Uncommon Wisdom #31

FORRRRRRRRRRRE!

Whennn Are We Gonna Get Therrrrrrrrrre?

It's a quiet and uneventful Sunday, the perfect time to debut a new Frozen Grin Feature: The Helldometer. (I'll pause for a minute so all you news-starved editors out there can remake your Monday front pages.) What is the Helldometer? Allow me to direct your attention to the right-hand column of this blog, where this sensitive and sophisticated instrument sits. For those of you who are too lazy to shift your eyes all that way, here is the essence of the idea:

Many Americans, from all points of the political spectrum, think things are going to Hell. Wall Street bailouts, massive oil spills, culture wars at home, actual wars abroad, shrillness in the media, and the acrimony that taints politics tend to confirm this view. But how close are we? Check the HELLDOMETER to find out!

Like the odometer in your car, the Helldometer measures miles, in this case the number of miles to Hell. As this is a purely gut-level idea of where we are, this number will be set by Frozen Grin readers who can vote for one of the distances in the poll below. 999 miles is the maximum distance possible, 1 mile means put on your fire suits and abandon ye all hope. This unscientific, yet darn interesting poll will be updated weekly. The Helldometer is presently blank pending the outcome of the first vote.

If you find a mere vote a disservice to your complex, multifaceted world view, please feel free to post your reasoning as a reply to this post. Don't miss your chance to take part in this historic first round of voting. The eyes of the World are upon us!

They Look Like Ants From Here

Alaska; Where Love is the Deadliest Catch

I just got word that my combat fishing video, "The Banks of the RollingKenai" is now posted exclusively at Litsite. Fish! Love! Tragedy! Who Could pass all that up? Click on over!

Uncommon Wisdom #30

"90% of life is just showing up"...Alaska Press Club Honors "Frozen Grin"

The Frozen Grin PR team would like you to know that cartoons from Frozen Grin and this blog itself garnered honors from the Alaska Press Club in its most recent annual competition. My cartoons took first place in the "Best Editorial Cartoon" category. The judge Jimmy Margulies, is a respected cartoonist for the Record in New Jersey. Margulies commented that "... poignant, funny and well drawn cartoons made his work the clear winner. I was particularly impressed that the cartoon with the two polar bears, in one drawing commented on both global warming in a way particularly germane to Alaska, as well as the floating trash island. He takes full advantage of using color to enhance his cartoons’ strong ideas."

"Frozen Grin" was picked as second in the "Best Blog" category. Judge Lena West made her remarks short and sweet "I liked Frozen Grin because the original art work is fabulous and I feel like I really understand this person's point of view. He also posts consistently." Posting consistently was a point she mentioned in all three of her comments on her favorites, adding more proof to Woody Allen's observation that "90% of life is just showing up". Which reminds me, thanks to all who have visited and commented on the blog, it was good of you to show up.

Soup of the day: Wild chicken and rice

Another iphone drawing, this one lightly modified in photoshop. Done in a restaurant and the car on the way to a gig after being told by waitress that today's soup was "Wild Chicken with Rice"

Poetry Cornered: Ode to a mosquito

You wanted blood,
And blood was shed.
Too bad it's yours,
And now you're dead.

A well–oiled machine