They Might be Giants – “Rabid Child”
The alternative rock band They Might be Giants dropped a reference to Duluth on its self-titled debut album in 1986. Whether “the Big Duluth” mentioned in the lyrics to “Rabid Child” is supposed to be a clothing store or the nickname of a person or what, well, that’s up to the listener. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Creepy Northland
In honor of the upcoming Halloween holiday, this edition of the PDD Quiz tests knowledge of the Northland’s creepy places, events and history.
The next quiz, on headlines from October 2018, will be published on Oct. 28. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Oct. 24. (more…)
The Wilbury Index
There are certain dignities and indignities that come with old age. Most of us would like to be considered wise, but we also want to run fast and be sex symbols. All of that is relative, of course. There are plenty of intelligent teenagers and elderly imbeciles. I ran a half marathon when I was 31 and people twice that age were passing me.
The word “old” is as relative as the attributes associated with it. You can join the American Association of Retired Persons at age 50, collect Social Security at 62 and retire from your job at a wide range of ages or never. I think I was 27 or 28 the first time one of my friends seriously commented that we were “getting old.”
Well, sure, we’re all getting old. But when are we actually old? Do our looks and physical/mental fitness have anything to do with it, or is “old” just a number?
I say it’s just a number, because I can’t, in seriousness, walk up to more wrinkled people my age and ask, “what’s it like to be so old?” (more…)
How Enzie Flu In
The day after the Fire of 1918, this hilarious sendup of the Spanish influenza outbreak appeared in the Duluth News Tribune. At the time there were a couple dozen cases in the city, and commissioners had adopted an emergency order closing public buildings to halt the spread. Within a couple weeks the disease would no longer be a joking matter; it killed 7,521 Minnesotans in 1918 alone. (more…)
Nominations for Arrowhead Arts Awards
Help the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council celebrate the best artists and arts advocates in the region. Many of us know an artist or arts advocate who deserves a little more recognition. Nominate that special artist for the Arrowhead Arts Awards. ARAC wants to recognize those who contribute to the arts in the region with two prestigious awards, which include cash awards. The deadline to nominate an individual is Dec. 7. (more…)
Selective Focus: Laura Goodman and Karen Owsley Nease
On Oct. 19 and 20, Laura Goodman’s sensuous and powerful new ballet, “Curl, Uncurl and…” will be performed as part of the Minnesota Ballet’s fall performance, The Rite of Spring and Other Dances. Basing her choreography on the wave paintings of Karen Owsley Nease, Laura explores the elemental and generative forces depicted in Karen’s artwork. Karen’s paintings will be projected as the back drop during the performance.
On Friday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m., at Joseph Nease Gallery, Laura and Karen will present an artist’s talk discussing their work during a mini-exhibition of the paintings that were included in the performance. “Elemental Forces and Other Work” is the mini-exhibition of Karen’s paintings and will be on display from Oct. 19-27.
What was the origin of your collaboration?
Karen: Over dinner last year, Laura and I were discussing our respective work as artists, particularly her experience as a professional dancer and choreographer, which led me to suggest how cool it would be to have her “interpret” my wave paintings into motion.
Laura: Growing up in Duluth, Lake Superior has been a place for reflection and awe. It has been a backdrop that I have missed when living elsewhere. I first saw Karen’s wave paintings at her show “As Above, So Below” at the University of Wisconsin, Superior in 2017. The idea of choreographing a piece based on her paintings was exciting to me, and so I worked to find a way to do that. After a few conversations and studio visits with Karen, I approached Robert Gardner at the Minnesota Ballet. With his support of the project I applied and was awarded an Arrowhead Regional Arts Council (ARAC) Career Development grant. (more…)
Opening Sam Ali
When you have an awkward moment at the desk and it goes viral and ends up on Jimmy Fallon, you belong in the @LocalTVSPXPrbs Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/i0Qpna3T5h
— Sam Ali (@SamAliSports) October 11, 2018
Duluth News Tribune: “Fox 21 banter-gone-bad lands on Jimmy Fallon“
Haley – “Double Dutchess”
Former Duluthian Haley releases her new instrumental album Pleasureland on Oct. 12. A slew of videos for tracks from the album have been recently released. “Double Dutchess” was shot and directed by Duluth artist Allen Killian-Moore in rural Iowa, Minneapolis, Duluth, Chicago, Rochester and the North Shore of Lake Superior. (more…)
Poll: What is the best Duluth-area restaurant?
With help from readers, we compiled a list of 18 nominees for the best Duluth-area restaurant poll. The final three on the ballot: Duluth Grill, Lake Avenue Restaurant & Bar and Va Bene Caffe.
This poll is now closed. The results will be announced soon.
Report scores Minnesota’s progress in sustainability
Minnesota’s state agencies are making progress toward sustainability goals according to a report by the Department of Administration’s Office of Enterprise Sustainability.
The Enterprise Sustainability 2017 Annual Report is the first collection of data that documents progress on cutting costs and increasing efficiency through sustainable practices.
The report can be viewed online at mn.gov.
