Someone took this picture of the Evil Queen with Snow White’s heart from the bathroom at Chester Creek Cafe. It was a gift from my brother 25 years ago and had sentimental value. Ok – yes it was dopey of me to have it in there but it was screwed to the wall and I had misplaced faith in humankind. I want it back – a reward is offered. No questions asked. Please help me if you can.

I was at Cub Foods today and ran across some Flaherty’s Tom & Jerry batter in the freezer section. Is it an acceptable alternative to Connolly’s T&J batter?

Now on Yahoo News, Paul Lundgren’s Doppelganger. And it looks like he needs to take it easy.

6 Symptoms that Men Should Never Ignore

Personally, I find it impossible to drive past a situation like this and not have a Dukes-of-Hazzard fantasy. And it always surprises me that no one goes for it. A trailer positioned like this is clearly a stunt-jumping invitation for any West Duluth dirtbag with a muscle car — and I don’t see how any judge could disagree.

Duluth got a mention in this 2010 Ted Talk by cell biologist Mark Roth: Suspended Animation is in our Grasp

[ted id=796]

More specifically he mentions the miraculous case of Janice Goodger …

There was a 65-year-old woman in Duluth, Minnesota last year that was found frozen and without a pulse in her front yard one morning in the winter, and they brought her back to life. The next day, she was doing so well, they wanted to run tests on her. She got cranky and just went home.

I was at Mt. Royal Foods this morning surveying the doughnut rack with my daughter and I did a double take when I saw a long-john with a slab of fried bacon laid down the middle, on top of the delicious maple frosting. I did not have my camera to take a picture. Is this a “standard build” in the doughnut industry, or is it a custom creation from the bake staff? My wife gave me strict orders to not buy sweets this morning, otherwise I’d probably be posting this on Yelp.

Here’s an actual photo of a letter that someone I work with received this week. She was just driving through the drive thru minding her business when the car in front of her paid for her coffee and egg sandwich, anonymously. It definitely brought a smile which I guess is the whole idea. Reminds me of that saying that was popular in the 90s: “Practice random acts of kindness and senseless beauty.” But it’s not random, at all. It’s called the “Drive Thru Difference” and I had heard about it being done as a consciousness raising campaign of KTIS-FM in the Twin Cities, and even read a blog about it awhile back. But apparently it’s happening in the Twin Ports with KTIS sister station KDNI-FM leading the way.

If you’re wondering about the mechanics of it (which I was), here’s a YouTube video of singer-songwriter Brandon Heath (who I really like) actually doing it at a Dunn Bros in the Twin Cities:

“>Brandon Heath Demonstrates the Drive-Thru Difference

Fond du Lac Band’s 89.1 FM WGZS “The Moon” was one of several Native American Radio stations mentioned in a report on MPR News this morning. I have been aware that the station was coming to the airwaves for over a year now and I have been listening randomly since it signed on in September. They are literally building the station from the ground up, and a week or so ago I noticed that the budding station had powered up enough to reach much of Duluth. It’s occasionally scratchy but I can pick it up at home in the Hillside and around town in the vehicle.

To me, it’s awesome. It’s very raw, and real. There are no commercial interruptions which is enough to recommend it right there (not that there is anything against commercial radio). The programming consists mainly of 70s and 80s rock, although when it signed on in September, it seemed to be dominated by deep Motown and soul cuts from the 60s. And just yesterday I was listening and there was some old time country. Really, it’s random. There are always some traditional Native American tracks sprinkled in and I expect more and more homegrown music and public affairs programming as they get their footing. From what I’ve personally observed, spoken word programming consists mainly of an introduction to Ojibwe language (priceless) and I did hear one interview about a community event that was upcoming. My recommendation is to set 89.1 FM on your car or home presets and give it some time.

The FDL Tribal Newspaper did a story about it in the October 2011 edition, you can click here for a PDF

Found: Young, male orange cat, 12th Street and Lake Avenue, Park Point. 218-260-9922

Found: A large brown and black dog, wandering Duluth’s Central Hillside.

Call 727-6298 to describe and identify.

Duluth artist Emily Kuznia has another one of her quirky/cool designs in the Woot Shirt Derby for Oct. 20. That means you can order one of these puppies anytime today and they are only 10 bucks. If enough people order … here’s where I get foggy … Emily will win some kind of awesome prize or accolades. So Nettleton-Central-Hillsiders-Duluthians and anyone else who may have some tie to Emily please take a look and get yourself a shirt. Oh and if you don’t have a tie why not just do it to give a cool young artist a leg up?

Christmas is just around the corner and these will make great stocking stuffers for just ten bucks (free shipping).

Survival of the Funnest is another one of Emily’s Woot Shirt designs that I blogged about last December.

UPDATE: 11/4/11

Here’s another one, she’s on a roll, I guess. “I’m here to the Rescue .. uh … Never Trust a Princess”

This was spotted on First Street next door to Ace’s on Monday afternoon. Let’s hope they teach kids to sing and dance better than they spell. Which begs the question, do pop stars even need to know how to spell?

Found at 1200 block of East Second Street. Still wearing harness from lead. Still has front claws. E-mail xterrabuzz @ gmail.com or call (218) 310.0506.

