North Pole Dentist Won’t Go Away
BY SHANNYN MOORE I was hoping the Alaska Republican Party would self-correct. The GOPers have had more than a month to make things right but haven’t yet seen a need. Oh, I know, they’re just as busy as the rest of us, getting ready for guests, looking for the top of the pressure cooker, wondering if sunburned mosquito bites were worth that day at the Slide Hole. (They were.) See, there’s a bad penny that keeps showing up in Alaska politics. I wonder why Republicans don’t get rid of him, because sooner or later someone will write a story or…
Cute Little Girl Totally Owns Westboro Baptist Church
Remember when Sarah Palin put her daughter Piper up to sitting at a lemonade stand on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion, just to increase car traffic and piss off the neighbors? Little Piper raised $40 for charity. And she was not pleased. She wanted to keep it all for herself, and her mother understood. This is a direct quote from the governor’s email account. “Piper made $43 at her lemonade stand here yesterday, and is donating it to the March of Dimes charity walk on Saturday. She says the next time she’s not going to advertise it ‘For Charity.’…
Bird of the Week – Bald Eagle Portrait
This handsome fellow was warning gulls and other eagles to stay away from the salmon carcass he’d found, but he may have also been complaining about the pouring rain. Bald Eagle shots are very common, of course. To get one that grabs the viewer, you need to do something different. Perhaps seeing the ridges on the roof of an eagle’s gullet meets that requirement. Technical stuff: f8, 1/320 second, ISO 800. More bird photos at Frozen Feather Images.
July 4th Parade Photos – Anchorage (Part 1)
This July 4th was a wet one in Anchorage. The day started with a slight drizzle and then just petered out to be damp, a bit cold. Luckily there was a good amount to do and see on the Anchorage park strip – between the parade and the fair so I kept warm. There was also a chili cook off that unfortunately I forgot to test out. I took quite a few photos – and even after the edits ended up with a pretty size-able photo-essay so I decided to cut it into two parts. The second part will be…
Calvin and Hobbes’ Birthday (Well, the creator’s anyway)
Today we celebrate the birthday of one of America’s greatest cartoonists, Bill Watterson. The creator of Calvin and Hobbes was born July 5th, 1958 in Washington DC. Bill went to college for political science and his first job was as a political cartoonist but only lasted a couple of weeks. While creating advertising for grocery stores he created the characters Calvin and Hobbes – a nod to his poli-sci studies, John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes. The comic ran in papers from November 18th, 1985 to December 31st, 1995 – Watterson ended the award winning run with a note. Dear Reader:…
Music for Your Patriotism Hangover
Back in 2011 at Netroots Nation I was lucky enough to be introduced to the amazing music of Jill Sobule. It was the first Netroots (progressive blogger convention) after the clusterf**k that was the 2010 elections. We were beaten and bruised. Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, were just hopefuls… most didn’t even know their names. We had been inundated with 2 years of “We want our America back!” and other such subtly racist phrases spewed by the Koch funded Tea Party machine. We needed an anthem. Something that fit our ironic, but self-loathing sensibilities. Suddenly on stage came Jill Sobule and she started…
1 Simple Act You Can Do to Save Alaska
On this day when even the most ardent curmudgeon can’t help but feel a little patriotic stirring, even if it’s only for what has been… or what might yet be, you have something to do, Alaskans. Santa says. And so does this guy. Yes, I am talking to YOU. NOW. This is the last week to sign the petition to repeal the most devastating legislation Alaska has ever seen – Senate Bill 21 (SB21). You don’t have to think of him as Uncle Sam. He can be Uncle Jay (Hammond), or Uncle Wally (Hickel), or Uncle Bob (Bartlett), or…
Swiveling for Freedom
Thomas Jefferson. Founding father. President. Writer. Inventor. Nearly everyone loves Thomas Jefferson in this country. He’s a Tea Party favorite, liberals love him – hell, even Christopher Hitchens was a fan. So while everyone celebrates the United States’ birthday – and thus celebrates one of the finest pieces of American writing, The Declaration of Independence, consider one of Thomas Jefferson’s other additions to American life. Legend has it that Jefferson used a specially made chair while writing the Declaration – one he invented himself. The swivel chair. Technically it was a “Revolving Windsor Armchair,” according to Jefferson’s Monticello, but either…
Chicken & Waffles, & John Boehner?
STRANGE OMEN #1 I should have know something was afoot in the universe when this happened just down the road from my house, begging the question, “Why?” Just to be clear, I have never actually seen a chicken cross the road, nevermind in this visually perfect allegorical fashion. I have never even seen a chicken in my neighborhood at all, though clearly there is now photographic evidence that they exist. About a quarter mile and a few hairpin mountain road turns away from the chicken sighting, is something relatively new to Alaska – a fancy gated community. It is called…
Revolution 2.0 – Where to Get the News from Egypt
The US networks are doing (in my opinion) a terrible job covering the ouster of Morsi in Egypt. From spelling Morsi’s name wrong, to interviewing those who previously supported the dictator Mubarak. This is why I turned off my TV, and tuned in to aljazeera.com. For those that don’t know, there’s an excellent 24-hour live stream on Al Jazeera’s website. I’m sure people have their problems on both the left and the right with me promoting AJ, but compared to the US coverage right now, it’s the gold standard. If you have better or just different news sources, please post them…