I say seem because so many people think that one or the other or both will pull out at the last minute. But the first protest (that I know of) was this afternoon. Lots of peoples, lots of rumors, lots of questions, lots of noise, lots of cars and trucks honking with the protestors, cars with Ukrainian flags.
You'd think that Putin and Trump meeting in Alaska to discuss a cease fire in Ukraine would be at the top of the news, but Trump leaves so much debris in his wake, that there are a dozen stories competing. And so none get the attention and outrage they deserve.
Texas redistricting and California's response.
Federal troops taking over Washington DC.
Masked and armed thugs claiming to be ICE continuing to sweep up dark people without regard to their legal status, including US citizens, and shipping them off to distant detention centers, and possibly off to countries which apparently are getting payoffs to take them from Trump,
The massive wealth vacuum in the White House, cementing the Rose Garden and making the East Wing of the White House into a glitzy ballroom
Shaking down universities and other institutions that pursue truth
Firing the head of the BLS because he doesn't like her employment data
Leaning on institutions to erase all history of people who aren't white
I could go on, but you get the point. But much of what Trump does these days is terrible by itself, and a distraction from releasing the Epstein files. Is that what this trip to Alaska is?
It was supposed to go from 4:30-6;00 on one of the busiest corners in rush hour Anchorage - Northern Lights and Seward Highway. I got there about 5:20 after picking up our weekly CSA vegetables at Grow North Farm in Mountain View.
I couldn't tell you how many people were there altogether - 500? 1000? 1500? Couldn't say. Lots. Planning really started at a meeting on Monday!
There were lots of rumors flying and I'm going to check out one right after I post this. That rumor was that the Russian delegation asked for 400 visas and then for rooms. They finally got put up at the University of Alaska Anchorage dorms. I'll go over there shortly and see if I see any Russians.
Rooms are scarce. It's high tourist season. So pictures for now and I'll fill in when I get back from the UAA dorms.
This is an Estonian journalist. Estonians have a strong interest in what happens in Ukraine. They have lots of Russians and are a very small country that borders Russia.
And below a Polish journalist asked my friend John some questions.
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I understand that this flag was sewn here in Anchorage this week. It has a lot of smaller pieces sewn together sort of like a quilt.
This guy was still there well after six when most folks had gone home already.
This is Erin Jackson-Hill who heads Stand Up Alaska and was the driving force at the center of this rally.
There's a lot to see Saturday from 9am until 10pm. At the Bear Tooth, the Museum, and even coffee with film makers at the Alaska Experience Theater.
The focus has been on the two films at the Bear Tooth Saturday. One is an Alaska focused film on fishing in Bristol Bay and the other has skiing and mountains. Both those kinds of films do well at AIFF festivals, which, I'm sure, is why they're at the Bear Tooth. And Champions of Golden Valley is essentially sold out already. Unearth has some seats left in the balcony.
But for my money, the film to see will be Porcelain War, at the Museum at 6pm. It premiered at Sundance and has won many awards. It's a film about Ukrainian artists fighting the war with art. There's a trailer down below.
So basically, I'm presenting Saturday as chronologically as I can - given that there is overlap between the Bear Tooth and the Museum at 12:30pm
Things start off early at the first of the festival's "Coffee Talk and Panels" at the Alaska Experience theater.
"Debut Dreams: The Journey of First-Time Directors"
SATURDAY December 7th at 9:00AM
Alaska Experience Theater
First features are filled with passion, challenges, and the thrill of discovery. This panel brings together debut directors who dared to dive into filmmaking, sharing insights into their creative processes, struggles, and triumphs. Hear how they’ve shaped their visions into powerful first features and what advice they’d give to those taking their own first steps.
ULTIMATE CITIZENS is the story of Jamshid Khajavi, an extraordinary 65-year-old Iranian American public school counselor who uses the sport of Ultimate Frisbee to help children heal. In an America where many families are quietly, barely getting by, Mr. Jamshid coaches an underdog team of kids on their way to compete in the world’s largest youth tournament. ULTIMATE CITIZENS is a celebration of resilience and belonging, and the third independent feature documentary from award-winning filmmaker Francine Strickwerda.
It first showed in May 2023, and has been at (and won awards at) a number of festivals this year. The AIFF/Goelevant site says it was filmed at Seattle’s Hazel Wolf K-8 school.
Then come two shorts programs. The first conflicts with Champions of Golden Valley at the Bear Tooth.
12:30 PM – 2:30 PM: International Gems – Event Tickets
"Environmental activistErin Brockovichhas signed on to executive produce “Unearth,” a new documentary that will make its world premiere atDOC NYCon Nov. 16.
