all that's past is prologue...

The last several days have had some heightened stress around here for any number of reasons. But key among them is that a disgruntled person (assumed parent) at my daughter's school decided to release some event safety protocols to a right-wing site that fancies itself a "news source," and that the kids at the school are now — at least to some extent — targeted. For the sake of argument here, I am going to put a lot of issues to the side, though that does not mean they are not constantly occupying my mind. If you know me, you already know how I feel about these. I'm putting aside feelings about ICE and the Minnesota occupation. I'm putting aside any issues I or anyone else might be having about the school's current administration. I'm putting aside some people's assumption that teenagers are somehow just mini-adults. I'm putting aside my own feelings about the final semester of my daughter's high school education. What someone did, for the appa...

I massively fed my soul with things that start with "W" over the weekend. Yesterday, Patrick and I (and the rest of the Twin Cities) made it over to the Walker to see the Dyani White Hawks exhibit, which closed today. The Walker was free all weekend, and it was glorious to see everyone there enjoying it. The exhibit itself was fantastic. I have never wanted to touch art so much in my life, sir it was good that they had a few stations where you could touch a porcupine quill bead and such. The colors she uses are amazing, the work meticulous and beautiful, and the video pieces, especially the one about language presented, truly revelatory. We also got to see Rosy Simas' installation, which went up on Thursday. It's also an incredible exhibit in a very different way, and another one not to miss. Both got me thinking a lot. Today, Patrick and Beatrix drove to Chicago to check out Lake Forest for their Admitted Students Day. I stayed home to take care of the animals. I...

I've had a lot of messages from out-of-Minnesota friends asking "What can I do to help?" Others, even here, are feeling like they don't know how to start making a difference on this. And the truth is, though thousands of Minnesotans are forming patrols around schools and daycares to protect our kids, or volunteering at immigrant-owner restaurants to be door people, or delivering groceries to those in need, there's plenty more that you can do that takes relatively little time. So here are my top tips: If you want to advocate, download the 5 Calls app. It's an easy way to reach out to your elected leaders (you know, the ones that are supposed to carry forward the will of the people). You can easily connect to your legislators any time of the day or night, and they provide a sample script in case you are calling before coffee and can't put your thoughts together. 5 Calls handles all sorts of topics, but right now it's mainly about ICE-related issues. If...

The MSHSL Competitive One-Acts are A Thing that did not exist when I was in high school. Every January, schools compete with 35-minute-or-less pieces with a whole set of rules about no food on stage, no curtain calls, no photos, etc., that somehow get ranked and scored and maybe make it to State. SPA sends one production to completion each year, plus does two student-directed pieces for fun and a general audience; Beatrix has been cast in the competition piece every year except her first year, when she was doing a professional show at that time. In general, they do well, though it's been awhile since they went to State. This year was different than usual. The long-time theater teacher, Seves, is still out on medical leave, so the amazing Jon Ferguson, who directed them in the fall, stayed on for the one-acts. He replaced the previously-announced piece ( Under Milkwood ), with a devised piece including newly-composed music that the kids would all write and create together (this usua...

I want you to know what Minnesota is usually like in January. Sure, it's cold, and snowy — so we take advantage of it. We're visiting the Art Shanties on local lakes. We're at the snow sculptures in Stillwater and the ice sculptures at the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. We're enjoying the Winter Carnival events. We're at the Great Northern Festival. We're doing beer pokes. We're inside seeing the plays that open after Christmas, or seeing the Spirit Award movies through FilmNorth at the Walker (the only place in the country where they still run all on the big screen). We're eating out, maybe even in igloos or at ice bars. Maybe there are pop-up events like the ice portal. We're snuggled by fireplaces, maybe with a hot toddy. We're visiting a community sauna and jumping through a hole in the ice. We're at the Ice Castles. We're dogsledding, or skiing. We're at the state One-Act competitions for high schools, or the winter basketbal...

Over the years, you have hear us wax rhapsodic about Yoga and a Pint. How awesome the teacher is, what a great community of people is there, how a beer after yoga is awesome — blah blah blah blah blah. You're probably sick of hearing about it. Here we are in a snowstorm just a few weeks ago. Since then, a lot has changed. On January 10, several of us witnessed an abduction in the parking lot as we were arriving for class. Yesterday, Alex Pretti was murdered just before class begin, and we all heard the news reports as we were arriving. In between, Viv has been running a donation drive for The Advocate for Human Rights, and even her children made hand-drawn buttons to raise money for the cause. We've been together trying to make sense of everything going on. We've had rage-filled core workouts. We've cried in child's pose, perhaps more often than I would like to admit. Viv's playlists have been on point. We've sat with our beers afterwards and tried to make s...