Minneapolis Metblogs » minn_wes

House of Mercy Presents

minn_wes — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 19:12:23 +0000

Once a month, the best show in town takes over the Turf Club. The internet radio station, Misplaced Music, and the country gospel church House of Mercy team up and put on their monthly live radio show. It has consistently been my favorite show every month. Mostly, I think, it’s because people are there for the music. No one cares if they’ve heard the bands before, but if the music causes feet to tap, then it’s greeted with roaring applause.
Last night was the Halloween/All Saints Day edition of HOM Presents. Lonesome Dan Kase, who might just be the most underrated Twin Cities musician, tore through gritty delta blues and The Valley of the Shadow of the Handbarrow involved a woman playing an electric shovel. Seriously. It’s one of the most eclectic shows you’ll see or hear. You can listen to the show live or the rebroadcast at 10AM Tuesday morning at Misplaced Music.

Morning Bus Ride

minn_wes — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 13:56:42 +0000

I’ve ridden the bus to my downtown job from many neighborhoods–Como Park, South Minneapolis, Lake Calhoun and now I live in North Minneapolis. I love how absolutely different the busrides are. The Uptown commute was quiet and every sat still in their seats. There’s usually always someone crazy at the front, talking to the bus driver and driving them crazy. But today was the best.
Today, I was running late, which means I rode with my favorite bus driver. He’s my favorite, because he’s a riot–genuinely chipper, cracks jokes and is always helpful. When I got on the bus there was a previous conversation going on and Church was in session. I realized that 6 or 7 people were taking turns talking and saying mmm praise God. The driver was talking about responding to those cussing you out and said, “there are ways to cuss people out and still be a good Christian.” He then innumerated with examples like, “you say to the guy, ‘hey I forgot my Bible, can I borrow yours?’ or ‘Get behind me Satan’ or ‘You should go to Church’.”
It was one of the funniest bus rides because it was 15 minutes of hillarious Church–that is if Church sermons were centered on cussing people out and whether its ok to protect yourself if someone is trying to attack you.

3rd Best Place to Work

minn_wes — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 14:32:56 +0000

In another one of those absolutely meaningless rankings that will come out, Minnesota was ranked the 3rd best place to work. No one can actually say what that means, but hey, let’s pat ourselves on the back.
Who’s better you ask? New Hampshire and of course Delaware. Ok, I’m pro New Hampshire, but Delaware? The worst state, though, is Louisiana… Awesome, guys, way to kick them while they’re down.

For Sale

minn_wes — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 13:47:25 +0000

I’ve decided to put my allegiance up for sale. I realize that being a true fan, loving your team is about being there when the team is down and something deeper than whether or not you like all the players. But seriously, the Vikings are horrid. Mike Tice was on television last night trying to say that the Vikings looked great yesterday. The problem is that they squeaked a victory away from a team that had lost its running back and had basically one good wide receiver. That and on the news they had on the street interviews with fans where people were saying “boys will be boys.” Sorry, it takes a little more than a barely won game to make me forget sexually harassment and drug abuse.
Therefore, I’m putting it all up for sale. I don’t know how exactly, whether I’ll use eBay or what… but the highest bidder can tell me what team to route for.
I put myself up for sale on EBay.

Red McCombs

minn_wes — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 19:00:01 +0000

The latest issue of Texas Monthly has an interview with the former owner of the Vikings, Red McCombs. Since most of you don’t read Texas Monthly and it’s not available online, I’ll pass on the bizarre highlights.
On Randy Moss: “Randy Moss was a pure delight. Frankly if I had ten Randy Mosses, I’d love it… He’s a down-to-earth, solid, caring person. I loved having Randy Moss every season.”
On selling the Vikes: “I inherited an onerous stadium lease, and I couldn’t create any traction to get a new stadium done.”
On being a co-owner of Clear Channel and why people hate the evil company: “Because we’re so much better than everybody else in that business. And most of the criticism comes from our competitors, not our customers… We wake up every day and turn on a microphone that talks to about half the people in the United States.”

