Barry Goldwater pilots a 737 between Seattle and Everett, Wash.

Thank the Lord he wasn't piloting a bomber!  The original caption to this photo:

"1964 GOP Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater pilots a Boeing 737 twinjet during a visit to Boeing facilities. Goldwater flew the plane from Seattle to Everett, Washington, and back, including take-off and landings, while touring Boeing plants assembling the 737 and 747 superjet."

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Climber rappelling down Pinnacle Peak with Mt. Rainier in the background

click to enlarge - Image courtesy of the Washington State Digital Archives, photographer unknown

This is a great photo of a climber rappelling down Pinnacle Peak, with our neighbor Mount Rainier in the background.  The Nisqually Glacier is prominent.  Most of the largest glaciers in the continental U.S. are on Mount Rainier.  Near the bottom of the mountain, you can see the lodge at Paradise and the network of trails through the meadows.

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late penis growth

Drawing: Faces No. 261 - One line face drawn in 46 seconds

drawing by Jack Brummet

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A Puget Sound Tugboat Yarn – Vancouver to Ballard

By Jack Brummet, Seattle History Editor

[from the Library of Congress Washington State folk life archives]

"I was skipper of a tugboat towin' a boom of logs from Vancouver Island to Ballard in 1911. Most of the way down we had one of them frozen fogs, and it kept gettin' colder all the time. The seagulls had slim pickin's that time of year up the Sound, and they swarmed onto the log boom till you couldn't see the bark.

"One morning, about six hours from Ballard, one of the deck hands noticed that they were flapping their wings considerable without gettin' anywhere, and [?] we come to find out, be'jeeze their feet was frozen to the logs. When we got about opposite Meadow Point, somp'n went wrong with the engine. The Chief reported that it couldn't be fixed without goin' onto dry dock, and there we was, driftin' out there in the fog, with little chance of gettin' any help for twelve hours or so, and a darn good chance of fouling on the point and losin' the boom and our skins besides.

"It looked pretty tough until I got an idea. Then I says to the Steward:

“Charlie, how much sack coal we got left?”

"Charlie says: 'We got five sacks in the hole and one part sack in the galley.'

“That's fine, I think that will be enough to get us into port."

He looks at me an though I had somp'n wrong with my head, and goes off mutterin' to himself. Then I calls the two deck hands and tells them to get the sacks of coal out of the hole and carry them way aft. Then I order all hands an' the cook to stand aft and throw coal at the seagulls on the log boom. And bejeeze, them seagulls flew us and the boom into port."

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Indecision 2012

Are we “stakeholders,"

Helpless bystanders,

Hostages,

Or, just guests

In a political playpen

That doesn't really belong

To us at all?

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Painting: Broken

By Jack Brummet

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Faces No. 259 - faces along Second Avenue

By Jack Brummet

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Ron Paul Photographs

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

"about this long"

"no, maybe this long"

"actually, more like this"

RP with Kelly Clarkson at her endorsement event

The two Rons

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Newt nails down the coveted Todd Palin endorsement

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

Ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich has secured the coveted endorsement of Todd Palin.  The Ex-Governor's husband told ABC news today that the Gingrich campaign has “burst out of the political arena and touched many Americans.”

Todd Palin, known as the "First Dude" during his wife's term of office, didn't have anything negative to say about the other Republican Presidential candidates, but that his "hat is off to everyone” in the race.

Palin's wife Sarah has yet to endorse any of the candidates for President.

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Have you ever had sex with Rick Perry?

By Mona Goldwater, Social Mores Editor

The answer to the question in the display ad in the Austin Chronicle turns out to be no.  At least no one has come forward since this ad was posted last August, just after Governor Rick Perry entered the Presidential contest.  The advertiser *may* have had some takers had they, as Larry Flynt has in the past, offered a significant sum of cash for the story. [Ed's note: the advertiser is a Ron Paul supporter.]

At the time the advertisement appeared, publications like Salon duly noted the appearance of the ad, but also said  there is no evidence Perry has ever engaged in an extra-marital affair, as much as his opponents and the left wanted to believe otherwise.  The text in the ad reads, "Are you a stripper, an escort, or just a 'young hottie' impressed by an arrogant, entitled governor of Texas? Contact CASH [Committee Against Sexual Hypocrisy], and we will help you publicize your direct dealings with a Christian-buzzwords-spouting, 'family values' hypocrite and fraud."

