• About

northierthanthou

northierthanthou

Tag Archives: Prudhoe Bay

No Horses Were Harmed in the Making of this Post!

19 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by danielwalldammit in Alaska, Bad Photography

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Alaska, Arctic, Deadhorse, Drilling, North Slope of Alaska, Oil, Photography, Photos, Prudhoe Bay

Prudhoe Bay + Clouds, and Clouds Again!

So, compliments of a couple flight delays, I recently spent an evening in Deadhorse. I’ve touched ground here a number of times, but I never managed to get off the plane. It was difficult to get a sense for the community in a short time and without a vehicle, but it was a fascinating glimpse into an interesting community.

No, I did not find a bar full of drunken, brawling brutes, so that’s strike two against The Grey (awful movie). In fact, Deadhorse is a dry community, though my shuttle driver could tell me of times long past when leaving $10.00 on your pillow could get you a bottle of Jack Daniels (sh…). For the present, however, it looks like people keep their nose pretty much to the grindstone while they are up here. The urge to party can wait to folks finish a stretch and fly home. The town has few permanent residents, but its temporary workers number a few thousand.

I arrived to find the power out at the airport (not to worry, the runway lights were doing just  fine). My first step outside led me to the Prudhoe Bay Hotel, ..but alas, I was not to set foot inside it.

***

***

My own reservations were at the Aurora Hotel, which was a lovely place. To control the inevitable muddy boots, guests were expected to wear booties about the place. The food was good (though not as good as Mike’s cooking at the Marsh Creek Inn). Guests could be found sleeping at all hours, and many rooms had signs posted to that effect. Production continues here at all hours, so I suppose it should come as no surprise to see that sleep does too. The Hotel had a nice gym on the 2nd floor (yeah right!) and a nicer lounge on the 3rd floor (that was tempting), but I wanted to take a walk.

I was told to be careful as a mama bear and her cubs had been hanging around town for a couple days. I said; “she’s here already?” Seriously, I thought I left them in Kaktovik! At any rate, these bears never put in an appearance, which is just as well, cause I was on foot.

Getting up at 6:30 in the morning, I really didn’t think I needed to leave a note on my own door, but I learned otherwise at about 4:00am. Apparently, housekeeping at the Aurora is also a 24/7 affair.

And that’s that. Home safe and sound!

(If you click them, they will grow!)

A glimpse of the tundra over the prop.
Barrow has way better dumpsters!

Attempted artsiness …okay, I tried.
Huh?
I am in full compliance

The Aurora Hotel, from the backside, cause it was way more cool than the front side.
Day Sleeper signs were everywhere.
I have no idea what this is supposed to be, but I want to call it a camel.

More Hotel Art
Okay, that’s enough Hotel Art
Like a giant mobile home.

People and stuff at work.
People and stuff at work 2
Parking Lot, …with plug-ins for car heaters.

I’m told this is a mobile drilling platform
A plane coming in for a landing.
A Pipe. Those are ducks resting at the water’s edge.

Helicopter
Mobile Drilling Platform II
Okay, one more!

Parking Lot II.
It’s getting on towards sunset.
Prudhoe Bay + Clouds, and Clouds Again!

Helicopter II
Mobile Drilling Platform III
A duck in the water

This is what happens when I zoom out from that drilling platform.
Stuff, lots of it.
Sunset

71.271549 -156.751450

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Print
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Grey – Movie Review (Yeah Spoilers)

14 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by danielwalldammit in Alaska, Movies

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Alaska, Entertainment, Film, Liam Neeson, Movies, Prudhoe Bay, The Grey, Wolves

In The Grey, Liam Neeson along with a small cast of characters survive a plane crash in remote parts of Alaska. The crash is, well, …the first of their challenges.

I saw this movie in a theater in Anchorage. I had just come off a flight very much like the one portrayed in the film, and I was killing time during the layover before a second round of middle-seat torment, when someone suggested watching this movie. It sounded like a good way to kill some time.

It wasn’t.

Don’t get me wrong. Liam Neeson turned in a fine performance, as did the rest of the cast. Do I need to say that he was compelling? Do I have to tell you that he made the character come alive? Let’s just take that as a given, and add that the rest of the cast also turned in excellent performances. Really, I have no qualms about the acting.

The problem I have with this movie is the story itself. The damned plot reminded me of chalk boards at nearly every turn.

Chalk boards and fingernails that is.

We could start with its portrayal the sort of people who work in the oil fields of Alaska. Neeson’s character, John Ottway tells us early on that he is a hired killer of sorts, working in the oil fields of Alaska. He then goes on to describe the oil-field workers as a mindless, hard-drinking and violent lot, prone to criminal actions. There is little in the opening scenes to suggest that Ottway’s comments are intended as anything less than the truth, at least as this movie envisions it.

Having shared an airplane with workers from Prudhoe Bay several times, I couldn’t help but cringe. I kept thinking about a long discussion I had on one flight with mechanic headed home to Texas. He spoke with me about his faith in the Baha’i church and a range of experiences working in different parts of the world. Did this movie do him justice? Not by a long shot, nor I suspect did it do justice for the rest of the workers at these fields.

Mind you, I am happy to go with a bit of slanderous fiction if we can then get along with a plausible storyline. I could just accept the movie’s take as a given and put it behind me. I could.

But let’s just return to the, “hired killer” theme. Who or what does Ottway kill?

Wolves.

Yes, Ottway kills wolves for a living, as is established in an early scene when we see him bring a lone wolf down with one well-placed shot, just in the nick of time. This would be a lone wolf that moved from stalking to charging multiple oil workers. The movie offers no explanation for the conduct of this wolf, giving the impression that this sort of thing is par for the course.