Northland Country Club, prior to 1918 fire
One hundred years ago, Northland Country Club was destroyed by the Cloquet Fire of 1918 — Minnesota’s deadliest natural disaster. (more…)
Selective Focus: Canal Park, Brighton Beach and Park Point flooded
Standing water in the Canal Park business district. Debris and open manholes beneath the water. Waves pushing debris and rocks onto the Lakewalk. (more…)
Duluth 2018 General Election Sample Ballot
The 2018 General Election ballot in Duluth is a two-sided monster with federal, state, county and judicial races galore, plus a three-parted school district referendum question. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. (more…)
Perfect Duluth Restaurant Nominations – 2018
It’s been five years since we polled PDD readers to determine the perfect Duluth restaurant. Since then, the New Scenic Cafe has been the reigning champ. (more…)
Jeb Loy Nichols – “Say Goodbye to Christopher”
When it was that Wyoming-born and Wales-based musician Jeb Loy Nichols was in Duluth, and why he’s never coming back, are anyone’s guesses, but it’s apparently related to someone named Christopher. (more…)
Duluth Area Fall Colors 2018 Aerial Video
Brent Eliason of Ease Drones shot this aerial video last week along the St. Louis River between Thomson Dam and Mont du Lac Resort.
Mystery Photo #75: Young Woman on a Liden Cabinet Card
This cabinet card photo is from the L.N. Liden studio at 1619 W. Superior St. in Duluth. Identifying people in this type of photo is obviously a difficult task that depends more on luck than research skills, but nonetheless we give it the ol’ Perfect Duluth Day try. (more…)
Duluth’s Financial Crisis of 2008
Duluth was featured in the Oct. 6, 2008 issue of New York Times in an article about cities facing economic hardship.
To help close a gap of more than $6 million that yawned open over the summer, the artsy shipping city on Lake Superior had considered selling its prized Tiffany stained-glass window depicting Longfellow’s American Indian character Minnehaha, a one-of-a-kind work donated by a civic group more than 100 years ago. And some even pushed forward with plans to sell valuable beachfront property along the lake.
Tribes
You will know the tribes by their bumper stickers. Those watch-your-back talismans affixed to our minivans. We’re social animals, desperate for extended families, but tribalism which served us well in ancient times now splinters a humanity hungry to be whole. The myth of the staunch individualist ignores accomplishments of our collective will, yet individualism is precious, and herd mentality both dangerous and dull. Think of that frightful tribe, motivated by unconditional loyalty, its mindless chants filling stadiums in crude rituals of domination. I’m speaking, of course, about Green Bay Packers fans.
Thankfully, Vikings fans are a pale imitation of their namesakes from Scandinavia, those longboat marauders, as vicious and cruel, it is alleged, as many a hedge fund manager. But the Vikings got over it. They traded their battle axes for Volvos and social democracy. Instead of kidnapping they’re exporting cheap furniture, because Us against Them will get you only so far.
A handful of close friends is a blessing beyond measure. How do we hold onto that without circling the proverbial wagons? How can tribes expand and blend like living Venn diagrams without falling into in-group ethics? How do we “coexist” as one tribe’s bumper sticker suggests? “Don’t Tread On Me,” says another’s, twisting the sentiment of revolution for reactionary effect. A rattlesnake, poised to strike, illustrates the theme. Along with this less-than-veiled threat, drivers approaching our blindside must be warned we are insured by Smith and Wesson, and deputized for vigilante justice. Tailgate at your own risk, and don’t step on my snake. (more…)
The Return of Kiss
Thirty-nine years ago — Oct. 6, 1979 — Kiss played its third concert in Duluth, having previously appeared in 1974 and ’77. The band continued to “return” into the 1980s and ’90s, most recently performing in Duluth in 2016, when Paul Stanley tweeted that a certain Duluthian is “such a clearly miserable asshole.”
Those who attended the show in ’70 recall Judas Priest did not show up. John Cougar filled in and was purported booed.
The Fractals – “Gear Grinder”
This video is a couple years old, but somehow missed the PDD radar when it was released in 2016. The Fractals play Beaner’s Central tonight at 7 p.m.
Low – “Poor Sucker”
The new Low video is directed by Karlos Rene Ayala. The Duluth band is touring Europe in October in support of its new album Double Negative.
Selective Focus: Jim Richardson
Jim Richardson is an artist, a writer, a snorkeler and outdoorsman, a video blogger — in other words, a modern day renaissance man. He has a show of his cartoons opening tonight (Friday, Oct. 5) at the Red Herring Lounge. This week in Selective Focus, we get a preview of the show, and hear about some of the other projects he has up his sleeve.
JR: My current show at the Red Herring features recent cartoon illustrations I’ve done for transistormag.com, so I am wearing my cartoonist cap. The Perfect Duluth Day community knows me primarily, if anything, by the work I do as Lake Superior Aquaman. But cartooning has been with me the longest. I have always been a committed doodler. (more…)
Hall-pass crackdown at Denfeld riles some students, parents
New measures at Denfeld High School designed to limit the time students spend outside class prompted some angry social media posts last week suggesting it restricted students from accessing restrooms.
“No more permission to pee,” read a graphic accompanying some of the posts on Facebook.
Denfeld Principal Tonya Sconiers was not available for comment this week, but said via email the school does not have a new lavatory policy. (more…)