I'm in need of as many (empty) wine bottles as possible for a project I'm beginning in April. If any of you out there would like to donate to the cause, please drop off any shape/size spent wine bottles outside my door at the address below (don't worry about feeling strange by dropping them off, it's the central hillside... empty bottles will fit right in with the landscape). If you could put them in a bag or box beforehand, that would be great. Or.... just reply to this post or email me direct (also below). What I don't use will be recycled.
Thanks for your help!! -Gwanto (Christian) email: [email protected] drop off: 519 1/2 East 6th St (alley) easy directions: From East 2nd street, go up 6th street & take a left down the alley right after Story Taxidermy (the weird blue taxidermy shop that's never open). 519 1/2 is about half-way in down the alley on the left... it's half sided blue with yellow paint on the top half. Put them anywhere by the big white door. You'll see my name on the mailbox.
The public displays were given for publicity purposes by Cecil B. DeMille for his upcoming movie The Ten Commandments. They should point this out. I think it might calm everything down. Many things can be boiled down to something as silly as this. Instead, they contact Rev. Phelps, total bullshit. As my friend librarian Bob says, everybody has a finite amount of energy and they should not be diverting it to these issues. There are so many more important things to get upset about.
Howdy from sunny and snow free California. Had a nice time in San Francisco this morning. Hollis and I had a nice breakfast and then hung out with Tim Anderson (former Duluthian.) We took a nice ride on the Cable Cars and helped him change his flat tire. We spent the rest of the day driving to Los Angeles where, as I type, Low is playing at the Spaceland. Many famous folks are expected including Cameron Crowe and his wife Nancy Wilson of Heart fame.
To the BullHorn fundraiser and chili cook-off. Come support our little 'zine and have a darn good time doing it. There's going to be good music, good food and cheap booze (it is Superior, afterall). So show up early or come on over after lighting up the NorShor. We're trying to keep a good thing going.
Both Undesirables Bone Appetit DT's
Free chili (both vegetarian and meat-eater kinds will be available)
Bev's Jook Joint 21+ - $5 - 9:30
oh, and Thank You to whoever featured us in the transitor transmission
CD RELEASE FOR MUSIC HANS JOHNSON RECORDED IN EAST AFRICA OF THE MAASAI PEOPLE.
Friday Feb. 27 @ 7PM At the Sacred Heart Music Center
Music of the Maasai
Featuring a gospel choir and an African drum ensemble and a visual slide show presentation of Hans Johnson's many adventures living with the Maasai people in mud huts, being chased by wild animals and preserving their traditional music.
FREE EVENT AND TOTALLY AWESOME!!!
[I was supposed to post a cartoon I did of Hans in Africa but I have recently lost that technology.]
So a few days pass after the head-scratching Taco John's incident at the lasagna party, and we finally get around to using the oven again. Lo and behold ...
Every year we dress up and go bowling the Monday before Mardi Gras to raise money for a local AIDS charity. Much fun was had by all and we raised over $19,000!
No matter what strides Dentistry has made in the last 100 years one thing can never change. Pulling teeth sucks. It sucks that is if you remain awake for the procedure.
I have been going to the UofM Dental school for treatment of those broken teeth I received in one swift punch. Today my dentist was a lovely woman who is nearly done with her training. She gave a wonderful novicaine injection but she was still a bit timid for any serious tooth-pulling. Enter the Dental professor. Dr. Wilson has been in the biz for quite a few years I'm guessing because he knows how to pull a tooth. Some cracking noises and a few good twists and out she came.
Another hour spent filling another chipped tooth and I am nearly finished with my dental drama. Now I just have some good ol cavities to be filled. Probably the result of too little flossing.
Yes it is true. Father Hennepin rears its ugly head. Wednesday night at Pizza Luce we will be playing 5 or 6 Johnny Cash songs as part of the Pizza Luce experience. Also playing are Ol Yeller, Baby Grant Johnson, Boy Girl Boy Girl and Fractal power. I am hoping we will play in the 10 o'clock hour since I fly to San Fran early the next morning.
Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top of the world.
