Selective Focus: Open Theme
Eric Dubnicka, “Slop Bucket”
Glad that I called a random theme because it let me catch up with recent doings I’ve missed. Emily finished a marathon, Ed had a great opening (and buffet), Zach made it to Grand Marais, Aaron’s son finished 1st grade, and Richard snuck in a ‘lifty.’ Follow the links for more happenings, like the progress of Annie’s root cellar, or Brian’s contributuions to “Made Here” in the cities (which could flourish in the Twin Ports too). (more…)
Iron Pour Scratch Tiles at Park Point Art Fair
On Saturday Common Language will be firing up the artisanal foundry at the 45th annual Park Point Art Fair. Watch the little furnace spit out 100 pounds of iron every 12 minutes or so, and make an iron tile to take home. Instruction and tools will be provided. 10 a.m. until they last. $20.
Mystery Photos #22 – #32: UMD
The University of Minnesota Duluth’s Alumni Association sent out an email featuring eleven old photos. The organization is collecting UMD memories for the upcoming Bridge magazine and is requesting help identifying memories and people from these heritage photographs. (more…)
Low song “No Comprende” from upcoming album Ones and Sixes
Ones and Sixes, the new album by Duluth band Low, is scheduled for worldwide release on Sept. 11.
Stereogum previews the album:
A Low Profile: Alan Sparhawk & Mimi Parker on their new album Ones And Sixes (more…)
Razors Tapes – Duluth Edition
Shane McClay and Jeph Howard of Razor Skate perform roller-blading stunts across Duluth, soaking up a bit of culture along the way.
Catering Recommendation in the Twin Cities
Daily I am reminded of the charmed life I once lived in Duluth. The most recent pain comes in needing to identify a few restaurants or catering companies I could collaborate with on a fundraising event my employer is sponsoring in September.
Back in Duluth, this would have been a wonderful experience as I would simply visit with some friends or mutual acquaintances to find the right partner. Not so with this endeavor. So with that, I am reaching out to the “best of the best” here on PDD: if any of you have a CATERING recommendation for me [ST PAUL, MSP] and could provide a soft introduction, that would be very helpful. I’m not holding out for free food, I’m just interested in creating a partnership and want to engage an honest, service-minded owner. Feel free to email me directly: bbertsch at crchealth dot com.
Photos of Last Night’s Northern Lights in Duluth
By Brian Barber
It’s fairly rare that the aurora borealis is this visible in Duluth. Solar eruptions triggered a severe geomagnetic storm over the weekend, causing brilliant colors last night that kept photographers and sky gazers up into the morning. Gathered here are a few images from the PDD Facebook page and other social media. (more…)
Nerd Culture: Games at Rogue Robot, Comics at the DAI, Nerd Nite at the Zuccone
Exhausted. Weeks of nerdery behind and ahead.
Last Thursday, I went out to dinner with authors who grew up on the range — Roy C. Booth and Cynthia Booth. Roy will be at CONvergence in a few weeks celebrating his new book, Orphans.
Sunday, I went out to dinner with Tim, a central fixture in Minnesota comics life, at the Buffet at the Bear. OMG, I love that buffet — and on Sunday, Lutefisk.
Monday night was game night — we met first for dinner at 7 West Taphouse. It’s a diverse, fun crowd, including one of the back stage masterminds from Game Show at the Underground and the owner of 8 Bit Classic Collection. See this play. Shop this shop. (more…)
Goodbye Jitters, hello Bakehouse
Jitters Lake Superior Coffee & Tea House is no more. New sister-brother owners Katina and Pauly Petsoulis took over in February and launched a name change last weekend. The new Lake Superior Bakehouse at 102 W. Superior St. promises “small-batch baked goods all from scratch and small-batch house-roasted coffees.”
Although the look of the space is changing and the variety of baked goods and other foods expanding, Katina notes one thing will stay the same.
“A lot of Jitters regulars were loyal to the coffee,” she said. “We have the same roaster, Jesse Bamford.” (more…)
“The Price of Admission for Living in the Northland”?
Wildwoods shared this story about wildlife and domestic pets:
On Friday, Wildwoods sent three fox kits down to our friend Connie, who specializes in raising and releasing orphaned foxes. Their stories illustrate the range of problems we may cause for our wild neighbors — through carelessness, through intolerance, and through misplaced “love.” (more…)
This Week: art, horses, beer docs and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
The Spirit Room celebrates its first year with a multi-day bash, Wordsmith Wednesdays is going down at Amazing Grace, the Three Bridges International Music Festival continues, the Duluth Huskies battle a team from Alexandria that is unfortunately not called the Big Oles, the River Rovers Nature Play Group for kids is assembling in Billings Park and Art in the Alley opens its Mall-area location.
