The Crap I Crave

Hob Nobs, Saturday afternoon pints in Hogan's, Saturday night pints in Hogan's, Sunday afternoon pints in Hogan's, the occasional fry, rain, good tea (tae), sense of humor, my shed, Galway, friends, family, stray dogs, the sea, Donal Dineen on Today FM, beer fueled madness, spuds, gravy, roast beef, Kerrygold butter, hang sangwiches, canals, The Ticket, Kehoe's, Christmas in Dublin, brown bread, small towns, Jaffa Cakes, The Pines, BBC, Channel 4, TG4, city energy, Ireland's hedonistic optimism (where are we going, who cares?), Lok Moon food...

Aside from lamenting the above there has been much tomfoolery with cameras lately.

Minneapolis is packed with disused inner city buildings ((LINK), (LINK)) which I assume were once the pride and joy of their parent corporations, before tax breaks and vast tracts of land ripe for development drove companies beyond the city limits. Examining/contemplating these buildings, for me, always conjures up images of the 1930's. An era when every man wore a hat, instead of beer people drank martini's, manhattan's or whiskey sour's, and sharp suit sporting gangsters were public heroes... good times.

By car and bike I'm discovering hidden sides to Minneapolis. Gradually it is winning me over. Affordable stuff, old and young alike walking the streets with near impunity, nice folks, diverse yet integrated population, good jobs, lakes, parks, beautiful old industrial structures (here perfectly captured by Martha (LINK)) untouched by tasteless hands or fresh paint, harsh but defined seasons, easy driving distance to brutal and almost infinite wilderness and graffiti ((LINK), (LINK), (LINK), (LINK), (LINK), (LINK), (LINK), (LINK)) that covers trains and walls bringing a smile to my face and a silent nod of appreciating to those who work under the cover of darkness at this fine craft.

A decent city when you do the sums.