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Mitt Romney between a rock and a hard place

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

I was going to write about Mitt Romney's having pigeon-holed himself to the extent that he can only pull a quarter of the votes in any given contest.  Sure, he looks like he will be strong in New Hampshire, but after that?  The right, and even the middle (if one actually exists in the G.O.P today), seem thoroughly unenchanted, as do we all.  I don't see the Republicans circling their wagons around, holding their noses and crowning Mitt. . .at least until they become truly spooked.  And that is coming on fast.  So far, he's shown he can beat Michele Bachmann and  Rick Perry.  I was going to write about this, but when I saw this image on the FYVM web site I knew I didn't have to write anything.  That's Mitt in the corner.

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Middle Finger of the day, No. 24

By Mona Goldwater, Signs and Gestures Editor

Most of the fingers are submitted by readers. . .here is our irregular round-up of fingers of the day.  Thanks to Jeff Clinton for the first Obama finger we've seen that doesn't appear photoshopped.  This round up includes a few other celebrities like Tupac Shakur, a couple of athletes, and probably the 10th Lindsay Lohan finger we've published.  She sticks it out a lot.

finger from the yankee dugout

Tupac

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Scott Siepker - Iowa nice (includes a couple of NSFW phrases)

Scott Siepker - Iowa nice.  A response from Iowa to the media and flyover crowd:

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John McCain's recent endorsement of, and his thoughts on, Mitt Romney in 2008

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
illustration by Jack Brummet

Although Senator John McCain endorsed Mitt Romney in his quest for the presidency yesterday, this is a new position  for him.   Wednesday's McCain-Romney event was a rather stiff affair, and seemed to stop well short of a heart-felt embrace of Romney.  The endorsement was a one-hand-washes-the-other/quid pro quo arrangement for Romney's 2008 endorsement. The only thing missing is John McCain holding his nose and crossing his fingers. . .

In 2008, Senator McCain had a different take on Mittens:

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Etta James and The Grateful Dead ring in the New Year, 1982

By Jack Brummet, Music Editor

I am a fan of both Etta James and The Grateful Dead, but never knew they had performed together on New Year's Eve in 1982.  It's not something that fans on either side of the equation would expect.  And then for a horn section, throw in Tower of Power, well, now we're talking!

Sadly, Etta James is suffering from terminal leukemia right now, and I don't think I'll ever get to see her play again.


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Poem: James Dickeys' "The Heaven of Animals"

The Heaven of Animals
By James L. Dickey

Here they are. The soft eyes open.

If they have lived in a wood

It is a wood.

If they have lived on plains

It is grass rolling

Under their feet forever.

 

Having no souls, they have come,

Anyway, beyond their knowing.

Their instincts wholly bloom

And they rise.

The soft eyes open.

 

To match them, the landscape flowers,

Outdoing, desperately

Outdoing what is required:

The richest wood,

The deepest field.

 

For some of these,

It could not be the place

It is, without blood.

These hunt, as they have done,

But with claws and teeth grown perfect,

 

More deadly than they can believe.

They stalk more silently,

And crouch on the limbs of trees,

And their descent

Upon the bright backs of their prey

 

May take years

In a sovereign floating of joy.

And those that are hunted

Know this as their life,

Their reward: to walk

 

Under such trees in full knowledge

Of what is in glory above them,

And to feel no fear,

But acceptance, compliance.

Fulfilling themselves without pain

 

At the cycle’s center,

They tremble, they walk

Under the tree,

They fall, they are torn,

They rise, they walk again.

 

James Dickey, “The Heaven of Animals” from The Whole Motion: Collected Poems 1945-1992. Copyright © 1992 by James Dickey.

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Alien Lore No. 218 - Re: any kind of government UFO/alien cover-up, the White House says "nothing to see here folks; keep moving."

By Jack Brummet, Alien Lore Editor

The White House recently responded to two petitions asking the US government to acknowledge that aliens have visited Earth and to disclose to any withholding of government interactions with Aliens, of Greys.

