Open Thread–2012 Highland Games
I don’t know if it was the smashing success of the Disney Movie “Brave,” which introduced new generations to Scottish culture, the incredible weather on Saturday, or some combination. Whatever it was, this year’s Highland Games at Eagle River Lions Club attracted the largest crowds Alaska Scottish Club organizers had ever seen!
I admit, I grumbled a bit at the lines. But once my friends, family and I got a table and had our traditional tea and shortbread at the Tea Tent, I set forth to enjoy the day the same way I have since I attended the Games in Devon, Pennsylvania as a teenager.
Ahhh, the sound of bagpipes…
…the sight of men in kilts…
Members of the Scottish Band Albannach
Trying to toss Alaska’s “Challenge Caber” (unsuccessfully)
Another valiant but unsuccessful attempt
(No one managed to toss the Challenge Caber this year.)
…gingers (redheads) EVERYWHERE…
…even in mid-air!
…teaching traditions…
Champion California Drum Major, Dave Cubberly, passes on his skills to the next generation
The Crow Creek Pipes & Drums female contingent
Serenaded by Angus, piper from the Aussie Band “Brother”
“DigeriDrew” from Aussie Band “Brother”
…by the stage…
…and in the crowd…
Party Planner Bernadette Wilson
(What, no invite to Hawaii?)
Yes, this truly is an Open Thread…so what’e going on?
Funny, ethnic identity. Down here in Arizona, whenever Hispanic groups show up at local events, with kids dressed in regional folkloric costumes and a Mexican flag carried, there is usually all kinds of outcry about how “they” should dress as Americans and carry the American flag. Yet those of Irish and Scots descent get cheers when they dress up in their “ancestral costumes” and carry the flags of nations their ancestors left many generations ago. I guess if your identified ethnic origin is white, you’re alright. If it’s brown, don’t stick around.
You are the poet in my heart as sweaty as it and I am.
What is going on here, let’s see…..Sockeye are running in Bristol Bay, although a little slow to get started in our section of the bay. Forecast is for a decent run, no record breakers predeicted but we will see as the “Nush” is running good, as it hasn’t in some time.
Replacment chicks are doing good and even the few turkeys we have seem to be doing good.
No record rains but it does seem cooler overall than ‘normal’. Too little long term weather information available to make any hard statement.
Garden/Farm/High tunnels are doing good. Regular salads with items such as brocolli and raspberries sizing up.
Overll we are thankful for our gret crew again this year. It has been awhile since we have had a crew that did not have someone whining about something all the time. For the second year in a row, none of that!
Sarah Palin and the “death panel” lie that wouldn’t die – Leonard Pitts, Jr.
“Not long ago, if you told a whopper like Palin’s and it was as thoroughly debunked as hers was, that would have ended the discussion. These days, it is barely even part of the discussion. These days, facts seem overmatched by falsehood, too slow to catch them, too weak to stop them.
Indeed, falsehoods are harder to kill than a Hollywood zombie. Run them through with fact, and still they shamble forward, fueled by echo-chamber media, ideological tribalism, cognitive dissonance, a certain imperviousness to shame, and an understanding that a lie repeated long enough, loudly enough, becomes, in the minds of those who need to believe it, truth.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2018563709_pitts01.html
What’s that saying? A lie can travel halfway around the.world while the truth is still putting on it’s shoes. Since faux news insisted on feeding that lie it has managed to continue to survive. That woman is a pox I tell you, a pox!
“A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” – Mark Twain
And that was in the days of steamships. With the internet, a lie can get a lot farther, and much faster.
Back when dum-bass dubya was appointed Potus one of the first announcements from press secretary Fleischer(besides the lie that Clinton’s crew ransacked their offices on the way out the door) was that dubya was going to release knowingly false information to the press and I don’t recall much of an uproar about it. If you are a rwnj lies work better than the truth in any circumstance. Watch dubya’s weaselly eyes during his press conferences and speeches. He is forever shifting his gaze from side to side to see if anyone actually believes him.
I’ve never been to the Highland Games around here, but my daughter used to go when she was dating a guy whose heritage was Scottish. He had two kilts – a great kilt and a regular one. Someone in his family had a photo of him when he was little and wearing a kilt. He tried learning to play the bagpipes and did all right, but it’s harder than it sounds. I came to appreciate Scotland through his eyes and hope that is my own heritage as well – being adopted means I can chose whatever I want.
Pat– choose a Greek heritage.. the food is better, and you can still wear something that looks like a kilt ! Have you ever eaten hagis!!! dolmandesare MUCH better!!
Second that!! Yia Sou!
