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THINGS PEOPLE SAY | Homeless Youth in Minnesota: Watch. Read. Think. Talk. by Mary Turck, TC Daily Planet • Join the discussion of homeless youth in Minnesota. Speak up, speak out, send your opinions to us.

Affordable housing: Be a part of it by Kao Kalia Yang, Hmong Today • The idea is relatively simple: you buy a home, you pay for it, and it becomes yours in time. But today’s reality is much more complicated. Many families have purchased homes that they can no longer pay for. Blue papers are plastering homes throughout St. Paul—many of these, especially in Frogtown, were owned by Hmong people. This means that there are many Hmong families without homes right now; there are many families in need of affordable housing options.

She rules the school: Minnesota’s women college presidents by Delma J. Francis, Minnesota Women’s Press • We’re average. Well, actually a tiny bit below average. Minnesota students may generally outperform the national average on test scores, but if you do the math, we’re less than average when it comes to the number of women who lead our colleges and universities. Approximately 21 percent of the leaders of our four-year colleges and universities are led by women; the national average is about 24 percent.

VISUAL ARTS | MIA exhibit opens Minnesotan minds to the many dimensions of India by Kara Nesvig, Minnesota Daily • India is an enigma of a country. It calls to mind swirls of hot pink silk, extravagant Bollywood musicals and frenetic music set to the pace of its crowded streets but it’s also a hotbed of political unrest and extreme poverty. Its clash of the beautiful and the developing make it as compelling as its history would suggest.

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ARTS ORBIT | The Swedish experience • by Jay Gabler • 11/22/08 • As shamefully tokenistic national stereotypes go, well, you could do worse than being infamous for sexiness. Thus the poster for The Swedish Experience, a film collection screening today and tomorrow at the doomed Oak Street Cinema.

ENGAGE MN | Hajj Pilgrims: Know Your Rights, Responsibilities as Airline Passengers by Asma Lori Saroya, 11/20/08 • A Muslim family was detained at the MSP airport on their way home from a week-long vacation in Europe. They were told the search was “random” although others who were also detained were either of South Asian or Arab descent.

HISPANIC FANATIC | Cousin #2: Escape and rebuilding a life by Daniel Cubias • 11/20/08 • The emerald hue of his eyes is freakishly rare, especially for a Latino. Our grandmother teased him when he was a child, saying that he had stolen the eyes of the cat.

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VOICES | A Somali Perspective: Brian Coyle Center Controversy by Wali Hassan, Mshale • As America celebrates President-Elect Barack Obama’s historic win, the Somali community in Minnesota is forced to deal with negative press brought about by one of their own. On Election Day, November 4th, stories about Somali volunteers allegedly influencing voters at the polling stations began to appear in the press.

Community Earth Councils launched in Minneapolis by Karen Engelsen, TC Daily Planet • On November 12, 200 Elders (50+) and Youngers (16-28) from around the metro area gathered in the Great Hall of Coffman Union to launch an intergenerational community-building movement, an event held in conjunction with the Positive Aging Conference at the University of Minnesota. Participants gathered to set up Community Earth Councils grouped by location in the metro area, and began to assess local needs, envisioning how to heal, steward, and sustain the earth.

Hawkinson Peace Awards honor local activists by Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet • Rhoda Gilman, Betsy Raasch-Gilman and Arvid “Bud” Dixen received honorary awards and twenty students received scholarships totaling $36,000 from the Hawkinson Foundation November 16, honoring their commitment to peace and justice. The foundation was created in honor of Reverend Vincent L. Hawkinson, a lifelong advocate for peace and justice.

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ARTS ORBIT | The Daily Planet swears off meth (and crack, while we’re at it) by Jay Gabler • I blame myself. It all started with my review of Jeune Lune’s The Deception, which I thought I was being real clever by likening to “Dangerous Liaisons on crystal meth.” But that was just the beginning.

Refugee Winter Clothing Drive at Downtown Bars This Weekend by Erica Mauter • Several downtown establishments — The Lounge, ENVY, AQUA, drink, and Spin — are participating in a winter clothing drive for refugees, sponsored by the International Institute of Minnesota. Many refugees are spending their first winter in Minnesota and are quite possibly unprepared for it.