Letter from a Gay Bethel Student

minn_wes — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:02:52 +0000

Being a graduate of Bethel University, a conservative Evangelical school, I am always interested to see how the school is perceived by the outside and how the secular world is seen from the inside. Lavender Magazine published an anonymous letter from a current Bethel student who is gay. It’ll be interesting to see what type of controversy this will stir up at a school where it’s against the rules to be gay (although I knew several gay students when I went there). The controversy most likely would come from the students, who are typically far more conservative than the professors and some of the administration.

Why yes, I play the lottery

minn_wes — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 13:58:22 +0000

Paul posted the other day about playing the lottery and the super-huge-mega jackpot right now. I don’t do it often, but when the jackpot has risen to these heights before, I’ve bought myself tickets. It’s for a serious cause, though.
I was driving past the Baltimore Aquarium with my fiancee (we’re getting married in Pennsylvania) and I asked her, “can we get married in one of the fish tanks in the Baltimore Aquarium?”
“No,” she said.
“Why not?”
“It’d be expensive,” she said.
“Can we get married in one of the tanks if I win the lottery?”
“Yes, but not in one of the shark tanks.”
And so, I’m not playing the lottery for some off chance or fleeting hope. I seriously want to get married in a huge underwater tank with scuba tuxedos and everything. Is that too much to ask?
By the way, I lost over the weekend.

Star Tribune: New and Minty Fresh!

minn_wes — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 19:02:17 +0000

The Star Tribune launched their new and improved website this morning. Their redesign comes the same day as MPR unveiled their new website, although the Strib definitely redid much more than just aesthetics. I for one am pro said changes. The Strib looks minty with its new color scheme with everything seeming far more organized and MPR looks autumnal, crinkly and brown. Both the City Pages and The Rake already went through redesigns earlier this year.
Now, can someone please tell the Pioneer Press and The Pulse to please hire new web designers?

Well, At Least They Can Party…

minn_wes — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 18:05:50 +0000

Sure, the Vikings are a horrible disappointment this year. Everyone is injured and those not injured can’t seem to remember how to play. But thank god, that hasn’t stopped them from partying. I mean, that at least makes me feel better about giving my taxes for their amazing new stadium. Now, listen here Vikings, I’m a sports fan, so you getting a better stadium benefits me and I’m a liberal, so I’m supposed to be pro-tax. However, if all you can do is spend your money like extravagant asses who don’t earn their paychecks, then why don’t you take a pay cut to pay for the stadium? Or at least invite me to one of your parties… seriously, please, can I come next time?

Tim O’Reagan and the Jayhawks

minn_wes — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 18:29:05 +0000

The Jayhawks somehow never make it onto that list of best Minneapolis exports. Prince, check. Husker Du, check. The Replacements, check. But with the Twin Cities still working through alt-country band after alt-country band, I think it might be safe to say that the Jayhawks have had one of the longest lasting effects on this music scene. Or perhaps they simply came from a genre quite separate from themselves. I don’t know.
Regardless, when the Jayhawks called it quits after Rainy Day Music, it was a sad day. I saw their drummer, Tim O’Reagan play at last month’s live radio show, “Mercy Presents”, at the Turf Club. O’Reagan was selling his new solo album (conveniently titled, Tim O’Reagan), but it turns out this was the only night it was for sale. He originally released it via the House of Mercy record label, Mercy Recordings (which also released other Jayhawks band mate Mark Olson’s solo record). However, major labels have been talking to O’Reagan and he stopped selling the album.
What a shame. O’Reagan’s album is perfectly crafted alt-country that feels as comfortable as putting on your old Eagles records. His website only vaguely mentions a release in early 2006. It couldn’t come sooner, because O’Reagan’s record is by far one of the best Twin Cities records of the past few years.