David Beard
Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #11
Below are more items from an old trivia deck I bought at Savers.
1. How far out onto Lake Superior can the light atop Enger Tower be seen?
2. Who was the first postmaster for the Duluth region?
3. How man grain elevators were on Duluth’s waterfront at the turn of the twentieth century?
4. When was the Duluth Peony and Iris Society founded?
5. In what building did JFK speak in Duluth?
6. Who began conducting the DSSO in ‘seventy-seven?
Nominations for Arrowhead Arts Awards
Help the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council celebrate the best artists and arts advocates in the region. Many of us know an artist or arts advocate who deserves a little more recognition. Nominate that special artist for the Arrowhead Arts Awards. ARAC wants to recognize those who contribute to the arts in the region with two prestigious awards, which include cash awards. The deadline to nominate an individual is Dec. 7. (more…)
Split Rock Review, Fall 2018
From Split Rock Review
A new issue of local literary magazine Split Rock Review has been released. Visit splitrockreview.org to check it out.
Summary of Make Canal Park Pop! and 2001: A Space Odyssey
I spent part of Friday at Make Canal Park Pop! and Saturday at 2001: A Space Odyssey. The events felt oddly similar, and my experience of both was disjointed if not entirely cynical. (more…)
Coldsnap of the Harbor
Coldsnap
John Gregor of Coldsnap Photography takes a picture. I melt.
The Realistic Joneses
I left Panera for the Realistic Joneses at the Zeitgeist while, it seemed to me, a woman was in a tree. I’m not entirely sure about the tree part — I know she was in the woods, alongside the creek behind the parking lot separating the Panera from the Aldi complex, and I know that the police and EMTs were looking upward as one of the pines was shaking. I didn’t see her. I could only hear her voice, sadly crying that people believed that something was wrong with her. I felt a sadness that mirrored hers. There was no way for this story to end which didn’t fulfill her words. I wished there were a way for people to just turn their backs and let her leave, if that would be what she wanted. (more…)
Free Range Trials of Cecilia Ramon and Kathy McTavish
“In farming terms, field trials are an opportunity to determine effectiveness of experimental techniques in agriculture.”
On Sunday I went to the Free Range Trials at the Food Farm in Wrenshall. Free Range Trials is a lab for artistic process and creative experimentation through the exhibition of work by Kathy McTavish and Cecila Ramon. The lab will be open daily between 2 and 5 p.m. through Sept. 3. To learn about Ramon, you can listen to KUMD here. (more…)
Conflicted Feelings: Moose Lake
Moose Lake is close enough to Duluth, I feel like I should have an opinion about the recent court decision that lets the Minnesota Sex Offender Program continue operating as it has been, despite the fact that as of two years ago, “nobody has ever been fully released. More than 40 have died while in commitment. The oldest man here is 94, and several are older than 70” [via PBS].
I don’t know anyone in the facility. I don’t know anyone who works for the facility. I believe in rehabilitation but I might be naive. I believe life sentences should be part of the court’s sentencing, not a civil commitment after, but that might be splitting hairs.
I don’t want to imagine that someone in the government could decide I could never walk free again without recourse to a trial by my peers. But I would not commit the kind of crime these men have.
I could stand some help thinking this through.
Human Fabric, continued
This week’s Human Fabric story gives me the feels. (more…)
Ice Cream Delicacy in West Duluth by Denfeld
I tasted T-Icy Roll Ice Cream yesterday at 4602 Grand Ave., next to an old favorite, Zhong Hua. (more…)
“Seen or Heard Sasquatch? Report Discreetly.”
This ad appeared in the Sunday Duluth News Tribune and other Forum Communications publications. I bet there’s a story here.
SEEN OR HEARD SASQUATCH? REPORT DISCREETLY.
If you’ve heard or seen something similar to what is described below, we want to know. You are one of many people in this area who have had a possible encounter. You’re not crazy. This is real, and I want to hear from you. If you’ve experienced High Pitched Sustained Screams, Long Howls, much deeper then that of a Wolf or Coyote, Loud Penetrating Roars, Grunts, Growls, Wood Knocks, Yelps, Whoops, Barks, Stacked Rock Displays, Stick Shelters, Organized Tree Structures made with Uprooted Uncut Sticks, or even if you’ve seen Heard Indistinguishable Talking, found Footprints or witnessed the Animal itself, please contact me. Your name will not be used without express permission from you. As a side note, it can be quite liberating to speak to someone who knows the truth. I want nothing from you except your story. Call, Text or email me. Jeff 651-302-3800, jjs5perctr @ gmail.com
Saving the Brays
This past weekend I met Kym Garvey, who has been rescuing donkeys for about 10 years, now as part of the larger mission of Save the Brays Donkey Rescue. (more…)
Duluthians visit “Art and Healing”
It was nearly three hours from the Twin Ports to the Minneapolis Institute of Art in South Minneapolis to visit the opening of “Art and Healing: In the Moment.” But Duluth is participating in a national dialogue on race; it has for decades, since we started to acknowledge our own history of racial violence and our current racial inequalities. Participating in a national conversation means listening to what others have to say, about their experiences, too. (more…)
Music Man, on Three Levels
I sat in the balcony to watch a preview (or Sponsor Night) performance of The Music Man by the Duluth Playhouse at the Norshor Theatre. The performance was enjoyable, the text is enjoyable, if complicated for the 21st century, and as this was my first trip into the new Norshor, I have some thoughts about that. (more…)
Associative Agnosia and a Writer Born in Duluth
Michael Fedo on Associative Agnosia:
During my 1940s and 50s elementary school years in Duluth, Minnesota, I was the only boy in my class who could not identify automobiles by make. Chevrolets, Fords, Plymouths—all appeared indistinct to me. I couldn’t recognize one from another, unless I happened to spot the name on its hood or trunk.