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See latest recount update in column 3.

NEWS YOU CAN USE | Giving thanks and giving back
by Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet
This Thanksgiving, families throughout the Twin Cities will gather at the table and be thankful for what they have, despite the rough economic climate. But Thanksgiving can also be a time for people to help those less fortunate themselves: here is a list of ways you can help on Thanksgiving Day and beyond.

MOVIES | Let the Right One In: Classic horror, minus the naked coeds
by Jim Brunzell III, TC Daily Planet
Let The Right One In does have many spooks and surprises, but at its core, the film is a love story that captures all the desperation, isolation, and emotional intensity of being a preteen.

Musicians telling it like it is

MUSIC | “My guitar’s an asshole!”: Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs at the Entry
by Cyn Collins, TC Daily Planet
One of the first songs, the lively “Ain’t Nobody Gonna Love Me Like the Devil Do,” was a seeming companion to a later number, “Jesus Doesn’t Love Me Anymore.” Both were performed in a folky, sing-songy fashion—the latter sounded like the sequel to “Jesus Loves Me” that no one ever taught us as children. Every good country noir show needs a foot-stompin’ gospel song, and accordingly there was “Getting High For Jesus (‘Cause He Got Low for Me).”

MUSIC | Bill Mike on music and money: “Same shit, different system”
by Rich Horton, Rift Magazine
“Most musicians are susceptible to giving in and shelling out money at the risk of wanting to be known. Basically, you are contributing to the ‘artists get paid last’ system that’s been set up since rock ‘n’ roll began in the 1950s.”

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BLOG OF THE MODERATE LEFT | Defanging Holy Joe
By Jeff Fecke • Like most Democrats, I was gleeful after the Dems took a big lead in the Senate. Sure, part of that was about getting our agenda pushed through, but mostly I was happy because it meant that defenestrated Sen. Joe Lieberman, Joe-Conn., would soon be out of a job. His gavel would be stripped, his epaulettes ripped from his shoulders, and he’d be sent out of the Democratic caucus into the cold twilight of the GOP caucus, where he’d have to put up with idiots like Tom Coburn. It would be glorious.

LIFE OF CYN | That barista totally wants your junk.
Dear Cyn, It seems like every coffee shop in town has taped up a copy of that Onion article headlined SOURCES: BARISTA NOT ACTUALLY FLIRTING WITH YOU. Ha ha, I get it. But I know from my friends who’ve worked as baristas that romances actually do flower across the counter! How am I supposed to know when that barista is flirting with me? And how can I communicate interest without risking months of 8 a.m. awkwardness? Thanks— Hopped-Up Homegirl

ARTS ORBIT | Weekend what’s what 11/20-11/23: Sizzle and shake
by l’etoile magazine staff • It might be chillin’ outside, but Minnesotans are dead set on keeping things hot and heavy. You can work up a sweat at any number of smokin’ DJ nights, or ignite your flame at a passion-themed art show. It’s also the first real mitten-worthy weekend, so bust out your most stylish winter-wear and keep your sexy self insulated—at least until you hit the dance floor! MORE »

THEATER | The complicated visions of Aditi Kapil by Dwight Hobbes, TC Daily Planet • Aditi Kapil is one of the finest comedic talents ever to see a Twin Cities stage. Too bad she’s squandered her gift by deciding to write and direct in addition to acting. That decision has led to Kapil’s play Love Person being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Can we ‘presume’ the Star Tribune prefers Coleman over Franken? by Paul Schmelzer, Minnesota Independent • Does the Star Tribune have it in for U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken? A look at the paper’s coverage over the past few weeks might suggest as much.

Hard times call for rationalizing resources and state policies by Lee Egerstrom, Minnesota 2020 • Announcements from Minnesota education officials and state agencies this fall show that the state isn’t just circling the wagons or going into full retreat from economic development efforts despite the weak state, national and now global economies.

SLIDESHOW | Old Friary by Jon Behm, TC Daily Planet
The Old Friary adjacent to Guardian Angels Church in Chaska is, at 140 years old, one of the oldest buildings in Minnesota. On Saturdays in November, the church is opening the Friary for public tours.