It won't be long now. Well, actually it'll be quite awhile. But I'm still getting excited. The first time out for the season is always a little spooky. Even though we all know the water off Park Point is only waist high, it seems so dark and cold. And it is. The wetsuit usually fits a little too tight because of a winter spent on the couch eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drinking hot chocolate. And so after squeezing into the kayak, I'm constricted by neoprene in places you don't want to hear about. The approaching waves look a lot bigger and feel a lot colder than they did standing on the beach. Since I'm sitting down now, a three-foot wave is higher than my head. I paddle out past the biggest breaking waves, then turn around. On really good days, the waves sneak up, grab the boat and have their way with me, sending me toward the beach whether I'm ready or not. If I'm ready, I glide gracefully back toward the beach until I lean the boat back against the wave and slide off the back side of the wash, ready to paddle out and try again. If I'm not ready, I get flipped sideways or worse -- the bow sticks on the bottom while the wave pushes the rear of the boat over my head, flipping me end over end, then dragging my big round head across the sandy bottom. At least that how it happens in my dreams. I can't wait.
So last night we had some people over for lasagna, liquor, and a Curb Your Enthusiasm marathon. I had a pretty good time, but when I woke up this morning, I immediately had some questions. If anyone out there can shed some light on these mysteries, we'd really appreciate it.
First of all, who the hell was eating Taco John's food at the dinner party? There are unexplained TJ's bean burrito wrappers in the garbage can and tortilla shrapnel all over the stove. This is really ... odd.
Second, who stole the pink kitty cat doorstop from downstairs? And why do I feel like it is going to be held for ransom in exchange for the Castiron Rabbit? For the last time--we do not have that rabbit. Please return the kitty as it is not ours for you to steal ... uh ... or something like that.
Third, who was drinking beer in the bathroom? Sweet gentle Lord that is a hardcore activity.
Anyhow, god bless you all. Wonderful work you're doing.
Before I tell this story, I need to say that I really like my South Dakota cousins. But, I don't know what to think about this.
I went to South Dakota for a funeral and got to hang out with all my cool relatives. It was Friday night and the cousins asked me if I wanted to go Spot Lighting. That sounds cool I thought, I would if I didn't have to get up at 4 am to drive home the next morning. What is it anyway? We drive around in our trucks with a big spot light that Becky holds out the window. We shine the spot light on any animal we come across, usually a raccoon, the animal is stunned, and we jump out with our clubs and kill it. The pelts we sell to someone and we get money. It's our favorite thing to do.
I've been thinking about this ever since, spot lighting, spot light, I can't stop thinking about it every lurid detail of it and especially the sounds those coons must make. I guess one lesson from this is if a light is on you, run! Don't get trapped by being stunned. (credit for this lesson goes to John Holden)
Well Dean is now off of the race and it looks like we have no one running that I actually like, not even a peep from the Greens, might be a disgust vote this year, which I HATE doing
I have been in Duluth for almost 12 years now and I have always wanted to go to Thunder Bay. Whenever I would mention this to fellow Duluthians the response would be the same, "Thunder Bay sucks" or "There is nothing to do in Thunder Bay." Well I finally made the trip to see for myself. V-Nick and I took off last saturday morning in his trusty Geo Metro. The skies were super blue and the sun was warm on our backs as we headed North. The drive was mostly uneventful. At the border we had to go in and answer some more questions, "what do you do? where do you live? how much money do you have? boxers or briefs?" I actually like being hassled at borders so this was not a problem. It makes getting on the other side seem more special.
Our Hotel, the Prince Arthur was located in downtown Thunder Bay right on the water. It is worth the extra 5 bucks for a lakeside room in case you ever want to go.
We arrived mid-afternoon and after checking in we set out looking for the Hoito restaurant which is about the only positive thing I had ever heard about Thunder Bay. Located in the basement of the Finlandia building the Hoito has been in operation for like 90 years. Some of the early Finnish lumberjacks started the restaurant when they couldn't find good, cheap food. The food is still good and cheap and from the crowds we witnessed still quite popular.
