Minneapolis' Brass Rail Bar (in that old, narrow building on Hennepin Avenue that looks like it's about to cave in out itself) makes an appearance in the liner notes of the new Okkervil River record. So does the Crystal Corner Bar in Madison, Wis (where I saw Rob Krieger of the Doors perform when I was sixteen). Okkervil River is not a MPLS band, they're from Austin, Tex. When I first breezed through the liner notes, I assumed that the photos were of Austin. But what do I know? The last song on the record also references a Washington Avenue bridge (and, actually, the Brass Rail).

I find myself yelling at motorists whenever I walk around uptown. I don't know if this is a sympton of road rage, a personality flaw, or a normal human reaction-called fear-to being in the path of an accelerating two-ton vehicle. Last week, I yelled at an entire family as I crossed Lagoon. It was a mom and three kids, and they turned onto Lagoon as I was trying to cross. All their windows were down, and the kids stared up at me as I said, "I really appreciate this!" And I thought, what's the hurry? I'm the one walking. You're traveling at 30 mph, and you don't even have to stand up to do it. Why not hold on a second so I can get across the street safely? But nope, I was duly ignored. And recently I yelled at a guy who was driving in the bike lane downtown on Hennepin Avenue (not the first time I've see this). I was stopped on my bike at a stop light, and when I looked behind me there was a guy in a purple trans-am, windows down, his newly implanted hair strands undulating in the breeze, and totally happy with himself for taking advantage of this extra lane that other drivers seemed oblivious to. I said, "hey, this is the bike lane!" and he ignored me. We met up again a block later at the next stop light. By this time he'd moved over to the bus lane (a single lane buses use to travel in the opposite direction). I pedaled next to him, and told him he was in the wrong lane. Of course he knew he was in the wrong lane, and continued to ignore me. I repeated myself many times: "Yo, man, that lane is not for cars." As the light changed he turned to me and said, "Give it a break." I'm not sure what I hoped to accomplish by giving him a hard time, except to let him know I was mad that he was making my life a little harder. Maybe if he'd apologized or hadn't been driving the purple trans am (too fucking audacious, it even sparkled like motorcycle helmets from the 70's), I would've been more forgiving. I felt like he was infringing upon my right to bike safely in downtown Minneapolis. As I pedaled away, I uttered the requisite "fuck you." I didn't feel totally satisfied with this exchange. I'd been happy and now I was mad. But then, a moment later, I passed a cop car. I pointed back at the lane offender, still in the bus lane. I don't necessarily like siccing the cops on people, but I couldn't help myself. "We see him," the cop behind the wheel said (he probably saw the guy the whole time he'd been stopped at the light. And probably the guy had seen the cops the whole time, too). Ultimately, I'd rather not exchange words with motorists. It's not entirely civil. And how long until someone gets out of his (or her?) car and beats me up?

What you doin' up here walking?

Here's a picture of the pedestrian bridge that crosses over 94. With our skyline in the background. I have a problem with I-94. I know it's convenient and easy, but isn't there something a little insane about a freeway in the middle of town? Who's idea was this? Probably the same guy who decided to scrap the street cars. Robert Moses, perhaps? There's a poem by John Ashberry on this bridge, which is a nice (and surprising) touch. But the poem doesn't change the fact that, considering the size and ferocity of the roadway below, the pedestrian bridge seems like an after thought. Instead of the half coherent words of John Ashberry, a message like: "Sucka! What you doin' up here walking for?" would probably be more appropriate. I have a crazy dream. I'd like to see the pedestrian become the basic unit of the Twin Cities and not the automobile.

