web in my pocket

And all the rooms they smell like diesel And you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:34:40 -0500

And all the rooms they smell like diesel
And you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept here
And I’m lost in the window, and I hide in the stairway
And I hang in the curtain, and I sleep in your hat…
Tom Waits, 9th and Hennepin

Let’s begin at the beginning, or at least one of the beginnings: before Minneapolis, before St. Anthony and Fort Snelling, before Minnesota was shaped out of the woods and prairies.

Father Louis Hennepin was born in the Spanish-controlled…

Put down your shopping bags this Thanksgiving weekend and climb aboard the Holly Trolley, a special...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:39:43 -0500

Put down your shopping bags this Thanksgiving weekend and climb aboard the Holly Trolley, a special run of the Como-Harriet Streetcar feature Santa Claus, carolers, hot cider, and plenty of Christmas cheer!

The trolley runs from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Friday (no concession stand this day), Saturday, and Sunday, November 27 to 29 and Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6.

The Como-Harriet Streetcar Line, operated by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum, operates three historic Minnesota…

Put down your shopping bags this Thanksgiving weekend and climb aboard the Holly Trolley, a special...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:39:43 -0500

The trolley runs from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Friday (no concession stand this day), Saturday, and Sunday, November 27 to 29 and Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6.

The Como-Harriet Streetcar Line, operated by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum, operates three historic Minnesota…

A recent post by Abigail Deutsch at Poetry Foundation’s Harriet blog, about the streets of...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:30:22 -0500

A recent post by Abigail Deutsch at Poetry Foundation’s Harriet blog, about the streets of Washington, DC, reminded me of an idea I had for this site that I think I’ll revive: the naming of the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Washington, DC, has a very structured, and somewhat complex, arrangement of street names:

First they run from A through Z (A Street, B Street, etc.). Then they run A-Z again, but with bisyllabic words (Euclid, Fairmont, Girard, Harvard). Then they run…

Peabody River Now see these: View Toward Sand Beach from Andy Smith-Petersen Industrial from...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:41:06 -0500

Peabody River

Now see these:

View Toward Sand Beach from Andy Smith-Petersen
Industrial from Aperture First
The Indian Creek Experience from Aperture First
stark from apparently nothing

Peabody River Now see these: tranquility from dying light Missed, Fallen from The World in...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:06:37 -0500

Peabody River

Now see these:

tranquility from dying light
Missed, Fallen from The World in 35mm
Shy … Walk Away from Reflex photos
Coil from Monday Morning Photo Blog

RT @palejude Twin City Grill MOA needs to evaluate its accessibility and happy hour policies # My...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:41:54 -0500

RT @palejude Twin City Grill MOA needs to evaluate its accessibility and happy hour policies #
My DM spam policy: once, it’s probably a security issue and I’ll let you know so you can fix it; twice, and I’ll block. #spam sucks. #
Canadian troops will be greeted on Hennepin Avenue as liberators, eh? — Secrets of the City — Minneapolis + St… http://bit.ly/4vBYKo #
Police investigating YouTube video of teens assaulting pedestrians, bicyclists http://bit.ly/1ponpd

Over at the OpenSalon version of my last post, there was some reasonable incredulity about my...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:35:16 -0500

Over at the OpenSalon version of my last post, there was some reasonable incredulity about my guesstimates of my bicycling weight. To wit:

One of my bikes weighs a little more than I do; the other weighs a little less. On both, I’m expending very little energy to move a combined weight of about three hundred pounds…

Those numbers were more than a bit off. I plead late night grogginess and a bottle of Moose Drool. Here are the actual facts:

Cyclist plus gear (helmet plus…

Peabody River Now see these: Guard of the Vatican Museums from Enrique Vidal Pyramids to...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:54:44 -0500

Peabody River

Now see these:

Guard of the Vatican Museums from Enrique Vidal
Pyramids to Temples: Egypt to Cambodia from and sometimes i just sits
Triple from d e s o l a t e | m e t r o p o l i s

I’ve been commuting to work by bicycle for about three months now: not a very long time (my wife has...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:44:07 -0500

I’ve been commuting to work by bicycle for about three months now: not a very long time (my wife has been doing it for about twelve years), but long enough that I’ve thought quite a bit about what I gain and lose by using two wheels instead of four for my daily trip.

