Movie Reviews

Greetings! They say "write what you know" and I figured no one would care to read about how many times my dog has peed today, so movies it is!


I am a certified movie buff (at least that’s what the guy said after I paid him $100 and he took a picture of me topless next to a projector reel). I love watching them, dissecting them and wishing I looked more like Scarlett Johansson in The Avengers. Justin suggested I write about the movies I’ve seen - I suspect so I wouldn’t talk his ear off after seeing a movie. Opinions are my own and probably not even that good.

Hugo
I rented this last week and watched it at home; I really wish I would have seen it in the theater. I heard how amazing the 3D was, how well it served the story, how seamless it was. It must have been phenomenal 3D because without it, the story didn’t grab me. I thought I’d love it because it’s partly about the early days of the cinema. But the majority of the film focused on young, orphaned Hugo trying to fix an Animatronic robot his dad had been working on before he died. For being billed as a children’s film, it moved incredibly slow at times. Bonus points, however for the appearance of a Harry Potter alum (Helen McCrory, as Ben Kingsley’s wife, portrayed Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.)

The Hustler
 This movie has been on my list for a long time because a) I’ve heard it described as a classic and b) Paul Newman is hot. “Fast” Eddie Felson is a pool shark seeking to challenge Minnesota Fats, the best there is. It’s a real quality movie and the pool scenes in particular are fantastic. But this is not the movie to watch if you’re feeling light-hearted. This film dives deep into the soul of a self-destructive guy with immense talent he can’t quite harness in a positive way. As he pushes everyone in his life further away, Paul Newman gives the character of “Fast” Eddie a true sense of desperation; all while remaining really, really good looking. 

Being John Malkovich
Another one on Netflix instant watch. John Cusack discovers a portal through which a person can enter John Malkovich’s mind. How had I not seen this innovative movie yet? It had me pulled into its other dimensional weirdness until the 3rd act when it tried to explain why the portal exists. I didn’t care why it existed. I cared what it was doing to the people who entered it. My only issue with movies like this? They’re so out there, so bizarre, require so much suspension of disbelief on the viewers. Sometimes the filmmakers take advantage of that and create characters that also don’t make sense. It can make you feel disconnected from the people in the movie and thus, disconnected from their discoveries. Character development still needs to be rooted in realty even if everything around them is going bonkers.


That's it for now - see you at the movies!

 

Back to the Web

You know what's a good ego check? Deciding to go internet-less for an entire week. You know why? Because no one knew I was gone. I logged into Facebook and my gmail with an expectation of missed invitations, personal messages from friends, and at least one status update mentioning my name. Nada. No self-pity, though, just more proof that it really wasn't hard to go without the web for a week. It was my own experiment in unplugging. And it was a breeze - seriously. But it was also somewhat of an excercise in futility. I found that rather than tackling long gestating projects I had, I simply put off all the things I needed to get done that required the internet (which is pretty much everything) and cheated the one time I couldn't put it off (paying bills, a completely online thing for me now). That was my only cheat though - I really did go without facebook, twitter, email (except for work-related necessities), news websites, entertainment blogs, etc. I think it just made me less informed about the world, my friends and celebrities. So maybe the internet wasn't making me a slothful, procrastinator - I did that all on my own and for years before I had the internet! Regardless, it still feels good to slow down, unplug and talk to the people you're in the same room with every once in a while. Pretty sure my dog appreciated it.

Look out Peter Parker - I'm going web-less

I have not posted a blog in more than 6 months. I've barely posted a Facebook status update and have gone days without saying anything on Twitter.

But I'm on the web now as much as ever. I've just become more of a voyeur on the internet. I log on to see what others are doing, experiencing, learning - and what kind of animal blood is currently pulsing through Charlie Sheen's body (sidebar - I find something very ironic about this statement from his website about his upcoming tour - "Charlie will be donating One Dollar from each ticket to "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option Show LIVE" to the Red Cross Japanese Earthquake Relief Fund." Is there a fund we can donate to to save Sheen?)

Part of the reason I haven't contributed online is because I haven't been doing much. And I don't even have the attention span most of the time to come up with a worthwhile status update. Most of the time I'm on the web, I'm also either watching TV, listening to music or doing work at my desk. This article I recently read in EW really hit home.

