Open Thread – The Melt
Ah, breakup. No, it’s not the sad demise of a relationship, unless you consider it the dissolution of snow, dirt, ice, sand, salt and all the other accumulated byproducts of winter. It’s Alaska’s fifth season and usually lasts from some time in March to some time in early May when the temperatures start to crest the freezing mark and all the white stuff begins to melt, revealing the accumulated treasures beneath.
A short hike today revealed these found objects by the roadside – a bible and a buck knife. Welcome to Alaska.
One of the things that sticks in my mind is that much of the “treasure” lurking in the snow is frozen dog poop. Then, on the first day of Breakup it all melts at once. Oh, the humanity!
One of my favorite books is “Breakup” by Dana Stabenow. It’s a quick read and has a real thread of humor running through the whole thing…laugh out loud at times. It also gives those of us who have not experienced Alaskan breakup a taste of what it’s like.
Speaking of Stabenow…anyone hear any news on the development of the TV show based on her Kate Shugak novels?
Leenie i love Stabenau and i hadn’t heard about a TV show but i would watch it in a heartbeat.
hahaha priceless.
So many Palin analogies! Bible in one hand, all the better to lull you into a false sense of security while she stabs you in the back.
need a giggle? laugh at bubbles. it’s OK. i am laughing too.
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/bubbly-baby-laughs-at-bubbles/20bqrngi
That was just what I needed – thank you, sweet bubbles!
I shall sleep well with bubbly happy laughing babies dancing in my head (o:
The Donald steps in it with his attack on the President’s intelligence:
http://www.salon.com/news/donald_trump/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/04/26/trump_affirmative_action
Donald Trump is an idiot. ☺Palin in pants and just as slimy.
also. too
It was about a month ago when Donald Trump released what he claimed was his birth certificate, only it wasn’t. Donald Trump actually released a certificate of birth. As Politico’s Ben Smith reported, “It appears instead to be a hospital “certificate of birth,” meaning the piece of paper the hospital gave to his family saying he was born. Such a document typically has the signature of the hospital administrator and the attending physician.”
http://www.politicususa.com/en/donald-trump-citizen
his father subsequently built the Trump Pavilion which is a part of Jamaica Hospital which is where he got a certificate of birth which is not same as a Birth Certificate.
Does Trump know that the entire world can see thru his racism and idiocy? Guess not.
The worst of it is – he doesn’t realize that he IS a racist idiot. He doesn’t get it at all which makes him even more nauseating o:
We found a dead and eaten pigeon.
We had a Coooper’s Hawk on our lawn before the snow melt with a hugh fish. I’m thinking he came back, because this bird was throughly eaten.
Oh well. We’ve had 2 nights now at 40 degrees.
It seems our snow stayed late but we had tons of rain that melted it quickly.
It has been raining several times a week.
Speaking of breakups, one of the absolute best films of a breakup was in “Spirit of the Wind”, story of George Attla. He’s back in Huslia after treatment for Tb and the breakup of the Koyukuk is great. Worth seeing the movie all over again just for that. But the movie is worth it for all of it.
I was reading through the breakup posts, and this popped into my head:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOrjcLJ2IE0
Thanks. That was funny! Am sending it to our daughter.
Speaking of break-ups (the human kind), guess who has joined the memoir brigade?
Levi Johnston to “set record straight” in memoir
By Stephen Lowman
Simon & Schuster isn’t going to let the clock run out on Levi Johnston’s 15 minutes of fame.
The publisher announced on Monday that its Touchstone imprint had signed a deal with the father of Sarah Palin’s grandson to release his memoir this fall. In “Deer in the Headlights: My Life in Sarah Palin’s Crosshairs,” Johnston promises to “set the record straight” about the Palin family.
“I want to tell the truth about my close relationship with the Palins, my sense of Sarah, and my perplexing fall from grace — how I feel about what I learned,” Johnston said in a press release. “I’m doing this for me, for my boy Tripp and for the country.”
