Sneaking Around

My new sneakers make me smile. I think they're sneak-tastic. I picked them up at Robert's Shoe Store on E Lake Street.

photo by Neil Coleman














The shoes were released in June 2007, as part of Nike's new Air Force 1 City Series. I bought them cuz they are awesome and perfect for sneaking.

Details:
Nike Air Force 1
Lowtop Supreme - New York City Edition [ Rosie's Dry Goods ]







































From citysole.com ↓

Item Description: Rosie’s Dry Goods

The basketball footwear in the New York collection evince the flash and showmanship of the Big Apple’s best ballers and its courts. For these athletes, Nike created AF1s as sophisticated as they are strong, and as smooth as they are sturdy. To symbolize this combination, the NYC shoes draw upon the inspiration of Patterson Square, Rosie’s Dry Goods and the Gauchos. Graphic highlights celebrate these New York institutions with roses and a thorn ball signifying Rosie’s, CHOZ ’78 commemorates the Gauchos’ inaugural year in the AAU program and a design pulled straight from the Patterson Square backboard is a tribute to that legendary court. The XXVth Anniversary AF1 Box is Neutral-Grey with white accents(swoosh and AF1 logo). The lace medallion has been updated as well. And we can't forget the Air Force One XXVth anniversary card of authenticity a collectors dream!

Features:

* Alligator Swoosh
* Rosie Dry Goods Crocs
* Air Force One 25th Anniversary card of authenticity
* New Medallion
* Soft Leather

The shoes came with a medallion, which was a little OTT...even for ME! I put the medallion in my jewelry box.

[where: 55406]

365 Days Later

1 year ago today, I moved to Minneapolis.
In the Corsica jam-packed with plants, shoes, and books, I made my way to Longfellow.

1 year later, I am grateful.

I love living with gerg.
I love my new career.
I love my new Passat.
I love chatting with band guys in our garage and drinking PBR.
I love cookouts with Sarah and Reed.
I love all outings involving art/plants/booze/music with IIII and Dre.
I love motorcycle rides on the Lake Road.
I love Deedot's blondness. I love Michelle's sass.
I love cocktails with Liz and I love her red jeans.
I love paula's ever-changing hair.
I love Wednesday dinners with Bobbi, Lotus, and crew.
I love using power tools.
I love wandering around my neighborhood while talking on my cell phone.
I love the shoe section at Macy's.

Even though I am grateful, there are some things I miss about living in Wisco.

I miss chopping vegetables with Alicia.
I miss sunbathing with Shanny.
I miss prowling for *anything* with Crystal.
I miss playing golf with joshherman.
I miss checking out DJ Hecubus at the Lounge.
I miss Thursday night dates with crowhead.
I miss the JazzOrgy.
I miss being introduced as MarkMartin's sister.
I miss eating Mexican food with Kurt.
I miss watching ALL the Packer games, and I miss the Packer parties.
I miss shopping at TJMax with Sarah.
I miss cheap drinks.
I miss the EAA Fly In.

The good news is that in the scheme of things, the commute home is short, and so I still can experience the things I miss about Wisco without living there.

[where: 55406]

Jay's Cafe Rokked the French Toast

photo lifted from www.nodinpress.com/macaroni/spring06_food.htm

gerg and I ate a late breakfast at Jay's Cafe in St. Paul on Saturday.

I drive past Jay's Cafe almost everyday and was all about checking it out.

Apparently, Karl Gerstenberger is wild for locally-sourced ingredients, which is a reason for a sustainability gal like me to give myself whiplash every time I drive by Jay's...I'm always trying to peep the menu on the board outside.

So on Saturday, we darted between raindrops and grabbed a little table. Peace coffee (of course) and comics were our appetizers as we scanned the brief and reasonably priced breakfast menu. The atmosphere was unremarkable and definitely unpretentious.

We ordered the "Surfer" Burritos - a burrito with eggs, avocados, salsa, cheese, and tomatoes. Savory and acceptable.

But the home run, out of the ballpark, knock you on your ass and until you scream "uncle" dish was the Apple-Carmel French Toast - we're talkin thickly sliced Ciabatta bread french toast served with diced apples, drizzled with caramel, and then topped with real whipped cream and maple syrup. A big up yourself to the Gods who looked down upon Jay's Cafe when this was served to us. I thank ye.

