Minnesota is underwater world this week. We live just blocks from the Minnehaha Creek now, which is currently flooding nearby neighborhoods. Thankfully our new place is on higher ground but others are not so lucky. Years ago I lived behind The Wedge Co-op. When I was about eight months pregnant (with my almost 15 year old) I bought a house. One night I packed up my car with precious irreplaceable items like photo albums, and went to bed. I’d planned to drive over to my new house the next day to unload. Mother Nature had other plans. I walked outside in the morning to find the neighborhood had flooded and my car was full of water up to the dashboard, damaging all of the belongings within. That’s what you get when you live on low land that was once Lake Blaisdell. Which I wasn’t aware of at the time. And now other folks are experiencing similar head/heart aches.
Five important but not-so-fun items of note:
- A piece that sums up my frustration with the way women are depicted in film: We’re losing all our Strong Female Characters to Trinity Syndrome
- A funny post at The Toast, here: Western Art History: 500 Years of Women Ignoring Men spawned a serious and interesting discussion elsewhere (a local music message board) about women and street harassment.
- Obama Goes Off on Mass Shootings: The “biggest frustration” of his presidency: America’s failure to take “basic steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who can do just unbelievable damage.”
- Occasionally there’s a glimmer of hope: Dallas Executives Raise Hospital’s Minimum Wage By Scrapping Their Own Bonuses and also, the sleazeball owner/CEO of American Apparel, who has been sexually harassing and assaulting his own employees for years, has been given the boot by his own company. Now if we could just get criminal charges to stick (for him and his fellow creep Terry Richardson)
- Lastly on Wednesday, the US Patent and Trademark Office canceled the Redskins’ six federal trademarks. Finally. Here’s a piece about Why Republicans Cannot Grasp That “Redskins” Is Offensive: Enumerating the blinders that keep Republicans protecting the “honor” of offensive team names.
Another busy weekend ahead. The kiddo’s grandparents roll into town in their RV before long. And the Extreme Noise Records 20th anniversary celebrations continue. And I’m taking my boyfriend to see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (his first time, only my 2nd in that configuration). And I’d like to squeeze some wedding photo editing time in, along with more unpacking. Perhaps I’ll stop sleeping altogether.
One Comment
Relieved to hear you are not flooded. Will keep sending thoughts and well wishes it stays that way and gets better for others. I did not know about Lake Blaisdell.
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