The Minneapolis Star Tribune opened up their archives. They were free to search until midnight last night and what a thrill! I had a lot of fun with it and so did a number of other folks I know. We found stories about our homes’ histories, about vaudeville, bandits, and trolleys from 100 years ago. Apparently, one could have a job as a librarian on a trolley. How dreamy. I saw the headline “PONGS GRAB SECOND TILT LEAD” and it took me a while to puzzle that out (baseball related). I found lots of tidbits about the 4-plex our condo is in. In 1941, a 17yo who lived here was saved from drowning by friends. And in 1945, I could have purchased the entire building for just $30k. Dang.
My first Five Things List of the new year:
- Now that it’s 2022, I’m realizing just how elderly our cats are. We adopted them in 2007. Olive was between one and three at that time. The poor girl now yells at my bed before jumping up to it. I just ordered a pet staircase to help her out.
- Damon Krukowski, of Galaxie 500 and Damon & Naomi, wrote about The Problem with Live Music. A compelling and unsettling read that takes you from the caves of Wuhan to the corporate culpability of Live Nation and AEG pushing for bigger and bigger shows.
- Oh, the end of an era. Lowertown’s iconic Black Dog Coffee closed suddenly this week. It really anchored the neighborhood. I had an art show there once. In the 90s, I spent a lot of time in that space when it was still Kuppernicus Coffee. When I was even younger, in grade school, I remember visiting that space when it was an antique store run by my aunt’s friend. Here’s an old Q&A with Black Dog’s owner from 2006. RIP.
- I listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour nearly every morning, when I’m making coffee and breakfast. For the last decade or so, Linda Holmes has been making a list of “50 wonderful things” from the year. Right up my alley, naturally.
- From Linda’s list, something I may have missed entirely without it: Mystery Menu with Sohla and Ham, in which Chef Sohla El-Waylly and her husband Ham (also a chef) took a mystery ingredient and made a whole menu out of it. I LOVE IT.
Omicron seems to be doing what we feared. I personally know so many folks who have tested positive with breakthrough cases. Friends, coworkers, etc. It’s going to be a helluva ride. I stopped leaving the house a couple of weeks ago. But my son still went indoor rock climbing on the weekend. Everyone was masked but just how good are those masks against something so transmissible? I don’t want to keep him from climbing, since it’s his main form of exercise. Especially in a Minnesotan winter. But I’m trying to weigh the risks vs the rewards and it is difficult. Though so much less difficult than the choices other folks are facing. People who have to go to work in-person, especially those working in schools. And parents, who are being asked to send their children to those schools. While omicron is causing fewer hospitalizations among the vaccinated, it’s still going to have a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities like those who are immunocompromised. It feels like there is no end in sight.
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