on board (and that’s probably not the only thing they’re doing). But in Minnesota, the PedalPub ran into the state’s open-bottle law. ”

Thankfully, the DFL is an army of drunks (I kid) and Rep. Steve Simon from St. Louis Park (we all know how much drinking goes on in that city - Remember, I said I kid. ) drafted a bill to have the PedalPub grouped with limos and buses. Well that sweet bill became a law in May. I believe the term is puff, puff, pass the legislation.

I say let’s ride this 2000 pound peddle powered keg to glory!

Who’s in?

(Original Photo by Tom Wallace, Star Tribune )

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Cage Design has created a series of eight posters depicting scenes from the best biking spots in the Twin Cities. They also have two “commemorative-style” posters with four designs each.

They are OhMyGod seriously so cool.

I totally want these to go with the Hiawatha Line Art Deco poster that I’ve been wanting but haven’t actually bought yet. Probably just the two commemorative posters for me, since they’re $35 each and then you’ve got to hang them all and I don’t even know where I’d fit eight of them.

But I could save up. And maybe move some furniture around.

SO COOL!

(via east-lake)

UPDATE: Tim from Cage Design shared how the posters came to be.

The poster scenes are some of my favorite locations to ride … I took the photos and my daughter Kjersten did the graphic design and picked the colors. She’s a graphic designer who has lived in Boulder, NYC, and is now in Munich, Germany. She made a special trip back to the TC a couple weeks ago when we had them printed.

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I stumbled across all of these in the last couple days and thought I’d share.

Ride Boldly! is a blog focusing on “bikes, bicycling, and road safety.” It’s good info in general but I what I really like about it is it specifically addresses MN bike statutes, general biking issues with a local spin (e.g., Bicycle Facilities Issues, Plan Now for Winter Cycling), and infrastructure issues as they apply to biking.

West Bank Boogie is a book by Cyn Collins that “celebrates 40 years of Minneapolis Minnesota’s West Bank music scene with profiles of more than 20 legendary musicians who influenced the soul of American music.” It’s a really cool website for a book (”for a book” is meant to be descriptive, not a qualifier). Great info about the book (it started as a series of articles in the Seward Profile), where to get it, and the profiled artists. Don’t let the fact that the foreword and also the first listed endorsement come from Garrison Keillor put you off.

Friends of the Riverfront is “a group of concerned citizens and park users… working to conserve, protect, and enhance the resources of the Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park.” It sounds like a noble and worthy mission, though they currently appear to be entirely focused on fighting against the proposed De La Salle football stadium on Nicollet Island and I kind of wonder if that’s why they came into being in the first place. So if you want to know more about that hot topic (without the crazy Phyllis Kahn stories), check it out.

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