Connections with fame, and sometimes it doesn’t hurt to be a bit Fat:
— With the Grammies just being held, it brings to mind the connection two local people have had to the awards show. A Stillwater woman who comes out in Hudson has been one of those notoriously secret judges who decides who wins and loses. She said that she isn’t bashful about using her Grammy credentials to get into shows and other such things for free. And what does she cast her vote concerning? It’s just all things polka.
The other connection is a Roberts man with a day job who also works parttime as a music producer. He has been nominated for the Grammies, but hasn’t won. Still, that gives him enough credentials to talk about the state of the industry, and to paraphrase the Beatles, one of the things he can tell you is you got to be free. In this sense: He’s really frustrated that people in his end of the business work hard to produce great sound quality, and all their effort goes down the tubes when listeners opt for technology such as iPods.
— The Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition is out again, and it’s without supermodel Heidi Rayder of River Falls, who was prominently pictured for two years in a row earlier in the millennium. Rayder said in her bio that she used to love taking in baseball games at Emma’s Bar to spar with the locals while rooting for the Red Sox and — can you believe this — just be one of the guys. A River Falls friend of mind who is a percussionist in a band had long ago drummed up a strong friendship with her, and recalls being introduced while in the downtown to James King, a female actress who about that time appeared in Maxim and was dating Kid Rock.
— Where has Fat Tuesday gone? Since a bar or two in the Mall of America got penalized a few years back when people got too many beads and flashed (you think that doesn’t go on in other places as well?), the holiday just hasn’t been the same as far as turnout (could there be a connection?) On this Fat Tuesday, it was more of the same, sort of, as my very unscientific survey showed that many places had a fair amount of business early, but it died off fast. In some cases, that meant as soon as 11 p.m., before technically, an hour prior to Ash Wednesday arriving.
— Now my favorite Fat Tuesday story. At the Village Inn in North Hudson, a guy won $875 but really lamented that it was done right at bar time, so he couldn’t fully celebrate, if you know what I mean. He did buy a quick drink, in token form, for the handful of people who were still there closing down Fat Tuesday, and tipped the bartender handily. With it being past last call, he schemed about what he could do with the rest of the cash. Let’s just say his truck is getting a big upgrade.

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