Tag Archives: Minnesota

Interviews with Occupy Minnesota Protesters

Occupy Minnesota Protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis on Friday.
People were there protesting. Someone asked why.


(via YouTube)

More random Duck Duck stuff

Dan Wilson/ Star Tribune photo by Jeff Wheeler

Dan Wilson/ Star Tribune photo by Jeff Wheeler

1. Minnesotans are a quietly proud bunch when it comes to our local celebrities. Songwriter-singer Dan Wilson (Semisonic) cowrote the Adele piano ballad “Someone Like You,” and is enjoying it’s No. 1 status. He writes a lot in case you didn’t know and won a grammy for co-writing the Dixie Chicks’ “Not Ready To Make Nice.” (story)
2. This is why I don’t heroize. Martin Luther King Jr. tried to arrange a sex party during the March on Washington? (ABC News)
3. In case you haven’t heard, there was a homicide on 9/11 in NYC that remains unsolved to this day. I suppose the events of that day created the ultimate diversion for getting away with murder. (story)
4. Unreality Magazine published a gallery of celebs without eyebrows to demonstrate how having eyebrows helps us not look like escaped mental patients.
5. This picture pretty much sums up how I feel about politicians right now.
politicians
6. An honest letter to New Yorkers from a kid that “didn’t really care” about 9/11. (via McSweeneys)
7. Turn game night on its head with these awesome games from the mental_floss store. There are great educational games for the kids available too.

The best of Boogaard

Minnesota hockey fans were sad to learn that Derek Boogaard died over the weekend. He brought passion and grit to the sport, and he will not be forgotten. R.I.P. Boogie Man. Here is a nice compilation of video of Derek doing what he did best…destroying people on the ice.

Goodbye Mr. Killebrew

harmon killebrew

Source: AP

I wasn’t alive when Harmon Killebrew played baseball. I know what he meant to the game and to Twins fans across Minnesota though. Today the Minnesota Twins announced Twins great Harmon Killebrew has entered hospice care.

**UPDATE 5/17: Mr. Killebrew has died of cancer at the age of 74. So sad…

“I am very comfortable taking this next step and experiencing the compassionate care that hospice provides,” said Killebrew. “I am comforted by the fact that I am surrounded by my family and friends. I thank you for the outpouring of concern, prayers and encouragement that you have shown me. I look forward to spending my final days in comfort and peace with Nita by my side.”

May God be with you and bless you Mr. Killebrew.

Killer Facts:
 – Harmon Killebrew ranks #11 among the Top 50 all-time at 1B.
Harmon “Killer” Killebrew hit more home runs than any other right-handed batter in American League history.
– Signed originally as a bonus baby, Killebrew rusted on the Senators’ bench for five years from the age 18-22, before getting a chance to prove his power.
– He immediately slammed 42 homers in his first full season, the first of eight times he would reach the 40-mark.
– He retired with 573 homers, more than 2,000 hits, 1,500 RBI and 1,500 walks.
– He ranks 5th in the category of “Most times walked intentionally with no one on base.”
– Killebrew exhibited a calm demeanor and professional attitude. He was never, not even once, ejected from a game.
– Killebrew reportedly hit several balls over 500 feet, and is credited with one of the longest home runs in Tiger Stadium history (May 2, 1964), as well as one of the longest blasts in Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium… Hit three homers in September 21, 1963 in the first game of a doubleheader.
(via The Baseball Page)

Now I have to try to explain to my mother what a Hipster is

Minnesota 'Most Hipster State in the U.S.'Minnesota was just declared the ‘Most Hipster State in the U.S.’ Here’s why:

Our obsessive bike culture
Our thriving music scene/legacy
Our love of lumberjack chic/flannel
Our abundant farmers’ markets
Our thriving theater scene

BuzzFeed conducted the study based on “research” they have gathered.

Thanks BuzzFeed. Now I have to try to explain to my mother what a Hipster is.

My thoughts on the winning criteria:
Bicycle enthusiasts in this state are a pain in the ass.
The local music scene here is has sucked since about 1998. I’m sorry Tapes ‘n Tapes, you’re just not that good.
Flannel is practical here; not a fashion statement. Paul Bunyan is not interested in going green. He destroys trees for a living!
Farmers markets are money-making machines that do nothing for the environment. Do you know what your grandparents called organic food? They called it “food.”
Since when are rich people at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater hipsters?

