OUR APOLOGIES TO SHIRLEY SHERROD

Hi again from the Bastion on the Puget Sound. Well, I’ll tell you what, gang, in the midst of all this going on in the Gulf and in Congressional attempts to repair the economy, there’s an event that so astounded me that I almost asked the Mother Ship to beam me home. If this is an indication of what America is coming to, I’m glad there are six other flags with a sleeping bag welcome under this masthead.

The media, first, has sunk to a new low when it can accuse a dedicated black public servant with time in grade and a track record, of being racist. That’s shoddy journalism in the first place. In the second, it smacks of the worst kind of “deadline” editing. And yes, it clearly points to an issue of bigotry but it is not on the part of the one vilified.

Perhaps worst of all for what it implies about the readership is that the American public would buy it in the first place. It’s like “Do I really look THAT stupid?”

I’m also not real proud of the response of her boss. It’s one thing to be sensitive to the concerns of the constituency. It’s something else again to be held sway by the media. I would have thought that somewhere in the Department of Agriculture, there was someone savvy enough to say, “Consider the source and stick by her. She’s got a good track record.”

It bothers me that this apparently didn’t happen without a nudge from a busy national executive. It bothers me when the nation’s top food boss at first fires someone who is probably one of the best examples of what that department’s allegedly supposed to do, and then belatedly apologizes for it? And it also happens to be a black woman working in rural Georgia? Come on here, people, where is your sense of history?

It has not been easy for this woman. Civil rights and feminist legislation may come easier to Georgia now in these regards but “Damn Yankee” is still one word down there and old hatreds die hard on both sides.

So when a “cracker” (and I use that term with the utmost respect) says that this black woman employee of the federal Department of Agriculture helped him save his farm, that just about covers it, as far as I’m concerned.

I have worked with people like this woman and I know where their dedication comes from. Shirley Sherrod did not deserve this and though I had nothing to do with it, I am an American. And I may not speak for all of us when I offer her my sincerest apologies. Shirley, this should never have happened and I’m sorry that it did.

RELATED
Administration apologizes to official fired over distorted race video

IN OTHER NEWS

Well, Washington State’s budget woes have finally maxed out the patience of our Governor Chris (-tine Gregoire) so she’s set up a website to take suggestions from the constituency. I guess our she has realized that we might just have a collective better game plan than the suits and dark skirts we sent to Olympia to also manage our tax dollars. This is one of the more interesting experiments in direct democracy I’ve seen in some while. Yep, for more, go here.

I thought this one was kind of trippy. The map got changed earlier this month with the formal adoption by Canada and the United States of the designation Salish Sea to cover a region extending from South (Puget) Sound, where our capitol in Olympia is, clear up through the San Juans, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and about two thirds of the windward (Pacific Ocean) side of Vancouver Island. Technically, then, that means that the Bastion on the Sound is located about five miles from the southeast shores of the Salish Sea. Pretty cool. I missed living that close to the ocean when it was only Elliot Bay. Yep, check it out here.

We’d like to mount trumpeters the Bastion round to herald this one. There’s a federal employ in Akron, Ohio who almost makes me glad I pay taxes to the politicos on the Potomac. His name is Keith McVey and in the 20-odd years he’s been a mailman (person?), he’s saved the lives of three people, the most recent earlier just this month. If you want one of those Frank Capra/Gary Cooper/God Bless America/Canada, Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Australia, check it out. Tim’s numbers are not legion under the seven flags of this masthead but it is because of individuals like him in EVERY nation that the propensity for such noble acts of selflessness and species preservation are very much alive and swimming in the human gene pool. Tim, finest kind, sire. Finest kind.

SURVIVING HARD TIMES

Are you feeling the stress of the times and the need to really get away from it all so you can recharge? Take just a couple of hours a week to get off by yourself, sit down and listen to relaxing, peaceful music. That old saying, “Music hath charms to sooth the savage breast,” turns out, according to recent studies, to be totally true. For more on this and other relaxation techniques that really work, please go here.

Take a coffee break on Northstar. This is one of those “quick clicks” that will have you smiling for the rest of the day and humming to yourself. You’ll also want to pass this along to friends who will then think you are so cool in return. For a guaranteed Smile of the Day, go here.

CROSSING OVER

We join the rest of America and the International Community in mourning the passing of journalist Daniel Schorr. Mr. Schorr was a personal icon for me, standing as he did shoulder to shoulder with his perhaps better known colleagues, Walter Cronkite and Peter Jennings, in exemplifying the news as information, and as fairly, as rationally and yes, as compassionately as it was possible for them to do so. I came of age on National Public Radio and no matter what the story was ~ how heartwarming or how tragic ~ it was somehow reassuring to hear it from Mr. Schorr. Born in New York City, he died at Georgetown in Washington, DC, Friday. He was 93. For an excellent tribute, please go here.

NORTHSTAR, THE DRAGON

Earlier this month, the stupid airplane pilot in the history of flight dove his small plan within 20 to 30 feet of one of our resident orca pods, endangering these affectionate leviathans as well as local kayakers and sailboaters.

The aircraft was spotted by members of Soundwatch, a citizens group along the Salish Sea which keeps track of our two pods, rescues any who become beached and report violations such as this to the authorities. They were able to get the plane’s registration number and the pilot now faces a variety of charges ranging from animal endangerment to state and federal aviation violations.

I’d like to see that plane dismantled and recycled and the pilot’s wings clipped for life. Animal cruelty is not condoned in the Northwest and hasn’t since the first time most of us read Moby Dick and found ourselves rooting for the whale.

ON THE CANCER FRONT

Those suffering from advanced breast or ovarian cancer should take heart from the discovery of a new drug that is showing remarkable results. It’s taken in capsule form and apparently what it does is “destabilize” malignant cells so they become too week to survive. One of those who participated in the study had her breast cancer go into total remission two years ago and it remains so today. Yep, check it out here.

RESOURCES AND RELATED LINKS:
American Cancer Statistics 2009
Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009
National Cancer Institute (American)
Fighting Breast Cancer: Breast Cancer Survivor Stories
Science Daily: Health & Medicine News

HEALTH NEWS

Well, this one surprised us a little but it probably shouldn’t have. Recent studies have concluded that the average American spends five hours a day in front of the television set. So now someone’s come up with a fitness regimen that can be done in front of the boob tube. Yep, one less excuse for letting your butt take root on the sofa. Check it out here.

SEATTLE SCENES

SUMMER GUIDE
Let us steer you to the best beaches, festivals and fun.

SEATTLE FACTS AND FIGURES
Seattle Rainfall in Comparison To Other US Cities
Seattle Geography & Climate
For more information about Seattle
For live cameras on Seattle, the Puget Sound and Washington State

CRITTER STUFF

Well, I was some relieved to learn that intelligent bears who do weird things are not limited to the suburbs of Seattle. Apparently, in Colorado, this bear broke into an unlocked family car because it wanted the peanut butter and jelly sandwich left on the front seat. In the process of eating said delicacy, the bruin apparently knocked the shifter into neutral (I don’t believe it was accidental) and rode the rig for something like 125 feet before it came to rest. The bear finished the sandwich then left a nice big “calling card” behind him and rambled off into the woods. For a video on this one, yep, go here.

If you love cats and abhor the thought of homeless kitten, you’re going to love this story about a very special Seattle-ite named Delyn Kosbab, a woman who’s been rescuing cats since she was 4 years old, when her family set up an injured animal nursery in their garage. Delyn and 14 volunteers run a place called Kitty Harbor, probably the most humane, forward thinking, financially practical and creature friendly place of its type I’ve ever read or written about. The woman is inspirational and her model will work other places. This site also had a video and some cat pictures almost as cute as the one of Sasha, above. Yep, check it out here.

