I hope you had as much fun listening to the show today as I did hosting it! Thanks to all of my guests: Jennifer Jeanne Patterson, author of 52 Fights (thanks also to Dan at Continental Diamond for taking our picture next to all that gorgeous bling!), filmmaker/foodie Craig Sinard, and movie maven Linda Thomas.

Great callers today, too, from Brit (an actual Brit…a Liverpuddlian even!) in Litchfield, who’s been married five times and counting (she swears it’s her good humor and Estée perfume that seduces them), to Teresa who will be going to bed early rather than crying into a birdbath martini like she did last Valentine’s Day, and Bruce and Maurice who weighed in on what it takes to find and keep a mate. Congrats to Bruce on 25 years of matrimony! Most of all thanks to Terry who doesn’t want me to go dateless Tuesday night—what a sweetie (and a brave soul for calling and admitting that he is dateless too!).

Now, check out my “Heard on the show” listings in the FIND IT section of this website and get out and celebrate Valentine’s Day or UN-Valentine’s Day, as you see fit! Have a wonderful week!

X O X O,

Anne

Only after I had decided that my first show in February would focus on Black History Month did I start to wonder why we still observe such a thing in this melting pot of a country. So I asked you on the air: Is Black History Month necessary? Does it serve to remind us that black history is a vital and inseparable part of American history? Or does it relegate black history to a 28-day spotlight and underline racial divisiveness? Do we make a big deal of Black History Month so the white folks won’t feel guilty?

Your calls were insightful and much appreciated. Guest T. Mychael Rambo and I heard from listeners from Anoka to Faribault. We heard from a couple of history teachers. And we heard from callers whose accents said “first generation immigrant.” While opinions differed as to whether Black History Month has a place in our schools and our communities (most said yes, a few sided with actor Morgan Freeman and said no), the concensus was clear that Americans of all ancestries ought to be celebrated equally as contributors to our cultural cornucopia. To express your opinion, click “Add new comment” below.

After all that intensity, T. Mychael and I started talking snacks and discovered that we both secretly love Arby’s roast beef sandwiches. And those bacon- and cheese-loaded Potato Bites—yum! How convenient of them to situate a restaurant so close to the KTLK studio.

For a listing of the Black History Month programs and activities we talked about on the show, and for listings from past shows, click here.

Thursday often turns out to be my favorite night of the week because ever since college, it has felt like the beginning of the weekend. Usually I hang out at Marysburg Books Coffee Emporium & Wine Bar, where Jon de Vaal plays piano and the microphone is open to anyone who wants to sing jazz standards and showtunes.

But this particular Thursday night took on a French twist, starting with a private, curator-guided tour of The Grand Salon, the newly installed period room at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Thanks to associate curator Jason and birthday girl Amy Rolando for the honor of joining you! Gotta love 18th-century Paris….

Before leaving the MIA, I took a swing through the exhibit in honor of Gus Gustafson, who may have departed P3, but who is very much alive in the hearts of all who knew him.  read more »

Just finished this week’s show and am planning tonight’s ultra-casual wardrobe for the Theatre Unbound 24-Hour Play Project at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, followed by Minneapolis City Council member Lisa Goodman’s birthday party, a fly-by at Jitters Cafe and Martini Bar, where friends-of-friends are gathering, and finally the Funky Beat party at sculptor and eventioneer Brant Kingman’s northeast Minneapolis studio, featuring live music by Chill 7 and, at midnight, aerialist Risa Cohen, whom I saw on New Year’s Eve and can’t wait to see again.

I want to thank everyone who called the show today, especially those of you who called from the St. Paul Winter Carnival after the Grande Day Parade. We heard from the Royalty, the Klondike Kates, the Ice Sculpture event, the Snow Sculpture event, and the Vulcan Krewe. We did not hear from Mayor Chris Coleman, however, and I am a bit disappointed about that. I figure he must be a bit overwhelmed with the sheer fun of it all, given that this is his first Winter Carnival in elected office.  read more »

Wow, I’d forgotten what it’s like to give birth! All that labor and then, bloop! The baby’s out and screaming. That’s what it felt like to finally get on the air today. And now I’m on that high you get when the baby falls asleep and you think, “I did it!”

But of course the birth is just the beginning. Then you’ve got to feed, clothe and nourish the new offspring until it takes on a life of its own. For tonight, though, mom and baby are resting and we’re both doing fine.

Many thanks to funsters Gail Weber, publisher of Exploring T.O.S.C.A., and Kathy Berdan, arts and entertainment team lead at the Pioneer Press, for their midwifery today. I wish we’d had four hours instead of two.

