PDD transferring to new server
Server Migration
Here is what monitors look like when one spends his Saturday night migrating Perfect Duluth Day to a new VPS server. The amount of data currently used by PDD is 3.4GB, needless to say that takes a little while to transfer and reconfigure.
Oh, side-note, the old server was in Canada the new one is in the USA. I feel so patriotic right now!
Duluth Crime Wave
Is anybody else a little freaked out about all the crime in Duluth lately?
A 62-year-old friend of mine was walking home from work a few weeks ago and was brutally assaulted with a hammer by St. Mary’s parking ramp and the perpetrator was never found. There was no report of this in the media.
Now this week we have muggings and a bloody dead body found on Michigan St. How come the media is not covering this? Should we start a Duluth Crime Facebook page to keep each other informed?
What do you think?
Duluthian staying in Rochester
We have an upcoming, at least week-long, visit to the Mayo in Rochester. We’ve stayed at the Fiksdal. Does anyone have any recommendations for not-too-expensive but not awful lodging etc. in Rochester?
Duluth Album Releases in 2000
Dial back the sound system one quarter of a century. The year 2000 was of particular significance to the Duluth music scene. It’s possibly the first time more than a dozen local albums were released in a single year. The emergence of a few local music labels is partially the reason, but in general the reduction in the cost to put out compact discs, growth in the number of bands and easier access to recording technology all contributed to the spike in output, which has only accelerated since.
Compiled here is an incomplete list of Duluth-related music releases from 2000. If you spot something that’s missing, feel free to comment here or send an email to paul @ perfectduluthday.com. (more…)
The Don and a film maker with time to kill?
The January Days are dwindling and the need to gorge on as much Duluth as possible is rising. I spent an hour with Mayor Ness today — he’s a wonderful guy. Also, I had an odd idea I might try to execute this weekend if anybody is interested.
Is anybody out there a film person? I have a very short film I’d like to make — named “100 Seconds of Solitude” — that’s reasonably simple in concept/shooting but might be a little tricky to edit. If anybody wants to spend some time this weekend on a fun project, I’ll bring the beer!
Engraving in Duluth
I have a small plate for my guitar that I want to have engraved with my initials. After a quick search I’ve found a few places that would be able to do this for me, but I was hoping some of the fine folks here have any experience or recommendations with any of these companies.
Ideally, it would be laser engraving about 1×2 inches.
Organize my iTunes
I’m looking for somebody to get our iTunes library consolidated and organized – or maybe some advice on how to do it. Right now it’s spread out over three lap tops and an external hard drive. Perhaps iCloud is the solution? All I know is that right now it’s a GF and I feel a bit overwhelmed thinking about it. Thoughts or advice? (more…)
Need Your Help
Someone took this picture of the Evil Queen with Snow White’s heart from the bathroom at Chester Creek Cafe. It was a gift from my brother 25 years ago and had sentimental value. Ok – yes it was dopey of me to have it in there but it was screwed to the wall and I had misplaced faith in humankind. I want it back – a reward is offered. No questions asked. Please help me if you can.
Here's Her Heart
Duluth Underground Bass at UMD
Duluth Underground Bass is a new student organization at the University of Minnesota Duluth. For the most part, we really like bass music. Anything and everything with lots of bass and funky rhythms. Some of us like it so much that we put on parties and shows and such and try to share our love for the bass with other people.
We have done pretty well, but there is a lot of room for improvement. So far we’re hosting a monthly gig at Stargate Nightclub called BassGate. It’s on first Thursdays of every month and it’s 18+. My favorite thing about BassGate is that it’s for the bass heads. The regular crew doesn’t come out and we completely take over the club, have our own DJs play the music they want to play and we all dance how we want to dance. Everyone has a good time.
If anyone is interested in seeing what we’re about, come on out to February’s BassGate next Thursday. “Dress Your Best” is the theme and we’ll be blessed with selections from Andrew Koch, Matt Harris, Cam Dickison, Jimmie Townsend, and Jordan Berndt.
Ten Minutes with Simon Gray
If a man is worth knowing at all, he is worth knowing well. Simon Gray has been doing fascinating creative work for quite some time. Many here have appreciated his whimsical paintings and cartoons. He was willing to be interviewed for Ennyman’s Territory this past week. It’s a good read. With pictures.
Igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary, anthropic
Brian Klawiter taught an energetic class on the geology of our region at Denfeld High School last night. We learned about two dozen new terms for “rock” but more importantly, we came to understand the geologic processes that created the rocks around here… (more…)
Japanese on the North Coast
Last night, Kate and I attended our second cooking class with Miaki Habuka through Duluth Community Education. (more…)
Duluth Albums from the 1900s
Perfect Duluth Day’s attempt to chronical the works of local musicians begins with this list of 20th century recordings. (more…)
“Carless in Duluth” Teaser
Carless in Duluth is a short documentary showcasing people in Duluth who walk, bike, or take the bus instead of driving. Notice how easy it is to forget that pedestrians and bicyclists exist when the environment is designed only for cars.
Premiering this March at a local downtown independent cinema near you.
Hometown Heroes – Today’s DNT
Ann Lockwood, who stands outside her home at 627 E. Eighth St., expresses her gratitude Monday for the help she received from Project Save Our Homes in preventing the foreclosure of her house. She’s flanked by Duluth city Councilor Sharla Gardner (left) and County Commissioner Steve O’Neil.
Duluth News Tribune: “Fighting foreclosures, one home at a time: New group helps Duluth woman keep her home.”
Chester Bowl looking for stories
The Chester Bowl Improvement Group wants to hear from people who have been in the ski program.
From Thom Storm:
We are in the process of applying for different grants for our ski program. It was suggested that we have some Chester Bowl stories/testimonials to include with our applications. I would like to take that a step further, and have a Chester Bowl Stories section on our website, chesterbowl.org.
Many parents have told me that the ski program has made a big difference to their families. If you would like to share your story, we would like to post it on our site. Please send any stories/testimonials to:
chesterbowl@clearwire.net
and include your name for the posting.
If you’ve got any historical stories, photos or artifacts, you could submit them to the Chester Bowl History page.
A Little Help from my Friends
I recently got hosed big time by Go Daddy. My domain was up for renewal and instead of notifying me, they sold it. Now I have a new domain, but I lost my search engine standing (my old site was numbers 1,2 and 3 for a Google search of my name). Anyway, if you have a minute, give my new site a click and help a guy out. Thanks.
The good kind of profiling.
As part of the January in Duluth project, I’ve been working a bit with talented Duluth photographer with Kip Praslowicz, particularly with his awesome Dramatizations of Everyday Life series. Essentially, I’ve been piggybacking photos he’s done, doing an audio/narrative version of his portraits. I just finished one on Anna Affias (which I really enjoyed putting together) and did one last week on Rich Narum (not from the same series, but from the same photographer). These were the exact kinds of stories I hoped I’d be able to do in Duluth, which brings me to a question:
Anybody out there have a specific story they’d like to share? Particularly if it in some way ties into your experiences living here? (If you’ve ever had This American Life aspirations, this might be a good time to give it a shot) I’d love to do the recording and producing, and perhaps Kip might be interested in also doing a portrait. Also, if it’s not a specific story, we could just sit down and chat about your experiences here.
(Also, the clock’s ticking on January, so if this idea at all interests you, get in touch soon!)
Drunken Photos from the 1990s
I’m not sure if “Drunken Photos from the 1990s” is meant to be a series or not, but I happened to come across two images in my attic that fit the category and raised some questions I thought the Internet could answer. (more…)
Midwest Snowboarding
This is not so much a Duluth video, but it will help riders from Duluth get known. This snowboard hill is Granite Peaks, in Wausau, Wis. I highly recommend taking a trip out there, amazing hill.
This week: much music, good eats, interesting tales and more.
Monday, Jan. 23
Minneapolis group Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps take over Papa Charlie’s at Lutsen Mountains.
Wednesday, Jan. 25
Treat yourself to a seven course dinner courtesy of Chef Bruce Wallis of Sara’s Table.
Friday, Jan. 27
R.T.’s hosts the Equal Xchange Reunion Show also featuring Fearless Moral Inventory and Aaron Gall & the Likely Story. Minneapolis group Machine 22 headlines at the Thirsty Pagan with local talent Excuse Me, Princess and the Thunder Brothers opening.
Saturday, Jan. 28
Some of the areas most talented writers and performers come together for a night of storytelling at Teatro’s Zenith City Tales: Stories of New Beginnings. Silent woods, groomed trails, iced ponds, and snowshoe access to unique areas of Hartley await at the Candlelight Ski, Skate, and Showshoe event at the park.