Archetypes in Wrestling: Reflections on Recent Matches at Wessman Arena
I spent last Saturday night thinking and rethinking about cultural archetypes through the most popular form of American theater, the wrestling show.
Heavy on Wrestling, a Duluth-based promotion, has organized numerous cards over the past decade at casinos and entertainment centers throughout the region. Last week’s event at Wessman Arena was intergenerational. Baron von Raschke, who started wrestling in 1966, served as the “commissioner.” For those a bit younger, who remember wrestling on network TV, “The Million Dollar Man,” Ted DiBiase and Eugene were present; DiBiase signed autographs and Eugene wrestled Minnesota wrestling mainstay Mitch Paradise.
If you thought wrestling was something that only happened on cable TV, you are missing out. There are more than a half-dozen wrestling promotions in Minnesota running shows throughout the state. To learn more, follow the work of Razzling Rick.
You probably haven’t heard of KTWH-FM of Two Harbors
There’s something amazing going on at a little community radio station in Two Harbors. If you haven’t heard of KTWH it is most likely due to its recent arrival upon the airwaves and its status as a low-power community radio station. If you live outside of its broadcast range, streaming online will be your only recourse, but it is well worth the effort. It is something I haven’t heard since the advent of FM in the early 1970s. DJs playing music that has merit and meaning rather than having the potential for being the opening theme song for the new CSI, set in Bugtussle, KY. (more…)
Mystery Photo #33: Champions 1913
Who are these girls? What basketball team were they on? Why were they in a photo shot in 1911 on a postcard mailed in 1911 with “Champions 1913” written on the ball?
What we do know, based on the signature on the image, is the photo was taken by Duluth photographer Louis Dworshak, owner of the Dworshak Studio at 8 N. Second Ave. W. (more…)
Charlie Parr in his own words
Charlie Parr strolled into the neighborhood yesterday—barefoot, even though it was cold and damp. We had a nice conversation on my podcast about the hardships and joys of life on the road, dropping out of school, and how he slowly got into making music as a vocation. He’s doing what he loves, and that’s what I’m trying to do: as an author, and an urban farmer. My new urban farm, Tiny Farm Duluth, is slowly coming together. The soil of formerly wasted space within the city of Duluth has been tilled, and seeds will soon be sown. (more…)
Selective Focus: Jonathan Thunder
This week’s selective focus subject has appeared on PDD before; doing the Robot on every street corner in Duluth. He even made the Best Videos of 2014 list. Even more impressive than his dance moves are his paintings. He’s also an animator and filmmaker. Jonathan Thunder tells about his diverse work.
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Meat
The short film Meat, directed by Michael Forstein and shot in Duluth, premiered online this week on the Short of the Week website.
Meat tells the story of an idealistic college student forced to take a job as a door-to-door meat salesman. Highlighting the culture clash between small-town, working-class America and its urban counterpart, Short of the Week describes Meat as “warm to the realities of poor, white, male culture, but clear-eyed to the self destructiveness and fundamental insecurity that underpins its habits. It is a remarkable work that heralds powerful new voices in Forstein and Thomsen.”
The script was written by Duluth native Colin Keith Thomsen and the cast includes Caleb Carlson (Hermantown native), John Cromwell (son of actor James Cromwell), Sari Lennick (A Serious Man; Woody Allen’s Cafe Society), and Pearce Bunting (HBO’s Boardwalk Empire). Before premiering online, Meat screened at over 30 festivals across the United States, Europe and Australia, including the Denver Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, Rooftop Films, Indie Memphis and the Duluth Superior Film Festival.
Video Archive: The Psychic 8-Ball Hotline
In early 1996, under the assignment of the late-great UW-Superior Professor John D. Munsell, I was tasked with creating a 60-second television commercial for a Direction of Talent in Media class. Since psychic hotline ads were common on cable TV, and I grew up in a house with a rec room and a Magic 8-ball, I opted to produce this spoof. (more…)
Sustainable Design at UMD
I’m lucky to have worked on a sustainable art project on the breezeway leading to Darland Admin Building at UMD with Darren Houser, Mindy Granley, Catherine Meier, Kathy McTavish, and Wildwoods.
Duluth is a bottleneck for bird migration. Birds flying south prefer not to fly over open water, and so follow the coastline until they read the head of the lake in Duluth. (more…)
Homegrown Music Video Fest 2016
The videos from the 2016 Homegrown Music Video Festival have been popping up online, and PDD is archiving them on a page. We’ll continue to add to the collection as we find them or as they are sent to us.
Here’s a sample by Tomas Soderberg – “Machinery” by the Social Disaster
The Story of Hairmantown: ESPN Clip
ESPN’s E:60 premiered its Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament feature tonight, they released this clip on their website specifically about the Hermantown Hawks’ pursuit of the class A championship … and excellence in flowing locks.
The Art in Mayor Larson’s Office
PDD doesn’t typically post promotional videos, but this one from the University of Minnesota Duluth’s School of Fine Art offers an interesting glimpse into some of the artwork in Duluth Mayor Emily Larson’s office, particularly focusing on Stephanie Boyum’s piece that melds an archival photograph of Fifth Avenue West over a modern-day scene.
Upset Duluth: Brevator Township Edition
The Duluth News Tribune reports a proposed tire-recycling facility north of Cloquet has a few people upset. Photo by Steve Kuchera. (more…)
Duluth and Superior Photo Tweet From Space
Astronaut Jeff Williams of Winter, Wis., tweeted this photo of the Twin Ports this morning from the International Space Station. Far out, man. (more…)
This Week: Randy and Lahey, smelt, Homegrown shots and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find in this week’s PDD Calendar:
Superior Public Library is the place to learn about how to assist an orphaned or injured wild animal, individual Homegrown Festival journeys are documented in a photography show at the Red Herring, Duluth mayor Emily Larson and councilman Gary Anderson hold the latest in their series of community listening sessions, the John Frankenheimer classic The Manchurian Candidate screens in an all-new 4K restoration at the Zinema, it’s Adult Night at World of Wheels Skate Center and Randy and Mr. Lahey of the cult television comedy Trailer Park Boys bring their greasy hijinks to Clyde Iron.