Related Links:
BBC’s wildlife finder
National Geographic Daily News - Animals

YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

Okay, here’s one I totally never thought of. When you’re riding a tandem bicycle and you’re in front? How do you know if the person in back is pedaling as hard as you are? I don’t do tandems because my legs are too long but I am curious. Is this some kind of trust thing or do you guys like sign a contract that says you’ll contribute equally to the locomotion aspect? Seems like another potential for lots of drama. Does it like really crush you if you find out the person behind you isn’t breaking the same sweat? Is this like some fundamental trust issue with other implications? Is it something that may end up on the Dr. Phil Show? Well, thanks to this neighbor of ours who lives on Bainbridge Island, there’s no need to put up with shady peddlers, not when you have Joules, the bike-pedaling robot as your traveling companion. Joules is shy and not much of a talker. Then again, he’s honest to his chips and you’ll never have to wonder if he’s putting his feet up. To meet Joules, the bike-pedaling robot, and his creator, please go here. This site also has a really cool video.

NORTHSTAR RECOMMENDS

One of the best books I ever read, in terms of being inspired by other Americans, historically and in present times, was John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage. I’ve since discovered a coffee table collection of paintings with bios entitled Americans Who Tell The Truth. It is awesome. To read about it in the artist’s own words, go here. If you like it and would like to purchase it, please go here.

Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for the ear. Before you leave, if you’re in a shopping mood and into some interesting choices? We’ve got a “reader stocked” General Store that you might want to check out. If you’d like to sell something with us or know someone who does, email us at minstrel312@aol.com and we’ll see what we can do.

Rusty

To Moko, a New Zealand dolphin with ‘tude

Hi again from the Bastion on the Puget Sound. This week, a bottlenosed dolphin who hung out in New Zealand died. His name was Moko and he had a real obnoxious attitude sometimes. He also spent most of his life saving water-stupid human beings and helping water-smart ones rescue others of his species and cousins, like tide beached whales.

On a remote part of the planet, this dolphin has been making communications history and swimming its talk. It doesn’t just care about its own. It cares about us. And it has neither the time nor the energy to differentiate between a jackass and a pachyderm, a Muslim or a Jew, a Baptist or a Buddhist, a Catholic or a charismatic. In his world ~ water ~ we all pretty much look the same.

There aren’t a lot of people in New Zealand so when 400 people show up not only to say good-bye to a dolphin but to build him a coffin and go the whole flipping distance, I figure that’s worth a least passing notice now then, eh?

Moko, you were a class act and you’re going to be a tough one to follow. Thank you, lad, for the time you chose to spend among us. Attitude and all.


IN OTHER NEWS

We’re delighted to hear that apparently BP’s latest attempt to cap the Deep Horizon oil spill has been successful. Pressure tests were run on the new cap and it looks like it’s holding. BP is also running ads on American television promising to stay in the Gulf until the damage has been totally mitigated and to assume total financial responsibility. I’m not much up to raining on anyone’s parade but I’m skeptical. If BP and other industry leaders had taken such a responsible approach in the first place, neither the Exxon Valdez tanker spill nor this one involving a fixed installation would likely have happened or, if they had occurred, would have been handled with more dexterity than the Three Stooges on ice. As I’m sure millions of us around the world are doing, we’ll continue to keep an eye on this and to promote safer and saner alternatives. The Nation magazine just came out with a special Green edition and its lead says it all. “The real solution to the BP oil disaster is obvious: the United States needs to break its addiction to oil."This special issue of The Nation describes, in practical terms, how the country can rise to that challenge.”

It was interesting to hear about the “earthquake” in Washington, DC. We were somehow not surprised. We just thought it was another several hundred thousand unemployed Americans who lost their benefits, banging their fists on the table, shaking their heads and wondering how a nation with even the marginal literacy rate of this one could have elected such ninnies and nincompoops to represent their interests on a national level. I don’t think November’s going to see much change but I’m betting we’ll see a much lower voter turn out as Americans from one Bangor to the other realize that if anyone is going to look out for them, it’s going to be their neighbors, their community, in a lot of cases including ours, our state government. It’s not going to be a collection of self-aggrandizing professional politicians who bring enough pork home to clog the arteries of even the greediest of bacon lovers. Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, God Rest His Soul, did that and ruined his state’s economy as a result. The federal government is failing millions of Americans a day and as self-indulgent as the children of the eagle can be, when they get their proverbial bellyful, they demonstrate a remarkable ability to survive without the assistance their tax dollars are paying for. And yep, an even more predictable penchant for evading those taxes. The Tea Party is too noisy for the kind of revolution gathering over the land now. This “movement” has no leader because it needs none. In my opinion, the changes we’re likely to see have been long overdue.

Related
Frustration and Despair as Job Search Drags On - NYTimes.com

Washington State continues its self-directed evolution toward lifestyle self-sufficiency with a landmark report published by the University of Washington entitled “Opportunities for Increasing Access to Healthy Food in Washington.” Jennifer Langston, the Sightline Daily reporter who reviewed this comprehensive document, said it offers over 500 steps to better eating.
As far as we’re concerned, this is another example that can be studied and applied in every community under these seven flags. So even if you’re not really into it yourself, we’d appreciate you passing it along to community leaders, co-op directors and others involved in efforts like this. Here’s the link to Jennifer’s story. Here’s the link to the report she discusses.

SURVIVING HARD TIMES

This article in Yes Magazine entitled “How to Share Time: When dollars are scarce, timebanks help neighbors swap skills, instead” is as useful as it is fascinating to read. Its lead sets the tone.

“During the last two great depressions in the U.S., hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of people organized to meet their basic needs when the mainstream economy and centralized monetary system failed them. Unemployed poor folks got together to create time dollar stores and cooperative mills, farms, health care systems, foundries, repair and recycling facilities, distribution warehouses, and a myriad of other service exchanges.”

We definitely recommend this one. Writer Mira Luna has done her homework and we also appreciate that the publication itself is sited not far from here on Bainbridge Island, another jewel of Cascadia. Yep, go here.

ON THE CANCER FRONT

Medical researchers in Washington State have led the fight to cure cancer and those at Washington State University in Spokane have found a way to make cancers age prematurely and die.

"Hopefully, we can make cancer cells die like normal cells," says Weihang Chai, an assistant professor in the WSU School of Molecular Biosciences and WWAMI medical education program in Spokane. "Basically, you make the cancer cell go from immortal to mortal."

For this and a lot more about what’s being done to beat this one, please go here.

RESOURCES AND RELATED LINKS:
American Cancer Statistics 2009
Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009
National Cancer Institute (American)
Fighting Breast Cancer: Breast Cancer Survivor Stories
Science Daily: Health & Medicine News

HEALTH NEWS

If you’re having a tough time getting a good night’s rest, you might want to consider the time of day you bathe or shower. According to a RealAge.com article entitled The Best Time to Shower For Better Sleep, “research shows that older adults who stick to a routine when it comes to personal care tend to fall asleep faster and enjoy better sleep quality compared with folks who have erratic schedules.” I also appreciated this piece because it includes tips on how to not only get more sleep but BETTER sleep. Yep, for more, go here.

I’m an unabashed admirer of American First Lady Michelle Obama and her concern for the health of the nation’s youth. Her campaign to eradicate childhood obesity has focused national attention on this epidemic and ignited a blaze of food quality legislation that cannot help but make a big difference. Michelle is also America’s First Mom and I found this interview in which she discusses how she talks to her daughters about health totally ingenuous and certainly inspirational. Yep, for more, go here.

