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Open Thread – “Spawn Till You Die.”

spawn

There’s a famous t-shirt in Alaska by the consummate Alaskan artist Ray Troll that says “Spawn Till You Die” with a picture of a skull and crossed salmon.  It’s become an iconic image up here, but it’s just a brutal fact of life for one of Alaska’s most famous species.  They hatch, they swim out to sea, they eat and sleep and swim and do what salmon do.  Then years later, they swim back, aided by the mysterious inner workings of fish physiology, to the stream of their birth and they “spawn till they die.”

‘Tis the season for spawning, in creeks and rivers all over the state.  In Thumb Cove, off of Resurrection Bay, the streams are thick with Humpys.  Humpys are pink salmon which, when out at sea, are a lovely silver fish.  When they hit the streams during spawning season, however, they morph into a creepy hump-backed, snaggle-toothed, greenish looking thing that eventually dies of rot.  It’s not a pretty picture.  But you do have to feel sorry for the poor things.

salmon

This time of year, I always think of  a very funny Eddie Izzard bit about animal procreation, in which Mother Nature gathers all the creatures around to assign procreation methods to them which she reads off a clipboard.

“Okay, now dogs… we have got you down, dogs… your method of procreation will be doggy fashion! How about that?”

(dogs bark) “Yeah, we invented it!”

“I know you did! And it’s caught on big time! Okay, off you go…” (dogs bark, then vacuum sound) “Be careful with the air lock!”

“Now cats…”

(cat meows)

“Cats, good to meet you. Now, we’ve got you down for doggy fashion! How about that?”

(irritated meow) “What about catty fashion?”

“No, sorry, dogs got in there first; it’s a ‘patent pending’ situation… Anyway, you’ve got cat flaps, so what the f**k are you arguing about?” (cat meows, then vacuum sound)

“Next we have… sheep! Good haircut, by the way… We’ve got you down for doggy fashion! If you get hot, just take your coats off, right?” (sheep baas)

“Now giraffes! Good to see you. We’ve got you down for doggy fashion, but it’s whatever you can work out, basically. Hang off a lamppost, lean over a tree, you know… just swing about a bit; I mean, sorry, we were gonna make you like a Spaniel kind of size, but someone brought me a coffee and vooom! (mimes stretching line while drawing) when I was doing design work, and there you go… Anyway, “chin up!”  All right…

“Human beings… Well, doggy fashion, catty fashion, giraffe fashion, sheep fashion; whatever the hell you want, basically… Hang upside down like a bat, play the banjo, do it on a golf course! As long as you get guilt in there somewhere, we really don’t mind…

“Now finally, salmon! Good… Got a bit of a surprise for you, people… What you’re gonna do is to swim upstream against a down-flowing river until you come to a huge waterfall…”

(mimes salmon looking at Mother Nature as if she’s off her rocker)

“…and you’re going to leap, and leap, and leap, and leap up this waterfall, and you swim along, and you leap, and leap, and leap, and leap; then you get along, and you lay eggs, and you fertilize the eggs, and then you drop down dead! Ha!”

“We’re quite happy with doggy fashion…”

“No… You piss me off, you salmon! You’re too expensive in restaurants, that’s your trouble…”

salmon2

Comments

comments

Comments
99 Responses to “Open Thread – “Spawn Till You Die.””
  1. mlaiuppa says:

    So, if you were right there and caught them just after they spawned and put them on ice….could you still eat them?

  2. Aussie Blue Sky says:

    Speaking of the Oracle of Delphi, does anyone know if samper is being held hostage on a Greek island?

  3. BuffaloGal says:

    It’s nearing on 9pm – President Obama is still talking, but winding down

    And we’re up in the Mudflats chat room

    C’mon up if you’re of a mind to:

    https://themudflats.net/forum/index.php?action=chat

  4. Lee323 says:

    Palin’s fans are using her Facebook rants as the only source to defend her claims.

    Yep. They’re actually giving links to her Facebook page so that YOU, too, can go to the heart of policy-making and deep thinkery.

    Now that’s what I call well read, intellectually curious folks.

    None of her previous professors even remembered the Oracle of Delphi cum Wasilla in their classes??

    Sounds like she didn’t make it to class very often. She probably copied other students’ notes who actually attended class……kind of like the copying she’s doing now in her Facebook posts and WSJ “op-eds.”

  5. Shadow's Heart says:

    @califpat -That’s great news I’m so happy for you that you can now reconnect with DIL and granddaughter. Pearl what a generous heart you have and what a great Pi you’d make.

  6. InJuneau says:

    califpat–OH, that is so wonderful! Congratulations, and a huge WAY TO GO to pearl. We are just one big family looking out for each other, aren’t we? I love this place.