So I'm taking a break. Consider this the return of my personal 7-day challenges. I challenge myself to go without the internet for a full week. The way I see it, in the time I would normally be online, I can actually be living my life (or, more realistically, simply tackling that book I've been meaning to start).

Of course, every mandate must make some exceptions in this day and age. I'm giving myself a pass if it's absolutely necessary for work (like ordering theater tickets online) or in an emergency (like to find the nearest tow-truck service, emergency room or liquor store).

So I'll check back in a week to see how it went. Hopefully by then, I'll have experienced something worth posting.

Why Minneapolis Rocks

This is one of my (Paige's) favorite times of the year. I bask in the sun, I blow out my birthday candles (22, thanks for asking!) and I get half-day Fridays at work. Jealous?
But I especially love this time of year in Minneapolis because local theaters (and we have really really good ones) are revealing their upcoming seasons. Most theaters in town run their seasons from September to August (excepting rebels like the Jungle Theater & Pillsbury House Theatre, who do it by the calendar year). And I’m really excited for some of the ambitious, thought-provoking and entertaining productions that are in the works (full disclosure - I work closely with most major theaters in town). Here’s my own, in no way all-reaching or fully informed look at what I’m most excited to see.

A Streetcar Named Desire at the Guthrie (July-August)
• I fell in love with Marlon Brando and his intensity as Stanley in the movie version of this Tennessee Williams play. And Blanche is one of the most fully-drawn female characters out there. I’m especially excited to see TV and theater actress Gretchen Egolf dig her teeth into the role after reading her self-deprecating, sweet and sometimes very raw blog about the rehearsal process on the Guthrie’s website.

The Scottsboro Boys at the Guthrie (August)
• This is the show’s final push to tighten things up before they try it on Broadway. It’s received great reviews so far and I’m curious to see how a big, splashy musical pulls off the subject material (it’s based on the real story of 9 black men who are accused of rape and thrown in jail). But hey, if Les Miserables can put music to the French Revolution, anything’s possible, right?

Wicked at the Orpheum (August – September)
• Yes, I’ve already seen it. Yes, so have most people. But it’s fun, memorable and you can’t get the songs out of your head - who doesn’t get goosebumps when Elphaba defies gravity? I personally love this version of the song sung by Idina Menzel who originated the role …

Vigil at the Pillsbury House Theatre (September-October)
• Pillsbury always does theater that makes you want to immediately go have a drink with whoever you came with and talk about what you just saw. And this one is sure to inspire conversation, given that it’s directed by Stephen DiMenna. Steve’s a good friend of Project SUCCESS (where I work) and does all our training for our classroom workshops. I’ve always been impressed with what he can pull out of our facilitators. I’m excited to see him do it with actors on stage.

A Cool Drink of Water at the Mixed Blood (September-October)
• Here’s what’s cool about the Mixed Blood. They infuse a little bit of humor in everything they do. In this show, they’re taking the characters from A Raisin in the Sun (brilliant play, but not a belly-laugher) and transporting them into a modern-day comedy. Intriguing ….

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – A Penumbra production at the Guthrie (February-March)
• If you can see a Penumbra production, any production, it’s worth it. But they’re never better than when they’re putting on an August Wilson play. Penumbra and Wilson had a very special relationship and he lived in St. Paul for more than 2 decades, honing his craft and working directly with the Penumbra, while they produced many of his plays.

Barrio Grrrl! At the Children’s Theatre (March)
• How great that the Children’s Theatre is doing a musical with a Latina girl as its protagonist? With hummable pop music, and a main character who is dealing with real life stuff like her dad being in Iraq, this show could speak to a lot of girls. Yay empowerment!
-Paige

Chocolate Jesus

The following is an account of the bizarre path I went down following an innocent google search. Keep in mind that I consider myself a religious person.

