Recent content from James Lileks
Lileks: True Minnesotans appreciate the benefit of miserable work
Storm brought us snow, ice and — most important — a chance to build character.
Parking ramps are ugly — but we need more of them in downtown Minneapolis
What if any new ramp could be designed to enhance the city, not just store cars?
Lileks: Do you believe the big bad snow predictions?
At some point we began to lose confidence in predictions. Cast your vote!
Can we have spring without winter?
For Jupiter's sake, of course we can.
He's not tuned in to streaming TV
You can't even find the show you don't get.
Ice cream is so much more than just a dessert
It's part of our youthful memories and our adult indulgences.
Minnesota's fast-food chains once boasted garishly fun designs
But you knew what they were at a glance. Now the buildings are nothing short of bleak.
Minnesotans have moved past ketchup onto bona fide hot sauce. So what's our fave?
And what's with South Dakota's love for Heinz?
Is it odd to mourn a microwave?
It's almost a member of the family.
Lileks: Turn off your Christmas lights, people
Unless you can convince your neighbors that they're for a different holiday.
Updating your phone can ruin your life
Nothing works correctly after that.
The Minnesota method: hot dish-based protests
French protesters threw soup; we'd go with a Tater Tot casserole.
Lileks: When State Fair memorials get benched
How do we honor Uncle Bob now?
Lileks: Tired of kids who don't text back?
"Every Boomer probably got a missive in that script, and if we think back, the letters were perfect."
Once celebrated, the skyways of Minneapolis are now being blamed for downtown's empty streets
Since the early 1960s, the elevated connections between buildings have been a hallmark of the core of both downtowns.
Lileks: A new name for that old winter thing we hate
What to call the intermediary step between sleet and snow.
Airfare fees becoming extra baggage
Booking flights these days involves getting nickled, dimed, quartered and half-dollared to death.
Four ways to save Minneapolis: Demolish City Center — or most of it
The 1980s blank wall of a building fails to offer what a vital city center needs: connection.
A ferocious fire in 1982 destroyed a Minneapolis bank but left a Charles Lindbergh plane unscathed
The Northwestern National Bank Building, full of tall columns and grand marble, was completely lost.
Lileks: The Christmas catalog season is a gift all its own
The mail brings a sheaf of catalogs every day, and they all fall into one of several categories.
Lileks: It's too late to argue about daylight savings time
We will revisit this in the spring, have the same conversation, and change nothing.
Lileks: Pillow-piling and other tactics in the battle of the sexes
The very name of the sham pillowcase tells you it's a lie.
Lileks: What if the most evil being in the land of Oz was your aunt?
Growing up with the Wicked Witch of the West.
Lileks: The once prestigious briefcase has lost out to backpacks
They're more practical, but lack structure and purpose.
One of the ugliest buildings in downtown Minneapolis will likely be demolished. Should we care?
The YWCA sticks out like a sore thumb. But it is an example of a certain style of architecture.
Lileks: Need to cut costs? It might be easier than you think
What if just asking works everywhere, and we don't know it because we never think to try?
Lileks: It's time for a new Halloween candy
We have become complacent and stagnant, and a national initiative to regain our confectionary edge is needed, stat.
From Monty Python to WWI: Michael Palin's new book resurrects his long-lost great uncle
The prolific actor, comedian, writer and producer has created the silly and the sublime.
Lileks: Does your dog understand you better than your partner?
The relationship between dogs and humans is not about ice cream and TV.
Lileks: Our coffee may be weak, but ... OK, there is no but
Worse than New Jersey?
The University of Minnesota's Northrop Mall is grand — but it could've been glorious
Cass Gilbert's original plans called for a European-style plaza leading to an open-air theater, a botanical garden and a small harbor.
Lileks: It's time to bring back 'elevator music'
Perhaps we'd be a less jangly society if vapid mood music was the norm.
Who were the Miss Downtown Minneapolis winners and what did they do?
For years, young women were selected to serve as civic champions, winning mink coats and accolades in the process.
Lileks: Has your phone's speech-to-text sap cotton wurst?
I know the technology is amazing, and we take it for granted — but I'm convinced it's broken, and I'm not alone.
Instead of new foods, the State Fair needs more welcoming entrances
How about a giant gopher? We know just where it should go.
Lileks: Don't love the Minnesota State Fair? You're not alone.
Here are six reasons you may not want to go.
Lileks: A star is born ... well, not even close, actually
We're all acting, a little. Our early years are full of auditions.
A Minneapolis block may hold a world record for churches
The four houses of worship in Northeast have long histories.
These new Minnesota State Fair attractions join our old fair traditions
Additions abound, but most of us go to the fair to do (and eat) our favorite old things again and again.
Lileks: There's no clean break when you're cleaning out a grown kid's room
You're either a saver or a tosser.