  7. honestyinGov says:

    65 Say NO to Palin in Politics Says:
    September 9th, 2009 at 12:46 PM
    OMG!!!
    ——————————————–
    Say no to Palin…. ( about your 65 and 66 links ) I did some Google searches and found this little video of the local TV station who was trying to chase this Guy down and get a comment from him. He was running away and hiding. They have some footage of him in the Senate Chamber in Sacramento where he refuses to give a statement.
    I hope to find out and make sure that now that he has ‘resigned’ ( in disgrace )that CA taxpayers do not have to pay for His Insurance or benefits.
    Here is a link to the video footage. See the face of a Conservative Repugnant.
    As the video footage pointed out…. a certain panel that gives him a grade as to his Voting record as it relates to Conservative Values… “100% scorecard”.
    A perfect Conservative.

    http://www.zimbio.com/Heidi+DeJong+Barsuglia/articles/9zsjD2GhZMZ/Heidi+DeJong+Barsuglia+Mike+Duvall+Affair

  8. Snoskred says:

    For those who would like to discuss the Obama speech which is on in about 10 mins or so, we’re in the chat channel on the flats. 🙂

    Just click on – The Mudflats Live Chat – in the top right hand corner of the forums.

    See you there!

  9. boodog says:

    Oh califpat and pearl, Wow, what an amazing story! I swear this is the center of the universe, the mudflats. First those that helped samper, now this. I am so happy for you.
    Shadow’s heart, I hope all goes well for you, too. Sending good vibes your way.
    justafarmer, YEA! (for mr. justa!)

  10. califpat says:

    Pearl, thank you, thank you, thank you. You are the best.

  11. Aussie Blue Sky says:

    Did everyone get this email from colorofchange.org?

    More than 175,000 of you have stood up, and advertisers have followed suit. As of today, 62 companies have stopped their ads from running on Beck’s show. Every national company with a name you’d recognize is gone. What’s left are mostly far-right groups and direct marketing companies selling things like gold coins and discounted exercise equipment.

    Our team is working hard to use all the tools at our disposal to take away Beck’s platform. In the coming weeks there will be more for you to do. But for now, we ask you to do something simple. If you haven’t done so already, please email your friends and family, and ask them to sign on to our campaign against Glenn Beck. There’s a message you can send them at the link below:

    http://colorofchange.org/beck/passalong.html?id=2524-956785

  12. califpat says:

    Injuneau: In 2002, my only son who was living in Beaufort, SC, was killed in a car accident. His girl was pregnant and we had his body shipped to California and his girl came to the funeral. She had the baby in 2003, a little girl. She sent pictures and we talked on the phone and later we lost communication. Pearl (a Mudpup) decided to help me find my granddaugter and she found her last night. I am so grateful. Pearl found her on FaceBook and I left my phone number on FaceBook for daughter-in-law, and she called this morning. Will be talking to granddaughter this evening. Already saw pictures of my beautiful granddaughter and I owe it all to Pearl.

  13. pearl89 says:

    Before the President’s speech tonight, take a deep breath and take a little trip with me thru space as viewed by the improved Hubble telescope. These pictures are incredible and absolutely lovely.

    Breathtaking is an apt description:

    http://www.csmonitor.com/photosoftheday/index.php?image=9&date=specials/refurbished_hubble/

  14. debinOH says:

    OMG, I love Eddie Izzard. He was here a few years ago & was just a hoot.

    Sarah – not so much!

  15. anadventurer says:

    I got two fun ones: http://www.professionaladventurer.com/2009/08/swimming-with-salmon.html I had been wanting to swim and film salmon; Nation Geographic, I am not there yet. They yesterday I went to another stream looking for salmon and got good and wet (no dry suit this time) and didn’t see a darn fish or any kind! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b55pmX2BxXg

    Check it out and enjoy!

  16. Shadow's Heart says:

    @BuffaloGal – I’m a Jersey girl born and bred. I’m a little south of central NJ down by the Jersey shore.

  17. InJuneau says:

    teutonic13–having bought Troll shirts locally AND at the Soho Coho gallery in Ketchikan, I can say that they are very well made and are lots of fun to boot! And, if you’re looking for a bit of Alaskan musical fun, the Ratfish Wranglers’ CD is a hoot.

  18. InJuneau says:

    califpat–did I miss something last night? How/why/where was your granddaughter missing?

  19. pacos_gal says:

    BuffaloGal, I think she said New Jersey.

  20. Say NO to Palin in Politics says:

    I am ticked…….everyone email the President and let him know what you expect for your vote, what you plan to do if he doesn’t keep his campaign promise and MAKE SURE it happens. PUSH

    this is what I wrote…..

    President Obama,

    I volunteered for you, I spent hours campaigning for you and the democrats in my state, I donated to you what I could in a failing economy, I voted for you and the democrats in my state. I THOUGHT WE WON. DID WE? OR DID YOU, ALL POLITICIANS AND MONEY.

    I expect you to keep your campaign promises that I worked hard for. You need to demand public option and demand the democrats vote for those who voted you and them into office. They need to act like democrats, support you and all of us.

    I am angry. I am disgusted. And I’ll be dammed if I am going to be used by any political party again. If you can’t get public option passed, I am making plans to leave this country because I will know your promising words meant nothing.

    Very sincerely,

  21. Bretta says:

    Hey, I have that T-shirt!! Death Panelists should adopt the Logo.

