December 2010 Posts

Chester Bowl ski lift fixed

Dec 23, 2010 No Comments

People with kids may have been following the progress of the chairlift repair at Chester Bowl this week. Monday night, hydraulic fluid was shooting out of the top motor and the hill was closed. There was some concern about fixing the equipment and getting parts which dated back to 1974 or earlier.

Just in time for winter break, the announcement was made by Thom Storm that the lift has been fixed.

“As of this afternoon, the new chairlift clutch is installed, & the lift will be open again on Dec. 26th at 11am. A huge thank you to the city of Duluth Fleet Services & Park Maintenance staff, and Tom Kasper, for their extra efforts in getting the lift running for Christmas vacation.”


Outdoors, Recommendations, Sports

Duluth and Iron Will are chopped liver on Explore Minnesota’s “Top 10 Minnesota Film Destinations”

Dec 23, 2010 24 Comments

If crappy Disney movies like Iron Will were exempt from the list, how did The Mighty Ducks get included?

Anyway, on the list are:

A Prairie Home Companion – Fitzgerald Theater, Mickey’s Diner
Grumpy Old Men – Lake Rebecca
North Country – The Iron Range
Purple Rain – First Avenue
The Good Son – Palisade Head
Beautiful Girls – Bryant Lake Bowl
Jingle All The Way – Mall of America
Sweet Land – Southwestern Minnesota
The Mighty Ducks – Rice Park
Fargo – Brainerd Lakes Area

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Random

Top 10 Duluth Albums of 2010

Dec 23, 2010 18 Comments

What might you all consider the top 10 local albums of the year???

I’ve got a couple I can toss out there:

1. Trampled by Turtles – Palamino
2. The Tisdales – Out With The New
3. Matt Ray & Those Damn Horses – Then and Now
4. Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank – Travelin’ Show (although this might have been released in 2009)
5. Charlie Parr – When The Devil Goes Blind
6. Sara Softich – Highway to the Sun
7. The Half Hearts – After the Flood
8. Marc Gartman – Fatwa
9. The Boomchucks
10. Dead Man Winter – Wolves


Music

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse 2010

Dec 22, 2010 1 Comment

Videos

Zumba at Stargate Nightclub

Dec 22, 2010 No Comments

Her name is Melinda, and Zumba is her passion. She’s hosting a “Girls Night Out Zumba Workout Party” on Monday, Dec. 27 at Stargate Nightclub in Superior from 5:45 to 8 p.m. Details on the Zumba with Melinda website.


Events

Cool new census tool

Dec 22, 2010 6 Comments

New York Times: “Mapping America: Every City, Every Block”

Do with it what you will. I think it is very interesting.


News and Current Affairs , ,

Should Bob Dylan retire?

Dec 21, 2010 10 Comments

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal asked whether 69-year-old Bob Dylan should retire from the concert stage.

However, Jon Jurgensen, author of the WSJ piece “When To Leave The Stage,” wasn’t zeroing in on Dylan’s age as the reason for the troubadour to cash in his musical 401k. Instead, much of Jurgensen’s essay was about Dylan’s voice, describing it as a “laryngitic croak.”

Wall Street Journal Article here.


Music

Free, all-ages holiday skating in Duluth

Dec 21, 2010 No Comments

Bring your own skates.

DECC Skating Party 2010
Sunday, Dec. 26, 3-5pm
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena
Music provided by Shelly’s Mobile Music Machine
Free door prizes and cookies for kids.

Bayfront Park Outdoor Skating
Through Dec. 26, 5-9pm | Dec. 27-31, 1-8pm | Closed Jan. 1
After Jan. 2, Mon-Fri, 4-8pm, Saturday 1-8pm, Sunday 1-5pm
Adjacent to Bentleyville Tour of Lights at Bayfront Park

Heritage Sports Center Indoor Pleasure Skating
Friday, Dec. 31, 1:30-3pm. 
120 S. 30th Ave. W.

Skate or die!!!


Events

Annual chakra tune up & house concert

Dec 21, 2010 1 Comment

Tuesday, Dec. 21, 5-8pm
Rooted Folks Community Wellness (above Electric Fetus).

Join us on the Solstice, which also happens to be a full moon and a lunar eclipse, to realign your being. Singer, songwriter, world traveler, life enthusiast Nate Stevens — from the cities — is going to lead us on a journey using young living essential oils and music therapy.

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Events, Music, News and Current Affairs

Happy Duluth Winter Solstice!

Dec 21, 2010 9 Comments

A handful of yogis from Yoga North made it down to the shore this morning to welcome the sun on this special day, despite the clouds and the snow.

Thank you to all who came to share in the joy of this new day, new year, new season. Winter started with a bang. May the long time sun shine upon you!


Events, Outdoors, Photos

Reshaping Live Electronica

Dec 20, 2010 7 Comments

Calling all computer-music fans! Dig this! 3 Reaktor ensembles running simultaneously through Live6. The main keyboard (with cleverly placed stickers) houses a dominant ‘effect’ range (left 8 white keys) and a dominant ‘loop’ range (right 8 white keys). The other two midi boards are used for volume, some delay effects, reverb (and it’s decay), and misc. VST’s. I created the loops in Live6 prior to loading them into this set to record. Enjoy!

PS: I apologize for the sound getting a bit nasty in there. it was recorded from an iPhone, hanging on a ceiling fan.


Music, Videos

PSA: WikiLeaks [.info]

Dec 20, 2010 No Comments

Just a heads up: if you’re looking for anything WikiLeaks, make sure you are NOT visiting WikiLeaks.info. That domain is owned and on a server whose IP space Spamhaus only sees hosting malware/virus software, botnet command and controls, phishing and other cybercriminal activities.

Seriously. Bad mojo. DO NOT download anything from WikiLeaks.info. And, as those wacky Russians are now experimenting with drive-by-malware and drive-by-DDoS, I would avoid that site entirely. (Yes, WikiLeaks.info even has a rebuttal against Spamhaus’ statement. Nice touch.)

Also: WikiLeaks.org is redirecting to those dastardly Russian spammers as well, so use the official IP address.

WikiLeaks IP address is: http://213.251.145.96.
Legitimate WikiLeaks mirrors can be found here.


Uncategorized

Setting Duluth’s Priorities

Dec 20, 2010 9 Comments

Here’s a chance to voice your opinion about Duluth’s priorities, the quality of city services, and performance standards. Three focus groups will be held in late January and you can apply to become one of the participants. If selected, you’ll receive $35 for your participation.

To complete an application survey, go to either duluthmn.gov or zenithgroup.com.

The research is being paid for by a grant from the National Center for Civic Innovation. Zenith Research Group of Duluth will conduct each of the 90-minute sessions. More than one member of each household can enter, part of an effort to reach a diverse and representative sampling of city residents. A full news release is available for review on the city’s website.


Random ,

TCF Bank Stadium Snow Removal

Dec 20, 2010 3 Comments

Video of TCF Bank Stadium snow cleanup via the Minnesota Gophers Facebook page, which notes it took “15,000 man hours.”


Sports, Videos

Total Eclipse

Dec 19, 2010 10 Comments

We’re to expect a total lunar eclipse sometime in the late evening/early morning of Monday/Tuesday.

It’s almost worth it enough to wake the kids up for. I think I will.


Outdoors, Recommendations