Farrago

[This was written Sept. 22, but I wrote it under Pages instead of Posts.  Pages are the tabs up above (and below the banner.  So I'm adding it in today.]

I've heard of Fargo, but farrago is a word that wasn't in my vocabulary until I saw this LA Times article on Sean M. Kirkpatrick, who is

"the first director of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO"

or the government's lead investigator of UFOs.

Here's where I encountered the word - I'm giving you more so you can see the context.

"From the start, Kirkpatrick says, he was determined to conduct a rigorously empirical inquiry: “We were looking for any data to substantiate any claims that were being made to Congress or in the social media arena.”

That applied not only to pilots’ reports of objects that seemed to have displayed unusual aeronautical behavior, but a farrago of reports in the press, online and among committed UFO believers about purportedly secret government programs to collect, examine and even attempt to reverse-engineer technology supposedly retrieved from crashed extraterrestrial UAPs."

My initial reaction was that the word was thrown in to sound erudite, as often is the case with such words.  But this is a perfect use of the word as I understand it after reading the definition.  

farrago /fə-rä′gō, -rā′-/

noun

An assortment or a medley; a conglomeration. A mass composed of various materials confusedly mixed; a medley; a mixture.Similar: medley/mixture

A collection containing a confused variety of miscellaneous things.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Also noteworthy in the article is the assault of the ignorant against science.

“In my case,” Kirkpatrick told me a few days ago, “I’ve been accused of lying to the American people.”

He further revealed to the Guardian that he had experienced efforts of UFO true believers to “threaten my wife and daughter, and try to break into our online accounts — far more than I ever had as the deputy director of intelligence [of U.S. Strategic Command]. I didn’t have China and Russia trying to get on me as much as these people are.” 

The article compares the folks who refuse to believe the findings that there was no evidence of extra terrestrial visitors to the folks who refuse to believe in the COVID origin stories or that vaccines work.  

That points to “a larger problem with public opinion about scientific inquiry — science by social media versus science by scientific method,” he says. “You’re seeing the degradation of critical thinking skills and rational thought when it comes to analyzing what’s out in the world.”

"When scientific data confound received beliefs, he says, 'people cry ‘conspiracy,’ or ‘the data is wrong,’ or ‘scientists are making it up.’... Well, some of these scientists have been around for 30 or 40 years. If you don’t believe they know what they’re doing, then what are you going to base your decisions on in the future? Just pure belief and speculation?'

Kirkpatrick is working on another article on the topic of misinformation. 'I see what I was doing on UAP and misinformation as a microcosm of many other issues that challenge the U.S. today. That is, the division across belief lines where evidence suggests a contrary opinion that conflicts with one’s own belief system or political system.'” 

 

Time To Try The Granola. Why People Should Stop Buying The Republican Brand

Suppose you're still buying the same brand of cereal your mom bought for you.  

But after years of loyalty, you've noticed that it no longer tastes or crunches the same, the boxes are smaller, they're only 2/3 full, and they cost way more.  The ingredients list lots of chemicals now.  Your stomach feels queasy after eating a bowl.  But at the store, your brain is wired to put  that brand in your cart.  .  

A friend says she's stopped buying that brand and now eats Brand Y granola.  "Granola," you reply, "that's hippie food."  

It's time to review your old prejudices and find out that granola is much better than that old brand you cling to without satisfaction.  

I suspect a lot of Republicans keep voting R because it's how they were raised.  Voting Democratic is like eating granola, even though they know that the R brand isn't what it used to be.  Plus they keep hearing  how evil the D brand is.  

But they've met Democrats, people at work, school, the gym.  They seem like ok people, on the surface anyway.  Some are even married, have kids, work, own homes, pay their bills on time, watch football and baseball, even hunt, and other 'normal' things. They don't appear to be the evil terrible people R politicians and media say they are.  

Republicans, your brand is no longer what it once was.  I know it's part of your identity.  But like any brand that has deteriorated over the years, it's time to let go.  

It's no longer the party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Or even Nixon, Reagan, or the Bushes.  

