November 2021 Posts

Bits of Bly: The Suburbs of Jerusalem

In part two of the 1997 Robert Bly interview from KUMD, the poet talks about nature as an influence and following a thread with words.

Beyondbliss – “Divide and Conquer”

Duluth rapper Beyondbliss divides the screen and divides himself in this video, rapping about the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, critical race theory and all the divisive divisiveness.

A Record Collection Autopsy

Once more through the trove of treasure from Gabriel’s Books in Lakeside. In addition to finding awesome old records and books, you should know, if you have kids: “All children, from birth to high school graduation, may pick out a book for free, each time they visit our store.” They are well-worth a visit.

Bits of Bly: The Sibling Society

Poet and social critic Robert Bly, who penned many of his works from a cabin on Moosehead Lake about 30 miles southwest of Duluth, died on Nov. 21 at the age of 94. He was interviewed in the fall of 1997 on KUMD radio in Duluth, and a cassette of the interview survives in the Perfect Duluth Day archive. Consider the clip above to be part one of a short series.

The interview took place the year after Bly’s book The Sibling Society: An Impassioned Call for the Rediscovery of Adulthood was published.

Video: Elusive Northern Minnesota Lynx

Lynx sightings are fairly rare in Minnesota, but having one strut by a camera in daylight hours is a real catch. This brief slow-motion clip shows a Canada lynx in Voyageurs National Park, about 100 miles north of Duluth. The video was captured by a Voyageurs Wolf Project trail camera. The project is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park, but its cameras record all kinds of wildlife.

The Slice: Jim Hall

Duluth singer/songwriter Jim Hall performs his song “Beast in the Yard.”

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

PDD Quiz: November 2021 in Review

Shake off the post-Thanksgiving slump and exercise your brain with some current affairs trivia!

The next PDD quiz will look at Twin Ports Christmases of yore; it will be published on Dec. 12. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Dec. 9.

German restaurant in Miller Hill area circa the 1960s

What was the name of the German restaurant located on Miller Trunk Highway in the 1960s?

Gems and Treasures from the College of St. Scholastica Book & Media Sale, 1

The Library at the College of St. Scholastica, once a year, both weeds its collection and accepts donations (I presume from faculty and staff) for a sale. Popular reading starts at a dollar, I think — recent bestsellers. The rest starts at a quarter and slides, over a week, down to a dime, then to “free, just please take them.”

Postcard from the Famous Aerial Bridge

This undated postcard of Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge appears to be circa the 1960s, but perhaps there is a clue in there somewhere to narrow the date down.

Recent panel on creative leadership in Duluth

A recent panel on creative leadership really taught me a few things, so I’m sharing it with you all here. It featured local creative innovators and leaders Aryn Lee Bergsven, LeAnn Littlewolf and Hella Wartman.

The Zoom link in the poster is dead, but the panel can be found by clicking here.

Jeno’s Pizza Rolls Commercial with the Lone Ranger

Among the achievements of the late food magnate Jeno Paulucci is the launch of the pizza roll, a pizza and egg roll combination dubbed “Jeno’s Pizza Rolls.” Paulucci died in Duluth on Nov. 24, 2011.

The 1968 television commercial embedded above was created by Stan Freberg and was a spoof of the “Show Us Your Lark” cigarette commercials of the day, which also utilized “The William Tell Overture,” music that was, of course, the theme music to the television series The Lone Ranger.

Low’s latest album nominated for Grammy as best engineered

Duluth band Low‘s new album, Hey What, received a major nod from the music industry yesterday. The record has been nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical” for the work by mastering engineer BJ Burton.

Video: Wolf pack and pups walking old railroad grade

This clip from July shows the Wiyapka Lake wolf pack — which includes six pups — walking an old railroad grade in Voyageurs National Park, about 110 miles north of Duluth. At the end of the clip the wolves can be heard howling.

Sledding Duluth’s Avenues in 1921

One hundred years ago there were far fewer cars on Duluth’s streets, but it was still considered dangerous to sled down the city’s steep avenues. So Duluth Police Chief Warren E. Pugh surveyed the city and selected a few recommended avenues that posed “the least danger to life and limb,” according to the Duluth Herald of Nov. 22, 1921.

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