It looks like I’ll soon have to drive to the suburbs or walk to St. Anthony Main if I want to catch a movie. The theater located a few blocks from my home will likely be closing as the owners of the Block E development pursue their dream to turn the whole place into a casino. It’s a shame that downtown Minneapolis can’t seem to sustain businesses that aren’t restaurants or nightclubs. On my last few visits to the theater, it was difficult to ignore how deserted the rest of the building has become. Most of the other businesses have left and the few that remain–with the exception of Kieran’s Pub–are barely hanging on.

Block E was probably doomed to fail. A suburban-style mall in the heart of a city simply doesn’t make sense. Still, I’m going to miss taking the skyway to catch a matinee on a cold winter afternoon. Perhaps some other developer will find a way to bring the movies downtown again.

By now, news about the SOPA-related web blackout has probably reacted saturation point, so I won’t say much more about it. If you still want to know what all the fuss is about, Wikipedia, Reddit, and other sites are happy to tell you why the proposed SOPA legislation is a threat to a free and open Internet. But I feel compelled to point out that this little blog of mine could be taken down if SOPA becomes law. I’m pretty sure I’ve linked to some infringing content and will likely do so again (especially if it features fishnets). I’m all in favor of protecting creative works, but I’d also like to be able to post a clip from a favorite movie without suffering the wrath of Hollywood suits.

As the Packers illustrated to such dismal effect yesterday, it’s exceedingly difficult to repeat a championship run in the NFL. Their loss to the Giants was a bitter pill for us fans to sallow after witnessing such a remarkable season. But I’m willing to concede that the Packers may not have been as good as their 15-1 record indicated. The defense seemed to become more porous as the season progressed and they never established a consistent running game.

The Packers should still be one of better teams in the league next season, but free agency will take its toll and their offensive arsenal may not be as extensive as it was this year. I’ll probably never see another season like the one that just finished, but it was great fun to watch while it lasted.

Not too long ago, class consciousness didn’t exist in America. We were a nation preoccupied with the notion that anyone could join the ranks of the wealthy if they simply worked hard enough. Sure, every once in a while someone would point out the growing chasm between the wealthy and everyone else, but they were quickly branded as hippies engaging in the subversive act of class warfare. But our reluctance to discuss class seems to be fading. A recent Pew poll finds that Americans are much more inclined to perceive class conflict than they were even two years ago. The Occupy Wall Street movement can probably take a lot of credit for bringing attention to the issue and shifting public sentiment. As tempting as it is to make fun of the drum circles and human megaphones, the OWS movement produced “We Are the 99%”, one of the most effective and viral political slogans of the last decade.

This may be the first modern presidential campaign in which class conflict will be openly discussed and debated. I’d like to think that all the trivial obsessions that dominated previous elections–gay marriage, military service, birth certificates–will be drowned out by the public demand to focus on the economic agendas of each candidate. That may be wishing for the moon, but it’s hard not to look at the Pew numbers and be filled with a reasonable hope that we’re finally ready to be treated as grown-ups by our political elites.

Thanks to the always invaluable MetaFilter for the tip.

The local news media have been busy covering the story of a high school student who injured his spinal cord when he was checked during a hockey game. Hockey is the unofficial state sport in Minnesota, so the story is getting a lot of airtime. Some of the coverage has been more than a little overwrought, which is to be expected. But it also gives the unfortunate impression that the kid’s life is over because he can’t walk. My friend and colleagues Rachel Tschida has a wonderful piece in the Strib that provides a more nuanced take on life with a spinal cord injury. Rachel’s husband, John, acquired a spinal cord injury many years ago and writes about how they both gradually adjusted to their new reality:

Those who have gone before you tell you ways to save time on personal cares and what stores are most wheelchair-friendly. You join new sports teams. Life goes on.

My husband works full time and drives a van from his wheelchair. Our sons recently graduated from college, and our daughter will start high school in the fall. He figured out the parenting.

We will soon celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary and are starting to imagine life as empty-nesters. He figured out how to be my husband.

The essay is honest and forthright, just like Rachel.