Your brain is telling you it's time, but this is all you've known since you were a kid.  It's so hard to make a change, but it's time to face the reality that the R brand isn't the brand your parents raised you on.  It's now a toxic scam.  Time to try the granola.  

Trump Beat Biden In Alaska By Only 35K Votes, 234K Didn't Vote

In 2016, Trump beat Clinton, in Alaska, by 46,943 votes.  

From Alaska Div of Elections

While that seems like a lot of votes, there were 207,287 registered voters WHO DIDN'T VOTE.  That's fewer than the number who voted, but it's still a huge number.  60% of registered voters voted.  

A caveat:  Not all the people on the Alaska voter list still live in Alaska or are even alive.  But even if the ineligibles equaled 25% (1/4) of the list, that would still leave 150,000 people who didn't think it was important or convenient enough to vote.  

From: Alaska Div of Elections

In 2020, Trump beat Biden, in Alaska, by 35,742 votes.  

This time there were 234,247 people who didn't vote.  Say, 175,000 of them were still eligible Alaska voters.

And this time, according to the State's website, there were almost 70,000 more voters.  Trump's winning margin shrank by 21,000 votes, by more than 1/3.  

We learned a lot more about Trump after the 2016 election.

A lot of things happened during Trump's presidency from a pandemic during which Trump said repeatedly that COVID would just go away. See this CNN graphic of his many such proclamations along with the increasing number of cases.

And Trump was impeached once.  

And I suspect, sadly, that many people voted for Biden (but not Clinton) just because he was a man.

A lot more has happened since the 2020 election. 

• There was the January 6 insurrection that he promoted. 
• Another impeachment.
• The 50 plus lost Trump court cases challenging Biden's election win.
• The various Trump indictments and convictions.
• The classified documents stored in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom.
• The overturning of Roe v Wade
• The publicity over the Supreme Court's right wing justices' unreported gifts, in one case, millions of dollars worth.
• The Court's granting immunity to presidents.

Meanwhile the Biden administration lowered the inflation they inherited and passed huge infrastructure bills which have pumped billions into the US economy and are repairing much of our long neglected bridges, roads, electrical grids, internet access, ports, airports, and many other facilities. 

Sure, many die-hard Trump voters limit their intake of information to media that only say good things about Trump and terrible things about Democrats.  But many others - Independents, Republicans - who do get more than Fox News and further right social media propaganda.  

I have no data on how many of the Alaska non-voters were male or female or something else.  But surely there are 30,000 Alaska women, and men with daughters, who for whatever reason, did not vote in 2020, but who have an interest in making sure that the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe, will not lead to restrictions on female health procedures in Alaska.  Let's let them know they can flip Alaska blue.  Yes, I know it's a stretch, but it's certainly within possibility.

For context, NPR reported in 2020 the margins in the swing states that voted for Biden:

Arizona - 10,457 votes

Georgia - 12,670

Michigan - 154,188

Nevada - 33,506

Pennsylvania - 81,660

Wisconsin - 20,282

 Alaska has way fewer people than these states.  Nevertheless, there were 237,000 registered voters in Alaska who didn't vote in 2020. 

Listen To This Ezra Klein Interview With Tim Walz

I don't embed long (or even short) videos here that aren't my own very often. Find some activity where you'll get something useful done that needs doing but lets you also listen. I cleaned out the downstairs green room before I start bringing in plants before we get our first frost. There's already termination dust on the mountains. I hadn't had the opportunity to listen in on an extended conversation with Tim Walz before this. I think you'll be impressed. And it's good prep before Tuesday's vice presidential candidate debate.

1600+ / Looong Construction Project/Last Veggie Pickup

[Most of this could be considered moaning on my part, though I think that this project inconvenienced way too many people for way too long and could have been better planned an executed.  

But there is one bit of news in here that I haven't seen reported elsewhere - an explosion that cost one of the construction workers an arm, according to another construction worker I talked to.  I wanted to get that in here at the top for those who will just look at the pictures and skim.]

I'm now biked a few km over 1600, which equates to 1000 miles for the summer.  And being on a bike, I'm acutely aware of construction projects that impact cyclists.  

Construction on the curb cuts on 36th has taken forever.  At least a month now.  There's about a mile stretch from Lake Otis to New Seward where all the corners have been torn up.

