June 2010 Posts

Heads up! Two Many Banjos at Tom’s Burned Down Cafe, Madeline Island

Friday and Saturday, June 11-12

Putting the BP F*ckup in perspective

What if it was in Lake Superior?

Election 2010: The Weird Stuff

As noted in a previous post, an Elvis impersonator is running for lieutenant governor in Minnesota.

Here are some other things that jump out at me from the candidate filings:

* Kenny Kalligher, co-host of Duluth Public Access Community Television’s The Average Guys is running for state auditor. He’s also a musician. Maybe you saw him at the Homegrown Music Festival, performing as Uncle Kenny.

* Longtime Republican Harry Welty is running for the State Senate in the 7th district on the DFL ticket. (By the way, Welty was my geography teacher in the 7th grade. My 9th grade civics teacher was Sam Solon, who held this senate seat for 31 years. And just to stretch these parenthetical Morgan-Park-Junior-High-related remarks out longer, I’ll note that the son of my 8th grade social studies teacher is running for judge in sixth district court 11.)

* Joe Reasbeck of Iron River is running for Congress in Wisconsin’s seventh district (currently Dave Obey’s seat; Obey’s retiring). This is, of course, the Joe Reasbeck of Google Goes to Twin Ports fame. He’s running as a Democrat.

An article in the Wausau Daily Herald notes that “in 2006 Reasbeck ran as an Independent write-in candidate for Congress in the Houston-area district formerly held by House Majority Leader Tom Delay. He raised about $4,000 from donors and ended up with less than 1 percent of the vote.”

An AP story notes that Reasbeck and other Republican candidates were officially considered independents after DeLay quit the race, but Reasbeck “said he was running as a Republican at the time and his campaign listed his party affiliation as Republican in a federal filing.”

Sam Miltich and the Big Dipper Jazz Band

Miltich Band Photo

Get all jazzed up with the PlayList Thursday night. Sam Miltich and the Big Dipper Jazz Band fill the studio with gypsy swing and traditional jazz tunes. Also, organic wood sculptures by Tim Byrns. Catch it at 9 pm on WDSE – PBS Channel 8.

Duluth Dentists

My former dentist retired recently and the dentist who took over his practice seems to me like he’s running a scam.  After a couple of questionable experiences, I won’t be going back.  I have plenty of friends who love their current places, but it seems like those dentists are all on the verge of retirement themselves.  So, I turn now to PDD for advice.  I am seeking a dentist who:

  • Is currently accepting new patients
  • Is not planning on retiring in the next 5-10 years
  • Is good with children
  • Won’t try to scam me on prices or leave my mouth worse off than before I went in

I never understood why people hated going to the dentist until I encountered a true scumbag years ago during an insurance switch.  While most of the dentists I’ve had have been wonderful, I’ve seen the other side, and no sir, I don’t like it!  So tell me please, who makes you smile?

Grand Opening of Playfront Park

The Junior League of Duluth will host the Grand Opening of the new Playfront Park this Friday, June 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. Mayor Don Ness and representatives from the Duluth Chamber of Commerce will join members of the Junior League of Duluth for the official ribbon cutting at 5 p.m.

For the kiddos!

I just wanted to share with you all a book my wife and I published called Elephant and Hare. She wrote the story based a Maasai folk tale her grandmother told her when she was a little girl growing up in Kenya. I drew the pictures.

It went on sale this morning at our website: LetsGoSafariKids.com

Cheers!
=Hans Johnson (former Duluthian)

Sound Unseen Duluth Film+Music Festival Opening Night is Wednesday, June 2

The staff at Sound Unseen are both very anxious, nervous and incredibly excited to kick-off Duluth’s inaugural international film + music festival at Sacred Heart Music Center! If you are still on the fence about what to do Wednesday night, let us remind you that we’re premiering two films at our Opening Night: locally produced Google Goes to Twin Ports and Feed the Fish!

Tommy, can you hear me?

Tommy Poster

Presented by Renegade Theater Company, with the Cartier Insurance Agency, 95.7 the Bridge and 102.5 the Northland’s Classic Rock FM
Music and Lyrics by Pete Townshend
Book by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff
Directed by Andy Bennett

The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The original Broadway production was nominated for 10 Tony awards. Now, Northland audiences will experience the original rock opera like never before. Local performers join forces with area rock group Cars & Trucks to present one of the greatest albums of all time on stage in a new, thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime production.

Follow Tommy as he changes from a deaf, dumb and blind boy to a pinball champion to a modern messiah. Packed with dazzling spectacle, show-stopping choreography and high-energy rock and roll, this is a production that will astound every last one of your senses. You’ve never seen or heard Tommy like this before.

Memorial Day, the real deal.

I spent the holiday getting my tires/tie rods/alignment replaced/done. If that doesn’t say holiday, I don’t know what does. It was hours upon hours at the service center, me without my laptop and not much to do.

Guy comes in with a combat wounded plate. Service shop is finishing up his transaction and employee says, “Thanks for your service, were you in Nam?”

Turns out he was. Turns out the customer service guy was as well. They talk about locations/dates and it turns out that it is highly possible the guy selling tires once upon a time flew the customer in a helicopter someplace over the jungle in Vietnam. Wow, they can’t make this up. Pair of them tell a few stories, shake hands. Thank each other for their service.

A 20-something woman waiting in line behind the Vietnam vet is waiting less than patiently. Vet leaves. Woman says something like, “What’s all the fuss?”

Just another day at the auto repair shop.

Geography of National Geographic

Tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the Duluth Art Institute Depot galleries: A tour and talk with Pat Farrell, Geography professor at UMD on the new exhibit: “National Geographic Greatest Portraits.”