Alaska Women Speak

Alaska Women Speak is a quarterly magazine published in Anchorage. Subscriptions are available for a nominal fee ($16/year) and they accept donations. Currently, there is a threat of discontinuance because of lack of funds. Please visit their site to read the mission and see if it's something you want to support.

Small is Beautiful

Small is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered
By British economist E. F. Schumacher (p. 12-14)


The most fateful error is production. The captains, the economists, the journalists. They agree that for rich, now is ‘education for leisure’ and, for poor ‘transfer of technology.’ Human wickedness is the fault of ‘the system.’ In an erroneous view the ‘problem’ has been solved. Man’s attitude to nature as an outside force is a battle. If won he’d lose. We overlook rapidly consuming capital. We labour to make capital. Capital by nature is being used up. It is absurd to believe the problem of production has been solved.




This was another "found poem." His words - my editing. I read two pages from Small is Beautiful and underlined the words I wanted for the poem, to be read sequentially. My aim was to summarize and have the sentences be real sentences. It turned out close to my aim. This was kind of a challenging task; it was like I was reading and composing synchronistically. Try it - it definitely takes a mind shift.

My vehicles

Paula Marie Iqv'aq Jung

Welcome to the world lil' Paula!

{Born February 4, 2012}

Daughter of Sara Rearden Jung & Eric Arthur Jung.

Freedom Matters!

It's been a stressful week. I've been handling the cabin fever okay until recently. But this week I was in the pressure cooker... chainsaw troubleshooting, leaky sinks, caulk guns not working, no truck brakes & two incidents (straddling logs & almost running into the street), no snow-go battery (& more steps than I thought to get it going), crazy cabs, the sentencing of the murders from that trial I was on (104 year each - thank goodness), burns from touching frozen metal (my door), frozen sewage (4 days without being able to drain water), exhaust smell from the Toyo, other people stressing around me, work, my room has been a pit (mirroring my life)...

I finally got some freedom today! Freedom from the burden of my stresses and from the confines of feeling trapped inside.

It was +30s (a 50 degree difference from a few days ago). We had a great writing group again. The chainsaw worked well & I could cut five logs without any trouble, or numb fingers. My snow-go started on the first turn. I exercised two hours - pushing my limits. My roommate chopped the wood to get ready for when we need a fire. I socialized (sometimes a feat). Rode my snow-go with Baker pup, who is so d@#n good on there (I'd forgotten). My beer is happy & doing what it's supposed to. And now I'm writing again. What a great day!

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.



I knew putting this photo from Mexico would do something. That balloon has someone's petitions for the new year. My subconscious petitioned warm weather!

Lead

Lead
Expand abilities
Share goals
Train
Shakedown skills
Monitor
Encourage results
Lead and sweep



"Found poem" done during our writing group this a.m. I took a page from Backpacker magazine and underlined the words I wanted for the poem. The idea is to cross out all but those words & read them sequentially. Found it!

Brrrr...

20.6 mph wind + -20 temps. = B-r-r-r-r

Pappy

Pappy always thought it was a dream when he woke up to the sound of machines. The clock ticking, zooms from outside, a hum from the walls and floors. He'd been through nine decades, crossed over the centennial line. When Papp was a boy he worked on a farm. They had cows, chicks, soy beans, and horses. Waking up to the regular noise of this day was something he never wanted to get used to. Why should he? Often as a young fella he'd ride a horse off into the distant fields of the high plain valley and camp. Then, he woke up to silence. Now there are no more horses, no cows, chicks, soy beans, or silence.





What if this was on the jacket of a real book? Would you want to read it? This was a five, maybe ten, minute writing exercise with a small group of people and Deb Vanasse last night. Our assignment was to write this "jacket flap," set as we were publishing a book in 2017, and have a cliff hanger.

It is surprising what happens when we are under constraints to write. As I began to write this, I felt like it was a stretch and didn't really like the idea of moving towards a "Sci Fi" or "1984" style story. (Even though 1984 might be my favorite book. I didn't want to copy.) But, I thought, "I have to finish this. Just go with it" and it turned out okay for a five-minute exercise.

I don't expect to be a profound writer or published more than I do for myself on this blog, but I do strive to learn more and test the waters of different writing. You should too! This exercise helped to reinforce that I just need to write and not be worried about cerebral affairs, but nurture the humble, discovery side of myself.

Just go with it.

Cabin Fever

I've got it.

I'm irritable.
I'm bored.
I'm constantly cold.
I'm insatiate.
I'm lonely.
I'm antsy.
I want to be free!

The Yeast Gods

The "Yeastie Beasties" are having a party! You can't really see it here, but foam had to be cleared off yesterday they were so happy.

Notice the pink spillage on the side. Yes, me beer is p-i-n-k!