This is the first picture I took on September 6 at Lake Otis and 36th.  I have to cross both streets to get to the school I'm volunteering at. 

I will say that the people working on this project have been very polite and helpful when I have to cross - pushing the button for me and otherwise making it a little easier to cross.  

This is the same corner, just looking to the right from the picture above.  Friday - Sept 27 - 21 days later!  But they were busy doing things below ground level.  

They've moved this hydrant over about three feet. (I took the picture Friday - Sept 27)  It used to be blocking the sidewalk and has bothered me for over 30 years.  I never thought they would ever dig out a hydrant and move it over.  But they did. Thank you! You can see it two days ago, well below ground level.  

On the west side of the intersection they put new curbs in a couple of days ago.  Here's what one looked like today, wrapped in plastic.  

As I say, this work has been going on for at least a month now.  A couple of weeks ago, I helped a man who was carrying his son through this mess.  I helped by getting the wheel chair through while he carried the kid.  It was a heavy motorized one.  

I asked one of the workers what the purpose of all this was.  He said to improve mobility for disabled people.  Well, it's been impossible for a month.  

And it's been like this for all the intersections along 36th.  It seems to me that completing one intersection at a time would have meant most were usable and none would have been unusable for too long.  I'm sure they have some logical explanation based on cost or that different workers do different parts.  But the result was difficult to navigate corners along the whole stretch - all torn up at the same time.  

And given that this project is at the corner where the University campus begins, it would have been nice to do this earlier in the summer when traffic to and from the University is greatly reduced.  They've also been doing work on Northern Lights at the same time - the other main access point to the University.  Traffic there has been blocked up regularly.  

Explosion

I did ask a worker about the delay the other day.  She asked if I'd heard about the explosion.  I figured that was the day the power went out in our neighborhood.  This ADN article confirms that.

But the worker I talked to also said that a worker lost his arm in the explosion and was at a hospital in Seattle.  That's not in the article and I hadn't heard about that.  I wish him well. (The woman I talked to used 'he'.)

Drivers are inconvenienced by blocked lanes and longer lines of cars trying to cross the intersection, especially at times when students and staff at the University are coming and going.  

Pedestrians along with cyclists, also more directly inconvenienced.  And people with difficulty walking had major obstacles.  In a wheel chair?  Forget it.  They did put boards here and there, but for most of the month the ups and downs of the wet dirt were impassable for wheel chair users.  And I had to dismount and walk - usually in the street to where the normal sidewalk began

I ended up taking a longer roundabout route that avoided the intersection altogether when I could.  

But,while I'm on the subject of bad bike lanes/sidewalks, I'd like to mention - again - the sidewalk on the south side of 36th west of Old Seward Highway.  The gravel spill from the big empty lot next to New Sagaya is a hazard that isn't being repaired.  Where there are curb cuts and cars drive out to 36th, there are always big holes and ruts.  They get repaired once a year or so, but quickly disintegrate.

Veggies

And, finally, Grow North Farm's CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) project ended this week.  The farm is sponsored by RAIS (Refugee Assistance and Immigration Service) under the umbrella of Catholic Social Services.  We've been enjoying freshly picked veggies since June.  And figuring out ways to cook and eat and store way more than would ever buy in a grocery store.  This week there was a box of rainbow chard, parsley, celery, and potatoes.  Then we had a choice of Brussel sprouts or cabbage - see picture below.

You can join the list of CSA subscribers next spring.  Go to the Grow North link and ask to be put on an email list so you'll know when to sign up.  

Slow Blogger

I still have pictures from last Saturday's hike to Winner Creek and a bunch of new books from Loussac Library to post.  And a couple of more political posts in draft form.  Volunteering at the school is getting me up earlier than normal and started with the day.  That's good.  And the kids are great.  

Trae Crowder - A Comic Treasure

I get to see Trae Crowder comment regularly because I follow him on Spoutible (yes, check it out, it's one of the Twitter exit ramp sites that actively works to prevent bots and abusive behavior, run by a Black IT guy - Christopher Bouzey).  

