Thanks to friends attending a funeral, we inherited great seats at the Dakota for dinner and a Patti Austin show. She first performed in 1954 at Harlem’s Apollo at just four years old. Her performance offered mature interpretations of songs and stories, and with recent nominations for Best Jazz Album, she’s clearly still going strong. The arts offer resistance to the times we’re living in, and her message of love stands out.
Category: Living
Lunch break in the park
Walked home past groups of children enjoying a lunch break and the lovely weather in Gold Medal Park. They were likely there for activities at the adjacent Guthrie Theater or Mill City Museum. The Guthrie, for instance, offers several one to two-week summer camps for older kids, covering everything from stage management to performing Shakespeare. Seeing kids engage with the real world rather than screens really gives me hope.
Reenactment, but with beer and schnitzel
Stopped at Dunn Brothers Coffee on Loring Park for a cuppa while out walking with friends. Almost home, I realized I’d left my daypack, complete with wallet and keys, hanging on the back of my chair. I phoned, they found it, I walked back, I left a generous tip. At the nearby Walker Art Center bar, I reestablished normal blood pressure over a hazy IPA and eggplant schnitzel. Oh, and I did remember my pack this time.
Word of the day: obligatory
Waited for a friend at Minnehaha Falls. Groups of people were peering over the edge, taking the obligatory photographs. With the Falls going full blast, I couldn’t resist taking my own.
Ghost trains cross here
Out cycling, I spotted this railroad crossing sign—despite no tracks on either side of the road. I turned to Reddit for reasons. The sign should stay until the track is removed and the road repaved, helping prevent mishaps (e.g., bikes or snow plows) and limiting liability. Additionally, this preserves the right of way and increases adjacent land values. Click through for more discussion.
Neighbors helping neighbors: fighting wildfires in Manitoba
On our walk today, this was our view of Downtown from Boom Island Park: the smoke from Manitoba’s wildfires is slowly clearing. Meanwhile, while six posturing members of Congress sent a letter of complaint to the Canadian embassy in DC, Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources deployed a 21-person crew to Manitoba to assist with fighting the wildfires.
Smart home upgrade for snowbirds
Spent the afternoon making the home of friends smarter. Like us, they’re snowbirds who head to warmer places during the depths of winter. After setting up a plant watering system for them previously, today’s project included configuring two cameras, and installing smart wall switches and water leak sensors.
Childhood, conflict, and perception
It looks so Instagrammable: “Very volcanic over this green feather” features enlargements of artist’s childhood drawings while living in a Kosovo refugee camp. The reverse sides depict war, including a terrified little boy. Other exhibits continued to unsettle our perceptions of reality. Ways of Knowing, today, at the Walker Art Center.
What native speakers miss about learning English
Today I was reminded of how much native English speakers take for granted. Take the simple past tense: with words like “seemed,” “stressed,” and “added,” the “-ed” ending is pronounced differently in each case (/d/, /t/, and /ed/ respectively). Adult English Language Learners have to explicitly learn these distinctions, all while juggling their jobs and family responsibilities.
Cabaret, speaking to our times
The evening began with pre-show drinks at a pop-up Kit Kat bar before a sold-out performance of Cabaret at the Guthrie. Having revisited the story through the movie, a touring Broadway production, and Isherwood’s Berlin Stories over the years, the play’s dark themes felt timely tonight. Tomorrow, the daily news of rising authoritarianism in our own country awaits.