Bus Tales

At Anne's suggestion, I submitted a story to a relatively new website called Bus Tales. In the vein of Overheard in Minneapolis, it's a place where people can post about experiences they've had on Metro Transit buses.

Most of you have heard this story before, but if you want to see it up in lights, you can check it out: Do You Know Her? It's worth it just to see how great the labels are for my post.

I submitted another story and have a few more planned, so stay tuned.

W(t)F

As most of you know, I loathe Wells Fargo. I bank there, because it's the only one that allows me to do all my transactions at SuperAmerica ATMs. Other than this unbeatable convenience, WF is evil. They have caused me all manner of problems--too numerous to count, really. Raising the minimum balance without notice then charging ridiculous fees, having an annoying computer call to verify charges every time I buy a plane ticket and blocking the transaction altogether if I buy from nwa.com, plus all the horrors of the phone bank. I realize it's my own damn fault for not changing banks, but I want to complain anyway.

Oh, and to top it off they're pretty much the number one predatory lender in America. (Plus they're snapping up yummy subprime mortgages at low rates as the less successful subprime lenders go under.)

But this is my favorite. Today I got a letter saying they have put a recent deposit on hold because: (1) doubt as to whether the check will be paid by the institution on which it is drawn, (2) length of time the account has been open, or (3) frequency of overdrafts or returned checks on the account. Yeah, so this check is drawn on the State of Minnesota (I can personally vouch for the fact that MN is good for it), deposited to a savings account opened in the early 90's, from which there have been (by dint of being a savings account) a total of zero overdrafts and returned checks.

Good work, team.

Thank you, Al Gore!

Who doesn't love a little time-wasting on the internet? In honor of a completely useless evening of television, junk food, and internet surfing, I bring you links from websites I have recently discovered.

Urban Dictionary
A very handy slang wiktionary. Harkens back to my nerdy linguistics major friends talking about whether dictionaries would move toward a more organic view of new word development. I'd say that ship has sailed, no?

Twin Cities Green Guide
Just like it sounds--help being more green. So your liberal alma mater doesn't disown you.

Food Network
Paul will laugh if he sees this on here because I never cook. But I am infatuated with this website. Whoever designed it should win an award. It is perfectly designed to answer the overwhelmingly broad question, "what should I make?" by giving you a million different ways to wander your way to a recipe.

Vacation in MSP

Paul and I needed some quality time together but didn't want the hassle of leaving town. So taking a tip from friends Britta and Matt, we vacationed in good ol' MSP. Many forces conspired against us--rainy weather, rampant road closures, and even a funeral--but we still managed to enjoy a nice vacation.

Friday we had dinner at the duplex. I'm pretty sure it used to be the coffee shop Pandora's Box. They make an f'ing good pork loin and the mixed green salad was excellent. Even a state senator sighting couldn't ruin the ambiance.

photo courtesy of theduplex

Saturday we toured the James J. Hill House in St. Paul. Mr. Hill had $63 million when he died in 1916 so you can imagine how amazing his house is. Highlights: an absolutely beautiful organ, gorgeous carved wood on about every surface, some seriously fine Tiffany productions, and lots of early 19th century gadgetry.

photo courtesy of MN Historical Society

Sunday we saw the Picasso and American Art exhibit at the Walker. When you go, because you must--even the Walker doesn't get shows like this every day--I recommend the free iPod audio guide instead of the tour.

photo courtesy of Wet Paint

That certain je ne sais quoi

I thought this commentary about the Minnesotan response to the bridge disaster was really well done. Starting with a quote from The Abyss, how could you go wrong?

Seriously, though, I don't think we're as idyllic as all that, but there is something indescribable about this place and its inhabitants. People try--and frequently fail--to capture it properly. I think this commentary comes closer than most to getting it right.

Photo courtesy of Letterboxing Minnesota

Follower

First my grandmother beat me to the internet--the first time I googled myself there was nary a mention of me, but there was a full color article in the Wheaton College, Mass, online newsletter about my grandmother.

Then my mother beat me to the op-ed page. I have written letter after letter to the editor, but nary a one has made the paper. Mom had a letter published in the Charleston Post and Courier last week. (They butchered her letter, as is normally the case with letters to the editor, but it's still pretty cool. Plus she's totally right--you would be aghast at the lack of infrastructure in her county.)

I have now made it to the internet, but still yearn for the day one of my highly intelligent and very timely letters will make it into the Strib.

Target audience?

While doing some very serious online research prompted by Anne's post about tupperware, I came upon this:

The
Gladware
Interlocker
Game

How much do you think Glad paid the makers of Bejeweled to produce this little gem? When it comes out of beta I would suggest less obnoxious music.

Also, isn't it just like humans to create such a boundless invention as the internet and then fill it with crap like a tupperware game?

The story

Tonight while noodling my way through St. Paul to avoid the now ever-present traffic on 280, I heard a really interesting show on MPR. It's called The Story, and features lengthy interviews with regular folks.

Yup, that's it. Regular folks...telling their stories. According to its website, the show tries to get at major topics of the day--like Iraq, health care, and politics--by letting individual soldiers, doctors, and voters talk about their lives. They intentionally do not interview think tank people, market analysts, or politicians.

While listening to a woman named Nancy talk about growing up in the family business, I realized how truly disenchanted I am with mainstream news. Perhaps finally disenchanted enough to seek out alternatives. I just feel like there is a gaping hole--so much beneath the surface of every issue that doesn't come out in most news coverage. I finally understand why my dad has turned to current event blogs and cannot fathom why I still rely mostly on newspapers. But I find those blogs are often full of even less-informed punditry than the mainstream media stories. A recent FutureTense story got me thinking that citizen journalism may meet my needs more. The brief story highlighted how actively citizen journalists are covering the bridge collapse, and it rang very true. I had already turned to citizen journalists to fill in the gaps in news coverage--by searching youtube videos and reading personal blogs.

Seeking out more individual stories/citizen journalism could help with one of my main beefs about mainstream media. Most news outlets are under such pressure to get stories out quickly, those stories end up developing on air or in print. So the facts seem to change from moment to moment, making the final version much less credible. Citizen journalism and individual stories seem like better ways to fill the need for immediate information. Since they're obviously and intentionally subjective, they don't need revision like factual news stories. People's own experiences and initial interpretations will still be valid regardless of the facts uncovered later.

So (long-winded, wandering) story short: I obviously need newspapers for the basic facts, but I think I'll try out this world of citizen journalism and individual stories to see if it fills the gaping hole left by mainstream media--particularly while waiting for regular news outlets to get their stories straight after major events.