Category: In This Together

Socializing by Design

On my Minneapolis Skyway walk: an example of designing out antisocial behavior. Target recently redesigned this lobby to eliminate disruptive loitering. It seems to be working. The mural in my Monday post is another example: it’s discouraging graffiti.

The Last Straw

Congratulations to my nemesis, Ch*ga, on being permanently banned from Truth Social for posting a Vanity Fair cartoon implying the former president’s winery produces subpar products. Click through, the plot thickens.

Categorized as Resist

El Mesias

Tonight at Orchestra Hall: A “bilingual Spanish-English cross-cultural combination” of Handel’s Messiah and Navidad Nuestra, a cantata by Argentinian composer Ariel Ramírez. We’re reminded the Holy Family were refugees. “Pretty child don’t cry my love / we will arrive at a better land.”

No Longer Taken for Granted

It did my heart good to see school buses lined up outside the Guthrie Theater this morning. For a year and a half, during the early days of the pandemic, the building was lifeless. Tonight we’ll walk over to see Leo Kottke performing on the Thrust.

Light Sunday Reading

Started into a new biography of J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI and its precursor through six presidents from 1924 up to his death in 1972. I expect the book will help me to better understand divisions in today’s America and reinforce my belief we mustn’t regress to the 1950’s.

Depictions of a Neighborhood

On my walk home from my Friday gig, spotted a mural I’d never seen before in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. It depicts many stories of the neighborhood, ranging from the first Americans to the journeys of the newest Americans. I’ll be back to take a closer look.

A Piece of the Past

Dwight’s uncle was posted to Kyoto at the end of WW2. Today, I walked around his old stomping ground trying to reconcile some of his photos with today’s Kyoto. When I matched this 1946 photo I must’ve reacted: people started to gather around me and were excited to see the old photo. More…

Joyful Kids

Rapid footsteps and giggling behind me. Schoolgirl, now in front of me, directs me back towards a table. Shrieks of delight when I turn and walk to the table. To much applause and giggles, I buy a packet of cookies. Three teachers simultaneously take photos. Lots of goodbyes.