I got stopped in the middle of a huge street yesterday by a momma moose and two teeny moose calves crossing the street. The mom went first and the babies ambled across four lanes of traffic. But everyone stopped, and seemed very patient waiting for all of them to get completely across. I was so bummed I didn't have my camera. So I made sure I took it with me this morning, just in case. When I stepped out of my house, I saw my neighbor holding a hose and spraying a huge moose in his front yard while his daughter took pictures. He and his hose are just out of the picture, but his daughter is visible. The moose left for a second but then came right back and kept eating. It was a super close encounter and this time I had the camera! Then I stopped at the drive through coffee hut near my work (I've posted about the Alaskan coffee huts before, they're everywhere and fantastic!), and the coffee hut girl was totally in the Halloween spirit so since I had my camera, I took a pic. I probably won't have an entire moose family crossing the street in front of me again, but you never know! I will hold onto my camera, just in case.

This is my office, which is great. It's large, it's got a great huge Mac so I don't have to use my Mac laptop, the walls are painted deep blue and yellow, instead of fluorescents I have three great lamps and a window, there's a comfortable chair for guests, and best of all, I don't have to share it with anyone! (There's also a bookshelf to the right of the desk, unseen in these pics).

Yummy!

My mom asked what the menu for the event was, and while I knew it was all super delicious, I wasn't sure of all the details! I emailed the event planner to get the exact deliciousness:

Beet and Vodka Cured salmon gravlax on lavosh with Pickled beets, mustard Crema

Reindeer sausage, Apple Chutney with Birch Syrup on brioche

House Made Salt Cod Bacccolao over Purple olive oil puree

Pan Seared Scallops, minted Zuchini Tangle with Rose hip vinaigerette

Petite Filet Oscar with AK King Crab, asparagus and Bearnaise Aoli

Alaska Chips and Popcorn

Celestial Mead, Glacier Brewhouse Beer

(And the pic is the cute dogs I currently live with! Always a good time for another dog pic!)

The premiere and reception for For the Rights of All was a few weeks ago in Washington DC at Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian. It's an amazing building and I wish I had had more time to wander the museum. There was a large and enthusiastic crowd, and even Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich attended and spoke at the reception. The top pic shows them with the director of the film, Jeff Silverman. The head chef from Orso, a famous Anchorage restaurant, prepared Alaskan delicacies for the crowd. And best of all, the film was well received. Audience members even cried! All in all, it was a rewarding evening! In the middle of the other group shot is Diane Benson, who portrayed civil rights activist Elizabeth Peratrovich in the recreations in the film. The documentary idea originally came from a one-woman play based on Elizabeth that Diane starred in and wrote. It was Elizabeth's testimony before the Alaska Senate that cultivated the passage of the Anti Discrimination Act of 1945, the first anti-discrimination law in the US, ten years before Brown vs. Board of Education! Not many people know of the Alaska Natives struggle for basic human rights. The doc will air on PBS stations across the US in December, so look out for it! (all photos by Brian Adams)

Our local NPR station just aired a great piece on "For the Rights of All." Here's the link if you're interested. http://aprn.org/2009/10/21/afn-to-see-ak-civil-rights-documentary-for-the-rights-of-all/ And a few more past fall pics!

More Fall!

I'm bummed I didn't have more time this year to get out and take fall pics, and now it's over! My favorite season goes by in a flash, which makes me appreciate it all the more! In honor of fleeting fall, I'm re-posting some of my favorite pics of Alaskan falls past. Also, the PBS documentary I spent the entire year last year working on is finally finished. Here's a great article about it...http://www.adn.com/life/arts/story/977688.html. It was front page news! The article is getting some nice comments, it seems like people are excited about it! I recently attended the premiere at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC, and will post pics soon.

Fall is here!

It's been a long time since my last post, I will try to catch up the next few days by posting some pics of the latest adventures. These were taken several weeks ago, the leaves are almost entirely off the trees now...winter is coming!