the alley Newspaper | News & Views of Phillips Since 1976

“Tell Me a Story””¦in Joyce Krook”'s words

Written by editor on 18 August 2010

Joyce Krook as she tells her story on youtube.com/VisitLakeStreet. Joyce grew up near Lake Street, took first job as a secretary in a medical ward at Northwestern Hospital at her mother”'s suggestion, “you don”'t have to stay there all of your life, just to get some experience,” well, stay she did””retiring after 48 years mostly being “the face” of Abbott-Northwestern Hospitals and Allina to the entire southside of Minneapolis working from her leadership position in community affairs. Her last office was in the new Allina”'s Commons portion of the old Sears Roebuck building in which her mother worked in the dry goods department. She was one of the original Board of Directors of the Lake Street Council decades ago.

Lake Street Council is working hard this year to collect and promote the history of the Lake Street area. The first stage to this project is collecting oral histories of longtime residents. We started with Alley ally Joyce Krook. Here are some excerpts of Joyce recalling her childhood growing up in the Hennepin & Lake area.

Please visit youtube.com/VisitLakeStreet to watch the whole video interview with Joyce and others! And if you are a longtime resident who remembers well the Lake Street from decades past, and would like your story recorded, please get in touch with us!… Read the rest ““Tell Me a Story””¦in Joyce Krook”'s words”

Ondine & Holy Rollers

Written by editor on 09 August 2010

Ondine (2009)

Ondine (2009)
***1/2
Wayforce Entertainment
111 minutes
Director: Neil Jordan

Syracuse (Colin Farrell) makes a living by fishing off the coast of his native Ireland free of a catastrophic BP oil spill, with untainted fish at the end of his line. One day Syracuse unexpectedly catches in his net, a woman likened to the Celtic myth of the selkie ”“ a seal that can shed her skin and transform into a human.

Syracuse”'s bright 10 year old daughter, Annie (played extremely well by Alison Barry) realizes her dad”'s past tense story of the mythical mermaid Ondine, is real in the present tense.

Syracuse”'s new guest seems bemused by her surroundings as well as insisting on being away from people. He hides her in his deceased grandma”'s cottage in a cover. Almost reading her father”'s mind, his physically challenged daughter Annie visits the cottage, and finds Ondine swimming in a pool.

Colin Farrell has shown on several occasions his versatility as an actor. Noteworthy is his subtley and nuance “In Bruges” a couple of years ago and again wonderfully exhibiting himself as Syracuse in “Ondine.”

Neil Jordan”'s “Ondine” of what initially appears to be a selkie, illustrates similarities (and differences as well) to John Sayles “The Secret of Roan Inish” (1994).… Read the rest “Ondine & Holy Rollers”