SEATTLE SCENES

If you’re planning to visit Seattle in the near future, you might want to check these sites out first.

SUMMER GUIDE
Let us steer you to the best beaches, festivals and fun.

JULY EVENTS

JULY 5 – 30: Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer FestivalBenaroya Hall - Downtown Seattle. The Seattle Chamber Music Society presents its 27th Summer Festival, held July 5th - July 30th. The main Summer Season consists of Twelve Concerts each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings... beginning at 8:00 PM.

JULY 16 – 18: Bite of Seattle
Seattle Center - Downtown Seattle. First introduced to the Seattle area in 1982 at Greenlake with 26 Restaurants and 1 Entertainment Stage, the ` Bite of Seattle ' has grown into one of Seattle's largest Summer Festivals, with more than 50 of Seattle's finest Restaurants... 30 Food Product Companies... 5 Beer Gardens... live Entertainment... a Comedy Club... Piano Bar... Wine Tasting... and more!. Festival Hours: Friday & Saturday 11 AM - 9 PM; Sunday 11 AM - 8 PM. Nearby Hotels: Red Lion Hotel on 5th Avenue - Executive Pacific Plaza Hotel

PART OF SEATTLE HAD TO BE REBUILT because the tides made toilets, which we didn’t have when our pioneering antecedents first got here, back up. The Pioneer Square Underground Tour tells most of us all we know about what lies underneath Seattle our fair city. It's a touristy exploration of the city's oldest basements, a jokey excursion through an urban underbelly filled with commentary about the foibles, and drinking habits of the city's lusty pioneers. It's the closest many of us come to seeing firsthand the archaeology of the city. Yep, for more on this one:

SEATTLE FACTS AND FIGURES
Seattle Rainfall in Comparison To Other US Cities
Seattle Geography & Climate
For more information about Seattle
For live cameras on Seattle, the Puget Sound and Washington State


CRITTER STUFF

Most of us know how important honey bees are to the global ecosystem. Probably as many of you are aware that something has been killing these incredibly intelligent and complex creatures. Researchers consider these flying insects among the best communicators in the world but so far, they haven’t been able to tell human beings what’s wrong. However, there is a member of our species, a very special person, who does understand them and is on the verge of a breakthrough which could insure their survival and literally redefine our perception of intelligence and sentience among the rest of the creatures with whom we share this planet. Yep, for more on this one, go here.

Recommended Related Links:
BBC’s wildlife finder
National Geographic Daily News - Animals

Well, it’s been about three months since a creature for whom I have a great deal of forbearance but no enduring affection has surfaced again, thanks to a new neighbor watching me out in the front yard hacking away at a blackberry thicket that wasn’t there the night before. He suggested that there was an easier way and proceeded to expound on the virtues of this creature who has a passion for not only the most persistent and fanatical of all our local flora but for a lot of other underbrush that Nature had never intended for a mammal’s stomach. He had me sold until I figured out what he was talking about. If you think you know, go here immediately. If you need a hint, it ain’t Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer.

YOU GUYS (STILL OCCASIONALLY) THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

I didn’t think this one was weird so much as a little discriminatory. As we’ve reported in the past, Seattle’s really going back to its agricultural roots and in a greater metropolitan area which shares its skyscrapers with eagles, its parks and its suburbs with bear and cougar, its trees with sometimes very territorial owls and its neighborhoods with raccoons, the leap is not so great to make. We’re growing more of our own food and people raise chickens in their backyards. Well, now it seems some twit on the Seattle City Council says hens are cool but roosters are noise pollution.

I don’t know whether to send this not-too-bright elected official a bottle of dandruff shampoo for his tonsils or Windex for his bellybutton but it’s clear to me this individual’s head is so far up somewhere he can’t be seeing too clearly. I mean, even for Seattle, notorious for its obnoxious eccentrics, this is a stretch. Where does this City Councilman think eggs come from? Immaculate conception? And what about other hens? Seems there’s also a concern about surplus roosters. I’m thinking, “Sell a rooster and a hen as a matched set when they’re chicks. And two roosters to a gay couple as pets.

With a little creative marketing, there’s a fair menu of options out there. If they can put a chicken in every pot (I hate myself too when I do that), it seems to me they could put a pair of them in every backyard. And community gardens. Make them cool. Get high schools to start calling their teams things like The Rhode Island Reds or The Cockadoodle-Doers. Extol the virtues of male chickenhood. Set up chatrooms for the discussion of them. Form a national organization and pay lobbyists to seduce lonely legislators for laws to protect roosters and provide for their welfare. Make this great nation of ours a symbol of liberty, equality and fraternity for chickens all over the world.

It’s what makes us great. It’s the American Way.

Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for the ear. Before you leave, if you’re in a shopping mood and into some interesting choices? We’ve got a “reader stocked” General Store that you might want to check out. If you’d like to sell something with us or know someone who does, email us at minstrel312@aol.com and we’ll see what we can do.

Rusty

BUDDY, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME: PART II

Seattle is certainly no stranger to what prolonged unemployment looks like. This city of shacks, nicknamed for the president held responsible for the Great Depression, was called Hooverville and their number across Canada and the United States was legion, circa 1931.

Hi again from the Bastion on the Puget Sound. Another 3.3-million jobless Americans will exhaust their benefits by the end of this month if Congress does not pass federal extended unemployment benefits when it returns from Fourth of July recess tomorrow.

According to About.com Guide’s Alison Doyle, “The legislation, to date, does not include a COBRA health insurance subsidy or Tier 5 unemployment extension that would provide additional weeks of unemployment for the 99ers - the unemployed workers who have exhausted all unemployment benefits.”

In a related story, Associate Press economics writer Christopher S. Rugaber reports, “A bigger concern is the number of people who may lose benefits this month. The tally of people continuing to claim benefits plunged to 4.4 million, the department said. But that doesn't include an additional 4.6 million people who received extended benefits paid for by the federal government in the week that ended June 19. That's the latest period for which data are available.”

For more on how this impacts those in your state, how you can contact your Congressional delegation to urge passage of this legislation, and what you can do when your benefits run out, please go here.

IN OTHER NEWS

Imagine living next to a major airport like SeaTac, Victoria, O’Hare, JFK, Logan, Hartsfield, Heathrow or Dublin X and not even knowing it was there. No earsplitting takeoffs, window shaking landings, no malodorous invisible clouds of aviation exhaust fumes and virtually no danger of an accident that could turn a Boeing 747 into a crematorium with wings. That’s the future of solar powered aviation and some history was made last week when a solar powered airplane stayed aloft over Switzerland for 26 hours. For more on the flight of the Solar Impulse.

This is not going to be real good news for the male chauvinists among us. There are now more American women in the labor force than there are men. As the Recession continues, traditional gender roles are really breaking down as more males assume responsibility for running the household, often working at at-home businesses as well, while their spouses engage in more commercial income generation. That this is really causing some of my gender problems is evidenced by the number of them who are now forming support groups and seeking counseling. I personally think these transformations are good for us because it’s task-value oriented and if men didn’t know it before, more of them sure do now, that housekeeping is a full time and complicated occupation. The same is true for women on both the line and management levels who now understand the mind-numbing fatigue that so many of these jobs involve, as well as the risks and the executive decisions that turn CEOs into insomniacs or sleeping pill addicts. I found this Atlantic Monthly article entitled The End of Men to be absolutely fascinating.

