Open Thread – Crabby
Yes, it’s dark during winter. Yes, it’s really cold. No, you can’t survive without studded snow tires. Yes, it’s a 14 hour travel day to the east coast.
BUT
There are so many things to be grateful for…
And yes, I had an awesome Mother’s Day dinner!
AKM so missed mothers day but here is a spring flower for your reign. Thank you.
Well, I just checked Amazon and my order finally says SHIPPED. They won’t allow the kindle book in this part of Europe due to copyright reasons, so I’m glad I didn’t buy the kindle.
I can’t wait to hunker down with the book. 🙂
I think I will be off seafood for awhile. I’m not interested in the stuff basted in petroleum, and the rest? Well, let’s just say that I prefer to not glow in the dark. Maybe the East Coast can get better stuff.
Mother’s day. In a sense it is an odd kind of celebration.Giving birth is not risk free. Moreover it entails a long tern responsibility. A committment of 18 to 20 years. Often even more.
Also consider for a moment, that this celebration to those of us whose mothers are deceased is a reminder of their deaths.
But most significantly I think we need to see the context of all this in a broader way. The possibility of motherhood has been transformed into a political issue. A small minority of radical evangelical christian fanatics are doing their damnedst best to criminalize any woman’s decision about whether or not to remain in the thrall of brute nature, or take advantage of modern science and plan their lives differently, according to some simple principle of means versus needs.
What the “choose life” gamesters do not at all acknowledge is that life is harsh and cruel for the vast majority of people who are lucky enough to be born into it. There are more than a billion people in the world today who do not have enough to eat. To those who would demolish the very effective and intelligent system of planning whether or not to become a parent, no amount of suffering, deprivation or tribulation is of any consequence as against their absurd claim that life is sacred. They don’t hesitate at all when sending fully sentient, fraught with potential young people into the shadow of violent death. They care not at all for the slow death of starvation.
So what actually defines motherhood and how should we celebrate this thing?
We should celebrate the courage of those who choose to give birth, provided only that hey had the option to avoid it. And we should consider deeply whether or not it is wise to follow only our biological imperitives, when it is screamingly obvious that unless we constrain our population growth, we wll destroy the ecosystem upon which we depend. Which is worse?
ATTENTION mudpuppies! Two more days to comment on the proposed open pit coal mine in Mat-Su:
http://foms.net/archives/1358
Please, please take action before it’s too late!
my post was a bumpersticker i saw for sale.
If the environment was a bank,it would have been saved already.
Wow, I wish I’d read your post before I posted my link — it would have been a reply.
OzMud, here is a link from Huffpo on that piece.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/akmuckraker/the-lyin-the-witch-and-th_b_138035.html
Links back to Mudflats here.
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/10/26/the-lyin-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-an-alaskan-tale/
dang! you are good Irishgirl.
Yes, I am. 😉
It wasn’t hard. That was a great piece and I reckoned that it was also posted on Huffpo. So I just typed the title into the Huffpo search engine and Voila!!!
On another note, the BOTS are not happy with Bristol. There is some serious infighting going on. 🙂
What isn’t funny is the fact that a child will once again be used and abused by the Palins. If Bristol was on her own, then what she does is her own business. But to take a two year old into a reality tv show with a number of males that the child may bond with, and then up and leave, is bordering on child abuse.
Happy Mother’s Day everyone!
I have a request 🙂 Back in October of 2008 AKM wrote the most delightful piece featuring a Palinized version of a fairytale called “The Lyin’, the Witch and The Wardrobe”.
I’ve been wanting to send a link to this along to Wickersham’s Conscience as he’d been searching for the perfect Palin metaphor – and Jeanne already wrote it, under this title.
The problem is, I cannot locate it in the archives. The months for 2008 have September and November but no October (and even then November file has only one entry).
I have a copy of this wonderful story on my computer but am hesitant to send it in lieu of a link as it’s not my writing – If anyone has a link or knows where it might be in the archives I would really appreciate sharing – or if someone at The Mudflats okayed my sending it off to WC that would be good too also 🙂
Thanks!
Oz
Oz, I would go ahead and copy/paste it and send it. As long as you give proper attribution it is basically okay and if no original links exist, well then.
Just saw that Bristol will be having a reality show filmed in LA –
There are just too many television channels. Next Willow, Piper and Track will have their own fake reality shows. Why don’t these kids just get educated? Their parents can certainly afford it. One of the really obnoxious features about Bristol’s planned series is that she will be working for a “small charity in need.” That girl just oozes kindness.