    I’ve spent the last six weeks trying to get a protective order to remove parasite caregivers from my elderly parents home. It is so hard… my mom was left in bed for hours on end and my dad wasn’t getting his prescriptions and the house was totally unsanitary and neglected. Only a couple of days left ’til the hearing. The good news is the medical people say there is no reason for Mom to be in bed 22 hours a day – we have her up in the wheelchair and she is soooo loving her freedom! Dad is actually doing much better now that he’s getting the right meds – funny how that works.

    Maybe I misunderstand the Palin Death Panel Pose. My parents know they need specialized caregivers and have extra needs. They’ve never been afraid to talk about the future – they both believe they’ve had good lives. Still, like Grandpa told me, “I want to live ’til I die!”

  22. BuffaloGal says:

    Shadow’s Heart – where are you right now in the US?

  23. the problem child says:

    ((((Shadow’s Heart)))) Don’t give up.

  24. pacos_gal says:

    I don’t know what the White House is thinking. In the talking points put out before the speech tonight, the only Republican named is Sarah Palin and the Death Panel remarks, to which she has already made a reply on Facebook.

    This just feeds into her ego that Obama is her direct competition. Her groupies are loving it.

    So of all the Republicans, actually involved in passing a bill, this is the one they choose as the Face of the Republican Health Care points. I can see why they might think she is ridiculous, but I think they miss the point entirely. Others don’t. Republicans Don’t. Evangelicals Don’t. They have just given her a platform that she can FB message about and because the White House has acknowledged her, she now has legitimacy on this issue. (of which she knows nothing about)

    *sigh* Hope this one doesn’t blow up in their face.

  25. teutonic13 says:

    Hey MonaLisa-

    About the Troll shirts and Posters? Are they well made? Am thinking of buying some for myself and friends. ?

  26. Say NO to Palin in Politics says:

    oh man, President Obama had better come through for us tonight.

    http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385×367838

  27. Moose Pucky says:

    Salmon surrender their energy to feed the forests, the eagles, the bears, wolves, us and more. Great role models for the rest of us!

  28. califpat says:

    Congratulations Justa Farmer! So happy for you!

    I have some very good news too! Pearl, the Mudpup, found my granddaughter last night. I am so grateful to her.
    Pearl, whereever you are Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  29. trisha says:

    http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/08/jean-schmidt-birther/

    GOP Jean schmidt whispers in crazed birthers ear…..I agree with you but the courts don’t.

    Wow. Pass this on. This women needs to go.

  30. Say NO to Palin in Politics says:

    Shadows Heart, so sorry. {{{Hugs}}} Do what you have to do.

    But cheer up, look at states that have the jobs right now, and definitely go for a blue state! I love northern Colorado, Ft. Collins is progressive, stay away from CO. Springs, James Dobson territory. It doesn’t get terribly cold along the front range.

  31. Shadow's Heart says:

    Well I’m bummed I didn’t get the job I was hoping to get instead I got a “thanks for playing” and we wish you lots of luck in your continued job search note in the mail today. Things are tough when you can’t even get a minimum wage job in retail with 30 plus years experience to boot.

    So I’m probably going to be moving out of state in October if I have to live in my car it won’t be here in NJ during the cold winter and its suppose to be very, very cold this winter. So mudpups I’m looking for a blue state (or at least semi blue lol) that’s warm year round. Anyone have any suggestions.

  32. Say NO to Palin in Politics says:

    GAH! Chambliss has to go.

    http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/chambliss-obama-better-show-humility-in-speech-to-congress.php

    “What you’re seeing is folks on my side anxious to see what the president has to say tomorrow night,” Chambliss said. “I think he’s gonna have to express some humility based on what we’ve seen around the country this August and that’s not his inclination.”

  33. Say NO to Palin in Politics says:

    ANOTHER Republican show what a hypocrite looks like and then bites the dust, lol. That was fast!

    http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/duvall_resigns_after_sex_bragging.php

  34. pearl89 says:

    Sent another letter to Bauchus today. I think he is trying to defeat health care reform while trying to look like is supporting it.

    Two main proposals of his plan are:
    1. No public option
    2. Mandatory insurance – $3800 fine for a family of 4 making $66,000 if they fail to purchase health insurance.

    Thanks for nothing, Bauchus.

    I wish Obama would stop trying to work with Congress, come out with a plan, and then let the chips fall where they may. It just seems like the more Congress gets involved the crazy the whole thing becomes.

  35. MonaLisa IS MY NAME! says:

    and ‘Fish & Chips’ http://store.trollart.com/image.php?id=311&type=D (he’s an avid sports fisherman, and a poker nut, and his last name means ‘fisherman’, so very appropriate, no?)

    I liked ‘Fish Worship’ better, but he didn’t ‘get’ it. He wears it for me, though.

  36. MonaLisa IS MY NAME! says:

    I bought 2 Ray Troll tee-shirts for a friend of mine as a birthday gift: the ‘Fish Worship’ http://store.trollart.com/image.php?id=52&type=D

  37. InJuneau says:

    Hedgewytch–our golden retriever-husky-newfie mix used to roll in the dead salmon and then expect us to love her just the same as always! YUCK!!