If you’re not sure whether the environmental movement is really making a difference to the economy, you’ll want to read/listen to Seattle NPR station KPLU reporter Liam Moriarty’s story Report Says Climate Plan Would Help Economy. According to the Western Climate Initiative, a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions in seven Western states and four Canadian provinces would boost Washington's economy, alone, by billions over the next ten years.

SURVIVING HARD TIMES

In a rather dramatic way reminiscent of the Homefront during World War II, Seattle-ites are making their own war on poverty by growing their own groceries not only in their yards but on other open plots they lease or rent, often with neighbors. They find ready markets for the surplus because the Emerald City has positively decided that locally grown and or produced foodstuffs are not only good for you but for the economy, as well. For more on this one.

CROSSING OVER

We join the rest of the American sports world in mourning the loss of “the voice of Yankee stadium.” For over half a century, announcer Bob Sheppard’s elegant play-by-plays brought out the dignity, the grandeur and the true sportsmanship he believed characterized this most national and homegrown of games. By both his professional and personal example, he inspired the best in fans and players alike. For more on another American legend and personal hero of mine, go here.

ON THE CANCER FRONT

We found two more things that grow naturally, taste good and which cancer cells, especially breast cancer cells, absolutely hate. On the same page as this good news is a study about how marijuana is now proving effective in stopping the spread of malignant cells as well. So if you’re a very liberal person who likes fresh fruit and berries, you’re going to totally love this one. Even if you prefer one but not the other, this is still a win-win read. For more, yep, go here.

RESOURCES AND RELATED LINKS:
American Cancer Statistics 2009
Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009
National Cancer Institute (American)
Fighting Breast Cancer: Breast Cancer Survivor Stories
Science Daily: Health & Medicine News

HEALTH NEWS

Here’s good news for those of us who enjoy green tea for breakfast and a glass of red wine for dinner. According to a study released last month in The FASEB Journal, there’s something in both of them disrupts the formation of prostate cancer cells and apparently has an attitude about those affecting the breast, the colon and the stomach. Isn’t it cool when a couple of things you’ve been indulging most of your life have also been prolonging said life? Yep, for more.

Years ago, Vitamin C was touted as a “wonder drug” and then fell out of popularity after people decided they couldn’t get too much of it. Those of us, however, who kept drinking a glass of OJ or other citrus juice a day experienced a significantly lower rate of those cardiovascular problems associated with arteriosclerosis or, as it’s perhaps more commonly known, “hardening of the arteries.” Yep, check it out here.

SEATTLE SCENES

If you’re planning to visit Seattle in the near future, you might want to check these sites out first.
SUMMER GUIDE
Let us steer you to the best beaches, festivals and fun.

JULY EVENTS

JULY 5 – 30: Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer FestivalBenaroya Hall - Downtown Seattle. The Seattle Chamber Music Society presents its 27th Summer Festival, held July 5th - July 30th. The main Summer Season consists of Twelve Concerts each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings... beginning at 8:00 PM.

JULY 16 – 18: Bite of Seattle Seattle Center - Downtown Seattle. First introduced to the Seattle area in 1982 at Greenlake with 26 Restaurants and 1 Entertainment Stage, the ` Bite of Seattle ' has grown into one of Seattle's largest Summer Festivals, with more than 50 of Seattle's finest Restaurants... 30 Food Product Companies... 5 Beer Gardens... live Entertainment... a Comedy Club... Piano Bar... Wine Tasting... and more!. Festival Hours: Friday & Saturday 11 AM - 9 PM; Sunday 11 AM - 8 PM. Nearby Hotels: Red Lion Hotel on 5th Avenue - Executive Pacific Plaza Hotel

JULY 16: Torchlight Parade at SeafairSeattle Center - Downtown Seattle. Come celebrate the Northwest's largest lighted parade in Downtown Seattle! The famous Torchlight Parade at Seafair is one of Seattle's biggest nights for family tradition, so you won't want to miss the Macy's-style helium balloons, local bands, drill teams, beautifully illuminated floats, and naturally the Seafair Clowns and Pirates. The parade begins at 7:30 PM at Seattle Center, and continues south down Fourth Ave. to Second Ave. and King Street. Over 300,000 people lined the parade route last year... so we suggest you get here early for the best viewing spots.

PART OF SEATTLE HAD TO BE REBUILT because the tides made toilets, which we didn’t have when our pioneering antecedents first got here, back up. The Pioneer Square Underground Tour tells most of us all we know about what lies underneath Seattle our fair city. It's a touristy exploration of the city's oldest basements, a jokey excursion through an urban underbelly filled with commentary about the foibles, and drinking habits of the city's lusty pioneers. It's the closest many of us come to seeing firsthand the archaeology of the city. Yep, for more on this one:

SEATTLE FACTS AND FIGURES
Seattle Rainfall in Comparison To Other US Cities
Seattle Geography & Climate
For more information about Seattle
For live cameras on Seattle, the Puget Sound and Washington State

CRITTER STUFF

Particularly in view of record breaking temperatures in the United States and Canada, we felt it was a real good idea to pass on University of Washington biologist Ray Huey’s information on how animals stay cool in the wild and how you can help your pets beat the heat. This one comes with 17 tips on how humans can as well. Yep, for more.

A reader of ours on the Gulf Coast who works for a local animal rescue group in Louisiana wanted me to pass along this means of helping oil-soaked wildlife, even though you can’t fly there to help out personally. It’s a link to donate to the National Wildlife Federation, the International Bird Rescue Research Center, and Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research. There are also links on this site to heart-grabbing (and successful) survival stories. What Jean Claude particularly appreciated about this site is that they don’t overdo it. It assumes you care, that you’ve seen suffering animals, that you’re there to see how you can help and to see other people doing what you’d be doing if you could fly down there. Yep, check out How to help wildlife affected by Gulf oil spill

Recommended Related Links:
BBC’s wildlife finder
National Geographic Daily News - Animals

YOU GUYS (STILL OCCASIONALLY) THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

People in this pub at which I take my TGIF pint pride themselves on both their honesty and their talent for telling tales that are just outrageous enough to possibly be true. There’s this one guy who’s from someplace with lots of dairy farms, Wisconsin or Minnesota, I think. Where they celebrate cheese and talk like they’re either from Canada or Sweden. He instructs on some exotic kind of agriculture at the University of Washington but he still looks like he came to town on a hay wagon. Anyway, he was telling us that they’ve found a way that 10,000 cows can power a computer center. And I’m thinking, right. Like you’re going to teach one to run a PC when most of them can’t operate an abacus. Good luck with that one. It turns out, however, that Dr. Farmer was not engaging in extreme hyperbole. I just took him a little too literarily. Yep, for how 10,000 cows are going to power a computer center, go here.

Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for the ear. Before you leave, if you’re in a shopping mood and into some interesting choices? We’ve got a “reader stocked” General Store that you might want to check out. If you’d like to sell something with us or know someone who does, email us at minstrel312@aol.com and we’ll see what we can do.

Rusty

TO CANADA AND AMERICA, RESPECTIVELY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Hi again from the Bastion on the Puget Sound. We’d like to wish all of you in Canada and the United States, “Happy Independence Day.” The first of you celebrated on July First. The second lights off fireworks tonight.

I think it’s very appropriate that two such close neighbors and staunch friends have this annual holiday so close together. Yours is a relationship unique among nations because it has been, for the most part, a bloodless one.

