In recapping this past weekend with Gurs, I shall repeat a statement which I wrote or implied my last significant time with Nemo: I am at a point in my life where doing nothing is a completely acceptable form of entertainment. I believe Gurs and I did largely nothing for all of Saturday, and for large parts of Sunday, and for large parts of our time together Thursday, and, really, for much of Friday and, really, it was some level of perfect. A fantastic time.

To the recap, though briefly:

Thursday saw Gurs working during the day, and me departing the Ring Fingernail at 6 a.m. A quick connection - I got one of the last spots on an earlier plane to the Twin Cities - got me into Minneapolis at about 8:30. Gurs' impeccable directions and a brisk (both quick-paced, and slightly chilly, the only part of the weekend that could be considered chilly) walk across the Grain Belt Bridge got me to Gurs' place by 9:30. A bowl of cereal, some unpacking-type things, and a 2 1/2 hour nap had me back out the door by slightly after 1. Destination: The Walker Art Center, because I'm nothing if not cultured, and because it was a nice walk and, well, what else was there to do anyway? Now, the rock band Art Brut, who I would see later that evening, once (including that evening) barked "ModernArt. MakesMe. Want-to. Rock out!" Modern art doesn't make me want to rock out, but it was a pretty good way to spend a few hours, and the Walker's got some Warhol and some Roy Liechtenstein and some guy who drew marker sketches all over the wall of a staircase area, including the wise inscription, "Forget Art. Watch Your Step," above the first step down. Probably saved lives.

So then I walked back to Gurs', and he got home from work, and we went to dinner (french fries & cheese curds & gravy & pickles - not as delicious as you'd think) and then we went to the weekend's chief entertainment - The Hold Steady.

Was it great? Yes, it was some level of great. They're a great, great band, and the crowd was totally into them. However, it was unlike any indie rock show that I've ever seen, as it was in the State Theatre, which is to say there were assigned seats and a poorly-staffed, slow-moving bar.

The upside is that the sound was great. The band was receptive and interacted pretty well. Craig Finn was his charismatic self. And they rocked. And the songs are awesome. The downside is that we were both behind tall people. And we couldn't really move freely, both restricted by the seating, and by the dorks in our vicinity. At a normal rock concert, with general admission floor seating, the sweaty, bouncy folks gravitate to the front, and the "I just want to watch the band" folks gravitate to the back, and it all works out. Here, we were next to boring types. Surprisingly, there was never any filtration to the aisles, so we just let the power of the songs carry us through the evening.

And they did, including three new ones (two great and poppy, one a bit slower), a fantastic rendition of "Southtown Girls," and a set-closing and, indeed, killer, version of "Killer Parties."

I think The Hold Steady will, forever and always, put on a great show. I do hope they get longer than 90 minutes. They've got the back catalog, and they've got the charisma to pull off a two-hour set. Next time they're within four hours of me, I'm definitely there. Definitely.

(Also, John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, who played in town the previous night, was in attendance, wandering the aisles. I kind of recognized him. Then I definitely recognized. Someone really recognized him, staked him out, stalked him down, and showed him what was apparently a Mountain Goats tattoo of some sort on her left arm. He was touched, it seemed, and took a camera photo.)

I said I'd be brief. I've not been brief. After the show, Gurs and I went to his cool down-the-street rock bar, then to his apartment to watch The Office - "Besides having sex with men, Finer Things is the gayest thing about me" - and then to sleep.

Friday saw the daytime hours at Benning State Park, about an hour north of the Gurs pad. A hike around the Kettle River, mostly just hanging out.

Friday night, however, saw the anticipated meet-up with Cookie, a former Quad Cities coworker, and, really, one of the greatest kids in the world. Only one regular reader here has met Cookie and, really, I can't describe how awesome this kid is. But, anyway, it was great to see him. He's a runt.

Gurs had a few first-class residency friends there but, really, it was Cookie's show. It's always Cookie's show.

Let's describe our watering hole, a fine establishment called Liquor Lyle's. They played Weezer. They boast seven happy hours through the day (roughly, noon-2, 4-7, and 9-11). If you order a drink during Happy Hour, which is a 2-for-1 special, they just bring you two of 'em. After all, it's Happy Hour. And, even at regular prices, they were cheap. And strong.

We were there for the start of the 9-11 segment and, well, Liquor Lyle's had gotten the best of me by the end of the 9-11 segment. My fatal decision came when our waiter said "Last call for 2-for-1's," and I, stupidly, did a 'seven-fingers seven-fingers double flash' indicating that I wanted, nay, needed, two more 7-and-7's. At Liquor Lyle's, that's roughly the equivalent of, say, six more 7-and-7's.

This kid can't hang anymore, not that I could ever really hang. By 10:30, I was a babbling idiot. By 11, I was a babbling, sleepy idiot. And by midnight, roughly, I was just asleep.

Saturday saw us watching the Cats, playing some hoop, going to dinner, touring the many unseen parts of Minneapolis and the entirely-unseen city of St. Paul, stopping off at The Happy Gnome, and heading back home to watch the tail end of Madden Nation.

