Paul Lundgren
Large-flowered trilliums
Have you noticed these suckers are everywhere this spring?
I must see eight dozen wild flowers for every tick I pluck off my socks. Not a bad ratio.
Straight Lake State Park
If you ever wanted to see a state park before it’s a state park, here’s your chance. Straight Lake State Park is about two and a half hours away from Duluth, near Luck, Wisconsin.
It is, legally, already a state park, but don’t look for big brown road signs to help you find it. The tiny yellow marker pictured above is all I found. (And when I asked people at a convenience store a few miles away for directions, the best advice I could get was “try asking at the library.”)
There’s an old ATV trail that runs through it (can’t drive those in there anymore) but otherwise there are not really any established trails, maps, parking spots, campsites, ranger stations, etc. (There are little flags here and there that show where some of those things might go some day.)
It is quite a nice lake, so I do recommend it. I wouldn’t say you should drive the 120+ miles from Duluth for this single purpose, but if you’re in the area, check it out.
Open Letter
Dear manufacturers of pretty much every electronics product,
Thank you so much for including a plastic sleeve for the owner’s manual. It would truly be a shame if such an important document as an owner’s manual were to ever be damaged by dust or spilled liquids during the two minutes between it coming out of the box and getting jammed into a file cabinet.
The ratings experiment is over
For two weeks, Perfect Duluth Day experimented with rating systems for posts (five-star system and thumbs up/down). As you might have already noticed, the ratings have now been removed.
An initial poll showed readers either thought this was a great idea or terrible idea. (The results were pretty evenly split, but slightly leaned in favor of great idea). In practice, however, the ratings didn’t prove useful and interest in them quickly plummeted. In the end, only a handful of people bothered with them.
So now they are gone, perhaps to return another day when a better system can be figured out, or perhaps never to be considered again (except maybe in the comments to this post).
Big Top songwriting contest
Heads up to local musicians:
Big Top Chautauqua is holding another songwriting competition. The long version of the details is on the “Celebration of Song” page of www.BigTop.org (scroll about halfway down the page).
The short version is, you submit two original songs by June 19. Finalists perform on the Big Top stage August 27 and have a shot at airplay on Tent Show Radio, a $100 cash prize and a chance to play a two-song set opening for Suzanne Vega.
Liquor Store Math
The Next Level column in this week’s Transistor answers an important question for Duluthians:
Is it worth driving to Superior to save money on off-sale alcohol?
Go Sit on a Wall photo contest winner
Congratulations to Beverly Godfrey, who submitted this winning photo of her children in PDD’s “Go Sit on a Wall” contest. Thanks to all who participated.
Rubber Chicken Theater‘s production of “Humpty Dumpty” opens tonight.
Go Sit on a Wall – PDD Photo Contest
It’s contest time again at PDD. This one’s best suited to those of you with children in need of entertainment. The prize is four tickets to Rubber Chicken Theater‘s production of Humpty Dumpty, which runs May 22-24 and 29-31 at the Historic Scottish Rite Auditorium.
Here’s how to play:
Shoot a photo of yourself and/or friends or family members sitting on a wall. (Depictions of a great fall are optional.) E-mail the photo to contest @ perfectduluthday.com and include your telephone number. Whoever sends the best photo wins. Deadline is noon Friday, May 22.
Any questions? Direct them to the e-mail address above or use the comments section of this post. Good luck. We’ll have all the kings horses and men on standby, but keep in mind that their abilities are limited.
New PDD Feature: Rating Posts
As some of you have already figured out, we added a tool on PDD in which readers can rate how useful or enjoyable they find particular posts.
[UPDATE: Ratings were taken down 15 days after this post went up, so don’t look for them and feel stupid.]
See that row of stars at the bottom of this (and every other) post? That’s where the rating happens. All you have to do is click on the appropriate star to gauge your appreciation. The meaning behind the stars is basically this:
1 star – Lame
2 stars – Somewhat appreciated, but still kind of lame
3 stars – Above average
4 stars – Mint
5 stars – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
A NOTE ABOUT RATING THIS PARTICULAR POST: Rather than rating the quality of this post, please rate the whole idea of having ratings at all, as that will be useful to know. And feel free to comment about it as well.
