Month: August 2009
Rules for Teachers, 1905 and 1872
During my recent visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, I had a good laugh reading two lists of rules on the walls of the little schoolhouse.
Aurora Baer
Aurora at Carmody tonight. I’ll be in the cities, argggggg.
Fastest Vote in the West
Most precincts, like mine in West Duluth, have only two races on the ballot this year. At least we get to vote for two candidates in each.
Click here for a list of candidates that includes all the district races.
Haunted House Rummage Sale Sat-Sun (updated)
Sale this weekend at my brother’s old Babbitt-esque house at 1616 Jefferson St. (lower Endion, in the Loaves and Fishes zone if that helps anyone to place it). The kids and their friends have nicknamed it the “haunted house” because it’s one of those creeky old, not-quite-a-mansion-places that is just creepy enough to be fun, but not outright scary, and it is very popular with sleepovers for our kids, their friends and more.
I am selling stuff I can’t even believe I’m selling … (more…)
A problem that needs addressing
Just about every town has a “0” point for its street addresses. In Duluth, that would be the corner of Lake and Superior, right? 1 E. Superior, 1 W. Superior, 1 N. Lake, etc. The lower the address number, the closer it is to the zero point. And in general, there are imaginary lines that spread out from that point, dividing addresses into north-south, and east-west.
That all works out well in Duluth on the main grid of streets – downtown, West End, West Duluth, Lakeside… but then it starts to get odd.
Free Tix to Singer/Songwriter Competition near Bayfield
I can’t make it, but If anybody wants them I have 2 tickets to the Singer/Songwriter Competition for Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 7:30pm at Mt. Ashwabay Ski Hill/3 miles south of Bayfield. First person who emails me at:
mark (at) amitycreek.com
with their snail mail address gets ’em. I’ll put them in tomorrow’s mail. Thanks!
Job opportunity: Become the leader of Duluth’s music scene bureaucracy
The Homegrown Music Festival is looking for a director to follow in the footsteps of Paul Connolly, who has stepped down from the position.
Homegrown is Duluth’s yearly celebration of local music, featuring eight days of concerts with performances by well over 100 bands.
The 12th annual Homegrown will be held May 2 to 9, 2010.
The festival director is responsible for the overall management of Homegrown. (more…)
It’s a twister ma!
A tornado touched down a few times in Minneapolis. The Electric Fetus was hit.
We saw it coming from our work windows and headed to the basement. It touched down about five blocks from my theater.
And the winner is … (drum roll)
And the winner of two tickets to Suzanne Vega at Big Top Chautauqua is Sam Haraldson, whose rendition of the Last Supper managed to capture our hearts and minds here at the PDD Headquarters. We have no idea who any of these people are, or what the story behind the photo is, but we like it. Congratulations, Sam. We hope you enjoy the show.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation in Minnesota with Daniel Johnston, Laura Ingalls Wilder, my great-great-grandparents and a bunch of short-fiction writers
There comes a time in every Minnesota man’s summer when he climbs into a rusty conversion van with the love of his life and sets out across the state in search of everything and nothing in particular.
Once the dog and the cooler of beer are secure in back, it’s off we go.
Event
Aurora Baer tonight at Carmody
New 4 Track Films Production
We’re going into production on a new 4 Track Film. This one is entitled The Life of Riley and is a romantic comedy. We’re shooting in and around Duluth and a little up the North Shore. (more…)
Duluth on AOL
The Duluth housing market is being featured on the AOL homepage right now. It’s time to buy a house, according to this headline.
Victorian Olympiad at Carmody
I say! I say! Compete against other chaps and ladies in the hat-doffing competition, hop-skip-and-jump while holding a drink, and other categories that promise to be an entirely civilized good time!
Competitors should be dressed accordingly, and look to the UK Chaps Olympics to get into training!
Monday, August 24, 7 PM. Toodle pip!
Equal Xchange CD Release
w/ special guest Mat Milinkovich on drums.
Choose your Cruise
Glass Elevator rocked Homegrown. Aug 29 is the next chance to see the band again along with Uptown Boys and DJ Kevin Craig.
Question of the Day.
What won’t you buy used? I have a thing against used sheets, something weird about that. Also underwear (of course) and toilet brushes. How about you?
Waiter? There’s a drink in my brain.
you have a new place to get your drink on when you visit the twin cities.
A legendary north Minneapolis dive bar has risen from the dead.
When one of the Twin Cities’ most notorious bars, Stand Up Frank’s, closed earlier this year, I wouldn’t have believed in a million years it would be reopened and reimagined as something called Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den. Real zombies could dig themselves out of the ground and eat my brains before that would happen, because that would be crazy. Read the rest.
Harold Nelson Dies
Harold Nelson, the old fellow often seen walking along Central Entrance and elsewhere, was struck by a car and killed. The News Tribune has an article in the August 16th edition.
‘Im on a Boat’ – Beat Cruise
Boat loads @ 6:30 - Don't miss the boat!
Tickets available online @ www.psychedelicpanda.bigcartel.com
or available @ load-in for a higher price. (Get them presale and save)
Nemadji Wisconsin Point Burial Tour
Ever wonder what happened to all the remains from the old Indian cemetery on Wisconsin Point? According to this YouTube video, over 100 burials were “dumped” along the banks of the Nemadji River at the St. Francis Cemetery in Superior. Their bones and artifacts crop up to this day as the banks continue to erode.
Can Someone Please Explain to Me…
why if you want to see Sweeney Todd, or any Playground performance, you can’t buy tickets in advance? Oh wait, you CAN buy tickets in advance online but you have to pay a $2.50 convenience fee per ticket. Wouldn’t it be more convenient to skip the fee and just sell tickets in advance at the door?
I really just don’t get why every other theater in town can sell tickets in advance but the Playground insists on using this odd system.
So, really, can anyone explain this to me? Because I don’t get it.
The Great American Trailer Park Musical
Joyful and unashamedly vulgar, The Great American Trailer Park Musical has been called South Park meets Desperate Housewives, and Jerry Springer set to music by theater critics around the country. (more…)