Project SULTAN: A 13-Year-Old’s Plan to Take Over the World
At age thirteen in 1981, I made plans to take over the world. I would form a military organization with a network of secret bases, to destabilize the nations of the globe so I could seize power. The Reagan administration had me scared of nuclear annihilation — a civilization gone mad. The only moral response was to end war by taking over the world. So I wrote a manifesto, detailed my plans, and designed superweapons. I kept these in folders in a three-ring binder in my top dresser drawer. Today, four decades later, one of those folders survives. It is titled “SULTAN: Bases, Robots, Missiles.” It contains my megalomaniacal manifesto, my plan’s diabolical steps, and some blueprints. The other folders are missing. I have a good idea what happened to them, or should I say, who happened to them.
The opening page reads: “This is a highly-classified, top secret notebook, full of my plans for world conquest, and absolute domination of the planet. Anyone (without whom I have first given specific directions) reading this book shall be dealt with accordingly. – Jim Richardson, Future Earth Emperor.” (more…)
Trampled by Turtles and Caamp – “Alone”
Trampled by Turtles performed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado this past summer with the folk trio Caamp. The groups joined together for this performance of TBT’s “Alone,” from the 2012 album Stars & Satellites.
Bits of Bly: August Sun
The five-part series of clips from a 1997 Robert Bly interview from KUMD concludes with the poet reciting his poem “August Sun.”
The Hermits – “Peel”
Duluth-based grunge band the Hermits released a debut music video this week. The song “Peel” is from the group’s EP titled If; the video was shot by Grayson Nolan.
Cross-country skiers push for Duluth to be ‘fluoro wax-free city’
As the national SuperTour race hits Spirit Mountain in Duluth this weekend, Minnesota Public Radio delves into the potentially harmful effects of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances found in the fluorinated ski wax used by elite cross-country ski racers.
Bits of Bly: The Time of Grief
In part four of the 1997 Robert Bly interview from KUMD, the poet talks about the future of American poetry.
Postcard from the lobby of Duluth’s McKay Hotel
This undated postcard, published by Bloom Brothers Company of Minneapolis, offers a view of the lobby of the Hotel McKay, which stood at 430 W. First St. in Downtown Duluth from 1901 to about 1965. (more…)
Monthly Grovel: December 2021
Oh, holy night and joy to the flippin’ world! The halls of the PDD Calendar are so decked with holiday events that you can’t even find the Clem Snide show you’re looking for. That just means PDD’s merry elves are doing their jobs, publishing enough events to keep your bells completely jingled.
Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account. (more…)
Bits of Bly: Transfusions from Other Cultures
In part three of the 1997 Robert Bly interview from KUMD, the poet talks about Spanish poetry and other influences, including the Indian poet Ghalib.
Dusty Slay jabs Great Lakes Aquarium on Tonight Show
Last night comedian Dusty Slay appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallen and at the end of his monologue launched into a story about a visit to the Great Lakes Aquarium. The story, which begins at the 3:15 mark in the clip above, concludes with Slay asking a “fish expert” at the aquarium whether fish sleep. To not spoil the punchline, let’s just say he gets a Yogi Berra-style response.
Slay does not mention the Great Lakes Aquarium by name, but as a story on Mix 108’s website notes, “he’s certainly not referencing World of Fish.”
KUMD is now WDSE 103.3 FM “The North”
After 64 years of affiliation with the University of Minnesota Duluth, 103.3 FM is now a product of the Duluth Superior Area Educational Television Corporation, the public media organization that also owns WDSE/WRPT-TV, the Duluth area’s PBS affiliate. (more…)
Indigenous Stories of Strength: Jessica Gidagaakoons Smith
The Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health’s Great Lakes Hub in Duluth, located at 1915 South St. near the Duluth Labor Temple, just sent out an announcement of Indigenous Stories of Strength, a website collecting stories of life under COVID-19. (more…)
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. (more…)
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
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. (more…)
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.” (more…)
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. (more…)
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.