We are one another’s largest trading partner and our military forces have served along side one another for well over a century now. I personally had the distinct privilege of being in the American Navy and working with at that time what they called the Royal Canadian Navy. If, God forbid, I ever need to go into combat again to protect my family and my community, I hope I have them on my right, behind me and out in front.

As much as America’s continued Recession saddens me, I am glad that Canada is recovering. It’s taken what to most of the world might consider incredibly out of the box thinking but which to your average “Leaf” (after the maple leaf in their flag) is just like, “Hey, no big deal.” And they’re thinking, ‘We’ve been living like this for two hundred bloody years and now the Yank’s paying attention?”

Sometimes it takes tough times to find out who your real friends are. Two of the largest and most democratic nations not only on the face of the planet, but in history, are that to one another.

I don’t know how the rest of you define “cool,” but that’s an example that works in the Northstar house. Happy birthday, guys.

IN OTHER NEWS

Thanks, among other things, to a recent $1.32-million federal grant, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire plans to make the 276 miles from the Canadian border south to the Oregon state line an “electric highway.” With Nissan establishing a major dealership in Seattle for their electric Leaf, the Greater Puget Sound seeing more recharging stations, and two public transit systems upgrading and refurbishing their electric buses and trolleys, there’s some momentum behind this one. Yep, for more, go here.

Definitely under the category, “Thank You, Lord, Some Things Never Change,” we totally enjoyed this look back at when bicycles were “all the rage,” as it were around here, over a century ago. Bikes have come a long way and the folks riding these days are some bigger and better fed. But the land hasn’t changed. Nor, I suspect, have the people who ride them. Yep, for more, go here.

I am an unabashed fan of Michelle Obama and the nice thing about owning my own magazine, instead of working for someone who owns one, is that I can say that and not worry about losing my job if the word gets out. So yep, she ranks right up there, for me, with Coretta Scott King, Barbara Bush, Princess Di, Bernadette Devlin, Eleanor Roosevelt and Maya Angelou in terms of women I admire. She’s genuine and what she’s doing on the national level with, for example, this story on exercising with DC kids as another battle in her ongoing campaign against childhood obesity, is just another example of what she’s been doing since she’s been a mom. She’s just now getting more attention than most good moms. Yep, for more on this particular “cool maternal parenting example,” go here.

SURVIVING HARD TIMES

Okay, I’m also a little skeptical of any article that promises “Ten Minutes A Day to Change Your Life.” However, so far what I’ve learned about surviving hard times also includes taking a break and reading something recommended by a friend. This is also a real easy and relaxing article to relax with on a Sunday, so to check it out, yep, go here.

ON THE CANCER FRONT

Sometimes, the best news is delivered straight to the source. For more on a story entitled “Scientists Cite Advances on Two Kinds of Cancer,” yep, go here.

And because we were asked to run this again, okay, a quick question. Do you like lemons? Cool, me too, especially in iced tea, and very especially in salmon filets and shrimp cocktails. Well, turns out that melanoma, or “skin cancer” as it’s better known, hates lemons as much as I will walk across the street and down the block to avoid an eggplant. For more on this and other tips on reducing your personal risks in these regards, yep, please go here.

RESOURCES AND RELATED LINKS:
American Cancer Statistics 2009
Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009
National Cancer Institute (American)
Fighting Breast Cancer: Breast Cancer Survivor Stories

HEALTH NEWS

Given these stressful times, it’s probably a good idea to remind all of us about a few real simple things we can incorporate in our daily routine to keep us from keeling over with what the medical professionals sometimes refer to as “a cardiac incident,” but which I call a heart attack. It’s entitled “Stop A Stroke With This Many Walks” and yep, I read the whole thing too. On a coffee break. A very short coffee break. So and stuff.

Well for those of us with every intention of outlasting our critics, it looks as though soon we may be able to determine how long we actually will live. Scientists studying centenarians (those who live to be one hundred or more) have identified a number of genetic characteristics which they believe will soon lead them to tests which can determine ~ all other factors such as medical history, diet, exercise, etc. being equal ~ how long someone can be expected to live. I found this fascinating so yep, go here.

SEATTLE SCENES

If you’re planning to visit Seattle in the near future, you might want to check these sites out first.

SUMMER GUIDE
Let us steer you to the best beaches, festivals and fun.

JULY EVENTS 2010

Seattle International BeerFestJuly 2-4, 2010 - Seattle Center - Downtown Seattle Washington Celebrating the world's most legendary brewing styles and the nations that made them famous. Come taste over 130 world-class beers from more than 15 countries. Hours: Friday 12 PM - 10 PM; Saturday 12 PM - 10 PM; Sunday 12 PM - 7 PM. Admission is $20, which includes a glass and 10 beer tickets.

July 4th Celebrations July 4, 2010 - Various Locations throughout the Seattle Washington Area Anywhere you are in Seattle, you'll find birthday parties for the good old U.S.A. Local newspapers carry all the particulars... so you can find anything from 'huge' fireworks displays ... to small-town parades and picnics. A Seattle favorite, the Chase Family Fourth fireworks display is set with a breathtaking downtown Seattle as a backdrop on Lake Union.

Other activities include Chase Playfield (Kids Area), Street Scramble, National Anthem performed by members of the School of Rock: Northwest All-Stars, food booths and beer gardens. Festivities begin at Noon with a 'huge' pyrotechnic extravaganza at 10 PM. Touted as the Eastside's largest, the Bellevue Family 4th in Bellevue Downtown Park offers music, kids entertainment, food booths, a Community Spotlight Pavilion and a really nice fireworks display at 10 PM. Festival hours are from 4 PM - 10:30 PM. Click for -> July 4th Weekend Hotel Specials in Seattle

Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival July 5 - 30, 2010 - Benaroya Hall - Downtown Seattle WA The Seattle Chamber Music Society presents its 27th Summer Festival, held July 5th - July 30th. The main Summer Season consists of Twelve Concerts each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings... beginning at 8:00 PM.

Chinatown-International District Summer Festival July 10-11, 2010 - Hing Hay Park - Downtown Seattle WA Known to be the largest Asian-American Streetfair in Washington, the International District Summer Festival offers a variety of Asian-inspired Entertainment including... Japanese Drumming, Chinese Martial Arts, Filipino Dancing, Lion and Dragon dances plus ... live concerts featuring Jazz, New Age and Pop music. You'll find lots of hand-made Arts & Crafts, authentic Asian Cuisine, even a Karaoke Stage for those that feel inspired to showcase their vocal talents. Chinatown-International District Summer Festival hours are: Saturday, 11 AM - 8 PM; Sunday, 11 AM - 6 PM. Admission is Free.

Bite of Seattle July 16-18, 2010 - Seattle Center - Downtown Seattle Washington First introduced to the Seattle area in 1982 at Greenlake with 26 Restaurants and 1 Entertainment Stage, the ` Bite of Seattle ' has grown into one of Seattle's largest Summer Festivals, with more than 50 of Seattle's finest Restaurants... 30 Food Product Companies... 5 Beer Gardens... live Entertainment... a Comedy Club... Piano Bar... Wine Tasting... and more! Festival Hours: Friday & Saturday 11 AM - 9 PM; Sunday 11 AM - 8 PM. Nearby Hotels: Red Lion Hotel on 5th Avenue - Executive Pacific Plaza Hotel

Torchlight Parade at Seafair July 31, 2010 - Seattle Center - Downtown Seattle Washington Come celebrate the Northwest's largest lighted parade in Downtown Seattle! The famous Torchlight Parade at Seafair is one of Seattle's biggest nights for family tradition, so you won't want to miss the Macy's-style helium balloons, local bands, drill teams, beautifully illuminated floats, and naturally the Seafair Clowns and Pirates. The parade begins at 7:30 PM at Seattle Center, and continues south down Fourth Ave. to Second Ave. and King Street. Over 300,000 people lined the parade route last year... so we suggest you get here early for the best viewing spots.