Johnston’s rocky teenage relationship with Bristol Palin was a sideshow event of the 2008 presidential election. Last year, he posed for Playgirl magazine and she appeared on “Dancing with the Stars.”
“This is a sweet and funny book with a touch of irony; a fascinating tale of a misunderstood boy figuring out how to be a man and father after being thrust into the spotlight and subsequent media circus at a very young and vulnerable age,” said Stacy Creamer, vice president at Touchstone.
Bristol also has a memoir coming out. “Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far” will be released on June 21.
Oh boy, popcorn time!
Both should be pretty short reads, given the ages of the authors. Whenever I hear of another “celebrity” penning a memoir, I think of all the excellent writers who are struggling to get a first book published. Somehow we’re wasting our natural resources, including trees, on some pretty insignificant stuff. Imagine finding either Bristol or Levi’s book on a library shelf in 75 years! What will the reader think . . . .
What will the reader think . . . . you ask:
That we were the biggest bunch of morons ever to suck air. God I hate seeing trees die to bolster the egos of know nothings and fools. Can’t they at least recycle all the unsold Palin books to print this dreck upon? ARRRRGH! I’m feeling a bit ranty today. Carry on.
I am willing to bet that they will be remaindered, recycled and transformed into newer, better books by December.
Oh, there will be a couple of copies in a few bathrooms throughout the land, but I can’t imagine many libraries using up their limited resources buying many copies.
“Sweet and funny,” eh? Nothing from that time period when Levi and Bristol were on and off again seemed funny to me – mostly just sad.
I agree it’s mostly sad but I have a soft spot for Levi and hope there is some funny and sweet to his book.
I think it’s also sad that he blew his credibility so any ‘truths’ won’t be taken seriously )o:
“sense of Sarah” sounds like a perfume or cover scent for hunting weasels.
No popcorn for me. I like it too much and it’s most unpleasant coming back up, and both of those 2 “books” sound like hurling.
This is sad – no, depressing.
Kansas was one of the first states where the GOP tried to get the State Board of Education to do this, but people were rightly outraged and come the next election, those members who had voted for creationism were gone. Of course, it is still a close race – if the balance tips to the GOP next time, well, we could very well see this foolishness reappear in Kansas.
If they insist on teaching creationism, I demand they introduce all creation myths from all cultures, including the indigenous Native American tribes. While I respect Christianity, it should mandate a tyranny on intellectual development. If parents want their children indoctrinated in creationism in school, they should pay for private religious schools. The public schools should not be forced to represent only one religious/spiritual viewpoint. Period. end of rant.
My, my goodness – serious omission — The second sentence of the second paragraph should read:
While I respect Christianity, it should NOT mandate a tyranny on intellectual development. (capitalization used only to indicate the previously omitted word, not to be forcefully impolite.).
Actually I think teaching comparative religion in school would be a great idea … as a humanities discipline, not as science. If people were exposed to all kinds of cultural stories, it would probably make them more open-minded, more willing to live and let live. Of course, that idea would be denigrated by conservatives as more multicultural horror, so chances are slim that it would happen. But it would be nice. Folks might find that we have more in common than some would think.
I still remember the ‘Bible as literature’ class I took in high school. It provided a perspective as a series of stories instead of a list of rules and literal words of God. It was very interesting.
This just in from the fine state of Tennessee
http://www.memphisflyer.com/TheBruceVBlog/archives/2011/04/11/tennessee-house-overturns-scopes-monkey-trial-verdict
I double-checked the date, in hopes that it was an April Fool’s stunt.
It isn’t.
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/107/Bill/HB0368.pdf (That’s the bill.)
Okay,I challenge the kids in Tennessee schools to determine whether allowning politicians to breathe is the highest use for oxygen in their state or could oxygen be put to far nobler uses. With any luck some journalism student will gather pen and paper and define pols out of existence using first principles.