This Could Be The Middle of Nowhere

This is a signature Minneapolis move. Obviously this used to be a fast food joint. Now it's Uptown's premier breakfast joint. There's a thai place down the street that's done the same thing. It's kind of ridiculous. But I like it. And isn't it cheaper to slap on a new coat of paint, block off the old drive-thru, and stick up a new sign then to tear the whole thing down and start over? Anyway, I'm not complaining. I've decided to appreciate Minneapolis's lack of refinement. It's like admitting that you prefer Aerosmith over the Rolling Stones. You understand that the Roling Stones have put out some rock n' roll masterpieces (every album, really, from '68 to '81), but you just find Permanent Vacation to be a really, really enjoyable record (this isn't a perfect analogy, but I'm going to stick with it). That's how I feel about Minneapolis. It's no masterpiece but I still like it. It's an enjoyable place to be. Right? Also, why aren't there any skyscrapers in Uptown?

Last night I watched a documentary called Word Play, about crossword puzzles and about the man, Will Shortz, who edits them for the NY Times. The guys in the movie could finish a puzzle in two minutes. Of course I couldn't even wait for the movie to finish before I ran to the table in the dinning room where the Sunday Times was scattred, looking for the crossword puzzle. I Couldn't come close to finishing it. I'm not a person who is naturally inclined to do puzzles. I think I lack a certain amount of curiousity. I spent about 45 minutes working on the puzzle today (Monday is the easiest day). I eventually decided that I didn't need to (or, just couldn't) fill in every box. It looked so easy in the movies.

Biking in MPLS

What would happen if MPLS had more official bike lanes? There's the Greenway, which is great as long as you're going East to West. But there aren't very many places that people can bike safely and comfortably. It's asually a harrowing experience. At times, death-defying. The nice thing about bike paths-the Greenway, for instance-is that though you must be aware and attentive, you don't have to be unrelentlessly aggressive. If I rode my bike as casually as the average car driver, I'd be dead by now. This isn't entirely the fault of the driver (except for the fact that he or she chose to take the car). Bikers don't share the road with cars, they bike on the street and hope for the best. There are arrows on Bryant Avenue (that remind me of the speed boosters from the old Nintendo game Excite Bike) and a lame reminder to "share the road with bikes." There's a bike lane downtown along Hennepin Avenue which bizarrely disappears around 12th Street. But no serious, efficient lanes for a person who'd like to use his or her bike as a means of cheap transportation. Holland, of course, is famous for its bikes. There's the sidewalk, there's the street for cars and then there's a separately paved lane for bikes. And the NY Times recently reported on a plan in Paris to reduce car congestion with self-service bicycle docking stations and more cycling paths. Maybe we could take bicycling more seriously in Minneapolis? As stated in the NY Times article, "'This is about revolutionizing urban culture,' said Pierre Aidenbaum, mayor of Paris's trendy third district, which opened 15 docking stations on Sunday. 'For a long time cars were associated with freedom of movement and flexibility. What we want to show people is that in many ways bicycles fulfill this role much more today.'" We don't necessarily have to do anything revolutionary, but Minneapolis is pretty flat, with nice straight roads. Whenever I'm on my bike I think, Minneapolis would be an ideal city for getting around by bike if it weren't for all the cars.

Last day in New York. Yesterday was a busy tourist day for me. So far I've had some lazy days in Brooklyn. Going to the coffee shop downstairs, going to the soccer field for quesadillas, drinking coffee at the soap shop. But yesterday I went into the city and wore myself out. I had a double cheeeseburger and a single scoop of frozen custard at the Shake Shake in Madison Square park for breakfast, I picked up a couple magazines from B & N at Union Square (Zoetrope's All Story and the Atlantic summer fiction issue). Browsed the Virgin Mega store for a while. Then walked down Broadway to Other Music and picked up Jaylib's Sound Champion, the Elvis Perkins record (which I haven't listened to yet) and, for my younger sister, a nine minute ep by Vampire Weekend. I went to see Rescue Dawn, walked around SoHo, drank a cup of coffee in Washington Square Park, and finally ate dinner at a fish and chips place on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. I did a bunch of other stuff, too. At the end of the day, though, I felt like the whole point of the outing was just to look at girls.