Just got a creepy mailing here in upper Woodland that accuses Ray Sandman of being a liberal and out of touch on issues such as Polymet, minimum wage increase, and war. It made us want to vote for Sandman! — until I looked up who paid for the ad — the 501c4 PAC led by former Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman. A vote for Sandman is, unfortunately, a vote for Mills.
It’s been two months since Izzy Turner opened his new restaurant in the former Whiskey Ward / Shenanigan’s / J.T.’s / Johnny’s Bar location, 1506 North Third St. in Superior. Does anyone have any thoughts to share about Izzy’s BBQ Lounge & Grill?
“Finds ‘Duke’ to be Insane,” Duluth Weekly Herald, 15 January 1908
In the interest of furthering the ongoing fascination with the “Duke of Duluth” on PDD [1][2] and in the broader Duluth community, I submit this 15 January 1908 clipping from the Duluth Weekly Herald. Given the description of the unfortunate Arthur J. Baird–“claimed to have acquired his nickname by reason of his hirsute adornment, his education and general demeanor“–it seems possible that he might in fact be the same man in the photograph Nemadji posted in 2010.
It would appear that some members of the local community, inspired by Nat M. Wills’ 1905 musical “The Duke of Duluth,” bestowed the mocking title on Baird, but that’s the limit of what I’ve (accidentally) found. Stay tuned for more fascinating updates if/when they appear.
I started tonight listening to Darin Bergsven play some jazz tunes. I was there with Darrin and another member of Tangier 57, a local band that has both talent and a sense of humor. They push the same buttons in me that Combustible Edison used to… but not all members of the band knew the reference. What can you do?
At the table was my friend Liz Wright, who recently published an essay about The Negro Motorist Green Book. The Book, “with its list of hotels, boarding houses, restaurants, beauty shops, barber shops and various other services, can most certainly help solve your travel problems. It was the idea of Victor H. Green, the publisher, in introducing the Green Book, to save the travelers of his race as many difficulties and embarrassments as possible.” Liz does fascinating work in the rhetoric of race and gender, and this project seems really exciting to me.
Also at the table was Elias Mokole, a local vocalist whose work I am only starting to understand and enjoy. (Classical music eludes me. And someone who works in as many languages as Elias is crazy rich and complex as an artist.)
When I left, I wandered downtown for a bit — a trip to Rogue Robot, for starters, and then to the Electric Fetus, where I bought the “She & Him” Christmas album for $6 in their 20% off Halloween sale. Oh, Zoey Deschanel… please visit me in Duluth.
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Time lapse video by Skyler Brewster.
So I was at the Red Herring, watching the last episode of the first season of Dr. Who (with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor) and the first episode of the second season. The second season stars David Tennant. Tennant is, possibly, my favorite Doctor. So much so, I am watching Gracepoint.
Kristen Hylenski was there planning the November 9: Fall of the Wall Film and celebration, 3:30 – 8:00. The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will show the film “Good Bye Lenin!,” then hold a 1989 dance party. There will also be opportunities to learn about the wall and the fall of the wall.
Paul Lundgren was there. Paul is my hero, in many ways: what I think a writer can be. While I was there, My friend Emily sent me her new song lyrics. She posts them here. The night was hopping for me. Thanks to Heikko for organizing a Tuesday night event that gets me out of the house and among my friends, and that gets me tasting the infused liquors of the Red Herring.
After that, I wandered over to the Zeitgeist. I had grading to do, and I needed some help. While I was ordering my liquid help, I saw Richard Hansen of the Duluth Superior Film Festival… That man never stops, never sleeps. Planning the next festival started the second the last one ended. I also saw Kathleen Roberts and Nick Monson of Prøve Collective get a snack.
Full, rich night.
Patrick Smith created this video using YouTube Slideshow Creator.
My friend Robert, who is originally from the Iron Range and went to UMD, has lived in Japan for over a decade. He lives the costume, sci-fi loving, geek dream! Although not too creepy, I thought this was a good post to share in homage to the PDD of the past where Creepy Japanese Things ran riot.
P.S. Robert is Frankenstein, vote for his creepy costume.
Footage shot Oct. 19 by Jesse Covington. Music by Atmosphere – “Let Me Know That You Know What You Want Now.”
The winner of the PDD Halloween Banner Contest of 2014 is Mark Ryan with this entry.
Honorable mention goes out to the submissions below. Thanks to everyone who sent photos, all of the submissions are now in the rotation along with photos from past years.
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
Halloween week is upon us, and there are lots of frights to be found. Both Glensheen and Fairlawn mansions are doing flashlight tours, the Buffalo House is in the home stretch of its Haunted Shack, Renegade is throwing a Halloween Dance Party, Bridgeman’s is having a kids’ costume party, the Duluth Heritage Center is putting on a Boo Bash, Evil Dead: The Musical is still in action, and the Haunted Ship is still haunted.
Non-spooktacular events include an in-studio PlayList taping, an Adam Sippola/Rachael Kilgour gig, Dirty Knobs’ Zeitgeist Experiments continue, Shakespeare’s Tempest is brewing, and Mark Mallman brings his brand of pop to Pizza Luce with Wolf Blood and The Social Disaster.
For sale on a couple websites are tokens for Cook’s Place, 527 W. Michigan St., Duluth. What was Cook’s Place? The address puts it on the western end of where the Duluth Public Library stands today.
A listing on tokencatalog.com offers what appears to be a list of various names the business may have gone by over the years: “Moses S. Cook Saloon 1898-1912; Mayer J. Cook Saloon 1912-1916, Beverages & Restaurant 1920; Homer L. Cook Restaurant 1937-1942; J. Earl Cook Confectionery 1947-1958.”
That seems to raise some questions, though, like: How did so many different Cooks carry out 60 or more years of business in one spot? When was it called Cook’s Place? Is Mayer a first name? There was no “mayor” of Duluth named J. Cook, although Jay Cooke played a big part in Duluth’s history in the late 1800s.
What’s the deal with Cook’s Place?
I was going to write about the Goin’ Postal show in Superior. (Goin’ Postal is one of the major hubs of the art community in Superior.) But Ed Newman does it better, with pictures.
This summer Erin Renee and I released a video trilogy of a collaboration at the French River. Here is the final, fourth installment, a coda if you will.
Video by Kyle James.