What charity is it? They won’t be getting a plugged nickel from me.
My favorite thing about reality shows is that I don’t have to watch them.
the rich irony: Koch/Fox can dish it out. Koch can’t take it.
“Lawsuit against Koch Industries press release parody dismissed”
“A lawsuit against a group of anonymous environmentalists who created a satirical press release claiming that Koch Industries would help fight climate change was dismissed Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Dale A. Kimball.” snip
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/09/lawsuit-against-koch-industries-press-release-parody-dismissed/
Happy dance, go Michigan!
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/09/portman-michigan-walkout/
“Over 100 newly-minted lawyers walked out of their own graduation at the University of Michigan Law School on Saturday to protest the ceremony’s commencement speaker, anti-gay Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH). As Andrew Selbst, one of the student organizers of the walkout, explains, Portman’s chilly reception is merely the latest sign that the senator’s opposition to marriage equality and other basic human rights no longer has a place is American society:
“The walkout was a statement to a broader audience – America. I think this whole episode fits within the thesis of Minnesota Law Professor Dale Carpenter’s recent New York Times Op-Ed about King & Spaulding’s withdrawal from defending DOMA: The legal profession has simply moved past the point where LGBT rights are just another political issue, instead recognizing that discriminating against any group of people based on who they are is simply unacceptable in today’s society. This walkout, like the Op-Ed, like the Justice Department’s refusal to defend DOMA, is another data point for this observation. Here, even more specifically, we were saying that the next generation of lawyers, this is not even a debatable issue.”……………..
Fish, yes- seafood, no… unless an Epi-pen, EMT and/or an ambulance is standing by. Not a good allergy to have.
For those who suddenly got a hankerin’ for seafood, the first link is for one of the best places for ordering Alaska Seafood for shipment. Their website will make you awfully hungry! For those who like the 4 legged Alaska critters you can order parts of them from the second website.
https://www.10thandmseafoods.com/
http://www.indianvalleymeats.com/
Granted, I missed a couple of posts, so if someone has already pointed this out, never mind.
But I just noticed it – and I am so very tired of the Palin family that I could weep.
Now comes Bristol this fall with her very own reality show. Yikes, will this tragic saga never end?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/09/bristol-palin-reality-show_n_859487.html
You’ve got to wonder if Willow and Piper are considering following their sister’s successful teen pregnancy.
Isn’t pairing Bristol and “reality” an oxymoron? I bet Mz. B will help the “small charity in need” only until her show gets canceled; any takers? 😉
Oh, dear – do those 2 guys know what they are getting into? Is the “Nanny” coming to watch Tripp or will they be staying in AZ? Will Bristol’s current boyfriend be welcome to come and go?
By the way, I keep hearing there is a Nanny. Is there? Has anyone seen a picture? Is there a Nanny for Trig? With the Palin’s love of the camera, seem funny I’ve never seen a picture. Come to think of it, I hven’t seen Trig lately, either.
I hope by the end of the month the Palins will be exposed for the grifters that they are and a stop will be put to all this nonsense.
I agree. I am so looking forward to all the great reads coming out.
Sadly, the Republican party that enabled a fraud such as Palin to reach heights much too high for her limited intellect is still enabling the fringe in their party to increase their numbers. Here’s a good read about how the GOP isn’t at all grand anymore:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-08/republicans-liability-on-the-fringe-birthers-purists-threaten-2012/
It is a good read. Thanks for the link.
It’s much like the drunk, beer-swilling brother-in-law showing up at the banker’s daughter’s wedding.
Wall Street has been donating money like crazy to the GOP – I’ll bet they just lo-o-ove being lumped with whackadoodle trailer trash. “Filthy peasants!” “But, Sire, we need their votes.”
This is getting more fun to watch by the minute.
Here’s what I mean – hedge fund managers switching their contributions to the GOP:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703461504576231121265117538.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
The graph tells the story.
I thought she moved to AZ? Now it’s LA?
Bristol will make watching paint dry seem exciting!
Is Bristol gonna dish dirt on her plastic surgery? Her face looks to have had serious work done on it,near as I can tell from before and after pictures.
Hey! I have not been here in awhile, well I read, but don’t comment. Just got message that help needed in San Diego. That’s where I am. I messaged Memphis for details. I’m ready to do whatever needed.
SJP
Got a hold of Memphis.
Power of the Flats.
oh. thank heavens! don’t think for a moment you have not been missed Seagull and you are very much needed.
(((SJP))). You are a star!