Surrounding the Hoito are 5 or 6 other Finnish shops. Mostly Sauna related and some gifty type shops the whole neighborhood is quite charming. I purchased some Lilac Sauna Soap and a hand knit Canadian hat.
After eating a light lunch we set out on a search for some beer. A couple blocks from our hotel we found a great neighborhood bar that served us up 4 beers for 6 bucks (that is $4.58 as of this weekend.) The bar was just the kind of place you want to hang out in on a cold winter afternoon. Pool tables, pinball and tabletop Ms. Pac-Man. Turns out Nick had access to Ms. Pac-Man in his own home as a youth so he kicked my ass.
Later saturday night we went to eat dinner at the Aurora Restaurant. This place was fantastic. I don't think Duluth has anything that can top it for style, food and service. I think the most surprising thing was the number of people that were out, the place was packed from our arrival and there were still folks waiting to sit down when we left. The mix of ethnicities was also suprising. Asian, Indian, White, Black. I guess I thought Canada would be mostly white.
After dinner we headed to the Apollo nightclub for the Punk -vs- Mod show. We missed most of the Punk part of the night but the club was great. They had a nice size stage with a proffesional P.A. system and the hosts for the night kept the party moving. The whole evening was a fundraiser for a local art gallery called the Painted Turtle and they raffled off prizes in between bands. The best band we saw that night were the Waybacks, a cross between the Oxes and the Dames these guys rocked so hard. They all sing and dance and joke and jump around like their lives depended on it. I wish I had talked to these guys but the Gin-n-Tonics were taking their toll and I was tired.
Sunday morning we made a return trip to the Hoito, get the pancakes. On our way out of town we stopped at a local grocery store to check out the weird condiments and treats but we were treated to much more. There are whole aisles of ethnic foods. Indian, Thai, Mexican and one half of an aisle dedicated to every kind of rice I have ever seen in big delicious bags. After soaking up these delights we were further wowed by the produce selection. I thought I knew about most of the vegetables of the world but I was wrong. There are veggies that look like sea monsters out there. Very scary and prickly. The organic section at this store was the biggest I have ever seen and so cheap. Why do we not have this in Duluth? We are the same size as T Bay.
I could go on gushing about the trip but it was good to get home. I spose the trip was kind of like seeing a movie that blows you away because you were not expecting much. I will go back again though and with a bigger crew of Dullyouthians. We could learn from the Canadians.
So, I'm interested in what people think about the nomination process, and Kerry in general, as it seems he most likely will be the Dems choice to run against the hand-puppet-in-office? Dean would have been nice but has lost all the momentum he built up.
On the Repub side I predict Cheney will bow out (either citing health problems or to deflect partial blame for WMD fiasco away from Bush), and there has been some talk of Giuliani running as VP (which considering the GOP convention will be held in NY I tend to believe), then of course the whole gay marriage thing which is a worthy fight (to fight FOR) but in an election year it won't get any serious debate just posturing and bellicose chest thumping...
just call me the anti-tourist. i'm leaving the sunny Bay Area for a handfull of days to visit cold snowy New York City for the first time ever. wish me safe travels.
on a related note, who would have realized how hard it would be to score a hat, mittens and scarf in Berkeley in February? sheesh.
I am sure most of you have heard by now that the Pixies are reuniting for a tour. Well according to Janice over at Copacetic the dates are set for the April tour. Lo and behold the beloved Pixies are coming fairly close to Duluth. Wednesday April 14th is the first show in Winnipeg. That is only like 6 hours away. Road trip anyone?
I was going to write a weird post about X mayor Dody and the anthropomorphizing of god after reading this. But I thought it was way over the top so I am just going to post this composit from the last Blues on the Range I attended before bugging out of the land of Too (ToocoldToohotToobuggyToomuchtunacasserole)
I did last night. It was deep fried and salted and tasted like potatoe chips. Grasshopper were also quite tasty. The Thai's here buy it by the bag full. It's like junk food to them. Meal worms and grubs taste like Sushi though........ i don't care for these as much. There are waterbugs that look like giant roaches. I could not get past the looks of it, but my friend gobbled it down and said it tasted like dog food and the wings were really chewey. I think i did well to stay away. I've heard that there is one town in Cambodia that lives entirely off thier huge spider population. Appropriately it is named "spider villiage." Tonite i will travel to northern Thailand where the hill tribe people live. I wonder what kind of bugs they prefer?