PART OF SEATTLE HAD TO BE REBUILT because the tides made toilets, which we didn’t have when our pioneering antecedents first got here, back up. The Pioneer Square Underground Tour tells most of us all we know about what lies underneath Seattle our fair city. It's a touristy exploration of the city's oldest basements, a jokey excursion through an urban underbelly filled with commentary about the foibles, and drinking habits of the city's lusty pioneers. It's the closest many of us come to seeing firsthand the archaeology of the city. Yep, for more on this one:

SEATTLE FACTS AND FIGURES
Seattle Rainfall in Comparison To Other US Cities
Seattle Geography & Climate
For more information about Seattle
For live cameras on Seattle, the Puget Sound and Washington State


CRITTER STUFF

A family of bears continues to hang out in the town of Sammamish, a community of about 40,000 east of Seattle and south of Redmond, where Microsoft is located. It’s a very pretty place on a plateau and the east shores of a large lake, with forested mountains rising all around. Local residents are pretty laid back about such visitations. As one person we spoke with expressed it, “People come from all over the world to vacation in their yard. Why shouldn’t they spend a few days in the big city?” Yep, for video on this one, go here.

Here are two things I’m sure glad I know now. Apparently when male mice cry, female mice get very amorous. Maybe that accounts for why tough guys only get any in the movies. The other thing I’m sure glad I know now is that according to another scientific study (which I hope was not funded with MY tax dollars), Calvin Klein’s cologne “Obsession for Men” is also attractive to cheetahs. I’ve got a photo shoot later this year in the veldt and my assistance has a positive “thing” for designer jeans and perfume that sounds like the name of a badly translated French romance novel, so this was definitely a heads up on that one.

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Recommended Related Links:
BBC’s wildlife finder
National Geographic Daily News - Animals

YOU GUYS (STILL OCCASIONALLY) THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

I’ve never been to New York City because I hear really weird stuff goes on there. And just about the time I’m almost talked out of that notion, something happens to make me believe that not only is New York City the most interesting place in the world, it is profoundly NOT for a country boy. Even their perspective is different. It’s like there’s two stargates connecting us. Check this out.

SHARK BITES FISHERMAN TRYING TO REMOVE LURE

By Patty Lane, CNNRadio

New York(CNN) -- A 20-year-old man out fishing off New York's Long Island was bitten Saturday by a shark that he had just caught.
The man was trying to take the lure out of the shark's mouth when he was bitten, the U.S. Coast Guard told CNNRadio.

"It rolled over and bit down on his right bicep," said Petty Officer Thomas McKenzie.

The man, who was not identified, was on a recreational fishing boat about 25 nautical miles south of Shinnecock, New York. The Coast Guard took him ashore, where he was treated by medics and taken to a hospital.

"As I understand it, the injury wasn't too bad," McKenzie said.

On the holiday weekend, sharks are not the biggest threat, McKenzie said.

"The biggest threat to mariners on the waters at this time is intoxication while boating or lack of situational awareness," he said.

McKenzie reminds boaters to have a good time but use common sense on the water and use a life jacket.

"It's a fairly rare event," he said of the fisherman's wounds. "However, this individual was fishing for blue shark."

I find it very reassuring that drunken boaters are more of a threat than sharks who bite the hands that catch them. I also thought it was interesting how they used this story to plug water safety. In the third line from the bottom, I’m still not sure what “lack of situational awareness” is. It sounds a little like our expression, “Well, that was dumb.”

What really bothers me, though, because it speaks to the critter-sensitivity level of people back there, is that not one word was said about what happened to the shark after it bit a human situational awareness impaired enough to fish for something that nature designed as the ultimate ocean population control device.

And this post-adolescent angler, was he drunk, common sense challenged, or just stupid? Is he capable of reproducing? Are there a lot of people in New York City like him?

Until I get answers to these questions, I’m staying on my side of the mountains. With the drawbridge up.

Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for the ear. Before you leave, if you’re in a shopping mood and into some interesting choices? We’ve got a “reader stocked” General Store that you might want to check out. If you’d like to sell something with us or know someone who does, email us at minstrel312@aol.com and we’ll see what we can do.

Rusty

THANK YOU, MARIA CANTWELL, ET AL

Judas and Friend

Hi again from the Bastion on the Puget Sound. Well, Congress last week decided that 145,000 unemployed Americans a day is not too much to sacrifice to the economic recovery and the domino effect this is going to have will be felt from the banks of the Potomac to the shores of the Columbia as other options continue to expire for these people.

It is difficult for me to conceive of a national government which is capable of turning its back on so many. That President Obama feels the same way and the fact that the wishes of America’s national chief executive were not respected in this regards strongly suggests that those who feel that all the problems of a nation and all the solutions are the prime, if not sole responsibility, of the president of the United States might really want to rethink that perspective.

What do we do then with a Congress which respects neither the concerns of its constituency or the advice, counsel and leadership of its “CEO”? I don’t know what you’re going to do. I’m going to survive this and I’m going to remember who voted for HR 4213 and who did not.

And I’m going to do more than simply not vote for those who sold us out. I’m going to actively campaign against them. I’m a small spud in the stew but I’ve run a couple of political campaigns and mine were both successful. There are lots of “little guys,” honest, hard-working Americans, just like me.

It’s a long time between now and November and when 145,000 voters a day are being told by the people they elected that they don’t matter, we are definitely going to see some changes before the end of the year.

And if there’s a place in the Hereafter for those who betrayed us, I hope to God it’s not the same place I’m going. If I meet a politician in the next life, I’ll know I didn’t make it to Heaven after all.

IN OTHER NEWS

After years of putting up with South Park style jokes about Canada and patronizing remarks by ignorant Americans about how much the Maple Leaf owes the Eagle, etc., I am always delighted to report that Canada has one of the best economies in the world. When the international community’s top economists meet this weekend for the G20 Toronto Recovery and New Beginnings Summit, what our northern neighbor has done to mitigate the damage to its fiscal health and to effect a more rapid recovery will be discussed in depth. Yep, for more on this one, go here.

For any of us who love pedal transportation, this story entitled Cargo Bikes: Human-Powered Pickup Trucks was an absolute romp. The photos reminded me a lot of the pedal and chain driven conveyances I saw and rode in when I was in the Navy in Hong Kong, Bangkok, the Philippines and Japan. I know from friends they’re popular in China too. I haven’t seen any in Seattle yet but I’m betting they haven’t really caught on in San Francisco either. But bicycle engineering is becoming a major profession now so as that creativity is applied, I’m sure we’ll see a time when most of us can pedal comfortably up either Queen Anne and Telegraph hills, respectively. Yep, for more on this one.

If you’re in the mood to be inspired by “ordinary people” doing extraordinary things, this one about a Canadian nurse and her engineer husband living high in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru bringing medical care, treatment and health education to a small village in some of the most spectacular country in the world. What I also truly love about this story is the writing.

“The road to Chaypa rises out of southern Peru's Sacred Valley under blue eucalyptus trees, following one of the countless rock-bottomed streams descended from glaciers whose meltwater will ultimately reach the Atlantic by way of the Amazon River. The air, at just over 3,000 metres above sea level, starts out thin and gets thinner as the gravel trail ascends. Switching back over Incan terraces 600 years old and more, a succession of villages roll by whose circumstances deteriorate with the altitude. By the time Chaypa's 60 stone houses appear, spread like oxygen molecules across several square kilometres of sun-baked mountainside, the lush valley bottom just an hour's drive distant seems a world away. Gone are the corn fields and billowing trees; at nearly 5,000 metres, the only things that grow are potatoes.”