  38. CRFlats says:

    BuffaloGal, Thanks! That was fun.

  39. Hedgewytch says:

    It’s stinky salmon time! I’ve got to keep the dogs out of the creek or they get fish rash and smell to high heaven, just as bad as getting skunked! At least my current lab doesn’t do what his dad used to, which was to bring me nice spawned out salmon to play with. Yick!

  40. BuffaloGal says:

    CRFlats @53 and other Eddie Izzard fans –

    I just came across an interesting melding – Eddie Izzard meets animated legos . Who knew?? See some of Izzard’s classic bits brought to life via stop action animation of lego people.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYeFcSq7Mxg&feature=related

    This is the “do you have a flag” bit

  41. InJuneau says:

    MadCity Chick–great catch!

  42. MadCity Chick says:

    Sorry if someone already posted but Kudos to the Vets who were in this AK bar!

    You can guess the reaction I got. by Endangered Alaskan Dem
    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/9/8/778940/-You-can-guess-the-reaction-I-got.

  43. CRFlats says:

    AKM- Eddie Izzard and Ray Troll in the same post – Nice! Two of my favs.
    This is where I come in with my plug for Copper River Salmon!! (The fresh from the ocean kind), or as Jacques-Yves Cousteau put it “How a feeeesh should look”.

    Those of you getting acquainted with Ray Troll or Eddie Izzard are in for a treat. Whenever our family goes sailing, and finds a special little spot, we bring our flag to “discover” the spot and lay claim. Never mind the Natives, they don’t have a FLAG!

  44. akmuckraker says:

    New post up. I wrote it last night, and probably should have posted it then!

    Also, a reminder when quoting other articles, always provide a link, and only post a paragraph or two for copyright purposes. Thanks!

  45. I can see why a salmon might put off going “home”.

    Thanks for the great stories and explanations Marnie and Mother who Thinks. Sounds like a dinner I´d bid on gladly.

    We could of course just send money to the Charity in Question with the comment “Here and think twice about who you ask to represent you next time.”

  46. MI~Annie says:

    I didn’t see it on Huffpo yet, just causht it through a link @ The Dish, I wanted to include this from the comments too:

    Philip Munger September 9, 2009 2:49 AM
    Marc,

    The consensus of Alaska progressive bloggers and Alaska reporters with whom we regularly communicate is that Sarah Palin is not writing any of the longer or most recent facebook posts. We know her well. I’ve known her for 19 years.

    The fact that her writers are now submitting material from a facebook account in her name as testimony in New York State is hilarious, but the lack of serious scrutiny on the authorship of this and other material attributed to Palin is beginning to be troubling.

    I do hope you get around to looking into this.

    Me too! 🙂

  47. Lilybart says:

    buffalogal: This headline just sums it all up:

    Opposition to Health Care Reform Re-energizes the Christian Right

    Christians should be pushing for Universal healthcare for every American. Jesus would. Jesus would not care if his taxes went up a little but he would care that some child can’t afford care because he was born with a disability or no care for the family because the husband’s job dropped health care benefits.

    These “christians” really hate Jesus.
    They ONLY like the OT god of smiting and stoning.

  48. trisha says:

    great piece from the Atlantic. Thanks for sharing. Pass it on.

    Does Huffpo have this yet?

  49. Lilybart says:

    bystander….good one!! Trailer and Trash Palin.

  50. Marnie says:

    justafarmer Says:
    September 9th, 2009 at 7:53 AM
    Good news from justafarmerland!
    Hubby just called to say he passed his Class A CDL exam (said he would have aced it except for unfortunately putting the truck into reverse, instead of second gear….)
    Anyway….he’s looking forward to being able to go back to work!

    Excellent news. I know you both are thrillled.

  51. trisha says:

    LisanTx, Ya, I realized he bought that paper a few years back, but it seems that he isn’t even trying to pretend it’s “real” newsapaper anymore. By promoting Palin in his “faux” newspaper”, he has turned the WSJ into the same type of wingnut platform as Fox “faux news” Broadcasting. He is more concerned with his political agenda than fair and balanced news.

    How can any “real” journalist work for that paper knowing that they are willing to publish Palin’s OpEd—that she didn’t write. Pathetic.

  52. MI~Annie says:

    From The Atlantic:

    http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/09/media_challenge_will_they_take_the_palin_bait.php

    Media Challenge: Will They Take The Palin Bait?

    Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate, has every right to submit an opinion piece on health care to the Wall Street Journal’s op-ed page, and they’ve got every right to print it.

    But Palin’s existence in this debate does not (a) lend her voice any credibility and, beyond that, even if you believe that her experience as a state governor does give her at least a modicum of credibility, it does not follow that, because her voice is credible, it ought to be influential. Newt Gingrich is influential by rights; he’s done the work, come up with original ideas, and been in the trenches. (Replacing Medicare with vouchers…not new or remotely plausible, even if GOPers do well in the next two elections. Quoting Ronald Reagan talking about that type of proposal…not new. Etc.)