Directed, produced and shot by Hunter Nolan, “Unearth” tells the story of two sets of siblings — the Salmon sisters and the Strickland brothers — who live in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Both sets of siblings are alarmed when they learn of and fight against advanced plans for a Pebble Mine — a massive open-pit gold and copper mine — in the vicinity of their homes. The Salmon sisters, Native Alaskans, work on the regulatory front, pushing the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to block the project, while the Strickland brothers, independent fishermen, expose the truth behind what the Pebble Mine developer is telling the public. The 93-minute doc reveals systemic failures in mining and the balance between the need for materials and their environmental costs." (From Variety)
November 16 wasn't that long ago, so AIFF audiences will be among the first to see this Alaska based film. You can learn more about the film at the Rogovy Foundation website.
As of Thursday night, there are some seats left in the balcony at the Bear Tooth.
This film got front page coverage in the Anchorage Daily News yesterday so I won't spent much more time on it here. From their website:
"In the remote mountains of Afghanistan, a newfound passion for skiing attracts young athletes from rival villages to the slopes. With minimal gear and makeshift wooden skis, the determined coach Alishah Farhang organizes a ski race like no other that unites the community in a moment of joy and triumph, just before the country’s collapse
Champions of the Golden Valley captures the spirit of a classic underdog sports story with the heartfelt portrait of a community finding hope amid disrupted dreams. Revealing a stunning unseen side of Afghanistan, it is an uplifting exploration of what it means to be a champion – in all its forms."
As of Thursday night, the Bear Tooth map shows one seat way up in the far corner of the balcony.
For those who have tickets at the Bear Tooth, Golden Valley ends at 2:30pm, and you could make it to the 3pm Alaska shorts at the Museum. But there will be a number of film makers at the conference. If Golden Valley has representatives coming, there will surely be some questions and answers afterward. But if you miss the first or second short, there are more in the program.
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Made in Alaska Shorts #1 –
The Gingerbread Man – 9:03
The Glacier Pilot – 10:00
Footprints on Katmai – 21:50
The Grace – 13:00
Mending the Net – 11:36
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM: Alaska Jewish Museum Presents –Demon Box– This film is free at the Museum, it's not clear if you have to buy tickets in advance to be sure you get in. The IMDB page says:
"After festival rejections, a director revises his intensely personal short film about trauma, suicide, and the Holocaust, and transforms it into a painful, blunt and funny dissection of the film and his life."
It also has a short trailer, that I don't see a way to embed here. I'd note that Leslie Fried, the director of the Jewish Museum in Anchorage has unfailingly nominated excellent films every year.
There's still more on Saturday at the Museum
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Documentary Feature: Porcelain War at the Museum
This is a Ukrainian movie and from what I can tell is one of the movies to see at the festival. From the NYTimes:
"The latest documentary dispatch from Ukraine, “Porcelain War,” brings a message of hope rooted in art. Making art does feel like an act of resistance during the Russian invasion, when Kremlin propaganda attacks the very existence of Ukrainian culture. But what’s intriguing is that the directors, Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, also celebrate Ukraine’s military defense, making for a jangly mix of idyll and warfare.
Slava, who appears in the film, is both a ceramist and a member of an Ukraine special forces unit who gives weapons training to civilians turned soldiers. His partner, Anya, paints the whimsical figurines he creates, and the irrepressible couple weather the war in bombed-out Kharkiv with their more anxious pal Andrey, a painter and cameraman."
"The film has won 30 prizes around the world, including the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at Sundance. This past weekend, it earned the Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Documentary at the Woodstock Film Festival in New York, as well as the Best Documentary Editing Award. And at the Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis, it won the Documentary Feature Grand Prize, which comes with a $20,000 cash award."
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM: Narrative Feature: Midwinter at the Museum
"Nadine is tired and her whole body aches with inflammation and she can sleep. Her son Goldie keeps her active beyond her energy level. Her husband Jack owns a large ad agency and has been a loving husband who has recently expanded his romantic life beyond his marriage to include co-worker Maeve...who happens to be the ex-partner of his sister-in-law Lena. Lena is a burgeoning music writer who, getting over a break-up, takes on an assignment writing about one of her favorite queer indie artists, Mia Hawthorne. Mia is out in the Berkshires, in search of inspiration, a bit frustrated with a high-class problem: the record label wants her to have a co-writer. The mundane poetry of life ensues.
This is no April Fool's post. While the bike trails through the greenbelts still have a decent amount of snow and ice, the sidewalks/bike trails along the major roads in Anchorage are pretty much clear.
Here I am on Providence headed toward Elmore (formerly known as Bragaw). No snow, but lots of post-snow debris. And riding along the streets still means watching out for cars hitting puddles and splashing anyone on the sidewalk at that point.
Here's were the Elmore bike trail dips down to let folks use the tunnel to get over the the UAA dorms. Still clear, but the retreating snow leaves a much narrower path.
And here I'm up from the dip looking back at the snow my tires couldn't get a grip on. But it was all clear except for this stretch.
I've now completed the first 5.6 km of my Anchorage summer biking expedition.
