Minneapolis Metblogs » elpac

rita dove in town

elpac — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:02:39 +0000

rita dove, former u.s. poet laureate, is in st. paul this week. she’s reading on wednesday, march 4 at 7:30 at st. kate’s. and it’s free! here are the details.

i’m crazy excited to see her. thomas and beulah is beautiful. and i think we all need more beauty in our lives these days, don’t you?

how’s your commute?

elpac — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:40:16 +0000

the national traffic scorecard ranks minneapolis/st. paul as the 10th worst metro for traffic congestion for 2008, up three spots from the previous year. i have a hard time believing that our traffic is worse than, say, the traffic in phoenix (number 13), but the data says otherwise.

according to this study, thursdays from 5-6 p.m. is the metro area’s worst time for congestion and bottleneck traffic. december is the worst month for traffic; june is the second worst month.

traffic in 2008 was down 20.5% from the previous year. it was down in all ranked cities. if only it were because americans everywhere were commuting by bike instead.

i’m paying $75 for what?

elpac — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:08:38 +0000

today the lottery opens for the garry bjorklund half-marathon up in duluth. it remains open through march 2. only 4500 runners will be accepted into the race.

i was thinking of signing up until i saw that the race costs $75 plus a processing fee. for perspective, grandma’s marathon, which is twice the distance, is $85 plus a processing fee and runs the same course as the half-marathon (plus a few, er, 13.1 miles!). with these prices, the marathon is so much bang for your buck, might as well sign up for that one instead.

also, headphones are no longer banned from the course.

valentine’s day…

elpac — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:28:30 +0000

seems like we are in for a warmish and sunny valentine’s day. valentine’s day i could take or leave, but warmish and sunny? yes, please!

plus, it’s nice to have some valentine’s day-specific plans. kieran’s irish pub is sponsoring SlamMN!’s annual erotica slam. must be popular because by the time i called to reserve a table, none was left.

the website advises that the event is not for the young or the sensitive. i’m intrigued…

traffic woes

elpac — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:29:09 +0000

have you ever driven on 36th street in south minneapolis between, say, 7:30-8:30 a.m. because you want to get to 35W north?

i live a half-mile from the 35W north entrance ramp. why does getting to the highway take eight or ten minutes and include five stoplights? there are so many cars – all with one person in them, of course, and that includes mine – that i sit at the green lights not going anywhere. is it because the 46th street on/off ramps are closed? i can’t tell.

i’m looking forward to spring and commuting by bike. until then, hello non-highway roads! google maps tells me you’re a shorter commuting distance anyway…i think we’ll be together a lot now.

it’s inauguration day!

elpac — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:08:35 +0000

it’s a beautiful day today…sun, blue skies, and people on the bus wishing each other a happy inauguration day. my bus drove past the riverview theater at 8:15ish this morning and there was already a line of people with big smiles on their faces!

are you going somewhere to watch the ceremony? if you’re working today, are you watching with co-workers?

i’m curious whether the ceremony will keep on schedule. Will Aretha Franklin sing at exactly 11:38? Will the departure ceremony begin at exactly 12:32? (yes i know the times are approximate.) i’m sensing a longer than normal lunch hour….

rally at the capitol

elpac — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:20:12 +0000

supporters for single-payer health care for minnesota are rallying today at the capitol! from 10-11:15 there’s an information session so you can…get informed! then, from 11:30-12:30, there’s a rally at the state capitol rotunda. (i know that’s only two hours from when i’m posting this notice….)

find more information here

eero saarinen: one week left

elpac — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:37:26 +0000

finally made it to the eero saarinen: shaping the future exhibit that is at both the minneapolis institute of arts and the walker art center. the work at the MIA focuses on saarinen’s airports and memorials and embassies, while the work at the walker features his corporate companies and college campuses. saarinen, i learned, designed the dulles international airport and the twa terminal at JFK airport and, oh yeah, christ church lutheran in south minneapolis.

the best part of the exhibit is at the MIA, an excerpt from a documentary about the completion of the st. louis arch, another one of saarinen’s projects. it’s intensely captivating.

the exhibit closes at both museums on sunday, january 4. one week left! hurry!

if christmas isn’t your thing…

elpac — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:28:08 +0000

what to do tonight and tomorrow if you don’t celebrate christmas?

i’m going to eat chinese food and go to the movies. i want to check out jewbilee tonight. but what else is open or happening?

all i could find is bowling — i know park tavern in st. louis park is open on christmas. but with the warmer weather, it might be a good day to have a park all to yourself to build that snowman you’ve been wanting to build!

how great that you drive a SUV!

elpac — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:55:32 +0000

it’s cold out. there’s snow on the ground. there’s ice on the streets. my car doesn’t like the cold and the snow and the ice. sometimes when i try to stop, i skid. it’s not fun. i prefer to drive a bit cautiously (sometimes more than just a bit!).

but you, you have a SUV! or a pick-up truck! and you luv it! winter is your time to shine! (especially now that gas is a bit cheaper.) that’s cool. your tires are bigger than mine so maybe you don’t have all this snow frozen to your car in that space between the tire and the car. (that really drives me crazy.)

so you, you are cruising! but these little cars are driving too slow for you. no prob. you’re going to cut them off. your lane is ending. this is it! now or never! you must cut these cars off because otherwise you’re going to get so bored driving behind a civic that is going 25 on a snow-covered street whose speed limit is 30. your drive will be two, maybe three, minutes longer behind this civic, but you can shave those minutes if you can pass it! go, go, go!

just remember: you are not infallible. spite took over for a minute as i watched two trucks get towed off my street yesterday during the snow emergency.

buh-bye! and i won’t miss you on the road!

(an aside: i did not recognize these trucks as regulars on our street. i would have felt sympathetic had they belonged to a neighbor.)

(another aside: regardless of what kind of car you drive, please, please stop tailing me. if you think i’m driving slow it’s because there’s ice on the road and i would like to stay in my lane and not spinoff, thankyouverymuch.)