Jun 9There Goes Our Hero…The last time I saw Mr. Summer I didn’t say hello. It was about a year ago. I was sitting in a coffee shop pretending to be a writer when I glanced up to see an unmistakably wiry man with a Groucho Marx mustache grabbing a cup of coffee at…6 min read6 min read
Jan 24It’s Okay to be Cringe: When we Talk Past About Trauma, Its Power FadesOn a spring day when I was 16 years old my mom died of cancer. After I got the news I decided to go back to basketball practice. I don’t even remember hugging my brothers, just taking in the news with a dumb numbness and trying to shrug it off…Mental Health7 min readMental Health7 min read
Jan 11Sex, drugs and beginner piano lessons: An old dog learns a new trickI’m no musician. I never progressed beyond the “recorder and triangle” level in grade school and my effort to learn guitar in college consisted mainly of posing with my guitar for brooding album cover photos. I’ve always loved music though, and wherever I’ve had the odd chance to strum a…Music5 min readMusic5 min read
Dec 3, 2022I was wrong about AI — the technology will actually help writers and artistsWhen artificial intelligence is used by content writers, it helps them increase their output and makes their writing more efficient. For example, AI writers can produce articles on a wide range of topics at speed and can also generate content ideas for the humans to work on. AI is also…2 min read2 min read
Oct 20, 2022Alaska’s Governor is High on a New Drug WarAlaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has been accused of many, many (many) things, but imagination isn’t one of them. So it was no surprise last week when the world’s foremost Big Tex impersonator unveiled what he hopes will be a signature piece of second-term legislation, a predictably draconian crime bill that…Alaska5 min readAlaska5 min read
Aug 24, 2022My Grandmother’s LefseThere’s nothing like lefse. That’s not strictly true, of course. In fact, there are many desserts and flatbreads that could broadly be described as “like” the thin Norwegian delicacy — crepes, tortillas, naan — but none quite match lefse’s when it comes to combining utter simplicity with understated elegance. …Lefse4 min readLefse4 min read
May 11, 2022By Pure Coincidence, Murkowski’s Political Ambitions Align Perfectly with Christian Fundamentalist GoalsIt’s unfair to attack U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski for her role in the recent attack on women’s right to have an abortion, which is on the verge of becoming illegal in many parts of this country if the Supreme Court follows through on its leaked opinion overturning the landmark Roe…Alaska9 min readAlaska9 min read
Apr 28, 2022Curious ‘Blue Alaskan’ Reveal Raises More Questions than it AnswersUsually it takes someone years to make the leap from journalism to public relations. Matthew Beck made the transition in about 12 hours. Until two days ago known only as the anonymous “Blue Alaskan,” Beck revealed his name at the end of a discussion about journalism and blogging during the…Alaska6 min readAlaska6 min read
Mar 29, 2022Colony Days Kerfuffle Drives Mat-Su Residents to MadnessAlaska’s warring culture warriors have engaged in plenty of absurdist skirmishes over the past couple years, but perhaps none as spectacularly unhinged as the Colony Days Kerfuffle. In a tiff both exasperating and exhausting, the community of Palmer erupted in indignation last week after the local chamber of commerce announced…Alaska7 min readAlaska7 min read
Mar 16, 2022A Blogger and a Preacher are Spending Big Money on Anchorage’s Upcoming ElectionIn January, Must Read Alaska editor Suzanne Downing donated $600 to Anchorage Assembly candidate Kathy Henslee. Days later, Henslee turned around and cut Downing a check for $750 for advertising on the conservative blog. That unusual bit of mutual back-scratching is one of the more eye-opening tidbits to so far…Alaska4 min readAlaska4 min read