Let me set the scene. Our dear friends, the Beckers love the movie Jesus Christ Superstar. They watch it fairly often, on lazy Sundays, and it puts them in a good mood. Same with our friends the Welles. In fact, it appears Justin and I are in the minority for never having seen the movie. I worry that the stage version ruined it for us. Ted Neely (original star!) was in a recent touring production we went to see at the Orpheum. After two hours of him screaming/singing all his lyrics (we'll call it scringing) and overacting even the most simplistic phrases (YES! LET'S WALK OVER HERE!), I found it comical - right at the moment he was hung on the cross. Yes, theater snobs - that was me giggling so hard I couldn't stop my shoulders from shaking while Jesus was dying for my sins. Justin was embarrassed, and I'll probably go to hell but more likely for writing this blog entry.

Anyway .... the Beckers are having people over to watch Jesus Christ Superstar (starring Ted Neely!) and they want everyone to bring something to eat surrounding that theme. I love the idea! Any party involving movies, food and a theme is my kind of night. They'll have bread and wine (makes sense), someone's bringing fish (I get that) and we were assigned dessert. I don't remember seeing cupcakes at The Last Supper, but okay, we'll go with it.

Searching the computer for recipes, I first made the mistake of googling "Jesus" and "Chocolate". As some music lovers might guess, all that came up was Tom Waits's song "Chocolate Jesus."
Then I found the story of a six-foot, anatomically correct milk chocolate sculpture of Jesus. I'm not THAT good a baker.

Then I typed in "Jesus" and "dessert" and Google tried correcting me: "Did you mean 'Jesus' and 'desert?'" No, Google, I know Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and nights but just telling folks at the party, "Jesus fasted, why don't we?" won't really work.

But I finally found a page that I thought might work. It was the website for the Christian Moms of Many Blessings. I have no doubt these women are great moms who cook a lot of great meals for their kids. But if they would have been my mom, I would have had a troubling, psychologically complicated relationship with desserts. The following recipe listed on the website is why:

Easter/Resurrection Rolls
1 package Cresent rolls
Melted Butter
1 Large Marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Give each child a triangle of cresent rolls.
The cresent roll represents the the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus. (white)

Have the child dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.

Then dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar. This represents the spices used to annoint the body.

Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the cresent roll (not like a typical cresent roll up…but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside) This represents the wrapping of Jesus’ body after death.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 10 – 12 minutes. The oven represents the tomb–pretend like it was three days!

When the rolls have cooled slightly, the children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN!

The marshmallow melts and the cresent roll is puffed up, but empty.

Those children will never look at a marshmallow the same way again. Here's the link if you want to see more.

Paige

7 Day Challenge Complete!

Before I write about how successful this 7 day challenge was, I have a confession. On the last day, I cheated. No, I didn't eat any of this glorious looking meat you see from the "Meatapalooza" event on Saturday (none of it was organic). But after a few hours watching everyone else eat ... and with just a few hours before the official end of the challenge, I ate a non-organic brownie and a piece of corn bread (fueled probably, by the organic wine I was drinking). Before passing judgment, know that I was STARVING. So ... full disclosure on that one.

Aside from the chocolate mishap, I really stuck to my rules on this one. 7 full days and everything I ate or drank was local (within the 5-state region) and, if not USDA certified organic, grown or raised with sustainable farming practices and without pesticides or chemicals. And I had more fun doing it than I would have thought! I enjoyed the conversations I had with the workers at the Birchwood Cafe or McDonald's liquor store when I asked them to point out the local, organic stuff. But I especially liked how much this challenge made me focus on what I eat and where it comes from. Never before have I read food labels so intensely (and to the chagrin of grocery store customers behind my slow-moving cart) and had so limited a choice in what I ate. Over the course of the week, I tried organic beer from Wisconsin, grass-fed pork from Minnesota, and gigantic juicy tomatoes grown right here in the metro area; all things I plan on consuming again (but the organic wine has a ways to go). So to sum up:

