I didn't bother to take my own camera since I knew that Dennis Zaki would have his, and that he would take much better pictures than I ever could, and that he would gladly share them with all of you. And so he did.
Perennial favorite DeeDee Jonrowe.
I cannot tell which hat is the more ridiculous.
I love receiving puppies in the mail!
(Just kidding this is how they transport the dogs.)
Returning champion Lance Mackey was there with the same great team he had last year .
Here is Lance Mackey's team taking off like a rocket down 4th Avenue. Lance is the crowd favorite to win it again this year which would make five consecutive wins in a row.
Martin Buser was also a crowd favorite. (Those of you from out of state might remember him from his brief appearance on Palin's reality show. Though I am sure he would rather people not remember him for that.)
Colorful characters abound during the Fur Rondy celebrations.
You know despite what people may think of Alaska, it really is only acceptable to wear road kill on your head during Rondy.
Oh. Well I guess I stand corrected then don't I?
Oh that is rich Gryph. Thanks for the laugh. Choice photos Dennis!
ReplyDeleteIt's not 1898 any longer and all these stupid fat Alaskan men that wear dead animals on their heads piss me off to no end! I can't even believe that Anchorage has the audacity to still host a festival called "Fur Rendezvous"! I certainly hope that Alaska will find its' way into the 21st century soon and get over the glamorizing of the Jack London Alaska. This kind of crap makes it even harder to explain being an Alaskan to people that we meet on our travels.
ReplyDeletewonderful pics, fine captions. Thanks for a trip to the real Alaska.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures! That last one made me literally laugh out loud. Wasn't expecting that as I scrolled into it. Bwahahaha!
ReplyDeleteGryphen,
ReplyDeleteYour last comment was a definite Windex moment - tea all over my screen!
Thanks for the laugh!!
Nice pictures. Local culture should be treasured. It's Mardi Gras time in New Orleans and Sarah is making appearances in all the political parades. She is NOT a favorite around here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your stand, AKPetMom. Flaunting dead animals is not a fashion statement. It is a statement of supreme arrogance and stupidity. It is past time for some "traditions" to be discarded.
ReplyDelete- ks sunflower
Did you see jan brewer?
ReplyDeleteVery funny on the last caption! The wolf hats make me unspeakably sad. What a tragedy. I'm with AKPetMom.
ReplyDeleteOt but you gotta read this from Think Progress
ReplyDelete"One of the lesser-known assaults on working class people in Walker’s most recent legislative push is his attempt to override federal Medicaid laws to place the state’s subsidized health care system, BadgerCare, under the control of the state’s Health and Human Services office, and then proceed to slash its budget and throw thousands of people off the rolls.
As In These Times’s Lindsay Beyerstein notes, this new provision in the budget is coupled with another policy which seems darkly ironic when seen alongside these Medicaid cuts. The Walker budget “recommends increasing payments to counties to cover the costs of burying Wisconsinites who die destitute” — one of the few major increases in spending to be found in the document. Indeed, on page 248 of the governor’s Health and Human Services budget, Walker recommends an “increase” in “funeral and cemetery aids”:
So Walker knows he will be killing people.
The best thing that is resulting from the runaway 14 is making enough time for people to actually be able to read the whole bill and spread the word.
And it is a mess of toxins and sewage that make Lake Lucine, that Sarah lets her children swim in, look like the Gulf of Mexico.
No. No. wait. Uh ..like Prince William Sound.
Un sorry.. Brain lock here. Uh. One of the Great Lakes?
Ok Ok I got it.
Barton Springs in Austin, Texas washed by a new rain fall. mmmmm Nope. Closed due to E. coli contamination.
Give me a hand guys. Is there a clean body or water, or for that matter a Christian acting Republican anywhere anymore?
Very disturbing photos of fucking assholes with dead dogs on their heads. If you were trying to make PALIN look good, you succeeded.
ReplyDeleteAh, gee, and you failed to thank the Bill Weimer-Joe Redington connection that created this fiasco...but then you probably have not lived in Alaska ling enough to know that bit of history.
ReplyDeleteWGE at Mardi Gras in La? WTF!! Is that for real?
ReplyDelete@akpetmom...We get many visitors here because of the "1898" flavor. I personally would not wear a dead animal hat, but if that was the "costume" of the past...it's just live "museum" in my book. -- I don't like crucifix necklaces. I know people wear them to honor Jesus as the Savior, but it bothers me, because I equate it with wearing "the" murder weapon that he died from.--- Anyway, I regress, I went to the Iditarod Banquet where the mushers draw their numbers a few years ago, and was so surprised... it was held at the Sullivan arena, the floor was packed and at least half of the folks paying for the costly dinner and chance to shake hands with the mushers, I'd say, almost half of the attendees were from the lower '48. People are intrigued with our history that we take for granted. Yea, I've been here for nearly 40 years. -- Animal furs were worn for survival.
ReplyDeleteBhahaha! Another "pout" picture! Thanks Gryphen and Dennis!
