Editorial

One of my guilty pleasures is to click on the “BUZZR” game show network when I see a vintage show. Try turning away from a black and white edition of “What’s My Line?” when Johnny Carson or Debbie Reynolds are on the panel or Bette Davis, Frank Lloyd Wright or Charlton Heston are contestants? Talk about timeless!

And I can’t look away from the advertisements which look as primitive as a toddler’s first painting. Suave shampoo portrayed as an elite Parisian delight. Did they really have the same Suave brand 70 years ago? (Yes.) Or Kellogg’s Corn Flakes which would sit untouched and unopened...

All in all, June 19th, 1954, was a crazy day. Maybe surreal was a better word. A regular at the Brass Rail bar on Hennepin sauntered outside and had to do a double take at the passing rail car. Could it be? That sure looked like Hubert Humphrey, our famous senator wearing a Twin Cities Rapid Transit (TCRT) motorman’s cap and driving the eight carriage Oak-Harriet street car toward St. Paul. And as the trailing cars swoosh past, they are filled with well-dressed civic leaders dining on chicken salad over white table cloth tables. The bar patron shook his head and darted back...

According to the local CBS affiliate, the circus known as the Donald Trump presidential campaign comes to our home state in less than two weeks. On August 19, Trump will hold a "major fundraiser" with tickets going for up to $100k a piece. Trump was at a rally in Portland, Maine this past Friday -- the Republican nominee was introduced by the oft-controversial Republican Governor of Maine Paul Lepage and got right to work, touching on his usual checklist of all of...

It was almost midnight September 2nd as thousands of Gopher football fans streamed to the Green Line rail platforms. Metro Transit lined up trains like cord wood. Not that the riders minded the short wait. An orange crescent moon presided over a glorious summer night and temps were still in the mid-seventies. Indeed, the sound of the train horns could easily lead the mind to wander and reminisce: Were we dreaming or did this scene happen before? There certainly were a lot of clues to think it had.

1. Echoes of Twin City Rapid Transit (TCRT)

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It's time to bring country music back to the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The stage has most recently filled by some of pop music's biggest stars such Bruno Mars, Beyonce, and Katy Perry most recently. It's also been filled by legends like Madonna and Bruce Springsteen. But it's time to bring the twang back. There are many ways to go about it. They can either get one main performer with the possibility of having a few guests stop by, or have package deal to better represent the genre. Right now one of the best bets would be Luke Bryan. The man knows how to entertain, and has...

With Christmas around the corner, it is painstakingly obvious how commercialized our values have become. Certainly our nation is a country of many nationalities and religious backgrounds with a seemingly never-ending controversy over the labeling of holidays like Christmas or Easter, as it forcibly imposes one religion upon another. However, it seems for many the Christmas tradition has become an automatic and passing action of the year. It has become standard to see Santa characters and lights adorning homes and shopping malls before Halloween, and by Thanksgiving, strategies have been drawn for the Black Friday...

Many of us know the story. College was supposed to be an opportunity for folks to better their situations. Instead, rising levels of student loan debt and a shortage of good jobs make a four year education more of a financial burden than the fulfillment of "The American Dream." Many parents cannot save up the astronomical sums colleges charge in tuition, and the FAFSA “expected family contributions” often add insult to injury. Enter, high interest government student loans. Enter, $60,000+ worth of debt for an underemployed new graduate to pay. It’s a tough problem, and everyone, from politicians to the colleges themselves, is trying to make changes for the better. ...

When it comes to higher education, it seems like all we hear about is the rising cost of tuition -- in today’s economy paying for college can be extremely difficult and expensive. Most students are forced to take out thousands of dollars in loans to help offset the cost of college while others skip secondary school all together. Although some students take on part-time and full-time jobs while in school, there are others who aren’t able to work. Not having a steady income in school can be hard, hence the term “starving students.” As a college student, I know the struggle of being broke all too well -- but my struggle in college has...

There are worse feelings than finding out that special someone doesn't share the same romantic feelings for you, but it's still not a great feeling. And having it happen to you multiple times can hurt your confidence as well, but it's not the end of the world. This revelation could lead you to either sever ties with this person or begin a very meaningful friendship. The meaningful friendship route is referred to as the "friend zone," a term that has generated a ton of negativity in American culture. The truth is that this sort of friendship can actually turn into something very positive. It can be positive, because you've reached a certain level of friendship where there's a good chance you'll be able to tell each other practically anything, and somewhere in that pile of everything...