THE CHALLENGE
Eat only local and organic food for one week
SUCCESS RATE
Nearly 100% (who would have thought a meat-smoking party would be my undoing?)
COST
We normally spend a little under $100 a week on groceries, plus an extra $20-40 on restaurants/lunch spots. This week, we spent a little over $100 on groceries, plus an extra $50 on restaurants/lunch spots.
EFFECT ON LIFESTYLE
Somewhat. I never felt I needed to cancel plans or restrict what I did. But planning meals ahead of time was crucial. And certain situations proved challenging, like having to say no when my husband wanted to open a bottle of non-organic wine, and avoiding all things fried at the State Fair.
WHAT I LEARNED
The debate over the government-approved label "organic" is more intense and heated than I realized.
Eating food that you know where it came from gives a certain pleasure to a meal I've never experienced before.
WHAT I'M TAKING AWAY
I won't continue to eat only local or organic foods - it's simply too limiting at this point. But the super-processed foods that were often a staple of my lunches at work or my late-night snacks are a thing of the past. So no more Spaghetti-O's or trans-fat filled microwave dinners.
And we will definitely be cooking from scratch more with fresh produce - that was the most rewarding part of this week!

-Paige

Day 6 - Stay Local, Go Organic

For someone watching what they eat (and like me, writing a blog about it), Friday and Saturday are the toughest. Romantic dinners, barbecues, a night at the movies …. All can be ruined by that simple phrase: “No thanks, I’m on a diet.” So I anticipated this Friday and Saturday with growing dread, as I tried desperately to cling to my challenge of eating only organic, local foods for seven days.

While I’m at it, why not make it as difficult on myself as possible? Why not enter the Lion’s Den, the mecca of all things fried, fat-filled and served on a stick? I’m talking, of course, about the Minnesota State Fair. It was not my idea to attend today – it had been a planned work outing. The additional fact that my husband was there for work as well (yes, we have great jobs) made it a no-brainer that I’d attempt to run the State Fair food gauntlet in search of local/organic.

I knew local wouldn’t be the problem, but naturally-made food is harder to find at the fair than an open bathroom stall. At least, thanks to tips from the Simple Good and Tasty website, I knew to head to the Eco Experience. But here’s the one problem. Despite how interesting and informative the Eco Experience is about the growing local food movement, sustainable farming and organic cuisine, there was virtually no actual food to munch on! I was growing desperate and panicking about my options – go hungry, go home, or go crazy on mini-donuts, cheese curds, cookies, chocolate-covered bananas, is that a deep-fried snickers bar?

Then we found it – the one booth actually selling and advertising their local, healthy food. The Countryside Market right outside the Eco Experience had farm-fresh-tasting Capresse on a stick and mouth-watering yellow watermelon. But that was about it. I’ve since heard that French Meadow has a booth at the state fair. We didn’t make it there, but wouldn’t have had enough money to try anything anyway. There’s very likely other food at the fair that would fit the definition of local and organic but if so, they weren’t promoting the fact because we didn’t see any and we walked a fair distance looking. I hope next year, the Capresse on a Stick has some competition.

So I managed to stay on track even at the State Fair. But let’s see how tomorrow goes. My husband and friends are holding a Meat-Smoking event that’s an all-day affair. Hope I don’t just have to say “No thanks, I’m on a diet……”

Day Three of Eat Local, Go Organic

I am less than halfway through this Eat All Local and Organic for an entire week and I’m feeling two things I didn’t expect: I’m hungry and tired!

I have been eating some fantastic food and testing out great recipes. Sunday night we tried out a Lemongrass Pork Tenderloin that I found on the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market website courtesy of chef Tammy Wong. It was succulent (Justin’s word, after some serious thought). Here’s a link to the recipe (scroll down about halfway).

Monday night we ate Rosemary potatoes that were fine, but nothing special so no recipe sharing for that one. Three nights of cooking in a row? No thanks, so tonight was a frozen organic veggie pizza from the Seward Coop (not cheap, but we both thought well worth the $9 price). I’ve been having the leftovers for lunch at work but I am so starving by 2:00 every day. And I’ve been hungry when I go to bed every night. I think I made one terrible misstep in my shopping; I bought virtually no local, organic snack food. So I’ve been eating great meals but nothing in between. My former diet was one of 5-6 small meals throughout the day, so maybe this has been a tough shift for my hunger gene.

The tired thing is harder to figure out. As my last entry explains, I’ve been filling my coffee mug each morning with locally roasted, yummy Peace Coffee, but I still feel exhausted. Perhaps it’s because the food this week has had very few carbohydrates. It’s easier to find local, organic meat, veggies and seasonal fruit rather than breads and cereals. So my carb count is down. I don’t know how people on the Atkins diet can stick to it!