But I realized that some of my readers may not have encountered Trae.  I don't know anyone who talks this way and I wonder how many others who do, share Trae's political leanings.  I hope, a lot.  So, if you don't know Trae, do watch the video from his Youtube channel.

As he says on here, he's basic gig is being a standup comedian.  I definitely would go see him (and many others would too) if he came to Anchorage.  

Anchorage International Film Festival (AIFF) 2024 Dec 6-15

We're less than three months away from the 2024 festival - that in recent years has been on Moviemakers Magazine "25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World" and

top "20 Film Festivals for First-Time Filmmakers."

For the last several years, the Festival directors were Ida Theresa Myklebost and John Gamache.  They brought us great films, enthusiasm, and organization.  Ida is a filmmaker who had had films shown at AIFF - a very moving one I remember was about refugees living in a camp in Greece.  Local selection of films was less while they were at the helm.  

This year we have two new festival directors.  I got this from AIFF: 

"Pat McGee and Adam Linkenhelt bring over a decade of collaborative experience in documentary filmmaking. Together, they have created powerful, character-driven stories that have been praised by critics from the LA Times and Variety for being "gripping," "humanistic," and "illuminating." Their notable works include "American Relapse,"

"Prisoner of the Prophet," "CAL FIRE," "Bernie Blackout," "The Deported," and "From the Hood to the Holler," which won the audience award at AIFF in 2022. Their projects have been featured on major platforms such as NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, HULU, VICE, A&E, DISCOVERY, MAX and PEACOCK.

"From the Hood to the Holler" was a very inspirational film about Charles Booker's grassroots movement in Kentucky and campaign for US Senate against Mitch McConnell. You can see the film on YouTube.

 "Kim Walsh, the newly appointed Director of Operations, brings a wealth of experience in event management and operations. Kim's involvement includes working with film festivals and industry events in a variety of roles, including Sundance Film Festival and Key West Film Festival. Her expertise and dedication will be instrumental in ensuring the smooth execution of AIFF’s operations and events.

"Caroline Murphy, the newly appointed Director of Development, brings over twenty years of experience as a producer and casting director for television and film. Caroline's career includes working with major networks and streamers. Her leadership in fundraising and building partnerships will be pivotal in advancing the growth of AIFF.

I'll let you know more as I find out more.  But I did also learn that there are two new competition categories of films this year:

1. Real-World Impact

This competitive category will feature documentaries and scripted films that strive to change the world through powerful storytelling and impactful narratives, highlighting pressing social issues and inspiring action. Emphasizing works from young and emerging filmmakers, this category aims to showcase and support independent storytelling that engages with significant causes such as LGBTQ+, climate justice, racial equity, and mental healthcare.

2. Explorer’s Achievement Award

Celebrating the incredible achievements of explorers and adventurers pushing the boundaries of the human spirit, this category will showcase films documenting physical journeys as well as exploring the emotional and philosophical dimensions of adventure. Curated by Explorer's Club filmmaker Gregory Taylor, these films will inspire audiences and honor the courage and curiosity that drive human exploration.

So mark Dec 6-14 on your calendars.  The films selected for the festival haven't been announced yet, but I know there will be lots of interesting ones to see.  And local jurors will have more say in which films are selected.  

The basic venues will be Bear Tooth and the Anchorage Museum.   

Innocence Project Ribs, Veggie Pickup, Steller Turns 50

Keeping busy these days.  I'm in the third grade class daily mostly helping one young man catch up on his English but also with other kids too.  Biking in the breaks in the rain.   

Also went to the Alaska Innocence Project's BBQ Rib Cook-off.  This year their invite also mentioned there'd be veggie options too.  The baked beens were great.  

Justice is one of my most cherished values, and the idea of innocent people be locked up, even executed, moves me greatly.  Right now the national Innocence Project is working to prevent an innocent man from being executed. 

"The Missouri Supreme Court has scheduled the execution of Mr. Williams on Sept. 24, for a crime he did not commit."

Even the prosecuting attorney involved has changed his mind.

"The St. Louis County prosecuting attorney reviewed these DNA results and filed a motion to vacate Mr. Williams’ conviction because he believed the DNA results proved by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Williams did not commit this crime."

