Top 10 Blog Posts of 2020 at Ennyman's Territory

Well, here we are, finishing off another year. With the end in view, it's often a good time to look back over our shoulder to see what has happened before saying a last goodbye. 

What follows are my Top 10 blog posts from 2020, a year like no other that most of us have experienced. It may not have been the worst year in human history, but it has certainly been an unsettling year for most, especially those who lost a loved one this year.

On January 1 my daughter Christina had the first NYTimes crossword puzzle of the new decade. That was a pretty exciting start to the year for us. (One of her puzzles will be appearing January 5 in 2021, fwiw.)  

Most of us probably never heard of Zoom at the beginning of the year. By April all of us were aware of this company that helped isolated people connect. If you bought stock in the company in the first quarter, your investment would have increased over 500%. 

The hardest hit businesses were those in the travel and tourism industries. Duluth, being a tourist town, has taken a financial hit this year, as have hotels, restaurants, airlines and others in the hospitality sector. 110,000 restaurants have closed permanently or long term as a result of the restrictions implemented after the pandemic arrived. 

Add to this the racial tensions, triggered by the George Floyd incident and amplified by social media, and I suspect there are a lot of people eager to turn the page. 

The divisive manner in which  these and other issues have been addressed is almost more unsettling than the events themselves. It's probably a fantasy to hope for leadership that will seek bi-partisan solutions by means of honest and open dialogue and transparent decision making. The Machiavellian nature of our two-party system is clearly not serving the best interest of the masses.

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That being said.... here are the  top blog posts of 2020 according to page views.  If you've been a regular reader these past 14 years, thank you. Did you have a favorite E.T. blog post from 2020 that isn't here? Feel free to share in the comments.

EdNote: Each title below is hotlinked to the original story. Enjoy.

#10
Midnight in Chernobyl: Adam Higginbothm's Explosive Story About What Really Happened

#9

The Ten Principles of the Georgia Guidestones, America's Strangest Monument

#8

Dylan Indeed Contains Multitudes

#7

Duluth Does Clapton: Sacred Heart Kicks Off 2020 with a Bang

#6

Dylan and Gates (Not Ol' Bill)

#5

The Bob Dylan Archives of Tony Glover to be Up for Auction Beginning November 12

#4

Packers Bobby Dillon Elected to Hall of Fame Has Surprising Connection to Bob Dylan Besides the Name

#3

Frank Zappa Explains Why the 60s Music Scene Scene Was Such a Kick

 

#2

That Thin Wild Mercury Sound by Daryl Sanders Turns Readers into Blonde On Blonde Insiders

#1

Is This Something That Was On Dylan's Mind When He Wrote High Water (For Charley Patton)?

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Memes from the Past Several Months

A few items I ran across this year,
many of which you'd have never dreamed of before 2020.

Download and share

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Disclaimer at bottom of page.

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The quote here is discussed at Metabunk.com and the 

current status is uncertain as to whether these were his words.

You can see the discussion here. Even if not attributed to him,

it does have a certain ring of veracity to it. 

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What I like about this one is how much the artwork here reminds me
of Dylan's new album, Rough & Rowdy Ways.

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Disclaimer: I do not know if the Bill Gates tweet is real or faked. Just sharing the kinds of things that have been showing up on social media in this most unusual period in our history.

Important Dates in MLB Baseball History for August

I read this baseball tell-all when it came out
in 1970.

During the course of my lifetime baseball has experienced more than a few disruptions. In 1972 fans missed 86 games because of a players' strike. I was in college preoccupied with other things and pretty much didn't miss it. I know that many serious fans were more than a little perturbed.

Though there were work stoppages in 1973, '76 and '80, no regular season games were affected. But in 1981 713 games were not payed due to yet another strike. In 1985 and '90 there was a strike and a lockout, but no regular season games interfered with. But in 1994 the entire post-season was lost, including the World Series, due to a strike. I think this was turned a lot of people off.

Despite these player vs. management conflicts and numerous substance abuse scandals, there is still a large swath of fans who love the game, its history and statistics and drama.

Sadly, we've been interrupted yet again. Empty stadiums and sports channels trying to fill the void by re-playing great moments from the past don't seem to cut it.

At last MLB has announced 60 game schedule in which teams will play rivals from their own division and games against the corresponding National League division. I'm not sure how the playoffs will happen, since it appears the primary aim is to avoid airports. (I may be wrong, but am speculating.)

Nevertheless, for the sake of nostalgia...  let's look backward at some forgotten dates from the month of August, courtesy Robert Lookup.

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IMPORTANT DATES -- AUGUST 

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August 4, 1982
Joel Youngblood becomes the only Major League player to get hits for different teams in different cities on the same day. He got a hit for the Mets in Chicago (a game-winning RBI) and was traded to the Expos. That night he got a hit in Philadelphia against the Phillies.

Mark McGwire hits another homer. (Photo: Rick Dikeman)

August 5, 1999
Mark McGwire becomes the sixteenth member of the 500 home run club, hitting two home runs -- 500 and 501 -- in a loss to San Diego.