Four more days to go...
-Paige

Keep it Local, Go Organic - 7 Day Challenge

The smells of a Farmer’s Market are invigorating. The whiff of basil, pungent peppers, or the steamed warmth of the kettle korn. These are the smells microwave dinners often try to imitate but never fully realize. This is where my next 7-day Challenge began for me.

But let me back up. This challenge was inspired by the book I was (and still am) reading for my book club: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I’ll spare you the details (and I’ve heard In Defense of Food is better), but the gist of the book is informing us where our food comes from. How food gets from the ground or animal to our dinner table. And as you might guess, Pollan is pretty critical of the way Americans grow, process, sell and eat food. The author favors organic growers and I agree. Essentially, the best food for you, for the land and for our economy is the least processed, most natural and grown closest to you (with of course, some exceptions).

So my challenge to myself is to try and eat completely local and organic foods for Seven Days. These terms mean different things to different people so my first step was to define what they meant for me.

Take “organic”. Basically, organic means growing without the use of pesticides, herbicides or insecticides and giving animals no growth hormones or synthetic food products and allowing them access to pasture (they’re preferably entirely grass-fed). The term, as the U.S. government defines it, has been criticized of late for allowing large, corporate processing companies to get the organic label with some questionable production methods, but that’s an argument for a different day. I decided if it was labeled USDA organic, I could eat it.

Then there’s “local”. Before I realized how limiting it would be, I decided “local” was anything within 200 miles of me (in South Minneapolis). But when I looked on the Seward Co-op’s website, and they defined local as anything grown or raised in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa or the Dakotas, I figured I should re-evaluate. So I took their definition. And their second rule of “local” really got my attention: “Some level of production (beyond repackaging) must take place locally. For example, a local coffee roaster is considered local.” I was resigned to no coffee for the week, but just for the java, I’ll enact this rule. All food products though, for this week, must be grown or raised in the 5-state region.

I decided there were three places I needed to shop for my food this week: The local Farmer’s Market, the Seward Co-op, and my regular grocery store (a SuperTarget). I was prepared to spend copious amounts of money and walk frustrated and angst-filled through the aisles, but it was actually easier than I thought to shop. At the Farmer’s Market, I asked a couple local growers if they grew organic. After one man gave me a stare (it’s a touchy subject for many), he said, “No pesticides, no chemicals, just picked this morning from a farm 50 miles away. Good enough?” Indeed it was! The Seward Co-op was also great but harder than I thought to find the combination of local/organic (at least under a price tag of $9, which is what a bag of oatmeal was – ouch!) But surprisingly, since I limited myself to recipes I plan on making this week, I didn’t spend much more than I would have on more processed food at SuperTarget (in fact, I was virtually done with my list by the time I got to Target).

So now the challenge begins (Sunday, August 23rd to Saturday, August 29th), and I can’t wait to eat the Pork Tenderloin from Kerkhoven, Minnesota or the peppers from the fairly angry but “good-enough” guy’s booth at the Farmer’s Market. Check back all this week for great recipes I discover!

-Paige

Make 'em Laugh

So I did it! I completed my first 7-day challenge by performing a stand-up comedy routine I’d written in one week Monday night at the Acme Comedy Club.
And it was a rousing success! Not because I was so funny (though I did get some laughs and I’m choosing to believe they weren’t courtesy laughs) or because I’ve discovered a new career path (though my favorite comedian of the night, Peter Greyy, told me later that he thought I had potential and I’m choosing to believe he didn’t say that because I had just told him he was my favorite).

It was a success because it was nerve-wracking and terrifying and I went ahead with it anyway and felt exhilarated afterwards. Truly, the reason I chose this for my first challenge is because I think there’s nothing harder or scarier than standing in front of a large group of people (200!) and trying to make them laugh. That, to me, is the ultimate challenge and I wanted to tackle it first.