The journalist’s name is Arno Kopecky and he writes for the British Columbia-based general interest ezine The Tyee.


SURVIVING HARD TIMES

This is another of those attitude is all exercises and I liked the title of it right off, Recession-Proof Your Mood: 5 Simple Steps. It’s like a diet where you still get to eat stuff you really enjoy, just not quite as much of it. We enjoyed this and found it very practical as well.
CROSSING OVER

TO A COP WITH HEART

This week’s Crossing Over is dedicated to a good cop with heart. Thank God and our seven flags, we all know at least one like him, so this particular man of the badge will stand for at least several, then, eh?

This particular good co with heart, was Northern California stock. He looked like a cross between Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum and he had a streak of the devil in him, with that red hair and those incredibly amiable green eyes. He grew up hard in a hard part of the state, during the Depression, the son of a school teacher and an absent father. Born in Berkeley, he was raised by her and by several uncles in Redding, Montgomery Creek and Burney Falls. His mother graduated from the University of California and his uncle, Edwin Smythe, was a Stanford University graduate. This future cop helped support his family by gutting chickens at the A&P.

This is Siskiyou Mountain California, older than the Sierras, and three times as tough. Given his passionate nature, it was a good thing he had those old mountains. He was at his best when he was among them. And yes, they were honored some, by his society.

When Pearl Harbor was bombed, he was among hundreds of Northern Californians, who answered the call of God and Country. ONe of them, his best friend and first cousin, US Army Air Corps Major Stanley Smythe, was a bombardier whose B-29 was destroyed by a kamikaze over Tinian. My father never saw combat, per se, but he served as a radio gunner in torpedo bombers and flying Catalinas, protecting the American Coast as the line of defense no one got through.

He went on to help build the Shasta Dam, north of Redding and marry a real nice lady who met him when he essentially got busted up carousing on a Saturday night in a bar. She was a candy striper in the hospital he stayed for a couple of weeks.

He and his first great love were, in so many ways, polar opposites. I think that’s probably why they loved each other as passionately as they did and as uncertainly at times.

He went on to help bring into this world a daughter who became a stellar Junior Olympics swimmer, an accomplished accordionist and later, a statistician for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. She gave him two beautiful grandchildren. He also fathered a son who went on to make a career in regional journalism.

He joined the California Highway Patrol in the early Fifties and was in the midst of the hell that broke loose in the world and his state in the Sixties. He organized and led a special enforcement squad that saw combat in the Watts Riots and in the wars against outlaw motorcycle gangs. There are witnesses to how he once stood up to Sonny Barger, president of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels, when they tried calling on him at home. He wasn’t wearing a uniform or a gun. All he did was quietly explain what was going to happen if they kept on and waited while they digested that news. They left and never came back. And the word went out that this was a cop with heart.

When his first wife and he grew apart, he discovered new love with a woman who worked with him as a dispatcher. In her, he found something he could not find at home in a “civilian” and that was relief from the hell he was going through. He went on to raise a second family and bury an adopted daughter and a second wife.

He continued to serve his community both as a volunteer investigator and crimes report writer for the county sheriff’s department and met a wonderful woman who understand who he was, the sacrifices he’d made and who neither idolized him nor judged him. She stayed with him when cancer attacked his brain and kept his soul alive, shining and marching, to the very end.

He was a charismatic man, this Northern California cop, an incredibly powerful and engaging one, and a dynamically caring one. He was also, as the least and the greatest among us are, a very human man, a man secretly more haunted by his failures than he was proud of his accomplishments.

I think I understand something about this man who died last week, this good cop. His name was Merritt Vaughn Miller. He was my father.

ON THE CANCER FRONT

Okay, a quick question. Do you like lemons? Cool, me too, especially in iced tea, and very especially in salmon filets and shrimp cocktails. Well, turns out that melanoma, or “skin cancer” as it’s better known, hates lemons as much as I will walk across the street and down the block to avoid an eggplant. For more on this and other tips on reducing your personal risks in these regards, yep, please go here.

RESOURCES AND RELATED LINKS:
American Cancer Statistics 2009
Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009
National Cancer Institute (American)
Fighting Breast Cancer: Breast Cancer Survivor Stories

FREE STUFF FROM THE NET

Whether we like it or not, the information network is making this, in some ways, a smaller planet. For those of you who enjoy being map enhanced and learning more, through puzzles, quizzes, etc., this is cool. You can do this one in answer to a tough question about a potential international market. You can just have fun with it. So yep, if that turns you on, check it out here.


HEALTH NEWS

I’m reminded particularly of Alzheimer’s this week because my father asked that contributions to his memorial be made in these regards. That having been said, there is now more reason than ever to believe we’re winning against this one. Sometimes knowing there is an end in sight makes all the difference so yep, check it out here.


SEATTLE SCENES

If you’re planning to visit Seattle in the near future, you might want to check these sites out first.
SUMMER GUIDE
Let us steer you to the best beaches, festivals and fun.

Part of Seattle had to be rebuilt because the tides made toilets, which we didn’t have when our pioneering antecedents first got here, back up. The Pioneer Square Underground Tour tells most of us all we know about what lies underneath Seattle our fair city. It's a touristy exploration of the city's oldest basements, a jokey excursion through an urban underbelly filled with commentary about the foibles, and drinking habits of the city's lusty pioneers. It's the closest many of us come to seeing firsthand the archaeology of the city. Yep, for more on this one:

SEATTLE FACTS AND FIGURES
Seattle Rainfall in Comparison To Other US Cities
Seattle Geography & Climate
For more information about Seattle
For live cameras on Seattle, the Puget Sound and Washington State


CRITTER STUFF

We’re delighted to report that according to the Cascadia Wildlife Scorecard, which tracks five indicator species, four of these are making comebacks and one is at least holding its own. The “critters” involved as it were are gray wolves in Idaho and Montana; the Selkirk herd of mountain caribou; Oregon's greater sage-grouse; the southern resident orcas of Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia; and the chinook salmon that return in the spring and summer to the Columbia River. If you care about these guys, you’re going to want to bookmark this site.

Yep, the bears in the ‘hood are getting restless again. For a video on the latest, yep, please go here.

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We’ve also found something you might want to bookmark. It’s the BBC’s wildlife finder and it’s a real handy way of getting more information about the fauna we feature in this column. MS(R)M Check it out here.

YOU GUYS (STILL OCCASIONALLY) THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP

I seriously do not think it got much weirder this past week than seeing America’s commanding general in Afghanistan get fired for giving an interview critical of the President and present administration to Rollingstone magazine and then getting fired as a result.

It’s bothered me since Vietnam that while the history of warfare is studied at all American military colleges, apparently what happened when General Douglas MacArthur did essentially the same thing to President Harry Truman, didn’t make a lasting impression.

Maybe it’s just me but when someone violates a ‘law’ as old as “A General Does Not Criticize the President in Public, Especially In the Middle of A War,” I wonder how much else they’ve ignored, including the recent history of a nation and a people who defeated Russia when it was still the Soviet Union.

With all due respect to all the brass hats involved in this one, if we had wanted our country to be in charge of a general, we would have made George Washington king.