August 6, 1961
Roger Maris played both ends of a double header and never had one fielding chance in right field. The ball never came near him.

August 6, 2001
Cleveland ties Major League record and becomes first team in 76 years to overcome a 12 run deficit to win, defeating the Mariners in 11 innings. (4 hours and 11 minutes.)

August 13, 1906
Jack Taylor of the Cards is knocked out of the box after 188 starts with complete games.

August 16, 1948
George Herman "Babe" Ruth passes away, age 53.

August 17, 1933
Lou Gehrig plays 1,308th straight game to break Everett Scott's record of 1307 straight games.

August 18, 1921
At age 34, Ty Cobb becomes the youngest player in Major League history to reach 3000 hits.

August 19, 1951
Eddie Gardel, a midget who played for the St. Louis Browns, appears just once in his entire career, batting against Detroit's Bob Cain, and walked. The strike zone was too small.

August 20, 1908
On this day Al Lopez was born in 1908 to Spanish-American parents in Tampa, Florida. After breaking into the big leagues at age 20 as a catcher, he played for several teams till finishing his career with Cleveland. Lopez went on to become manager of the Cleveland Indians for six years beginning in 1951, a period when the Indians were at the top of their game, including the last time the Tribe reached the World Series (1954).

August 21, 1931
Babe Ruth hits 600th home run as the Yankees beat the Browns 11-7.

August 21, 1883
The Providence Grays beat the Phillies 28-0, the most lopsided shutout in baseball history.

August 22, 1999
Mark McGwire hits his 50th home run, making him the first Major League player to hit fifty homers in four consecutive seasons.

August 31, 1990
The Griffeys make Major League history, leading Seattle to a 5-2 victory over Kansas City. The first father & son to play together in the big leagues.

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"I have never known a day when I didn't learn something new about this game."
--Connie Mack

"It's gonna be a weird season."
--Enny Mann

Related Link
John Updike's poem on Baseball

Twin Ports Arts Gossip and a Plug for Zenith Bookstore

Zenith Bookstore, Central Avenue

This is an off-the-beaten-path blog post, a catch-all of miscellaneous notes from the local scene.

THE TWEED
As most in the Duluth art scene know, Tweed Museum of Art Director Ken Bloom stepped down and left a vacancy there. As of his retirement party in June, there was no word of any immediate prospects to fill the position. More recently, word passed through the breeze that a replacement has been lined up, an announcement coming soon. I've heard that she's going to be quite excellent. If I'm not mistaken we'll learn more within the next two weeks.

UMD SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
The holidays were painful for some this year. A decision had been reached in late autumn to merge the School of Fine Arts with the College of Liberal Arts. Dozens of jobs are being cut and even those who were not cut are heartbroken over the friends who are being forced to move on. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, jazz studies is "dropping from a major to a concentration, and the masters in English program won’t accept new students for two years. Early-childhood studies will be suspended and relaunched in the future."

Evidently declining enrollments are the culprit. UMD has nearly 4000 fewer students than when my children were looking at colleges. Rising tuition costs have no doubt a been contributing factor to the drop in enrollment.

In its most basic form, a college education is a product. Determining how to price a product is one of the challenges every manufacturer wrestles with. Price, in theory, should correspond to value. Does the drop in enrollment suggest that a college education is no longer a no-brainer?

It's a weird time for young people who have grown up receiving mixed messages. On the one hand, they're told that without a college education they will be left poorer and in society's lower tier. On the other hand, they keep hearing about the burden of debt they will be forced to carry if they do choose college. It's a tough decision point.

Alice Cooper's song Eighteen comes to mind here. "I'm eighteen, and I don't know what I want."

THE HISTORIC DULUTH DEPOT
Word on the street is that Oneida, the company that has been managing the Depot these many years, is now yielding control to another company that will manage the property that houses the Train Museum, Duluth Art Institute, St. Louis County Historical Society, the Underground, Playhouse offices and more. It's my understanding that the exorbitant fees for experiencing the exhibits here will soon be significantly cut, giving more people access to the WWII Museum and other collections.

This is hearsay, and I have as yet not been able to find a confirmation.

DAI MEMBER SHOW
For many years the Member Show has taken place the third week of January. This year the Opening Reception is slated for Thursday, February 6, 5 - 8 PM and will be on view through March 1, 2020 in the Great Hall. All Art Institute Members are invited to contribute one new piece that has been created in the year 2019. Make sure your membership fees are up-to-date.

This same evening will be the opening for Laura Andrews & Paula Gudmundson's Integrated Vision in the George Morrison Gallery on the Fourth Floor. Details here.

Do you like books but want to support our local alternatives to Amazon?
I picked up thie FREE Indie Bookstore Roadmap yesterday at Zenith Bookstore.
Thank you, Bob and Angel for planting your store in our community.

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You can see The Bookstore at Fitgers here as well. Zenith and Fitgers are, not
adjacent to one another, nor is Sweet Peas in Two Harbors a short hike away,
though each June thousands of runners have traipsed this path from there past
Fitgers. I'm guess you can find this free map at any of the stories you see here.

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I'm going to call this a wrap. It's the first Saturday of 2020.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.