Here is the most strangely compelling and unlikely thing I’ve found in Sitka so far – a fabulous antique silver Faberge vulture cane handle. Discuss.

No matter how well prepared I swear I’ll be, I always end up leaving things until the last minute. I don’t mean to. I start early. But the length of time it takes me to be ready to go is always exactly proportionate to the amount of time I actually have. To the minute. So, [...]

Starting today, May 7th, there are several opportunities to stand up and be counted in our support for the folks who lay their lives on the line to protect and defend us.  This includes Alaska’s Public Safety Officers as well as our veterans and those who serve them. Today:  Memorial for Alaska’s fallen Peace Officers at 3:00 [...]

Hey Mudflatters!  Haven’t gone to bed yet and am headed for the airport in just a few hours, so make yourselves at home in this very minimalist, spartan open thread.  Next time you hear from me I’ll be in Sitka.  I’m hoping to have lots of pictures and stories to share from this years Democratic [...]

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Sitka Bound! Things are all a-flutter at Mudflats Central today.  Shannyn Moore and I are getting ready to head out to Sitka, Alaska for the Democratic convention this weekend.  I’ll be taking lots of pictures, blogging when I can, and also Tweeting.  [...]

It’s been a while since we’ve had a good troll. We’ve had angry trolls, and profane trolls, and long-winded lyin’ through their teeth trolls, but it takes a special troll to become Troll of the Week. This is why Troll of the Week only seems to happen once every few months. So, let’s welcome Wolf, [...]

Yes, I follow Sarah Palin on Twitter. It’s my guilty secret. Most of the time I can ignore it, because gone are the days of the three-part tweets about grizzly mamas and fireweed, and hockey scores, and misattributed quotes from Roman philosophers.   I used to love that. But here’s one that floated by in [...]

(Looking around cautiously)  It’s pretty dark outside, and all is still.  So I’m hoping while Mother Nature appears to be sleeping I can get away with saying this without jeopardizing it all. I think the snow is finally finished.  Spring is finally coming to South Central Alaska.  Which means lots of water, and lots of [...]

Ah yes, there’s our fearless ex-half-leader mocking our current Vice President about concern over oil drilling.  What was that Governor?  Could you repeat that please? Palin to Biden:  You even called drilling…. safe, environmentally safe drilling offshore as “raping the outer continental shelf.”  There with new technology, with tiny footprints, even on land, it is [...]

What were they thinking?  Good question.  Discovery Communications obviously missed that whole “Sarah Palin is toxic to everything she touches” memo that went out. The creation of Sarah Palin’s new wildlife show on The Discovery Channel was like watching a baby about to suck on a lemon, or your best friend walking down the aisle with [...]

Seems like the state of Alaska is becoming one big Make Your Own Endangered Species Kit. Polar bears, Cook Inlet beluga whales, and now this. The Anchorage Daily News is reporting yet another reason that the current provision to allow Sealaska Native Corporation to cherry pick swaths of prime old-growth forest for clear-cutting and profit [...]

Energy, Security and Prosperity at what cost? Thanks to flyinureye. [While the nation's attention is focused on oil and offshore drilling, don't take your eyes off the trees! Just posted Tongass article at The Huffington Post. Buzz it up and leave comments HERE.]

  ~Thick and fast they came at last and more, and more, and more!  Nanook Gone Bad?  Interesting choice. The University of Alaksa Fairbanks has decided on a speaker for the 2010 Commencement. If they were looking for controversy, they done good. The man of the hour? UAF alumnusTom Albanese. You probably don’t know who [...]

By Rep. Les Gara We have a way of treating each other as neighbors in Alaska. Even in politics, where a loud minority trade in negative politics, most of us treat each other with respect. Maybe it’s because Alaskans know we’ll rely on each other — on a cold day, or when we’re the only [...]

After a sad weekend where the beginnings of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are beginning to be seen in dead turtles, dead birds, dead fish, all washing up on the shore, I just felt like posting something beautiful.  And one of the most beautiful things I know also happens to be a [...]