    The media — by which I mean the cable news networks, primarily — will determine whether Palin’s view on health care becomes influential. There are many Republican, conservative health care spokespeople who have earned the right to speak for their party’s principals, and, truth be told, can recite the talking points (complete with Ronald Reagan quote) better than Palin and her writer can. They’re the ones who should be offended if Palin’s op-ed becomes the voice of the opposition tomorrow, because Palin isn’t seen by most Americans as a particularly trenchent analyst of policy. Indeed, the reason why Palin’s team wants to get her pieces in publications like the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal is that, in this next phase of her political career, Mrs. Palin has to burnish her policy skills. And the Journal is all too willing to lend some space to this project, because plenty of people will see the piece.

    So here’s a challenge to the media: if you want to do justice to conservative ideas and find some balance in your coverage tomorrow, book serious Republicans with original ideas on your programs. If you don’t, Palin is giving herself a voice at your expense and through little effort of her own.

    By implying, incidentally, that Palin gets help from a speechwriter, I mean to make an observation. Barack Obama didn’t draft his op-ed, either. But, reading Obama, it’s not a leap to believe that the ideas are truly his. Palin has no chops and no experience talking about health care and isn’t participating in this debate; the content of her op-ed piece isn’t original, and the points are points that Republicans make every day.

    This is the reality. Palin has policy credibility problems. Big ones. A few op-eds aren’t going to help her. But if the media treats her as as a legitimate and influential voice today, she won’t need to do the hard work that will result in her learning more about policy and actually becoming conversant in the issues that she, as a potential presidential candidate, will deal with.

    If Palin were writing about oil and energy, about her experience in state government on health care, if she were making a new argument — then my umpiric objections would vanish.

  53. LisanTx says:

    Here is the link to the article “Crimes Against the Soul of America” mentioned by teutonic13 @14—-

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-myss/crimes-against-the-soul-o_b_278188.html

    “There comes a time when we have to just stand up to these carnies (slang for carnival barkers) and tell them to stop polluting the soul of America with their constant and endless transmission of psychic free radicals in the form of lies, negative press, ridiculous criticism, overall lack of intelligent ideas and comments, and complete absence of creative thought. We should just blast them with emails and tell them to stop polluting the soul of our nation. Just stop it. We’ve had enough. I know I have. And I deeply believe the soul of our nation can’t take much more of their strategy of deliberate division against the people of their own nation. That is a true crime — and perhaps their greatest crime — against the soul of this great nation. “

  54. pvazwindy says:

    Just watched the Baucus news conference, what a weasel.

  55. Bystander says:

    Teuton #35. Sarah seems a bit fussy about her dining companions considering she is trailer trash. (Trailer and Trash are the names of her next two grandkids).

  56. Marnie says:

    6 lemonfair Says:
    September 9th, 2009 at 2:42 AM
    So is it possible to catch the salmon right after they spawn and eat them, before they start to rot?? Seems like such a waste.

    It is sad to watch their death struggles – but
    The salmon bodies bring much needed nutrients directly from the ocean to to alpine uplands. They are food for thousands of animals, insects and birds, fertilizer for grasses (that I bet Brian loves) and other plants. (any animal that feeds on their bodies and walks or flys away then poops and pees, spreads the salmon’s organic nutrients over the landscape.
    And all of this adds to the fertility of the water to nourish the fry when they hatch.

    The diminishment of the salmon, from the hundreds of millions to the hundreds of thousands, is a huge ecological loss to the head waters of their streams. Upland forests and meadows are always being leached of organic nutrients by show melt, wind, and rain, which benefits the lowlands but starves the uplands.
    The salmon dramatically reverse that process. Mother nature really does know more than homo-the- naked-ape.

  57. pvazwindy says:

    Farmer@26–Happy for you and hubby.

    Rich

  58. teutonic13 says:

    Yo JAF-

    Am very happy for you. That is huge. 🙂

  59. LisanTx says:

    trisha @ 28—Rupert Murdoch purchased the WSJ several years ago. So they can go VERY low. I was really disappointed to learn that Murdoch bought the WSJ. We’ve lost a good paper.

    So her other “elder male patron” Murdoch, (as Dunn called Coale and Malek in the above article), can get “her” articles placed in several different venues.

  60. Mother Who Thinks says:

    For the genuinely curious……my spawned-out salmon story.

    Native people work throughout the seasons to preserve salmon for those times during the winter when fish and other foods are scarce. They use multiple methods and they waste next to nothing. Winters are long, harsh, and can be hungry. Imagine, literally, no stores. It was like that for the first 10,000 years of the life of Alaskan Natives post-migration (as verified by archeological/anthropological evidence.)

    I had the honor of following my blind 90 year old Tlingit mother-in-laws’ instructions in preparing a post-spawn sockeye late one fall. My husband harvested a not-too-shabby but obviously finished fish. Gutted and filleted, the fish was soft. I placed the two fillets on a shallow baking pan, drizzled them with seal oil, sprinkled them with salt and pepper and a little garlic. Then – in the oven, bake for 20 minutes @ 400 degrees. It smelled delicious and the oil crisped up the still-red surface of the fish.

