Minnesota
Category archives for Minnesota
Mayday Parade in Minneapolis
Posted by Greg Laden on May 1, 2011 Good morning. Today is “Mayday Day” in Minneapolis. Mayday is a holiday widely celebrated by the community of South Minneapolis. People from North, Northeast and Southeast are welcome, but I’m not sure they know about it. People from “soutwest” Minneapolis ARE from South Minneapolis and they need to learn that using the term “Soutwest Minneapolis”…
The time to buy flood insurance is now …
Posted by Greg Laden on January 31, 2011 … if you live in the Red River or Minnesota River basins near anything that looks like water.
The Wondrous Mystery of Valet Parking
Posted by Greg Laden on January 13, 2011 So, Lizzie1 and I drove up to the restaurant in downtown Minneapolis and spotted the Valet Parking sign. I wanted to valet park because downtown, we’d have to park in a ramp2 anyway, so the cost would be the same or less, and much more convenient and comfortable on this slightly chilly winter night. Plus…
Social Networking is a wonderful new technology that will unleash human potential
Posted by Greg Laden on January 2, 2011 But that isn’t always how it goes. On today’s radio show, Steve Borsch was talking about the way in which social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is playing out — as an extension of social interaction more than as a new form of shopping mall or marketing environment — and an observation I made a couple…
Pandemonium Looms in Minneapolis
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2010 The Minnesota Vikings will not be in the playoffs this year, but the team has nonetheless become interesting, possibly more interesting than if they were still in the running.
What Was Republican Rep Hackbarth Doing in the Planned Parenthood lot with Binoculars and Loaded Gun?
Posted by Greg Laden on November 25, 2010 Tom Hackbarth is from Cedar, Minnesota and is a veteran member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. The district he represents is just north of where I live (I’m near 113th and the southern border of Hackbarth’s district is 181st) and overlaps with Michele Bachmann’s congressional district. Hackbarth is a Republican and has been re-elected…
Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota
Posted by Greg Laden on August 26, 2010 I’ve become very interested in Minnesota history, and by interested I mean annoyed in many cases. The first thing white Minnesotans did was to exploit the Indians. The second thing they did was to throw the Indians out, move them to reservations, kill them, and otherwise treat them very poorly. Meanwhile, they got going on…
We Walk Among Ducks in Wolves Clothing. And Wolves.
Posted by Greg Laden on August 20, 2010 This is the most challenging time of year for duck watching. But it may be easier than one thinks to bump into a wolf in the forest.
Walking around the lakes
Posted by Greg Laden on July 31, 2010 When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time at lakes, but the idea of walking around a lake hardly every occurred to me or anyone else. This might be because the lakes were either really big (like the Great Sacandaga Reservoir) or nestled into deep sided rock canyons carved out by glaciers,…
My favorite restaurant is closing, but I don’t seem to care.
Posted by Greg Laden on July 27, 2010 If the restaurant was being forced closed by the city making dumb tax-related decisions and the public works department acting almost vindictively against a certain neighborhood, as was the case when JP’s closed, I’d be pissed. If it was a restaurant that was really trying to do well but failed because of the economy or…
Former Bachmann Political Director may have vandalized Democrat’s Wikipedia Entry
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2010 It is hard to prove, but the evidence certainly leads in that direction.
Tornado Footage from Minnesota
Posted by Greg Laden on June 18, 2010 This is as close as one can get: BTW, I believe it is recommended to NOT hide from a tornado in your car. Here’s some context:
Kelly McCullough, Author, at Har Mar on Tuesday
Posted by Greg Laden on May 23, 2010 Kelly McCullough, author of the Raverin series (starting with WebMage of fantasy/science fiction and dealing with artificial intelligence, magical computer technology, and mythology) will be making a local appearance here in the Twin Cities. Those of you who have followed the Twin Cities Creation Science Fair story already know the place: Har Mar Shopping Center.…
“Nos Achicharraron” & “Viva Cuba Libre” Lanzados Juntos
Posted by Greg Laden on March 21, 2010 El Aldeano y El B de Los Aldeanos lanzan sus proyectos independientes, “Viva Cuba Libre” y “Nos Achicharraron” juntos, de manera descargable gratis para sus amigos fieles a través del mundo. Visit Emetrece Productions for more info
UPDATED: Becoming Human in South Minneapolis. This Saturday!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 17, 2009 If you’ve read everything I’ve written, and studies it closely with a map in hand, you know that I Love Minneapolis and that I have certain connections with certain neighborhoods, including Nokomis Park. Well, the Minnesota Humanists have asked me to give a talk at the park … indoors … on human evolution this Saturday.…
Seventy-One Dead in Minnesota Tragedy
Posted by Greg Laden on December 3, 2009 More are expected to die prior to December 17th gathering.
