day 3 at the fair

the magic continues. 

it's a different world here. there aren't many earnest hand-wringers lamenting gun control in these parts. firearms are a nonchalant facet of most people's lives. I wasn't really raised around guns. my dad had a rifle for protection when we went camping, and a BB was always propped next to the door so he could (gleefully) shoot at the squirrels who got on the bird feeder; but that was about it. I still have yet to shoot a real gun. my ignorance about them has definitely added to my fear of them. it's something I need to get over. 

so I was reading this book about serial killers in Alaska while I was at the fair today. I'm impressed by how much my parents sheltered me when I was a kid here in the 80s. I'd never heard of Kirby Anthoney until a few hours ago. you haven't either? google that shit. it's fucking dreadful. and then I walked around the various booths in the brilliant sunshine and saw this booth... perhaps that's why I'm in a weird mood now. the thing is, he didn't even use a gun. other things kill people too. anyway. 

cue "big sky", the kinks. 

the afore-cited turkey, in flaccid mode. turkeys are just ghastly creatures, much like possums or warthogs. 

but then I saw these two and everything was wonderful again. 

halcyon daze

last week: a very small portion of the queue to foreigner. 

this group: median age 20, knew every word, totally into it. I have newfound optimism for the future! 

I don't miss the sullen, stoic crowds at Seattle concerts one bit.

someone else's Moxa therapy. 

yet another sexy sunset. 

Humpy's. 

I always feel intrusive when I take pictures of strangers, but they always end up being my favorite photos. so I'm going to experiment with two basic rules: 1. the people in the photos must already be in public, where they have given silent consent to being part of other peoples' environments. 2. they cannot be unflattering photographs. 

back at the fair... do you know how fucking difficult it is to take a picture of a bird? the little buggers need a pause button. 

thanks for another fantastic weekend, Alaska! 

this is what I do.

last night's sunset was as orgasmic as always. I love how people appreciate this place. even in the foulest weather, at all times of year, people are out- taking pictures, admiring the scenery, reveling. this is a uniquely Alaskan phenomenon, I feel- at least with such consistency. 

but the rodent-dog and I had this part of the beach to ourselves. 

it was kinda nice. 

he peed on everything until he postured emptily! 

the fireweed is pretty much done for the season. this is one of the last places I've seen with any flowers left. 

the bliss of icterus. 

and then, near Earthquake Park, a bull moose crossed the road right in front of my car! and my goddamn phone ran out of photo space! this is the only picture I could take. I was frantically trying to delete something, anything, to make more room on my camera, but he trotted off. at his closest he was about eight feet away. his rack was velvety and he had red boils on the backs of his knees. twilight is snacktime. I almost always see moose at this spot. 

today was dank and rainy and required greenhouse therapy. the woman at the nursery, unprovoked, gleefully educated me about bromeliads. for example! they "almost thrive on neglect", are excellent air purifiers, and only bloom once in their lifetime! 

and a sexy succulent. 

or a succulent succulent, if you wish. 

entropy-pants. 

and an outtake from "ColeyBear 2013." 

and here is a very abstract image of the inside of my refrigerator. I made fried rice tonight. it was fucking delicious. 

and this adequately summarizes the past 24 hours. 

thanks for understanding

I wrote "beluga peak" on Facebook because I knew it was the mountain version of some place along the Arm. I was utterly fucking incorrect. this is McHUGH PEAK, in all its misty mystique. 

there were frenetic 10-second intervals where the fog would dissipate and the light would inspire thoughts about shit like choirs and filo pastry and telling people i love them and vague plans of how to be a better human being. 

fog wetness! behind me is a 4500' descent into who knows! the inlet? 

where do bedbugs go when their habitat is destroyed? 

not a jacker in sight.

without sounding too treacly and vapid: it's become quite evident that being back in Alaska composes multiple crucial lessons I must learn and finally evolve from. I'm immaturely emotional and ignorantly idealistic about very nearly EVERYTHING, but even I eventually get bored/disgusted with making the same infuriating mistakes over and over...

I shall deem this era "shit figurin' 2013." 

from the car window! 

the rock of love. 

somewhere below the clouds is Anchorage proper. 

probably thinking about candy. 

GRAVITY HILL! you know it! 

don't diagram these sentences.

ever think about how many words that describe negative, daft, or otherwise undesirable things contain schwas? I have insomnia, right this moment, and I'm laying in the dark listening to the irregular rain hit the bottom of the kayak outside my window, repeating "insomniuhhhh" in my head. neguhhhtive. undesiruhhhble. shuhhhht uhhhhhp. this is duhhhhmb. 

fuhhhck it! here's some more photos. 

sexy, mysterious Falcon. 

the park strip. someone spray-painted "world peace" on the top in red, which is why I originally took it (I picture an earnest yet cagey kid tidily creating their first tag), but then the filter did some unexpectedly cool things. 

the lithe, hairless manhood of coley bear. 

the fireweed's not to the top yet, so we're okay for a few more weeks. 

K Street. 

a most anemic tomato. 

the redolent jungles of anchorage. 

uhhhlaska. 

stop being a snot!

here is a better, more focused photo from the chili peppers' concert last night. we were INSIDE THE SOUND BOOTH/PEN! we had free vodka! we had wine that I spilled everywhere! everyone was insanely nice to us! I was never a big fan when they were most popular (too preoccupied with ween's "pure guava", most likely) but now, 20 holy shit that means we're OLD years later, it's astonishing how many memories I have associated with their music. listening to a drunk Aussie slur "californication" at karaoke in an Irish pub in Nice, France. slumped on my parents' couch after school circa eighth grade, watching the video for "soul to squeeze" whilst sulkily eating cinnamon toast. singing "give it away" as loudly as I could, and ever so incompetently, whenever I was driving alone and it came on the radio. a girl I disliked in junior high LOVED the chili peppers and thought Anthony Kiedis was "hella fine"... it was a good show. and the VIP toilets were spotless!

my ward for the next two weeks, mincing badassedly at point woronzof. I bought him some salmon treats today. and I shaved his dreadlocked, pine-needled butt. and we drove around for hours. this little punchline is sucking me in. 

a filtered view of windy, dusty Palmer AK. I saw two stalled cars alongside the highway coming here; both were late-80s red Jeep Cherokees.  

this afternoon I discovered (opened for the first time in 4 months) a jar of utensils I'd never unpacked. I was so mystified with myself for moving to fucking Alaska and not bringing any silverware, or a can opener, or a corkscrew, or my collection of vintage snail forks and canapé skewers... what the hell was my logic in getting rid of the most integral components of a kitchen? I thought I'd simply tossed them in the final frantic purge. I was ANGRY with myself! I bought olives one day and had no way to open the can! luckily, I've only been drinking boxed wine since living here, so corkscrews have been less of an issue... 

Anyway, YAY. I was extremely happy to find this. (a snoopy spoon! a mini butcher knife! ikea measuring cups! another absinthe sugar-thing!)

"happiness is a delicate thing. it is difficult to find within ourselves, and impossible to find elsewhere." -Michel Houellebecq