Sunday saw card-playing at a coffee house, Dim Sum with some more associateds at a Dim Sum establishment, a quick trip to Minnehaha Park, and an all-too-quick return to the airport.

All-too-quick but, ultimately, satisfying.

A few other notes from the trip:

1. I really love The Chicago Tribune.
I got a Trib at O'Hare on Thursday morning. I couldn't take my eyes off of it all weekend. I paged through the obituaries, the entire sports section, the story of the new Millennium Park piece for this winter, the story on imminent CTA fare hikes, and a few stories on a less-imminent casino project. The Trib was a big part of my formative life, my 8 through 22 years, and I really love it a lot. Some say the Trib sucks. It gives me exactly what I want. If I ever move back to a major market, I'm definitely subscribing to the daily paper. I love the daily paper, far more than the daily paper website.

2. Only ever take one fortune cookie. Two fortune cookies is greedy, and you definitely get what you deserve.
We ate Thai food on Saturday night. My first fortune cookie was fantastic, both with the "in bed" suffix and without: You will always be surrounded by those who love you. That's beautiful. It was also a fortune cookie, so it tasted really good. So, on the way out, I grabbed another. This one was less awesome, both with the "in bed" suffix and without: Keep your idealism practical. Dream small, dude, dream small.

3. Candy is really good.
Gurs had a bucket of leftover Halloween candy when I arrived. He had far less than a bucket of leftover Halloween candy when I left. I liked the Caramel Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, more than the White Chocolate Reese's. I loved the Peanut Butter M&M's. The Starburst double-pack is fairly satisfying, while the Snickers Fun Size is eternally satisfying. But, when it comes right down to it, the simple bag of M&M Mini's was the most satisfying, in terms of a) amount of candy, and b) taste of candy. I'd call it an upset but, when it was all said and done, I think I got the most joy out of that little turquoise bag.

4. I spent about five minutes in a bathroom stall in the Minneapolis airport.
It took all the willpower I could muster to avoid yelling, "Who's up for some anonymous sex in a Minneapolis Airport bathroom stall?" or to just simply play footsie with somebody in an adjacent stall. If only I had that willpower around candy. Or 7-and-7's.

Out of 10, an A+ trip. That's all.

- - - - - - - -

With basketball season approaching, and the outlook for the future bleak, I'm very seriously considering Dish or DirecTV. It looks like I can get the Big Ten Network package for $29.99 monthly on dish, though it'd be extra for local channels. I'd imagine I'll be able to skethily get local channels (and cable channels) in my bedroom if I maintain my cable internet and add a splitter. It looks like the package with Big Ten Network costs me $44.99 through DirecTV. However, it also looks like I can get internet via my current provider for as little as $14.99, which seems inconceivable - after all, I've got a 'deal' right now, and I pay $90 for internet & TV.

I think I'm willing to accept a slight price increase, as I'll most certainly spend a few bucks a weekend to see afternoon conference games if I can't get the games at home - I'm a sucker for the Cats, after all - but I need to contact my leasing office about the feasibility of it. Can I install satellite here? I sure hope so, because I'm not any closer to getting the BTN via cable. The BTN kind of sucks, but they're the ones with the power.

I'm sure I'll keep you posted.

- - - - - - - -

Saturday's Cats loss was really frustrating. NU is as good or better than Iowa talent-wise, I really believe, and you should beat teams that you're as good or better than at home when bowl eligibility is on the line. You certainly shouldn't go from dominating the first quarter to flopping the rest of the way, and you certainly shouldn't abandon the run after the 12-minute point of a one-score game, which is what the Cats did.

McManis played terribly. Gill was awesome. Bacher was terrible. Peterman was awesome, then didn't touch the ball in the second half. Amado missed a few big field goals that could have changed the complexion of the game.

I think that whole "throwing up four fingers at the start of the fourth quarter" thing is comical. Dominant programs dominate the fourth quarter. Middling ones don't, even if they sometimes stage comebacks against powerhouses like Nevada or Minnesota in that quarter.

Gosh, we went into these final four saying they were all winnable and all losable and, two games in, they're both losses. I've not looked at the line, but I'd imagine that the Cats are slight home dogs against Indiana (of note, Notre Dame is a home dog against Air Force, my dad reports), and the following week looks to be a tough one at Champaign. Two wins is the only way to a bowl, I think.

Power rankings:

1) Ohio State (1st last week, 1st tier)

2) Michigan (2-2)
3) Penn State (3-2)

4) Illinois (4-3)
5) Wisconsin (5-3)
6) Purdue (6-3)

7) Iowa (8-3)
8) Indiana (7-3)
9) Michigan State (10-4)
10) Northwestern (9-4)
11) Minnesota (11-4)

Gosh, I'd shoot myself if I were a Michigan State fan.

This weeks winners:
NORTHWESTERN over Indiana
Penn State over TEMPLE
Michigan over WISCONSIN
PURDUE over Michigan State
IOWA over Minnesota
OHIO STATE over Illinois

Gosh, the Cats are on ESPN Classic this week. Does anyone get that. I hope they get it in Saginaw. Go Cats.