Tag: Minnesota

May292013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
How Google Sees It: Michele Bachmann Hasn’t Changed Much

How Google Sees It: Michele Bachmann Hasn’t Changed Much

Funny Stuff
When last I checked on the Google instant search results for soon-to-be former Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann -- during her failed bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination -- she wasn't looking too good. And now that she has announced she's not going to seek re-election to her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, I thought I'd see if her image has improved over the last few years. Nope. It seems that in addition to still being crazy and hot, Bachmann is now a racist. That's a shame. We'll always have the corn dog at least.
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Feb22013 by Chris Holmes1 Comment
More Than 50 Years After the Music Died

More Than 50 Years After the Music Died

Music
It hardly seems possible that it's been more than half a century since a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza and its occupants departed from an airstrip in the dark of the Iowa night, bound for Minnesota, and flew into history. But that's exactly what happened on February 3, 1959 when, shortly after 1 am local time, the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson crashed just after takeoff in Clear Lake, Iowa, killing the three musicians and their pilot instantly. While many beloved musicians have died before and since, this is known as The Day the Music Died. It's easy to overlook the impact these musicians had on rock and roll and American society -- particularly Holly and Valens -- but it is incalculable. Countless musicians to come in the s...
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Aug82011 by Chris Holmes1 Comment
Separated at birth? (Michele Bachmann and Steve Carell)

Separated at birth? (Michele Bachmann and Steve Carell)

Funny Stuff
Minnesota Republican Congresswoman, presidential hopeful and Conservative firebrand Michele Bachmann, as pictured on the August 15, 2011 cover of Newsweek: And Steve Carell as Andy Stitzer in The 40 Year-Old Virgin: Related articles Newsweek keeping it classy in presidential coverage (hotair.com) Newsweek Puts Picture of Michele Bachmann on Cover That Makes Her Look Crazy (gunnyg.wordpress.com) Michele Bachmann Looks, Um, Surprised to Be on Newsweek Cover [2012] (gawker.com) Steve Carell cranks up movie career with films he loves (ctv.ca)
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Jan112011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Album review: Tapes ‘n Tapes – Outside

Album review: Tapes ‘n Tapes – Outside

Music
Had Minneapolis indie rockers Tapes 'n Tapes released Outside (Ibid Records) as the followup to their sparkling 2005 debut, The Loon, it would still be considered a letdown.  It would, however, be miles ahead of their actual followup, Walk It Off.  The songs are more fully formed, the production is cleaner and warmer, and guitarist/vocalist Josh Grier sounds more assured than ever before.  But while Outside has some nice things going for it, it still falls short in a few significant ways. For one, the album starts off with a string of decent but ultimately unremarkable tracks.  "Badaboom" and "SWM" are a pair of understated tunes that showcase the band's renewed focus on songwriting but leave no lasting impression.  The album finally starts to build some steam about halfway through, whe
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Apr82008 by Chris Holmes1 Comment
Retrotisements: Prohibition Repeal Edition

Retrotisements: Prohibition Repeal Edition

Retrotisements
Yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of the practical end of Prohibition in the United States. On that day in 1933 -- eight months before the passage of the Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution -- it became legal brew and sell beer with 3.2 percent alcohol by weight (4.0 percent by volume). For reference purposes, a can of regular Budweiser is 5.0 percent alcohol by volume. To celebrate this auspicious occasion I've grabbed a sample of beer ads throughout the years. Because I know how to party. (The main site has many more vintage alcohol ads for your viewing pleasure.) Hamm's From the Land of Sky Blue Waters (Minnesota) comes this vintage TV ad for Hamm's combines a few of my favorite commercial elements -- wonderful animation and a super-catchy jingle. Sascha, th...
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