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wintercreek
Well geez Em, that's kind of a tough question doncha know.
I moved to Minnesota three months after my 18th birthday and spent 75% of the next four years there, and in some ways I've never really left--I go back one or more times a year, and the majority of my college friends are in the Cities (with a minority having moved to D.C.), and a good chunk of my manga studies friends are centered there, and I'd move back in a heartbeat. For those of you who know me, yes, this is highly ironic and also pretty hilarious, because in many ways I am the least Minnesota person I can think of. On the other hand, I always say that Minnesota civilized me, and I'm not really joking.
What's the most Minnesota thing I can think of? A minimum speed limit of 40mph on the highway in Minneapolis and people going perilously close to under it. Shredded coconut in the ostensibly carrot muffins. Tater tot hot dish. Norwegian food, which for me, with the exception of lefse and that cream/fruit/sugar soup they serve at Christmas, is pretty revolting--the only flavor in it is bitter. (I once had an argument with a girl on a train from Russia to Finland about Norwegian food. I can only speak to the Norwegian food that I personally have had.) Cream cheese wontons--I guess they have those in other parts of the country, but I've never seen them, though they're not bad, for an abomination. Whip cream and a maraschino cherry on a mango lassi. Frosting--actual buttercream frosting--on Christmas cookies. Norwegian sweaters. Four languages (English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali) on transit. NOT Garrison Keillor and his stupid fucking show. THE CURRENT.
Music is really important, actually--my college is known for its music program, and The Current (89.3; the only radio station I listen to no matter where I am in the world; the best radio station in the United States) got some of its bandwidth from the sale of my college's radio station, and one of my college friends now runs an indie label in the Cities, Afternoon Records. I've still never actually been to a show at First Ave, which is kind of ironic, but music is totally a big part of Minnesota for me. The Hold Steady and Low are the two bands I most associate with Minnesota; The Hold Steady are 200% Minneapolis even though they got big in Brooklyn, while Low hold down the rest of the state for me, particularly northern Minnesota. (Actually they're from Duluth. Duluth is a cool city.) I listen to a lot of Minnesota acts--Dessa and Lizzo, for example--but they don't define the state in the same way. YMMV.
I don't know. People who are from the state will quarrel with this list, and in truth there's no real way for me to sum up Minnesota. I love it and it's not where I'm from but it's home. Every time I fly into MSP I have a big smile on my face when the plane touches down. Have some Ole & Lena jokes. Um ya ya. Uff da.
wintercreek Well geez Em, that's kind of a tough question doncha know.
I moved to Minnesota three months after my 18th birthday and spent 75% of the next four years there, and in some ways I've never really left--I go back one or more times a year, and the majority of my college friends are in the Cities (with a minority having moved to D.C.), and a good chunk of my manga studies friends are centered there, and I'd move back in a heartbeat. For those of you who know me, yes, this is highly ironic and also pretty hilarious, because in many ways I am the least Minnesota person I can think of. On the other hand, I always say that Minnesota civilized me, and I'm not really joking.
What's the most Minnesota thing I can think of? A minimum speed limit of 40mph on the highway in Minneapolis and people going perilously close to under it. Shredded coconut in the ostensibly carrot muffins. Tater tot hot dish. Norwegian food, which for me, with the exception of lefse and that cream/fruit/sugar soup they serve at Christmas, is pretty revolting--the only flavor in it is bitter. (I once had an argument with a girl on a train from Russia to Finland about Norwegian food. I can only speak to the Norwegian food that I personally have had.) Cream cheese wontons--I guess they have those in other parts of the country, but I've never seen them, though they're not bad, for an abomination. Whip cream and a maraschino cherry on a mango lassi. Frosting--actual buttercream frosting--on Christmas cookies. Norwegian sweaters. Four languages (English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali) on transit. NOT Garrison Keillor and his stupid fucking show. THE CURRENT.
Music is really important, actually--my college is known for its music program, and The Current (89.3; the only radio station I listen to no matter where I am in the world; the best radio station in the United States) got some of its bandwidth from the sale of my college's radio station, and one of my college friends now runs an indie label in the Cities, Afternoon Records. I've still never actually been to a show at First Ave, which is kind of ironic, but music is totally a big part of Minnesota for me. The Hold Steady and Low are the two bands I most associate with Minnesota; The Hold Steady are 200% Minneapolis even though they got big in Brooklyn, while Low hold down the rest of the state for me, particularly northern Minnesota. (Actually they're from Duluth. Duluth is a cool city.) I listen to a lot of Minnesota acts--Dessa and Lizzo, for example--but they don't define the state in the same way. YMMV.
I don't know. People who are from the state will quarrel with this list, and in truth there's no real way for me to sum up Minnesota. I love it and it's not where I'm from but it's home. Every time I fly into MSP I have a big smile on my face when the plane touches down. Have some Ole & Lena jokes. Um ya ya. Uff da.