I’m sorry but this is one of those instances when about the time I think I’ve seen it all, I read about this and I’m going, “What was he thinking?” Siobhan said it best after reading this in the Irish Times and echoing the sentiments of Mark Twain when she suggested that if I’d start betting on the stupidity of some people instead of their redemption there’d be a lot more tinkle in the sugar can.

Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for the ear. Take care, stay well and God Bless. And we’ll see you next week.

Rusty

NORTHSTAR RECOMMENDS

RESOURCES

Maker Culture: Taking Things Into Our Own Hands - For 12 weeks in the fall of 2009, 45 online journalism students at Ryerson University and the University of Western Ontario worked together to document the evolving Maker Culture community.

Maker Culture? That's coders, fabricators, foodies, artists, educators, activists, citizen and even scientists grabbing the Do-It-Yourself ethic with both hands and changing our world in the process.

These are people who aren't just making things, they're making a point of sharing what they've learned, what they've made, and why. Often, for free.
Makers are responding directly, locally to globalization, commercialization, copyright and central command and control.

This is the introduction to a fascinating series on how to become more self-reliant, live a lot more economically and enjoy the company of others doing the same. If you’re looking for ideas, inspiration and resources to get through hard times or just to simplify you life, we highly recommend this one.

PC World – This is the best source we’ve found yet for totally free, useful, reliable and secure (no viruses) downloads ranging from games through utilities and with a nice selection of screen savers, etc. What I particularly appreciate about it is how easy the site is to navigate. They also have a daily letter featuring two “daily downloads.”

Free People Search – This is an American online White Pages that I found really simple, quick and user friendly. I looked for myself under the several versions of my name and it found them all. It’s also free and doesn’t involve anything to download.

Know Thy Elected Officials - Just type in your zip code and this site will supply you with the names and contact information for your legislators from the state level up. This is a two click site with a host of other relevant features.

Stalking Resource Center division of the National Center for Victims of Crime – Internet harassment, stalking and abuse in general is now against the law. If you’re being victimized or if you know of someone who is, this is an excellent resource.

FUN STUFF

If you share my passion for American History, you’re going to love AmericanWest.com This is historical society stuff that is also extremely interesting to read. So yep, just in case you didn’t get it the first time, check it out here.

Houston At Night and other totally cool images are available at the Earth Observatory, along with an incredible array of other outer space images. This is one of NASA’s more engaging websites and it’s here, as well, that you can subscribe to their online newsletter. Whether you’re an aerospace/astronomy buff or simply enjoy stargazing, this is an excellent site.

Ever been told you look like someone famous? Ever not been told that but would like to have been? Find a photo of yourself, go to this site, MyHeritage.com, upload it and get a gallery of celebrities you resemble, to one degree or another. Yep, it’s a total waste of time and an unabashed indulgence of ego. Probably two reasons why I totally loved it, even though a couple of my own pix didn’t turn up any results. It’s fun to play with so enjoy.

If you’re into a real interesting and visual escape, we certainly recommend The Art In LA website. It’s a virtual art gallery created by a real gentle, occasionally obnoxious but totally good-hearted soul with standards as fine as those of any engineer I’ve ever met. It’s also a good place for healthy meditation. If you’re lucky, you might just run into the artist herself. Her name is Colleen and she’s a trip, trust me. Yep, she was born under the fourth flag on our masthead.

HEALTH

Ten foods that really do help prevent cancer.

Grub you libido will love.

If you’d like to know whether your eating habits are either adding years to your life or taking them off, take this RealAge quiz. It will not only score your real age against your health age but give you a program for improvement. I’ve been working this one for about a month now and yep, I feel a lot better.

Ever get so stressed you feel like you’re really jammed up against it? Take a deep breath and check out you’re surroundings is the advice of Dr. Roberta Lee in her book The Superstress Solution. We have and what I’ve generally found is that the outside reflects the inside. If I’m real busy, jackets get tossed over chairs, used coffee cups appear magically on window ledges and desk top clutter takes on a total biosphere all its own. Perhaps not surprising, dealing with the outside can really help you relax. And although we don’t recommend you try this at home, if you wait long enough, it can be also be real good exercise. This is a mental health must so check it out here. We’re reading Dr. Lee’s book now and we bought it here.

Want to know how to live to be 100? Try this one.

Take this test to see how your memory compares with the average.

Click here for fun games to improve your memory.

There’s a new book out now which could make a dramatic difference in the way toward the way women experience the passing of years. Despite major industries involved ~ cosmetic, fitness, elective surgery, to name three ~ the idea that women become less attractive as they grow older has also very likely contributed to more anxiety, high blood pressure, depression, etc. than any other single factor in a woman’s life except cancer and childbearing.

We also suspect that it has probably cost men just as much, if not more, than it has cost women, even in a nation historically known for its tolerance of a double standard. The book is entitled Face It: What Women Really Feel as Their Looks Change. Read about it here and if you decide you’d like to purchase it online, you can buy it here. I especially recommend this to men. It’s time our gender took more responsibility for this.

FOR YOUR SHOPPING CONVENIENCE






































And for a truly unique shopping experience, drop by and browse THE NORTHSTAR GENERAL STORE.

Press Releases, Product Reviews, Promotional Copy, Digital Photography, Online Research and Investigation, Ghost Writing, Special Projects. Seattle-based and wired into the International Community. For more information, email to minstrel312@aol.com or go here -> Rusty Miller, Freelance Photojournalist.

GOOD “READS”

Books

If you’d like to read something which combines the best elements of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a neo-eco Mickey Spillane detective thriller, you’ll love this one.

“In the brave new world of the Internet, FedEx and an international taste for the exotic, wildlife poachers steal everything from elk horns to geoducks, the world's largest clam. In the waters of Puget Sound in Washington state, state wildlife agents stalk these thieves on land and at sea. In "Shell Games: Rogues, Smugglers, and the Hunt for Nature's Bounty," Seattle Times environmental reporter Craig Welch joins these detectives on the trail of one of the region's most notorious geoduck thieves.”

Welch, a Seattle Times environmental reporter is a compelling writer and this excerpt from the book would be worth the experience even if we were not also fascinated by the subject. If, after reading this extract, you’d like to buy the book, you’ll find it for sale here.

News

BBC – Best source of international news.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (multi-media), the Toronto Globe & Mail and the Vancouver Sun -- outstanding sources for Canadian national, provincial, and world news.

KING 5 News – Best source of video news of Seattle and the Greater Puget Sound.

New York Times – Best source of American news.

Reuters – Best source of an international perspective on American headlines.

Seattle Times – Best source for news of the city and the Puget Sound. Its reportage is unbiased but their columns and other opinion pieces do reflect the predominant values of the Pacific Northwest.

Sightline Daily (formerly Tidepool) – Best source of Pacific Northwest regional news. Delivered daily by email, it covers Alaska, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. They also put out an excellent weekly environmental edition.

Entertainment

BBC Knowledge Magazine – designed to give the American magazine National Geographic the proverbial run for its money,

TomatoMan Times -- For those who love good writing, there are fewer finer contemporary craftsmen out there now than professionally known as Tomatoman Mike. He’s as Northern Californian as John Steinbeck is, albeit with a dash of Sam Clemmons, Bret Harte and Robert W. Service in him. He’s a romp to read, trust me.

U Got Style is a monthly ezine dedicated to independent films. Fully illustrated, it features hard news, interviews, reviews and a wide variety of other information. It’s also fun to read.

Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean – Live from the smallest record store in North America. Canadian humor, entertainment and commentary at its maple leaf best. Popular on National Public Radio in the States.

See you next week, eh?