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True Grit
This is a movie review, of sorts, which I don’t normally do and don’t plan to do all that often except when I feel like it. Tuesday night for my birthday I decreed that we would see “True Grit,” the Coen Brothers adaptation of the Charles Portis novel which also beget the 1969 John Wayne…
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Must be Santa
A year old now but still worth a play. Iron Ranger uses accordion to reinterpret classic Christmas song. Also, bar fight. Related posts: No related posts.
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Porky Pig sings Blue Christmas
Sometimes the remake is better than the original. Porky Pig sings Blue Christmas. Merry (blue) Christmas! Related posts: No related posts.
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How does it feel, to be somewhat older than before?
The Wall Street Journal poses the question “Should Bob Dylan retire?” The Duluth native and Hibbing-raised musician is a favorite here as I help coordinate Dylan Days in Hibbing and have long been a fan of the man’s songwriting and songs, particularly his 1965-1975 catalog. This is not the first time we’ll be asking such…
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A great song keeps the Fitz alive
Today is the 35th anniversary of the sinking of the massive ore ship Edmund Fitzgerald in a terrible November storm on Lake Superior. This tragedy remains recent enough to affect the lives of some people still living in the Great Lakes region. Nevertheless, one gets the feeling that Gordon Lightfoot’s song about “The Wreck of…
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The gales of November are not kidding this time
TYWKIWDBI reports on the massive winds of yesterday’s storms in the middle of the country, including this NOAA graphic of waves on Lake Superior. Shipping companies pulled all the ore ships off the lake out of deference to the storied “Gales of November” made famous by sinking the legendary SS Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. Those…
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New live music series slated for venerable Range venue
Following the successful “Art in the Park” outdoor live music series this summer, the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm will be holding free indoor acoustic music shows starting this Thursday, Oct. 28. Seems like a good idea to me. Minnesota Discovery Center introduces Acoustic Café In a partnership with the Iron Range Original Music Association,…
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You want an Iron Range roller derby shirt. Trust me.
The Iron Range Maidens, our region’s first organized flat track roller derby team, has unveiled its new merchandise store. Players are selling the shirts, hats and coats directly and you can contact someone through the website. They are using the proceeds to cover the team’s expenses. If you decide to buy, try contacting “Butterscotch Bitch”…
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No more Tuffy Burgers
Tuffy’s Bar and Grill on First Avenue in Hibbing closed last night, according to reports I’ve heard around town. I called to confirm and there is no answer today during normal hours. I’ve heard the same talk from many different sources, so I’m going to lean toward believing that this subtly iconic Range luke warm-spot…
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The Minnesota Twins and the Meaning of Life
Growing up on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range through the 1980s and ’90s meant coming of age around an unremitting economic recession. However it also meant being a wide-eyed kid both times the Minnesota Twins won Major League Baseball’s World Series in 1987 and 1991. So in other words, we learned that the world sucked but…
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Obligatory #RandyMoss post, with fish
This photo of Randy Moss on a fishing trip has been making the rounds today. Very Minnesota. Welcome back to the Vikings, Randy. I know some people are happy about the likely trade for Moss from the Patriots today. Others are upset. But keep in mind that real Middle Ages vikings would not judge a…
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Octobrrrrr baseball in Minnesota
October baseball in Minnesota means something new this year. Instead of the pulsing hot Metrodome crowd, the new open air Target Field offers Twins fans and the visiting New York Yankees a blast of cold fall air from the upper Midwest. Welcome to Minnesota! The American League Divisional Series opens Wednesday evening with Francisco Liriano…
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(Fe)eeling good about this upcoming (Fe)st
The Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm is doing a big fall shindig to celebrate some of the popular local bands from the summer “Art in the Park” series. Anyone looking for some Sunday evening fun on the Iron Range should check out IronFest. See what they did there. Iron, with “fest.” My suggestion would have…
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Lyric Center for the Arts needs help
Unfortunately, this is the first of a couple “save this Iron Range arts and/or culture institution” posts I’ll be dropping this week. The Lyric Center for the Arts is the group restoring the old Lyric Opera House in downtown Virginia, Minnesota. They’ve opened the First Stage performing hall, where music, literary and visual arts events…
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Notable Range history, culture center names new CEO
Lisa Vesel, former communications official for the Hibbing hospital, was named the permanent CEO of the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm last Friday. She replaces Paul Dwyer who had been the interim CEO after the facility re-opened this year from its embarrassing shutdown last year. It’s been good to see the place open, fulfilling its…