In previous summers I've imagined routes in other places as I plied the Anchorage bike trails. I've gone from Santiago, Chile south to Conception; Chiangmai to Bangkok; and from Istanbul to Cappadocia. Last summer I didn't pick a foreign route. But this year I've decided I'm going from Kyiv to Mariupol.
That's 868.9 km according to Bikemap.com. That's not quite as far as I hope to go. Last summer I did about 1200 kms total. Sorry the map isn't quite clear enough to read the details, but you get the point.
I'm hoping this will give me a better sense of the geography of Ukraine. I was thinking I could go another 300 or 400 kilometers past Mariupol. But maybe I should start in Mariupol and after Kyiv I can head west toward Poland or south toward Moldova. .
We walked about 2.5 miles yesterday to meet J's brother and sister-in-law for lunch, so we saw a lot of things we'd have missed in a car. Like these church doors.
A dog park in Oak Park. Our friends ran into friends they hadn't seen in a long time and it seemed like a happy coincidence. Numbers were exchanged.
I seem to be the only one excited about the new Halloween decoration on our friends' balcony.
This only makes sense if you know that Frank Lloyd Wright lived in Oak Park and there are lots of his buildings (mainly houses) in town. I think some of my Anchorage friends are trying to make this point as the Assembly is taking on redoing the zoning codes. Right-sizing isn't necessarily NIMBY.
Today, October 1, we went to Evanston - just north of Chicago - for a birthday party and walked along Lake Michigan by Northwestern University. It was a warm day!
Downtown Chicago is in the distance.
We drove along the lake to downtown.
Best I could do from the car.
As we wandered on home we passed through a part of town known as Ukrainian Village. I believe the rest of this sign said "Institute of Modern Art."
Finally, our friend took us by a large house and yard in Oak Park. It was bought by Percy Julian.
"A steroid chemist and an entrepreneur, Percy Julian ingeniously figured out how to synthesize important medicinal compounds from abundant plant sources, making them more affordable to mass produce.
In the 1930s chemists recognized the structural similarity of a large group of natural substances—the steroids. These include the sex hormones and the cortical hormones of the adrenal glands. The medicinal potential of these compounds was clear, but extracting sufficient quantities of them from animal tissue and fluids was prohibitively expensive. As with other scarce or difficult-to-isolate natural products, chemists were called upon to mimic nature by creating these steroids in the lab and later by modifying them to make them safer and more effective as drugs. . .
"Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama, the son of a railway mail clerk and the grandson of enslaved people. In an era when African Americans faced prejudice in virtually all aspects of life, not least in the scientific world, he succeeded against the odds. Inadequately prepared by his high school, he was accepted at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, as a sub-freshman, meaning that he had to take high-school courses concurrently with his freshman courses.
Majoring in chemistry, he graduated as valedictorian of his class in 1920. After graduation he taught chemistry at Fisk University for two years before winning an Austin Fellowship to Harvard University, where he completed a master’s degree in organic chemistry. After Harvard he returned to teaching at West Virginia State College and Howard University.
Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of the house. But there are lots of pictures of Julian and of the house in Oak Park.
The point of this being, that the family may lose the house because his daughter is having trouble paying the taxes. From Chemical and Engineering News:
"The family home of Percy Lavon Julian sits on a corner lot in the Oak Park suburb of Chicago. Julian was already a renowned organic chemist when he bought the two-story stone house in 1950. His daughter, Faith Julian, remembers a time when the home was not just the center of their family life, but also a place where her father thrived as a scientist and entrepreneur until his death in 1975. Despite multiple racist attacks to push them out of the neighborhood, Percy Julian would not leave his home, she says. “My dad never wanted to move. He loved this house,” she says.
Now Faith is fighting to stay in the Oak Park home, where she still lives. Taxes, home repairs, and medical expenses have left Faith struggling to maintain ownership."
You can read more of the details at the link.
Frank Lloyd Wright is, rightfully, an icon in Oak Park, Illinois. His house and the many buildings he designed and were built in Oak Park attract a lot of tourists.
Like many important, but unsung Black American scientists, Julian's house and legacy are not as celebrated in Oak Park or other places One would think that the city leaders of Oak Park could work with the Chemical community and Black organizations to work out a way to preserve the house and let his daughter live there as long as she wishes. Certainly there are pharmaceutical corporations that have earned tens of millions of dollars if not much more, from his discoveries.
This is precisely the sort of thing that people like Ron DeSantis are trying to make sure the students of Florida never know about.
When you get a chance, tie up one of your oil fanatic Republican family members and/or friends and make them watch this. It covers most of the relevant issues. Trust me. It's worth watching.
Sunday I joined my daughter and about 100 other folks from the island in a short procession and quiet rally for the people of Ukraine. It was organized by the Interfaith Council. Some pictures.
We're about to board a plane back to Anchorage. Looking forward to a second spring, but it could be a while.
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