Month: May 2017
Video: Maria Bamford’s U of M Commencement Address
A self-proclaimed “crass, money-grubbing comedian from Duluth” gave the commencement address at the University of Minnesota on Sunday at Mariucci Arena. During the speech, Maria Bamford outlined her negotiation process with the university for her appearance fee, then donated half of it to a theater arts grad, Alyse Moné. The $5,000 check was made out to Sallie Mae, which holds one of Moné’s loan accounts. In a separate speech Bamford donated the other half of her fee to another student with loan debt.
The video is courtesy of the U of M, via City Pages.
Damage Boardshop Showdown Video
Duluth’s Damage Boardshop is one of 16 shops in the United States competing in the TransWorld Skateboarding Shop Showdown video contest on skateboarding.com. Over the past three weeks, TWS has posted videos by four shops each week. Damage’s video is part of round four.
The videos are bracketed against each other until the final four videos are determined through a blend of audience voting and analysis by TWS staff and pros from the sponsoring Mountain Dew skate team. To vote go to …
skateboarding.transworld.net/shop-showdown.
A Certain Kind of Nerd: Wrestling, Art, Politics, Nerds, Games
It’s Nerd High Culture in Duluth this week. (more…)
Duluth Trivia Board Game
Savers is a wonderful thing. For $1.99, I picked up a Duluth Trivia board game.
Some doozies:
1. What was on the roof of the former Goldfines building on Garfield Avenue?
2. What business is located there now? (It’s still there, I think.)
3. What movie starring Patty Duke was filmed at Glensheen?
4. For many years, the Duluth Zoo had the only living specimen in the US of one animal. Name that animal.
Mystery Photo #52: The homely mugs of Ella and Dave
This postcard photo of a couple perhaps from or visiting Duluth appears to have never been mailed, though it is addressed to Mrs. F. Welch of Eau Galle, Wis. On the back of the card, in the upper left corner, are presumably the names of the photo subjects, Ella and Dave. Their last name is faded out, but clearly the final three letters are s-o-n. (more…)
New operator will reopen Crabby Ol’ Bill’s by June
Starting in June, Duluthians and tourists will once again be able to get their mini doughnut fix out of a retired fishing vessel in Canal Park.
The fate of Crabby Ol’ Bill’s snack shack remained in question after Steve and Susan Smith announced they would be closing it back in December after five years running the business. Last week, the Duluth City Council approved a lease for developer Brian Forcier of Titanium Partners to operate the seasonal food stand based within the Nels J, an iconic boat that sits adjacent to the boardwalk near the North Pier Lighthouse. (more…)
Video Archive: Billy Jack Haynes and Adrian Adonis cut wrestling promos for 1987 Duluth appearances
The World Wrestling Federation brought its first card to Duluth on May 14, 1987. The main event featured Billy Jack Haynes losing a chain match to Hercules Hernandez. The syndicated TV program Superstars of Wrestling featured two promos for the Duluth Arena card tucked into the commercial breaks of local broadcasts. One featured Haynes (above) and another starred Adrian Adonis (below). (more…)
PDD Quiz: Lake Superior Zoo
Test your knowledge of the Lake Superior Zoo, its history and its inhabitants in this month’s quiz. The next PDD Quiz, covering May 2017 headlines, will be published on May 28. Please send any question suggestions to Alison Klawiter at [email protected] by May 25.
A Lifetime of Vomit
There was a period of my life — the first 16 years — when I vomited with the frequency of a normal person. Maybe once every 17 months I’d feel sick, yack up my recently consumed proteins and resume a normal life. Over the next 28 years, however, my puking résumé includes just a pair of mega barfs.
Most people would be challenged to produce a list of the times they have vomited since the Reagan administration, but because my experience involves only two stories, I recall them keenly. So, for the sake of human digestive science … or whatever … I now share my hurling history.
It was Aug. 18, 1988, when I completed my final pre-adult barf. I was a high school sophomore, and preseason football practice was in full swing. I awoke in the wee hours of the morning with a groaning stomach, and soon I was staggering from my bedroom to the toilet, where I dropped to my knees for the first of seven sessions of violent retching. At some point in the middle of it, I called Coach Mooers to tell him I wouldn’t be practicing, but hoped I’d be back to normal for the scrimmages the next day.
Whatever hit me that morning was gone in a few hours, and indeed I traveled with the team to the Twin Cities metro-area scrimmages. After playing in the two abbreviated games, I accompanied my teammates on a trip to Valley Fair, where I rode all of the stomach-churningest rides. Indeed, I had recovered.
What I didn’t know at the time was how well I recovered. I would not vomit again for more than 26 years. (more…)
Missing Person: Larry Hoffman
Update: The body of Larry Alan Hoffman was found in July 2017 in Observation Park. Foul play was not suspected.
The Duluth Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating missing person Larry Alan Hoffman. Hoffman is a 60-year-old white male, 5-foot 3-inches tall, 200 lbs., has gray hair and green eyes. He was last seen May 5. There is urgency in finding him to ensure he takes his prescribed medications. The DPD encourages anyone who sees Hoffman or knows of his whereabouts to call 911.