Great news, mudpups! Last Thursday, April 21st in the New York Times, page 7, was a full page ad from the Natural Resources Defense Council, featuring Robert Redford. The top of the ad has a large picture of Mr. Redford stating: “Don’t let the mining industry do to Bristol Bay what they did in my backyard.”
Accompanying the quote is a picture of beautiful Bristol Bay next to a picture of the Rio Tinto’s Bingham Mine in Utah. Under that, Mr. Redford’s statement continues: “Near my home in Utah, Rio Tinto’s massive Bingham Mine is one of the biggest man-made excavations on Earth and has rendered a large area of local groundwater too polluted for human consumption. I’m not against mining, I am against putting mega-mines where the don’t belong. The Rio Tinto and Anglo American companies want to put a mine even bigger than Bingham at the headwaters of our planet’s greatest wild salmon river systems. It’s an environmental tragedy waiting to happen.”
The ad goes on to state the scale of damage this mine will do to Bristol Bay and has the web page
posted to http://www.StopPebble.org
As a pilot living near the Bingham Canyon Mine, I can attest to the destruction and pollution first hand. It would be a terrible crime to establish a mine near Bristol Bay.
DD
great news indeed Duckdriver.
It is amazing information. I signed yet another petition to help stop this insanity. I wonder what it will take for them to realize how much opposition there really is and stop development on this project.
Thanks DuckDriver for highlighting this. I hope everyone here will join Redford’s campaign to stop Pebble Mine. Rio Tinto has a horrid track record and should not be allowed to pretend it will change its polluting ways.
I received an email asking me to nominate an “Ocean Hero.” I nominated Mudflats contributor Rick Steiner, and I hope he’s a winner! If you’d like to join me in my nomination, please do so here:
http://act.oceana.org/survey/sv-oh-nominations/?utm_source=homepage%2Bflash&utm_medium=oceana&utm_campaign=ocean%2Bheroes
The information required to nominate Rick is all on his website, http://www.oasis-earth.com and I hope he gets LOTS of nominations!
Thank you Zyxomma, I have a great respect for Rick Steiner.
I would like to give my 9 yr. old Grandson an honorable mention here, if I may. He asked for donations for sea turtles on behalf of his school for Christmas rather than presents for himself. Papa and I pooled the money for token gifts for relatives and gave him his wish. The class was able to adopt 2 sea turtles!
The class made us a huge thank you card, our family was thrilled w/sea turtle thoughts and our little guy may grow up to be like Rick Steiner (o:
michigander, there are separate categories for adults, like Rick Steiner, and younguns, like your grandson. Please nominate him. I’ll vote for him, and so will others here! (Though you’ll have to tell us his name so we can vote).
I don’t think we could drum up enough votes for him Zyxomma, it ends tomorrow.
Thanks for the support and I will tell him Mudpuppies are proud of him – that will be enough to put a smile on his face. His nickname is Philly (o:
A bible and a buck knife! You truly are in Alaska!
No duct tape?
Check AKM’s camera bag for the duct tape. She was on a hike, not a collecting expedition, but I doubt she’d’ve passed up free duct tape!
Yesterday, the pen was mightier than the sword, so I thought I’d stay with that theme. What do you know about the greatest pen in English?
http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2011/0420/Shakespeare-quiz-Can-you-match-the-quote-to-the-play/To-morrow-and-to-morrow-and-to-morrow
Why no I can’t,thank you.
I think I may have read Romeo and Juliet back in sophomore English Lit-circa 1969,but, I couldn’t explain what it was about. WS ain’t ever been my bag.
Is breakup as noisy as I’ve heard?
It’s not noisy. Breaking up is hard to do.
When the ice breaks up on the rivers, it does get noisy.
Long, long ago, when life was simple, the River Giant, who normally lives at the bottom of the river, would walk about on top of the frozen river. Usually in the late reaches of winter, because it was the River Giant’s job call the birds-from-the-south up for some Alaskan summer fun… you could hear the ice creak and crack when the Giant began to walk about the frozen river.
