This post was submitted by Mudflats Moderator Writing From Alaska -
The twin Brians had many adventures which have not yet been shared. First we have one of their adventures at the Anchorage Assembly Meetings. Here they are pictured with a kindly ASD police officer, who seemed to have heard of Mudflats…hummm.

And two of our Brian-friendly Assembly members, Mike Gutierrez and Elvi Gray-Jackson. These pics were taken at the July meeting.

From Mudpuppy SMR:

I’ve been AWOL from the Mudflats as a commenter for some time now. Never fear, though – I remain a dedicated Mudflats.net and I Heart Mudflats reader & lurker. Our move from Alaska to Calgary feels, in some ways, as though it is still a work in progress. The unfinished basement of our Kensington home (a sweet little neighborhood near the river & downtown) is filled with unpacked boxes as we try to shoehorn our family into a home less than half the size of the one that we left. Calgary is a beautiful, exciting city, there is much to do and I am enjoying & embracing our new life.

I drive once a week, for the long trek to the southwest corner of Calgary for riding lessons for my daughter & myself. Groceries, the dry-cleaners, Starbucks, drugstore – all of those errands are accomplished, rain or shine, walking with a 4-yr-old and a chariot jogger-cum-shopping-cart. Some days we walk 5 or 6 miles to get all of our errands done, leaving the house at 9 a.m. (say for an appointment downtown), meeting up with my husband at his downtown office to have a leisurely lunch, wandering around the shops, back up the bike trail and home, arriving back at the house around 3 or 4 p.m. In many ways it feels idyllic, and yet I remain drawn to the chaos of the political sites, addicted to reading about the drama of the Palin resignation, the health-care debate, the continued marginalization of the GOP as it descends into the insanity of Kristol, Limbaugh, DeMint, Gingrich, Bachmann, Coulter, Cheney (father and daughter), and of course the divisive Former-Governor Grifter.

Which brings me to the point of this post, why I’m breaking my silence and submitting a piece for this lovely site… A couple of weeks ago I found a new magazine, Body + Soul, a magazine impulse buy. It has a great piece titled “Feel Your Best! The 17 Most Trusted Names In Integrative Health Give Their Top Advice For Preventing Illness, Revving Up Energy, Easing Stress – and More.” The 14th piece of advice in the article really resonated with me. It is entitled “Change the Channel.” I am linking the piece here, so won’t go into the whole thing (I hope that you will be drawn to it on your own), but here’s the money quote for me: The networks cycle through the same bad news over and over again, they hook you in by turning everything into a crisis… The problem is that the body doesn’t differentiate between real problems and sensationalized ones. The stress response is exactly the same – as are the potential health consequences. Pay close attention to how you’re feeling while watching the news, it might feel good for a while, but when it starts to feel bad, change the channel or shut off the TV.

I know that I am not the only Mudflats reader who is infuriated by Palin’s continued victim-behavior, her hiding behind the Troops, God & her Bible (which seems to advocate some strange behavior, if you ask me – is she reading a different one?). I know that I am not the only one frustrated by the hate-mongering of the GOP, the demonizing of public health plans, Obama, and any other perceived “liberal” cause or politician. However, I have made a concerted effort to engage in (read: comment) issues that are personal to me, those that I feel strongly about minus the knee-jerk-emotional-component. As an example, in the days leading up to Palin’s July 3rd resignation speech, I emailed Andrew Sullivan (The Daily Dish) several times with links that I’d stumbled across (thanks, Mom, for bringing one to my attention), along with a little message about its importance (in my mind, anyway). I was quite proud to have been in his blog twice in one week! I feel comfortable talking about most things energy/oil/gas, and as a born & raised Alaskan, I think that I am in a fairly good position to offer some perspective and rational discussion about the adverse effect of the Palin administration’s policies. But I will not, and do not, get drawn into the highly emotional discussions; it’s not conducive to my peace of mind or a peaceful life. As my wonderful husband says, it harshes my mellow. Can I feel my blood pressure going up? Yes. Do I feel rage? Yes. As the piece says, your body does not differentiate between real and perceived stress – so why allow myself to feel anger over the drivel spouted by idiots? Long ago, during a very difficult time in my life, a friend asked how I could stay sane through the challenges. I told them that I did not get angry about anything that I could not do anything about, or was not willing to do something about. I forget that sometimes during these difficult political days, and #14 reminded me to get back to that place.

Case in point: the disastrous, hypocritical & uninformed Palin op-ed piece on Cap & Trade. There was much tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth on the Mudflats comment thread. My contribution was, more or less verbatim, that any statement by Palin regarding any issue is sure to be so fact-challenged & inflammatory that it could only be a positive for those on the other side of the issue; her piece was sure to be challenged by those interested in intelligent & informed debate of the issue, would encourage further debate and dissemination of facts & ideas. Sure enough, several intelligent people wrote pieces pointing out that she was for it before she was against it, that it was completely erroneous, likely written by someone with a better grasp of the English language than Palin herself, and of course the main purpose of Palin’s piece seemed to be to align herself with the anti-Obama far-right-wingnuttery-bunch. As a bonus, she is now the star or MoveOn.org’s latest cap & trade commercial. Score!

Alaska will have a lot of cleaning up to do. I challenge you all to continue to meet, on-line & in person if you are fortunate enough to do so, our fellow Mudflats friends, but also to find positive ways to challenge the status quo, direct ways to effect positive change. Now that the Iquitarod is over let’s take our yellow wellies to the street, agitate and work for those causes that we feel strongly about. Healthcare reform could use some support. Cap and trade could use some support. Local elections, the closest homeless shelter, clean-up opportunities – they all stand in dire need of volunteers. Do it for others, yes, but also do it for yourself.

And now, after you read the piece that I linked to, so long ago, at the beginning of this, turn off the computer and give yourself a few mud-free hours.

From Admin Erin:

5. Go Fug Yourself

Tagline: Fugly is the new pretty.
This site is like sitting down with your best girlfriend and watching a celebrity fashion show. Like the old saying goes, “If you can’t say something nice, come sit by me.”

4. This is Why You’re Fat

Pictures and descriptions of some of the most disgustingly fatty, yet compelling food in the world. Today’s submission: The Miles Dog, A hot dog covered with cheese, tomatoes, grilled onions, ketchup, guacamole, and several slices of bacon. Yum.

3. Tom and Lorenzo

Tagline: Fabulous and Opinionated
Project Runway is back on August 20th, and Tom and Lorenzo will be critiquing ever design and every designer, all season long.

2. The Bloggess

Tagline: Like Mother Teresa, Only Better
If you like funny, random posts with some mild (okay, not so mild) cursing, this is the site for you. She makes me spit juice on the computer screen about twice a week.

1. Life’s a Feast

Tagline: Confessions of a Gourmonde
This site is expertly written by our very own Jamie (a Mudflats Moderator), an American living in France. Jamie is an amazing cook whose scrumptious recipes and mouth-watering pictures are only topped by her vivid descriptions.

If you’d like to submit your own five faves list, please click here.

From Erin, a Mudflats Admin:

When I went to a conference in San Francisco recently, I attempted to visit some local museums. Unfortunately the SF MoMA was closed (it was Wednesday), so I headed over to the Cartoon Art Museum. For some reason, this was the window display. Go figure.