Let me preface this by saying that I think Howard Dean is a great man and I would love to have him as my president. I also would like to say that the media destroyed him, and that that angers me.
That said, during today's question-and-answer session in Superior, I had to restrain myself from asking "Carol, can we hear your Tarzan yell?"
For the past 5 years on my birthday weekend I have put on the Homegrown Music Festival. It actually started on my 30th birthday but that is another story.
Every year has been bigger than the last. 8 bands on one stage the first year and 70 plus bands on 9 stages last year. It has also gotten harder for me to put together. I know I bring the stress on myself by trying to manage it single-handedly but that is just how I have done it.
Well it is time to shit or get off the pot with Homegrown 6. My gut feeling is that I would like to scale back in both venues and bands. Can I do this? Can I not do this? How important is Homegrown anyway? I could really use some advice from you folks that have attended one or more festival.
Last year was so stressful for me that I could barely enjoy it and I still owe money to the Ripsaw. I can not do that again.
So there you have it. I realize I have been a bit more personal than I usually get on this Blog but what the hell.
I have been living my Duluth Life vicariously through PDD and Barrett's blogs. and of course the 24 hour view on the lake cam. I feel a little like the longtime listener first time caller doorknob on whatevah talk show you accidently are listening to. I grew up in Woodland and seem to be umbillically bound to lake Superior. The connection is stretched thin at 4000 some odd miles. I feel like I know the folks who post here in somewhat the same way you would know someone in another clique through the rumor mill. "I was at a party and Chuck said his cousin heard from Rudy that Willber's X told Sharon that he has been knocking some off in the back seat of the Chrysler with Franchesca." That sort of thing. I do enjoy the annonymity factor. I could be anybody. That slightly dicey looking fellah that hangs around in front of the bread store in the Plaza parking lot wearing those greasy Carharts and the knowing grin. I'm not but I could be. With that here is the obligatory link. This kept me amused for a solid fifteen minutes. and one of my favorite photos of Duluth.
Thanks for the invite. I am in the Phonebook, I am somebody. All I want is this thermos and my lamp.
Woo-Hoo! The fine folks at the Green Man Festival have not only booked Cracker for this years frolicking, word has it that Mr. Willie Nelson has signed on in all his Greeness. Now we're talking. With Johnny and Waylon gone Willie is about the greatest Country Music icon left. Early bird tickets will be around 60 dollars for the weekend and will go sale soon. Way to go Green Man.
Once again Frozen Man was lots of frostbitten fun. We went sledding down a waterfall and threw snowballs at Paul until he cried. I admired the moonlight sparkling on the snow as I peed behing someone's car. What a beautiful night.
Dean has been such a catalyst in this election process and gave the Democratic Party its balls back. I want to shake his hand, thank him, and tell him to keep fighting!
btw...thanks to the Professor for putting up with all my questions!
Go to the following websites and follow the links, discographies, mashographies, etc for some truly amazing music. Pop culture sliced thin, mixed well and piled high just the way I like it. Wow! Ever wonder what Public Enemy and Herb Albert would sound like together? Madonna and the Sex Pistols? Paul Mcartney and Eminem? Christina Aguilera and the Monkees? 50 cent and Devo? On and on. The giggle factor is huge here. Vocal tracks placed on loops of guilty pleasure songs creating something new. The song titles are cheeky too. "Loser yourself" = Eminen's "lose yourself" on top of Beck's "Loser", wow. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Keyword search: Go home productions Mad mullet Bastard pop
Howdy damn it! I am studying (ie proscratinating) in the Nautical Archaeology library (Texas A&M) and dayreaming, staring out the window thinking about Duluth....I miss everyone at home and miss going out to have a beer or six. Things are well this semester but busy as usual. I love my classes and love my job even more. I am working at our Conservation Research Lab as a conservator, photographer, graphic designer, x-ray technician and carpenter. Love it,, but no social life outside of school and work. I am going to sneek over to Austin next month to see Sonic Youth. This will be the first band I have seen in Texas since I've been here! (1 1/2 years!) No confirmed plans for my summer, but I may go back to Italy or to St. Kitts in the Carribbean. I want to come back and visit soon. Back to work.... Swany
Gracias to everyone who helped to celebrate Ca-chee's birthday. Thanks to everone who attended, drank, danced, and performed. Thanks to everyone who put up with that bald guy, and to the DJ who knew my full name simply by reputation and thanked me at the end of the night.