The Grey does give us a moving little moment where Ottway lays his hand reassuringly on the wolf as it dies. (Yes, that’s right, he touched the dying wolf as it died. …cause that’s what you do with a wounded and dying wolf. …Yep.)

And I should add that this scene is one of the more realistic moments in the films lupine antics. To say that the wolves of this film do not much act like the real thing is putting it mildly, unless of course you mean the Dire Wolves from Dungeons and Dragons. These wolves are smarter, meaner, more persistent, and just generally more bad-ass than any wolves in the known world, …Tolkein novels and role-playing games aside, I mean. Yes, I do think this movie depicts the Dire Wolves of D&D quite accurately.

Which is of course the major basis for the plot. First the plane crashes, and then a pack of Dire Wolves hunts the survivors for the rest of the movie, picking them off one by one.

If you’ve read my blog, you probably think I rooted for the wolves throughout the movie.

I did.

The trouble is that for all their extraordinary powers, these magical wolves take an awful long time to finish off their human quarry. And just when I was getting to the point where I thought the last bunch off heroes might actually make it (or perish in one merciful slaughter), the movie finds a new tone of nails-on-chalkboard resonance to strike. You see, it wasn’t enough to hit me with condescending portrayals of oil workers pit up against magical uber-wolves from fantasy land. No, this movie had one more means of tormenting yours truly.

It found my true weakness.

With but three survivors left, one of them finally gives up. The character, John Diaz, a particularly rough and tumble fellow decides he simply cannot go on. Now this might seem plausible, because of course he is hungry, cold, and tired at this point (much as I was sitting in that theater in Anchorage), but that would be far too predictable an excuse to lay down and die. No, it turns out that Diaz, the problem child of survivor group, has finally seen the error of his. He realizes how beautiful the countryside is, and realizes that the rest of his miserable life has been wasted all along. So, Diaz tells the other two to go on. And Ottway? Ottway understands and accepts this decision. This really belongs in an Iron John book. They leave Diaz sitting by a rover waiting for the wolves to get him, but not before some very meaningful moments of male-bonding occur.

At this point of the movie, I think I was genuinely squirming in my seat. In fact I am squirming now, just thinking of it.

So, I will just take a moment to mention some of the more interesting features of the movie. Ottway has a number of flashbacks during the course of the movie, consistently returning to a past relationship with a beautiful woman. These moments do serve to set up an interesting aspect of the film narrative; it is the reason he now works in the oil fields, and it is the source of his outlook and (ironically) his leadership qualities. Sadly, this theme never develops into its full potential.

I should also say that there is a drowning scene in this movie that is quite well done, a bit reminiscent of an old Paul Newman film, Sometimes a Great Notion. What makes it so interesting. Well you will have to brave the wolves to find out, because I’m not going to give this one away.

Well that’s it. I could go on, but, …no, I can’t. The memory of this movie is too much for me. I really don’t feel well at all right now. I look outside my window at the beautiful Alaskan scenery, and I realize that I just cannot go back to this movie review. You my dear reader should go on without me. Maybe you can make safely it to the next blog on your own. Just click the link to the Bill Hess Blog and you’ll be safe.

I’ll just sit here and let the chalkboard-sounds and the wolves get me.

Go!

Just go!

71.271549 -156.751450

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Print
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Top Posts & Pages

  • When San Diego Alaskitates!
    When San Diego Alaskitates!
  • Rural Murals
    Rural Murals
  • The Village of Wainwright, Alaska
    The Village of Wainwright, Alaska
  • Pay No Attention to the Abe in the Corner!
    Pay No Attention to the Abe in the Corner!
  • The Politics of Personification
    The Politics of Personification
  • An Uncommon Holiday Celebration
    An Uncommon Holiday Celebration
  • Gray Mountain Murals
    Gray Mountain Murals
  • Meeting Your Maker in a Ridley Scott Movie: Once Again As Farce (Spoilers)
    Meeting Your Maker in a Ridley Scott Movie: Once Again As Farce (Spoilers)
  • Mileage Varies
    Mileage Varies
  • Meow Says the Wolf
    Meow Says the Wolf

Topics

  • Alaska
  • Animals
  • Anthropology
  • atheism
  • Bad Photography
  • Books
  • Childhood
  • Education
  • Gaming
  • General
  • History
  • Irritation Meditation
  • Justice
  • Las Vegas
  • Minis
  • Movie Villainy
  • Movies
  • Museums
  • Music
  • Narrative VIolence
  • Native American Themes
  • Philosophy
  • Politics
  • Public History
  • Re-Creations
  • Religion
  • Street Art
  • The Bullet Point Mind
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Uncommonday
  • White Indians
  • Write Drunk, Edit Stoned

Blogroll

  • American Creation
  • An Historian Goes to the Movies
  • Aunt Phil's Trunk
  • Bob's Blog
  • Dr. Gerald Stein
  • Hinterlogics
  • Ignorance WIthout Arrogance
  • Im-North
  • Insta-North
  • Just a Girl from Homer
  • Multo (Ghost)
  • Native America
  • Norbert Haupt
  • Northwest History
  • Northy Pins
  • Northy-Tok
  • Nunawhaa
  • Religion in American History
  • The History Blog
  • The History Chicks
  • What Do I Know?

Archives

  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • April 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011

My Twitter Feed

Follow @Brimshack

RSS Feed

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 8,089 other followers

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • northierthanthou
    • Join 8,089 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • northierthanthou
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: