Here’s a photo from last year, and a poem I wrote as I meditated on the picture:

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Considering the definition of “santorum,” there are a lot of opportunities for headline writers tonight. Your suggestions are welcome in the comments.

Attention fellow mad scientists! After years of searching and countless minutes making phone calls we have finally made contact. The secretive and mighty Ronin Motorcycle Collective has obtained rights to lease the most excellent and prime secret laboratory location in Duluth. Oddly totally hidden and yet right in front of everyone’s nose at the same time we are ready to assemble an initial team of elite and dedicated moto-enthusiasts, crazy ass artists, techno-hackers and general all around collaborative individuals willing to commit and create the Zenith city’s first Co-operative and collaborative moto/hacker/art/wtf space.

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On Feb. 6, at UMD, the Center for Ethics and Public Policy, directed by Shane Courtland, sponsored another in its series of events that bring the university and the community into dialogue about key issues of the day.

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Paper over the windows doesn’t necessarily mean this classic restaurant at 2005 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s friendly West End is closed for good, but the word on the street is that it has been closed for a few months and will stay that way. (It was included in the “Breakfast in Duluth” post 10 months ago.)

This was the last of four Jim’s Hamburger locations in Duluth. Jim Overlie was the founder, opening the first one in 1937. I think the West End location opened in the 1940s. Overlie sold in 1985 to Dick and Mary Christensen. Dick died in 2000 and Mary died in 2006. Their son Denny took over ownership.

Other Jim’s Hamburger locations were at:
502 E. Fourth St. (closed in 2005)
414 W. Superior (closed in 1995)
502 E. First St. (closed in 1982)

“Google Inc. will begin construction today in Kansas City, Kan., on its long-awaited, much-coveted ultrafast Internet service. The company planned to make the announcement this morning in a blog post by Kevin Lo, the Google executive heading up the project.”

On May 1, two adventurers will hit the saddle and begin their documented journey around the Great Lakes of North America. We will spend three months bicycling over 5,000 miles on a journey that will take us through two countries, eight states, and over 20 major cities. As we undertake this epic journey we will be filming with high-definition cameras to document our experiences.

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Monday, Feb. 6
Temple Grandin,  doctor of animal science, bestselling author, and advocate for people with autism speaks on the St. Scholastica campus.

Thursday, Feb. 9
Celebrities duke it out for another year of the Celebrity Dance Challenge. It’s opening night of the multiple Tony award winning musical Spring Awakening at the Teatro.

Friday, Feb. 10
Music and miniatures combine again for Diorama-rama at Sacred Heart. Don your best Renaissance garb for a Valentines Madrigal Dinner which will also take place Saturday night.

Saturday, Feb. 11
Martin Zellar plays a CD release show at Luce with Charlie Parr opening. Take your pick of Valentine’s Day related events to get you in the mood to either love or love to hate the upcoming holiday, starting with a special match between the Harbor City Roller Dames and the Chippewa Valley Roller Girls in a cupid scuffle. Enjoy a romantic dinner at Glensheen after taking a tour of the historic site. Lastly, take in some art based on love, a puppet show, lasers, and more at Love at the Snoodle.

Keep checking the PDD Calendar for events!

OK, maybe there are more than twelve steps, and maybe they are not-so-easy. But the City of Duluth and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District promised a “12-year schedule to stop sewage overflows.” That was back in 2004 (I think), so if my math is right we are 8 years into the plan. I don’t know about you, fellow Duluthians, but I am feeling irie!

Here it is early February, and spring is in the air. That means snow-melt, which admittedly won’t be a huge issue this year. But we know from past experience that spring melt and heavy rains can lead to sewer overflows. This is a problem worth understanding, and rather than trying to offer details here, I highly recommend WLSSD’s article on the topic (I and I Solutions – Inflow and Infiltration: When Clean Water Causes Problems!).

Read more about why I love the new storage tank in Canal Park, and overlook some of its less redeeming qualities (and see a photo) by visiting today’s Nature of Modern Life post.

Entries into the guest books at lodges tend to be kind of boring, but I like how this group made a comic out of their stay at Heston’s Lodge on Gunflint Lake a month ago. Flipping through the stack of archives reveals this group has been making the trip for at least a dozen years, and they always leave a comic behind.

The Lake Superior Libraries Symposium is placing a call for proposals with local librarians, teachers, IT professionals and community members to participate in our inaugural conference to be held on Friday, June 1, 2012 at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College Conference Center. 

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Save the date for one of four upcoming bicycle/pedestrian meetings in Duluth. Each two-hour meeting starts promptly at 6 p.m.
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We are looking to replace our furnace this spring. Can anyone recommend some places that sell and install furnaces?

When you look at old pictures of Duluth’s Cascade Park there is a creek that runs through it. Whatever happened to it? Why did people change it?