In Lincoln Park, there’s music on the 22nd and the Neighborhood Summer Celebration on the 25th, the craft-beer documentary film Blood, Sweat and Beer plays at Bent Paddle, the Chum Rhubarb Festival gets underway on Saturday (as does the 45th annual Park Point Art Fair) and the Gala of the Royal Horses is at Amsoil Arena.
Is this bear poop on my front lawn?
These droppings were six feet from my front door this morning on North 42nd Avenue West in West Duluth.
St. Paul gets all up in Duluth’s craft-beer capital-proclaiming face
A new billboard has popped up on Grand Avenue in West Duluth with fighting words issued from St. Paul. Duluth, many will recall, claimed the title of “Craft Beer Capital of Minnesota” back in February 2013. (more…)
Knife River Fawn
Video by Frank Sander from out the window of the Blau House at the Little Knife Sanctuary in Knife River, with music by Ryan Clover.
Agassiz Oscillation Ensemble – “Shoulders in Heavy”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7PIFvvV7DM
Cinematography – Allen Killian-Moore
“Shoulders in Heavy” is a selected portion from side A of the forthcoming Agassiz Oscillation Ensemble album Workplace Democracy, to be released on Chicago-based 1980 Records in July.
Selective Focus: Zen
Bryce Kastning, untitled
I did not anticipate needing this theme to the degree that I did; sometimes, you can be overwhelmed by the coarse, the squalid, the noisy, and the negative. Photography often affords me a psychic reprieve, and I’m grateful now to live in a place where one can so easily step into a placid physical place when the madness gets too far inside. Sufficient? Time will tell. (more…)
Charlie Parr’s Stumpjumper Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW5pT89lgys
Phil Cook, producer of Charlie Parr’s new album Stumpjumper, narrates this video that follows Parr from the North Shores of Duluth to the hills of North Carolina. The footage was shot by Cook, Maxwell McGruder and Adam Heathcott.
Skyline Parkway sign vector
Does anyone have a vector image of the Skyline Parkway sign? Google is coming up short. Thanks!
Does anyone know why the pond at Bagley is being drained?
We walk the dog in the Bagley Nature Area at UMD daily, and since Saturday we’ve noticed the water level in the pond has been quickly dropping. It looks to be two-to-three feet lower than it was last week. There is a drain at the far end of the pond that sounds like it is open. If this is intentional, it seems like an odd time of year to be draining a pond that is home to so much wildlife.
The Keep Aways at Tom’s Burned Down Café
.. and then the woman with the green hair appears.
Water
This video by Mickie Keuning celebrates the emotions of water in Duluth. The song is “Lakehouse” by Of Monsters and Men.
Over the Edge for the Duluth Y
Have you ever thought that your love of the community and desire to send someone off a building would ever come together in a socially acceptable way? It finally has!
For the third year people will be going “over the edge” for a great cause, rappelling over the side of the nine-story Sellwood Building in Downtown Duluth on July 8 and 9. This exhilarating and completely safe experience is open to everyone with a sense of adventure and the desire to raise support for an incredible cause: the Y!
Help Cheryl Skafte and others reach their fundraising goal.
If you would like to participate, the ticket to your “Over the Edge” adventure is raising $1,000 for the Duluth Area Family YMCA. You don’t need to be an experienced rappeller, just at least 14 years old and between 100 and 300 pounds.
Special VIP day on July 9 available for those who are in Don Ness’ book … or know they should be.
This Week: marathonery and non
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
Lots going on, this week, with Grandma’s Marathon taking the prize for the biggest event. In addition to the main race, there’s also the Garry Bjorklund half-marathon, the William A. Irvin 5k, two nights of non-local music in a big tent and two nights of mostly-local music in a big tent.
Events not directly related to running people (or people who are running) include guitarist Billy Barnard, a big kids’ games day at the Duluth Library, a chess grand master at the Superior Library, a meeting meant to keep locals informed about the Grand Avenue rehab project, the Duluth Farmers Market, the interactive comedic play Game Show goes up and local comic artists show their stuff.
Free Dental Care
My friend Noland is awesome at using social media to make social services visible. I thought I might boost his signal here.
If anyone is in need of free dental services, there’s a free dental clinic at the DECC on July 17-18. Doors open at 5:30 a.m.; first come, first served. Parking is free.
If you can’t wait for the middle of July, here are some lists of low-cost dental providers throughout Minnesota.