Check it out! Dogs as gangsters! Walking on their hind legs! The drama! The hilarity!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II1BkpX03-M

And dogs as soldiers! How'd they do that?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGl4R7smo9c&feature=related

Before you visit garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, antique malls, estate sales and auctions for pieces to transform, clear out your own spaces to see what you can discover.

The key to creating treasure from trash is to look at things in a different light and be open to possibilities.

Remember, most wobbly furniture can be strengthened with glue, dings can be covered up and stains can be cut out.

You don't need a huge budget for a creative dramatic change. Your furniture may not be glamorous, but it's functional -- you may not need to buy a new table or desk.

Kids First Garage Sale
Date: May 9th, and 10th
Time: 9am to 6pm
Place: 14400 Rutgers St NE Prior Lake
Please join Cultural Care Au Pair for a very special event: a Kids First Garage Sale! Our group of au pairs will be selling all kinds of great items: games, toys, clothing, furniture and more! Cultural Care Au Pair's Kids First holiday cards, CD of international children's songs and the International Cookbook will also be featured at this event.

I finally got to see "There Will Be Blood" this weekend. Best movie I've seen in a long, long, long, long time.

It's the kind of movie that doesn't get made much anymore - great acting, original storyline, fantastic cinematography, well-placed but not overdone musical score, etc.

Daniel Day-Lewis tops even himself in this one. A must-see, an instant classic.

Oh, and I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! (My husband got really tired of hearing me repeat this phrase dramatically over the weekend).

I saw the movie "Expelled" last night. Ben Stein and the others making the movie did a masterful job of shedding light on the fact that when it comes to science education in the USA, all speech is not created (or treated) equal.

The theory of evolution is now taught as fact across the land in spite of glaring holes in the theory that very smart, well educated scientists have exposed. However, if a scientist or professor dares to suggest that intelligent design should at least be part of the discussion in classrooms, the movie shows that move to be deadly to one's career.

If any group of people is more self-promoting than chiropractors, real estate agents and multi-level marketers, it's got to be musicians. 

Minnesota is arguably as melodious as any state in the union. Over the years, it has produced almost as many great musicians and bands as it has lakes – and the variety is as diverse as the weather.

By Joanna Miller, Staff Writer

It’s T-minus seven days until lift off as I write this.

As a former daily traveler of University Avenue between St. Paul and Minneapolis, I always thought that if any place made since for a light rail line, that would be it. The road is super busy and is a major conduit between the cities, with much of the population likely to use transit.

I just received the following group e-mail from Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, in which he makes some good points about the cost of the project. Read it and tell me what you think:

Go ahead, wrap your arms around a tree and give it a great big hug, after all, it’s April 22, also known as Earth Day.

Every year, April 22 marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement that began in 1970.

So here’s a little Earth Day history lesson.