After scrambling around through the spare change pockets in my car for quarters, I got to the meters outside the St. Louis County/MN State Office building only to find that I don’t need quarters there anymore!

This welcome improvement is, I guess, part of the extensive remodeling that has occurred in the building over the last year or so. Speaking of nickel and dimed, most of the cost of this remodeling came from the failed Obama stimulus package. Here’s (some of) what we got for the money:

Previously, clients needed to visit four different program areas, located on four different floors of the building. This created a complex structural maze adding even more confusion to the sometimes daunting task of accessing appropriate government services. But, in addition to benefiting clients, the new Central Client Area will improve the use of building space, mitigate security related issues, lower cleaning and maintenance costs, and reduces the building’s overall utility bill. The project encompassed the entire first floor of the Government Services Center, and includes, centralized intake for Public Health and Human Services, secure interview rooms, shared reception spaces, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades, and general remodeling upgrades to meet current building codes for professional office buildings.

Source: St. Louis County Press Release

Related: In May UMD’s Lake Voice News wrote about a Downtown Resident with thousands in parking fines and it looked at some of the concerns about downtown meters, including the fact that they only accept quarters.

Very friendly neutered male sometimes answers to Dionysus or “Dio.” We believe he got out Sunday, Sept 18, and would have been in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Second Street and 23rd Avenue West. We all miss him very much and are eager to find him. If seen please call 218-249-0885.

Hairless cat found near University of Minnesota Duluth campus on Friday, Sept. 16, around 7 a.m. Brought to Duluth Animal Control later on Friday.

Found a Marin bike by my house.  Pretty sure it was stolen and ditched.  Has a couple of distinguishing characteristics.  See Craigslist ad.

I found a pair of eyeglasses on Wisconsin Point on Sunday, Sept. 11, along the shore near parking lot 1. I hung them on the sign at the parking lot, so if you’re looking for them they’re probably still there.
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1-to-2-year-old Golden Retriever with blue handkerchief found at 16th Avenue East and Jefferson Street in Duluth this morning with no tags, looking scared and hungry. Ate three bowls of dog food. Anyone know the owner?

I lost my glasses today after getting stuck in the rain on a hike and putting them in my pocket.  I took them off while on the trail but we were pretty close to the trail head by Vermilion Road / St. Marie St., by that wonky curve.  We then walked across the bridge, turned right onto Lakeview Drive, and walked all the way to Waverly Place and turned left.  If anyone has seen them, I would love to have them back, since I don’t have insurance or any money to buy new ones.  They have black frames that are white on the inside and edges.

In other news, the thimble berries on the trail are starting to ripen, and there are lots of stands of them all the way up and down the trail!

The other evening I saw three guys mowing the grass that the city has ignored on a median strip on Mesaba Avenue. Thank you guys! I go down First Avenue East every day and the tall grass that had not been mowed all summer made it impossible to see up-bound traffic. These three guys took matters into their own hands and believe me it did not go unnoticed. Thank you guys!

This dog was lost or abandoned at the Lakeside Super One. I was told he jumped out of a pickup truck and the truck took off. Not sure if they knew the dog had jumped out or if it was intentional. It’s a youngish fixed male, perhaps chocolate lab or chocolate lab pit bull mix. Very very friendly and sweet dog. This happened Sunday morning, June 19.

Mrs Goose’ close pal Justy Dodge has the Joke of the Week on Time Out New York. Who knows? Maybe the right person will crack a smile and who knows where that could lead in a city that has launched the careers of ten thousand entertainment icons?

I remember talking with Justy about leaving a few years back and she had a lot of people telling her to forget it and just stay and sling hash in a diner or something. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I also admire her pursuit of her dream and I thought I’d share this accomplishment however large or small it may be in the grand scheme of things I was glad to hear about it. It gave me a chuckle anyway.

This poster was hanging on the pillar outside Insty-Prints at the Spirit Valley Shopping Center in West Duluth on Tuesday. Everyone at Insty denied involvement and seemed unaware of it. The tear-offs at the bottom are lyrics from the song.

I can’t wait to check it out again today to see which slips are missing. Apparently someone was curious if you are “somewhere feeling lonely” or if there is “someone loving you.”

Kudos.

Found on the Duluth Public Library Facebook page:

Be one of the first to try out the library’s new chat reference service! Get your questions answered in real-time by one of our librarians. Find our chat box on our “Ask Us (e-Reference)” page.

Ask Us!
e-Reference Service
duluth.lib.mn.us
Do you need information? Are you looking for an address, phone number or the answer to a short factual question?

Is there anybody (or do you know anybody) who lost car keys near Chester Bowl in the last day or two? If so, some kind soul has hung them by their lanyard at the Kent Rd. end of the retaining wall fence along the road through the bowl. Been there since yesterday (Friday). Cheers.

I was at Cub Foods tonight, bagging up my groceries, when I spotted the ATM at the Wells Fargo branch and decide to withdraw some cash. As I waited for the transaction to go through, I glanced at a stray ATM receipt sitting atop the machine. And boy, was it more interesting than I expected:

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