Duluth Domestic Partnership Registry

I am trying to organize a group of follks to go down to City Hall on Friday and take advantage of the Domestic Partnership Registry.  Both same sex and opposite sex couples are encouraged to join us.  If this is of any interest to you please let me know.

DNTV Showcases Murder Victim’s Blood

In what is perhaps a new low for the Duluth News Tribune, the DNT’s website just posted its first-ever “DNTV Special Report” in which Executive Editor Rob Karwath basically reads the paper’s earlier story about last night’s murder in Duluth’s Central Hillside, apparently as an excuse to show what did not run in either the newspaper or on the website’s text version of the story: a photograph of the crime scene with large pools of the victim’s blood.

In the video, Karwath narrates as the photo appears not just once, but over and over again, interspersed with other photos from the crime scene. Apparently, it is unethical to print the victim’s name at this sensitive time for his friends and family. But it is perfectly OK to showcase photos of the blood that came out of his fatally damaged head.

In addition to the DNTV piece, which at least does not allow comments, there is the text story, which unfortunately has comments open. At the time of this posting, there are 43 comments, which vacillate between racist, asinine comments about the type of person who lives in Duluth’s Central Hillside, and commentary about the shocking disrespect which is allowed to run rampant in our hometown’s newspaper of record.

I ask this, openly of everyone involved with the DNT and the news media in general: Is this how you would have handled this story if the victim were one of your own loved ones? Do you actually think that any of this is ethical?

I’d also like to know what the PDD community thinks of this specific issue. People bitch about the DNT on this site frequently, and even sometimes unfairly. But on this specific topic, I’d like to know what people think.

Personally, I think it’s disgusting. I would link to the video for you, but that would only give them exactly what they are transparently after.

Dear FYI

leter

To the Mr. or Miss. who put this note on my car window Thursday night / Friday morning … you’ve got the wrong VW Golf.

Man this note leaves a lot of questions…

Lake Superior Magazine’s 30th Anniversary Open House

Lake Superior Port Cities Inc., publishers of Lake Superior Magazine, will host an Open House on July 16 to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Refreshments will be served during the Open House from 3 to 7 p.m. in the magazine offices at 310 E. Superior St.

There will be drawings for door prizes and those who attend can enter the “Subscription-a-Day” drawings that will continue through August 30. There will also be a Grand Prize drawing, valued at more than $300, awarded on August 31.

The Commemorative Issue of Lake Superior Magazine, which includes a special fold-out poster of a photo by Jay Steinke, will be available at the event and on newsstands shortly afterward.

Those who can’t attend the Open House, but would like to enter the drawings, may drop in any time before the end of August.

Ninety percent of all magazine startups do not survive their first decade, so Lake Superior Magazine plans more than a month’s worth of celebrating . . . that makes it a good time to drop by the office and share the excitement.

For more information, call 888-BIG-LAKE (888-244-5253) or log on to www.lakesuperior.com.

Free talk to make you smarter

07505e46-3c4e-4b55-bee5-2242f4106ab4-TheGlobe

Tuesday, July 14
12 noon

Brown Bag Lunch Lecture with representatives from the Marshall Alworth Planetarium

FREE

Slip away from work and learn a thing or two about the universe. Join staff from the Alworth Planetarium as they guide you through an exploration of your planetary neighborhood.

Friendly Texas hold ’em game?

I’m looking for a leisurely afternoon or evening, weekly or monthly, Texas hold ’em game in the Duluth area. I love the game.

sidewayseight @ charter.net

Perfect 40-or-so-miles-from-Duluth Day

Brule

First time canoeing on the Brule River. Stones Bridge landing to Highway 2.

Green Collar Duluth

Three recent observations on the “greening of Duluth” Or green positioning, anyway.

Note: Over the last couple of days I have realized that the things we do and say online really matter, even if it’s just meant as a fun tirade or rant, the tone can be very easily misinterpreted and send a distorted message. I think that happened with this post. I have taken out almost all of my own notes and commentary as they obviously missed the mark and were possibly misleading. Plus, all along, even as I was planning this, I really wanted the focus on the images, anyway. Words got in the way.

U R Invited: First Hand Experiences, A Retrospective

During the month of July, it has become my good fortune to be able to share my art with a wider audience. The venue is The Venue @ Mohaupt, which includes offices and a nice large room for art openings and other special events. Thanks to the invitation of Martin Sawinksi (3Five Designs), who is a strong supporter of the creative arts in Duluth, more that 130 original pieces are now installed.

The paintings, drawings and mixed media pieces will be at 2024 West Superior Street thru the end of July. A special Open House will be held on Tuesday, July 21, from 6 – 9 pm and all lovers of the arts are welcome.

First Hand Experiences is primarily a presentation of recent paintings and drawings in the modernist style, but includes a variety of pieces from my early development. My first art classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art in my early elementary school years established patterns of observation that have remained with me to this day. The show is both fun and, at times I hope, thought provoking.

For more info, visit http://www.facebook.com/thevenueduluth?ref=ts

Since much of my work has been created for the purpose of illustrating my blog, you might want to check that out, too, and catch a glimpse of a few things that are currently hanging at The Venue.

Tim Kaiser interview on KSTP

Tim, good interview with Jason Davis “On the Road.”

Full Story here:
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1022431.shtml?cat=206

Toxic Monster Mash at the Red Star 7/18

Get your monster on and support Nukewatch with DJ Focus. 10pm. Come as your favorite mutant or biologist. The bar is mixing up glowing martinis, and we’ll have a toxic barrel photo booth and prizes for most creative, most realistic and most uncomfortable costumes. Freewill donations at the door will help Nukewatch raise hell about the military waste in Lake Superior.

Ipod/Itunes Question

My girlfriend just got back from traveling around Guatemala. I’m really glad to have her back and all, but it seems that while she was there, she dropped my ipod into a limestone pool and fried it. However, like a great girlfriend, she bought me a brand spanking new 120g Ipod when she returned home. I suggested that we share the Ipod, since my old Powerbook only has 80g of memory as it is and we both have a lot of music.

Here’s the problem, pt. 1: she has a PC and I have a Mac. This means we can only have the Ipod hooked up to one of our computers. My solution was to have all of her music store on an external hard drive that we could connect to my laptop, but I’m not sure if Itunes recognizes those songs and allows them to be put onto an Ipod without adding them to your library and, thus, my Powerbook’s hard drive.

Is there some simple solution that I am over looking here (besides getting a laptop with a larger hard drive, which isn’t all that simple)?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Support Live Music – Eric Sardinas @ Bev’s 7/12/09

Because you don’t have anything better to do on a Sunday night at 7pm.  $12 cover.   And also because Bev needs YOU.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkOg5Cv0wLI&feature=related

Been a Voyageur???

Myself, another father, and 4 kids are planning a trip to Voyageurs National Park in early August. Any advice on entry point, camp sites, places of interest, etc. would be appreciated.

Olfactory Observations

I took a walk through downtown Duluth yesterday around 5am and was struck by the ambient smells that a lot of buildings give off when there are no competing smells coming from cars, people, etc.

  • The Kozy Bar & Apartments smells like stale booze. This should surprise no one.
  • Pizza Lucé smells like stale cigarettes. This isn’t exactly surprising, but disappointing. You want it to smell like their delicious pizza. It’s hard to say which smells worse — the Kozy or Lucé. I guess that’s open to interpretation.
  • Angela’s Bella Flora is the best-smelling building in the downtown area.