PSJ
Live from the Internet!
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Where in the world is PSJ:
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WEB SITE OF THE MONTH: Well, my NEW WEB SITE of course!
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Perhaps you have wondered about my e-signature. Let me take a minute to explain it.
Youth Worker: This has been my profession since graduating college. In this capacity, I have: substitute taught, been a child care worker/mental health specialist in psychiatric group homes, a teacher aide in a Reform School for Boys, the Youth Programs Coordinator for University Unitarian Church, and a Street Links Van Outreach Worker to Homeless Youth, a Crisis Stabilization Worker with the King County Children's Crisis Response Team, a Rehabilitation Specialist, specializing with behaviorally challenged youth, Supervised an emergency shelter for at risk children, and a Case Manager for Developmentally Disabled Children.
Russophile: Growing up during Ronald Reagan's Cold War era ("We begin bombing in five minutes", "Evil Empire", SDI, etc.) inspired me to study Russian Language and Culture. I have lived a total of six months in the Former Soviet Union and Russia, mostly in Leningrad/St. Petersburg. I've got some great slides of "before and after USSR". I recently freshened up on my Russian in a trip in August, 2004 and will be going back soon to spend a year (or more?) in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski, Kamchatka.
Unitarian Universalist since 1973: I am a rare breed. Many "UU's" have found this welcoming, "build your own theology" religion in their search as adults for a meaningful religious community which, for a number of reasons, they had not found in denominations of their birth. I was given this religion as my folks joined when I was a wee boy of six. I grew up as a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pittsfield, MA. I currently belong to Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Church in Shoreline, WA. I co-manage a mail list for the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU).
If you're searching for Laura Love's latest album, you can find it at Ladyslipper Music by Women. Incidentally, I've had the privilege of seeing Laura in WA, FL, MA, and AK, and look forward to catching her one of these days in a town near you. Rod Cook and Chris Leighton (Laura's bassist and drummer) have their own band called Toast, which plays regularly in Seattle area.
In Seattle, the only- problem with going to the movies is deciding which to see. Seven Gables/Landmark Theatres is always my first choice.
Wish you could spend more time browsing the vast web for sites worth seeing? Slumberland takes care of that for you- a running journal of fascinating sites put together by.....well, you'll see when you get there. Here are a few of the gems I've found:
- Fridge Poems - in case you'd forgotten what you can do with 5K!
- Looking for a good pseudonym? Try the Glam-Name Generator.
I like to travel. My favorite airlines ('cuz they usually get me the best fares) are:
US Airways
- Reeve Aleutian Airways(Good luck with the bankruptcy!)
- Alaska Airlines
- Bering Air for all your arctic commuting needs.
- Aeroflot.
- Mavial Air (or in Russian at Aviakompaniya Mavial) serves Kamchatka and beyond.
- Iceland Air has been advertsing some very enticing fares lately.
The St. Petersburg, Russia Youth Hostel was a super place to stay just off of Ploshchad Vostaniya.
If you're in greater Anchorage, I recommend the Spenard Hostel International. Be sure to check out the more rustic hostel down the road in Girdwood. You can avoid the HI hostel in downtown Anchorage, at least until they finish renovating, which may take quite some time.
Travelocity has a service that notifies me when rates go down to 5 pairs of cities.
I am planning a trip to Yakutsk, capital of The Republic of Sakha (formerly Yakutia), and checking the weather there daily. (Hint: It rivals Kotzebue, AK). For further information about Yakutsk, check out the following:
- Native Culture
- Natural and Cultural attractions
- Sakha Resources
- City of Yakutsk Directory- Local goings on- in Russian!
- The Lena Hotel offers an affordable place to stay, and a glimpse of the blossoming Siberian tourism industry.
Doonesbury is available online, thank goodness.
The next car I buy will be a gas/electric hybrid. The two choices at the moment are the Honda Insight (60-70 MPG) and Toyota Prius (50-60 MPG). Rumor has it that Ford will put out a Hybrid SUV. Now there's an oxymoron for you.
Seattle Public Library has a useful web page.
Has it been two months already? Schedule an appointment to donate a pint at Puget Sound Blood Center. 5 gallons and counting.
The best radio station West of the Adirondacks is KCMU
at the University of
Washington. Although Microsoft's better half bought a new studio
and renamed the station "KEXP", its artistic integrity has remained
unchanged. But I still can't get them to play Laura...
I do enjoy many programs on NPR.
You've heard the buzz. Now you can see what it's all about! Learn all about The World Fund, a closed investment fund founded in 1991. Get in the car.
My recent residence in Kotzebue in the Alaskan Bush has persuaded me to take a fresh look at on-line mail order catalogues. Here's a list of my current favorites:
- Tom's of Maine, Kennebunk, ME. (CAREFUL! IT BURNS!)
- L.L. Bean, Freeport, ME.
- Bose, Framingham, MA.
For some more views of NW Alaska, the National Park Service has some nice shots of the various federal lands in Northwest Alaska and the Bering Land Bridge.
The Beatles have unearthed some archival footage.
Okay, fun's over. Time to check the student loans. PAID OFF! has one loan, until The USDOE consolidates them at 7.46% (thanks, Bill and co., for allowing me to deduct student loan interest off my taxes!!) (Boy, will I miss that deduction....)
Okay, now it gets real serious. What's Discover Card done for me lately? Not much. And besides, First USA has a cooler card.
Although I will neither
recommend nor advocate for the following, I do have investments in Pax
World Fund Family NSV, (Log
in here),
and the former retail champion of the world, Sears,
Roebuck, and Co., thanks to their generous employee profit sharing
plan.
My favorite veggie is asparagus.
Fremont
Public AssociationPeace
CorpsOn-line
ApplicationUU
NetheadsEndangered
Espresso?IrkutskFord
EscapeGreenSound
TransitMonorailPax
World Fund Family NSVLog
inDomini Funds
NSVMother Jones WireSeattle
MarinersSocial
FundsSocial InvestFremont
Fair
RL, in addition to being a super magazine about Russian culture,
will pay me a percentage of your purchases from their store, which will in
turn support future travels to Russia. Thanks
for your support!
Previous Web sites of the month:
Russian Life
Magazine (and store)
Send e-mail
Seattle Community Network
SCN Member Pages