Poor thing!
A Rather Excitable Exit
25 Monday Jun 2018
Posted in Minis, Uncommonday
Category Archives: Uncommonday
An Uncommon Rosie
18 Friday May 2018
Posted in Alaska, History, Politics, Uncommonday
Tags
Alaska Natives, Anachorage Museum, Art, civil Rights, Decolonization, Elizabeth Peratrovich, History, Museum, Unsettled
Rosie the Riveter is one of those proverbial gifts that just keeps on giving. So, was Elizabeth Peratrovich. She would have been a contemporary of the many women who inspired this icon, which makes it just a little more interesting to see her standing in here for the women (whose real name was Naomi Parker) most of us envision when thinking about Rosie. This poster is part of the Unsettled exhibition currently showing at the Anchorage Museum.
Elizabeth was a major figure in the movement to combat discrimination against Alaska Natives in the 1940s. She is memorialized every February 16th, the day in which the Alaska Territorial Government signed the Anti-discrimination Act 0f 1945 into law. You can learn more about her work on civil rights at Alaskool.org. The quote featured in this poster is commonly thought to have been part of her testimony at the Alaska Territorial Legislature during hearings over the Anti-Discrimination Act. It isn’t entirely clear whether or not these were her exact words, though it probably says something about her actual testimony that it has become something of a legend in itself. The wit would certainly be right at home with other things that Elizabeth clearly did say.
Seriously, the woman kicked ass!
Apayo Moore, the artist behind this particular piece has the following to say bout it:
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An Uncommon Liberty
28 Monday Aug 2017
Posted in Alaska, Museums, Native American Issues, Re-Creations, Uncommonday
Tags
Alaska, Cup'ik, Doll, Equity, Museum of the North, Native Americans, New York, Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty Doll Sealskin, velour, cotton, rabbit, simulated sinew, thread, wire, Cup’ik, Maker: Rosalie Paniyak, UA 2001-008-0003
Back in May, I made a stop at the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Lots of interesting stuff in there, but this one piece in particular caught my attention. The information card next to Miss Liberty had a nice note from the museum director. It reads as follows:
“I’m a Native New York who 13 years ago left the big city for the paradise of Alaska. Rosalie Paniyak’s Statue of Liberty doll is, for me, one of the funniest works of art in the entire museum, and the embodiement of what I left and what I have now.
“When I lived in lower Manhattan, my dog and I would walk along the Hudson River.There was Ms. Liberty, tall, strong, and noble, an image that took itself very seriously. Moreover, it welcomed people to a Very Important City.
“Rosalie’s Statue of Liberty is soft, with a face that is anything but dignified. She holds her torch askew. She is the Cup’ik version of an American icon, humorous and irreverent.
“After I enjoy its visual irony, what does this doll say to me? On the lighter side, that New Yorkers’ sense of self-importance is a bit silly. And more seriously, that this privilege of liberty has not always been enjoyed by everyong, such as Native Americans.”
Aldona Jonaitis
Museum Director
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An Uncommon Morning
06 Monday Apr 2015
Posted in Uncommonday
Tags
Fog, North Dakota, Panorama, Pretty, Standing Rock, Travel, Videos, Youtube
Not much to say about this, other than that the video doesn’t really do it justice. I took this on my old blackberry in 2011. I was standing just outside the casino on the Standing Rock reservation getting ready for a trip to Sitting Bull College. I expect locals might find the sight rather ho-hum, but to me anyway, it was pretty cool.
Do I really talk like that? I should never speak.
…ever!
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Uncommonly Slow on the Uptake
30 Monday Mar 2015
Posted in Childhood, Movies, Music, Uncommonday
Tags
Accents, Childhood, Humor, Jokes, Memory, Music, Ringo Star, Television, The Beatles
Sometimes it takes a moment or three to get a joke. And sometimes it takes about a decade and a half.
I think I was about 9 when I watched Yellow Submarine. I didn’t know much about the Beatles at the time. I remember a bunch of 45s my older brother kept in a case with a zebra pattern on it, and I remember a walrus picture and the associated lyrics had made quite an impression. Beyond that, …well I was nine!
But there I sat watching Yellow Submarine on TV with my sister and her friends. Blue meanies made a strong impression, as did something about a hole that ended up in Ringo’s pocket. I remember being very confused about that.
I also remember quite a few songs, and then there was a scene where someone tells Ringo not to pull on a lever, and he says “I can’t help it. I’m a born Lever-puller.”
University of Whales I don’t remember, but I read that line and it looks funny.
So, one day I’m lying in bed one morning at the age of 23, and I’m thinking about speaking accents. I do accents sometimes, …terribly. Anyway, I’m thinking of British accents in that half-asleep state that might just as easily slip back into a full dream, and I’m pretty sure I can do Ringo’s accent, and then …
“Ooooooooh! …a born Leever-pooler!”
Guess I can be a little slow sometimes.
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An Uncommon Sunset
26 Monday Jan 2015
Posted in Bad Photography, Uncommonday
An Uncommon Doodler
19 Monday Jan 2015
Posted in Uncommonday
Have y’all heard of Vi Hart? I’m not really sure what she does, except that it involves math and brilliance.
Here is one of her better ones.
…and her expose on SpongeBob SquarePants can be found here:
Course she’s not down with pi! (Yeah that’s right, Vi is anti-Pi.)
…it’s enough to make a guy wish he studied math.
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An Uncommon Public Service Announcement
12 Monday Jan 2015
Posted in Uncommonday
Alaskans always have the best garbage dumpsters. This one for example has some very good advice.
It can be found in the village of Atqasuk on the North Slope.
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An Uncommon History Lesson
15 Monday Dec 2014
Posted in History, Uncommonday
Tags
Britain, British Civil War, History, Humor, King Charles I, Monty Python, Music, Oliver Cromwell
I think I’ll just let this one speak for itself.
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An Uncommon Elf
08 Monday Dec 2014
Posted in Music, Uncommonday
Tags
Black Sabbath, Carolina County Ball, Elf, Music, Rainbow, Rock&Roll, Ronnie James Dio, The Electric Elves
Wondering who this is? Well it’s Ronnie James Dio and his old band.
…no his REALLY old band.
This was Dio before Black Sabbath, before Rainbow, and well before Satan made his way into the man’s vocals. Heck, the lyrics seem almost normal, even wholesome.
I don’t imagine he would have flashed the hook of horns much during these years.
Nope!
