I know politics can be an ugly business, but I wish a certain MN DFL candidate would hold off on nasty attack ads until after the primary. Fight the real enemy.

Suddenly getting a lot of right wing slip in my Meta feeds. I’m usually lucky enough to avoid it.

Just sold two boxes of mostly relatively desirable books in pretty good condition to Half Price Books and got $50. I don’t know. Maybe it would be more satisfying just to hold a monthly book swap with my friends and neighbors.

I wrote a simple song and played it on acoustic guitar, but somehow in the recording process it turned into a shoegaze number. mastervioletray.bandcamp.com/track/silent...

Something to read this Memorial Day weekend.

So, did Todd Blanche come to MN to announce new fraud charges today just to bury the news that Aimee Bock was going to be sentenced? I have trouble believing the timing is all coincidence.

The Democrats absolutely should do post-election reports after they lose a big election. That can be helpful. But the news media coverage of this kind of thing annoys the hell out of me.

Since acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has confirmed that “Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization,” I decided to apply for reparations. Here is a template if you want to draft your own demand: shero.substack.com/p/everyone-c...

I found a document I started writing maybe 15 years ago, in which I tried to list every band I had ever seen. Looking at it today, I see I wrote Ministry, but I have no memory of ever seeing Ministry. Was I full of shit then, or did my brain discard that memory sometime in the past 15 years?

A key point in this story: The IRS settled a case with a hedge fund manager whose tax info was leaked, and all it had to do was apologize. So, what were the damages Trump suffered? What justifies putting $1.8 billion of our tax money into a fund for his allies? www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/a...

$1.776 billion divided by 200 million taxpayers.

1st Wednesday 1 pm tornado sirens

How about we all skip the Met Gala stories this year? Readers, read something else. Media, publush something else. Read the room.

Slightly diminish a book: Pride and Persnickitiness

Greg Bovino says the problem with Operation Metro Surge was that ICE wasn’t violent enough in Minneapolis.

There’s a 1954 animated movie version of Animal Farm that was commissioned by the CIA to be anti-communist propaganda. It’s about as subtle as you might guess. I just watched the trailer for the new animated version of Animal Farm and it almost makes me appreciate the old movie.

So, Republicans like gerrymandering again this week.

When I was a kid, I had a dictionary with all the world’s flags printed in the back, and I’d flip through, admiring them. But I feel like no one prepared me for how much emotionally-driven, flag-centered discourse I would encounter in my adult life.

The shooting last night has nothing to do with the ballroom because IT WASN’T A WHITE HOUSE EVENT. The WH press corps should not invite this administration’s officials to its event anyway. If it were to hold its event inside the White House, they may as well start calling themselves state media.

The size of the grain of salt with which you should take anything said by this administration.

I don’t mean to be a prude, and I don’t want to disrespect the Midwestern palate, but I don’t think St Paul gift shops need to sell T-shirts that say “PICKLE SLUT” and “RANCH WHORE”

Sorry, Millennials, the St Paul Trader Joe’s oldies mix has moved on from the 80s and 90s and is playing all your indie favorites from the first term of the Obama administration.

Went to a gift shop at SFO to get a pack of gum before my flight. Put a five on the counter. Cashier said, “$6.29.” I was stunned. It was a regular pack of Orbit. “For that?” I said. “Yes, sir. Everything is up.” “I guess I don’t need it.” Does chewing gum go through the Strait of Hormuz?

MN, Just FYI: www.startribune.com/heres-why-to...

Maybe going back in time to kill Hitler isn’t enough. Maybe we need to go back in time to kill John Wilkes Booth.

Me whenever I see mockups of what the White House ballroom or this stupid triumphal arch are supposed to look like.

Here is the original cropped photo I have. Even this copy has been enhanced in Photoshop. The one on the internet has been reconstructed by AI. You can see differences in the background and it reconstructed their missing bodies. what is most important is the spirit of the photo/Lugosi's intentions.

Hey, has anyone else in MN had trouble finding decaf coffee beans in stores lately? What’s going on? Does all decaf ship through the Strait of Hormuz or something?

Fantastic work, Artemis II.

I’m a man, and at this point, I’m thinking maybe men shouldn’t run for any political office for a while.

Did you know that 80s hair metal star Kip Winger has had a second career as a composer of classical music? He released an album today (on venerable classical label Naxos) of a symphony and violin concerto recorded with the Nashville Symphony. It’s… well, I like it better than his old band.

Reading up on the Avignon Papacy, as one does after reading that the US President’s administration has threatened to kill the Pope and imprison his successors.

One Battle After Another is a weird movie, but man, for a Twin Cities resident, at least, it feels too close to home. It’s easy to see Sean Penn’s character as Greg Bovino.

I’ve never seen Catholicism described this way before, but it makes sense …

On “The Pitt,” the characters always refer to their workplace as “the ED” for “emergency department.” The show’s ancestor, “ER,” was short for “emergency room.” Funny thing: “ER” was based on a Michael Crichton screenplay called “EW,” for “emergency ward.”

Seen in British Columbia.

This Artemis mission is exciting. Science. International cooperation. Exploration. Humanity. The future. These are concepts are much bigger than a billionaire's ego. We don't hear about very often these days. And we need them in our lives.

Happy 1 PM on the First Wednesday of the Month to all who celebrate

I finally watched “Sinners” and, oddly enough, had a feeling similar to what I had watching “Pluribus”: Maybe we should hear them out. Maybe these vampires have a point.

Now playing this song on repeat. The chorus is magic. youtu.be/KbECFrGIiHk?...

My wife says I’m going to be run out of the state for this.

I haven’t seen most of the movies this year, so watching the Oscars is kinda boring, but it was worth it to hear Lionel Richie say the nominees for best song included Nick Cave and K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Devil Wears Prada 2 commercial followed by commercial for a revival of Malcolm in the Middle, followed by commercial for a revival of of Scrubs.

Just thinking about how the O in the LA band Love’s logo combined the male and female symbols more than a decade before Prince’s similar “Love Symbol.”

Oh yeah? Well, my Morrissey tribute band, Hairdresser on Fire, has canceled every gig we’ve ever got.

Since I’m seeing a lot of Douglas Adams quotes to honor the late author’s birthday, I’d like to share this one, from “The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.” TBH I can remember very little about this book, but these opening lines pop in my head every time I travel.

No draft for Trump’s war. Hell no.

Cafesjian Art Trust, Shoreview, MN. Small little museum with a lot of works in glass. Mr. Cafesjian was apparently friends with Chihuly. I don’t particularly care for Chihuly’s work, but I liked some of the pieces.

Happy First Wednesday of the Month Tornado Siren Test to those who celebrate!