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Duluth East Choralaires – “Carol of the Bells”

Dec 20, 2020 1 Comment

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The Most Read Saturday Essays of 2020

Dec 19, 2020 No Comments

Saturday Essay logo genericWe thought we were so artsy and sophisticated with our little essay series on Perfect Duluth Day. But we all know sensationalism sells. Which essays were the most read in 2020 according to Google Analytics? Well, the topics included a wet T-shirt contest, reckless behavior involving musical watercraft, flat-out fake news, a cult taking over a Lincoln Park church and a murderous dog. Readers, we hope you’re proud of yourselves.

PDD’s annual tradition of wrapping up each year of the “Saturday Essay” series with lazy top-five lists instead of arduously prepared compositions continues next week when the samplings will be less of a popularity contest and more about one person’s snobby opinion of what you should have been reading if you weren’t all heathens.

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Rich Mattson and the Northstars – “In Flight”

Dec 18, 2020 No Comments

Rich Mattson and the Northstars have a new album set for release on Feb. 5. This homespun video, produced by Reggie Pype, is for the first single, “In Flight.”

The upcoming album, Skylights, can be preordered at spartasound.bandcamp.com.


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PDD Quiz: Duluth Superlatives

Dec 13, 2020 No Comments

Some general Duluth trivia coming your way with a look at Duluth superlatives! Where can you find the shortest street? What is the tallest industrial building? What is the coldest recorded temperature? Quiz on to discover answers to all of these questions (and more)!

The next quiz will review 2020 headlines; it will be published on Dec. 27. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Dec. 22.

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Avant-Garde Women: The Shakespearean Tragedy of Peggy and Pegeen Guggenheim

Dec 10, 2020 No Comments

The story of Peggy and Pegeen Guggenheim, as told by the Situationist painter Ralph Rumney, reads like Shakespeare: court intrigue, backstabbing, madness, and suicide. Rumney’s book The Consul provides a critical point of view on this fraught mother-daughter relationship cracking up at the cutting edge of the art world.

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Avant-Garde Women: Eliane Brau, the Invisible Icon

Dec 04, 2020 4 Comments

Born Eliane Papai around 1935 in Spain, Eliane married her way into a couple other last names; she is mostly referred to as Eliane Brau, using the last name of her second husband. I think of her simply as Eliane, in deference to her singularity. Below I argue that her role in the “Letterist” movement of early 1950s Paris has been diminished; conversely, the achievements of the Letterist men have been overblown. It has been too easy to write her off as a passive “muse” for these men who indeed loved her fiercely. She deserves parity. Sadly, unlike her lovers, there is a distinct lack of information about her on the internet. I cannot even determine if she is still alive. Eliane is an invisible icon.

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Abrahamson’s Tree Farm

Dec 03, 2020 1 Comment

Just wondering if anyone knows if Abrahamson’s Tree Farm is still selling cut-your-own trees? Also what they charge?


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Monthly Grovel: December 2020

Dec 03, 2020 No Comments
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Minnesota is under another COVID-19 Emergency Executive Order from Governor Tim Walz until Dec. 19. But the “dial back on certain activities” doesn’t mean the PDD Calendar is barren. There are online events galore, activities outside the parameters of the order such as Bentleyville, and numerous virus-defying events in lawless Wisconsin. So the merry elves at Perfect Duluth Day remain hard at work.

Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account.

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Lift Lincoln Park Indiegogo Episode II

Nov 26, 2020 No Comments

Another COVID-19 lockdown, another Lincoln Park Craft District Indiegogo campaign. The original, back in April, had 1,371 backers and raised more than $67,000.


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Sam Elliott and Duluth’s Heavenly Air

Nov 24, 2020 No Comments

Famed actor Sam Elliott plays the role of Wild West, the new mayor of Quahog on the animated Fox-TV comedy The Family Guy. Adam West played himself as the previous mayor on the show; he died in 2017.

In season 19, episode 7, which aired on Sunday, lead character Peter Griffin mentions to Wild West that his brother Adam has “gone on to a better place.” Wild West quickly cuts in to infer the better place must be Duluth. He extends the thought with, “Beautiful country Duluth. The air moves into your nostrils like a welcome guest.”


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James G – “No Pressure”

Nov 19, 2020 No Comments

Here’s the latest from former Duluthian James Geisler, aka hip-hop artist JamesG.


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Ripped at the Anchor Bar in 2000

Nov 14, 2020 1 Comment

[Editor’s note: For this week’s essay we’ve once again pulled out a relic from the archive of Slim Goodbuzz, who served as Duluth’s “booze connoisseur” from 1999 to 2009. The Sultan of Sot documented his experience at the Anchor Bar in the Nov. 29, 2000 issue of the Ripsaw newspaper.]

At the northern edge of the United States lies the state of Wisconsin, which leads the nation in alcohol consumption. At the northern edge of Wisconsin lies the broken-down city of Superior, which features the famed Tower Avenue, a street lined with dozens upon dozens of cheap dives. And at the northern edge of Tower Avenue lies the Anchor Bar, the Queen Mother of all dives, a place that represents everything good in the world.

The Anchor Bar is the love of my life. The beer selection is extensive, the food is excellent and both are cheaper than hell. And though all appearances indicate that it is a bar for thugs, there are no thugs there; the tough women behind the bar ran them out years ago. Fortunately, they grudgingly tolerate the hooligans and drunks, such as myself, who remain. Decorated in early pigsty, the place is dark and greasy-smelling, and is populated by the kind of people who just want to drink beer and act like real humans.

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Keep Duluth Clean – Volunteers Needed!

Nov 10, 2020 No Comments

In an effort to Keep Duluth Clean, this initiative strives to promote community-motivated cleanup events and work to minimize illegal dumping, littering, and mishandling of Duluth’s ecosystem services. KDC is looking to recruit a committee of volunteers to work together to develop a strategic plan that fosters the growth of the initiative, increased awareness and education, and above all, Keeping Duluth Clean. If you are interested in becoming a committee member visit duluthmn.gov/kdc to apply.

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Stormy or Calm

Nov 07, 2020 1 Comment

She called me after dinner. “I think I need to go to Bemidji. Something is wrong with Charlie.”

Charlie was her son, a slender, emo-goth kid, like I was when I was his age, but with a gregarious desire to be liked. Committed to social justice — as most middle schoolers seem to be, lately — Charlie was attending a language camp. The camp would end the next morning, so leaving that night was ahead of schedule.

“Swing by my place on the way there, and I will ride with you,” I told her.

She drove the first leg of the trip, down Highway 2 through Proctor into Grand Rapids, where we pulled over for gas. She called the camp to get clarification about why Charlie needed to be picked up. Was he sick? Food poisoning? Running a temperature? No. He had said some words that meant he had to leave the camp; he could not spend the night.

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Monthly Grovel: November 2020

Nov 05, 2020 No Comments
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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge, forcing many events to “virtual” status, but there are a few in-person gatherings with varying levels of safety protocol in place. Proceed with caution and consult the PDD Calendar for the scoop on what’s happening today, tomorrow and far off into the dreamy future when we can spit on each other again.

Each month Perfect Duluth Day reaches out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account.

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