PDD Quiz: May 2016
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz created on the platform Qzzr. It is no longer available at its source.]
May 2016 isn’t quite over, but it’s over enough to quiz you over it. Here are some questions to see if you’ve been paying attention.
The Lie
There is something about a Hardee’s buttermilk biscuit; you have to admit it. Even the ones that have been cooked for too long, left hot and dry under the culinary equivalent of a tanning lamp until they surpassed deep golden and arrived at dusky caramel, sitting puck-like on the stainless steel rack. You can eat them until your lips crack and curl, until your mouth puffs biscuit crumbs like sandstorms in a desert, they’re so tasty.
Regina simply could not resist them. Which was unfortunate, really, because she was already a big woman — more than six feet tall, and built to comfortably support her more than 200-pound weight. When she got hired as the morning biscuit baker it was a pretty good promotion, and one she had sorely wanted. But now she was alone with those biscuits every morning from 4:45 to 6 a.m., when Hardee’s opened, and a person could eat a lot of biscuits in that amount of time.
Regina came from Bartholomew, Kentucky originally, but she had moved to Lexington before her 18th birthday because she had her eye on the assistant manager position, and when one opened up in Lexington, she applied right away. (more…)
Ingeborg von Agassiz – “Bulletproof Vest”
Ingeborg von Agassiz performs in KUMD‘s studio in this video, shot on May 5.
Upcoming gig: Friday, June 24 at Washington Gallery
Selective Focus: Andy Miller
This week’s Selective Focus subject makes the most of the square format of Instagram with beautifully composed photos of abandoned, forgotten buildings around the area. Andy Miller tells us why he documents them. (more…)
Perfect New Restaurant: Northern Waters Restaurant
It’s no surprise Northern Waters Restaurant crushed Perfect Duluth Day’s best new restaurant poll. The eagerly anticipated eatery just opened in February, but has swiftly won the admiration and bellies of Twin Ports residents, as evidenced by garnering 67 percent of the vote.
Manager Greg Conley with staff at Northern Waters
Zenith Quartette circa 1908
The Zenith Quartette was a Dutch vocal group based in Duluth. Members shown in this old flier are Carl Hvaal, first tenor; J. Olsen, second bass; O.A. Gronseth, baritone and O.O. Hovday, second tenor.
Skate the Lake 2016
Video by Ian Lundborg of Mestek Media from last Saturday’s Skate the Lake, an event promoting skateboarding as alternate transportation in Duluth.
Ely’s Peak Drone Tour
You may have noticed the PDD Drone has come out of hibernation recently. Here is a quick video of Ely’s Peak on the western edge of town. Yes, we did fly the drone through the entire tunnel. It was a bit hairy due to the darkness and the boulders that kept jumping out at our feet. The drone was wearing a small headlamp but it didn’t help much. (more…)
The NorShor Experience: A Strip Club Retrospective
The NorShor Theatre first hosted exotic dancers on May 24, 2006, with two simple words on the marquee: “Live Girls.” Later, the words “Adult Club” would appear above the theater’s new business name: the NorShor Experience. (more…)
Poll: Best New Restaurant in Duluth Area (2016 Version)
What local restaurant will be the Spirit Room’s successor as Best New Restaurant? You tell us. Last week we compiled a list of nominees. Vote now for your favorite new eatery. We’ll post results later this week.
As usual, it’s a runoff ballot, so the list of options will shrink as favorites emerge. If the restaurant you vote for gets dropped from the ballot, you can vote again, so check back later. We started with 16 restaurants in the poll; it’s now down to the top four: Beijing Restaurant, Lake Superior Bakehouse, Northern Waters Restaurant
and Sala Thai.
[poll id=”86″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Northern Waters Restaurant – 67 percent
Lake Superior Bakehouse – 13 percent
Beijing Restaurant – 10 percent
Sala Thai – 10 percent
The Story of Duluth Homegrown 2016
Kip Praslowicz‘s latest memory-card dump video is a retrospective of the eight-day Homegrown Music Festival.
Music by the Electric Witch
This Week: Dylan, Dylan, Dylan and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find in this week’s PDD Calendar:
It’s Dylan Fest all week long, and there is no shortage of daily Bob-centric stuff to see and hear. There’s an art opening at Red Mug Coffeehouse in Superior, a new volume of the Duluth Does Dylan series of albums is released during a big ole blowout concert and the Blood on the Tracks express is again ready to rock and roll. And that’s just a few of the things that are going down.
In other, non-Dylan news, people can attend an open house on Superior Street reconstruction plans, Zenith City Cabaret is back in action with its monthly show, the Maxi Childs Trio is out there doing its jazzy-pop thing, comedy titan Louie Anderson stops in town to dispense some hilarity, the public is invited to tour a UMD research vessel, Club Saratoga is the place for Saturday jazz and polka juggernaut Chmielewski Funtime Band swings by Cloquet to school fools in how it’s done.
