Do the School Board Twist
It’s been a while since Perfect Duluth Day held any rousing debates on the Duluth School Board and its ensuing antics as Loren Martel has issued one scathing indictment after another, illustrating in great detail the buffoonery he believes gurgles forth from this wily group of characters.
I’d like to field some of your fair and balanced opinions on what you think of this current chapter of someday Duluth history. How do you feel about the school board heading into 2015? The narrator will refrain from comment.
This Week: Christmas, Christmas, Christmas and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
It’s Christmas week, so it’s basically your final chance to get out and get a cheer infusion. The lights are still up at Bentleyville, Glensheen and Fairlawn, and Rubber Chicken’s holiday revue is still kicking.
Post-holiday, there’s lots to do. Check out Teague Alexy and Low Forms at the Red Star on different evenings, and see stand-up and improv comedy to laugh away the post-holiday blues.
But the real news of the week, of course, is that you can park for free downtown on Christmas Day. So why not ditch your family, drive downtown, and just aimlessly park your car in various places over and over? It’s gotta be better than listening to Uncle Jim talk about his political views, surely. Surely.
Holidays and Such
I saw the Wise Fool Shakespeare production of A Christmas Carol this afternoon with Lucie Amundsen.
Lucie wrote:
Didn’t make it to the Wise Fool Shakespeare ‘s Christmas Carol? Dude, you missed out. Goosebumps, guffaws and a little case of the verklempts. Thanks cast for giving up your autumn to make my Solstice.
It’s true — community theater is hundreds of hours to produce a work as awesome as this one. I am grateful, as Lucie was, for all their efforts. Jodi Kujawa stole the show, for me, as the Ghost of Christmas Present doing a little fourth-wall breaking, too. But the whole afternoon was awesome, twice as awesome because Sunday was “pay what you can,” so the crowd was even more energetic than you might expect.
I ended today shopping at the Mall, where I saw Brian Rauvola shopping, too. Brian has done as much as any one man can to sustain a culture of photography in Duluth, and it’s good to see him take a breather from that work. I still miss the Duluth Photography Institute, which was his baby.
Ladyslipper at the Red Herring; Arte de Moira
I have a lot of art experiences to relate this week, but I thought I should set aside two today, and a few more this weekend, when blog traffic is admittedly lower, I bet.
The Zamboni Explosion and Peterson Arena Fire of 2004
Peterson Arena on Grand Avenue in West Duluth was gutted by fire on Dec. 19, 2004. The image of the wreckage at left is a Bob King photo for the Duluth News Tribune, boosted from USA Today‘s story about the unfortunate and scary, yet still undeniably comical, Zamboni explosion. The fire marked the end of Peterson Arena, which served as the only indoor ice rink in western Duluth from 1971 to 2004. It was replaced by the Duluth Heritage Sports Center at Clyde Park, which opened in 2008.
Duluth Grill looking for more local food suppliers
Duluth Grill is looking to expand its local suppliers and is specifically interested in a place to find lamb … as well as other good local products. The restaurant spent over $399,000 with local farms and businesses last year, and is looking to expand.
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Selective Focus: Getting Around
Kip Praslowicz, untitled
This week’s entries covered a wide spectrum, though I had hoped someone might have submitted that jet outside the American Legion Post 71, or even a shot of illicit substances (I mentioned conveyances of any sort, yes?). Bear in mind, our themes are open to your broadest possible interpretation. The ironic, the cheeky, and the challenging… all are welcome here (except perhaps the snarky).
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Hey, filmmakers! Come to Duluth!
[youtube id=”AYOovzwZmUU”]
I’ve thought for a long time that Duluth is great on film. I think this does a good job selling our many assets. What did they miss?
Red Mountain – “Forestasia”
Perfect Duluth Day rendezvoused with Red Mountain on Goat Hill, and put together a little something special to get you in the spirit of hanging with friends and family this holiday season. Thanks to the Homegrown Music Festival for support in putting this together.
Find this video and other short clips of antics celebrating the season by clicking on this highlighted red text to view “A Perfect Duluth Christmas: PDD’s Holiday Video Showcase.”
Cooking on the Car: Fish House Tacos
Okay we’re finally going to get back to this “Cooking on the Car” thing. Here’s the first segment of our West Coast trip that we took a few years back. We have a ton of footage from that trip so there will be many more episodes to document this awesome road trip. Thanks for your patience. Peace.
Larson announces she’ll run for mayor
City Council President Emily Larson has announced she will run to replace Duluth Mayor Don Ness, who has said he will not seek a third term.
“I’m running for mayor because the next chapter for Duluth is critical,” Larson wrote on her Facebook page. “I’m running because our community’s continued progress will require new ideas, and because I want to ensure we write Duluth’s next chapter together.”
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Southwire on WCCO’s list of up-and-coming Minnesota bands
Duluth band Southwire topped WCCO’s list of the five “Best Up-And-Coming Minnesota Bands of 2014.” The trio performs at the Red Herring Lounge on Friday as part of Sarah Krueger’s album release party.
