Not Asking Where the Money Came From I still think Thomas Wolfe’s newest book, “Back to Blood,” is a bit of a bust. But, at least according to an article I just skimmed, Wolfe was right about the city having a growing Russian presence. Russian One-Percenters Specifically, area Realtors are taking note of “Russian One-Percenters”...Read More
Going to the Mall, the Movies (& McDonald’s) With Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) rapidly approaching, much attention is now focused on how robust consumer spending will be. The premise is that holiday shopping reflects consumers’ moods (and pocketbooks) — and therefore is an accurate gauge (if not harbinger) of the economy’s strength. But what if...Read More
Darkness at Noon 4:45 p.m. * No, it doesn’t get dark at noon in the Twin Cities in mid-November, after the switch back from Daylight Savings. It just seems that way . . . *Apologies to the 1940 novel of that same title by Arthur Koestler.Read More
Coming to Life 2 Weeks a Year Talk about a dramatic contrast! Every late August, the empty parking lot above (looking west) magically transforms into the Minnesota State Fair midway (below). (I was in the area, and couldn’t resist driving through the now-empty fairgrounds). Note the smokestack in the center of the photo below WAY...Read More
I Hope They Don’t Have Any Workaholics I can just imagine the dinner-time conversation in the household of an over-zealous employee of Roseville-based Yada Systems, Inc. “‘YADA, YADA, YADA’ . . . that’s all you ever talk about,” the beleaguered spouse complains. Sorry — blame it on Seinfeld, not me. 🙂Read More
Epic . . . Slog “It’s like a dog walking on its hind legs. It’s not done well, but the surprise is that it’s done at all.” –Samuel Johnson Sad to say, that’s my take on octogenarian Thomas Wolfe’s most recent (and last?) effort, “Back to Blood.” Who but Wolfe could conjure — for the...Read More
