Fresh-cut Prince Will Smith's movie-star good looks have Minnesota origins. The A-lister was in town last week to promote his latest, "Seven Pounds," but the big news wasn't his red-carpet appearance -- it was his surprise drop-in at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis. It turns out that Smith's stylist, Austin Pierce, is a graduate of the institute and wanted to show his client where he learned how to do hair. Smith greeted students, toured the building and got his hair cut (of course!). I.W. can't help but wonder if he, too, uses the Rosemary Mint conditioner.
Sara Glassman
Roasting on an open fire Ham is the focal point of many Minnesotans' Christmases, but no one knows how to ham it up like local country vet Sherwin Linton. Twenty-two years after he landed the novelty hit "Santa Got a DWI" (a million copies sold!), Linton has revisited the formula with another wacky but message-filled single suited to the season and era, "Global Warming Christmas." The reggae-based song addresses the issue of climate change through the eyes of a not-so-jolly ol' St. Nick. Sample lyrics: "Soon Dasher and Prancer and all the rest will have to pass an emissions test" and "Santa is talking retirement with all the stress on the environment/ How can he tell little Tommy and Ruth about 'An Inconvenient Truth'?" You can hear it live at Linton's holiday show tonight at the Coon Rapids American Legion Post, 11640 Crooked Lake Blvd., or -- a sign that he's really up on the times -- it's also available for download at iTunes.
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Pit Bull Red Sculptor Harriet Bart's annual holiday gift took an unexpectedly political turn this year. For the past 19 years the Minneapolis artist has produced a limited edition "multiple" -- gold leafed snail shells, gilded eggs, altered tape measures -- with enigmatic messages for 60 friends and fans. This year's was a red-tipped bronze bullet (blank) in a red tartan lipstick case tied with a "Seeing Red" tag. The bullet's resemblance to a lipstick was unmistakable, even without the gilded words "Pit Bull" under the little mirror to footnote the recent presidential campaign. "Making it was cathartic," Bart said. "But it almost got a friend jailed. She was en route to Washington, D.C., with the case in her purse. Airport security would not let her board the plane and told her she was lucky she wasn't taken in for questioning." The friend jettisoned the case; Bart sent a replacement.
MARY ABBE
Quietdrive heads to Iraq While the biggest chore for most of us after Christmas is trying to return that sweater from Mom, the boys of Quietdrive will be getting ready for the biggest trip of their lives. The day after their fourth annual hometown holidays gig next Friday at Trocaderos (7 p.m., $10), the emo/pop rockers are leaving for a USO tour that will find them playing military bases and embassies in Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Greece over the next two months. Since they're already going to be halfway around the globe, they're also going to go ahead and squeeze in U.K. and Japanese tours. "It's a very small sliver of pride for us to go over and assist those who are laying their lives down for us -- despite the rationale of what's going on there, or whether or not we should be there," singer Kevin Truckenmiller said.
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
