Every Friday, Ben brings you SD&IF’s weekend space filler With Us / Against Us. Prepare to be torn down, then gloriously uplifted!

Against Us

What’s up with the Minneapolis library system? The Rake analyzes and MNSpeak commenters debate. Personally, I just want to hear more KISS piped during my attempts to check out an entire bin of mid-90s Marvel comics.

Hey, have you heard? A LOT of Republicans are coming to Minneapolis! Soon! Ignoring a) your personal leanings and b) the gigantic injection of cash and notoriety this will provide, a convention of this scale will be a hot mess of inconvenience for these fair Cities. The GOP sorta-kinda tries to make everything alright with a FAQ about the conven, but goes off the rails trying to explain that a “professional transportation management company” will “[help] keep things moving smoothly on area roadways.” Well, tease my armadillo and call me if the rash continues! Okay then! How could a sudden influx of 45,000 goddamn people affect a relatively-small, already-strained metropolitan area cursed with inveterate, unaddressed transit issues? I worry that some frustrated local denizen will provide an MSNBC reporter with a faceful of Louisville after being approached for a “How are you coping?” story while I wait in line to get into Hell’s Kitchen. (Also, I know it’s a cool thing to do for the kids, but ‘How many fucking balloons will we drop?’ That’s a stupid fucking question.) House of Procrastination digs a little deeper into the FAQ to find what other untruthicalness it might be varnishing.

With Us

Stereogum continues to keep tabs on Ryan Adams and his fantastic little corner of the internet so you don’t have to. (You should, though.) Yep, he’s still awesome.

Fans of certain well-established large-market sports teams seek out and destroy any perceived slight against their squads. It helps that their rivalries are ripe, constant targets for media over-exploitation. Minnesota fans, on the other hand, absolutely ignore their teams and rarely receive enough provocation to instinctively band together over the most insignificant affront. Recently, however, a Denver Post article’s comments section hilariously became party to more action than a Motley Cruise deck chair when Wild fans caught wind of its anti-State-of-Hockey stance. [via]

Twitter is fun, but mostly vain and pointless. Or is it? Apparently, with the appropriate inventiveness and a quick texting hand, it can help you avoid (mostly) some rough justice. Promise me you’ll all believe any Tweets that indicate my arrest?