Southwire debuted eight years ago, so the term “up-and-coming” seems a little odd, but the band’s debut album is not yet three years old and its popularity indeed seems to still be on the rise.
Lost Newfie in Twig area
A friend’s Newfie ran off from her house in Twig on Friday. Has anyone seen her?
Fat Biking Keene Creek
Video by Level Visuals. (more…)
To move back or not?
I was born and raised in Duluth (I left five years ago) and I am contemplating moving back to Duluth from the Twin Cities. The main reason: I miss my family. However, I have a few concerns and would like feedback from non-relatives that still live in Duluth. We left mostly because of the lack of jobs. Have things improved? I am also concerned about lack of activities for small children, quality of schools, etc. Is Duluth really turning around, or is it dying?
Trampled by Turtles live Pandora private studio performance
Duluth’s own Trampled by Turtles perform songs from their latest album, Wild Animals, for Pandora Live at 25th Street Recording in Oakland, Calif., on Oct. 23.
This Week: lights, flicks, tunes and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
As Christmas is only ten days away, now’s the time to get out and gawk at the lights. Bentleyville, Glensheen, and Fairlawn are all up to full twinkle right about now, so peep the calendar to see when to schedule your visits.
Plenty of music on tap, this week — Sarah Krueger is releasing her latest album at the Red Herring, former Duluthian Haley Bonar is in town, and the Music Resource Center is holding an open-mic night for its students.
Add to this list a good amount of notable film events — there’s the Star Wars Holiday Special, an Iranian Vampire Western and a film where J.K. Simmons yells at a drummer until he cries — and you’ve got the makings of a pretty full pre-Christmas week.
35,000 miles of scenic highway routes
Slate ran an article today from “The Vault,” its associated history blog. Titled “A beautiful Depression-era route map makes transcontinental bus travel look glamorous,” it details the history of Pacific Greyhound Lines, the company that eventually became Greyhound. The map above is from 1935.
I was struck by the amount of routes covering Minnesota — all the way up to Thunder Bay makes sense, but no state other than Ohio seems to have the saturation that Minnesota does. What gives? (more…)
Wildwoods Notification about Distemper
A fox was found behaving abnormally, and the St. Louis County Undersheriff was able to walk right up to him and pick him up. He seemed very lethargic, and we were not certain of what we were dealing with, at first. Was he stunned from being hit by a car? However, then he began doing this, and we knew he had distemper. (more…)
Selective Focus: Time
Marija Majerle, untitled
Nice to see so many diverse interpretations of this week’s time theme: down time, killing time, bath time, seasonal time, time capsule, even perhaps “time to break your lease” (thanks Tyler).
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Horses and Nerds
Tonight, I am home from the opening of the new art by Patricia Canelake at the Red Herring. This follows a great Nerd Nite last night.
The Canelake opening was awesome.
FAA could release commercial drone regulations by end of 2014
The expected release of new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) regulations later this month and the recent commercial drone incident with TGI Friday’s in New York (TGI Friday’s Dumb Mistletoe Drone Cut Somebody’s Face Open) have me thinking about the future of commercial drone use. Perfect Duluth Day has been somewhat on the forefront of the use of drones since I purchased a quadcopter capable of shooting photography and video back in 2013.
Current FAA Drone Guidelines
I utilize my 4 drones (DJI s800evo, Tarot FY680 Pro, DJI Phantom 2 Vision & Vision 2+) to shoot content for digital media, which has drawn attention beyond PDD via the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, MPR and also Duluth news outlets. I was contacted by the Federal Aviation Administration in early 2014 after shooting the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon and told I was in violation of FAA regulations because my footage was considered commercial.
I won’t get into the specifics of what the current regulations entail, but needless to say they are bit vague and need clarification. The National Transportation Safety Board felt the same way, dismissing multiple instances in which the FAA fined UAV operators $10,000 for commercial operation. There has been kind of a wild west approach to commercial use of UAVs since then, with little risk of citations or fines until the new regulations are released. (more…)
Video Archive: Puddle Wonderful and Nobody performing at UWS Rothwell Student Center in 1994
UWS Studio II captured these clips from the Puddle Wonderful and Nobody performances at Rothwell Student Center in early 1994. Somewhere deep in the video vault there is also a Puddle Wonderful interview segment. We’ll find it one day.
A big “get well soon” to Puddle drummer Marcus Mathews, who is recovering from a motorcycle accident. “Broken arm, lacerated liver, broken ribs, punctured lung, ligament damage, and a shitpile of cuts and bruises,” he wrote on Facebook. Ouch. Hopefully laughing at this two-minute blast from the past won’t hurt him too much more.
The One Who Watches
The One Who Watches movie premiere tonight at Zinema 2 is sold out. The movie is available to stream or download at nicholassunsdahl.com. It will also show again Jan. 6 at the Zinema 2 Explorer’s Club and on Jan. 8 at the Trylon Microcinema in Minneapolis.
Duluth News Tribune: Duluth filmmakers hope audiences enjoy their first feature-length film