Moving on to the execution, when there is serious question, even if not definite proof, of innocence, tells me these people are not serious about justice. 

The BBQ took place at the Alaskan Airmen's Association great building at Lake Hood float plane base.  It's a great location, but the steady rain and cloud cover that evening meant there were very few planes taking off or landing.  And one would hope they might consider a name change soon.  Airmen seems a lot sexist.  I suspect they could find reasonable synonyms, like pilots, flyers, etc.  

Picked up our Thursday veggies from Grow North Farms.  

And Friday afternoon went to the Community part of the Steller Secondary School 50th Anniversary celebration.  Here's one of the students who spoke to the crowd hold the Legislative Proclamation Rep. Alyse Galvin presented the school.  Alyse was involved with Steller a long time as a parent.  (As were we, but not for so long).  I saved this picture in fairly high resolution.  The story is pretty cool, but not sure you can read it.  Among the signatures is Sen. Jesse Kiehl of Juneau, who was a Steller student when my daughter was.  

Here's Rep. Galvin talking to the gathering before making the presentation of the Certificate.  To the side are the student speaker (whose name I didn't catch), the principal Maria Hernandez, and a parent who worked hard to organize the anniversary weekend.  

And here's Bob Reid, one of the original Steller teachers back in 1974, who came up from Texas to participate.  Bob talked about how the school got started and the ideals of creating a school where everyone participated in the decisions on courses, rules, etc.  Students, teachers, administrators, staff, and parents.  And how the vision was to bring the world into the school and involve the students out in the world.  

Bob was also a neighbor of ours before he moved to Texas, so it was great to see him again.  His major claim to fame for me was that he was the host of "Nothing but the Blues" on the then new public radio station KSKA.  

For those who can't read the Legislative Proclamation, here's part of it:

"The self-directed aspect of Steller Secondary School is a big part of what makes Steller so successful, and so unique.  With an emphasis on responsibility to self and to one's community, students, parents, and staff work together through a democratic process to set school policy and procedures.  The school ethic encourages self-advocacy and inquiry:  students are encouraged to participate in collaborative processes to determine what courses should be offered and which events will take place. 

With no bells to call students to class, no advanced placement classes, and no interscholastic sports, students who choose to attend Steller find themselves both appropriately challenged and personally engaged through the opportunity to co-create independent studies and intensives with their instructors and their peers, and to develop self-directive intensives ranging from foreign and domestic travel, sports, carpentry, drama, creative writing, sculpture, and batik, to fun with math and the chemistry of cosmetics.

As part of Stellar's commitment to their motto, "only the educated are free," and their recognition that education of the individual occurs in the context of an interdependent world, the school heavily emphasizes service to community, both through a sustained commitment to service intones community, region, and state, and through a commitment to one another within the school's peer mentoring and leadership opportunities."

I'd note, that while it says "no advanced placement classes, and no interscholastic sports," students are free to arrange those activities at other schools in the district.  My daughter took advanced placement classes at another high school and she took German at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) while she was in high school.  And NBA player Trajan Langdon played basketball for East High School while he was at Steller.  

The school was named after Georg Steller, (from Wikipedia):

"Georg Wilhelm Steller (10 March 1709 – 14 November 1746) was a German-born naturalist and explorer who contributed to the fields of biology, zoology, and ethnography. He participated in the Great Northern Expedition (1733–1743) and his observations of the natural world helped the exploration and documentation of the flora and fauna of the North Pacific region.

Steller pursued studies in theology and medicine before turning his attention to the natural sciences. In 1734, he joined the Russian Academy of Sciences as a physician, eventually being selected to accompany Bering's expedition to the uncharted waters between Siberia and North America. Steller kept detailed records of species and cultures encountered, as well as ocean currents during the journey. . ."

Among the regular visitors to our backyard, the Steller's Jay was named after Georg Steller.  (The photo is from a 2014 post and I wrote then that I did nothing to enhance the color. The light was just right.)

