Must See! AK, the World, and Wally Hickel
Tonight at 7pm Alaska time, KAKM will broadcast the one-hour documentary, “Alaska, the World, and Wally Hickel.” If you are not familiar with our former governor, this documentary will be revelatory. I’ve come to learn that even if you think you knew Wally Hickel, there will undoubtedly be many surprises. Hickel championed Alaska’s unique role of the “owner state,” and this documentary comes at a timely moment, as our current governor, and the Republican-dominated state legislature just voted to undercut all that stands for. SB21, the legislation that gives billions from our oil wealth to huge outside corporations is exactly…
Springo! – Day 8
Now that it appears that Spring may actually happen, I thought it might be helpful to make ourselves a little checklist so we can chart our progress. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some key indicators, so feel free to leave some in the comments if you think of anything I’ve overlooked. This is only my personal list, so others may have witnessed some of these things. I’m only counting the things I’ve seen personally at Mudflats Central, elevation 1100 feet above sea level. It’s kind of like Bingo. Let’s call it Springo! We only win once everything has a YES…
SpringQuest – Day 7
It’s been a full week since our daily photographic quest for Spring began, and we’ve made progress. Like with anything, it can sometimes feel like one step forward, two steps back. But overall, our trend is good. (Feels area above neck) And it seems I made it without my head exploding, so there’s that. The backward steps generally seem to happen at night. So, at least Old Man Winter is too ashamed to show his face during the daylight hours. Lake Whatthehell in the driveway is almost gone now, and has been replaced on the map by the Areyoukiddingme River…
Oyster Roundup! Volcanoes, Armed Mobs & Wine
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Can You Hear Me NOW?? For all the fuss and upset that is happening about 3-D printers that could allow people to print guns off the internet, here is a happier use. The’ve printed a working bionic ear! I can’t decide if I’m going to want the brain upgrade. Mind the Volcano! In this land of fire and ice, there are new rumblings at the Cleveland volcano, in the Aleutian Islands. The color-coded terror alerts at the airport are a thing of the past, but not…
Day 6 – A Spring Creature!
Captain’s Blog SnowDate 05.06.2013 For the second day there has been no precipitation on this part of the planet. Our quest continues, looking for this elusive thing they call… “Spring.” We feel we may be close. Temperatures ranged from the low to high 40s fahrenheit during the daylight hours. It is now 23:45, and late twilight. Earlier in the day we were able to record two phenomena, which support our suspicions that we may be honing in on our target. First: A strange and ephemeral celestial apparition. According to local custom, a large pot of gold should be located somewhere…
Cinco de Mayvember
Don’t look now, but the snow gods seem to have been beaten back by the forces of Cinco de Mayo. I picture them battling up there in the clouds like the forces of good and evil. Snow Gods shooting icicles out of their fingers – zzzzzzzing! Cinco de Mayo gods firing back with explosions of habañero peppers – take THAT! Pchchchch! Snow gods yell, “My eyes! My eyes!” and stumble backward retreating to the ice palace at the pole. And when the smoke cleared… THIS. Today, the sun sunned, and the wind unwinded, and neither flake nor drop fell from…
Parnell – Dug in Like a Tick
Well, I’m surprised. Gov. Sean Parnell announced Friday that he will run for governor again. “Fantastic! I get to vote for Sean Parnell as governor again!” said no one within earshot of me ever. The anticipation of his announcement, and the speculation around it, was fierce. Would he give Mark Begich a run for his money for the U.S. Senate? Would he figure his work was done, having succeeded in passing a bill to give billions to oil companies for no guarantees, and just start picking out wallpaper for a K Street office? He’s dug in like a tick. I…
Mayvember – Day 4
REALLY? This was the world that greeted me today. Today. May 4th. My plan to keep blogging about Mother Nature until I shame her into getting her act together is not meeting with the success I’d hoped. I’m getting something more like an angry Nature Dad with a willow switch, “You gonna cry? Huh? I’ll give you something to cry about!” In the blind and desperate hope that my eyes were playing tricks on me, I checked the other side of the house. Same deal. A fresh inch of new snow with more coming down as I snapped –…
WWII Vet Tours USS Anchorage
[Editor’s Note: Through the magic of Facebook, I learned that my friend Peggy Wilcox’s dad was a World War II vet, and was going to go on a tour of the USS Anchorage before it headed out to sea. My dad was a WWII veteran as well, and I found myself imagining what it would have been like to tour the ship with him. I asked Peggy if she’d be kind enough to write a little something about her dad, and the day.] By Peggy Wilcox My dad is pretty cool. We hang out. He tells me to buy gold, I ignore…
The Search for Spring – Day 3
Friday, May 3. It did not snow. This alone is cause for a certain measure of celebration. I thought about basking in the sultry (albeit cloudy) 45-degree day by lounging “lakeside” on the driveway. I was quickly disabused of this notion by the incredible gusts of wind that almost caused white caps on Loc Whatthehell… if you can even have whitecaps on a giant mud puddle. Even if you can’t, I was quite sure my little paper umbrella would blow right out of my rum punch. Instead, the day called me down the hill where I found my tropical paradise…