Artificial – feature film shot in Duluth now free to watch
In honor of the holiday we’ve released our second feature film for free on YouTube.
Synopsis: A neurotic visionary recruits a young photographer to create a program with the ability to recognize beauty. Artificial is a psychedelic character study that blurs the line between experimental and narrative filmmaking.
Thanks to the community and everyone involved for being part of this undertaking! Enjoy!
Glen’s Neighbor: Unraveling the Mystery
This is one heckuva story about an amazing band you might never have heard of, but are sure to love. I plumbed the depths on this one by inviting myself to philosopher/frontman Blake Shippee’s home, joined him on his daily six-mile roundtrip walk to work, became an audience at a full rehearsal, and more. Along the way, I lost my mind a bit. The perils of immersive writing… Check out this inspiring story for yourself at Ed’s Big Adventure, and become richer for it.
Happy 4/20
Help yourself to some carrot cake on the steps outside Duluth Family Sauna.
Duluth Band Profile: Tender Ness
Peter Witrak’s Tender Ness blends lounge, soul, and vocal jazz. When he talks about the process of making Blues and Oranges, he explains how music transcends a sense of self and creates moments of beauty.
Developer plans tech village, jazz club in historic jewelry store
Bagley and Company, 315 W. Superior St., was operated by the same Duluth family for 131 years before closing last summer.
A long-time downtown jewelry store has been purchased by a Texas-based developer with Hermantown roots who plans to turn the building into office space for Internet professionals and create a food and music venue where diamond display cases once stood.
The Bagley & Company Jewelers building, 315 W. Superior Street, was purchased earlier this month by Titan Premier Investments of Houston, Texas. The property includes three historic retail buildings, approximately 19,000-square-feet of space, several skyway storefronts and a turn-of-the-century tea room hidden in the middle of it all. (more…)
Duluth’s first vegan blog launches on Earth Day
Ellen Vaagen, photo by Wolfskull Creative
Ellen Vaagen, the sassy, dreadlocked woman known affectionately around town as “Crafty Ellen,” is launching Vaagen’s Vegan Sauce, the Twin Ports’ first vegan blog on April 22.
The launch party will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Red Herring Lounge and feature sample platters of Vaagen’s vegan snacks, along with free recipe cards. (more…)
Duluth Band Profile: Chase Down Blue
Chase Down Blue creates its own mythos with Red V. The group’s blend of spacey, post-punk links earnest emotions with the feelings of Lake Superior. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Mystery Photo #50: Children racing at Bayfront Park
The fundamentals of what’s happening in this old photo are fairly simple. It’s obviously shot at Bayfront Festival Park in the days of the old yellow canvas tarp-covered stage, prior to the 2001 construction of the 76-foot-tall steel-canopy pavilion that stands today. And clearly the image shows kids running a race.
So the mysteries are: What race is this? Can we zero in on a date or are we limited to the vague guess that it’s the mid 1990s?
First Tick of the Year — 2017 Edition
Happy Resurrection Day! I wish I were referring to the savior Jesus Christ and the Easter holiday, but today was the day I found my first tick of 2017. So April 16 marks the beginning of the 2017 tick resurrection. It’s something I’ve posted about almost annually on Perfect Duluth Day since 2005. Sometimes it happens as early as March, sometimes not until June, but the ticks always come back.
I picked up this year’s first tick by walking to the eastern terminus of the Millennium Trail in Superior and continuing past the parking lot there on a grassy trail to an overlook of Kelly Bay. I found two ticks while hiking; by the time three body searches were completed at home, the total count rose to six wood ticks and one deer tick. (more…)
Video Archive: Polka Bus Interviews
In this video from the early or mid-1980s, Ray Lemke interviews the passengers on a bus from Chet & Emil’s in Birnamwood, Wis., heading to a polka event at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay.
The video is from the collection of the late Emil Praslowicz, digitized by his grandson, Kip Praslowicz.
Scooters in Duluth
I’m considering a 49cc scooter for getting around town, primarily from Lakeside up to work at UMD, during the non-snow months. I’m wondering if one that small can haul me, or my husband, up the hill. I’ve Googled to not a ton of help. Has anyone over, say, 200 lbs. used one? I won’t require you to divulge your actual weight.
PDD Quiz: Homegrown Band or Fairy Tale?
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz created on the platform Qzzr. It is no longer available at its source.]
In honor of Homegrown Music Festival, which begins on April 30, this month’s quiz features a mix of Homegrown band names and fairy tales from around the world. Can you tell which is which? Take the quiz and see how well you know your field guide.
In Spring 1990 in Duluth, Honesty was Worth $75
I think we were having fun before a bunch of us hustled downstairs, someone hit the lights, and two or three self-appointed noise monitors started whisper-shouting for the rest of us to “SHHHHHH! You guys! GUYS! SHHHHHHH!” (Do the italics make it sound whispery in your head?)
V was definitely there, but I can’t remember if Tom and E were, because I didn’t hang out with those guys as much as I wish I would have till sophomore year. I wish I’d have done a lot of things differently that year.