    It was different and reasonably tasy, and my mother-in-law enjoyed it thoroughly. It made her talkative about her early life when she shared food and experiences with her family as a young girl. We joined her in eating the sockeye with rice, perhaps appreciating her appreciation more than the actual taste and texture of the fish. But it was nutritious and “fresh” as we harvested it, and safe. And given by the Creator to feed the people.

    Now imagine that you have a family to feed, you live in a no-or-low-cash, no commercial store world, and winter is closing in. There are still fish splashing in the creeks – you can see the many eagles and ravens sitting in the spruce and hemlock that line the banks, swooping down to feast on them. You have put up a lot of smoked and dried fish for the winter, and you know (you have always known) that food is scarce in deep winter.

    You have rendered seal oil and dried berries and seaweed, working all the long days of summer to do this, carefully storing your subsistence food, hoping that it will be enough, knowing in some years it has not been enough for all, knowing you might need to feed others through the dark days of the long winter, knowing you may be kept from seeking more food by the endless days of snow and ice and chilling rain. You also know that there will be people of your village who perhaps have not worked so hard, are old, families with no fathers or no mothers. You may be faced with sharing what you have with those who do not have enough.

    Your village is not too far from the creek. Would you walk the trail there, through the snow, and find the brightest surviving fish? Would you clean them on the bank, leaving the parts you won’t eat for the waiting birds? Would you take as much fish as you could carry back to the village? Would you walk back through the darkening woods? Would you gladly share this with your family and clans? Would they be happy to see you coming? Would you prepare and eat this fish with pleasure and appreciation?

    Of course you would.

  61. CO almost native says:

    Yahoo! Doin’ the happy mudpuppy dance for Justafarmer Hubby! Congratulations!

    Bwa ha ha…Milli-Vanilli Palin *snicker* The MVP of the Righteous Right-

  62. teutonic13 says:

    At Palingates- the details and prerequisites for “A Date With Sarah” …

    Blogger Truth said…

    Auctioning off Sarah Palin
    ______________________________

    A background check for all attendees is mandatory. Failure to pass the background check will result in the winner forfeiting the experience and a refund given. The dinner experience with Sarah Palin will take place at a site to be determined and at a mutually agreed upon time and date to be determined by Ms. Palin and the winning bidder. Ms Palin may bring up to three guests of her own. The dinner will be paid for by the seller. There are no age restrictions but anyone under 16-years-old must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Winner may take personal photos and allowed to bring one item of reasonable size i.e. no larger than what can be carried by hand (t-shirts, books, magazines, etc.) The decision to sign the item will ultimately be up to Ms. Palin. Respect for Ms. Palin and her guest(s) is expected at all times. Inappropriate behavior will result in the conclusion of the experience with no refund.

    Dinner shall last no more than four hours, but could be less, in the sole discretion of Sarah Palin.* Governor Palin reserves the right to refuse dinner with a winning bidder if, in her sole discretion, the winning bidder is not a suitable bidder based on her subjective standards of suitability, professionalism, background and other factors. In the event the high bidder is rejected for this reason, the high bidder’s bid will be refunded, if paid, and the next highest bidder shall be notified, and thereafter, until a suitable match is determined.
    ________________________________

    Those are the prequalifiers to have dinner with her and she reserves the right to refuse based on her delicate sensibilities and how you might offend them!!

    This is a guarentee that only some richy rich will get this dinner with her and as for the 3 guests she is going to bring:

    Todd to prove her happy marriage and both Meg & her lawyer to answer or divert any questions she may not be able to answer, or in other words someone to do all the talking for her.

    EyeOnYou

    09 September 2009 05:37

  63. Bystander says:

    I’m not sure which is the more pathetic- the Wall Street Journal, once the most respected financial paper in the world, becoming a Rupert Rag, or Rupert trying to pawn off Sarah as a health policy wonk, assuming all his readers are morons with no memory. The Milli Vanilli of politics, indeed. Great line.

  64. Shadow's Heart says:

    Great news indeed Justafarmer congrats to the hubby on going back to work. Still waiting for my phone call today that says I may join him among the worker bee set.

  65. Eyes Wide Open in Pgh PA says:

    Hmmm. Doggy style? Isn’t Sarah Palin supposed to be a pitbull with lipstick?

  66. justafarmer says:

    loving the comments at Dunn’s piece at HuffPo.
    THis one is a goodie:
    “sister sarah was offered some scruples at one point in her life, but she thought it was a fruity tea drink and said “Thanks, but no thanks!””

  67. BuffaloGal says:

    Another thought for a “NOT Dinner with Palin” ebay package would be sandwiches and wine with Shannyn and AKM at the studio one saturday night during the show. They could be the guest and talk about how great it is to NOT be having dinner with Palin and why!

    And congrats justafarmer hubby!! Are you both singing, “On The Road Again ” ?

