Just A Peck 0022 // Boubville, 100 Days, DSSO

12/7/25

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What I'm Excited About This Week
Quick Links
Journal
Memories.
My Favorite Quote of the Week

WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS WEEK

Boubville opens this week! If you’ve never experienced the annual art installation created by a collective of some of Duluth’s most brilliant underground artists, then ask a punk how to get there and what to expect.

Disney announced that, as part of Lucasfilm’s year-long 50th anniversary celebration in 2027, a newly restored version of the original theatrical release of Star Wars will play in theaters!!

On Saturday, the eight finalists for the Funniest Person in the Twin Ports Award will take the stage for their final competition, followed by a headlining performance from last year’s winner, Robert Lee!

The Boat Club’s production of A 1940s Radio Christmas Carol continues for its second week. Don’t miss this lovely cast telling a story that combines “drama and comedy, heartbreak and hope” (with music!). Get your tickets here!

Four Mile Portage, one of my favorite local bands, is gigging again! See them at Studio Cafe next Sunday morning!

JOURNAL

Jody and I played Tokaido (the new game we picked up in the Twin Cities a couple of weeks ago). It’s a lovely Japanese-themed game about a journey, where you earn points by stopping to enjoy the views, soaking in hot springs, trying new foods, and chatting with the people you meet along the way.

I finisheed my 100 Days of Biking Challenge this week. 100 consecutive days of riding my Peloton, for a total of 526 miles. I celebrated the 100th day by taking a 25 mile ride. I don’t watch much television, so a nice thing about all those hours on the Peloton (besides the cardiovascular benefits, of course) is that I finshed both seasons of Andor!

It’s sea smoke time again! Although it got cold a little too quickly for my comfort, it’s always magical to see the sea smoke. It’s otherworldly.

Our house repairs began in earnest this week, and then stopped almost immediately. The contractors opened up the wall and realized that the water damage (it’s the wall of the house that bears most of the brunt during gales) extended to significant structural damage. They temporarily sealed up the wall so they could add a few zeroes to the cost of the repair before continuing.

We went to Frozen at the Playhouse this week. It’s a pretty amazing spectacle, pulling off some effects that a theater our size shouldn’t be capable of. I hope you get a chance to see it. So many incredible artists are involved in bringing this to life.

I also got a selfie with Sven (who kept stealing the show).

On Saturday, we had dinner with our good friends Kevin and Karen, but neglected to take a picture. Then we fought Bentleyville traffic to make it to the DSSO Holiday Concert, which was lovely.

What I watched:

Certain Women (2016). Reichardt's adaptation of a set of Maile Meloy short stories. The loneliness and frustration of being a woman. Lily Gladstone, Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, Jared Harris, Montana, piles of sandstone, and riding a horse to get a sandwich.
Frankenstein (2025). GDT's adaptation with Oscar Isaac, Christoph Walz, Mia Goth, Charles Dance, and an impressive performance by Jacob Elordi as the monster. Gothic in all the ways GDT loves. Impressive production design.
25th Hour (2002). Spike Lee's movie made in the shadow of 9/11. A killer cast: Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox. Doyle the dog. The "Fuck You" monologue. The Hoffman double dolly shot. "This life came so close to never happening." "Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends." A masterpiece.
Sorry, Baby (2025). What a fantastic feature debut. Eva Victor is outstanding as a writer/director/performer. Where did she come from? Plus Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, and John Carroll Lynch. A bad thing happened. "I'm sorry, we only bought two hot dogs." "You crossed out smart and wrote 'tall'." "A yam with a mouth"
The Mastermind (2025). A new Kelly Reichardt movie is a reason to celebrate. For about half of the movie, I was thinking, "Oh, this is like Reichardt's version of Coen Brothers movie", then the second unmistakeably Reichardt half came along. Loved it. Some of Reichardt's awesome stable of performers, plus Bill Camp and Josh O'Conner who is so freaking good in everything.
Reflection in a Dead Diamond (2025). A meta-textual French spy movie pastiche. What's real, what's a dream, what's actually a scene in a film about a dream of a memory of a comic book panel of a....etc. Untra-sylish and absolutely bonkers.

What I’m reading:

Shadow Ticket, Pynchon
The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus

MEMORIES

Ten Years Ago:

Kaylee was in her first HCIS play: Anatomy of Grey

Twenty Years Ago:

Jody and I took the kids, along with my mom, on a trip to Disney world. Kaylee doesn’t remember much about this trip, but she was obsessed with the princesses. Spencer, Corey, and Alex loved the Mission: Space ride which was a giant centrifuge simulating the G-Forces of a rocket launch, but it made me ill for days.