Thanks friends! And thanks to Bear Woman for alerting me. I will report back. I spoke to him & will go visit tomorrow afternoon.
excellent and thanks Seagull.
and kudos to bear woman.
It’s not an alien…it’s an aardvark:
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/05/face-1.html
New poll shows that the less education a republican has the more likely they are to support Palin.
http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/GOP-class-divide-Palin-vs-Romney-1371648.php
ah, some nice crab…
sweet !
Mother’s Day, for me, was spent painting. My favorite task. I’ve got some pretty hot paint brushes and rollers. Purchased at a garage sale several years ago. Old style. Wooden. Well kept, rarely used. Additionally, as I advance in motherhood and continue to get a PFD, paint sprayers is my motherly addiction. I’ve a few paint sprayers.
So with the windows open and some blusey rock n roll filling the air, I painted the ceilings in 3 rooms. My bedroom is a blue & pale pink, with linear clouds, at dusk skyscape. My daughters room is a blue & buttery yellow, with sunburst, at sunrise skyscape. Lastly, the ceiling way up above the stairwell has some glow in the dark trim details. I’m attracted to glow-in-the-dark paint.
Mother’s day was nice. One of them delicious days to feast upon for the rest of the year.
Glad you enjoyed it Tallimat! It adds such joy to a day when we can do what we love. Me, I am happy that the Lord made us all different, with different skills, and different likes and dislikes.
When, oh when will men be treated equally to women?
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2011/0509/Gender-inequality-costs-Asia-47-billion-annually
WOW! Have you heard this? I was so envious when some of you said they had received a notice from Amazon that your copy of “The Lies of Sarah Palin” had been shipped. I checked my account and found out that since I ordered AKM’s book and selected they be shipped at the same time, I wouldn’t received it until the 24th. Bummer, except I get free shipping.
Now here’s the WOW! part. Seems a book that will be released on the 17th, by a fellow named Corsi and has the name “Where’s the Birth Certificate?” involves 3 years of research. He has lots of creds, like NY Times Best Seller Author, Harvard grad, etc. Can you imagine how he felt the day that Obama’s birth certificate was released? At first I felt sorry for him, then I said “NAH!’
I haven’t heard anyone comment on this. Have any Mudpups?
I hadn’t heard about the birther book. I’m sure that those committed to this lunacy will buy their copy so that they can attempt to prove to everyone that they are not as crazy as undoubtedly they really are..
If it’s the Corsi guy I’m thinking of ( Jerry ? ) , he does a lot of interviews on the late night show, Coast to Coast AM. He does NOT like President Obama, that’s for sure. He’s been going on about that certificate for years. Coast to Coast most likely did an interview with him after the certficate release. Might be on YouTube. There’s no way he’s going to accept that it’s legit. He’s an intense one !
Right you are, Buffalogal! Seems he was mixed up in the Swiftboat/John Kerry thing, too!
According to something I read, he has already sold 150,000, and is either #1,2 or 3 on different categories on Amazon.
Somewhere it was mentioned that he might have been Trump’s “investigative source”. Maybe that’s why The Donald wouldn’t give a name – waiting until the book came out. He sounds like not only a nut case, but a mean one, at that. He’s already published 2 anti-Obama books, one saying he is unfit to lead, and then the birther thing. He hasn’t had a good couple of weeks! Hooray for our side!
Oh he’s a treat, this Corsi guy. One night he was being interviewed by one of the more balanced, logical hosts of Coast to Coast AM and the guy was just not buying in to Corsi’s “America is headed for destruction” hysteria and called him on it. Corsi blew a gasket. I was half asleep and it woke me right up. Corsi seems to be accustom to people hanging on his every word and did not care for an interviewer to dare question him. Quite tightly wound ! He’s a favorite of the conspiracy crowd.
Mind you, I’m always open to a good conspiracy theory and wll listen to all of the facts and other info before coming to an opinion. I even have some doozy theories of my own. And actually, there have been moments that he’s made me think twice about something. But , for the most part, he’s a bit much for my liking. ( I would have loved being a fly on the wall the day the long form was released. ha! )
Looked up his web site – too kooky. It was interesting to note that once Obama’s BC had been released, his book, although not supposed to be released until the 17th, was made available through his web site.
Yes, he is an “investigative reporter” and he worked for World Net Daily.
Bulfalo Gal! There a new autobiography out called, “Buffalo Gal: Growing Up in Buffalo.” That’s not you, is it? You didn’t trademark your name like Sarah?
http://www.laurapedersenbooks.com/
LB – what a great find! I publish a local community news site and am planning to add a Buffalo / Western New York book section . I’ll def. be contacting this woman. Maybe I can get a review copy. thanks for that !