Paul Porter ~ Café Scientifique
Posted by Greg Laden on November 13, 2009 Café Scientifique: Feeding Africa With Paul Porter, University of Minnesota Professor in Agronomy and Plant Genetics November 17, 2009
Friday the 13th Dark Dark Dark and Brute Heart with Fashion Sabboth
Posted by Greg Laden on November 9, 2009 Friday the thirteenth is a day. This Friday Dark dark dark is a band. Brute heart is another band Fashion Sabbath is a fashion show featuring the works of a bunch of people I don’t know and one person I know quite well. At The Bedlam on the West Bank in Minneapolis. Ten bucks, starts…
Michele Bachmann has done almost nothing as a congressperson
Posted by Greg Laden on October 28, 2009 Reporters and bloggers rightfully enjoy feeding off of Michel Bachmann’s frequent outrageous remarks, but few have made note of the real problem she poses for the people living in her district.
Minnesota Flu Information Number
Posted by Greg Laden on October 21, 2009 This is for sick people looking for help. It is not a phone number for people with mere questions. Only if you are sick. Not for general questions. Sick only. Got it? OK, here’s the number.
Cafe Scientifique Minneapolis
Posted by Greg Laden on October 12, 2009 October 20th 7:00 to 9:00 PM Bryant Lake Bowl Jonathan Foley, director of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, will talk about another inconvenient truth: our complex global food and agricultural system. With your help Foley will take-up the question, “How will we feed and fuel more than nine billion people without destroying…
Minnesotans. Jeesh…. (An OpenLetter)
Posted by Greg Laden on October 1, 2009 Dear Minnesotans. Here is what I’d like you to do. This especially applies to those of you who live in the Twin cities…
Minneapolis B-Girl Be Block Party Coming Up
Posted by Greg Laden on September 7, 2009 Don’t miss the B-Girl Be Block Party 2009, an all day festival at Intermedia Arts that brings international, national and local female hip-hop artists together in Minneapolis for music, dance, live mural painting, film and an art marketplace! Details here. f
Why I like the State-Fair even though most of my friends don’t
Posted by Greg Laden on August 30, 2009 I’m not entirely sure which of my friends and relatives like the Minnesota State Fair and which don’t. In some cases it is quite clear. If you are my facebook friend, you know that John Funk thinks the State Fair is what Hell would be like, and Stephanie Zvan revels in being a Bad Minnesotan…
Lead Poisoning and Loons: A skeptical look
Posted by Greg Laden on August 2, 2009 This is the continuation of a discussion of loons, skeptically viewed. I am not skeptical about loons themselves. I know they exist. In fact, I just spent the last half hour watching Mom and Dad loon (whom I cannot tell apart, by the way) feeding Junior I and Junior II (whom I also cannot tell…
“I only fish for the fishing, not the catching”
Posted by Greg Laden on July 11, 2009 There are two lies you will hear from anyone who is into the sport of angling. 1) “It was THIS BIG!” and 2) “Catching fish isn’t the point. It’s the experience of fishing that matters.” The Mocking Bass. For four years this fish watched me cast lures and live bait from the end of the…
I feel just like Carla Gugino in that movie…
Posted by Greg Laden on June 21, 2009 … where she‘s the scientist attending the crazy Sci Fi conference where everyone is dressed as Star Wars characters. That’s because I’ll be doing something at Skepchickcon Convergence Skeptics Track 2009 All the cool bloggers and some cool non-bloggers will be there, including Pamela Gay, PZ Myers, Rebecca Watson, Masala Skeptic, Bug Girl, Elyse, Carr2d2,…
Notes from Up North
Posted by Greg Laden on June 20, 2009 The first time I ever caught a bowfin (Amia calva)I was shocked and amazed at this fish. It was green …. really green like beyond fresh water fish green …. with a fancy spot on the upper part of the back of its dorsal fin. And it had one impressive dorsal fin. It was whopping…
Minnesota’s Own Planetarium
Posted by Greg Laden on June 10, 2009 Some time ago there began an effort to build a state of the art Planetarium and Space Discovery Center in Minnesota, most likely in Minneapolis. These plans have been set back by the usual forces, but are nonetheless moving ahead. (It certainly is a good thing John McCain did not win the election, or all…
Squirrel Nut Zippers at the Varsity
Posted by Greg Laden on March 25, 2009 A small group of us, including at least two IT workers who are not homophobic, went to the Varsity, which is one of the oft’ used venues of Cafe Scientific, to see the revitalized Squirrel Nut Zippers. Ben Zvan, who is the only photographer I’ve ever heard compared to Jesus Christ (who apparently was one…
, which is now available for the 
