James Lileks

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James Lileks

Columnist | Metro

Phone: 612-673-7858

James Lileks writes a metro column and is an anchor/producer for NewsBreak, the webcast on startribune.com. He also blogs under The Blog O'Things.
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Lileks: An app that reminds you a baby's on board? Forget about it

When you read that a Bemidji mother of four left her kids to broil in a car while she tried on swimsuits, you might think she thought, "Well, I have spares."

Updated: June 14, 2012, - 09:18 PM

Lileks: Want unspoiled kids? Move 'em to St. Paul

According to a new study, Minneapolis children are spoiled more often than St. Paul children. You say: Keep them in a tightly sealed bag in the fridge, then. It's a shame to throw out perfectly good children. Besides, if it's just a little mold, the rest is probably good.

Updated: June 09, 2012, - 09:48 PM

Lileks: Nostalgia in the Supervalu frozen food aisle

Local food giant Supervalu is getting hammered. The third-largest grocery store chain in the country made the news this week when it axed more than 2,000 employees from one of its chains, Albertsons. Supervalu bought Albertsons in 2006, and this meant it bought Acme as well, which Albertsons bought in 2006. Previously, Acme bought Food Fair/Market Pantry, which bought the Seltzer chain in 1958, which purchased (timeline edited for space constraints) ... the Romanus Maximus chain, which bought the Rubrum Noctuam chain in 32 A.D. from Julius Caesar.

Updated: June 07, 2012, - 09:37 PM

Lileks: Last bell hasn't rung, but brains long gone

If you ask me to name the most decisive battle of the Hundred Years' War, I might roll my eyes, point out that the colloquial name is inaccurate -- it was a series of conflicts, much like the World Wars of the 20th century -- and say it's hard to choose, but the 1429 rout of the English at Patay would certainly number among the crucial events. Gosh! you'd say, how do you know that?

Updated: June 02, 2012, - 03:52 PM

Lileks: Dandelion not influential? In what world?

If you've been stumbling around in a fog for a few years, wondering which of all the plants in Minnesota is the most influential, you can relax: The University of Minnesota has settled the matter with a top 10 list. Potatoes are included. You may think, "Rarely have I been influenced by a potato. Seduced, perhaps. Intrigued, well, it goes without saying. But are they really influential?"

Updated: May 31, 2012, - 08:09 PM

Lileks: Don't blink, or you might miss summer

This weekend is the start of summer, or, as the pessimists see it, the start of the end of summer. It's the only season whose conclusion seems built in to the official beginning. The mind leaps ahead: June zips by, then it's the Fourth, then the family vacation, then the State Fair: bang. School and bonfires, the nip in the air.

Updated: May 26, 2012, - 07:35 PM

Lileks: To complete this reading transaction, press CANCEL

It's been a slow news week. When you're running stories like "Minneapolis swimming pools rated among nation's wettest" or "Como Park gorilla yawns, scratches self," it's a sign the holiday is nigh. Good thing I have an exciting topic I've kept in the back pocket for just such a slowdown, and, no, it's not the plague of caterpillars some are reporting. I'll start worrying about an excess of caterpillars when they start coming through the second-floor window.

Updated: May 24, 2012, - 09:34 PM

Lileks: Art-A-Whirling? Salute venues, too

It's Art-A-Whirl this weekend, where people walk around northeast Minneapolis galleries and look thoughtfully at things and say, "Hmmm." Occasionally someone will pause at a drinking fountain: Maybe it's art. Maybe it's intended to highlight our expectations of constant fresh water in a world where such things can be precious commodities. You look for a little card on the wall, and there it is: Bubbler / 1987 /Mixed media with plumbing.

Updated: May 19, 2012, - 04:40 PM

Lileks: Recycling says a lot about us, and some of it is true

The city of Minneapolis is considering a change in the recycling arrangement: You won't have to separate your stuff. Dump it all in a bin, and it gets sorted out downstream by robots or elves. (They're still working on the details.) This may increase recycling, thus saving the planet. We all want a saved planet, if only for later. Where's that planet? I knew I saved one somewhere. Oh, there it is.

Updated: May 17, 2012, - 08:23 PM

Lileks: There's a lake for every disposition

It's the fishing opener! Many fish will be caught, and then opened. Anglers will throng to our 10,000 lakes -- 11,842 if you want to be specific. (It was 11,843 last year, but Lake Pluto got downgraded to a pond.)

Updated: May 12, 2012, - 04:58 PM