R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People was released fifteen years ago today, October 6, 1992. Sometime in between the release of Out of Time in March of 1991 and the fall of 1992, I had become a massive R.E.M. fan, and Automatic was the first album of theirs that I was fully fanatical about and whose […]

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Summer has officially begun: the season of travel and concerts. Yesterday morning, we returned from a three-day weekend in Alaska, last night I went to the first outdoor concert of the season, Arcade Fire at the Greek Theater, and tonight, I leave for New York and then Massachusetts for my tenth reunion. Our weekend in […]

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This past weekend, I had a brief but very enjoyable trip home to Anchorage. Aimee is still in Boston for her spring break, so I went back by myself, on the early flight to Anchorage via Seattle on Friday morning, getting in around 1:00 in the afternoon, and returning on the non-stop red-eye, leaving at […]

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Sometimes you find some amazing things while rummaging around in the basement. I’ve been home for the weekend visiting the folks, and in my ongoing attempt to get rid of some of the less important stuff in the many boxes of my things still in the basement, I came across this photo, from when I […]

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Two and a half days is somehow both a long time and a very short time to be somewhere. Aimee and I found this out this weekend, when we traveled to Alaska to enjoy our three-day weekend with my folks amidst the snow and cold and cozy warmth of home. We enjoyedsome entertainment from Alaska […]

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I read with amusement (and chagrin) the story of some Alaskans victimized by ‘Nigerian’ scams in today’s Daily News. This has been around so long, I feel like actual Nigerians aren’t even doing it any more. Like ‘spam,’ it’s undoubtedly giving an entire group of people an unfair reputation, though I guess they can’t really […]

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Our last day in Anchorage was another relaxing and fun one, with a late rise around 9 am, late but still pre-sunrise, so we got to enjoy the lights of the christmas tree one more time. After breakfast, we headed out to enjoy an afternoon of lounging around at a caf?. First, we had to […]

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We had an eventful day in Anchorage yesterday, as we experienced the broad range of cultural experiences and outdoor activities the city provides. We met Neil and Melanie at Snow City for lunch – mmm, salmon cake hero and reindeer sausage soup – and then went over to their new house to check out all […]

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At some point after moving away from Anchorage, I had decided I’d like to go see a show at The Fly-by-Night Club. Deep in the heart of Spenard, the club is a local landmark, a bar and lounge that features year-round entertainment by the famed Mr. Whitekeys and his Spamtones in shows like “The Whale-Fat […]

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I kept telling everyone I saw that everything would have been nicer with snow; I guess I should have qualified that statement and specified exactly when I’d like my snow to fall. Before, during, and after we were supposed to leave Boston for Anchorage would not have been my choices, but as it happened, our […]

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Through the use of the TiVo (as George Michael might say, though not this one or this one), I’ve been watching the six-part series Long Way Round on Bravo over the past few months, leading up to the final episode last night. After treacherous roads and impassable rivers across Europe and Asia for five episodes, […]

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Channel 2, the NBC affiliate in Anchorage, was always my favorite station growing up; I think it was mostly because it looked the best, crisp and clear compared to the soft, fuzzy look of ABC on Channel 13 and the weak static of Channel 11’s CBS. Tom Brokaw was my favorite of the Big Three […]

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Doing our best to keep the place alive, Aimee and I headed to Sub-Zero last night after Neil and Melanie’s barbeque, and true to form, it was nearly empty at 8:00 on a Saturday night. The cool bubble-tank windows and the pricey martinis are keeping away the beer and wings crowds, apparently. Mom and Dad […]

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I was glad Aimee could come up here with me for the wedding we attended last night, firstly because it gave her a chance to meet Neil and Melanie, and also because it was one more opportunity to see the uniquely Alaskan way people do things here. The ceremony was great – equal parts religion […]

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We got in to Anchorage at around 1:30 last night, after about eleven hours of travel time. That’s just what it takes, but it seems longer when you do it with someone who hasn’t been doing it all her life; I feel apologetic for the mess that is always an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle […]

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