We made sure to check out the art. Since we spend 1/3 of our free time in hardware stores, the photographs of Noll Hardware were pretty interesting to us.

I chatted up our server before we departed, and she indicated that the most locally sourced menu at Jay's was the dinner menu.

You know I'm all about trying the Organic Cantaloupe Soup with ricotta dumpling and scallion oil for $6.

Jay's Cafe

791 Raymond Av
Saint Paul, MN 55115
Phone: (651) 641-1446

[where: 55406]

U B DA JUDGE: New Eyes for the Drummer Guy

Since gerg's eyesight is wikked terrible, his glasses are featured on his face from waking up until he passes out.

He's been sampling frames for a new look. Obviously, since he can't see shit without his glasses on, he can't see how the new frames look on his face. THUS, we take photos of the new frames on his face, so he can later view the photos whilst wearing his current glasses. Bonnie at Specs always gives us mega options, cuz she loves our smiling faces.

In my last U BE DA JUDGE, y'all helped me select new green sneakers for Hibernia.

U BA DA JUDGE on gerg's set of possible new frames. Which ones are hits?


Electric Avenue

















She Blinded Me With Science

















We Didn't Start the Fire

















You Belong to the City

















Not Fade Away

















The Egg Man


















[where: 55406]

Public or Private?

I got my hair bangin' again at Mezzanine Salon on Wednesday.
It's huger than ever, and I love it. BIG HAIR 4_EVA!!!

While waiting for the color to set, I did the customary salon thing...I read trashy magazines.

Nike has been releasing some neat ads lately. Alexis found a "back at" sign for her door in Jane.

I found a Nike heat-transfer (iron-on patch) attached to an ad in Vanity Fair at the salon. It was kind of neat. I thought I could iron it on a golf towel or sumpin.

I almost ripped the patch out of the magazine, but I opted not to. Ultimately, I thought it would be stealing, since it wasn't my mag. And I didn't want it badly enough to ask Jonny if I could take it.

Although I've never been tempted at the library, I HAVE been tempted...in the doctor's office, at the dentist, in the salon...to rip out a perfume sample, etc.

I've never done it, though, because I don't want to be an a-hole. I wonder if people even care, or if all those perfume samples land in the trash?


[where: 55406]

Riding Superman: It was Worth the Wait

We rokked 6 Flags Great America for gerg's b-day this year.
We waited 2.5 hours in line to get the front row on Superman. It was worth the wait.
But a decision was made: never again will we go to Great America on a Saturday.




We sat in the very back row of Raging Bull, taking the advice of roller coaster enthusiast, cBass. Apparently the back row offers more "off your seat" action than a lot of other coasters out there. I know the whole ride pretty much freaked my establishment. First, I thought my face would fall off. Then, I thought I would die. Then, I yelled "HOLY SHIT!" Meanwhile gerg is next to me with his arms in the air laughing....This wasn't my first trip on Raging Bull, but it was my first time being terrorized by the back row.




Great America is a great experience in carnival-fabulous fashion. I learned a lot for my fall wardrobe, and let me tell you, new MEGAcolorful sneakers are in my future.



[where: 55406]

♫ That was Laura, But She's Only a Dream ♫

I didn't actually see Laura Bush on the University of Minnesota St Paul campus on Friday.

I did see her limo and a secret service dude.




♫...And you see Laura on a train that is passing through....♫

[where: 55108]

Some Dish: Buster's on 28th

gerg and I decided to check out Buster's on 28th on Thursday.

Head count at 7pm: 52.

Our server was sweet-natured and prompt, and she wore a flippy ponytail. I love those flippy ponytails!

They have outdoor seating complete with umbrellas. We opted for indoor.

We started by splitting a flavorful, but uneventful caprese salad.

I ordered the portobello sandwich - which surprised me. The mushroom was delivered to the table battered and deep fried atop a bun. The first couple bites were interesting, as I've never eaten battered, fried, portobellos on a bun. Unfortunately, the sammich did not sustain my interest.

gerg ordered the Juicy Lucy.
I asked him about it.

