Just A Peck 0043 // Homegrown, Spencer, GLAFA
Welcome to the latest issue of Just A Peck. I’m glad you’re here!
JOURNAL
This week was Homegrown! I made it out every night except the final Sunday and was able to catch full or partial sets for 29 bands—all either from Duluth or with Duluth connections. (I just missed seeing 30 because I couldn’t get into Cigarette Picnic at Wussow’s.) I saw so many friends and listened to so much great music in venues all over the Twin Ports. What an amazing week. Here are the acts I managed to see with links to their Field Guide entries. Even catching this many artists, there were still probably 150 more that I missed.
Spencer was home for part of this week for a class reunion, so he was able to join us for some of Homegrown, and we pulled together a quick family gathering. Corey, Alex, and Kelsie drove up from the Twin Cities, and Grandma and Grandpa drove up from Wisconsin so we could spend a day together.
Jody and Spencer got out for the year’s first paddle! It’s not the earliest we’ve ever gotten out, but pretty close.
I missed the Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival last week, but I approved of their sidewalk art.
I attend the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art’s open house every year. There are only a handful of ateliers like this in the entire world, and it makes me so proud that we have one right here on the hillside. The student and teacher work was incredible, like always.
I attended the Homegrown Marketplace which was primarily Homegrown bands selling their merch, but Tim Kaiser (see above) was selling some of his handbuilt electonic instruments. I bought this vintage populuxe-looking theremin.
WHAT I WATCHED THIS WEEK
WHAT I READ THIS WEEK
Finished:
In Progress:
- Babel, Kuang
- Gödel, Escher, Bach, Hofstadter
- Hollywood: The Oral History, Basinger, Wasson
MEMORIES
Ten Years Ago:
We attended our very first Homegrown and saw our awesome friends, Tom and Brandy, perform!
Kaylee was in her high school production of The Servant of Two Masters.
Fifteen Years Ago:
Grandma was teaching the kids to whittle.
QUICK LINKS
- Sharon McMahon's commencement speech for the class of 2026
- The Chipmunks' Mony Mony slowed to 16rpm
- Caspar Newbolt's top ten favorite movie posters
- Winners of the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026
- Discover children's books by age, grade, and reading level
- The choreography in this music video starting at 4:17 is so cool.
- A decade-by-decade tour of things that used to be affordable
- Aeris: Live 3D flight tracking for 9000+ airports
- WikiArquitectura: A huge online architecture encyclopedia
- Muted.io: Interactive music theory tools
- Lotte Reiniger's silhouette cut-outs for Cinderella
- The marked-up continuity script for Sally Potter's Orlando
MY FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The fact that you cannot do everything does not release you from the sacred work of doing something.
So go build lives that are worthy of the people who helped you get here.
Go make art. Build companies. Teach children. Defend clients. Heal bodies. Write books. Plant gardens. Run for office. Start families. Start over. Feed people. Make things. Fix things. Ask better questions. Tell fewer lies. Keep your heart open. Keep your mind awake. Keep your hands ready for the work that is yours to do. Practice joy in the face of incredible adversity.
Do not let anyone make you feel foolish for loving a world that is still worth saving."
-- Sharon McMahon
That’s it for this week. Stay safe, friends. Thanks for reading!