5,387 people signed a petition asking for disclosure of any communications with aliens.

12,078 citizens signed a request for a formal acknowledgement from the White House that extraterrestrials have been engaging the human race.  "Hundreds of military and government agency witnesses have come forward with testimony confirming this extraterrestrial presence," the second petition states. "Opinion polls now indicate more than 50% of the American people believe there is an extraterrestrial presence and more than 80% believe the government is not telling the truth about this phenomenon. The people have a right to know. The people can handle the truth."

These petitions were generated by an Obama Administration initiative--‘We the People'--which requires White House staffers to respond to any issue that receives at least 25,000 online signatures. The White House promised to respond if the petitions got 17,000 more signatures by October 22nd.

The following is the Official White House Response to "formally acknowledge an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race - Disclosure. and 1 other petition."

By Phil Larson, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy

"Thank you for signing the petition asking the Obama Administration to acknowledge an extraterrestrial presence here on Earth.

"The U.S. government has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race. In addition, there is no credible information to suggest that any evidence is being hidden from the public's eye.

"However, that doesn't mean the subject of life outside our planet isn't being discussed or explored. In fact, there are a number of projects working toward the goal of understanding if life can or does exist off Earth. Here are a few examples:

"SETI—the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence—was originally stood up with help from NASA, but has since been moved to other sources of private funding. SETI's main purpose is to act as a giant ear on behalf of the human race, pointing an array of ground-based telescopes towards space to listen for any signal from another world.

"Kepler is a NASA spacecraft in orbit that's main goal is to search for Earth-like planets. Such a planet would be located in the "Goldilocks" zone of a distant solar system—not too hot and not too cold—and could potentially be habitable by life as we know it. The Kepler mission is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover Earth-sized, rocky planets in or near the habitable zone of the star (sun) they orbit.

"The Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, is an automobile-sized rover that NASA is launching soon. The rover's onboard laboratory will study rocks, soils, and other geology in an effort to detect the chemical building blocks of life (e.g., forms of carbon) on Mars and will assess what the Martian environment was like in the past to see if it could have harbored life.

"A last point: Many scientists and mathematicians have looked with a statistical mindset at the question of whether life likely exists beyond Earth and have come to the conclusion that the odds are pretty high that somewhere among the trillions and trillions of stars in the universe there is a planet other than ours that is home to life.

"Many have also noted, however, that the odds of us making contact with any of them—especially any intelligent ones—are extremely small, given the distances involved.

"But that's all statistics and speculation. The fact is we have no credible evidence of extraterrestrial presence here on Earth."

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Poem: A shock of wheat

photo courtesy of NASA/Jet Propulsion Labs and The Taxpayers

By Jack Brummet

You gather your friends
Around you
Like a shock of wheat,

Like a bulwark
Or last ditch bivouac
In the cold rain and snow.
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I like what you've done with the place:Tubs in Seattle

By Jack Brummet, Public Arts Editor

In March 2009 The Free Sheep Foundation (I think these are the same guys who liberated the Bridge Motel on Aurora) occupied the Tubs building in Seattle's U District, which has been "slated for demolition" for a couple of years now.  It's become an wonderfully and continually changing canvas for whatever artist or tagger shows up.  Early on, people were outraged by all the painting, but over time, it has become a popular stopping by point.  I think every neighborhood needs a building like this. 

I like what you've done with the place.

I always stop by when I am in the neighborhood, but have never seen anyone at work.  I think they only come out at night?  I believe there is some kind of loophole in Seattle's graffiti law, in which "the authorities" are unable to do anything about the artistic improvements to this long abandoned building.

If you're interested, there is a Flickr group that continually posts photos as the building evolves.  I took these seven photos on January 2, 2012.

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Digital art: that is love

by Jack Brummet

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Drawing: The Grimm step-mother

by Jack Brummet
[pencil, pen, marker on paper]

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Luke Burbank talks about Mitt Romney, and flip-flopping, and why it's not such a bad thing after all

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

Luke Burbank, talk show host, and star of the wonderful podcast Too Beautiful To Live, weighs in with a great opinion piece on Mitt Romney, and why flip-flopping and changing your mind is what makes us different from the beasts in the field. . .

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