Barrett Chase
Homegrown 2012 Resource Rundown
Today, ladies and gents, marks Day One of Homegrown: The Apocalypse. Homegrown banners are in rotation here at PDD, and you can still submit new ones if you’re so inclined. (more…)
Poll: Jim Carlson
This is the first in a series of polls I will be posting to try and get a sense of how the numbers break down on certain opinions that pop up on PDD. I’ve closed comments on this post, because the purpose here is boil things down, as much as possible, to a set of numbers.
For background and/or the opportunity to weigh in on this topic, visit the 12/07/2011 post: Is the Last Place on Earth ruining Duluth? If you want to point out a problem with the poll itself, feel free to email me at barrett@perfectduluthday.com.
The poll will close this Friday night/Saturday morning at 12:00am.
[poll id=”11″]
8-Bit Duluth
Can anyone give me a walkthrough of the dungeon underneath the Seaway Hotel?
Duluth-Area BBS
Recently, I stumbled on this website, which lists BBS numbers that existed in the 218 area code in the 80s and 90s. The BBS or bulletin board system was a precursor to web forums. People usually used BBSs that were physically in the same area as they were, since their computer would actually have to call the BBS and would incur long-distance charges just like any other landline phone call.
I never used a BBS, but I remember other kids talking about them furtively in my computer programming class in 8th grade. Sadly, my trusty VIC-20 lacked a modem.
Did anyone here use these or other local BBSs, or better yet did anyone actually run one? If so, please nerd out in the comments.
Twin Ports Illuminated Signs
I’m sad to see that the Big L sign has gone dark. It’s definitely my favorite illuminated sign in the area. Here’s a gallery of a few more of my favorites. I’m sure there are others that I’ve missed, so if you have some photos you’d like to share, please do so in the comments. (more…)
Duluth needs a monster of its own
Earlier today I was reading about the Red Dwarf of Detroit, a harbinger of doom that’s been haunting the Detroit area for hundreds of years. It’s described as “a small child-like creature with red or black fur boots” that has “blazing red eyes and rotten teeth.”
Other communities have monsters that are unique to their location. Point Pleasant, WV has the Mothman. Southern New Jersey has the Jersey Devil. Botetourt County, VA and Mattoon, IL have the Mad Gasser, who was more of a serial killer really but I’m still including it here.
Mayor Ness wants to get the population back up to 90,000. Maybe some good old-fashioned mass hysteria is what we need to put this town back on the map.
If Duluth had a monster of its own, what would it be like? When would would it appear? Where would it appear? What would it be called?
Where in Duluth?
I’ll start things off with a clue: This is not in a restroom.
New Comment Policy
This morning at a meeting among Perfect Duluth Day’s owners, it was decided to change PDD’s commenting policy. Effective immediately, only PDD members may comment on posts. New commenters must join PDD and log in to make comments. This is not in response to any particular situation, but rather a change we have been contemplating for quite some time. We believe it will improve the website in the long run.
It sounds harsher and more dramatic than it actually is. For those who are currently without a PDD membership, registering is a simple, easy process. All current members will simply be prompted to log in before commenting.
Feel free to ask questions, whine like a baby, or celebrate the new policy in the comments below. After registering and/or logging in of course.
Duluth’s Halloween Megastorm of 1991
For those who are too young to remember and/or didn’t live around here 20 years ago, Duluth experienced one of the craziest blizzards in history in 1991. The Halloween Megastorm was part of, or at least coincided with, what became known as The Perfect Storm, “a nor’easter that absorbed Hurricane Grace and ultimately evolved into a small hurricane late in its life cycle.”
(more…)
Dialects
Map of American English Dialects
Minnesota Pronunciation Samples — Mayor Don Ness and “miner’s wife” Mildred Opacich represent Duluth. (By “represent” I mean that they are used as examples, not as the whole of the study by any means.)
Duluth, Kansas
Most people who live in Duluth, Minnesota know about Duluth, Georgia. Just today, however, I discovered that there is a third Duluth — Duluth, Kansas. I had no idea. (more…)
PDD, Infected. Leave immediately!
PDD appears to be infected with malware, which may harm your computer. Please leave immediately and take proper measures to cleanse your computer of our apparent filth.
We’re working on the problem, but it may take awhile for us to set things straight. Don’t check back. Keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook accounts for further information.
And may God have mercy on our souls.
Low – “Try to Sleep” featuring John Stamos
[Previously on PDD: Low and Uncle Jesse?]
Get Low’s New Album, C’mon, on the Cheap
A heads-up for frugal Duluthians, Low’s new album, C’mon, is Amazon’s MP3 Daily Deal today. You can download the whole album for only $3.99, or you can download track one, “Try to Sleep,” for absolutely free.
Now Here’s a Duluth Job Opportunity
Once again, the City of Duluth has posted a job opening for the position of Aerial Lift Bridge Operator.
I’ve always thought that if I had this job, I could go around calling myself “Mr. Duluth.” It is, from an outsider’s standpoint at least, pretty much the classic Duluth job.
Chicken Spur Update
Congratulations to a PDD favorite, the Chicken Spur, for opening a drive-through window. Tell your cabbie you have a stop to make on the way home.
(more…)
Minnesotans are ill-tempered tweeters
The above video shows the mood of the United States over a two-day period as interpreted by various words used on Twitter. Green indicates a good mood, red indicates a foul mood, and pale yellow indicates the middle area. The size of the states scale up and down according to how many tweets were posted at that particular time.
As you can see, Minnesota rarely makes it out of the red. There are a few times when it sneaks into the yellow, but for the most part, we are a grumpy people, at least according to our Twitter activity and this study.
Speaking of which, here’s the official website. You’ll notice that the poster version of the data shows Minnesota tinged with a bit of green in the very early morning, indicating that on certain days, at around 6am, we apparently can drum up a tiny amount of positive spirit on the internet.
The Study and Analysis of Heartache
The recent post about the 1917 Ripsaw article regarding booze and filth in Superior, Wisconsin got me thinking about this quote from one of Anthony Bukoski’s short stories. I posted it here on PDD back in August of 2003, but I think enough time has passed for us to revisit it.
“The entire city of Superior, my neighborhood included, is a classroom for the study of failure. The curriculum for the Study and Analysis of Heartache comes from our citizenry’s heavy drinking. We’re Scandinavians, Slavs, and Indians of all makes and models. The curriculum is also tied to our living on the shore of the largest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Superior alters our weather for the worst, makes us ugly. Step out the door, see old newspapers blow down the streets in a lake wind, wipe dust from your eyes, go to the Palace Bar, Isle of Capri, Captain Cliff’s Night Club, Lost in the ’50s, Al’s Waterfront Tavern. Find the locals lined up for an eye-opener at eight in the morning, and that, to a sensitive former academic like me, is Hard Knocks. When you can’t find work and need to get yourself more depressed, listen in the hallway of your run-down flat for the neighbor guy to strike his wife or she him. Add gray skies. Add fog, and in winter and into late spring, throw in bitter cold, and that’s how it is in Superior, Wisconsin, at the Head of the Lakes. Every day I take a refresher course in how to be a loser.”
— Anthony Bukoski, “A Philosophy of Dust”
I-35 Constructiageddon at Night
A few (unedited) night shots of the I-35 construction in West Duluth. Or is it Mars? Yeah, it might be Mars.
I really wanted to shoot these on a foggy night, but the one night I had time, it was relatively clear. I’ll have to go back again soon. The way I understand it, the construction will go on for a *wee* bit longer, as will the damp weather. (more…)