Sometimes the River Giant would sadly rumble and a gusher of water would follow. First it was a creak, then a crack, then a slow rumble… then the water would seep thru the river ice and we little ones, living on the banks of the river ,knew the RIVER GIANT WAS CRYING. Crying because the birds-from-the-south hadn’t showed up.
Too much crying from the River Giant and the ice would move. Screeching past each other, bumping and crashing into each other. All because of the water from the River Giant’s tears. The River Giant would and does get sad if no birds-from-the-south weren’t passing by.
So the River Giant figures there is need to build lake for the birds-from-the-south to land on. So with more tears of the sad River Giant, the icebergs on the river would pile up, making a dam, thus creating a lake. In hopes of inviting more birds-from-the-south.
Then one day the River Giant awoke to see all the birds bypassing the lake. After much screeching and busting the icebergs on the river, the River Giant crashed the ice dam and eventually quit crying so hard. Thus eliminating the temporary lake. After all the ice melted, the River Giant went back to live at the bottom on the river.
Yes, this all makes noise.
Tallimat, this is beautiful story. If it is not already told in a children’s book, it should be. Your eloquence in the telling of it could easily be translated into a terrific book. Please explore this possibility and let us know if you get it published. It would be sad to have narratives like this lost or forgotten.
My ex cried like that.
Another time I find it even louder is when it is VERY cold, the river is building ice quickly…thus it must go somewhere and you hear big LOUD cracks. Most often people think it is a close rifle shot or so.
You REALLY notice it at night when the snow it is ever so quiet….many times we jump or sit up in bed:-)
Wow! Now, that’s noisy.
Lots of things are being uncovered this Spring, including the corruption of Sarah Palin. Not only will we have two breakthrough books arriving in May, Malia Litman is giving us a large serving of truth as an appetizer.
I hope her post gets wide distribution. I’ve been away due to a minor illness, so I don’t know if anyone has posted this as yet. Still, even so, it can’t hurt to point people in her direction again.
http://malialitman.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/the-most-outrageous-hypocrisy-yet-sarah-palin-the-anti-corruption-candidate-is-corrupt/
timing is everything, isn’t it? imagine palin coming onto the scene later than she did…her popularity would be still peaking. yikes! thank God we found out how she thinks & operates way before 2012 as are her peeps. with more time left to go, she should shrink into nothingness by then. see, sarah, we all believe!
thanks Sunflower. excellent post by Malia.
hope you are feeling better now.
Thanks, bubbles, I am feeling myself again. It’s amazing what an antibiotic can do. It scares me to think that not so long ago people died from what we regard as simple infections today.
I am in debt to all those who dedicate their lives to developing and providing quality medicine at affordable prices and to physicians and nurses everywhere! Now, if we could just make sure everyone had access to affordable health care, I’d be rejoicing!
I, for one, am grateful to be living now, even with all the challenges regarding the environment, loony-bird politicians, and corporate aggression.
When we lived in Bethel, we found out why you dye Easter eggs! Lots of them that were not found during the Easter egg hunts showed up when the snow melted!
Ah, breakup, indeed!
Me, I’m really looking forward to a gullwasher. I want real, hard rain. Here in Southcentral Alaska !! I know, be careful what I ask for,…. Much of my life in the Anchorage bowl is grateful that we get light rain. For the last week I have been doing my rain dance. Sisters, mudpeople, pups, dogs, we need rain. Breathing is becoming more difficult.
Great sequey: I really want to connect with Anchorage Alaska registered voters. Send me over to the Forum, OK also.
Or consider why my comments relate to this open thread. Dapper Dan used too much mud during the snow season. Probably considered an economy, didn’t have to use big equipment, especially during holidays. Yes, I kept track of how MUNI took care of our streets. I shall be curious to see if Anchorage gets clean air any time in the next 2 months.
I have no garden to tend, so I’m monitoring the air that I breathe.