Move Your Feet And Feel United

Minor league baseball has a long history of promotional gimmicks to draw crowds, and this past summer the The St. Paul Saints came up with a doozie: The Larry Craig bobblefoot doll (as opposed to a bobblehead).
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For those of you who may not remember, Larry Craig is the senator from Idaho who was arrested at the MSP airport for soliciting sex from an undercover officer in the bathroom. The officer said that Mr. Craig tapped his foot in the direction of the officer's stall as a signal. Craig said that he was sitting with a wide stance. Whatever that means?
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The senator was arrested for solicitation of lewd conduct. Apparently, public restrooms are the bathhouses of the 2000's. I'm not really sure how his actions were deemed solicitation, or even why that would be a crime (no activity actually took place). Needless to say, the man was humiliated and proceeded to resign from office. He then changed his mind and fulfilled his term, but he did not run for re-election.
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So, in commemoration of this momentous event in the MSP area, The Saints came up with the bobblefoot doll. This was given away at the May 25, 2008 game. Unfortunately, I was not in attendance, but it has now made me a fan of the Saints.
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Here's to using a narrow stance and not tapping your feet. Otherwise, you may get reamed by the bathroom gestapo.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

The I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed in August 2007 killing 13 people, and effectively shutting down a major traffic artery through the city. A friend from St. Louis had been working in the area at the time, and she was only a few miles on her way toward the bridge when it collapsed. MNDOT immediately began rebuilding, and the project was completed while I was working in the area.
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This is the view from the southbound lanes where the interstate was closed at the bridge.
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This view is passing next to the new bridge construction from the 10th Avenue bridge. This photo was taken in late April/early May 2008, and the two spans of the bridge are close to being connected.
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By mid-summer, the spans were connected, then the paving and finishing touches were started. This is the view from the pedestrian bridge at St. Anthony Falls at the lock & dam, just north of the new bridge.
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The new bridge opened to traffic on Sept. 18, 2008, one day less than one year from the time construction began.
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The design and construction of the new bridge is considered an engineering marvel. Even so, I still wondered if it would hold as I drove across for the first time, but even my mom should feel comfortable driving across this bridge. The Poplar Street Bridge in St. Louis is a different matter, altogether.

"The Poplar Street Bridge in St. Louis is a different matter."

Microphone swiftness is my business

This is the house that Prince built. This is Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, MN. This was Prince's recording complex (he is originally from Brooklyn Center, MN), until he closed it in '96 and moved to LA. He also ran an independent label and movie studio out of here, too.
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Some of the artists that passed through these gates and recorded here:

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The Time, Sheila E, The Family, Mavis Staples, George Clinton, and Carmen Electra.
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Let's take a plane to Saint Paul

I really didn't spend much time in St. Paul last year. Here are a few pics from downtown.
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They have done a nice job developing the river front (on the Mississippi River, downstream from Minneapolis). St. Paul has a really nice riverwalk, where Minneapolis is mostly on bluffs.
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Charles Schulz is from St. Paul, but I didn't make it to the Peanuts museum. They do have statues of different characters around town, and this one is in the Italian neighborhood.
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This is the Xcel Center; home of the Minnesota Wild (NHL). It is the same place that Barack Obama unofficially accepted the Democratic nomination, and it was also the location of the Republican National Convention back in September.
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You're gonna make it after all

Here are some photos around downtown Minneapolis. These were taken sometime over the summer.
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The Frank Gehry designed Weisman Art Museum on the University of Minnesota's campus.
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The lock & dam at St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River.
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The Guthrie Center.
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The Mill City Museum is housed in a flour mill that blew up several years ago.
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The evil Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

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I can't figure out the meaning of this public sculpture outside the U.S. Federal Courthouse.

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The Basilica of Saint Mary - America's first basilica.

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The view from Loring Park.

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The Walker Art Center.

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The Mary Tyler Moore statue in front of Macy's on Nicolette Mall.

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The Target Center - home of the Timberwolves.

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Apparently, the nexus of the universe is in Minneapolis; not in New York.

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A view of part of the 23 miles of skywalk throughout downtown Minneapolis.

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