Volunteers needed for local film festival
The seventh annual Duluth Superior Film Festival delivers film, music and art to the Twin Ports region June 1-5. In its short history, the festival has presented a distinctively imaginative and diverse lineup of international, American independent and regional films.
To help maintain the merriment, volunteers are needed. (more…)
Maria Bamford: Lady Dynamite of Duluth
With all the posts on PDD about References to Duluth in TV and Film we shouldn’t neglect to mention the newest and most obvious example. Lady Dynamite, starring Duluth’s Maria Bamford, premiered Friday on Netflix. (more…)
Video Archive: Charlie’s Club Fire of 2006
On the evening of May 22 and into the morning of May 23, 2006 — Charlie’s Club in West Duluth was destroyed by fire. (more…)
Art and Indigenous Community Health
I spent last Friday at the AICHO Complex, in Trepanier Hall for an event about art, health and indigenous communities. (more…)
Devil’s Kettle Falls Drone Flyover
Quick drone flyover at Devil’s Kettle Falls on the Brule River in Judge C. R. Magney State Park on the North Shore of Lake Superior. This specific set of falls, about 20 minutes east of Grand Marais, draws visitors far and wide for it’s unique mystery: half the river disappears into a hole (kettle) and no one knows where all that water goes. (more…)
Coffee Communication
Like many people, I didn’t start to drink coffee until college. Back then, as a newbie, I offset its bitter flavor with too much cream and sugar. I was also an “Equal” person for a while. But, having grown to love the taste of coffee, my cup today holds strongly brewed coffee with only a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of cream, half-and-half, soymilk, that powder stuff, whatever’s on hand. I’m not fussy. In the absence of any of that, I’ll drink a cup black now and then.
This is partly to say that I am not really a coffee snob, although I do engage in some haute coffee culture. For instance, I make my coffee each morning in a press. I enjoy a cup of Ethiopian cold-pressed coffee from specialty shops like Duluth Coffee Co. On the other hand, I sighed with delight over several cups of Folgers made in a drip machine on last year’s cabin-camping trip with my daughters’ Girl Scout troop.
On the other, other hand — and this only makes sense if you’re in the know about haute coffee culture — I have yet to try a cup of coffee with butter in it. Hipsters swear by it. I might go there; we’ll see. (more…)
Matt Ray – “We’ll be OK”
WDSE-TV’s The PlayList captures singer/songwriter Matt Ray performing “We’ll be OK.”
A Duluth Mountain Biker’s Weekly Adventures – Max Fierek
Keep up with my adventures around the world, based in Duluth. Here’s the latest video. Take a look and if you like it check out the other videos, subscribe and give it a share!
Parking Crunch in Canal Park
The season for enforcing paid parking in Canal Park has begun (see the DNT article here). Parking in Canal Park will get tight and expensive.
Lake Superior Magazine image
The photo at left is of pre-redevelopment Canal Park, not parking this weekend. But you get the idea.
If you are reading this and remember life in Duluth when this was the beach, I’d love to hear stories.
Meanwhile, parking…
I used to meet friends at Endion Station, which was the (I think) last cheap place to park in Canal Park until the meters were upgraded.
And for a while, I joined the Great Lakes Aquarium because the free parking given members of the Aquarium was cheaper than parking in Canal Park. Plus the Aquarium is awesome.
What is the last secret of the local for getting into Canal Park this summer with a car?
Selective Focus: Ann Klefstad
Ann Klefstad is an artist who is definitely connected to this area, through her work across many mediums and by the writing, promotion and encouragement she’s given to the arts in our area.
AK: I work in sculpture, mostly, with some drawing, including ink and tar drawing on wood. My real “medium”, though, would be my subject matter. Over the years I’ve drawn closer and closer to doing only work that comes out of the ecosystem I’m in. I’m kind of a literalist, I guess. I love the forms of things, and so I use those forms, I try to learn them and come to know them by imitating them, like a kid learns.
(more…)
Five Mile Rock Drone Flyover
Five Mile Rock is located five miles north of Grand Marais (hence the name) and 3/4 miles off the shore of Lake Superior. Aerial video and photo shot with the PDD Drone on May 19 around 11:30 a.m. and operated by Liftoff Aerials, an FAA-registered drone operator approved for commercial use.
Lake Aire Motel and Bottle Shop
The split-image postcard above, published by Gallagher’s Studio of Photography, shows the Lake Aire Motel and Bottle Shop on London Road. The card is undated, but appears to be from the 1960s. (more…)