ReplyDeleteYes, Governor Brewer is headed for that winter vacation wonderland, Alaska. Her first vacation in two years (gee, I haven't been out of my state in four.) Wonder if she'll try to make friends and influence people. She's such a warm-hearted, caring executive...if you're rich and healthy. So I guess she won;t be meeting up with any native Alaskans. Much like former Gov. Sarah.
ReplyDeleteGryphen, you have a picture from the Iquitarod mixed in.
ReplyDeleteJan Brewer is at the start line with Todd Palin.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150099957856126&set=pu.173347701125&theater
At least here in Louisiana we dont go out and kill some animals to decorate our floats and make costumes.Having no other recourse but to wear furs in the past is one thing,wearing some of the costumes left over from that time makes sense,but the effort that these fat ugly assholes have put into what they so proudly wear on their heads like immature fools shows that they have gone out and made the effort to acquire the dead animals for the purpose of strutting around like the jackoffs they are.Is this what Alaska contributes to us?Inbred assholes who wear dead animals on their heads and stupid Antichrist Sarah Palin.Man ,I thought Louisiana had a bad rep.
ReplyDeleteWhy are the dogs wearing pink booties?
ReplyDeleteI thought Lance had eleven new dogs this year.
ReplyDeleteThe pink booties are to protect their pads from getting cut on ice and rock and to keep their paws warm in the cold.
ReplyDeleteI miss the poodles.
Is there like a library of Palin ugly-faced screen caps somewhere? Please link!
ReplyDeleteThat might be one of the most disturbing still shots of Palin I've seen yet.
ReplyDeleteThe bulldog jaw and red, dead eyes which reflect NO SOUL whatever. shivers me timbers.
Onething - the dogs wear booties to protect the pads of their paws - no clue why the choice of color, but I don't think the color really matters
ReplyDeleteNooo, instead in Louisiana they spend $50,000 and wear the biggest loudest phony Indian costume they can get their hands on.
ReplyDeletehttp://mardigrasindianshow.com/rokzoom/0.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/4shobkc
[Which I actually think is both fascinating and repulsive at the same time, but I have to make the point...]
And this just makes me scared:
http://tinyurl.com/48d3fw9
http://tinyurl.com/5stp8yk
Come on, folks. It's simply a spring fur-trading tradition that has grown into a contemporary urban festival. Fur Rendezvous comes from isolated and solitary trappers and miners congregating in the spring to sell the winter's catch.
Jack London's stuff was more about Canada and less about Alaska. Dawson, Yukon and the Klondike. Same thing, I get what you mean.
Dog booties are different colors for fun. Sponsored teams sport logos; others are custom.
Booties are to protect the dogs' feet from getting torn up by ice. These might be some of Deedee Jonrowe's. She had pink ones made to celebrate cancer survival. Lance is also a cancer survivor and supports LiveStrong.
The booties protect their paws. They are sold down here in the lower 48 as well.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Is it true that dogs die during the race?
I'm with you AKMom, Alaska is off my vacation list as long as they kill wolves from helicopters. While I can understand celebrating NATIVE traditions, wtf do fat white people wearing dead wolves have to do with that? Nothing, they just do it for some sick reason.
ReplyDeleteThe dogs are wearing pink booties because it protects their feet over the many miles of ice and snow, and because Lance Mackey has a sense of style. Go Lance!
ReplyDeletetwo pouts in a row,palin, then bush is way too much to take.
ReplyDeleteOh too, too funny... I laughed until it hurt.. and boy does it hurt!
ReplyDeleteI just can't stop the pain!
bwahahahahaha!
To 1:17:
ReplyDeleteThe Indian culture in New Orleans in not fake or phony. It has deep significant roots in our history. Here is a small snippet that briefy explains, you can google more comprensive history:
Typical Mardi Gras organizations will form a "krewe." A krewe often names their parade after a particular mythological hero or Greek god. The ranking structure of a Mardi Gras Krewe is a parody of royalty: King, Queen, Dukes, Knights and Captains...or some variation on that theme. Many more established Krewes allowed membership by invitation only.
Few in the ghetto felt they could ever participate in the typical New Orleans parade. Historically, slavery and racism were at the root of this cultural separation. The black neighborhoods in New Orleans gradually developed their own style of celebrating Mardi Gras. Their "Krewes" are named for imaginary Indian tribes according to the streets of their ward or gang.
The Mardi Gras Indians named themselves after native Indians to pay them respect for their assistance in escaping the tyranny of slavery. It was often local Indians who accepted slaves into their society when they made a break for freedom. They have never forgotten this support.
Peace!
When I was in junior high my class followed the iditarod. My musher was davis and he sent me a pink booty and a generic alaskan souvenir. Love them. The booty is my good luck charm
ReplyDeleteBTW Dogs can only see blue and green and some a little into the yellow.
ReplyDeleteSo those dogs have no idea they're wearing pink booties.
I think they're a great spot of color on the show. Quite eye-catching.
Just because something is utilitarian doesn't mean it can't be fun and stylish.