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Food and Human Rights by Ben Lilliston, 11/14/08 • How would our global food system be different if we started with a human rights perspective that guarantees everyone the right to adequate food? This is the fundamental question asked by IATP’s Carin Smaller and Sophia Murphy in a new paper, Bridging the Divide: a human rights vision for global food trade.

Muy Fabuloso by Daniel Cubias • 11/16/08 • Let me give you a warning. If you should ever walk down the street of a major American city with my wife, you should not (by her own admission) listen to her she asks the innocuous question, “What’s over there?” I speak from experience. Her curiosity about hidden doors and blinking marquees has mistakenly led us into shady dives from coast to coast (imagine my surprise at walking into an S&M bar in Hollywood).

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DINING | Eat, drink and be local: The Caux Culinary Challenge
by Jeremy Iggers, Secrets of the City
If you have $125 left in your 401k, I can think of at least three good reasons why you should splurge on a ticket to the Caux Culinary Challenge, a gastronomic extravaganza next Tuesday evening (November 18) from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Minneapolis Club, 729 2nd Ave. S., Minneapolis.

How Obama won
by Charles Hallman, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
The way Sen. Barack Obama ran his campaign was thoroughly discussed in a series of panel discussions and other presentations at “The Obama Effect” conference held October 23-25 at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

New from the University of Minnesota Press

BOOKS | A fish-stocked tome fit for the ice shanty’s coffee table
by John Hierlinger, TC Daily Planet
With illustrator Joseph Tomelleri, Tom Dickson has created a beautiful, informative book on the many varieties of fish found in Minnesota’s ponds, rivers, and 10,000 lakes. The Great Minnesota Fish Book is a resource for the avid fisherperson or for the curious browser. Dickson doesn’t miss a fish, providing insight on more than 150 species: he devotes as much attention to the pirate perch as to Minnesota’s state fish the walleye (Sander Vitreus).

BOOKS | Was spirit photographer William Mumler a humbug?
by Melissa Slachetka, TC Daily Planet
Photographing the spirits of the dead made William Mumler famous from 1862 until 1869. It also got him in trouble with the law. Louis Kaplan tells this sensational story in The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer.

SLIDESHOW | Spirit photography
by William Mumler
Are these the spirits of the dead, captured in 19th century photographs? Take a look and decide for yourself.

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HISPANIC FANATIC | Now what happens? Latinos and Obama, post-election
by Daniel Cubias • Can he transform “diversity,” Cinderella style, into a beautiful princess, instead of leaving it to toil in the social conservatives’ kitchen?

BLOG OF THE MODERATE LEFT | SPAM in the place where you live
by Jeff Fecke • America’s loss is Austin, Minnesota’s gain. As the economy plunges into the Great Recession, sales of what I affectionately refer to as the unofficial pre-packaged meatlike substance of the State of Minnesota are way, way up.

ARTS ORBIT | Legacy Amendment: Where will the money go?
by Alan Berks • The Legacy Amendment got more votes in Minnesota than Barack Obama. It actually got more votes than any person or initiative has ever gotten in the history of the state—more than Walter Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, etc. Beware, however, that nowhere in the amendment does it specifically say how the 19% of the sales tax money dedicated to arts and culture will be divided. In theory, it could all go to a sculptor of decoy ducks in Bemidji. MORE »

VISUAL ARTS | A primer on Minnesota cartoonists by Britt Aamodt, mnartists.org • A proverbial flood of attention is being lavished on an art form that, for far too long, has languished in the sock drawer of American lowbrow entertainments, along with the Hustler magazine and cigarettes you bought at recess and didn’t want Mom to find. Perhaps it’s in this spirit of full disclosure that the Minnesota Museum of American Art presents a new exhibition, Hot Ink: Comic Art in Minnesota: “Hey, Ma, I’ve got a drawer full of comics, and I like ‘em.”

U lobbyists: influence for hire by Jon Collins and Karlee Weinmann, Minnesota Daily • Donna Peterson was plucked from her seat in the Minnesota Senate in 1990 to serve as the associate vice president of the University of Minnesota’s Government and Community Relations, the department that handles lobbying efforts.

SLIDESHOW | Jeune Lune Rummage Sale by Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet • The Theatre de la Jeune Lune recently held a rummage sale to liquidate 30 years of stage props and other supplies.

