The Postal Service

Apparently Nelson is trying to mail himself. I've explained that a shoebox (particularly one he doesn't fit in) isn't an appropriate mailing box... but he doesn't seem to care. Perhaps he's seeking warmer weather??? Little does he know that this doesn't typically go real well. [Here's a story that features a picture of Kyle and Tracy's dog, Taro (although he's not related to the photo)... don't worry it doesn't end badly, thankfully!]

Here's Nelson's "too-cute-not-to-share picture"...



And... this is Hayden's "what-about-me picture"...

Barnes and Noble Groupon

I know I mentioned Groupon before, but right now there's a great deal in the Anchorage Groupon. It's $10 for a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card. We definitely purchased one for ourselves and are looking forward to spending ours on a new game :)

The Northern Lights

Last night John and I almost drove out of town last night because we heard it was a great night to view the Northern Lights.

It's actually more complicated than that... It was a very clear night last night, which would make it *perfect* to view IF there was anything to see.

Fortunately we checked the Geophysical Institute and saw that there was a very low probability of any aurora action.

What are the Northern Lights? Here's some information from The Northern Lights Centre in Canada.

What are Northern Lights?

The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south..
Auroral displays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are the most common. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported. The lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.

More information from "Everyday Mysteries" and the Library of Congress.

Vega

We saw Suzanne Vega perform tonight. (This was the subject of a few comments this summer.) It was a great concert. I got to hear 2 favorites...



and



Though I have to say learning that "Blood Makes Noise" is about a panic attack sort of dimmed my juvenile joy on this one.


...but missed the third.



Of course, much to John's disappointment (but not surprise), she also played "Tom's Diner".

We felt it...

Last night about 8:30pm there was an earthquake. The details are below... but (and very thankfully) so far, when we've felt earthquakes we always think it's something else. I thought Hayden was scratching herself and just kicking the couch. So you can imagine the feeling. My sincere hope is we never have to feel anything stronger! (To give some perspective on this map, the epicenter was 36 miles SSW of Anchorage.)

The Weather

I never, ever expected that it would be colder (or, at least, as cold) in Phoenix as in Anchorage. NEVER! And yet... this was Wednesday's forecast. Burrr. The sun is the big clue that the top is Phoenix.

Reservation to talk about weather

I'm definitely coming back to talk about the crazy AZ vs. AK weather... warmer here than there!!! But, I've got a really rotten headache and had a fever last night... so, I'm holding my place to talk about this later. Hope you're staying warm!

Groundhog's Day

...apparently doesn't mean a whole lot to Alaskan kids. They evidently don't care whether a glorified rodent see his shadow or not. At first I thought it was because winter is what it is here and for as long as it wants. But then, I remembered that Arizona winter is relatively meaningless on the other side of the spectrum. (Except for today... more later.) So, what gives? Unclear... but interesting anyway.

$2

Tom (pictured at left) is our school's music teacher. My students had music today. As we're walking out of music class, one of my students turns to Tom and says, "I'll give you $2 for your mustache." Needless to say, Tom didn't take him up on the offer... even though I warned him he wouldn't be getting an offer like that again soon ;)

We Weren't Ready...

...for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip when it came out. The show ran from September '06 to June of '07.

The show, which was written and created by Aaron Sorkin, is like West Wing meets Glee... and we weren't ready for Glee in 2006. It's smart like West Wing. It's sweet and entertaining like Glee. It's witty and charming.

More to the point: 30 Rock came out a month after Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and it's more accessible. I like 30 Rock; but, it's what we call in teaching "high interest, low readability"-- super engaging, but easily accessible.

Then, you peek at a list of events in September 2006... and it's clear, people were ready for Bubble Yum and not Tootsie Roll Pops--no one wanted to work for their joy.

And so, I conclude: We just weren't ready for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. If only they could bring it back now.

Critter Pics

I'm back on the blogging bandwagon. Here's some critter pics from tonight. (I tried to fix the red eye in one of the pictures... that's why it looks a little weird.)

Donors Choose

My pictures for the project funded in September are up on Donors Choose.

Why I Love the Internet

When I was in high school, I'd listen to this Christmas song. I thought it was called, "It Must Have Been the Mistletoe". It isn't. It's actually called "Our First Christmas".

At any rate, I've been trying to find the song for a long time. But, particularly since it was on a compilation CD, I couldn't find it. I didn't remember the artist, or the title of the CD... but then, I found it.

I understand the wonders of the internet, but still I couldn't find the song as of last year. It was just this past week that it finally popped up and finally, finally, although a month after Christmas, I found the song.

Here's 3o seconds of this awfully romantic sappy song :)

Winter's Bone

Scratch that--tonight we're NOT going to see Winter's Bone at Bear's Tooth Theater Pub. Winter's Bone is one of the 3 Best Picture nominees that I haven't seen. I have yet to see The Kids Are All Right and 127 Hours, but hope to see them both before the Oscars.

It's kind of funny, because, some years, I've seen almost all of the films and other years hardly any. This year I'm on a roll to seeing all 10 of the nominees... or NOT, I guess I'm going to have to work a little harder ;)

*Black Swan
*The Fighter
*Winter's Bone
*Inception
*The Kids are All Right
*Toy Story 3
*The King’s Speech
*The Social Network
*True Grit
*127 Hours

Community Acupuncture

I've been doing community acupuncture. Community acupuncture is where you pay some amount on a sliding scale-- I think the one I'm going to is $20-45 per session. You choose an amount that works for you. My first session was private, then my second session was with 2 other people. It's an interesting approach... but, for me anyway, it's what makes it affordable-- the difference is like $120 vs. $30.

Acupuncture has made a difference in my energy and the tension in my neck. I tend to slep A LOT the day I have it done, but the day after is much better.

If you're interested in trying community acupuncture, Jade Spirit in Phoenix (35th Street and Indian School) offers free acupuncture on First Fridays and $20-40 acupuncture otherwise. It's cross-listed in many places and has 1 positive yelp review, but I don't know anything about this place in particular. Let me know if you try it :)

Here are some other community acupuncture locations:

Los Angeles, CA, Eagle Rock Community Acupuncture
Washington, D.C., Little Bird Acupuncture
Boston, MA, Acupuncture for Everyone or Acupuncture Together

&

I've been going to Spring Wind Acupuncture in Anchorage, but here are some other Anchorage Community Acupuncture locations:
Snow Blossom Acupuncture, Massage Now!, and Spirit Path Acupuncture

or AcuTribe in Fairbanks, AK