January 31, 2007

Reflection

The third installment of the ifp/perpich center for arts education.

Life is uncertain. we're constantly searching. things flicker in the distance reminding us of a dream we had. We are watching our life through someone elses eyes.

The filmmakers: Grant Bielefeld, Laura Mobley, Allison Olson, Patricia Towey

MORE FROM THIS SERIES:
The Marshmallow Invasion
Birth

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 07:12 PM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2007

Girl Talk

Mixt-up mashuppery? Name that tune for hipsters? Sure it's coming out of a laptop, but it's got a beat and you can dance to it. "It" is Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) and he summoned a whole stageful of willing young dancers to the Varsity Theater stage last week. Here's a little taste.

GIRL TALK WEB SITES:
girl-talk.net
MySpace
Illegal Art

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 06:36 AM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2007

Dance Band

Mystery, science, dreams, and genius. That's how Minneapolis' Dance Band describe themselves, anyway. I'm trying not to say something like "college band" or "party band" because those words conjure something bad, and Dance Band are good. Funky, fun, booty-shakin' good.

Here's some footage from their gig with Girl Talk at the Varsity Theater. Your next chance to see them is Feb. 1 at the Turf Club, playing before Retribution Gospel Choir.

Hans, the drummer in Dance Band, is from Duluth. He and Alan Sparhawk travelled to Kenya to help build a school. Watch for a video on that soon - meanwhile, learn more at Laleyio.com.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)

January 26, 2007

Review: Chambers Kitchen

Chuck and Lorika are back on the restaurant review trail, starting with Chambers Kitchen. This is, hands-down, one of the best meals we've ever had. (Auriga, sadly closing this week, holds second place.)

Please note, this was done with my old camera which was sucky in low light conditions. From now on, these things will look pretty decent. My new camera rocks. Check out my latest MSP video featuring Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Carson Kressley.

MORE ACTUAL REVIEWS:
MSP: Andrew Zimmern and Peter Lilienthal
City Pages: Dara Moskowitz

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 09:55 AM | Comments (9)

January 25, 2007

Protest

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A protest against the Iraq War, and specifically the troop surge.
Downtown Minneapolis, 1/12/07

A few photos.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 07:14 AM | Comments (2)

January 24, 2007

Retribution Gospel Choir

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Retribution Gospel Choir, one of Alan Sparkawk's many projects, performs a Pink Floyd classic from July of 2006. It was a great show; How Was the Show agrees. Please excuse the poor sound and my drunken camera work.

Catch the band on tour Feb. 1 at the Turf Club.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 05:32 AM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2007

SOTU Classic

Hey look, it's time for another State of the Union already! In honor of that event, here's our reaction to last year's presidential address + drinking game.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 12:14 AM | Comments (2)

January 22, 2007

GOP: "Merry Christmas"

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I guess the Republican Party of MN hasn't updated their web sites in awhile. Talk about living in the past! (Sorry, cheap shot.) Their very best, and most calming, web site is for the 8th Congressional District. "Silent Night," that cherished MIDI classic, graces our speakers while we admire a manger scene featuring Santa Claus. To the right, a slide show of the GOP's finest, highlighted by a rather sultry snapshot of Michele Bachmann. Rowwwr!

It's all in good fun. I'm sure they'll get around to updating their web site eventually. My home page suggestion? These Colors Don't Run.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 03:46 AM | Comments (2)

January 19, 2007

Marshmallow Invasion

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The boring. The mundane. And hence, the laundromat. But it all gets interesting when marshmallows are involved. The second collaboration from IFP/Perpich Center for the Arts.

SEE ALSO: Birth

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2007

Cold Spring Baseball History

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Here's another great story from Duane Kuss of DigElogROCORI:

Baseball has been a part of the "Land of ROCORI" as far back as anyone can remember. This is a special story where to local historians Herb Hesse and Sel Theis sit down to talk about the earliest days they can remember watching the Cold Spring Springers on Sunday afternoons.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2007

MnDOT is Retarded

Emily and her friend attempt to talk to the automated MnDOT guy.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 09:03 AM | Comments (15)

January 15, 2007

MLK

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Dr. King spoke against war in Vietnam at the St. Paul Campus, University of Minnesota, on 4/27/1967. [ More info ] This is not that speech, but I hope you find these clips thoughtful and inspiring.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 04:59 AM | Comments (1)

January 13, 2007

Citizen Journalists and the Edwards Campaign

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I was one of several citizen journalist-types tagging along with the Edwards campaign when he announced his run for the presidency. I was with them from New Orleans to Iowa and New Hampshire, where I jumped off and headed back home. Here's my first dispatch, featuring an interview with Robert Scoble and NCDem Amy. Read more on the Edwards blog.

2008 is being called the "YouTube election." The Washington Post and ABC News both have good stories on the phenomenon.

EDWARDS TRAVEL DIARY VIDEO:
On the Road MOments with Edwards

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 02:01 AM | Comments (3)

January 12, 2007

mnartists: Scott Stulen

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Scott Stulen is a painter, installation, and video artist whose work explores personal and collective memory, pop culture, and the Midwest. He is the Curator of Education the Rochester Art Center and an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota. And? He's an all-around nice guy not afraid to combine humor and sincerity in his work.

RELATED LINKS:
ScottStulen.com
Radio mnartists profile
Carrie on my wayward one (Video)
Rochester Art Center

MORE MNARTIST VIDEOS:
Jonathan Nelson
Anastasia Ward

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 07:06 AM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2007

Art Shanties Return

This Saturday, global warming be damned, art shanties are returning to Medicine Lake. This weekend they'll probably be beach shanties, but hopefully the cold weather will freeze the lake for subsequent weekends. Here's a video from last year, when our beloved frozen blood-encrusted zombie troupe took to the ice. Check the Art Shanty Projects for more info and watch for a video in early February.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 06:05 AM | Comments (2)

January 10, 2007

Birth

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IFP/Minnesota Center for Media Arts teamed up with the super duper talented kids at Perpich Center for Arts Education to create these fine 16mm films. This was the students first time shooting on film. The result? A superb movie in four parts by four different teams of students detailing the stages of life. This first one is called Birth. Stay tuned.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 07:13 AM | Comments (1)

January 09, 2007

DeRusha on Ice

WCCO's Jason DeRusha goes ice fishing with WCCO-TV personalities on Lake Mille Lacs. Hey Jason, how about sending some of that "too rowdy for 'CCO" footage this way?

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 02:04 AM | Comments (1)

January 08, 2007

Cube Farm Samurai

"Kill Bill" meets "Office Space" - yes, it lives up to that. Directed by Dack and starring Adam Sellke.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 07:21 AM | Comments (0)

January 04, 2007

Keith Ellison Meets Virgil Goode

Via TPMmuckraker:

Best Friends Forever?
Just now on MSNBC, I saw Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) make his way over to introduce himself to Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA), whose back is to the camera. And that's Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) looking on as the Muslim-fearing Goode shakes hands with the House's first elected Muslim.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 05:08 PM | Comments (1)

Sunset Horsey

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The actual title of this piece is another failed attempt at being cool by Rocherster-based artist Scott Stulen. He's the next artist to be featured in our mnartists.org video series - coming soon!

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 03:59 AM | Comments (0)

January 03, 2007

C. Beck

NOTE! This great video is now exclusively featured by ITVS.

C. BECK is a new film portrait of the artist, Charles Beck, by Deb Wallwork and Mike Hazard.

More about the film.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 11:57 AM | Comments (1)