Original Image By Mike D. Ross

While surveying the preshow crowd I noticed an abundance of grandmas and grandpas filling the seats, yelling “WHOOOO”, and pointing at friends seated elsewhere. This was to be a show where everyone seemed to know someone and by the end we would all agree with solemn pledge to tear down the fucking wall.

The show opened with an near full-scale Luftwaffe Stuka dive-bomber crashing into the partially constructed wall and exloding into a ball of flames. The evenings first physical manifestation of the psychological thriller we all came to see. Since Roger Waters’ last tour of The Wall the technology has drastically improved and as the show progressed the bricks of the wall were filled in one by one. Although the wall would eventually become a completed projection screen it started out with simple bricks and a message, as much a statement on life as a metaphor, a message against war and all it entails. A message that would be reitterated time and time again throughout the evening as Roger Waters combined potent imagery and modern themes of loss with the timeless inner struggles of mankind. A binary battle of good vs evil, wrong vs right, and us vs them.

While Roger Waters may have come to grips with his inner demons his sense of justice has remained unwavering as his powerful voice. Yes, those preshow grandmas were correct. WOOOOOOO!

At times throughout the evening Waters transformed from an inexplicably fit and energetic man to a seemingly frail grandfather dwarfed by the the wall behind him and back. All while purveying his message of antiwar, anti-establishment, and anti-suffering.

Perhaps here in America we don’t respect our elders enough. Perhaps Mr.Roger is correct that we don’t value life as we should and at one point during the show he notes that every gun built is a thief. It steals food from the unfed. It steals life from the living.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ZlOG5TO-A[/youtube]

It may not take an epic struggle with our own morality and mortality to tear down the wall, but it certainly seems to help.

Tear down The Wall!
Tear down The Wall!
Tear down The Wall!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZdBVVuBlRQ[/youtube]

WHAT: Roger Waters The Wall 2010

Ampersand Website

The boutique, located at Selby and Dale in St. Paul, focuses primarily on menswear (although they do have fashions and footwear for the ladies).  With a full selection of clothing, shoes, and accessories, BlackBlue is the place to get your dapper on.

And right now, you can update your wardrobe for less: BlackBlue is holding a sale to make room for new fall merchandise, so stop by for 40-60% off their hand-selected fashions, including both men’s and women’s footwear.  Don’t miss it – sale goods will go fast!

BlackBlue
614 Selby Avenue
651-260-5340
blakblu.blogspot.com or facebook.com/blkblu

From the Batman TV show  in 1966, some words to live by:

General Wisdom:

Batman: “An older head can’t be put on younger shoulders.”

Batman: “That’s one trouble with dual identities, Robin. Dual responsibilities.”

Health:

Robin: “Gosh, Batman, this camel grass juice is great.”
Batman: “Beware of strong stimulants, Robin.”

Robin: “Holy molars! Am I ever glad I take good care of my teeth!”
Batman: “True. You owe your life to dental hygiene.”

Education:

Dick: “Awww, heck! What’s the use of learning French anyway?”
Bruce: “Dick, I’m surprised at you! Language is the key to world peace. If we all spoke each other’s tongues, perhaps the scourge of war would be ended forever.”

Batman: “The green button will turn the car a la escarda o a la drecia.”
Robin: “To the left or right. Threw in a little Spanish on me, huh, Batman?”
Batman: “One should always keep abreast of foreign tongues, Robin.”

Dick: “Wow! The rings of Saturn! This is sure some fun, Bruce.”
Bruce: “Astronomy is more than mere fun, Dick.”
Dick: “It is?”
Bruce: “Yes, it helps give us a sense of proportion. Reminds us how little we are, really. People tend to forget that sometimes.”

Dick : “What’s so important about Chopin?”
Bruce : “All music is important, Dick. It’s the universal language. One of our best hopes for the eventual realization of the brotherhood of man.”

