The 50 Worst Songs of the ’00s, F2K No. 11: Darryl Worley, “Have You Forgotten?” | Village Voice

This cheesy song was playing in an Anchorage gift shop yesterday and my family and I were rolling our eyes. I count myself lucky that I managed to avoid it for ten years.

Just another schmo who hoped that 9/11 would change everything…for his career.

It’s tempting to simply quote in full the lyrics from Darryl Worley’s crass-in attempt to tie together the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the run-up to the Iraq war. After all, its lyrics, which rhymed “forgotten” with “Bin Laden” and called for daily showings of the attacks on the World Trade Center, were the linchpin of its “appeal.” But to do that would be a disservice to the fine men and women of this country who have actually had to sit through the track.

Source: The 50 Worst Songs of the ’00s, F2K No. 11: Darryl Worley, “Have You Forgotten?” | Village Voice

Rafting the Matanuska

Rafting the Matanuska

Rafting the Matanuska


Yesterday we rose early to make the drive to the mouth of the Matanuska River in Alaska for some whitewater rafting! The Matanuska is a glacier-fed river and our rafting outfit, Nova, was about a 2.5 hour drive from Anchorage. We rode up some beautiful, twisty mountain roads to get there, passing a pair of moose standing in the ditch on the way. It was our first moose sighting in Alaska!

We arrived around 10:30 to the rafting office, a nice but remote cabin by the river. After using the pit toilets and checking in, we were given rain gear to wear and spent some time adjusting our GoPro camera before taking the short bus ride to the edge of the Matanuska glacier.

The put-in point near the glacier is private property and the rafting staff (Colin, our guide; Riley, our other guide; and Marsha, our bus driver) paid a hefty fee at the entrance for us to visit. On the way to the launch site, we stopped momentarily at a picnic spot overlooking the glacier: a massive, brilliantly-glowing sheet of blue ice. It was stunning to see! We took lots of pictures and witnessed the trickles of meltwater from this ice combine to form the ice-cold, silt-loaded Matanuska River. We would be rafting on water that was only hours earlier part of a glacier. That was incredible to think about.
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Kayaking at Eklutna Lake

Kayaking at Eklutna Lake

Kayaking at Eklutna Lake

Yesterday we piled in the car and headed up to Eklutna Lake to check out the scenery and do some kayaking. This was our first venture into real bear territory but fortunately we loaded up on “bear bells” beforehand at the Anchorage REI store so that bears, which are attracted to the smell of money, stayed miles away.

The drive was a scenic one as the weather cleared out for the first time we’ve been here. Sunny skies surrounded us as we drove north to Eklutna. After an hour’s drive or so, we pulled into the parking lot at Eklutna State Park and wandered over to get our kayaks.
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Hiking Flattop Mountain

At the top of Flattop Mountain!

At the top of Flattop Mountain!

Monday, we decided to tackle a rather ambitious hike: Flattop Mountain. Flattop is a mountain in the Chugach Mountain range next to Anchorage, distinctive not for its height but for its flat top. As the most accessible hike from Anchorage, it is the state’s most-climbed peak. “Accessible” does not mean easily-climbed, however, as we were to find out!

We arrived a little before noon, having taken a variety of clothing since we didn’t know what the weather there would be like. It was overcast and in the low-60s when we arrived, so layers were the rule of the day. After a stop at the trailhead’s pit toilets, we set off for the summit.

Difficult? No kidding!

Difficult? No kidding!


We hadn’t made it up to the first saddle, a mere few hundred feet away from the parking lot, before Kelly and I were already huffing. This clearing offered our first incredible view of Anchorage below us, though, so we took a moment to catch our breath and take it all in. Trudge on we did, though, winding our way along the east side of Blueberry Hill loop.
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First thoughts on Anchorage

Next stop, Anchorage!

Next stop, Anchorage!

