Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Culturology 12-30: Tim Byrns' burlwood sculpture

by Travis Ryder
 
Tim Byrns finds chunks of recycled lumber, burlwood, and other items and transforms them into incredible shapes.  Justin Cook interviews Tim on Thursday's edition of Culturology.  Also, the culture calendar and This Week in Minnesota History.  Tune in select Thursdays at 8:10 and visit the Culturology page to find archived segments.

This week in Minnesota history:
Dec. 26, 1862 The federal government hangs thirty–eight Dakota men in Mankato in the wake of the U.S.–Dakota War.  It’s the largest mass execution in American history.
Dec. 30, 1884 The first white settler in the International Falls area, fur trader Alexander Baker, secures his land claim.
Jan. 1, 1893 Workers nail the final spike in the Great Northern Railroad, connecting St. Paul to the Pacific Ocean.
Roseau and Mahnomen Counties are established this week in 1894 and 1906, respectively.
Dec. 28, 1909 W. E. "Pussyfoot" Johnson, the federal liquor law enforcer on Indian reservations, leads a raid on the saloons of Park Rapids.  These establishments were illegally serving residents of White Earth Reservation.  Johnson and a trainload of U.S. marshals gather every bottle they can find and demolish them on Main Street.
In advance of the New Year’s holiday in 1957, Governor Orville Freeman announces that Minnesota will crack down on "drinking drivers." He urges sheriffs in the state to resist local pressures to reduce drunk driving charges to charges of careless driving.
On New Year’s Eve 1957, University of Minnesota president James L. Morrill announces that the university will expand westward across the Washington Avenue Bridge into a "blighted area" of Minneapolis. A key part of the plan is a new double-deck bridge.
Jan. 1, 1969 The Coast Guard closes Split Rock Lighthouse after fifty-nine years of service. It becomes a state park the following year.
Dec. 30, 1977 Legendary sports broadcaster Halsey Hall dies in his Minneapolis home at age seventy-nine. Known for his cigar-smoking, whiskey-drinking style, Hall was broadcaster of Twins games for many years and the first to use the phrase "holy cow" during a broadcast. He also coined the adjective "golden" to describe the University of Minnesota's sports teams.

The Culture Calendar includes:
Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm has the exhibits 'Iron Stories', through Jan. 2, and the veterans' exhibit 'Letters From Home', closing Jan. 16.
Iron Range Repertory Players present the dinner theater event 'Murder Rides Again', Thursday and Friday, Dec. 30 and 31, 6 p.m., at the Coates Hotel in Virginia. Reservations: 741-5577.
Bovey/Coleraine family New Year's Eve celebration at Longyear Park, Coleraine. Skating, sledding, hot chocolate & tube steaks 4-5 p.m., singalong, fireworks 6 p.m.
Northland Flavor preparation sessions, for artists seeking retail buyers at the Feb. 28 Duluth event.  Prep sessions Jan. 6 in Virginia 10 a.m. and Duluth 5:30 p.m. Preregister: carmenb@entrepreneurfund.org or 218-623-5738.

1 comment:

Gord said...

The idea of using proceeds from the Minnesota arts and culture fund for community radio features is a good one, and I support this effort.

However, we have sufficient variety among our "Real Good Words" in the Enlish language to describe these features. No need (IMHO) to make up labels like EXXON or THRIVENT or CULTUROLOGY.

Just name it the Culture Page on the Morning Show.

I'm still waiting for some Polkas and some Pretty Good Poems from Northern Poets.

-Gord, the Golden Gopher from Nordland Township