The death penalty in Minnesota

Minnesota Gallows

A Minnesota gallows scene, circa 1900 - Source: MN House of Representatives

Ann Bilansky (born Mary Ann Evards Wright) became the first and only woman hanged by the state of Minnesota on this date in 1860. She was found guilty of poisoning her husband with arsenic. One hundred people watched in close proximity while over fifteen hundred caught a glimpse through knot holes and rooftops.

Minnesota also has the dubious honor of being the state of the largest mass hanging in United States history. As a result of the Dakota Conflict, thirty-eight Native Americans were hung in Mankato, Minnesota.

Dakota Conflict

Dakota Conflict mass hanging

 
In 1906 William Williams was the last person to be executed in the State of Minnesota. He was convicted of the shooting death of a St Paul teenager. At 12:31 a.m. on February 13, Williams was dropped from the make-shift gallows constructed by the sheriff. His feet hit the floor. The sheriff had not taken into account the fact that the rope would stretch eight inches and William’s neck about four and a half inches. It took three deputies hauling the rope upward to keep Williams feet off the floor while he slowly choked to death. Williams died a slow and agonizing death that took fourteen and half minutes.
(source)

Minnesota Blue law has people seeing red

Minnesota has always been a bit old-fashioned when it comes to some things. In many ways, it’s what gives us our charm. A new debate on a very old issue has popped up again challenging an old blue law that says liquor stores, etc., cannot sell alcohol on Sundays. Minnesota is one of 14 states that doesn’t allow it, and the reasons are a bit ridiculous to me.

Chicago Lake Liquors

The owner of Chicago Lake Liquors is in favor of selling on Sundays.

First off, there is no rational basis for any law that tries to enforce religious standards of how people should or should not spend a particular day of the week. If you are against the idea of buying beer, wine, or liquor on Sundays, then don’t buy beer, wine, or alcohol on Sundays.

I tend to favor free market competition, so I don’t care if the sale of booze on Sunday will cut into bar and restaurant profits. I think it’s up to a bar owner or liquor store to up their game or diversify somehow to fight that new competition. Also, telling a grocery store it can’t carry alcohol is like telling Walgreen’s they can’t carry paperback books.

Some arguments are even coming from the liquor store owners themselves, who say that allowing the sale of alcohol on Sunday will increase operating costs for them. My response to that is pretty simple: Stay closed. You can set your own operating hours.

So, where am I going wrong here? Tell me how selling alcohol on Sundays is really going to hurt Minnesota …

Dick Enrico. The Marketing Machine

Dick Enrico at the Minnesota State Fair

Me and Dick at the 2007 Minnesota State Fair

Through blood, lots of sweat apparently (see picture), and tears, Dick Enrico has punished the competition in the world of fitness gear. He’s used a strategy not so different from other brands in the past: being in front of everyone and creating a memorable company image by casting himself in his commercials. Sure, he may look like the love child of Ron Jeremy and Gaucho Marx, but you have to admit, he’s memorable. Who do you think of when you are considering a new treadmill or weight bench? That’s right, Dick Enrico.

Steady television spots, bathroom advertising, and bobbleheads are an equation that made 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment roughly $80 million in sales last year. His strategy is simple: Be somewhere everyone goes … Restrooms. So when you are on the shitter feeding the fish, he’ll be there feeding you info about Elliptical machines. I’m totally okay with that.

A dry crack is a happy crack

The Crack Team

A dry crack is a happy crack? I'll say...

Okay, let me first start out by saying, “I agree.” With that being said, is this really the tagline you want for your company? I’m not sure how this copy is working for them, but if you have crack issues, click here or www.thecrackteam.com and tell them you have a wet crack. I’d be curious to hear their response.

The best part of wakin’ up is cat poop in your cup…

 

 coffee and tea Ltd.
Coffee & Tea Ltd. (credit: coffeeandtealtd.com)

This family-owned coffee shop has been in business since the 1970s and its success hasn’t come through sheer luck. With a 100 year old roaster in the front window, you can smell the roasted beans. They sell coffee and tea varieties from more than 65 countries, including Rwanda and the Galapagos. They have succeeded by being passionate about coffee. If you are looking for a selection of coffee you can brew yourself, look no further than Coffee & Tea Ltd. in SW Minneapolis.

If you are searching for an example of creating a remarkable small business niche, look no further than Fluffy’s litter box. If you are really having a tough morning, maybe you should pour yourself a cup of Kopi Luwak. It’s made from red beans that have been eaten and pooped out by the Civet Cat from Indonesia. And while you might have to pay me to drink this stuff, Edina housewives are shelling out $420 per pound for this stuff at Coffee & Tea Ltd.