WangWang The Singing Beagle Is The Pride Of North Minneapolis Revitalizers!

YouTube video embed by ccube2012, blog post by John Hoff

Today I said to myself, "Self, you are writing too much about crime in North Minneapolis and not enough about the successful movement toward neighborhood revitalization."

Part of the problem is that I'm not all the way home yet after Afghanistan, not yet present and documenting the various neighborhood soirees, impromptu wine tastings, and renovation parties that characterize the NoMi revitalization movement.

Jailhouse roster data, courts data, and online property information on the other hand...the main ingredients in my "jailhouse roster nuggets" recipe...I could write that stuff FROM THE MOON if I had a fast internet connection. So, by default, I've been writing a lot about crime.

But today I was sorting through old messages on Facebook, and one of my friends sent me a link to this YouTube video. I watched it and thought, "This is who we are in North Minneapolis. This is who we are becoming."

WangWang is a beagle, as you can plainly see, with pedigree papers proving his pure beagle-ness. His name is actually pronounced "Wong Wong" but spelled "WangWang." Don't ask me why, it's something to do with the fact his name is Chinese.

This video is not an "isolated incident" with WangWang. Whenever somebody sits down at a piano, WangWang wants to accompany that person with his own brand of "Beagle Blues."