Random Posts

Bust Buy

Clearly the focus on getting every possible keyword into the headline resulted in a typo by the crack Fox 21 reporter, but let’s consider this a happy accident. Bust Buy would be a great name for a discount brassiere shop.

Eclipse viewing in Duluth

Any events happening in Duluth for the eclipse later this month? We have extended family who will be in town that day and are looking for a good viewing spot/party/whatever.

Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #3

More from that odd board game:

1. One of the westerly townsites which later became part of Duluth had an Ojibwe name which meant “the rock from which the people sprang.” Name that townsite (and if you know whether this is accurate, let me know).

2. What nationality were the founders of the Hunter’s Park area of Duluth?

Huge antique collection unearthed before building sale

Scott Davis, left, and antique dealer Andrea Blesener stand outside the historic E.F. Burg Hotel Supply store at 20 W. First Street. Davis has placed the 1896 building up for sale and Blesener is selling the huge antique collection stored inside.

A local woman is scrambling to organize and price a horde of antiques, including a massive mid-20th-century electronics collection, stored in a former downtown Duluth trophy shop before owners sell the historic property.

Antique dealer Andrea Blesener will hold the second in a series of estate sales at the E.F. Burg Hotel Supply building, 20 W. First St., beginning at 10 a.m. Aug. 4-6. The sale will include a variety of old and unusual items collected and stored by former building owner Hugh Morris, who saved everything from his two generations of ancestors.

Where in Duluth?

I still miss this place. It was the cheapest place in Duluth to look at the lake. The replacement building isn’t the same — it’s louder and colder and you can’t see the lake from anywhere except your car.

Where in Duluth was this joint with a cool view of the lake?

Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #2

I scored a box of Duluth Trivia cards at Savers.

Some of the questions include:

The first vessel to pass through the Duluth Ship Canal was named:

  • The Fero
  • The Ishpeming
  • The Handy

Ezra’s Bike Fund

So our friend Ezra had his bike stolen last week. I created a Go Fund Me page to help him replace it. He saved for a long time to buy that bike and it’s not possible for him to replace it on his own. Help out if you can. Thanks.

Einstürzende alt bauten!

Photo from the Facebooks by James Gittemeier.

Goodbye old building. Say hi for me to House of Donuts when you get to old-building heaven.

Pattison State Park workout area

Does anyone have any info about the workout area at Pattison State Park near the swings? I remember that it used to have a sign posted that showed how to use all the equipment but that sign is now gone. Anyone know any background about it or have a photo of the sign when it was still posted?

Human Fabric of Duluth

Trudy Vrieze has started a fascinating project documenting what it means to live in Duluth, who we are and why we are here. The Human Fabric of Duluth is a street-photography and storytelling project.

I Wonder

Long it’s been known the galaxy is a big place, but until 1922 it was thought the Milky Way was all there was. Then Edwin Hubble climbed Mount Wilson and had a look-see through the Hooker Telescope and realized those cloudy objects in the sky called “nebulae” were actually galaxies unto themselves. Later, a telescope named for Edwin himself beamed back the Deep Field images of a polkadot infinity. Ten thousand galaxies in a patch of sky one tenth the size of a full moon. Why weren’t people jumping up and down when we went from a hundred billion stars (no paltry sum) to a hundred billion visible galaxies, as far as the Hubble can see? From a distance you could mistake the Deep Field photos for a sky full of stars, but squint and see galaxy after galaxy shimmering in the void. When I notice one swirling down the drain of time, just like ours, I think, “hey — spiral galaxy — my people!”

Aldous Huxley considered the brain and nervous system a necessary reducing valve providing a “measly trickle of consciousness” shunted from “Mind at Large.” Necessary because you can’t go around immersed in Mind at Large while trying to pay the bills. So we float like croutons on the bottomless deeps, and notice what we can.

Nominees for Best New Restaurant Poll – 2017

It’s been more than a year since Perfect Duluth Day’s most recent “Perfect New Restaurant” poll. Northern Waters Restaurant was the overwhelming victor in 2016, with 67 percent of the vote.

Since then, a fresh crop of contenders has sprouted up to feed hungry Twin Ports residents. What makes a restaurant great? That’s totally subjective and will be determined by popular vote. Whether it’s a greasy spoon or an upscale eatery, each nominee is on equal footing.

We’ve compiled a list of new restaurants below. To qualify, a nominee simply has to serve food, have opened since February 2016 and be located within 10 miles of Duluth. This means eateries in Superior, Hermantown, Proctor or other area townships are eligible but those farther away (Two Harbors, Cloquet, etc.) don’t meet the criteria.

Found: FitBit on 13th Avenue East leaving Movies in the Park

I found a FitBit on 13th Avenue East on the night of Friday, July 7. I was leaving Movies in the Park at Leif Erikson Park, and since someone had been parked there earlier, I suspect you were as well.

If you think it’s yours, post your email address in the comments here and I’ll send you an email. Tell me about it – model, color, band style, band size, etc. and its yours.

No Relation of a Dream Can Convey the Dream-Sensation

I’ve had six recurring dreams, all at least 15-20 times apiece:

1
Started when I was about 13 and stopped before I left for college. I’m kneeling on the couch, with my elbows resting along the top of its back, looking out the picture window of Mom and Dad’s split-level house at 1427 48th Street NW in Rochester, MN. I can see the street, the small front yard, the driveway, and the sidewalk that parallels the front of the house and leads to the front door. It’s dark. Probably a Friday evening, because the scene involves groceries and that’s when Mom often brought them home. I watch her pull into the driveway, get out of the dark-blue 1983 Pontiac Phoenix LJ, wave and smile at me, open the hatchback, tuck a brown paper bag of groceries under her right arm, and leave the car open so my brother and I can unload the rest. She’s wearing a khaki trench coat and carrying a purse. This is when she often worked 60 or 70 hours a week in IBM administrative support. She’s about 33 years old. The sidewalk is just under the window, so as she walks toward the door and beams a smile up at me – Mom’s got quite a smile – the angle of her gaze should mean she sees the hunched humanoid-gargoyle-type creature leaning over the eave above the window. But she doesn’t. Maybe she can’t. Won’t? The sidewalk isn’t long – 15 of her short steps? – but it feels like she’s taking forever to reach the door. Even as I’m screaming, “Mom! Look! Mom! Mom!” and flailing toward the creature, which is leering and obviously preparing to hop from the roof onto her, she just keeps smiling at me and strolling. The creature looks something like a tall Green Goblin balled into a languid crouch. Its intention is to kill her. I wake up as it springs.

Happy 14th birthday to us

Today marks 14 years since Barrett Chase and Scott Lunt launched Perfect Duluth Day. Celebrate with us tonight at Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake from 5 to 7 p.m. There will be live music by Woodblind and free coleslaw.