  68. teutonic13 says:

    Pepperz-

    Yeah that was an excellent line 🙂

  69. trisha says:

    Best description of the divine Ms P that I have seen in a long time…..

    She’s the Milli Vanilli of American politics. Milli-Vanilli-Palin—-sounds about right to me.

    Wow…..big surprise…….her new sugar daddy, Murdock, places her OpEd in the WSJ. Could the integrity of that paper get any worse? How low can they go?

  70. A fan from CA says:

    $22 letters

    The alternative dinners are great, ROTFLMAO and drying my keyboard out. The guy with the tin foil hat is great, also like the guy who will find some McD’s coupons.

    Can’t wait to see MSM pick up on this.

    Maybe an AK mudput can offer a dinner of spawning fish and explain how they turn to mush. She did have that fish analogy about going up stream in the quiting talk.

  71. justafarmer says:

    Good news from justafarmerland!
    Hubby just called to say he passed his Class A CDL exam (said he would have aced it except for unfortunately putting the truck into reverse, instead of second gear….)
    Anyway….he’s looking forward to being able to go back to work!

  72. PepperzMom (GA) says:

    Teutonic…

    I saw that column also…what an apt posting, eh?

    Particularly loved this section…towards the bottom.

    “The WSJ piece is yet another Palin lie.

    This new version of Sarah Palin is like those lip-sync groups from the ’90s that didn’t sing their own songs or write their own lyrics. She’s the Milli Vanilli of American politics.”

  73. Ben in SF says:

    Heading into West Marin County on Sir Francis Drake Blvd, the Steelhead Preservation and Watershed Network has a billboard which changes with the season (fish news, burn season dates). Last month it said “Salmonids have hatched.” I think our seasons are off from yours, but at the right time of year the billboard proclaims exuberantly: “IT’S SPAWNING SEASON!”

    SPAWN has gotten public land agencies to put tree trunks and debris in strategic places for the little fish to hide out, put red wooden fish logos on all the local bridges (Steelhead Crossing) for people’s awareness, and the fish population (though it dipped last year) is on an upward trend. Cool neighbors.

  74. sauerkraut says:

    needs more cowbells, pearl.

  75. cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180405719497#description

    If you can´t afford the 25 000, how about the alternative dinner w/o Palin for a lot less. Check out the questions. (Saw this on the last thread. To good not to mention again and query Sarah Palin, Dinner – a whole page will pop up for dinners without her!)

  76. pearl89 says:

    Nothing to do with salmon or doggy style, just a little ditty to help start/brighten you day.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xOxHyTP91c

    This tune is definitely one that sticks in your head.

  77. BuffaloGal says:

    Opposition to Health Care Reform Re-energizes the Christian Right

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/08/AR2009090802985.html

    >>>”Movements do better when they have something to oppose,” said D. Michael Lindsay, a sociology professor at Rice University who studies evangelicals. “It’s easier to fundraise in those kinds of situations. It’s easier to mobilize volunteers because you have an us versus them mentality, and that plays very well right now for the Christian right.”

    After seeing their bread-and-butter issue of abortion take a back seat during the election last year, the Christian right has been a prime force in moving it back to the front row by focusing on it as a potential part of health-care reform.

    “It’s a busy time,” said Tom Minnery, senior vice president of Focus on the Family Action, the lobbying arm of Focus on the Family. He said donations to Focus Action have climbed beyond expectations, although he declined to say by how much. <<<

  78. lynnrockets says:

    Just wondering, but how many Chalupas can you get at Taco Bell for
    $ 25,000.00 ?

  79. lexky says:

    interesting

    i tried to post this one word comment this morning and it went into moderation
    weird

  80. BuffaloGal says:

    Inventor of Public Option explains its importance – http://bit.ly/4kjiJf

    If you have problems accessing the page, just go to the front page of the site at Salon dot com . It’s the first article.

    teutonic13 – that’s for the huffpo / Dunn piece. Def. going to use it.

    AKM – I’m glad you linked to Ray Troll’s site. What fabulous work he does! I see a purchase being made in the near future. trollart dot com for those doing early holiday shopping!

  81. Alaska Kelly says:

    Lemonfair, salmon pretty much start rotting when they hit fresh water way before they actually spawn. The meat is edible for a while after they get in to a stream or river, but by the time they actually mate, their flesh is soft and falling apart in a very not nice way.

    Love the mental image of the salmon looking at Mother Nature in a ‘what the..?’ way, wishing for ‘doggie style’!

  82. .
    “Spawn Till You Die.”

    If only Sarah…

    Well, anyway, that’s always been my life-plan.

    Of course, I’m not the one who has to negotiate labor.
    .

