Microblog

My walk included a tutoring session at the Franklin Library and a bison melt at the Minneapolis American Indian Center. Along the way, signs reminded us we are well past the time for silence.

The sun was rising as I left this morning, the start of a long day that eventually wound down at a local restaurant we had not tried before. We enjoyed dishes with names ending in au vin and en croûte while comparing notes about our day.

Tonight: Sleuth at the Guthrie. Plenty of mind games.

At the Minneapolis Institute of Art today, explored German art from 1910 to 1945. In the foreground ‘The Fallen Man’ was created in 1916 as a memorial against war. Like other pieces in this gallery, it was declared ‘degenerate’ in the 1930s. Moving through the exhibit, I saw the contrast between artists who resisted and those who compromised their work.

Tonight: leftover mushroom risotto, repurposed. Stabilized with fresh breadcrumbs and egg, then coated in panko. Served on Spode, just because. Salad by Dwight. Enough excitement for one day.

I’m making a kidney bean dish for dinner and decided to switch up my routine. Instead of my usual quick hot soak, I started with a 24-hour cold soak in the fridge. ​My original plan was to use the slow cooker, but I recently learned about a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin. To destroy it, the beans must be boiled vigorously on the stovetop for at least 10 minutes. Since I have to boil them on the stove anyway, I’ll finish the entire dish there, as I’ve always done.

Wipe down, pump the tires, lube the chain: off on two wheels. With temperatures about to hit 77°F, a ride was mandatory. The trails were dry and ice-free, and everyone seemed to be in a great mood. Only the lingering piles of snow served as a reminder that the snow season isn’t quite over.

My walk today took me past the stadium where the Minnesota Vikings play. Downtown was reflected in the glass on the stadium’s west side, where five 55-foot-wide glass panels can be swiveled open.

Since I was a child I’ve had a soft spot for British Ordnance Survey maps; the 1:25,000 detail is perfect for the inn-to-inn hike we’ve planned for Scotland this April. However, after struggling with the Ordnance Survey website today, I switched back to Grough Routes. It’s a much more professional mapping application that uses the same high-quality mapping data.

There was warmth in the sun when I went for my walk today. Snow was slipping off roofs but still clung on tenaciously.

Two days in a row now, I’ve opted for a climate-controlled walk. With temperatures hovering around zero, I took the light rail to the Mall of America for a mall walk with friends. We walked past hundreds of stores, all of which, with one exception, did not interest me. After the walk, I did take a look around the LEGO store.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: there is only one thing in the world worse than the Skyway, and that is not having the Skyway. While I don’t care for the way it stifles life at street level, I certainly appreciated it today. I enjoyed walking part of the 9½-mile system in shirtsleeves with friends even though it was single digits and windy outside.

Aglaonema sat by the window as snow fell all day, waiting for longer days and bright sunshine. Meanwhile, we stayed in, doing indoor things, and arranging to be in a kinder climate next March.

A light snow was falling as we walked into Orchestra Hall for a Minnesota Orchestra concert. The program included pianist Kirill Gerstein, who performed two concertos: a modern piece by Thomas Adès, a British composer new to me, and Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand. It was impressive to hear such a rich, full sound produced by just one hand. By the time we left, the snowstorm was intensifying.

Tonight, Macbeth on the thrust stage at the Guthrie. I asked AI to restate the first two acts as though Macbeth was you-know-who: ‘Listen, we’re going to make Scotland great again, okay? The previous administration—Duncan, total disaster—was weak. Very low energy. We’re doing a complete takeover, and frankly, the witches, they’re tremendous people, they saw the vision. They told me, “Sir, you’re going to win so much you’ll get tired of winning.”‘

Back in the classroom today. As usual, I’m impressed by the positive attitudes of the adult learners, including these sentences they created. The exercise was to build a sentence containing “crowd out,” “territory,” or “foreigner.”