Gratitude also to my producer, Dave Harrigan, who played excellent music, from The Cars to U2, and even Boy George, just to humor me. At 21, I’m sure he’s accustomed to being embarrassed by us mom-types. He liked my reference to Cash Only night at The Cabooze, though. I saw fists in the air on that one.  read more »

Glitzy galleries in New York, California, Arizona, take note: Judge Lynn Olson would like you to approach the bench and explain why a person has to pay more than a few hundred dollars just to hang something inspiring on the wall.

Not long retired from the Anoka County bench, Lynn has transitioned from the realm of law and order to the relative chaos of the art world by joining her husband, Frank Stone, in the gallery business. She spoke after dinner Monday evening at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis.

“I had three goals in my life,” Lynn said. “See the world. Do some good. And never do anything just for the money.”

Solo travels and a stint in the Peace Corps showed her the world. Her career in social work, then law and justice improved lives and even saved them. Now a gallery owner (which no one does for the money) she is fervently supporting local artists as well as artists from Mississippi Delta who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.

To read a Star Tribune article on the art rescue mission, click here.  read more »

I had intended to get tickets the moment I saw Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in the Minnesota Orchestra brochure I received months ago, but you know how we all get busy and forget. Then I found out that a workmate is a member of the Minnesota Chorale, which would be performing the piece otherwise known as Ode to Joy, and felt a pang of regret. Fortunately, I was able to nab two last-minute tickets for last night’s concert. My friend Katie and I made it to our seats (sorry…excuse us…horrible traffic…sorry…excuse us) by 5 minutes to 8:00.

Did I mention we were seated smack in the middle of Row 1?

I’d never sat in the first row for an orchestra concert, although I once locked eyes with the lead actor (and most gorgeous man alive, although his name escapes me) from the front row of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at a theater in Washington, D.C., back in the summer of 1980.

The benefits of Row 1: Less expensive ($40 compared to the $78 we would have paid in Row 10); “insider” feeling, including close-up view of every first-chair string player’s facial expression, and of the equally expressive jumpings and jivings of the conductor’s backside; potential dates (there were single men seated alone on either side of us, if you can assume single status by the absence of a wedding band); ease of reading program notes because of the same bright lights that enable the musicians to read their music.

The curse of Row 1: Entirely too much intimacy with the players, including the female violinist into whose crotch I was positioned to stare throughout the performance (I wasn’t dozing off…I was just keeping my eyes closed). It’s like they’re sitting across from you at the dinner table, and you feel bad taking a bite because they’re busy working. It seems disrespectful, somehow, to be privy to the mechanics of what looks like smooth operation from a distance.  read more »

I found out today that my show is not starting until Jan. 21 at the earliest, and maybe even Jan. 28. Maybe February. But y’know, I’m okay with that. Now, those of you who know me might be thinking, “Hmm, it’s uncharacteristic of Anne to be so patient. Is she on some form of medication?”

I know. It’s just that I have a good feeling about this. As if all the stars are aligned. As if everything happens for a reason.

In any case, the delay gives YOU time to join my e-mail list! Then you’ll know for sure when to start tuning your radio to FM 100.3 (updated: from 2pm to 4pm on Saturdays, at least) and when to call 651-989-5855 (-KTLK) with your arts, culture and entertainment questions and favorites.

Okay, so I had a bad hair day, but that didn’t keep me from sidling up to world-famous painter, TV/movie producer, illustrator (Cranium board game, The New Yorker), humorist, and my friend Michael’s hero Gary Baseman for a photo op at Ox-Op Gallery. After standing behind him (not a bad view, by the way) in a line that seemed unending only because he so generously adds illustrations to the books he signs, I was pleasantly surprised to see, when he turned around, that the artist is as cute as the characters he paints—and that he has no visible wounds. For some reason, I received custodianship of flexi-mascot Toby, whose little leather tummy nestled into my palm with the pleasant heft and squishiness of an orange. Part of the fun in meeting Gary (yes, we’re on a first-name basis now) was watching him display equal charm in addressing do-ragged bikers from Grumpy’s as he did in squatting down to chat with children.  read more »

Friends,

If you’re checking in to see when the show starts, relax—it’s not until next Saturday the 14th (update: 21st), as the station is still juggling producers. (Rather amazing to watch, epecially when they light ‘em on fire.)

Great crowd Thursday night at Marysburg. So much fun to see y’all and sing some tunes again after a month-long hiatus for the holidays. Of course now there’s one more reason to hang out at Washington & 3rd on Thursday nights, in addition to J. D. Hoyt’s, the Monte and the Burg—it’s The R Factor at the new Trocadero’s, just up the street. My heart is still racing a full day and a half after hotboy Emil Campbell (red suit, at right) brought that portable mic all the way into the dining room and sang to me. (Hear it? Thumpity-thump thump!) Jimmy May, I hope that photo you took turns out.  read more »