I also learned a lot about stand-up comedy:
1)Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because it’s open mic night, it will be a bunch of people just doing this on a dare or goofing off to try and impress a girl. Except for me, these were all people attempting to make this their career and many were succeeding. I knew I was out of my league when I pulled out my three index cards and the comedian one table over had a full NOTEBOOK of jokes. It was only later that I discovered what kind of a stellar reputation the Minneapolis Acme Comedy Club has. When I told Peter Greyy it was my first time, he laughed and said “That’s like deciding to sing opera for the first time, and doing it at the Met.” Thank god they put me first before I had time to chicken out.

2)The stand-up comedy world is a club and I don’t know the secret handshake. From the moment I walked in to sign up for a slot, it was clear that everyone else in the room knew each other. I’ve heard that the comedy business is all about relationships and who you know – it was evident last night. But the good news was as soon as I performed, it was like I was part of the crew. More than one of my fellow performers complimented me or called me by name and asked if I’d be back. I got the feeling they did this with all first-timers regardless of how they really felt about the routine, but it still felt good.

3)There is no better feeling than making someone laugh. We should all try to do it more often. Not just on stage, but at work, in our homes, standing in line at the grocery store. Humor can go a long way towards making the world a better place.

One final thanks to my husband, Justin. He was incredibly supportive when I thought I was going to puke before I went on and risked getting in trouble by videotaping my three minutes of infamy. When possible, I’ll post the results of my challenges – this one I’m posting purely for my parents who weren’t able to see it in person, but figured into my routine.



-Paige

Day Three

So it’s day three of my 7-Day challenge. For this first one, I’m trying to write a stand-up comedy routine in one week and perform it at the end of the 7 days. And I actually thought it was going pretty well. The past few nights I’ve been writing down things I think are funny, even giggling to myself a few times. And then I came to a horrible realization. Upon re-read the next day …. lots of it isn’t that funny. What the heck was I thinking?

So I’ve decided to once again consult Google for tips from the comedy experts about how to write a stand-up routine. Here’s what I found (courtesy the Suite101 website):

1. “Develop the right attitude.” Well … what is the right attitude? Despair? Embarrassment? If so, then check and check.

2. “Read funny books and articles.” Seriously? If that were all it took to be a stand-up comedienne, my grandmother Else
would have been the next Joan Rivers. Or the first Joan Rivers? How old is she again?

3. “Narrow your humor.” What does that mean? Can I only talk about one subject? If I begin with bathroom humor, does that mean I’m doomed to only talk about toilets for the rest of the time?

4. “Respond to your audience.” Not so sure this one’s a good idea. I have visions of me yelling, “Yeah, well my act may be awful, but so is your face” or some other equally immature and not altogether intelligible retort and the whole thing ending in a melee.

So I guess I’m on my own. Here’s hoping I grow a funny bone in the next few days (or at least develop short-term memory loss after the event).

-Paige

7 Day Challenge

Almost daily, I read about a hobby or hear about a way of life that I think is something I’d like to do. But the amount of time you can spend trying new things is staggering, and somewhat intimidating. Sure, I want to be the best rock-climber, environmentalist, cross-stitcher that anyone’s ever met – but I also have a full-time job, family, friends and a new dog that keep me pretty busy. Reading the mail without getting distracted is tough; sticking to a good habit? Forget about it. So I thought of an idea.

People (including me) are obsessed with deadlines. “I’ll lose 15 pounds in 3 weeks.” “The house will be organized by November 1st.” “I promise I’ll start caring about my job tomorrow.” They usually serve only to stress you out and make you feel like a failure when the deadline has come and gone and you’re still an overweight, messy person who sucks at their job. But I’m going to use a deadline to my advantage. I am going to try all sorts of things that seemed too hard or time-consuming before …. For just one week.

I’m calling it the 7-day challenge. You can do anything for just 7 days, right? You can eat healthy or stop drinking alcohol. You can endure a visit from your in-laws. You can go without food, even water I think (might have to fact-check that one ….. Google just told me I’d be dead after 3 days-so we won’t try that one). These challenges will vary in their difficulty and type. I might try living a fairly extreme lifestyle for 7 days. I might try going without something that’s considered pretty necessary in our modern culture. I might try learning a new skill and see how good I get at it after 7 days. Or I might try doing something that I’ve always wanted to do, but been scared s***less to try. I have no set goal and no idea what will be considered success with some of these challenges. I’m just looking to learn a lot, have some personal growth, and feel like I’m accomplishing something that wasn’t easy to do.

