Culture

​Trans Perspective: I am a Transgender Comedian

July 11th, 2018

Jan SyversonJan Syverson
standupjan@gmail.com

Three hundred miles northwest of Fargo, ND I find myself at the back of a small bar in a small town surrounded by nothing but snowy fields and darkness. I take a drag of a cigarette and go through my set. It’s freezing outside, but that’s my thing, I find the quietest place wherever I go and just think about what I’m going to say. All comics do something similar, and inside the tavern the audience is gearing up to laugh. I hear them tell their own…

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​More Dirt, More Cleaning

July 11th, 2018

It is not expensive to keep various dust removers near your computer to keep the amount of dust to a minimum. When I run out of words for this column, I pick up my duster and clean my equipment as therapy for writer’s block. Writer or not, you should set aside a few minutes before you start your computer session to clean up. Let’s continue our tips for taking care of the equipment:

Cleaning the monitor
Dirt, fingerprints, and dust can make your computer screen difficult to read;…

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​North Dakota’s letters from the Great War

July 11th, 2018

WWI Letters - photograph courtesy of Barnes County Historical Society_preview

“This is their encounter with these people and this may be all that’s known about them," Dr. Joseph Stuart, associate of history at the University of Mary in Bismarck, said. "These may be the only words that are preserved from this person. The students really respond well to that and they love it. It’s the power of the past that really inspires us to think more deeply about what it means to be human.” 

Stuart is also part of the North Dakota World War I committee. He and his…

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​Poking around FM Acupuncture

June 27th, 2018

I’m not a skeptic, at least not about acupuncture. The thought of the needles however throws me off. I’m not the biggest fan. I donate plasma on a regular basis, and I am proud to say that I no longer look away when they stick me.

I have begun to think that I actually watch in defiance, as if I’m looking my fear in the face and in my head I am yelling, Stick me. Do it!”

I was looking for a bit of a calmer and less machismo experience when I went to go see someone for acupuncture.…

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​Buffalo River State Park: Leave a remarkable summer memory on the Prairie

June 27th, 2018

Buffalo River flowersAccording to the Buffalo River State Park website, it’s a place where “Trails wind through one of Minnesota’s finest and largest remnant prairies.”

The landscape contains more than “250 species of wild flowers and grasses including some plants now rare in Minnesota.”

The biggest advantage of this park is that not only can you enjoy everything such as art, birding, wildflowers, yoga, hiking and photography but you’re also only 14 miles away from the FM area to experience…

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​Lindy of the North: Swing Dance Growing in Fargo-Moorhead

June 27th, 2018

Lindy of the North dancers - photograph by Hee Han

Lindy of the North is a non-profit organization promoting vintage swing dance styles in the Fargo-Moorhead area, spreading the joy of vernacular jazz dance in positivity.

Alex Finken, cofounder of Lindy of the North, explained how the organization started up.

“We were looking to build up the swing dance scene in the FM community beyond the college campuses,” Finken said. “Each of us had our start in swing dancing either at the Avalon, now called the Stone Building, where John and…

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​More Dirt, More Cleaning

June 27th, 2018

It is not expensive to keep various dust removers near your computer to keep the amount of dust to a minimum. When I run out of words for this column, I pick up my duster and clean my equipment as therapy for writer’s block. Writer or not, you should set aside a few minutes before you start your computer session to clean up. Let’s continue our tips for taking care of the equipment:

Cleaning the monitor
Dirt, fingerprints, and dust can make your computer screen difficult to read;…

Read more...


​Dirty, Dirty, Dirty Computer

June 27th, 2018

“Dust isn't just unattractive—it can potentially damage or even destroy parts of your computer. Cleaning your computer regularly will help you keep it working properly and avoid expensive repairs.” I just copied the above sentences from a website. It is a perfect example of “Spin”. Something that happens all the time on the internet and in the media in general. If you clean your computer regularly will it help you keep it working? I clean my computer once a year. Is that…

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​Dream factory

June 22nd, 2018

Design by Raul Gomez

By Oscar de Leon
oscarldeleonjr@gmail.com

Tucked away near the rolling hills of West Hollywood, Chris Haskell, a former student at MSUM, makes his usual trek into his office where he edits footage to craft trailers to some of the biggest films coming in the industry. After a long day of breaking down movies, and going over studio notes, he takes his usual route down the palm tree lined Hollywood Boulevard and notices a large mass blocking the traffic.

Spectacularly, he realizes, he is…

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​Life and Laughs with Brian Regan

June 20th, 2018

Brian ReganStand-up comedy can certainly be a cutthroat business. Despite the fact that everyone loves to laugh, humor is highly subjective. What splits one person’s sides may offend the other. More than one comic has watched a show (or a career) go down in flames due to their jokes not landing or some public image fiasco.

That makes a comedian being able to succeed at a decades-long career, while generally steering away from explicit humor to boot, an impressive feat. That is exactly what…

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