Fascinating read by one of Duluth’s most prominent exports, in the new issue of You & Me.
Local Poet, Global Community, World Literature
Jayson Iwen has co-translated a significant poem by Salim Barakat, a Kurdish-Syrian poet.
It’s a love poem, and as co-translator Huda Fakhreddine says, “Dylana and Diram’s love infiltrates and overwhelms the landscape. Barakat does not use images of nature to draw analogies with their relationship. The spiritual and sensual bond between them consumes nature and natural scenery and transforms it into a mere manifestation of a surging emotional deluge.”
The poem can be read in the prestigious World Literature Today.
Three Festivals
Festival season is here. I didn’t get to the Park Point Art Fair until after it had closed on Saturday, but that was OK. I was only really there because I wanted to check out the gluten-free fair food. Auntie M’s Gluten Free Fair food tempted me to make the drive to the end of the Point. (more…)
How much tension is there when the game goes 15 innings?
Friends of mine went to watch the Duluth Huskies play in Thunder Bay … at the Duluth Buffalo Wild Wings, where they are given a screen for away games. (Locally, this minor league baseball team plays at Wade Stadium. They can be heard on both AM and FM radio, too.) It’s super-cool to see our minor-league team play on the TV next to the big guys.
A recent outing lasted 15 innings. Read more about that at northwoodsleague.com. Is there a 14th inning stretch? Maybe you love baseball and you can tell me what it’s like?
Boards and Brews
I’ve attended two fun games nights lately. “Boards & Brews” is an event sponsored by UMD Alumni Relations, Bent Paddle Brewing, and Dungeon’s End Game Store. UMD provides snacks, Bent Paddle sells beer, and Dungeon’s End teaches games. (more…)
Golfing in Duluth
From the Enger course Facebook page.
I was talking sports, violence, and masculinity with friends and as we rattled through sports that made me, at least, uncomfortable, I went for the one I know I like — golf. No one gets hurt (football) or damaged (running). Yes, there are stories of obsessive coaches doing immense damage to their charges, but I imagine those coaches would have abused anyway — the sport of golf just normalized the behavior.
Maybe golf is what we need, what I need. Golf may be a good walk, ruined, to some, but I could stand a good walk. (more…)
Duluth’s Robot Rickshaw is the geekiest thing
Jeff Pesek of Tech{dot}MN celebrates Duluth’s Robot Rickshaw in the article “Robot Rickshaw is the geekiest thing in Minnesota’s tech scene.”
A rapidly-deployable, human-driven, two wheeled cart full of robots that play music. Piloted by a lunatic in a hazmat suit+teddy bear.
Rickshaw is Troy Rogers, and the article is cool.
Yu and J’s in the Miller Hill Mall — already gone?
I loved Yu and J’s Grilled Subs in the Miller Hill Mall. I loved that is was independently owned. I loved the tang of the bulgogi sauce (and wish we had more Asian alternatives in Duluth.)
… but the lights are out … I hope those tasty recipes will appear in a summer festival cart or a food truck or some other wonderful venue. Please let me know. (more…)
The new issue of Freshwater Review has been published
Internal Landscape oil painting by Natalie Salminen Rude
The new issue of Freshwater Review has been published. It is the College of St. Scholastica’s student-run annual journal of literature and art, including work by writers and artists throughout the region.
Sweet, sorrowful story from Wildwoods
From the Wildwoods Rehabilitation Facebook page:
In our lives as rehabbers, we witness many happy moments, but also many tragedies and moments of heartbreak. This story is one of the sad ones.
When friends of Wildwoods saw these very young, very tiny grey fox kits wandering around outside their den without their mom, they knew something was amiss. Something had happened to Mom; she was gone. (more…)
Seriously? with Elias Mokole
A new radio feature on KUMD features my friend Elias Mokole as the inaugural guest. (more…)