It’s a beautiful winter and I need to get my dog outside. I just don’t have the time to run with her right now. Does anyone know an excellent dog walker that I could contact? I’m looking for someone that can keep her moving for at least 30 minutes.

If you haven’t heard, the Duluth Art Institute will soon be starting screenings of Robert Hughes’ Shock of the New, which is a fantastic eight-part series on the rise and fall of the modern art movement. Not only will you be able to rest your eyes on the handsome and talented Robert Hughes, but you will be able to do it for free.

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He’s been clogging up the airwaves with his “January in Duluth” posts … now it’s time to bid him farewell.

(januaryinduluth.wordpress.com/).

Before he flees, he has agreed to give us a presentation on what he’s been up to.

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Who knew ??? with the movie community all abuzz over the French  film, The Artist,”  the first silent movie in 80 years up for an Academy Award, that First Lutheran Church would be “trendy” this Friday night Feb 3 at 7:30 p.m. with the showing of the 1925 silent movie classic “Ben Hur: At Tale of the Christ” with the talented University of Michigan theater organist, Dr. Steven Ball providing some stunning  improvisational musical accompaniment on the church’s world-class pipe organ.   Tickets $10 adult, $5 student.  Join us!

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Daren Streblow performs in Duluth on Feb. 17 as part of the Duluth Christian Singles Event. To purchase tickets go to: duluthchristiansingles.org.

Where can someone go to get good fried chicken around the Twin Ports? KFC is absolutely terrible and I can’t think of any other place that has fried chicken.

Photo Electric Effect

Texas Science: “Discovery of a ‘Dark State’ Could Mean a Brighter Future for Solar Energy“

(Getting to the end — thank you so much for putting up with these January in Duluth encroachments in this wonderful space.)

Last day of January and I have a few sackfuls of questions with incomplete/partial answers. With time running out, maybe you can give me a few hints on my homework? Below, I’ve boiled down a list of [A] v. s, isolating dichotomies about life here in Duluth — if you have a few extra intro/outrospective minutes to kill today, I’d love to hear how you’d weigh in on any or all of these. Of course, in each matchup there’s no need to declare a clearcut winner (balance in all things), so your answers can take the form of one word or a phrase or a few thoughts or an essay if you’re exceptionally motivated:

(1) Isolation v. Community.

(2) Passion v. Responsibility.

(3) Nostalgia v. Trailblazing.

(4) Cynicism v. Optimism.

(5) Underdog Mindset v. Inferiority Complex.

(6) Willing Confrontation v. Passive Aggression.

(7) Coffee v. Beer.

(8) East v. West? How deep is the division?

(9) “Come enjoy our wonderful city!” v. “Stay the hell out.”

(10) If Duluth were un-propered into a regular vocabulary word, “duluth,” what part of speech would it be (to duluth, a duluth day, look at that duluth) and what would its definition be?

Anyone trying to create a user account for Perfect Duluth Day from Saturday night to this morning, probably saw this:

The problem is fixed, and creating an account should work now. We apologize to those who were frustrated by this.

But not forever, I’m thinking.

So tomorrow is the last day of January in Duluth (and everywhere else too). I’m going to be writing a post in the morning asking some bigger picture questions I’ve been thinking about, but haven’t answered definitively. Look out for that (also, if you’ve been following and holding back, you can tell me what you really think about the project — but wait for tomorrow to do that).

For today, I have a morbid question. If you knew tomorrow were your last day on earth, and you were to spend it entirely within Duluth/immediate surrounding area, what would you do? A last day, in Duluth.

This episode has a chase scene through the Skywalk and Canal. Hope you enjoy!

Prøve Gallery announces an open call for submissions for the show “Strange Objects.”
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I always wait until too late. Not this year!

What CSAs (Community Shared Agriculture) projects would you recommend? I’m an old, fat man who isn’t willing to work on the farm to cut his costs, and who is deathly afraid of programs that mandate that I go to a specific place within a 45 minute window once a month or lose my food.

What would you recommend?

I’m no longer in Duluth, but I found out about a campaign going on there right now and I couldn’t be more encouraged by the people and message behind it, including Mayor Ness. If you haven’t heard about it, check out local news coverage here.

I strongly support the message, which is not, “Hey white people. You are all racists.” Rather it is “Hey white people. You have privileges bestowed upon you because you are white.” Being white can make it harder to see that others in society are not equal because they are not white. I for one am happy to see Mayor Ness using his authority and influence to help open people’s eyes to the issue of racism in Duluth and beyond. Unfortunately Mayor Ness says he is getting death threats because of this.

Check out the Un-Fair Campaign website for more info: http://unfaircampaign.org/

I’d love to hear what people in Duluth are thinking.