Lightning Round -- 111113

Haven't done one of these in a while. Shake down the thunder from the sky:

• The Star Tribune has noticed that municipal salaries have been going up sharply, especially for the bigwigs. In one of her periodic broken clock moments, State Sen. Barb Goodwin avers:  "My fears have come true. It's inevitable. If you could raise your own salary, you're going to, right? Wouldn't you?" Goodwin voted against the law that enabled the raises, which I'm sure she'll be reminding voters about when she's up for re-election in 2016. I would remind you that Goodwin supported Mary Kunesh-Podein in her unsuccessful run for New Brighton City Council. Kunesh-Podein was trying to unseat Gina Bauman, who recently ensured that all the LGA money that New Brighton received was given back to the taxpayers. As always, pay attention to what politicians actually do.
• I only met Jonathan Brannen a few times, but I learned a lot from him. Jonathan was the only working poet I've known, who combined a courtly manner with a wide-ranging artistic approach. He wrote poetry, songs and a whole lot more. He passed away suddenly on Tuesday. You can get a sampling of his work in the current edition of the online literary journal AlteredScale. As I've slowly edged my way back into writing poetry, Jonathan's example and encouragement has meant a lot to me, and his generous spirit and intelligence meant quite a lot to other people, likely more than he ever knew. We don't have public poets like Carl Sandburg or Robert Frost that much any more; poets tend to work quietly and often their legacy is only discovered after they are gone. Jonathan leaves a legacy worth discovering.