The family and I made it into Anchorage Saturday afternoon after an 18 hour day of preparing and travel. Getting here took a long time (only slightly less than flying to London, Kelly says) but was surprisingly smooth, all things considered. Our Expedia booking put us on different airlines for each leg and the outgoing one was on United through Houston. I’ve complained before of how airlines are going out of their way to make flying as miserable as possible, squeezing every last cent out of its customers, but our flight didn’t suck as bad as I thought it might. The leg from Houston to Anchorage got us there in under 7 hours, though we weren’t treated to the spectacular views of the area that I’d been told about due to the cloud cover.

Waiting an inordinate amount of time for our baggage at the carousel gave me some time to people watch. I saw a number of bearded young men there, all in the Alaska uniform of the day: ball caps (preferably camo) with cheap sunglasses propped on top. In Raleigh, bearded young men are considered hipsters. In Anchorage, they’re rednecks. It made me wonder what it must be like to be so rigidly conformist, if these guys ever felt trapped in the routine.
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Conn trip to DC

Kids-at-Lincoln-memorialSo over a month ago, I got to chaperone Travis and his fifth-grade buddies on a two-day trip to Washington, DC. Like the time I took Hallie two years ago, I had cleared my calendar for it and was greatly looking forward to it. I’ve always tried to be there with the kids for these special events and was going to do anything to go.

Initially, though, it seemed I would miss out. The night of the mandatory chaperone meeting at Conn Elementary, I had to give a pitch about the PTA at a Ligon event. I explained to Travis’s teacher that I desperately wanted to go but had an important obligation. To my dismay, she explained that this wasn’t possible – that there were already enough chaperones – and I was welcome to be placed on a waiting list if I chose.
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Jacksonville

Waking up to a Florida sunrise on Amtrak's southbound Silver Star

Waking up to a Florida sunrise on Amtrak’s southbound Silver Star


Good morning, Jacksonville! I am passing through Jacksonville, Florida, now. Jacksonville is the largest city by population in Florida and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States.

This city holds a special place in my heart. Why, do you ask? Why would America’s most sprawling city captivate me? It’s the rich history of the city as well as the months I spent here in 2000, working on a deal when I was working at NeTraverse.

I was working on a deal at AllTel, implementing a proof of concept of NeTraverse’s Win4Lin product. I stayed at a charming bed and breakfast within walking distance, owned by two characters (is there any other kind of BnB owner?). My hosts were an English professor of economics and a former Alabama beauty queen, an unlikely pairing. Yet they were so welcoming! I’ll always remember this home away from home.
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Train happenings

Groundbreaking of Raleigh Union Station

Groundbreaking of Raleigh Union Station


I raced out of work Friday morning to see the groundbreaking of Raleigh’s new Union Station. Mayor McFarlane, Gov. McCrory, NCDOT Secretary Tata, Rep. David Price, and Federal DOT and Amtrak officials were there to break ground on this new multi-modal station. Looking around the crowd of spectators, many of whom were sweating under the strong sun, I wondered how many of them had ever actually ridden Amtrak. I’d bet the closest most have come is the hundred yards to the tracks where the NCDOT’s version of Amtrak, the Piedmont, was right then pulling into Raleigh.
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6 of the Most Unbelievably Cheap Paradises on Earth | Thrillist

Wanderlust.

Everyone at one time or another has wanted to get away from it all and beach/ski/paraglide-bum it in some foreign land. Small problem: that’s very expensive. Or is it? That’s our sweet rhetorical way of saying maybe not. Check this list of 12 shockingly affordable paradises you can live in for peanuts… though you’ll probably be packed and out the door by number seven.

via 6 of the Most Unbelievably Cheap Paradises on Earth | Thrillist.

People’s Climate March

We attended the People’s Climate March in New York City on Sunday. Over 400,000 people marched two miles through the streets of New York to show their support for action on climate change. It was one of the most fun demonstrations I’ve attended, mainly because there was no stage. I don’t like it when 100 different groups get invited to the stage to pitch their pet causes when I might not be inclined to support them all. This one made no demands other than to show up and march. Easy.

It was quite a thrill to stand in the middle of New York City, feel the growing roar of the crowd as it approached, and then add my full-throated yell, too. There was real power there.

I’ll probably post more on this soon but I’m going through a very busy week with bond stuff and other distractions.
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