Dick: “Sorry, I’m not interested in dance lessons.”
Bruce: “Wait a minute, Dick. The junior prom’s coming up, isn’t it?”
Dick: “Yes, but…”
Bruce: “Well, we don’t want you to be a wallflower, do we? Dancing is an integral part of every young man’s education.”

Robin: “You can’t get away from Batman that easy!”
Batman: “Easily.”
Robin: “Easily.”
Batman: “Good grammar is essential, Robin.”

Women:

Robin: “I guess you can never trust a woman.”
Batman: “You’ve made a hasty generalization, Robin. It’s a bad habit to get into.”

Batman to Robin: “When you get a little older, you’ll see how easy it is to become lured by the female of the species.”

Politics:

Batman: “Better put 5 cents in the meter.”
Robin: “No policeman’s going to give the Batmobile a ticket.”
Batman: “This money goes to building better roads. We all must do our part.”

Dick: “Gosh, Economics is sure a dull subject.”
Bruce: “Oh, you must be jesting, Dick. Economics dull? The glamour, the romance of commerce… Hmm. It’s the very lifeblood of our country’s society

Robin: “Gosh, there could be diplomatic repercussions if we fail this time, Batman.”
Batman: “That’s not the point, Robin. What’s important is that the world know that all visitors to these teeming shores are safe, be they peasant or king.”
Robin: “Gee, Batman, I never thought of that. You’re right.”
Batman: “It’s the very essence of our democracy.”

Batman: “Nobody wants war.”
Robin: “Gee, Batman. Belgravia’s such a small country. We’d beat them in a few hours.”
Batman: “Yes, and then we’d have to support them for years.”
Who knew Batman was so full of wisdom?

From Red Bull Flugtag Miami

This will be Red Bull Flugtag’s debut in the Twin Cities, and this Land of 10,000 Lakes promises to deliver quite a show. July 24, more than 30 teams from across the Midwest will fly above the Mississippi River in front of thousands at Harriet Island Regional Park near Downtown St. Paul.

Red Bull Flugtag challenges the brave and brainy to design, build and pilot homemade flying machines off a 30-foot high flight deck in hopes of soaring into the wild blue yonder…or often, plunging into the waters below.  Flugtag, which means “flying day” in German, pushes the envelope of human-powered flight, but competitors need more than airtime to reach the podium. Teams are judged on three criteria: flight distance, creativity of the craft, andshowmanship.  This criteria has inspired flying tacos, prehistoric pterodactyls, winnebagos with wings and even Snoopy and the gang to grace the Flugtag flight decks! And after a year with no Red Bull Flugtags in the US, 2010 promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Since the first Red Bull Flugtag took place in Vienna, Austria, in 1991, more than 80 Flugtags have been held around the globe, attracting up to 300,000 spectators for a single event.

Vote for People’s Choice Award and find more info here.

Belle Reve Boutique, 320 E. Hennepin Ave, 612-333-3148.

Events Saturday, June 5 Kick Off!: •Twin Cities Heart Walk hosted at the new Minnesota Twins Target Field •Celebrate National Trails Day with the Three Rivers Park District at the Hopkins Depot Trail Head on the Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail
Sunday, June 6: •Grand Old Day – avoid parking problems—ride your bike, walk, or take transit to Grand Old Day in St. Paul •Bike-Walk to Worship Days and Saturday June 5 & Friday June 11
Tuesday, June 8: •Film Screening: Beyond the Motor City – Can the Twin Cities move beyond being a “motor city?” Attend a screening and discussion of the film as well as other short films about bicycling, 7pm, St. Anthony Main Theatre. Q&A to follow with director Aaron Woolf and local bicycle business leaders and activists.
Wednesday, June 9: •Women’s Wednesday
Thursday, June 10: •Bike Walk to Work Day with Celebrations Locations all over town, including: ◦Neighborhood Celebration locations —see map below ◦Morning Downtown Events in Minneapolis and St. Paul ◦Nice Ride, the nation’s largest bike sharing program, launches with a noon ride along Nicollet Mall in Downtown Minneapolis, from the Central Library to Peavey Plaza (map) ◦Evening celebrations at REI locations in Bloomington, Roseville, & Maple Grove!
Sunday, June 13: •Bike to the Twins Game – presented by OptumHealth – Gift bags compliments of OptumHealth will be given to the first 1000 Twins fans who ride their bike to the 1:10pm Twins vs. Atlanta baseball game at Target Field. There are 400 bike racks around the ballpark. In addition, a bike corral will be setup just off the Cedar Lake Trail on Glenwood in Ramp A.

