Low nominated for a Grammy (by proxy)
Tim Soter
Since sifting through dull newspapers, hyperbolic blogs, and overflowing RSS feeds for meaningful news can be an arduous process, News Net catches and compiles both the amusing and the significant reports that were overlooked throughout the week. Here are some things to think about as the weekend begins.
• If you ask us, the Grammys are like the Super Bowl halftime show—once so cluelessly out of touch that they were fascinating to endure, they’ve “improved” just enough to stall a notch or two above “embarrassing,” yet far short of “entertaining.” But that’s not gonna stop us from congratulating Low for its Grammy nomination once-removed. Robert Plant’s cover of the Duluth band’s “Silver Rider” has been nominated for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance—though that’s slightly less of an honor than having the Led Zep frontman record your tune in the first place.
• What is the Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously spinning dreidels? How should we know? But on Dec. 8, it may well be smashed, as the Timberwolves will celebrate Jewish Heritage Night by taking a crack at that feat. As publicity stunts go, this one is just—well, we reported it, so the word we’re looking for must be “successful.”
• According to GQ, Minnesota is the 49th worst state in the union. (Which, according to our snark-to-English dictionary, means “second best,” right?) In a feature helpfully filed under “humor” online, the magazine counts down the “50 Worst States.” Just the thing if you’re in the mood for gags about winter and Garrison Keillor, though the lack of a “you betcha” kicker is startling.
• Why does New York Times food columnist Molly O’ Neill want to strip Wisconsin of its legacy as a cheese powerhouse? James Norton of Heavy Table ably demolishes the revisionist assault on the Dairy State’s cheese-making legacy that O’Neill advances in her book, One Big Table. What lies will those New Yorkers tell about us next—that Noah’s Ark is not the nation’s largest water park?