Selective Focus: Annie Schweiger
Annie Schweiger first achieved PDD fame when she won the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Duluth Art Institute Member Show. Here, she shows some more of her work and talks about the balance of work projects, personal projects, illustration and design.
A.S.: By day I’m a graphic designer and at night I work on illustrations. I mostly work with graphite and watercolor but I’ve been experimenting with digital illustration on a Wacom tablet in Adobe Photoshop. (more…)
Where in Duluth?
“Let’s head over there. There’s a spectacular view from that bench.”
(David moves to bench. Squints. Not very much view. Takes photo from bench, straight ahead.)
Where were we?
Ingeborg von Agassiz launches Kickstarter to fund debut album
Duluth’s Emma Rustan has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds for a debut album under her musical pseudonym Ingeborg von Agassiz.
The song used in the video is “Oh, What a Morning,” one of ten tracks to be featured on the album. The music has already been recorded by Rustan and mixed by Adam Krinsky at Bellows Studio in St. Paul. The $6,000 Kickstarter campaign seeks to fund the mixing, mastering, artwork and replication.
Appreciating a Recent Movie at Zinema 2
I forget how lucky we are to have the locally operated Zinema, especially on its $5 days. Last night I saw Colossal, a movie starring and co-produced by Anne Hathaway. (Spoilers)
I’ve seen nearly every Godzilla movie, so the idea that every morning, when Gloria (Hathaway) is hung over, a Kaiju Monster attacks Seoul seemed interesting — a metaphor for the unintended consequences of alcoholism, I figured. Pretty straightforward, low-brain energy attempt to be deep, but with Kaiju!
The opening scene shows Gloria’s boyfriend throwing her out, telling her he can’t be with her when she’s out of control like this. It’s designed to communicate to the audience: Gloria’s addiction is the problem.
(more…)Duluth Street Railway Trolley Barns
Duluth Street Railway trolley barns on the upper side of Superior Street between 26th and 27th avenues west. Photo dated May 10, 1927.
Duluth Folk School on The PlayList
The May 4 episode of WDSE-TV‘s The Playlist featured this segment about Duluth Folk School and how it plans to teach skills in the community. Co-founder Bryan French explains the purpose and many options for students in this interview with Karen Sunderman.
Mystery Photo #51: Lakeside Reunion
Usually with the “Mystery Photos” series we know very little about the featured image at the start and learn a variety of details after publishing it. In this case we know a lot going in, but one detail is missing. (more…)
Postcard from the Bellows restaurant in Duluth
The Bellows was a fine dining restaurant and cocktail lounge that operated at 2230 London Road from 1969 to 1997. It was founded by Don M. and Verna Bellows, and the round-shaped design came from architect Robert W. Prestidge. (more…)
Duluth native Ham moves to fullback position with Vikings
Minnesota Vikings running back C.J. Ham has been lining up at fullback during the team’s 2017 rookie mini-camp. The Duluth native broke into the NFL last season as a tailback.
Ham was on the Vikings practice squad in 2016 and was briefly on the active roster but did not play in a regular season game, making him eligible to participate in this season’s rookie camp. Vikings Team Reporter Eric Smith wrote on Vikings.com today that during team drills Ham “lined up as a fullback in front of Vikings rookie Dalvin Cook.” (more…)
North Country from Above
Brooklyn, N.Y.-based filmmaker and cinematographer Andrew Cagle recently shot this aerial footage in the Duluth area and along the North Shore of Lake Superior. He’s working on a documentary project, but compiled some of his favorite shots for this video, with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash singing “Girl From the North Country” as the soundbed.
Video Montage: Homegrown Music Festival 2017
Clips from Duluth’s 19th annual Homegrown Music Festival, featuring Kat Fox, the Latelys, the Unlikelys, the Black-eyed Snakes, the Social Disaster, Low Forms, Father Hennepin, Robot Rickshaw, Willie Diction, the Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League and Fred Tyson.
Tribe Games at the Minnecade at GlitchCon
While at GlitchCon, a gaming convention bringing experts in video game design, educational theory, and inclusivity, I ran into one of Duluth’s video game designers. Charles McGregor runs Tribe Games, and as Charles says on his website …
I am the programmer, musician, and artist for the all of in house games. I am also the guy in charge of the social media and marketing. I have always wanted to make games and feel like I can express myself the most through this medium. I have loved games since the first time that I played them.
I want to make games that I personally would play and feel passionate about. I have been given the opportunity to work with very talented people in the past and hope that I can continue collaborating with others as well as work on my own creations.
The con was at the Soap Factory, a long-standing vacant hulk of a building used for art and alternative culture events in Minneapolis. It was cool to be 175 miles away and still see one of Duluth’s own represented.
30 Years of Comics, Sports Cards, and Games
Today is Tim Broman’s 30th anniversary at Collector’s Connection. In honor of this anniversary, a number of local small businesspeople and professionals nominated the shop for a Labovitz Award, in the “mature entrepreneur” category. I tease him so hard about the category. But really, what Tim does is more that sell things, more than run a business. (more…)