I could have moved into K section with Tom after winter break 1989, but for some reason I stayed in 219B Oakland with dudes who almost made me look normal, which says nothing positive about how any of us conducted ourselves. Brief examples:
• I got home late (from diligently not studying) on a weeknight to find one roommate at the kitchen table. “Would you like to explain why you spend more time with your friends in the dorms than with us?” he admonished. “We’re your roommates. You’re supposed to be here with us. Can I expect that to change?” I can’t remember what I said in response, but since I had no courage or confrontation-handling skills at 18 I promise it was more mealy-mouthed than the situation called for. (more…)
Egg rolls and Empanadas and More, Down a Long Highway
I went down a long highway with a friend to the Gnesen Convenience Store, 6049 Rice Lake Road in the Gnesen Township. It wasn’t much on the outside, and at first glance, the inside made me smile gently.
It’s the kind of store you see in a small town, with three times the square feet it needs but that is okay because the land is cheap, compared at least to shops in the city limits. There are five boxes of cereal, each box pushed right up to the edge of the shelf (inviting you to grab one), where in a city shop, they would be stacked five deep into the shelf. (more…)
Video Archive: Chester Creek Highline Slackline
Ten years ago Jason Hedlund uploaded this little gem to YouTube. It later landed on Perfect Duluth Day and has gathered over 8,000 views in the past decade. (more…)
Glen’s Neighbor – “Open Road”
Duluth-based bluegrass band Glen’s Neighbor releases its second album, Your Unknown, on April 21. The video for the first single, “Open Road,” was shot in October while the album was recorded at Pachyderm Studios. Shane Rock Nelson directed and edited the video; Dan Huiting handled the cinematography.
The band performs at Blacklist Artisan Ales on May 6 during the Homegrown Music Festival.
Selective Focus: Yahya Rushdi
Yahya Rushdi is a designer who moves effortlessly between the tools of photography, design and illustration and he’s an active advocate for living in Duluth.
Y. R.: The neat about being a graphic designer is that I’ll usually start with paper and pencil to sketch an idea, but once it comes into fruition on the computer, there is a wide range of mediums that I can use to communicate a message through. Whether that be in the form of social media, billboards, websites or poster. Sky’s the limit! I like to think myself as a visual communicator. If there is a problem to solve, or a specific outcome that needs to be achieved, I’ll collect information and analyze it to figure out the best solution, visually. I lean to be more simple, but effective in my work. (more…)
Fire damages knick knack art house
A home in Duluth’s Endion neighborhood, known for the collection of items attached to its exterior, was significantly damaged by an accidental fire today. The homeowner sustained a slight injury. (more…)
Bulldogs Uncollared: Frozen Four
A look back at the UMD men’s hockey team’s NCAA Frozen Four battles against Harvard University and the University of Denver.
6mm – Surfing the Shores of Superior
Here’s another surfing Lake Superior video with a bit of storyline and some stunning visuals. Video by Ryan Nordin and Matt Porter.
Duluth Band Profile: Kaylee Matuszak
Kaylee Matuszak’s aspirations for music began on the playground. With the release of her debut Stirring Skies, she isn’t stopping anytime soon. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Empty Bowls
It was good to go to the Empty Bowl event tonight. For $20, every year, I get a handmade pottery piece. I have more than a half a dozen of these small bowls holding change and keys and so on. I also get soup — tastings of clam chowder, chicken spaetzle, chicken noodle from the best restaurants in Duluth. A local food pantry receives the cash.
And this year, among the bowls, there was what appears to be a spoon rest for the stove top, or possibly a small bowl for after-dinner chocolates, or possibly just a cool thing. (See picture.)
If you know OAR, the signature on the back, mention I adore the work. It made me so happy. If OAR is a practicing artist, I’ll edit this to add info. Love the work.
Empty bowl was a salve. Empty Bowl reminds me that I can do the right thing, I can make positive change, in a way that rewards me and the world. Hoping for more of that.
Bent Paddle bends into Wisconsin
Duluth’s Bent Paddle Brewing has announced a partnership with Dean Distributing of Green Bay. The relationship will expand the availability of Bent Paddle’s beer into the Wisconsin counties of Ashland, Iron, Oneida, Vilas, Forest, Langlade and Price.
Distribution to those areas will begin this week with events marking the expansion. On Wednesday, April 12, representatives from Bent Paddle will be offering samplings in Rhinelander at Trig’s Cellar from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by a tap event at Bucketheads Sports Bar & Grill from 6 to 8 p.m.
There will be more samples in Hurley on Thursday, April 13, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Town and Country Liquor and at the Ashland Super One Liquor from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday, April 14.
Postcard from the Hiawatha
The stamp was removed from the back of this postcard, and the postmark went with it, but it appears to be circa the 1960s. The caption reads: “Daily excursions during season from Grand Portage, Minn., to Isle Royale National Park. For further information write the Sivertson Bros., in Grand Portage or Duluth, Minnesota.” (more…)
UMD Profile: Matthew Knudson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ_8fOzkvGs
For a digital storytelling class in the journalism program at the University of Minnesota Duluth, junior Kevin Ott produced this short profile of senior Matthew Knudson.
Knudson is a music education major with an instrumental focus. From arranging his own music to working as a radio DJ at KUMD, het has immersed himself in music.
Ott and Knudson have been singing together in vocal jazz at UMD for two years. Ott selected Knudson as a subject because of his knowledge of music and the visually engaging environment in which he interacts with it.