  83. teutonic13 says:

    Another piece- from Huff Post…

    Author of “Sacred Contracts”

    Crimes Against the Soul of America


    The vice-presidential candidate that the Republicans ran in the past election against Obama was of equal educational quality. We all know who I mean, Miss Lipstick-on-a-Pig. Even her humor is low-class, in keeping with her intelligence. One has to ask, “So this was the candidate Republicans believed could handle the cosmic-sized dilemmas we now have facing this nation?” Sarah Palin? Are they nuts? Listening to those Republicans lie about their support of her in the face of the crises facing this nation was a crime against the soul of America. Why? Because they did not believe a word of what they were saying and that was obvious. Most of them could barely cough up their contrived words of support. How they could possibly live with themselves is beyond me. But that is the blessing, I suppose, of having no conscience whatsoever. You’re free to say whatever is required in the moment. But if you want to talk about an educational violation, Palin is the poster child. She is a perfect example of the success of the “dumbing down of America” program. No wonder she is a Republican. Birds of a feather, as the saying goes. But you have to give credit where credit is due, yes? So no wonder they fear Obama coming near the classroom. Republicans have little experience with a refined intellect. (They probably are wondering how Obama escaped the, “dumbing down” system. They certainly didn’t. Check out Eric Cantor. There’s a “dumbing down” success story if I’ve ever met one.)

  84. texdude says:

    When I saw the title of this entry I thought it was about the Duggars! That crazy family on TLC with 19 kids and she’s preggers again at 42. They are apparently part of a “Christian” cult called the “Quiverfulls” (yep, the kids are your arrows); if you read about this it will curl your toenails.

  85. teutonic13 says:

    Great Huff Post Column-

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-dunn/palin-no-longer-writing-h_b_280161.html

    Palin No Longer Writing Her Own Script

    Geoffrey Dunn

    Award-winning journalist, filmmaker and historian
    Posted: September 9, 2009 03:25 AM

    It’s already been pointed out by several others that Sarah Palin has a new ghostwriter on staff and that she is clearly not the auteur of her most recent scribbles on Facebook and most certainly not the primary author of her op-ed yesterday in the Wall Street Journal.

    Yes, the latter continues her unyielding obsession with Barack Obama by trying to upstage his healthcare address to the nation today, but it’s clearly the work of someone who can write cohesively and thinks in a linear fashion. The piece doesn’t even sound like Palin. Tina Fey this isn’t. Hopefully Palin’s memoirs capture some of her peculiar dexterity with the English language. (A genius like Mark Twain might have pulled it off, but rumor has it that he’s not around any more.)

    Trying to pass off Palin as a policy wonk on national health care issues is simply going a bit far. This dog simply will not hunt.

    How do we know? Because we’ve seen Sarah’s raw writing on Twitter and Facebook and in her emails–the Palin writings that aren’t ghost written. The examples are everywhere. Just take a look at some of Palin’s infamous “word salads”–as my friends in Alaska call her idiosyncratic manner of slinging phrases together–and it becomes all too clear.

    (read the rest by clicking the link)

  86. pvazwindy says:

    Teflon Barbie, she is

  87. sauerkraut says:

    When I saw the headline, I was thinking “oh no… not a post about certain hate mongers reproducing”… then it occurred to me that neither mann coulter nor rush limbaugh has spawn.

    Whew!

    America might actually become a politically safe place some day.

  88. Bea says:

    Reminds me of that silly way some girls used to sign their notes when we were little: “Love and Kisses, Little Fishies” only in this case it’s more “Love and Kisses Kills the Fishies.”

  89. nswfm CA says:

    That was LOL funny. Never heard of that joke nor the comedian. Thanks for that laugh!

  90. BuffaloGal says:

    Good morning on this fine 09/09/09! Now how often do you get a date that plays out like that ? Any numerologists out there ? Should we be playing the lottery today ?

    Eddie Izzard – one of my favorites. His “flag planting” bit is hysterical. I tried to find it to post but it doesn’t seem to be on youtube anymore.

    Poor little Humpy fish. What a way to go.

    I woke this morning being really, really peeved about Palin getting away with this ghost writing fiasco. How is it that the MSM isn’t asking about this ? I’m going to be writing some emails today. This is just crazy. Can you imagine anyone else getting away with this ? Argh!

  91. lemonfair says:

    So is it possible to catch the salmon right after they spawn and eat them, before they start to rot?? Seems like such a waste.

  92. lexky says:

    interesting

  93. Shadow's Heart says:

    I watched a program on NGO about Salmon Sharks. Never knew there was such a species (I live a very sheltered life LOL) anyhoo has any of the Alaskan mudpups see one up close and personal. In the program they seemed to come in pretty close to the shore line. Besides the great white they said they are the only shark who can adapt to the Alaskan waters. Are they looked at as competition to the Alaskan fisherman and Natives and do they remove that threat when necessary??

  94. Illanoy Gal says:

    Well, I’m kinda sorry for the salmon. Seems like they should have been allowed to have a little fun before they die.

    But, dang it all, they taste so gooood!!!

  95. Aussie Blue Sky says:

    “playing the banjo”? As a banjo player, I’m fed up with being a sex object!

  96. Gramiam says:

    So, what you are saying is that mudpuppies blog……wait for it…….”doggie style”?

  97. Irishgirl says:

    I hadn’t heard that one before. Eddie Izzard is great. 🙂