David Beard
Local writer wins national audience
Jayson Iwen, associate professor of writing at UW–Superior, has landed a piece in Tikkun magazine. His story “Night Running,” was also a Glimmer Train “very short fiction” honorable mention. (more…)
Crystal Spring Gibbins and Holy Cow at Twin Cities Book Festival
On Saturday at the Twin Cities Book Festival, Gary Boelhower, Joan Henrik, Miriam Karmel and Crystal Gibbins celebrated the 40th anniversary of Duluth’s Holy Cow! Press.
The panel, moderated by Jim Perlman, was basically short readings followed by a book signing. It was great to see friends at this celebration of literary culture.
Duluth Nerd Nite organizer opens game store in St. Paul
Grand Opening at Gaming Goat St. Paul.
The Gaming Goat in St. Paul is operated by Jeremy, who is one of the founding members of Nerd Nite Duluth. He still returns to Duluth for nearly every Nerd Nite to host, so in my mind, he’s still part of Duluth, and so his shop is worth a visit the next time you are in St. Paul. (more…)
Running for Our Heroes 5K
I ran, then jogged, then walked in the “Running for Our Heroes” 5K. I learned something about running, about 5Ks, about myself. (more…)
Minnesota Clothing Sales Tax Exemption Appreciation
I was almost, almost charged sales tax at a second-hand shop near the Miller Hill Mall a few weeks ago, on the purchase of socks. I was disappointed … because this is the law:
Clothing is exempt from Minnesota sales and use tax. Clothing means all human wearing apparel suitable for general use. The exemption for clothing does not apply to fur clothing, clothing accessories or equipment, sports or recreational equipment, and protective equipment, which are taxable.
(From Minnesota Department of Revenue Clothing Sales Tax Fact Sheet) (more…)
KUWS Final Edition episode on the CJMM Memorial
I found the CD that Mike Simonson gave me and uploaded it to SoundCloud. It’s a half-hour segment titled “Teaching History, Literacy and Tolerance: The Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial in Our Schools.” Panelists are Henry Banks, Catherine Nachbar, David Beard, Gail Schoenfelder and Perry Kennedy. Moderators are Jennifer and Mike Simonson.
Gunnar Birkerts, Duluth Public Library architect, dead at 92
(more…)Gunnar Birkerts, a Latvian-born architect who extended the vocabulary of Modernism using unexpected angular forms, folding planes and ingenious, light-suffused interiors, died on Tuesday at his home in Needham, Mass. He was 92.
Lots of movies
So it’s end of summer, and the weather’s been … uneven … and it’s getting darker earlier. My heart turns toward movies. (more…)
Rob Adams at the DAI and North Korea
Imagine playing a game of Battleship with an estranged uncle. Let’s call him “Sam.” (more…)
Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #3
More from that odd board game:
1. One of the westerly townsites which later became part of Duluth had an Ojibwe name which meant “the rock from which the people sprang.” Name that townsite (and if you know whether this is accurate, let me know).
2. What nationality were the founders of the Hunter’s Park area of Duluth? (more…)
Where in Duluth?
I still miss this place. It was the cheapest place in Duluth to look at the lake. The replacement building isn’t the same — it’s louder and colder and you can’t see the lake from anywhere except your car.
Where in Duluth was this joint with a cool view of the lake?
Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #2
I scored a box of Duluth Trivia cards at Savers.
Some of the questions include:
The first vessel to pass through the Duluth Ship Canal was named:
- The Fero
- The Ishpeming
- The Handy
Two Duluthians were guests at Chapel Con in Albert Lea
This past weekend was Chapel Con, a comics and pop culture convention in Albert Lea, Minn. Two Duluthians were guests — two of our favorite comics creators. (more…)
Human Fabric of Duluth
Trudy Vrieze has started a fascinating project documenting what it means to live in Duluth, who we are and why we are here. The Human Fabric of Duluth is a street-photography and storytelling project. (more…)
Coffee and … beer? In Lakeside?
Last week I bicycled to Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood with a friend — to Amity Coffee and BEER?
Today is the one-year anniversary since the law was revised. The Duluth City Council repealed a more than 125-year-old Lakeside liquor ban on June 27, 2016. Amity Coffee became the neighborhood’s first seller of alcoholic beverages four months later. (more…)
The Only Right that is too Often Exercised Alone
The most diverse workplace I have ever known was a nursing home kitchen with workers from age 18 to 82 of many races and genders.
Kitchens breed a complex affection. We saw each other every day, taking two or more meals together. I developed favorite coworkers — the washers who will plow through the dishes quickly, not the washers who realize they are paid the same no matter how many plates they wash in an hour. We celebrated each other’s joys. The cook might bake a small cake to celebrate a staff wedding, or streamers might appear outside the dietitian’s office on her birthday. On Friday we might go drinking — it was a special challenge to pressure the people working the dinner shift on Friday and the breakfast shift on Saturday to do a “turn and burn.”