And I SHOULD trademark my name. I recvd an email at my publishing acct the other day from a Buffalogal and I became very much confused. Had I taken to writing to my business self from my blogger world identity ?? It just won’t do for people to be taking my name and confusing me with it.
‘He has lots of creds, like NY Times Best Seller Author’
I don’t mean to be a party pooper or anything, but couldn’t one argue that this particular ‘cred’ has been tarnished? Remember how my Lady Lipstick on a … climbed that chart? 😉
Vyccan – You are no party pooper, you’re right! You should visit his site, all sorts of BC’s shown with “proof” that the latest is bogus, and HI detectives chiming in. Google Jerome Corsi, and be prepared to spend some time!
In truth, Tigerwine, I decided a while back to give my blood pressure a break and at the same time NOT give these guys the possible benefit of an extra click. Now I only visit positive sites, though sometimes I get caught following a link that leads somewhere toxic. When that happens I quickly shift into reverse. This has been a great action plan for me. 🙂
Just an FYI for the general populace, a very well read author I happen to know pointed out to me that selling more than 10,000 copies of a book will get you on the best seller list.
Let’s see how does that works out, 10,000/300,000,000 = 0.0003%.
You can get his latest book for about 12 bucks,I looked it up and normally would cost around 25 bucks.
If you need a good laugh and a source for “right-thinking American” bumperstickers give this site a try-www.evolvefish.com/fish/product 1996html. Click on stickers and have mucho funno on a Monday. I was looking for an American source for burkas and found much more.
Happy Monday !
Woke to a gorgeous spring morning aaaaaand – A Bobcat dirt digging thingy on our front lawn , two big gas company trucks parked out front and many large men with tool belts and jack hammers circling around my house saying things like, ” well , we can go in through this side but we’re still going to have to dig through the driveway “.
Seems we had a bit of a gas leak happening. When I let some of the burly men in to the basement I asked if it was going to be a big deal and they replied, ” aw naaaw – nothing to worry about. ” An hour later I have big mounds of dirt piled up next to really big holes in what used to be my really small lawn.
A bunch of guys getting to a leaking gas line by crashing through concrete with jack hammers is nothing to worry about, right ??
Have a great day , All !
wow. hope it gets resolved sooner than later!
I don’t know about that . The way they’re going at it out there, getting resolved sooner might end up bringing about a scenario that includes gobbits of Buffalogal raining from the sky!
Ask them please not to smoke. If you have a gas leak,the smell should warn you. Natural gas has no odor,so the gas companies put the smell of sulfur or rotting meat in the lines to locate leaks. Better than using a cigarette to locate leak. Maybe now is a good time to head for your Summer home.
Actually Mike that would be the smell of rotten eggs, sulfer dioxide. If you can smell it the atmosphere is getting close to explosive. You are quite right that using a burning indicator is not the right way to detect the presence of an explosive gas.
Had my entire front yard torn up last year for a gas leak. Turns out the pipe mostly consisted of rusted through metal and a “tunnel” through the soil. It was good to get it taken care of, but we had a plywood plank over a ditch right in from of the door for a couple of days. They put it all back together and the gardener reseeded the lawn.
this is not good Bufgal.
” well , we can go in through this side but we’re still going to have to dig through the driveway “.
oh. my. goodness.. on the other hand try to look on the bright side. oh wait.
Yikes! Stay safe, neighbor!
Good Morning, AKM, I have a question, or two, for you. For those of us out-of-country mudpups who would be awfully proud to have YOUR signature in OUR copy of YOUR* book, what is the decision regarding pre-signed copies of Blind Allegiance? We earlier talked about the idea of your signing a bunch and leaving them with the publisher to be ordered by mudflats ‘code’ – how is that idea (or any related idea) progressing?
[* No intent to slight the other authors, but I don’t ‘know’ THEM. They are welcome to sign along with you, if that would make the signature possibility (legally?) easier to accomplish. I know zilch about legalities. All I know is that I have always appreciated your writing here, and would be ‘tickled pink’ to have a signed work of yours.]
I will definitely get back to everyone on that. Sorry I don’t have an answer yet!
Thanks for responding. 🙂
When you do post it, make sure it stands out so we don’t miss it. Thanks, in advance.
yes indeed.
I would love to have a signed copy, too. Please strongly consider a way for us “out of AK” people to get one. You were my first connection to the realities of that woman. Some of my fondest memories are the “twitter spasm nights of hers” spent on this blog.