Upon Reflection
The best thing I witnessed today was a child in a big, green, probably homemade helmet shouting at his friends, “Hey! Somebody punch me!”
Beat that.
Obligatory first tick(s) of the season post
It’s official, yesterday was the Perfect Duluth Day. The ticks are out today. I plucked off my first one at 4:35 p.m. and the second at 4:37 p.m.
And yes, I do post on PDD about ticks pretty much every spring. It’s what I do.
What Were You Watching?
Taviette Film Productions: Trailer 2008
Parts of this new movie were shot in Duluth.
The premiere is Saturday, May 9, 7 p.m., at the Suburban World Theatre, 3022 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. It’s free.
Homegrown Lost and Found
LOST
I dropped my camera at the Main Club last night and didn’t realize the memory card popped out until today. Anybody find it?
FOUND
Someone lost a Nikon lens cover at the Main Club last night. It’s available at the bar.
Congratulations to Sven and Louis
Former Duluth meteorologist Sven Sundgaard was named Best TV Weather-person in City Pages’ Best of the Twin Cities issue.
Current Duluthian Louis Jenkins was named Best Poet.
Duluth-area Auto Salvage
For the benefit of the general public, I’m sharing the results of today’s research project, entitled Which Junkyard Will Take My Useless Old Car and What Will They Give Me For It?
There are several places that will take your car if you strip the gas tank off, drain all the fluids, etc.
If you want someone to take it as is, the closest place to Duluth is Calvary Auto & Salvage in the Rice Lake Township (4825 Rice Lake Road | 723-1294).
A little farther away is Chesney Auto Salvage in the Fredenberg Township (6250 Beaver River Road | 721-4874).
Both offered $50 for my 1990 Ford Taurus, on the conditions that I deliver it to them and bring the title. (more…)
Growler Review
It’s no secret that Fitger’s Brewhouse beers are outstanding, but what happens when you mix a bunch of them together?
Having recently had 11 different Brewhouse beers available at an event, I was faced at the end of the night with many growlers that had less than an inch of beer left. So a consolidation into one growler seemed like the best idea.
The answer to the question at hand is this: If Wildfire Lager is one of the beers involved in the mix, the mix will taste like Wildfire Lager.
2009 Geek Royalty
All hail the new King and Queen of Geek Prom, James Ellingson and Rachael Gilman.
From the Photo Archive | 1979
Thirty years ago, Bud James was one of the custodians at Laura MacArthur Elementary School. All the kids loved him.
Because I was so young then, my memory of Mr. James is fuzzy. What I do remember is that he used to sing all the time, whether it was at assemblies or just randomly in the halls while cleaning up puke. I don’t remember if he was good at singing, or if he was just a ham, but it was great either way.
Every kid should grow up with a singing janitor. Thank you, Mr. James.
Happy 100th, West Duluth Masonic Temple
Euclid Masonic Lodge 198 was dedicated on March 31, 1909. State Grand Master Eugene Swan presided over the services. About 800 people attended.
One hundred years later, it appears vacant and up for sale. The location is 611 N. Central Ave. (more…)
Blogging Policies Revisited
By the power vested in me by the founders of Perfect Duluth Day, I present this update to PDD’s blogging policies.
Promotional Content
It’s perfectly acceptable to promote and sell things through posts on PDD. Just don’t abuse the power.
If you’re planning a quaint yard sale and want to hype all the Judy Collins records you’re selling, that’s fine. If you represent Wham-o, Inc. and post a rant about the awesomeness of the Pop Bang Target Game, which is available for the amazing low price of $24.99, your post will be removed.
Obviously there is a gray area between those examples, but as long as what you’re posting has local relevance and doesn’t come off like an advertorial, there should be few complaints.
The Fabulous 1990 Ford Taurus LX
After many years of semi-reliable service, this luxurious family sedan is ready for a new owner. That’s right, the car made famous by this PDD post and this PDD post, can now be yours for the unbelievable price of, oh, let’s say $200. (more…)