Me: "How's the Juicy Lucy?"
gerg: "It's not bad."
Me: "Is it technically a Juicy Lucy? Remember what The Deets said?"
gerg: "Yeah, the cheese is all gooey and it's inside the burger. The middle is pretty raw."
Me: "How does it rate on a scale of 1-10?"
gerg: "As a Juicy Lucy, it's a 7. As a burger, it's an 8."
Me: "So it's a C as a Juicy Lucy?"
gerg: "Hmm. I guess so."
Me: "I like this sour pickle mayonaise. It's dill-ish."

hahahahahahahaha

gerg's Juicy Lucy at Buster's (crappy photo taken on phone).

Buster's on 28th
4204 28th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN

Simple, laid back, outdoor seating with umbrellas.


[where: 55406]

M.I.A. Coming Back with POWER!!

Check out this edition of Morning Eclectic!

M.I.A. appears with live performances (audio/video) of her new songs from her release, Kala!!

"We all got bird flu!"

M.I.A Coming Back with POWER!!

I can't stop thinking about how RAD it would be to be in the studio.

And thanks for the heads up, Die Monster!

The 35W Bridge Collapse

As soon as we heard the news that the 35W bridge collapsed, we started checking in with friends. We are grateful all are ok. About 2 hours after collapse, we headed down to the east river bank.

















Not surprisingly, by that time, most of the roads and paths were blocked.
We even tried walking down on the east bank of the river, but that was taped off as well.
















We climbed the stairs down to the river bank. The Hennepin County Sherrif's Office had set up their east bank river rescue operation near the University of Minnesota Boat House.
We took some photos of emergency rescue workers, but couldn't get close enough to capture images of the bridge.

















We were sweating bullets just walking around. It was steamy hot and humid. These guys were melting.
















Some emergency crews were zipping towards the rubble using the river for access.

This is a flickr map of where we were at when we snapped our photos.

Click here to see the google map image of the bridge. We drive under the bridge on the West River Parkway almost everyday.

[where: 55406]

The Ken Burns Effect hits the Twin Cities

I got an interesting notification this week from the Northrop Auditorium.

Ken Burns is coming to Minneapolis.















Northrop Auditorium and Twin Cities Public Television present An
Evening with Ken Burns at Northrop on September 5, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns will preview and discuss THE WAR, a seven-part epic series documenting World War II through the memories of men and women from four quintessential American towns, including Luverne, MN. Ken Burns' full-length series of THE WAR will air on tpt2 beginning September 23.

Tickets for the September 5 event at Northrop are free, however reservations
are required. To reserve a seat, visit http://www1.umn.edu/umato/ken_burns.html or contact the Northrop Ticket Office at (612) 624-2345. For group reservations call (612) 625-8878 or email archi011@umn.edu.

According to Burns, memories are the building blocks that shape history. PBS
and the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project invite anyone to get a camera
and conduct an interview with anyone who has been through or was affected by the
World War II. The library will catalogue the submissions to become part of the
permanent Veterans History Project collection. For more information visit
http://www.loc.gov/vets/vets-home.html or http://www.pbs.org/thewar.

---------------------------------------------------------
I do enjoy interviewing people, but I've never conducted an interview on film...I could interview my dad (he's 71). I remember when I was a kid, he told me stories about food rations and a friendly neighborhood butcher who would leave meat for my dad's family on his parents' back porch. I think the part of the story that "got" to me was that my dad never said whether his dad had gone to ask for help, or if the butcher had a sense that my dad's family was hungry. I always wondered about that, but never asked.

My personal favorite Burns piece was "Jazz", although I think "Baseball" was his most popular. I checked out Burns' filmography to see what else he's done:
* Brooklyn Bridge (1981)
* Remembering Chicago and World War 2 (1982)
* The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God (1984)
* The Statue of Liberty (1985)
* Huey Long (1985)
* Congress (1988)
* Thomas Hart Benton (1988)
* The Civil War (1990)
* Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991)
* Baseball (1994)
* Thomas Jefferson (1997)
* Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997)
* Frank Lloyd Wright (1998)
* Not For Ourselves Alone: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (1999)
* The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs (2000)
* JAZZ (2001)
* Mark Twain (2001)
* Horatio's Drive (2003)
* Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004)
* The War (This Fall)