And on a sidenote: Can we please stop forcing our friends to drink Smirnoff Ice? Sure, the surprise factor of it all is great, but come on, enough is enough. It’s like a White Castle eating contest, there are no real winners here. 

And got to love a little rain on a Grand Day!

It’s been a fun week in Minnesota. People have been talking about the weather and that’s how Minnesotans know everything is right with the world. It just so happens that the weather this week was nice and sunny. Yup the talk was all nice, unless of course you happen to follow politics. Mn political conversations were … well… politics as usual. The Right hates the left and the left hates the Right and the newspaper commentors hate teachers and nurses hate hospital administration and hospital administration hates unions and the unions hate politicians and the politicians just keep smiling and talking about the wonderful progress they’ve made.

Mr.Veto likes to fill up prisons so he vetoed sensible bipartisan legislation that would change current laws to keep bongwater from being counted as drug weight. Citypages covers the story with Bong water bill dries up with Tim Pawlenty’s veto. You have to read the comments.

Pioneer press puts it all into perspective Time to face it, Minnesota: Tim Pawlenty is seeing someone else

He goes on long trips without explanation. He comes home and criticizes my appearance, even as he pays greater attention to his own image. Where there once was fondness and love, now all I get is, ‘Your taxes are too high! You’re spending too much! You have to cut back!’

As if the RNC convention wasn’t a big enough bust Minneapolis now wants to get itself a convention.
Bob Collins has a poll going and so far people seem to think it’s a good thing. Huh.

Speaking of Bob, he has this to say “I’m not sure what creeps me out more, that a 40 yr old was pretending to be a gay hockey teen. Or that ppl folo a blog by a gay hockey teen” about this story Minnesota gay teen hockey blogger outed as 40-year-old man.

I couldn’t agree more.

Did you see this? Last-minute lake rule looks fishy I almost gave the story it’s own post just to use a headline about “bait and switch”.

Anyway, what’s going on this weekend? Here is a nice music roundup. I’ll probably update the post with some happenings links as the day progresses, but for now I’m out of time. So let’s wrap it up with a little bit of Dessa. She released her new video today “Alibi”.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2_aY9gYTF0[/youtube]

Social Media Breakfast MSP 26 is being hosted at the Minnesota State Fair Progress Building on Friday May 21st from 8am to 10am discussing Urban/Organic/ Gardening & Farming.  Your venerable  blogger (yes me) will be trying not to embarass herself as the moderator of a very good panel of guests assembled to discuss how they use social media to promote their businesses, sell their products and connect with their communities.

Panelists include:

* Susan Berkson, Minneapolis Farmers Market (MPLS Farmers Market on Facebook)
* Debbie Morrison, Sapsucker Farms www.sapsuckerfarms.com
* Barbara Hegman, PlantJotter www.plantjotter.com
* Lee Zukor, Simple Good & Tasty www.simplegoodandtasty.com
* Kirsten Saylor, Gardening Matters www.gardeningmatters.org

Generous sponsors include Organic Valley and Mother Earth Gardens. At the event will be a mini-market with several vendors and organizations displaying their messages and wares. Please stop by for some bacon and lively discussion of how farmers, growers, advocates, markets and more are using social media in the vibrant world of sustainable growing.