Salon.com > Patrick Condon

Weird news: Cat video film festival

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 20:52:00 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Warning: This is a story about online cat videos. If you're among the seemingly tiny minority of the general population not interested in watching a 1-minute clip of a cat in a T-shirt pounding on a keyboard, then move along.

For everyone else, a new measure of respectability is looming for an Internet pleasure that is both massively popular and, for some people, a bit embarrassing. The Walker Art Center, a well-regarded museum of modern art in Minneapolis, on Thursday is presenting its first "Internet Cat Video Film Festival" to showcase the best in filmed feline hijinks.

With about 70 videos over 60 minutes, the Walker is mounting a social experiment as much as a film festival. At issue is whether cat video lovers used to gorging on the clips in the privacy of their homes will do so in public — an online community of fellow aficionados interacting face to face for the first time.

"It is a cultural phenomenon that raises some interesting questions," said Katie Hill, the Walker program associate who first suggested the festival.

But Hill, a self-described "art historian and cat lady," was quick to add: "I'm not a behavioral psychologist, I'm not a sociologist. I just think they're funny and cute, and I think a lot of other people do too."

Minnesota government shuts down over budget

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:05:00 +0000

With Minnesota's state government closed for business, the focus shifted Friday to who's to blame.

The shutdown started at 12:01 a.m. CDT Friday, the product of an ongoing dispute over taxes and spending between Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative majorities. Talks fell apart well before the deadline, leaving state parks closed on the brink of the Fourth of July weekend, putting road projects at a standstill and forcing thousands of state worker layoffs.

The heads of the state's Republican and Democratic parties each say the other side is responsible.

Minnesota GOP Chairman Tony Sutton called Dayton a "piece of work" and accused him of inflicting "maximum pain" for political reasons.

"It now appears Gov. Dayton was working for a shutdown," Sutton said.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin laid the blame on Republicans, saying they drove the state to a shutdown to protect millionaires from tax increases sought by Dayton.

"Shame on you for putting the interests of your rich campaign donors ahead of the well-being of the constituents you are supposed to represent," Martin said.

Wisconsin readies to clear Capitol of protesters

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:26:00 +0000

Taylor Tengwall spent the last seven nights sleeping inside Wisconsin's Capitol building alongside thousands of fellow pro-union protesters, and he was hoping state officials would relent on their decision to clear the building for the night starting Sunday.

"I have faith I will not have to leave," said Tengwall, an earnest 21-year-old from Duluth, Minn., who was sporting a few days' growth of stubble, a wrinkled T-shirt, sweat pants and socks.

With Republican Gov. Scott Walker's bill to strip public workers of collective bargaining rights stuck in a legislative stalemate, some of the protesters who made the Capitol their home over the past two weeks hinted that they might not go easily when police begin clearing the building at 4 p.m.

"We will not leave," read a hand-printed sign taped up next to one sleeping bag. The Wisconsin AFL-CIO sent out a press release Sunday predicting hundreds of protesters would risk peaceful arrest.

National rallies support Wisconsin labor protest

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 14:44:00 +0000

Chanting pro-union slogans and carrying signs declaring "We are all Wisconsin," protesters turned out in cities nationwide to support thousands of public workers who've set up camp at the Wisconsin Capitol to fight Republican-backed legislation aimed at weakening unions.

Union supporters organized rallies from New York to Los Angeles in a show of solidarity Saturday as the demonstration in Madison entered its 12th straight day and attracted its largest crowd yet: more than 70,000 people. Hundreds banged on drums and screamed into bullhorns inside the Capitol as others braved frigid weather and snow during the massive rally that flooded into nearby streets.

"I want to thank you for coming out here today to exercise those pesky First Amendment rights," actor Bradley Whitford, who starred in television's "The West Wing," said as he rallied his hometown crowd. "This governor has to understand Wisconsin is a stubborn constituency. We fish through ice!"

Republican Gov. Scott Walker has introduced a bill that includes stripping almost all public workers of their right to collectively bargain on benefits and work conditions. Walker has said the bill would help close a projected $3.6 billion deficit in the 2011-13 budget, and argues that freeing local governments from collective bargaining would give them flexibility amid deep budget cuts.

A Minnesota recount could hurt Democratic chances

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:23:00 +0000

Here's how bad it is for Minnesota Democrats: They could wind up losing, even in a race they might have won.

A potential recount in Minnesota's race for governor might eventually crown Democrat Mark Dayton the winner but drag on so long that the Legislature convenes in January with retiring GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty staying in office.

Democrats fear that Republicans newly in charge of both chambers will combine with Pawlenty to push through massive spending cuts and pursue long-held goals on things like banning gay marriage, enacting photo ID for voters and expanded gambling.

It's a scenario that could also benefit Pawlenty, who had planned to spend January rolling out his memoir and deciding whether to run for president. Staying in office, especially with the backdrop of a nationally watched recount, would endear him to Republicans and give him a highly visible perch to polish his credentials as a fiscal watchdog.

"Any of my personal plans or concerns are secondary to the fact I have a duty and responsibility to fulfill under the constitution," Pawlenty told The Associated Press in an interview. "I'm not going to walk away from that."

Presbyterians voting on gay clergy, marriage

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:20:00 +0000

Presbyterian leaders were set to vote Thursday on whether to allow their church to become one of the most gay-friendly major Christian churches in the U.S. by allowing non-celibate gays to serve as clergy and defining marriage as between "two people."

But even if both changes pass, it would not be a final stamp of approval for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its more than 2 million members.

Presbyterians meeting in Minneapolis for the church's general assembly were scheduled to vote on two proposed constitutional changes. One would allow non-celibate gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, deacons and elders. The other would change the definition of marriage from between "a man and a woman" to between "two people."

If approved, neither would take immediate effect. Church policy requires that such changes be implemented only if a majority of the church's 173 U.S. presbyteries approve. The assembly voted two years ago to liberalize the gay clergy policy, but it died last year when 94 of the presbyteries voted against it.

Still, the proposed changes "have the potential to be historic," said Cindy Bolbach, an elder at National Capital Presbytery in Washington and the assembly's elected moderator.

Anti-gay pastor spied at support group for men with same-sex attraction

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:31:00 +0000

A Lutheran pastor ardently critical of allowing gays into the clergy is on leave from his Minneapolis church after a gay magazine reported his attendance at a support group for men struggling with same-sex attraction.

Church officials, however, said Wednesday that the Rev. Tom Brock likely will return to the pulpit at Hope Lutheran Church because he acted in accordance with his faith by attending the group.

A fixture on local cable access shows, Brock regularly broadcasts conservative views on homosexuality and criticizes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for liberalizing its gay clergy policy. Lavender Magazine published a story last week about Brock's quiet attendance of the Faith in Action meetings, written by a reporter who falsely posed as a member of the group.

"The fact that he said one thing publicly, and privately he's a homosexual -- that's somewhat inconsistent," said Lavender president Stephen Rocheford. "This company has a policy not to out people. The one exception is a public figure who says one thing and does another."

The Lavender article never explicitly said Brock confessed to homosexual activity. It quotes him at one point talking about a recent mission trip to Eastern Europe, of which he says, "I fell into temptation. I was weak."