LOL – problem is I really don’t look Greek at all. Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be trying haggis anytime soon. But Scotland is some place I’ve always wanted to go – so I think I’ll stick with that.
Looks like great fun, minidiva and I will be in Ireland and scotland the last half of july, can’t wait to see family and old friends and take a bit of “medicine”
slainte’ and peace to all!
The Blessed Bernadette-Ever-So-Lite..hasn’t missed a bet. Instead of the trip to the islands..there was ..one would guess.. a ..going-away smallish party..and soon a ..welcome home..smallish party.
In a twist of irony, after the extreme storms that rolled through Ohio, governor Kaisich declared a natural disaster and called the president for emergency disaster assistance. This from the man who has consistently railed against “big government.” The showed a clip of the gov. on a conference call thanking the president for his swift response. I’m sure it pained him to say thank you.
They are all “closet socialists’, every last one of them.
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t help anyone… except when it helps me politically. At least our Rethug Rep. Lamborn thanked Obama for his swift assistance and was with him when he visited the Waldo fire in the Springs, that hotbed of conservative, evangelical wackery. And criticized those who grumbled about the President’s visit.
When Katrina hit, little Georgie flew around in Air Force 1.
At the Colorado fires, President Obama was on the ground talking with firefighters.
I wonder if Kasich has figured out how the federal funds for his disaster relief will be paid for. After all, most of those Republicans supported Cantor last year when he insisted that disaster relief for Joplin and Hurricane Irene flooding be offset with budget cuts.
* So sorry, folks, that you lost your homes, your businesses, your communities, and nearly your lives, but we can’t be just handing out checks willy-nilly, now. Maybe we can make some more cuts in those turrible, soshalist programs that feed hungry kids and provide basic medical care for old people. Yeah, that’s what we’ll do!!! *
Oh, silly me! Of course it’s different when it’s a Republican governor’s state that’s affected!
I’ll beat slip to it…….”Always good to see the Party Planner !”
Hey!
You snooze, you lose!
what’s going on?
It’s raining.
It’s raining for the 6th day in a row.
It’s chilly
Daytime temps running 8-14 degrees below normal.
Getting kinda bummed.
Really, really, really enjoyed these pics of music, games, and good outdoor fun!
Field corn around NW Ioway is nearly head high before the 4th of July. We need rain soon as the stuff will be tasseling shortly. We are very dry now. Had sufficient early rain to get the crops this far. My yard is turning brown. I have enough water in the cistern to water the garden across the road for a while. You could send some rain my way and I wouldn’t complain. Gracias.
Oh , if only I could!
Neighbors and I were talking about that last night.
Sitting and watching so much of the country be way too dry while we are daily checking for algae green hairs (instead of grey ) made me think a long time before I let loose my whine.
We normally get just under 4.5 inches of rain for June- we have had 7.6 this year. Happens some years,part of living in a rain forest.
But it is the continued 49-52 degree daytime temps which are most wearing- gardens are hanging out in a WTF mode, refusing to grow if we can’t get the thermometer up some and can’t say as I blame em. 🙂
Hoping for rain for all who need it and wishing for warmier days for whiny Pi.
Send it here, we need it.
I understand how bad you all need it. We got the rain we were praying for but, needed to be more specific. We did NOT need hurricane force winds! Next time, I’m praying for a steady drizzle.
Now the power has been out to many and they are whinning on Facebook that AEP isn’t working fast enough to restore power. Maybe we could work out a trade, we’ll send some heat up ya’lls way to Alaska, you send us some rain without the wind, hail and lightning please.
So sad to see what is happening in CO- would send a river if I could…
Amen to that. I saw some pictures of the smoke approaching the Air Force Academy yesterday. Scary stuff. And all those people who lost their homes…just heartbreaking.
Unlike Mittens and the rest of the GOP, I truly and deeply appreciate the firefighters and other first responders who put their lives on the line to fight the wildfires across our country and in our cities. May they be successful and stay safe while doing it.
I’ll take some of both – rain and cooler temperatures – here in NY, pretty please!
And please make sure it’s not the nasty, windy, knocking-trees-over kind they got down in the DC area.
Thank you ever so much! 😉
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/26/rats-study-animals-laugh-tickled-video_n_1627632.html Rats laugh when tickled. To all Rethuglicans out there,if only……..
I wonder what wing nut Bernadette was doing there? Perhaps picking up pointers for a Sullivan bash not understanding the difference between Ireland and Scotland?
😉 😉 😉
Actually, she was with a blonde woman pushing a stroller. I removed her from the picture because I’m nicer than I need to be.