July 2018 Posts

Squirrels

Jul 21, 2018 No Comments

There are squirrels near downtown Duluth sitting cross-legged on alleyway tree limbs, picking their teeth with plastic shards carved out of trash bins.

There are squirrels in my neighborhood, Chester Park, who sit atop my garage roof and blithely stare below. Then they climb to the peak and play patty-cake.

I am seeing distinct packs of squirrels in the city as I walk from pocket to pocket. Those downtown squirrels are nothing to mess with. I imagine them waiting to pounce on any passive east side brethren that get lost and wind up sniffing around trash bins clearly marked for toughs. Each one has a squirrel-sized hole gnawed out of it. You don’t see that in the less dense, leafier neighborhoods.

And it’s not just the squirrels in alleyways from Fourth on down to Superior Street. Crows dive-bomb. Chipmunks clatter with menace. Skunk smells waft. Pigeons cluck disapprovingly. Even the flies are stickier.

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Random ,

Duluthians visit “Art and Healing”

Jul 21, 2018 No Comments

It was nearly three hours from the Twin Ports to the Minneapolis Institute of Art in South Minneapolis to visit the opening of “Art and Healing: In the Moment.” But Duluth is participating in a national dialogue on race; it has for decades, since we started to acknowledge our own history of racial violence and our current racial inequalities. Participating in a national conversation means listening to what others have to say, about their experiences, too.

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Art

Selective Focus: #perfectduluthday

Jul 20, 2018 No Comments

A post shared by The Modern Jedi (@hart0812) on

It’s time for a midsummer check on what makes a #perfectduluthday.

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Photos , ,

An 8K 360 Video Tour of Hartley Park

Jul 20, 2018 No Comments

Outdoors ,

Looking for a French tutor in Duluth

Jul 19, 2018 No Comments

A group of Duluth-area senior women is looking for a fluent French speaker to help with language sessions. Two-hour sessions; twice monthly. The six ladies have advanced-beginner to intermediate levels of French. Willing to pay tutor. Merci bien!


Random, Recommendations

Bijou Noir – “Do This to Me”

Jul 19, 2018 No Comments

Former Duluthian Gus Watkins has released this new video under his band name, Bijou Noir. He’s returning to Duluth Aug. 10 for an album release show at Blush.

The video was shot this summer in pre-World Cup Croatia, where Watkins has been living off and on since 2017. Joseph Hyrkas is the director.


Music, Videos

Nothing earthly equals riding on the Soo

Jul 18, 2018 No Comments


History , ,

Duluth 2018 Primary Election Sample Ballot

Jul 17, 2018 No Comments

Primary Election polls open Aug. 14 at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

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Politics

Cancer battle pushes sale of iconic West Duluth store

Jul 16, 2018 1 Comment

Joel Russell stands outside Central Sales, a surplus store his family has owned for more than 30 years.

An iconic and ruggedly unique surplus store in the heart of West Duluth has been put up for sale as its longtime owner prepares to fight a serious health issue.

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News and Current Affairs ,

Music Man, on Three Levels

Jul 15, 2018 No Comments

I sat in the balcony to watch a preview (or Sponsor Night) performance of The Music Man by the Duluth Playhouse at the Norshor Theatre. The performance was enjoyable, the text is enjoyable, if complicated for the 21st century, and as this was my first trip into the new Norshor, I have some thoughts about that.

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Art , ,

PDD Quiz: Buffalo Bill and Duluth

Jul 15, 2018 No Comments

This month’s quiz looks at Buffalo Bill Cody’s relationship with Duluth. For more information on this topic, check out this Perfect Duluth Day article, this Northland Wilds article, and this The Area Woman article.

The next PDD Quiz, on July happenings, will be published on July 29. Email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by July 26.

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History ,

A Smiter Smote a Sinner While Smitten with Smiting

Jul 14, 2018 No Comments

Smite is a funny word.

My husband Jesse and I were talking about Leviticus (the Quentin Tarantino chapter of the Bible) last night. We don’t spend much time musing about Leviticus (lest you think we are piouser than we are) but were discussing this letter from a gentleman sardonically applauding Dr. Laura’s use of Leviticus 18:22 to rebuke homosexuality. Naturally, we began inquiring into other modern applications of less referenced lines of the book.

After discussing our own Leviticus reflections (scariest band name, ever), we started re-imagining the Christian adage, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” Jesse suggested, to comply with Leviticus, that we change it to, “Hate the sin, scorn the sinner?” We agreed this was too far from the spirit of the book. Leviticus is very specific (e.g., “How to Build an Altar in 1,347 Easy Steps”). And the truth is, it’s tough to read cubits allegorically, no matter how stoned you are.

I suggested, if we were going Full Monty, that we just go straight to “Love the sinner, hate the sin. Then smite the sinner. Usually to death.” Jesse piled on, “If a sinning sinner smites a loving sinner, that sinner should be smitten, also.”

The fuck?

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Random

Selective Focus: Derek Montgomery

Jul 13, 2018 No Comments

Derek Montgomery has shown us the world through his lens as a photojournalist, and he also does portraits and weddings. He’s worked for the Duluth News Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio, and he tells us how shooting news is different from shooting a bride and groom.

DM: I’m a photographer who specializes in wedding, news and sports photography. That may seem like a lot, but it’s a pretty narrow scope. Weddings is pretty obvious what that is about. I do a lot of work in northern Minnesota with Minnesota Public Radio reporters and have been a part of many stories and projects over the years. And the sports side involves working with the athletic department at the College of St. Scholastica to document their sports teams. Along with my work at CSS, I do a ton of team and individual sports work for hockey, baseball, volleyball, lacrosse and other teams, clubs and programs in Duluth. I’ve been a professional photographer for 12 years now and have been wandering around with a camera for 16 years.

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Art, Photos ,

Video: Duluth Airshow 2018

Jul 12, 2018 1 Comment

Footage by Zhen Yan from last weekend’s Duluth Air and Aviation Expo.


Videos

Mystery Photo #68: Aerial Transfer Bridge

Jul 12, 2018 7 Comments

There’s no doubt the subject of this mystery photo is the gondola car on Duluth’s Aerial Bridge, but what year was the photo shot?

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History ,