Videos
Labyrinthine boulder field
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNMRi-qlNhk
So much fun to swim here. Go to Perkins on London Road, cut down to lake, go 50 yards to the right.
Cult Trailer – A Feature Film Shot in Duluth
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
Over the summer, I shot my first feature-length film. I made sure to feature some shots of the city in the trailer. I hope you enjoy it!
Aquaman Saves the City
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-1vPhSfJJo
I saw broken bottles underwater at a popular Lake Superior swimming spot in Duluth. A few days later I was able to return and used my powers for good to clean up after the bad guys. You can either wade in at the shallow end of this spot, or rock-jump in at the deep end, either way there was broken glass within reach of innocent bare feet. It was the remains of at least five separate beer bottles, probably from one douchebag at a party of cowards.
I spent about three hours collecting all the glass I could in dives lasting 30-45 seconds each with rests to catch my breath in between. I couldn’t get it all, there were many shards too small to pick up, but they will wash away most easily into the deep. All of it would have turned into smooth beach glass sooner or later, or been sucked out to sea by the next storm, but in the meantime this mess sat there for several days and could have easily lacerated someone. I was very careful picking it up, but obviously it was a little risky and the wave action was moving me around quite a bit (good thing my Atlantean physiology is adapted to the pressure at great depths, so my skin can even resist machine gun fire).
Be warned: I protect this lake, and those who come here. If I catch anyone breaking glass at the beach I will not hesitate to call the police. Either that or I will telepathically summon a giant catfish to eat you.
Local news spot here.
Mr. Nice in: Real Good Deal
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1AYOgFEoWs
NSFW weekly episode.
Video Archive: Flipping the bird across Duluth, from east to west, decade to decade
The video above, by Mark Ryan, is a collection of film footage from 1970 of dudes hanging out at the old London Inn and other places in eastern Duluth, flipping off the camera. It first appeared on PDD in 2008.
I brought it back for this post because I just came across some footage I shot in the halls of Denfeld on Oct. 17, 1988, that I hope is of similar quality.
Mr. Nice in: Blooper Reel
Your weekly Nice. NSFW.
Video Auto Play
Apparently, because of some changes at YouTube, some videos on PDD have been autoplaying under some circumstances, in some browsers. That should never happen, and we apologize profusely if it has happened to you.
Please, if you ever open a page on PDD and a video starts playing without you asking it to, e-mail help @ perfectduluthday.com with a note about what video it is and what browser you are using and we’ll either fix it or take the post down.
That’s our PDD no-auto-play guarantee, for what it’s worth.
My Close Call at the Deeps
I had a foolish close call cliff-jumping, but got it on video. Here’s the bone-chilling tale of hubris and naked luck: hottest day of the year but the lake was ice cold so I went to the cliff-jumping swimming hole on Lester River known as the Deeps. I’d made a video there before of jumping from up high, but I hadn’t jumped from the highest point yet, so I tried it. (more…)
Video Archive: 1988 Denfeld Hockey
Part of the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament experience is the creation of a cheesy music video highlighting the school and the team. The Hunters did not disappoint with this clip. Yes, there are all the mullets and protruding bangs you would expect, along with plenty of guitar air-jamming.
(more…)
Mr. Nice in: The Telephone
NSFW. Tune in Sundays for new installments.
This just in: Red Mountain and Christine Hoberg are into teasing
Above: Teaser for the upcoming Red Mountain album Scowl Lightly.
Below: Teaser for the upcoming Christine Hoberg album World Within.
Both videos are from Duluth-based Lakefront Films.
Lake Superior Gator Attack
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsLk7dArmpU
Many people don’t realize Lake Superior is infested with fearsome man-eating alligators.
Searching for Sophie’s Wreck (and Failing)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmjg18c56AQ
There’s a small boat wrecked off the 2600 block of Park Point, nicknamed Sophie’s Wreck after the girl who first spotted it through the clear ice of a few years ago. I tried to find it the other day and wound up meeting and talking with Sophie’s mom who said the shifting sands had covered it for a year or so now. I looked for it anyway and, failing that, goofed around in a few feet of water. It was an odd feeling knowing there was a shipwreck close by, perhaps right under me, expectantly prepared to see it at any time.
The Getarounds — “I Fell Away”
New Getarounds video from a live show with the Roe Family Singers at Beaner’s Central.
Late July, Lake Superior
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr7H_oEW_7o
Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?
This short film was one of the highlights of last weekend’s Free Range Film Festival in Wrenshall. Call this an encore presentation.
Care Bears, Care Bears, Yeah – Live at Beaner’s
Someone tell us everything about this band, because we need to know right now.
OK, this is totally worth it. Trust me.
First, watch this real video about the 10 trips you have to take in your 20s.
Then, watch this spoof about the 10 trips you actually take in your 20s. Watch closely, particularly right after the JFK airport scene. It’s totally worth it.
The Deeps
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIVkUahcMLQ
Video Archive: Christopher Halverson – “Hollywood”
The intro song is Syd Straw’s “Future 40s (String of Pearls).” Then Halverson kicks into his original “Hollywood,” which was a mainstay over the years in his sets with bands such as the Mighty Shock Tower, Sloe Loris, Verona, A Band Called Truman, etc.
This one is from deep in the archives — recorded by UWS Studio II at R.T. Quinlan’s on Sept. 16, 1995. Produced by Brandon Leno. Edited by Brandon Leno and Margo Abramson. The one and only Eric Swanson was on the sound board. Production assistance by Renee Hudacek, Melissa Long, Paul Lundgren, Dinelli Seneviratne and Nathan Steigman.
Mountain Biking at Spirit Mountain
By now you have probably heard that Spirit Mountain has been running chairlifts this summer for mountain bikers. There have been people here to ride from all over the country and even from Canada. These trails are getting some well-deserved attention and I want to let everyone know that if you have ever wanted to try mountain biking, now is the time to do it. With all of the other great areas to mountain bike in our beautiful city, such as Piedmont, Lester and Hartley, Duluth is making a name for itself across the country as a mountain-biking destination!
The above video by Higher Base Media is of the trail Candyland at Spirit Mountain.
Lester River Swimming Hole
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BQIhvFyrkk
Freediving the Ruins of Duluth’s Outer Harbor
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyh72tSSZys
Freediving the century-plus-old ruins of Duluth’s outer harbor. First the old breakwater wall (cribbing filled with rocks) that stretches 1000′ from the Vietnam Memorial to the red buoy. The buoy’s function is to mark this as a shipping hazard (at that distance from shore the buoy is in 30 feet of water). The destruction of the breakwater wall in a storm spurred the digging of the canal. Then the column or pillar of Uncle Harvey’s Mausoleum, essentially a bundle of timbers sheathed in concrete. Then Uncle Harvey’s itself, in 16 feet of water, also built on cribbing.
Mid-July, Lake Superior
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbaphIwnd3E