Open Thread – Oh, Deer!
I loved this photo which was a winner of the National Wildlife Federation’s wildlife photo contest. Now they are looking for captions. Click HERE if you want to enter, and be sure to put your entry in the comments below too! With that head of hair, my entry was: “YOU’RE FIRED!”
The Hinky Dans are at it again…
Let’s take a little test from the verbal section of the Anchorage SATs. Smoke is to fire, as skullduggery is to: A) Sleeping kittens B) Mayor Dan Sullivan C) Ex-Assemblyman and current Henchman Dan Coffey D) Both B and C. (I push my spectacles down to the end of my nose, examining your answer.) Well done! D is the correct answer. A gold star for you. I’m glad you weren’t thrown off by the image of the sleeping kitten. I wasn’t trying to trick you. Actually I just did it because I like you and I wanted to spare you…
Open Thread – Cemeteries
Today I said a final farewell to someone who was dear to me. It was a difficult and sad day, but a beautiful ceremony on base with military custom, shined shoes, folded flag, gun salutes, and gratitude for service. There is a new soul sleeping in the front row tonight, and knowing him he’s made friends with all the neighbors already. It seems I have spent an inordinate amount of time in cemeteries this year. I like them. There is something serene and peaceful there. I talked to a night watchman at a cemetery once. He said he used to…
Something’s Fishy (Hint: Salmon and the Tea Party GOP)
This week, to the tune of dueling canner whistles on the stove, I packed more than 30 cases of smoked salmon. I smoked fish and applied aloe to my river sunburn. I read the news and rolled my eyes. Too many times I thought, “Oh, I’ll write about that.” Outrage fatigue set in while watching the government train wreck. I started counting the days to go back to the river. Any river. As long as it had salmon. Store shelves have been running low on brown sugar and canning jars. Thank goodness people figured out dry brine beats wet brine…
No News is Bad News for Rural Alaska
By AlaskaPi Parent corporation Calista is closing and liquidating their Alaska Newpapers, Inc subsidiary. While we understand the business decision, we are sad that these newspapers will no longer be available for news of rural Alaska within their communities, and for the rest of the state. We are in a time of change all over America regarding news, news collection, news delivery, and news organizations which are all struggling. There are endless essays and conversations about whether this is good, bad , or both, as well as discussions of the causes, such as the effect of the internet on the base of advertisers and subscribers. Today,…
Open Thread – Aerial America Photo Contest!
If there’s one thing that all Alaskans are presented with on a daily basis, it’s this – the photo op. Whether it’s sweeping mountain vistas on the way to work, spectacular wildflowers, berries on the bush, a moose in the yard, or a fish on the hook, the beauty of The Great Land is impossible to ignore unless you have no poetry in your soul whatsoever. I bring this up because the Smithsonian Channel and “Aerial America” are hosting a photo contest in which everyday people are invited to submit their favorite photos of Alaska. And the good news is…
Ronald Reagan Decries the Tea Party
By Zach Roberts As I write this the 102nd Annual NAACP convention is going on in Los Angeles. Right now in fact they’re having their late night Worship service. It’s a quiet year for the convention – so far no controversial resolutions, no Presidential visits, just business as usual. Last year was a different story. The NAACP was celebrating it’s 101st year – they decided to draw up a resolution. Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau explained it – “[the resolution] calls on the Tea Party and all people of good will to repudiate the racist element and…
My Spiritual Experience at an Anchorage Assembly Meeting (video fixed)
(Shay Kelly and Shane Patrick of Project 50/50) By Linda Kellen Biegel When I left for the Anchorage Assembly Meeting Tuesday night, there were certain things I already knew to expect: — Mayor Sullivan wanted the ordinance that (among other things) banned sitting/reclining on the sidewalk pulled from the agenda and sent back to a committee to be “fixed” (Translation: Mayor Sullivan was getting pounded in the press and in public opinion and just wanted it to stop) — Debbie Ossiander and/or the Mayor made it clear to the media that public testimony on the Ordinance would still be open…
Palin’s Movie “The Undefeated” Heads for DVD
In the Sarah Palin documentary, “The Undefeated,” one of the more evocative scenes of violence was when the bloggers (played by a ravenous pack of lionesses) chased down and tackled a hapless terrified zebra (Sarah Palin). If I were making a documentary about the documentary itself, this would be the zebra massacre scene, with the movie reviewers and the general public played by the lionesses, and the movie itself played by the doomed zebra. Let’s just say that things aren’t going well. After extensive polling to find her still-remaining pockets of support, one of the theaters selected for the premiere…