Very special thanks to Ca-chee for being born and turning out like she did, and for wanting really bad for someone to rap like Eminem. And thanks to Maria who was able to rap like Eminem better than anyone else who attempted it.
I got a promo postcard from a photographer today. I'm sure this is a very noble, worthy cause, but it sure sounds funny when you first read it.
"In honor of all friends and clients who have helped us have a successful and adventurous past year, we have again donated a goat to a needy family throught the Heifer Project. www.heifer.com"
I now have sock monkies ready for purchase! There are a few at Vintage Duluth or you can buy them direct from me (that way I get more money). They are $15 each and come in a variety of lurid colors and patterns. Remember, nothing says "I love you" like an evil sock monkey.
New Moon Magazine Seeks Girls Editorial Board Members
There are several openings for girls ages 8-13 at New Moon: The Magazine for Girls and their Dreams. Girls Editorial Board members edit material submitted by girls and adults worldwide, write articles, conduct interviews, and work on the design of the magazine. We're looking for girls ages 8 to 13 who are avid readers, have the potential for critical thinking, and have long attention spans.
The Girls Editorial Board is diverse, with girls from different socio-economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. If you know girls who would be great candidates for New Moon's Girls Editorial Board, please have them contact New Moon Publishing at [email protected] for an application. The application deadline is Wednesday, March 31, 2003, at 4:00 p.m
A recent trip to the North Pole Bar resulted in spontaneous acts of cocktail napkin art. If you are short on pens, cigarette butts work just fine. Enjoy!
And this is just wrong, Bush and Blair have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, "for having dared to take the necessary decision to launch a war on Iraq without having the support of the UN" as has been remarked before by others, satire is dead... christ.
Looking less and less likely as if Dean will get the nomination, numbers are running 14% AZ 8% MO 6% OK and 9% in SC for tomorrow, Kerry is absolutely ahead in two of the races and ties for 1st in the other two, *sigh*, I guess he isn't TOO bad...the numbers
This Friday, 9PM - email me for the address, it is different now! But mere blocks away in a great house.
Anyhow, first y'all should all go to the Amy & Amy art opening at Washington Studios from 7-9, then boogie over to my new place bringing your own b. That is your Friday planner right there.
The decor is a little different but I hope to have action figure dioramas hanging soon.
This site makes extensive use of cascading style sheets and JavaScript, and will probably look awful on systems that do not allow such fancy technology. Also, it probably looks better on version 6.x browsers, and monitors with 1024x768 resolution.
It won't be long now. Well, actually it'll be quite awhile. But I'm still getting excited.
So last night we had some people over for lasagna, liquor, and a Curb Your Enthusiasm marathon. I had a pretty good time, but when I woke up this morning, I immediately had some questions. If anyone out there can shed some light on these mysteries, we'd really appreciate it.
Good luck to our buddy over at 
I am sure most of you have heard by now that the 
Let me preface this by saying that I think Howard Dean is a great man and I would love to have him as my president. I also would like to say that the media destroyed him, and that that angers me. 
For the past 5 years on my birthday weekend I have put on the Homegrown Music Festival. It actually started on my 30th birthday but that is another story.
Woo-Hoo! The fine folks at the 
Gracias to everyone who helped to celebrate Ca-chee's birthday. Thanks to everone who attended, drank, danced, and performed. Thanks to everyone who put up with that bald guy, and to the DJ who knew my full name simply by reputation and thanked me at the end of the night. 