While I’m not a bicycle commuting evangelist, most of my co-workers know that I bike and a few have asked the usual questions: Isn’t it dangerous? What about the winter? What about the rain? My answers tend to be brief:…

Peabody River Now see these: nov 8 from myphotosquare Ancient Woodland from absolutely...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:58:22 -0500

Peabody River

Now see these:

nov 8 from myphotosquare
Ancient Woodland from absolutely nothing
Weather Report: 1920 from Shorpy

Peabody River Now see these: Reading a book from Psampaz Photography #82 from lgbravo.com ...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:18:47 -0500

Peabody River

Now see these:

Reading a book from Psampaz Photography
#82 from lgbravo.com
Eyes on the UN from friskyPics
PCC in need of TLC 2 from Found in Focus
bicicleta from dioptrias

Peabody River Now see these: Tower Underbelly from The World in 35mm Seafolly from...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:19:26 -0500

Peabody River

Now see these:

Tower Underbelly from The World in 35mm
Seafolly from neverhappen.com
Sopot from FotoStamina
Vent a Zumaia from BEGIRADA
Vassoura II from Fotos PPF

Peabody River Now see these: dead essentials from Your Waitress Petite pluie et hauts talons...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:42:58 -0500

Peabody River

Now see these:

dead essentials from Your Waitress
Petite pluie et hauts talons place des Abbesses from ParisCool
Platja de Zumaia from BEGIRADA
Back from holiday from ??????
A Bad Reputation from Wolfman-K

Road Bicycle Sale, Saturday, at Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles, St. Paul http://bit.ly/3Yj6ZE...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:01:32 -0500

Road Bicycle Sale, Saturday, at Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles, St. Paul http://bit.ly/3Yj6ZE #
Minneapolis is a safe place for walking; more of us should do it! http://bit.ly/3I6FA6 #
You Might Be A Twin Cities Redneck If… http://bit.ly/4yPRgN #
Archaeological dig happening in the middle of Saint Paul http://bit.ly/2usVXc #
R1-19 by parisstarlight #photo http://bit.ly/jYXGG #
Newspaper delivery by trike http://bit.ly/49QCVt #
Sunspot…

Spam—the junk message type, not the tasty luncheon meat from Hormel (pan fried and served on...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:27:28 -0500

Spam—the junk message type, not the tasty luncheon meat from Hormel (pan fried and served on rice, it really can’t be beat…)—is a significant annoyance on all the “Web 2.0” services, but nowhere more so than on Twitter.

Peabody River Now see these: pause for beauty from hanna birke Roadside from Feldauge Life...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:23:45 -0500

Peabody River

Now see these:

pause for beauty from hanna birke
Roadside from Feldauge
Life Belt from milou
from the view of yokohama landmark tower from 1965 monochrone
an ascetic from BOXMAN fotologue

Peabody River, New Hampshire Now see these: Parure from Elaine late night bus diversion in...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:15:26 -0500

Peabody River, New Hampshire

Now see these:

Parure from Elaine
late night bus diversion in traffic on bloomsbury way from rion.nu
Fluff from Anita’s photoblog
104 from Félix Ménard

Photo by David KohlmeyerDespite our sudden balmy turn of weather, winter is surely on its way. I can...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:15:25 -0500

Photo by David Kohlmeyer
Despite our sudden balmy turn of weather, winter is surely on its way. I can tell by the activities in Rice Park.

As I rounded the corner of Market and Kellogg the other morning, I saw the big truck and boom arm putting the big spruce into place for the November 28 lighting ceremony. Over the last couple days, on my stroll to the library, I’ve watched the workers in cherry pickers draping the lights in the branches and hanging the star at the top. It…

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:29:54 -0400