Kate Hudson wasn't fan-friendly as she cheered on A-Rod

Word is that Kate Hudson was sending off don't-bother-me vibes on Sunday night when she was at the Dome watching A-Rod sweep the Twins.

"She looked irritated by the attention. She totally had an attitude," said Kären Aäker, of Common Sense Insurance, who was sitting five rows in front of Hudson. "It appeared she didn't want to be bothered. At the end, they had police standing at the end of her row warding people off," Aäker said. "If you're going to sit with the people, be with the people, you know what I mean? [Or] get a suite."

Despite Hudson not making the best impression as a human being, Aäker said, "She is beautiful. Very. Stunningly. She is even more beautiful than she appears on TV. Absolutely."

There is a painterly quality to Aäker's photo of Hudson among the rabble. Although Hudson looks like a work of art, we now know she had the countenance of a piece of work.

Mariano likes local Thai Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera was open to having his photo taken with a fan Saturday after he finished dining at Uptown's Chiang Mai Thai.

After noshing at Sushi Tango, Roxanne Allen and Nena Andueza dropped by the bar at Chaing Mai Thai, where they learned that Rivera was having dinner. "Word from our waiter friends was that Mr. Rivera asked not to be disturbed. That did not stop my friend Nena from working her Venezuelan charms on the Panamanian reliever to capture a photo op on her iPhone," Allen told me via e-mail.

After Rivera party members finished their food, Andueza said, "'Hi, pardon my intrusion. May I speak to you in Spanish?' He said sure. I told him how much I admired his work and the way he conducts himself in and out of the [diamond]." Then Andueza asked, "I wonder if I can have a picture with you?"

Show dogs camping out Acts that were dogs have played the Orpheum before, but I doubt any of them actually barked.

The four-legged stars of "101 Dalmatians," which begins its 24-city tour here today, were in full voice Saturday night for anybody walking by the Orpheum. With barking and related kennel noises emanating from a white tent in the Orpheum parking lot, it took some effort to get the attention of the human voices that could also be heard. I finally got one of the people in the tent with the dogs to come outside, where she denied my request to videotape the pooches, but assured me that they were warm; it was 70 degrees, thanks to a generator whirring away outside the tent.

Of course, People magazine's Minnesota correspondent Margaret Nelson was allowed to meet some of the dogs for her Oct. 19 story.

Outside the Orpheum's entrance are giant multi-color chalk dog paw prints. Nice touch.

Active video games Harry Potter fans are going to be enchanted with MagiQuest, the new Mall of America attraction. It's a dragon-slaying kind of video game for those who would enjoy action encounters with fantastic creatures and mystical characters.

Weston told me that it would take SIX HOURS to complete the course.

Because most people don't have that kind of time, the foray's designed to be broken up; in about 30 days, parts of the journey even will be doable on your home computer before return trips to the kingdom are necessary. My Weston-guided quest took much less than six hours, as you can see at startribune.com/video.

Don't be afraid to dress for adventure. I thought my ears were faulty when McFarland Cahill Communications principal Teresa McFarland said with all gentle seriousness, "Would you like a cape?"

Uh, how do you say NO! in middle English? I've been to hundreds of events planned by McFarland and Maureen Cahill, but this was the first time they've ever greeted me in costumes.