Will there be an option for us in the States to get the same thing? Looking forward to the book and would love a signed copy too. 🙂 Are you coming to Seattle on a “book tour”?
Good Morning, Everyone!
This is the meanest post ever! King crab is my favorite shellfish – yes even more than lobster. I would kill for it! But I’m glad you had a great day.
I have to completely agree with you on that. I also have a great crab bisque recipe which takes a long time to make, but well worth it.
Crab bisque…mmmmmmm! Nectar of the gods!
This is a good column about the economic good news that is not being reported:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/rescuing-detroit-no-news-about-governments-good-news/2011/05/06/AFccPPTG_story.html?hpid=z3
A whole day spent in reflective commiserating with Nature and the creatures of the forest would be necessary for me to even consider eating something with more than four legs. Bring on the beef. The best food in the whole world comes off a cow. Unless its new potatoes or the asparagus I’m finally going to cut. It is only a month behind schedule. Who needs crabs?
I do! I do! I haven’t had them in decades – especially the small kind that you steam in lots of pepper and salt, then consume (almost) the whole. Hmmmm! [Childhood memory from the old country – of course in my old age I have to drastically minimize the salt.]
Come on friend,live a little. Tell salt to take the hindmost and lets go get frisky and funky. Eat all the crabs you want,present company excluded,I hope. I am done with the misery-skitters until next time. If I see a beef,I might ask it to donate a haunch or two for a good old fashioned firepit. BTW I can’t cook to save myself.
Mmm mmm – make that hunk of beef into a pot roast, boil up them new potatoes, and I’ll be there for supper!
Dinner will be delayed until July at the earliest. I just got spuds planted. Lots of asparagus is coming up. Some must have grown 6 inches since Saturday when I planted spuds. Yummy.
Yum on the crabs! We had a very nice day. Spring is here. And, I was finally cleared to go outside for an extended period AND work in the yard. First time since September. Life is just so good! Watched a Wren berate the world for something or other this morning. They are such silly little birds. Serious Napoleon complex for sure.
JM: You must be doing things ‘right’. Congratulations on your progress!
hang in there, jimzmum
i’ve been through the hybernation rehab thingy. times seemed dark but i learned an awful lot about life in the duration.
the days outside are even more blessed when they for a time seemed impossible.
sending hugs
It has been such a journey. One that I would wish on no one. Thank you!
good news Jimzmum. i am glad you are on the mend and like you i am very happy to see a lovely spring.
It was sunny and 63 degrees, my husband made pea soup and my children called.
Worked in my garden and my greenhouse.
Did I mention it was sunny?
It was a great day. Except I missed my mother and all the other “moms” that were so important to me growing up.
For the first time in my life, I had nobody to sent a mother day card to.
Sounds good. I’ve never eaten crabs or lobster. Hopefully, one day I will.
Glad you had a great Mother’s Day.
P.S. When we went into a big box store yesterday afternoon, what did we see? A display for Father’s Day, that’s what. Sigh.
hang in there ! As soon as Father’s Day is done with, they’ll have the Halloween decorations out!
You’re in a tough spot for seafood.KS, so I will try to help you out a bit in advance. The opportunity will come eventually. My US home is near the Oregon coast and we have plenty of crab there but it is all dungeness and quite small by comparison to what they harvest in Alaska, still when fresh it is very good indeed. It is best cooked only very lightly and slowly. My favorite is crab Louie which is a salad made with fresh crab steamed for about 15 minutes or less then chilled. Lobster, well, it doesn’t travel well. In my humble opinion lobster thermidor is the best way to make it into a dinner. But then I am something of an elitist in that respect. It is delicate and very difficult to cook to perfection even when fresh, so beware of alternatives. If you ever make it to Hawaii you might find there what they call “slipper lobster”. If they are fresh they are quite good but they don’t store well and freezing, no matter how you do it more or less destroys the texture of the delicate flesh. Sea food is different because its normal environment is about the same temperature as your refrigerator. In the simplest terms, it does not store well at all. A few hours at most. So eat your seafood on the seacoast is you can. There are exceptions to this rule of course, as there are with all rules. If you ever are in Boston check out Legal Seafood, they are the best.
OH, my KS you haven’t lived. King Crab legs are sooo good.
You can order them at the link below.
http://www.great-alaska-seafood.com/kingcrab.htm
I will take this kind of crabby day anytime!
Beautiful to see, Ambrosia to savor.
Most of the day we have been celebrating our mothers, or his or her mothers, grandmothers, get the drift.
We have Mother Earth. Touch your toes.