So connecting several threads here, I took Dr. Margritt Engel to the Steller anniversary celebration.  Dr. Engel was my daughter's UAA German teacher while my daughter was at Steller.  But more important, Dr. Engel translated Georg Steller's journals from the expeditions to Siberia and North America.  She brought two with her to give to the school for their library and to arrange for further interaction with the school and scholarship on its namesake.   

Harris Was Presidential, But Trump . . .

Trump scowled and scolded and lied expansively about Harris and Biden and bragged about how everything he ever did was the greatest accomplishment anyone has ever seen.

But Trump did sound authoritative.  Every lie was said with absolutely certainty on his part.  People who listen to tone, but don't pay attention to the words or the truth, and haven't paid attention to politics until now, may have been impressed at how 'strong' he sounded.  His lies were non-stop, but he sounded coherent, not the way he rambles on his Tweets and at his rallies.

But Harris was logical, calm but firm, and full of facts and plans, though she didn't have time to get into much detail.  She did goad Trump regularly and it clearly got to him.  

To me, Harris was a far better debater throughout.  But I cannot guess at what people who still haven't decided about which candidate to vote for.  The fact that they are still uncertain is something I can't fathom.  

1400 Cloudy Kilometers And A Very Short Pencil

Friday I passed the 1400 kilometer mark on my bike since April. According to Google that's 869.9197 miles.  That's more than I did last summer or the summer before.  And it's only early September.  200 more kilometers shouldn't be an issue.  1600 would be, well I was thinking 1000 miles, but since I had the conversion table up, I checked.  It's only 994.2 miles.  Google says I need to go 1609 km to get to 1000 miles.  But that's doable too.  

While that may seem like a lot (I hope it does), in perspective it's not that much for a whole summer.  Kristen Faulkner, of Homer, Alaska, won the Olympic road bike race. 

She rode 158 km (98 miles) in "a fraction under four hours."  That's more than a tenth of my summer production in four hours!  Even accounting for the fact that getting to and from the bike trail includes some stop signs and traffic lights, and the bike trail requires some slowing down for walkers, dogs, and occasionally moose, and that she's to a bike much more suited to going fast . . . well you get the idea.  My 1400 km is good exercise, but nothing sensational.  

I did see an obituary today for a man older than I am.  He died after an ebike accident on the Bird to Gird route.  Mine is not an ebike. 

You can watch Faulkner below.  [It seems you have to click the link and watch it on YouTube, not here.]

In recent weeks there have been lots of cloudy, even rainy, days.  But most days had times when biking was good and the sun even made appearances.  

I've mentioned in an earlier post that I'm back in the third grade - as a volunteer.  I don't want to say much about that, because the privacy of the kids is a paramount concern.  I do want to say that working with these kids is pure joy.  And given the education cuts in the State budget, the kids and their teachers need all the help they can get.  

I'd call out to any retired teachers to volunteer.  But also to people who weren't teachers, but also just people who are good with kids.  I contacted the school first and they told me to fill out a volunteer form on the Anchorage School District website.  Figure out what skills you have to offer.  Just being a caring person. who's willing to follow the lead of the classroom teacher, is all you need.  Sometimes I'm walking around and just watching kids doing their work and helping out if they have trouble.  Sometimes I've been given a group of kids and listen as they read from their reading lesson book.  Sometimes I spend more time with one kid who needs extra attention.  You can work out how much time to spend - from an hour a week on up - with your local school.  

I imagine that there are people who would cause the teacher more grief than having no one helping.  But most people can do this.  I guess my superpower here is that I remember being a kid - especially things I got in trouble for, or would have if I'd been caught.  I remember what I was thinking.  Like during nap time in pre-school when I couldn't sleep.  There was a finger-sized hole in the paint on the wall next to my cot.  This was thick greenish (in my memory anyway) that bulged a bit from the wall.  By the time nap time was over, the hole was much, much bigger and Aunty Helen (the pre-school owner) was not happy with me.  But it wasn't malicious.  It was just curiosity.  So when kids are curious, I'm much more understanding than Aunty Helen was. (Actually, she and I were generally good friends.)

So while I don't want to say too much specific, I can show you this picture of one kid's pencil.  While I'd like to say it's a sign of thrift, I think it's more about the kids' general fascination with pencil sharpeners, both manual and electric.