Along those lines, I’ve decided what my first 7-day challenge will be and it’s the one thing I’ve ALWAYS wanted to try. I will start working on a stand-up comedy routine today (trust me – I don’t have anything written down yet) and perform it one week from tonight at the Minneapolis Acme Comedy Club Open Mic Night. This won’t be easy. Because everyone thinks they’re funny in that I-can-make-my-friends-and-coworkers-laugh sort of way. But it took me a long time to discover that what I think is funny, witty sarcasm sometimes gets misconstrued as plain old bitchy. So I may very well suck at this. But it’s one of those things on my bucket list and that’s part of what this project is about for me.

So here I go! I will update during the week about my progress .. here’s hoping I follow in the mighty footsteps of Carrot Top, Pauly Shore, and the guy that smashes the fruit.

-Paige (the CEO of the Warehouse:-)

The Candy Man can ...

I realized it was time for me (Paige) to post a blog, lest people think our lives revolve around stadiums and sports (they do, but I don't want everyone THINKING that).

My last two days at work have been a blast. Each year, Project SUCCESS puts on a big musical at Anwatin Middle School. This year, it's Willy Wonka. For the last two days, I've been helping to coordinate the behemoth that is auditions (thank you, Candy Man song. You are officially in my head for the next two months). Since there's no new Office or 30 Rock this week, 100 middle school kids preparing to sing for their lives is the next best thing to laugh-out-loud comedy. My favorite moments include:

- The two boys who came with electric guitars for their audition. Did they actually think they'd get to play them in the show? I don't remember the part in Willy Wonka where Charlie rocks out.

-The part on the audition form where it asks the kids if they have any special talents. "Talking non-stop" and "Being Awesome" are two of the most popular responses.

-The kid who, when asked on the audition form if he had any conflicts that would prevent him from coming to rehearsal said, "I can't think of any right now. And I won't remember any soon. But I'm sure something will come up in my life and I just won't show up."

Seriously, I love these kids .... and Veruca Salt (the Willy Wonka character, not the early-90's grunge band).

Minneapolis' New Town Center

Thousands of fans pouring off of trains from Big Lake and Bloomington, families riding bikes in from Southwest Minneapolis, pedestrians making their way from bars and restaurants in the Warehouse district ...that will be the scene (at least) 81 times a year at Target Field starting in April, 2010.

Click here for an update on the exterior of Target Field

It's becoming more apparent that there actually was quite a bit of thought that went into building this ballpark on the north side of downtown Minneapolis. Yes, the small lot makes for a tight fit and yes, there is a garbage incinerator right next door, but when it's complete, Target Field will be the meeting place for tens of thousands of Minnesotans. A hub of activity that will be especially easy to get to, with or without a car.

In a recent Star Tribune article (see above link) the writer describes "the escalators and elevators used to connect commuters to the two levels of trains at the ballpark's transit station." Imagine if every major gathering point in the Twin Cities was designed with this transit strategy in mind. Imagine how much less congestion we'd have at the Xcel if (or when) rail lines brought in 1/3 of the spectators. Or how much easier the commute from the southwest suburbs would (will) be when the southwest light rail line pulls thousands of vehicles off the roads every day.

The multiple means of getting to Target Field will make the game-day experience more enjoyable and less congested for everyone involved. And that ease of use will help draw people to the stadium long after, God forbid, the Twins current string of success runs out. Which means the new Target Field will continue to be a center of economic activity for decades to come.

We can't wait for TCF Bank Stadium!

If you've driven buy the U of M campus recently, you've probably seen it ...and if you're a football fan, you're probably as excited as we are about next fall and outdoor football. Just in case you missed it, here's a video tour of TCF Bank Stadium from the Strib...

Click here to watch the tour

So who else has tickets? ...any special plans for the first game on September 12th?

The Wares enter the blogosphere!

Testing, testing, 1-2-3...

Yep, Paige and Justin have started a blog. We don't have any kids to talk about, no pets to show off, we're not traveling the world or anything cool like that ...so why have we started a blog? Good question ...I guess because we can.

So please, follow along! We promise we'll make it worth your while at least occasionally!!