The Duluth Junk Hunt showcases all things antique, vintage and repurposed, the cartooning of Chris Monroe comes to life at the Duluth Playhouse Children’s Theater, Bent Paddle Brewing Co. celebrates three years in operation with lotsa bands and lotsa food, kids can learn the ins and outs of Ultimate Frisbee at the Duluth Heritage Sports Center, it’s time for the costumes and puppets of the annual smelt parade and the roaring of the engines has once again commenced in Proctor.
Who won Homegrown 2016?
The final applause of the 2016 Homegrown Music Festival is now in the history books. Which band “won” the festival? Each year PDD polls its readership and asks that very question. Because art is useless if it isn’t vain and competitive, right?
How does one “win” a music festival? Is it about musicianship? Is it about showmanship and antics? Is it about pretty hairstyles and flamboyant fashions? Yes.
The poll is now closed. Here are the results:
Medical Underground – 16.8 percent
Red Mountain – 12.3 percent
The Social Disaster – 11.2 percent
Bratwurst – 10 percent
A Band Called Truman – 7.8 percent
Various other bands – 41.9 percent (more…)
Homegrown Kickball Classic 2016
The 2016 Homegrown Kickball Classic at Chester Bowl Park was ushered in by shockingly perfect weather conditions. The sun shone, some random dude played sitar, dogs pranced, beer flowed. And musicians in their seventh day of an eight-day Homegrown bender attempted to rally and act like athletes. (more…)
German Prisoners of War in Northeastern Minnesota
From the Duluth Public Library Reference News and Resources blog, Reference@Duluth:
As World War II continued into 1943, some U.S. industries were experiencing shortages of workers. In Minnesota, the pinch was felt especially acutely in agriculture, food processing, and logging. Women and even children often stepped up to help with the labor shortage in agriculture and food processing. One notable local example was 17-year-old Duluthian Shirley Armstrong, who appeared on the cover of the September 27, 1943, issue of Life magazine because she was working in corn fields near Fairmont, Minnesota. She and several other young women from Duluth were featured in an article about the Women’s Land Army.
In spite of the help, the labor shortage grew worse. Early in 1943, the state of Minnesota had begun working on a plan for using prisoners of war to fill some vacant jobs and help keep the industries operating smoothly and able to provide the country with needed food and lumber. A small number of prisoners were used in Minnesota agriculture in 1943, but usage increased greatly in 1944.
Read more here.
Superior Siren – “Rosemar”
[Video removed from YouTube.]
The Superior Siren trio performs the song Rosemar aboard the William A. Irvin in this video shot for the 2016 NPR Tiny Desk Contest.
Negative Voting
It’s been 16 years since I first announced in print my idea to change the American electoral process. Since then, my negative voting movement has gained absolutely no momentum, while election results have only affirmed my position.
In the summer of 2000, anyone could see the country was headed down the crapper. George W. Bush and Albert A. Gore — two of the country’s most hated men — were the favorites to become president. No one else stood a chance. I didn’t know the outcome of that election would be as controversial as it was, but obviously the result wasn’t going to be popular whether it was Bush or Gore ascending to the White House. It was clear our voting process was backward. It was time for negative voting.
When I launched the negative voting movement in June of 2000, it was already too late to save that fall’s election, and today it’s too late to fix the 2016 campaign. The timing is perfect, however, to get on the right path for 2020. So allow me to explain the simple change that would fix our broken democracy. (more…)
Boku Frequency – “Satisfied”
WDSE-TV’s The PlayList captures Boku Frequency performing “Satisfied” at Tycoons Alehouse during the 2015 Homegrown Music Festival.
The Farsights – “Saturdays”
WDSE-TV’s The PlayList captures the Farsights performing “Saturdays” at Tycoons Alehouse during the 2015 Homegrown Music Festival.
Selective Focus: Sasha Howell
With Selective Focus, we plan to highlight a variety of visual artists, giving some exposure to people working in disciplines that don’t immediately come to mind. This week, we have one of those people. Sasha Howell tells us about her corner of the design world.
SH: I am a costume designer! I work with local theatre and film groups in designing and implementing a costume design – usually my own. I also dabble in my own fashion design and anything to do with clothing and textile – shoes, accessories, hair, etc. I originally started student life at UMD with a Studio Art major and quickly realized it wasn’t exactly what I was looking to do – creatively. So I switched to a Studio Art MINOR and gravitated towards the Theatre department because, to me, that was a much more practical and exciting use of my talents and interests. I became quick friends with all the right people and worked closely with the costume shop there. I instantly fell in love with costumes because with EVERY new show there was opportunity to learn new techniques, new history, and to try something new! I quickly became known in town for costumes and demand started to increase. On average, I’m working on at LEAST 2 overlapping shows, but always tossing around ideas on several shows at once. On the side, I also paint abstract series and enjoy making jewelry. (more…)
Duluth-area Coffee Roasters in 2015
The coffee industry has undergone significant changes in the past couple of decades, as an increasing number of specialty roasters enter the market. The Duluth area is now experiencing what some call the “third wave” of coffee. The first wave of coffee was about convenience and mass production (think instant coffee, like Folgers). The second wave of coffee involved the rise of chains like Starbucks, where consumers were introduced to fresher and better quality beans and the experience of drinking in coffee shops.