All Entries in the "Minnesota" Category
Oberg Farms: Innocent Farming or Something Else? (videos)
This past week I had the opportunity to learn about sugar beet farming, courtesy of a couple of great guys, Ernie Oberg and his son Brian. Oberg Farms is a thriving business based in Moorhead (Minn.) but it’s hardly limited to sugar beets. Potatoes, corn, wheat and soybeans round out a family-run business that’s been around for generations. It [...]
The Favre Factor on WDAY (video)
I was on the air this morning when the biggest announcement in the history of the world came through our newsroom. It aired on ESPN, the BBC…even a baby yak that speaks English helped Sherpas in Nepal understand the significance of the moment: Brett Favre is back and he signed with the Minnesota Vikings. After [...]
Eye on Monday: Stages Theatre Company, Hopkins, MN
This week’s Eye on Monday has a dual purpose. It not only will highlight one of the two professional theatre companies for young audiences in the Twin Cities, but it will also serve as what amounts to an opening act for a new Blog Harbor feature called Spotlight. Spotlight will be an interview series that does exactly what the [...]
Brett Favre Feeling Minnesota?
And so The Favre Dance begins again. Back on August 1, 2008 I wrote a piece about Brett Favre and the Packers. Namely, that I believed the Packers and Favre were better off together. The flurry of talk at the time was the idea Favre and Green Bay might work out a deal for him to join the Minnesota Vikings. [...]
It’s Dark. It’s Late. It’s Quiet. Why? (video)
It was dark. It was late. Nobody was out. It was quiet. Too quiet? Maybe. But I needed to know: Why was it so quiet? Why wasn’t anyone out. I knew why it was dark. Because it was late. When it’s late . . . it’s dark. I could have been a detective. My [...]
Eye on Monday: Sneak-a-Peek Cell Phone Technique (video)
I was speaking with a friend the other day about people and their cell phones. Namely, how folks can be in mid-sentence with you, stop abruptly, check their cell for a new text message and then continue talking as if nothing happened. Or, worse, they’ll actually interrupt you to read a text, then send a reply [...]
The Batting Cage
As spring is settling in here in Minnesota, summer is in the on-deck circle. And with summer around the corner, this means many things to different people: Going to the beach house at the Jersey Shore every weekend, heading up to the Maine coast, traveling “up north to the cabin” here in our state and [...]
The Three Minnesota Driving Styles Direct from Hades
Christopher Gabriel, CGabriel.com I often think it’s me, this uncanny ability I possess that allows me to drive directly behind, or in front of, The Driver Spawned From the Depths of Hades. And for those of you not up on your Greek mythology, Hades was the God of the Underworld, which also went by the same name. Not [...]
Nikos Got a Gig!
After arriving in Wisconsin several months ago, Nikos’ green card finally came through. And I’m happy to report he got his first voiceover gig! It’s a radio ad for a small Minneapolis jewelry store owned by Russian transplant and all-around good guy, Boris Valnekoff. Nikos was the Sales Star of the Month for both January and February and [...]
The Drive-Thru Window and #3418
Christopher Gabriel, CGabriel.com It all started out like a great idea. You drive up and order. You drive a little further and pay. Then you wait patiently before you receive what you’ve ordered. And within minutes, you’re on your way. Coffee, food, prescriptions, even alcohol - you did it all without ever getting out of the car. It’s [...]
A Trophy for Everyone: The Seeds of Entitlement
When I was growing up, I played sports. Basketball was what I eventually settled on by high school but prior to that I also played baseball and ran track. When there was a tournament during the year or the playoffs at the end of the season, there were winners and there were losers. The winners got [...]
The Christmas Spirit and Customer Service: Return of the Grinch
By Christopher Gabriel, CGabriel.com Part 2 of The Christmas Spirit and Customer Service. Part 1 was published December 8, 2007 I look forward to the month of December and Christmas more than any other time of the year. The music, the decorations, the meaning of the holiday, the snow - so much good cheer in the air. [...]
A Night at the High School Musical
I went to high school in the mid-1970′s just outside of Philadelphia. Our school was known for exceptional academics and strong sports teams. The arts? We had a decent choral group and the orchestra was passable. Oh, and there was the theatre department. Calling it an actual department may be an overstatement. Our school put on two shows every [...]
Can Two Sisters Control the Universe?
By Christopher Gabriel, CGabriel.com There was a time not so long ago when we were the parents that got a good chuckle over the wild stories we heard from other parents about their children. The assaults on their sanity, the mass chaos that would commence without warning and the meltdowns in stores. Good laughs, indeed, because [...]
The Weather Conspiracy: Oh, It’s Real
I’m having a really hard time figuring out who to blame on this whole winter weather deal, but someone is going to pay for my suffering. Oh, don’t misunderstand: It’s not because there’s been too much winter already. No, no, no. It’s my lack of traditional, Minnesota winter, year after year after year, that has me [...]