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ARTS ORBIT | John Munger is dance by Matt Peiken • A researcher for Dance USA by day, John Munger has been producing his own dance works and participating in the dances of others locally since the 1970s. This past Wednesday, as part of his occasional series at the Bryant-Lake Bowl, Munger invited a handful of other local dance-makers to perform an evening of solos.

FROM THE SOAPBOX | One Myth About Taxes by Michael Rodning Bash • 11/8/08 • Throughout the closing days of this grueling campaign season it was inevitable that one side would start hammering away on taxes, taxes and more taxes. At the national level, Senator McCain claimed that Senator Obama’s plan to raise taxes on wealthier individuals amounted to “redistributionism” (as far as I know, a new word in our political lexicon) and more pointedly accused the Democrat of “socialism,” as if a system of progressive taxation were the equivalent of collectivized industry and agriculture. Here in Minnesota, the Republicans were trumpeting over and over that DFL candidates were all for taxes, taxes and more taxes (see for example, Erik Paulson’s ads in his race against Ashwin Madia).

BLOG OF THE MODERATE LEFT | Do as I say (and ignore what I’ve done): Tim Pawlenty reinventing himself by Jeff Fecke • My governor, Tim Pawlenty, has been a regular media gadfly during the Republican Governors’ Association meetings. He’s had the combover line and the less ideology, more doing line, and he let loose with a rebuke to Sarah Palin, saying that “Drill, baby, drill” was just a slogan. If you didn’t know anything about Minnesota’s governor, you might think he was a decent, pragmatic guy who was willing to stand up to his party’s orthodoxy.

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MOVIES | British Television Advertising Awards bring whimsy to the Walker by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet • Here is a medium where the hands of the creators have virtually no autonomy from the hands holding the purse strings, and yet the ads on display demonstrate far more genuine imagination than most “independent” films. Maybe we’d have more stimulating theatrical fare if we just turned, say, 20th Century Fox over to Verizon and told them to go ahead and make two-hour commercials for family calling plans.

How Obama won by Charles Hallman, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder • The way Sen. Barack Obama ran his campaign was thoroughly discussed in a series of panel discussions and other presentations at “The Obama Effect” conference held October 23-25 at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Chuck Solberg’s double life by Judy Woodward, The Park Bugle • Most people are lucky if they find one thing in life they enjoy and can get paid to do.

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ARTS ORBIT | Yeah. Can I get a large baked potato pizza, an order of wings, and some independent hip-hop? by Jay Gabler • Haters who deride Rhymesayers hip-hop as sanitized crap for wealthy, overeducated yuppies will feel wickedly vindicated by this instance of urban synergy: From this Sunday, November 16, through the following Sunday, November 23, every delivery from the Pizza Lucé locations in St. Paul and Uptown Minneapolis will include a teaser CD featuring three tracks from the upcoming eponymous album by Heiruspecs.

CABBAGES AND KINGS | Will tax breaks for green investment bring green jobs? by Charlie Quimby, Growth & Justice • 11/12/08 • Warmed-over, renamed “Green JOBZ” won’t do the job for green economy.

BLOG OF THE MODERATE LEFT | The pause that refreshes: Pondering space travel and drinking water by Jeff Fecke • 11/15/08 • I’ve been a space geek since I was roughly four, and while we don’t have the moon bases, space habitats, and manned Mars missions I was promised back in 1978, we’ve finally started making some nice incremental improvements in space technology of late, primarily related to the impending retirement of the space shuttle fleet, which were far more expensive and far less useful than originally advertised, and tragically much less reliable. The Ares/Orion pairing should be, if nothing else, far safer than the shuttle fleet, and while Orion capsules are only expected to be reusable up to ten times, they should be less expensive to maintain than the shuttles, which are incredibly fragile.

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by Jeff Fecke • 11/15/08 • I’ve been a space geek since I was roughly four, and while we don’t have the moon bases, space habitats, and manned Mars missions I was promised back in 1978, we’ve finally started making some nice incremental improvements in space technology of late, primarily related to the impending retirement of the space shuttle fleet, which were far more expensive and far less useful than originally advertised, and tragically much less reliable.