Monthly Archives: September 2006

It was a beautiful day for the annual Minnesota Orchestra concert at Lake Harriet. So beautiful that I had no issues whatsoever with turning off the Vikings game late in the third quarter to head down there a little early in the hopes of finding a good seat. The fact that the game was painfully boring also helped make that decision. I see now that we won in overtime. I’m assuming it was the most boring overtime ever in the history of football. Because it was a boring game. And we’re a boring team. Just sayin’.
Nutshell review of the concert: big sun, big crowds, big music, and big fun. (There were also big lines at the snack bar. Good thing I thought ahead and threw a few things in the backpack. Logistical genius.) Seriously, this is one of my favorite events of the summer. The crowds are large and oh-so well behaved, the people watching is great, and the program panders to those of us who know just enough about classical music to be dangerous. I have no idea if our top-flight gem of an orchestra actually enjoys playing down to us rubes, but I, for one, appreciate it.
All in all, I couldn’t script it any better.

Last Sunday’s business section featured an article on buying boxes of vegetables from local farms. It seemed like an odd time to write the article – it being the end of the season and all – but timing issues aside, it was a good introduction to the whole concept.
As you may remember, this year we signed up for a similar program. Our weekly deliveries have now transitioned from spring salad mixes and greenhouse tomatoes through the summer corn and bean and melon season. There’s always some onions or garlic or shallots and there’s always some herbs. There’s also usually beets. Lots of beets. Odd how many beets we got. Oh, and we got a lot of these little Sungold cherry tomatoes which were outrageously good and may have been my favorite item.
So how was it? Here’s my nutshell review: I’m happy with what we’re doing, but not always with what we’re getting. In other words, while I feel good about supporting a small family farmer who is struggling with a business model based on growing organic heirloom vegetables and selling them to elitists in the big city, that doesn’t mean that my weekly delivery always jives with the stuff I’d want to get. I mean good lord, we got so many of these ‘paste’ tomatoes (see pic above). And sure, they’re good, but they’re small and after 25 or 30 of them I’ve started to groan when I open the box and see them. How about a couple of nice slicers instead? Also, they were stingy with the corn. The Strib article said their box would have a dozen ears every week. We’d be lucky to get 6, and that was only for a few weeks.
I have [obviously] continued to question if it’s really “worth” the money. My nutshell review applies here as well, but I’ll add that some weeks it totally does and some weeks it totally doesn’t.
Would I do it again? Sure, we probably will next year. Would I do it from Rock Spring Farm? Eh, probably not. And so it goes. If you love your CSA, lemme know and I’ll totally look into it as a replacement.
Buying directly from farms gains appeal [strib]
Rock Spring Farm [rsfarm]
it’s like a farmer’s market in a box [doodledee]

First game over, here we go. Note that I was reading during part of the game, so it’s not like I was glued to every play. Some of this may be way off base. Except the ugly uniform conclusion, that is deadnuts on.

• Joe Sensor declared two ‘moral victories’ in the first half alone. Is that really something we should be celebrating when it’s game one and we’re playing a team like the Redskins? Call me crazy, but I’m still hoping for ‘real victories’ at this point.
• It’s early, but our billion dollar offensive line seems almost for real.
• New uniform verdict: ugly. Coaches and trainers shirt verdict: even uglier. New referee uniforms: also ugly, but not as bad. In an era of throwback obsession, the Vikes team apparel hands down corners the throwback market, only for the Arena Football League, not the NFL. All we need are zubas*. Yuck.
• It’s early, but our billion yards in first half penalties was a little discouraging. I thought Coach Brad was supposed to be all about discipline and stuff. The second half was better, but still.
• Tom Cruise likes football now?
• Chester Taylor with 30 carries in a downright gutty performance? Unexpected.
• I’m all over these long passes. First and 10, and Johnson will air one out. Exciting, right? But can BJ really throw the long ball? He had a couple back to back in the first half, both of which were ‘fun’, but they were also ‘crappy passes’. I’m torn between wanting to watch wide open flashy football and wanting to watch a team that completes a pass.
• Hey look, we’ve got a kicking game. Not you Kluwe, the other guy.
• Our defensive backfield came off good, not great. I think that means when we play a real QB, they’ll end up looking fair, not good. Ouch.

All in all not a horrible opener. Squeaking by Washington for an opening season win jives perfectly with my lowered expectations for this season.
And seriously, Skol, Vikings, Skol. Bring home the horns? Are you kidding me with that?
* – little known fact: zubas were originally made using female prison labor in Minnesota. Look it up.

Checked out Justin Roberts and his band at the Target Book Festival thing on Saturday. Lots of fun. Acoustic pop kiddie tunes. So, so, so much better than the candy sweet cartoon happy Hi-5 stuff, which drew a crowd around 5 times as large when they played right before Justin. I’m at a loss to explain that one. But hey, it made for smaller crowds at the other stuff during their set, so I’m not complaining. Enjoy it, rubes.
Another logistically flawless experience. Music, games, art projects, book readings. I didn’t take my wallet out once. Genius.