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Monday
May 20, 2013
The A&E blog covers a span of cultural artifacts as wide, fascinating, and bizarre as the internet itself, from reviews of the cheapest coolers at the liquor store to the best concert to see at the Triple Rock, with a bit of speculation at the meaning of it all stuffed in between.

Bloodless Sport

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Wed, 2/8, 10:52am (1 year ago)
Standing backstage at the World's Toughest Rodeo, all I could imagine was the gladiator pits under the Colliseum. Gladiators wrapped in thick leather armor pumped themselves up however they could, by screaming or wall-punching or staring straight ahead with their best Bogart face on. These guys were warriors, ancient beings,…

Weekend Recap: In Case You Missed It

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Mon, 2/6, 1:29pm (1 year ago)
If you spent all weekend getting ready for Kris Humphries' 27th birthday, you might have missed this stuff. Here's an as-brief-as-possible recap of the weekend: Two teams played in The Super Bowl, the Giants and the Patriots. The Giants won. Kelly Clarkson sang the national anthem. She won American Idol. Grantland recapped the…

Thursday Night TV Round Up

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Fri, 2/3, 2:59pm (1 year ago)
Last night was a good night for our beloved Thursday night block. There were lots of laughs, three perfectly-cast guest stars, and The Office had some honest-to-god story progression. Well done, everyone! Let's dive in. I rolled my eyes when I first read the premise of this week's 30 Rock. The…

Halftime Show Reconsidered

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Wed, 2/1, 2:28pm (1 year ago)
Kenneth Parcell said it best: "More than jazz or musical theater or morbid obesity, television is the true American art form." And the biggest day of the year for TV comes on Sunday. You may think I'm referring to another Comedy Central broadcast of "Joe Dirt," but I am not. The Super Bowl has…

Monday, Monday: A Melancholic Culture Compass

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Mon, 1/30, 11:36am (1 year ago)
It's easy to hate your life on a Monday. The wind of the weekend is at your back and the week ahead looms long and large. Yeah, there are some things you can do today to keep yourself from wanting to hit fast-forward on that outdated, breaking VHS player that…

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra at the Cedar

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Mon, 1/30, 10:58am (1 year ago)
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra brought their rambling and righteous brand of chamber-rock to the Cedar Cultural Center last night. Originally a more subdued offshoot of seminal post-rock ensemble Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Silver Mt. Zion has become the more prolific of the two in the past decade. Their…

Thursday Night TV Round Up

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Fri, 1/27, 2:08pm (1 year ago)
The news broke late Wednesday that NBC is developing an Office spin-off for Dwight, centered on his family and life at Shrute Farms. We're to expect a back-door pilot for the series later in this season of The Office, and if all goes according to plan, Dwight would leave the…

Q&A: Lou Bellamy, Penumbra Theatre Legend

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Thu, 1/26, 9:40am (1 year ago)
  The Penumbra Theatre, located in St. Paul&undefined;s &nbsp&undefined;Selby-Dale neighborhood, is the only African-American theater in Minnesota. It&undefined;s also the largest African-American theater in the country. More of August Wilson&undefined;s works have been produced at Penumbra than any other theater in the world. And while Wilson is the most famous artist to…

Basics of Tea

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Thu, 1/26, 7:35am (1 year ago)
  I stand by the philosophy that any time is a good time for a cup of tea, but this is especially true at the beginning of the Spring semester. Temperatures have fallen, workloads are building, and the stress of another semester is inevitable. If you need to take some time…

Premature Oscar Predictions

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Wed, 1/25, 1:30pm (1 year ago)
This year's Oscar nominations were released yesterday in a characteristically awkward and unnecessary ceremony. Why can't they just put the list up on their website? I think the Academy of Motion Art Stuff and Other Stuff knows when it has information we want, and will use it to make us look…

Thursday Night TV Round Up

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Fri, 1/20, 11:52am (1 year ago)
Hey, friends. I come to you this week with a heavy heart for our good friends at Community.  Community is a funny, brave show and it was my favorite in the Thursday night comedy block. It was pulled from the schedule for low ratings last November, but 30 Rock isn't…

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.: A Culture Compass

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Mon, 1/16, 11:44am (1 year ago)
If you're looking to get out and about, you can easily survey today’s events landscape with the help of this handy guide from the Star Tribune. And here are a few things you can appreciate at home:   SONG “A Dream” by Common featuring Will.I.Am. “Freedom Writers” Soundtrack 2006 There’s an inherent musicality in Martin Luther King…

Thursday Night TV Round Up

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Fri, 1/13, 11:27am (1 year ago)
Welcome to Thursday Night TV Round Up here at the A&E Blog. Each week we're planning on recapping and discussing NBC’s Thursday night comedy block. Thursdays have undergone a lot of changes at NBC, but it’s almost always been appointment television, and a night that I think just about every…

A Year in Review: Raghav's top music of 2011

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Thu, 12/15, 6:47pm (1 year ago)
Best Albums of 2011 (National only) 1. "Past Life Martyred Saints" by EMA There wasn't a single album this year that moved me the way EMA's (short for Erika M. Anderson) "Past Life Martyred Saints" did. Created in response to the dissolution of Anderson's former group Gowns, EMA's debut pulls you into…

Lust for Lists 2011

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Wed, 12/14, 8:24pm (1 year ago)
LISTS! 'Tis the season, y'all, and I love it. It's only Dec. 14, so we're nowhere near the end of Listmas. But here's a small sample of the lists (and gift guides) that have really put the wind in my sails so far: Pitchfork: The Worst Album Covers of 2011:  MP3s…
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