Keep citizen journalism alive!
Movie Corner: Last Night in Soho
(2021)
★★★★★
By HOWARD MCQUITTER II
Last Night in Soho to its credit is quite spellbinding, thanks in large part to cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung (who also is the cinematographer with director Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead [2004]and Hot Fuzz [2007]. What director Edgar Wright does convincingly well is how he segues genres, drama, horror and mystery. Adding to this fascinating film is a tribute to many 1960s rock/R&B songs. (The title for Last Night in Soho is a reference to a 1960s rock band, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich.)
The story begins with a young woman, Eloise (Thomasin McKenkie from JoJo Rabbit), with big aspirations to go London to be a fashion designer but not without a warning about moving to the big city from Peggy (Rita Tushingham). Eloise loves 60s music and styles. Her first nights are in the dorm with some other students who love to party and go to bars. She feels out of place but she does go to the bars with them. Eloise, not satisfied living with the other students, rents a second-floor apartment from an old landlady (Diana Rigg).
But before long, Eloise begins to have strange dreams (some might say hallucinations, or maybe reincarnation) about a woman named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), from the 1960s, with aspirations to be a famous singer.… Read the rest “Movie Corner: Last Night in Soho”
METRO TRANSIT
More Transit, and Less
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON
I’ve been writing about this for over a year now, so you should know I am excited that the Orange Line starts Saturday, 4 December 2021! There will be a Grand Opening at the I-35W and Lake St. station at 1 PM, with local entertainment and food vendors from 2 to 4. The station is already open and being used by regular buses. It is a lot better than the old stops at the sides of I-35W that were at the top of crumbling staircases.
Unfortunately, along with the good news, there is bad news for transit riders in the Twin Cities. Due to a shortage of bus and train operators, schedules are being cut by 5 percent overall at the same time the Orange Line starts. Affected routes in the Phillips neighborhood are:
- The Orange Line will replace Route 535.
- Route 2 will run every 12 minutes instead of every 10.
- Route 5 will have schedule times adjusted to reflect actual travel times and will run every 10 minutes.
- Route 9 will have schedule times adjusted to reflect actual travel times.
- Route 11 times will be adjusted for better connections with the new Orange Line.
Minneapolis Recreation Centers Reopening to the Public
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) continues to transition its 47 recreation centers to pre-COVID-19 services and hours of operation.
All MPRB recreation centers are currently offering scheduled, registered, and ActivePass programs Monday through Saturday, with five sites offering pre-registered programs on Sunday. Search all available activities at minneapolisparks.org/register.
Recreation centers will begin offering general public hours starting November. 29, with the following phased approach:
Monday, Nov. 29-Sunday, Dec. 19
- All recreation centers open Monday-Friday, 3-7 pm
- Drop-in recreation opportunities available during those public open hours
- Recreation centers open outside of public open hours and on Saturdays and Sundays for pre-registered and ActivePass programs only
- Youth sports games begin at various sites with spectators allowed
Monday, Dec. 20-Tuesday, Dec. 30
(Minneapolis Public Schools Winter Break)
- All recreation centers open on School Release Days, Monday-Friday, Noon-7 pm
- Drop-in recreation opportunities available during those public open hours
- Note: all recreation centers will be closed and programming cancelled Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1 in observance of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
Monday, January 3, 2022, and onward
- All recreation centers open Monday-Friday, 3-9 pm
- All recreation centers open Saturdays, Noon-6 pm
- Northeast, Farview, East Phillips, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Winter Events
Midtown Global Market
Holiday No Coast Craft-o-Rama
Saturday, December 4, 10AM-4PM
Midtown Global Market, 920 East Lake Street
Join us and 45 great local artists for a handmade holiday shopping fest!
www.nocoastcraft.com
Family Fridays
Midtown Global Market, 920 East Lake Street
December 10, 17, and 31, 5PM-7PM
Join Midtown Global Market for Santa, Craft Activities, and a family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration
www.midtownglobalmarket.org
American Swedish Institute
Julmarknad Handcraft Market and Festival
American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Avenue
www.asimn.org/
Julmarknad Handcraft Market and Festival
Saturday December 4 – Sunday December 5
10AM- 4PM
The sights and sounds of the Scandinavian marketplace return in time for the holidays at one of the region’s largest handcraft markets and festivals. Shop handmade goods from more than 60 regional artists at booths inside ASI and out in the courtyard. Browse exceptional items from ASI’s own Jul Shop, alongside distinctive artisan glass, clothing, wood, jewelry, ceramics, and textiles.
Winter Solstice Celebration
Tuesday December 20, at 5 PM – 9 PM
Advance registration is now required for Winter Solstice.
Mark the shortest day and longest night of the year at ASI with ASI’s popular Winter Solstice Celebration. Since pagan days, solstice has traditionally meant the “year as reborn,” with ancient (and modern) Scandinavians fusing it into the longer “Jul” or Yule season.… Read the rest “Winter Events”
New Mural at Phillips West Community Garden
By LAURA HULSCHER
The Phillips West Fall Fest and Annual Meeting was held on November 6th outside the Swedish American Institute. Here neighbors led by Daja Shanklin of Self Made Creative Learning paint a mural for the new Phillips West Community Garden. The garden is on the northeast corner of Portland Avenue South and 28th Street.
our advertisers
Letter to Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association:
Response to 2744 and 2740 12th Avenue Proposed Development: Ensuring Gentrification and Income Inequality by Policy and Design
By SUE HUNTER WEIR
Reprinted in the alley by permission of the author
The City of Minneapolis is well known for expressing concern about gentrification and income inequality—one of the dubious categories in which we lead the nation. These plans appear not to have taken into account the demographic makeup, and therefore the needs, of the people who live here. There is undoubtedly a need to have more housing for renters, but these designs are not the answer. I have listed some of the problems that jump out at me.
1) Inadequate parking. Regardless of what the city’s current policy is, the reality of life in Midtown Phillips is different. This is not, for the most part, a community of bicycle commuters. Our block (the 2700 block of 12th Avenue) is a block where most of the renters and owners are immigrant families. That usually means two working parents and several young children per household. Five of the houses on the east side of the street are duplexes with little off-street parking, and for those properties there are not two cars/vans per property, but more commonly four to six.… Read the rest “Letter to Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association:”