Ok, so the writing-on-the-side thing is going well so far, but it does deplete my blogging somewhat. I hope to start putting up short posts more often, but we’ll see. In any case, here’s a few products that I’ve really enjoyed recently that I thought I’d recommend for you all.

Keen Coronado

I received a pair of these great kicks for my birthday (thanks Terry & LouAnn) and I love them. Very comfortable. Styling with khakis or jeans. Good summer shoes that are way comfortable — I imagine they put chucks to shame. To top it off, $60 for a well-constructed good-looking shoe ain’t bad. I recommend.

Two Good Books: Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving & The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

I bought these books together at a bookstore going-out-of-business sale, and it turns out they are similar in several ways. Both tell the rather long story of an author finding his way in the strange world of the US, with signifiant time in another country. Both plots are very well-construed and as tight as 500+ page books can get. Neither are quite beach reads, as they deal with death, love, sexuality, violence, and other not-so-simple issues. But they are well-written and well worth the non-beach time.

Target Field, the new home of the Minnesota Twins

For as long as I’ve off-and-on lived in Minnesota (since 2001) folks have been fighting over whether to build and now to fund a new baseball stadium. Well, it’s here. It’s called Target field. It’s funded in large part by Hennepin County tax payers. And it’s pretty nice. I may post more later after I take in my first game this week (Thursday — can’t wait!), but by most accounts it is an impressive success. There’s no dome, which is both risky and right in my book. But it’s a field to befit Minnesota: reasonably sized, shows attention to detail, energy conscious, innovative without being ostentatious. Go Twins!