It was on one of those Fridays that my coworker Erin told us she was pregnant, that it was unplanned and unwanted, and that she didn’t know what to do. She was likely, she said, to have an abortion.
On another Friday, in my home, maybe a week or so later, I had friends over — friends from both the kitchen and from college. I was 21, I was broke, and I was teased mercilessly for serving Milwaukee’s Best beer. Erin drank three of them in an hour, which I know wouldn’t make a koala bear tipsy. Nonetheless, I was young, I was stupid, and so I said to her: “You’re drinking?” I wasn’t sure she was 21 even, but I was sure she was pregnant. (more…)
A Cool Resource: Digital Collections in Veterans Hall
I’m preparing to teach a class that integrates literature and games about Vietnam into writing, and my excellent colleague Carl introduced me to Veterans Memorial Hall …
Veterans Memorial Hall is a joint program of the St. Louis County Historical Society and the United States Military service veterans of northeastern Minnesota, with a mission to gather, preserve, interpret, and promote the rich and diverse human experiences of veterans, their families, and communities through museum, archival, and educational programs
Veterans Memorial Hall has moved to the St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center (the Depot) and is maintained by the St. Louis County Historical Society and the military service veterans from the Arrowhead region. The speakers at the original dedication ceremony promised, “Your services to the country will be remembered so long as liberty is prized and the patriotic valor is remembered.”
Veterans Memorial Hall aims to honor that statement. We have collected more than 1,500 artifacts and 6,000 veteran stories. Today, we have one of the largest collections of military items and veterans’ stories in the state of Minnesota.
Stories can be found here. If you know more local resources about Veterans, I’d love to hear them.
Former Coffee Shop (now vending area) Artists Salute
This is a small salute to the artists who created the art on the walls of what used to be a coffee shop in the St. Louis County Courthouse, now a vending machine area with beautiful walls.
If the creators of these clever paintings want to take a bow by offering their names, please do.
Duluth Foreign Trade Zone
I had no idea there was land in Duluth that was (kind of) not part of the United States.
The comic book Threadbare, collecting comics from truth-out.org, talks about Foreign Trade Zones in the garment industry. But many industries use FTZs. According to mnftz.com:
Products moving through U.S. FTZs include electronics, computers, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, food products, office equipment, sporting goods, manufacturing components and more. Manufacturers, distributors and suppliers are all candidates for FTZ Subzones. (more…)
Goodbye, Peter Pestalozzi
[arve url=”https://youtu.be/e8qj6adcLPs”]
Peter Pestalozzi lived outside Ely, but his art was often seen in the Duluth Art Institute and in local galleries. Peter passed away, and I lost someone who was distant but important to me. (more…)
A Certain Kind of Nerd: Wrestling, Art, Politics, Nerds, Games
It’s Nerd High Culture in Duluth this week. (more…)
Duluth Trivia Board Game
Savers is a wonderful thing. For $1.99, I picked up a Duluth Trivia board game.
Some doozies:
1. What was on the roof of the former Goldfines building on Garfield Avenue?
2. What business is located there now? (It’s still there, I think.)
3. What movie starring Patty Duke was filmed at Glensheen?
4. For many years, the Duluth Zoo had the only living specimen in the US of one animal. Name that animal.
Where in Duluth?
“Let’s head over there. There’s a spectacular view from that bench.”
(David moves to bench. Squints. Not very much view. Takes photo from bench, straight ahead.)
Where were we?
Appreciating a Recent Movie at Zinema 2
I forget how lucky we are to have the locally operated Zinema, especially on its $5 days. Last night I saw Colossal, a movie starring and co-produced by Anne Hathaway. (Spoilers)
I’ve seen nearly every Godzilla movie, so the idea that every morning, when Gloria (Hathaway) is hung over, a Kaiju Monster attacks Seoul seemed interesting — a metaphor for the unintended consequences of alcoholism, I figured. Pretty straightforward, low-brain energy attempt to be deep, but with Kaiju!
The opening scene shows Gloria’s boyfriend throwing her out, telling her he can’t be with her when she’s out of control like this. It’s designed to communicate to the audience: Gloria’s addiction is the problem.
(more…)Tribe Games at the Minnecade at GlitchCon
While at GlitchCon, a gaming convention bringing experts in video game design, educational theory, and inclusivity, I ran into one of Duluth’s video game designers. Charles McGregor runs Tribe Games, and as Charles says on his website …
I am the programmer, musician, and artist for the all of in house games. I am also the guy in charge of the social media and marketing. I have always wanted to make games and feel like I can express myself the most through this medium. I have loved games since the first time that I played them.
I want to make games that I personally would play and feel passionate about. I have been given the opportunity to work with very talented people in the past and hope that I can continue collaborating with others as well as work on my own creations.
The con was at the Soap Factory, a long-standing vacant hulk of a building used for art and alternative culture events in Minneapolis. It was cool to be 175 miles away and still see one of Duluth’s own represented.