by Ryan Shofner The ephemeral nature of life dawns upon all beings. One day, the powers that be remove someone special from our lives and from that day forth, life is forever changed. It is what we do with the loss and how we handle the days to come that matters. February 21, 2014: I interview Shelby and Connor, facilitators of the Young-adult, Peer-supported, Greif Group, Co-sponsored and supervised by the Hospice of Anchorage and the University of Alaska Anchorage School of Nursing that caters to 18-30 year-old individuals. Christina, an intern of the Hospice of Anchorage and assistant of Shelby and Connor sums up the group: “We provide a…

by Mike Gordon There was a motorcycle gang in Anchorage named The Brothers in the early ‘70s.  Rumor had it that when one of them died the rest of them would cremate him, roll some of him into a marijuana joint and smoke him.  Now that’s taking brotherly love to an all new high. In the early 1970’s someone in the gang got the bright idea of teaming up with the Hell’s Angels, which they did, so then we had The Brothers roaring around town in Hell’s Angels colors.  If they decided to visit your bar they would typically hang in a group and intimidate everyone else in the place,…

by Tara Bales Drinking is widely considered, and referred to in the entertainment industry as, cool. Whether it’s a teen house party scene in a movie where all partygoers are clinging to / chugging from red Solo cups, country songs whose sole purpose is the celebration of the aforementioned cups, or websites like Texts from Last Night that alternately mock and salute what is more often than not alcohol-fueled behavior, we as a society generally glorify and add an almost shiny luster to the antics of one who has consumed alcohol to excess. Professional athlete and celebrity “role models” convicted of DUIs are given a slap on the wrist and…

By Jenn Baker We soared over great volcanoes in the Aleutian Range. From my peephole, I watched the land ripple off into grassy tundra. I took a breath. I could do this. I could live, survive, on my own. We landed on the runway in King Salmon. I walked out on the tarmac into a rough looking building, into a large white-walled room, its rows of orange vinyl chairs split to the foam, leading to large shabby check-in desks for the post-apocalypse. The commercial fishermen had followed the Salmon migration north to King Salmon, on the banks and flats of Bristol Bay. They stayed in town or flew out to…

by John Yakanak Reflecting on the growth of the Anchorage Sugpiaq language group, my journey so far has proved to be challenging, exciting, trying, and filled with blessings; the experience tested my resolve and further built my character. The adventure began when I was asked if I would be willing to start a Sugpiaq-Alutiiq language program here in Anchorage. Seeing only some of the challenges ahead and moving forward on faith and determination rather than experience, I began making calls. With different organizations doing their part to initiate a program, the Anchorage Sugpiaq-Alutiiq language preparations came together. As an Alaska Pacific University student, I was fortunate enough to incorporate the…

by Édouard Ruess Under an evening sky, the faded clouds induce my eyes to open wider, filling themselves with an ocean of luminous flickering. To be alone–to be cool in the night–to be lifted into the sky, through the mind’s eye. Astronauts. Cooler than the stale, crisp air, gliding along the thermal protection system of their shuttle. How cool is an astronaut? How many children have sat at their bay window, peering through the fingerprinted glass, intrigued by the endless field of flickering-flies, wondering what type of flowers would grow on Pluto, if Pluto were to sprout flowers. Questions, they assume, only an astronaut could answer. But, what of the…

by Amanda Montavon It’s estimated that 40-80% of all doctor visits may be directly related  to stress.  When under stress we under go a physiological change referred to as the fight-or-flight response.  The fight-or-flight response was first described by Dr. Walter B. Cannon at the Harvard Medical School in the 1920s and it works as our survival mechanism. Stress induces a surge of stress hormones preparing us to either fight or flee.  Our hearts pounds faster as our blood flow is redistributed from the digestive tract to our muscles, and we enter a state of high alert ready to take action.  In a life threatening situation this is a very…

by Alexa Dobson   When the snow falls heavily, my sleek, black husky mix prances like a horse. Bouncing down the trail as I slowly follow, he pauses here and there to bury his face in the snow as though he might never experience winter again. He pauses, starts digging – what has he found?   He’s earnestly nosing and pawing at the ground, in the same way a child plays with blocks. Deep in his internal programming, something is telling him to dig, inspect, satisfy the drive of curiosity. Triumphantly, he draws a small brown shape from the snow, limp, with a small pink tail.   My dog the…

by Killian Sump This short film attempts to protray the wonder of the Grand Canyon’s landscape through timelapse and river footage. It was filmed during a three month stint in and around the Grand Canyon region, including a packrafting trip through the whole river stretch. Narrative from Larry Stevens, from his Grand Canyon River Guidebook. Music is “Self Portrait” by Lenon. This video is also here to get folks curious about The Canyon for the full version of Grand Water in April 2014, a larger piece mainly about the Colorado River through Grand Canyon and the impacts and future of Glen Canyon Dam, with timelapses, music, and interviews. Stay tuned at killiansump.blogspot.com , if you…