Walker & Wielechowski – Alaska First
It’s summer. I don’t watch TV in the summer. I fish. So I first heard about the Domino’s ad, “powered by pizza,” with its slam on halibut, by reading the Mudflats blog. Yes, I know, Domino’s “thought halibut was a funny word.” The ad shows a lonely man in a dark room spitting halibut into a pie plate as the announcer says, “No one ever had a world-changing idea over halibut. NO way…” Having just returned from my hometown, the “Halibut Capital of the World,” Homer, Alaska, I had almost 20 pounds of fresh halibut fillets on ice. (Thanks, Pop!)…
Domino’s Pizza Trashes Alaska Seafood
Why do you hate Alaska, Domino’s pizza? The new “Powered by Pizza” ad campaign for Domino’s Pizza asserts that good ideas and American innovation begin over pizza. It’s the food of brainstorming sessions, cutting-edge garage bands, and geeky future startup pioneers. Domino’s isn’t really my thing, but it’s a clever, upbeat sort of ad—something a little different, and inoffensive. Or so I thought. They seem to have taken a cue from our former half-term governor who isn’t content to simply promote her own ideas, but must also create a fictitious “evildoer” to knock down in the process. And we, on…
The One – A Love Story
Hopeless romanticism plagued my childhood. On a random day I’d wonder if that day was my true love’s birthday. At Christmas I’d stare at the snow outside and wonder what my true love had found under his tree. I was convinced that a “great love” would be mine. The one. The ONE. Part of it came from watching my parents and hearing my grandmother talk about her deceased husband. He was the grandfather I never met. She never took off her ring, because she was still married. That was a love for all time. But really, I fault Mary Epperson….
Stabenow’s Storyknife
When I first started accepting advertising on The Mudflats, I felt a little guilty about it. It seemed strange. And then Dana Stabenow, Alaskan author of the wildly popular Kate Shugak mystery series, snapped me right out of it. She bought my first ad to promote her new book, and told me don’t I dare feel weird about it, and I was to charge her what I thought it was worth, and not a penny less. And that was final. She was the first person who really made me feel like what I did had value. Not just an…
Road Trip to Homer: Photo Safari!
When talking Alaskan politics these days, it’s easy to get a little discouraged. So, here’s a mini Alaska vacation to remind you about the awesomeness that is Alaska. Even on the off-season, a road trip to the Kenai Peninsula, and the Happy Hamlet of Homer is worth the drive. It was Friday when Shannyn and I decided to get out of Dodge for a couple days. Come along, and make sure to put Homer on your “to do” list, whether you are visiting SouthCentral, or if you live here and haven’t made the trip in longer than you should. …
In My Alaska Garden — A Tale of Two Gardens
My friends at Anonymous Bloggers reminded me of something this week: I cannot think of a place where the internet and social media has made more of a difference in intra-state communication than Alaska. In a place this size (663,266 sq miles) where the majority of the land is not accessible by the road system, people who otherwise would rarely converse can carry on regular conversations and build relationships. Such is the Alaska gardening community. Thanks to AB and a friend’s Facebook page, I was tipped off to two fascinating garden projects separated by roughly 600 miles, as the raven…