October 2017 Posts

UW-Superior drops Halloween axe on 25 academic programs

The University of Wisconsin-Superior issued a news release this morning announcing it has “suspended several academic programs in an effort to positively affect student success and position itself to continue to remain responsive to regional needs.”

The news release mentioned no program by name. The Duluth News Tribune reports the programs to be dropped include “journalism, multiple science majors, theatre, art history and more — meaning no new students will be admitted into multiple majors, minors and one graduate program.”

Postcards from Duluth’s Statue of Leif Erikson

The bronze Leif Erikson statue in Duluth was placed in 1956. It was designed by John Carl Daniels and sponsored by the Norwegian-American League. Erikson was a Norse explorer from Iceland and is considered the first known European to discover continental North America.

Duluth artist Dean Kegler wins walleye stamp contest

Duluth artist Dean Kegler has won the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ 2018 Minnesota Walleye Stamp contest. His painting was selected by judges from among 11 entries.

R.I.P. How Sweet it is Cakes

Eileen and Bob Brown are closing How Sweet it is Cakes on Wednesday after more than 20 years in business.

“This has been the most difficult and painful decisions of our lives. Words cannot express our pain and sorrow,” Eileen Brown wrote on the How Sweet it is Cakes Facebook page today.

“There are a number of circumstances that have led up to this decision including but not limited to a significant decline in sales since we’ve moved to our new location, increased cost of product and labor, my and my husband’s health as well as numerous factors that we won’t detail here.”

The Little Black Books – “A Plum”

From Mark Lindquist’s basement in Baxter comes the new single by the Little Black Books, “A Plum.” The song will be available Nov. 21 as a flexible two-track record on Lindquist’s Baxtrax label. The video was shot in Duluth at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon.

Castle Danger Brewery expands with new packaging hall

Since opening in 2011, Castle Danger Brewery has grown to become the ninth-largest brewery by production in the state. Next month, a new 8,400-square-foot packaging hall will expand its capacity to deliver customers even more “Dangerously Good Ales.”

PDD Quiz: October 2017

Winter returned in earnest this month. How much do you remember of those halcyon days before the snow returned? Take the quiz and test your smarts!

The next PDD Quiz, on the topic of local shipwrecks, will be published on Sunday, Nov. 12. Send question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Nov. 9.

Damage Report

The lake ate big chunks of shoreline yesterday. The fort on Park Point survived the storm, just barely, but the huge white pine that stood next to it didn’t make it.

Not Bluegrass

Old-time music is better than it sounds. Old-time, not bluegrass. Of course it’s futile to argue tastes in music. Foolish to judge the listening choices of another. Folly to debate ones’s aesthetic preferences. But having said that, may I add: bluegrass sucks.

Ha! Just kidding, bluegrass. You know we only tease you out of envy for your fancy shirts, and amazing chops, displayed in those talent attacks had most every solo. And you’ve got as many virtuosos per capita as any genre out there, though they be virtuosos with the souls of bean counters. Ha! Did I say that? Just kidding, bluegrass.

Of course there’s some overlap between the styles, bluegrass having “evolved” out of old-time, around WW II. It’s not like there’s a tidy trench between the two, over which we lob our slurs and brickbats. But for the most part bluegrass emerged around 1945 as Earl Scruggs (forgive him Lord) invented his 3-finger style of banjo picking that, along with fairly specific instrumentation, defines the style. Still, the term “bluegrass” is often misused to label anyone playing that assortment of stringed instruments. There’s a local pop band most always labeled “bluegrass” because of the instruments they play, but it ain’t so. How do I know? They don’t suck.

Sorry. I really should see a shrink about this hot-lick envy. Treat these deep-seated fears of Stetsons and bolo ties. Having spent so much of my life high and lonesome you’d think I’d better appreciate those mountain harmonies.

Thank You for Your Service

Still from Thank You for Your Service

This is partially a reflection on a movie seen at the Duluth 10 Cinema, partially a survey of important Duluth resources, and partially a reflection on the way I wish the world would be.

Duluth’s Frozen Wiener Storm of 2017

Photo by Shawn Thompson

The city of Duluth is advising the public that locations in Canal Park may not be accessible due to windy conditions and high waves causing water to flood some areas. The Marine Iron Parking lot located closest to the canal, some segments of Canal Park Drive and Harbor Drive have standing water. The city has put up barricades where the areas are not passable.

Selective Focus: Joellyn Rock

Multimedia artist and digital art professor Joellyn Rock has been combining traditional graphic art techniques, classical imagery and storytelling, and video and digital technology to create animations, interactive installations and other experiments. Her art takes advantage of and blends quickly evolving technical opportunities, and her curiosity draws her into constant new challenges.

J.R.: My creative medium has shifted dramatically over the years, evolving from traditional art forms like painting, drawing and ceramics to digital media formats such as web narrative, experimental video and interactive installation. One thread of continuity: I seek new ways to tell old tales. I often borrow from fairy tales and mythology, choosing to update an old story with social commentary or a revisionist spin. For me, old tales provide an anchor when working in digital media, offering the viewer a cozy narrative, reinvented for the distress of our digital age. I use a visual vocabulary that harkens back to the storytelling on ancient pottery or vintage children’s books … graphic compositions, intense colors, set off by crisp silhouettes of characters in action. Those familiar forms get remixed, layered with historical references or contemporary ephemera, juxtaposing ancient story with modern dilemma, part comfortingly old-school, part shock of the new.

Coyote – “Quicksand” (Live from Studio A)

Duluth musicians Jerree Small and Marc Gartman have been making acoustic music as Coyote for a decade. In this clip from Sept. 29 they perform the song “Quicksand” in KUMD’s studio A.

The Electric Witch – “Hallowed”

Just in time for Halloween, the Electric Witch released its first official video, “Hallowed.”

Produced by Mike Scholtz and Valerie Coit. Music by Zac Bentz. Lyrics and vocals by Marcus Matthews.

Listen and download links:
Bandcamp
iTunes
Amazon
Spotify

View of Minnesota Point from Duluth Hilltop

Photographer unknown, year unknown. This appears to have been shot from near the edge of the parking lot at the hilltop Central High School location.