I visited the Minnesota State Fair today. Everyone had a grand time. For a moment, my family and I almost forgot there is a war going on.
The state fair is an urban event where most of the older participants focus on the food. Most of the food at the fair is more suited for photographs than it is to eat, but someone must be buying it or these businesses wouldn’t be selling the same thing every year. A few years ago Alex Trebek, the host of game show Jeopardy, visited the State fair to promote his show. He was offered a plate of fair food on a live morning newscast, and he didn’t even sample one bite to be polite. In my view, he was justified. It is mostly nasty stuff -- a majority of offerings are deep fried fat.
This year I saw some of the regular delicacies such as deep fried twinkies:
And deep fried candy bars
Of course, the “Spam Mobile” was there giving out free samples.
And if you are brave enough to try foreign food, you can purchase a plate of Australian potato peels:
I’m glad the couple that purchased the potato peels let me photograph them so I could share this image with you. I don’t know what the connection is to Australia other than it might add some weight down under. If anyone knows, let me know in the comments.
The amusement rides are on the midway, and there are lots of toys that can be bought and won:
There are current beauties:
And former ones:
One barn shows the miracle of birth:
The ECO experience is new this year, and it’s awesome. I took the tour and enjoyed learning about solar power and wind power, as well ways to maintain a green yard, clothing, waste, etc. See what I saw here. It’s worth the visit.
The Fine Arts exhibit is always my favorite part of the fair with its sculptures, paintings, and photographs, etc. This year there was an image showing how Midwesterners can be so corny:
And a reminder that some of us can become self-involved:
As well as a collage that reminded us that our country and the world are in trouble under our current leadership.
If you want to see a larger view of that collage, click here.
And it’s a good thing that this more serious stuff was presented at the Minnesota State Fair because if that wasn’t enough to remind us, we received news yesterday that 2 soldiers from Minnesota died in Iraq this week. The day one of the soldiers died 12 US soldiers were killed and, as usual, many more Iraqis. You can read about the details at Icasualties.org. I believe that the news on TV that day focused on either the JonBenet Ramsey non-story or the arrest of the cultist polygamist – I’m not sure because I stopped watching it.
Local TV news did report the names and hometowns of the local soldiers who died. They were Qixing_Lee of North Minneapolis and Joshua_Robert_Hanson of Dent (near Detroit Lakes).
As we pause to remember the lives of all persons lost in the unnecessary war in Iraq, it’s easy to conclude that our TV news isn’t always fair and balanced, but thank goodness the state fair is. Minnesota is blue – a deep rich hue of blue --- and will remain so. The state fair has reinforced my faith in my fellow Minnesotans and you can count on us to do our part in the elections next November.
Cheers,
Kayakbiker
ps. Candidates for US senate debated at the fair today. Here is an exchange between Kolbuchar (D) and Kennedy (R) as reported by MPR:
It didn't take long for the candidates themselves to mix it up. Right from the start, Kennedy renewed his criticism of Klobuchar's career as Hennepin County prosecutor and a lobbyist, and said the Senate doesn't need any more people with her background.
"We already have nearly two out of three senators who are a lawyer, and 35,000 lobbyists in Washington," said Kennedy. "How about a CPA for a change? I would be the only CPA in the Senate, and one look at the budget says we need at least one CPA in the U.S. Senate."
Klobuchar shot back, saying Kennedy did little to address the budget problems during his time in Congress between 2001 and the present.
"Congressman Kennedy, I don't know who would want to hire an accountant who took a $200 billion surplus and turned it into a $300 billion deficit," said Klobuchar.
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