Lost Dog String Band and a masquerade fundraiser

This weekend, Mardi Gras gets celebrated on Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Ken Kunkel Community Hall in Goldstream.

Below is the party poster. Lost Dog Old Time String Band, with Lynn Basham as caller, is going to provide some Applachian-style dance tunes, and there will be all kinds of goodies at the potluck. Here's the program of events.

The purpose of the festivities is to provide The Ester Republic with some funds to make the transition to a nonprofit organization (and, of course, to have a lot of fun—any excuse for a party is a good one!)

I'll be the Purple Publisher, and since I'm making an official Introduction Speech (short, I promise), I'll be easy to recognize even with a mask and costume. We'll have masks for those who couldn't get one in time, and we're encouraging mining-related costumes (but really, anything goes!). Ronn Murray Photography will be providing professional-quality portraits so you can immortalize your appearence in costume, too.

Bring a dish and a donation for the hat, and there's toasting and speechifying and a costume and mustache/beard contest (gents' and ladies' divisions)! Prizes and books and back issues, too!

We're not dead yet!

That Monty Python reference holds true: it may be months since Madame Publisher has posted on this blog, but she's still kicking. It's been a far-too-exciting fall and winter (a seemingly never-ending cold, a broken wrist, and serious debt in RepublicWorld), which interfered in the publication schedule. However, the Republic is heading for some pretty cool changes, some of which have already begun:

Twitter: yes, the Republic (although not really the Publisher of same) has joined the modern sound-bite era with a Twitter account. @EsterRepublic (the Publisher doesn't quite understand this esoteric 140-character means of communication, but she has the skilled help of two web-savvy teenagers).

Facebook: the Facebook page now has two new additional admins (the aforesaid web-savvy experts). Actual news may begin appearing.

Website redesign: after an editorial/marketing meeting yesterday, in which several excellent ideas were aired, the assembled group decided that it was time to redesign the website--to make it more functional, take advantage of all the nifty things that the web offers, and easier to find stuff. I actually have a team of people at work on this! Hoo!

Fundraiser: A massive fundraising shindig is being held at Hartung Hall on Feb. 25, 7 pm (that's a Saturday night): the Miners Masquerade Ball. That means costumes! There will be a toasting and speechifying contest (pay attention, Toastmasters!), a beard and moustache contest (men's and ladies' divisions), potluck food (bring edibles), live music (Lost Dog Old-Time String Band!), and DANCING. This will replace the Birthday Bashes, but there will likely be awards for the Publisher's Picks, and certainly prizes and games and other fun things. More info on this festival soon.

Foundation: The Republic is going to be working on creating a long-term support structure for the paper, etc. This will involve creating a nonprofit foundation (as discussed long ago and now revived): the People's Endowment for the Ester Republic, or PEER.

So that's the quickie update. More shall be appearing here in due time.

Independence Day in Ester

It's that time of year again! The Ester Fourth of July Parade will start at noon (ish) in the village square, pass the Judicial Review Booth (don't forget your judicial discernment enhancements, a.k.a. "bribes") in a semi-orderly and goofy fashion (after the veritable flock of youthfully driven and wildly decorated bicycles zooms past the judges at high speed), take a breather to impress the judges suitably, march (or jog or dance or stroll or drive or jig) down our illustrious and tree-lined Main Street, take a left (of course) onto Village Road, saunter past the Ida Lane Gazebo and the Ester Post Office, take another left onto the Old Nenana Highway, and trudge in the hot sun or rainy fog or clouds of mosquitoes or whathaveyou to the Ester Community Park, where said parade participants will turn left for a Final Time, there to participate in an Excellent Picnic & Party put on by the Ester Community Association, and receive Fabulous Prizes Recycled from Years (and Dumpsters) Past!

There will be GAMES and QUANTITIES OF WATER (most if it NOT in a glass but all over you if you don't move fast enough) and LOTS OF FOOD (if you bring donations or picnics) and loads of your neighbors and friends and dogs and kids and FUN FUN FUN!

If you would like to be one of the gaily-dressed and irreverent Paraders Extraordinaire, show up in the village of Ester at 11 am and heed the Directions of the Parade Director, who shall be recognizable by A Booming Voice (or maybe a loudspeaker or just a pointy finger) and (probably) A Silly Hat. Be Prepared to Sign In (this is so the judges and the Ester Republic newspaper publisher can tell who you are later, after all the notes and whatnot have been obscured by chocolate, water, beer, ice cream, and barbecue sauce), and award said aforementioned FABULOUS PRIZES.

Jest don't ferget that bribagery. And Food for the Picnic (bring extra to support the hungry paraders around you). And donations for the Pig Purchase, and to help out the Ester Community Association, which puts on this silliness every year.

As per usual, Do Not Expect Political Correctness. We like our parades Irreverent, Political, Punny, not necessarily Mature, and Not Too Long. Also Loud (the Ester Fire Department will be there, and the Red Hackle Bagpipe Band is coming again, YAY!). And with LOTS OF CAPITAL LETTERS. (Bring a sign.)

If you would like to be a Designated Spectator, be sure to Cheer and Clap a lot, because most of the parade participants are amateurs, and need encouragement. It takes a lot of chutzpah to make up a costume and a theme the night before and get all those drill team moves sorta down in the 24 hours before the parade. Spectators are also encouraged to bring Food, Beverages, and dogs and kids and their Uncle Ned.

Dad's 75th

This Sunday is my father's 75th birthday party (his birthday was actually a couple of weeks ago) and his and my stepmomther's 25th anniversary. They are having a giant shindig and two of my aunts are here for it. I haven't seen either of them for years. I went to lunch with my Aunt Alice yesterday, and am looking forward to hanging out with Aunt Honey.

However, I'm up to my eyeballs in music festival stuff, so until that's over I'm not going to be doing much family socializing…

Gazebo weekend

Man, oh man, what a weekend. I'm sore all over and tuckered out. Hans and I worked like hell on the library gazebo all week, getting the structural strapping on and gluing corks in the bulletin board. Then we had a hell of a time directing volunteers, cleaning up the premises, installing this and that and cutting and hammering and sawing and chiseling and painting and sanding and digging and lugging and...well, you get the picture. People mostly didn't arrive until noon, which had us feeling sorry for ourselves in the morning because we got there at nine each day, and then sorry for ourselves in the afternoon because then we couldn't concentrate on the tasks we were hoping to get done because we had to help people find tasks to do. But despite all that, it was amazing. A ton of people showed up and a ton of work got accomplished. It was great. I wrote a big thank you to all the volunteers I could think of on the JTEL blog.

There's still more to be done, but Hans and I are going to take care of the rest of the ceiling and the varnishing this week. We hope. I'll post photos as soon as I find my camera.

The gazebo is beautiful, and is now officially the Ida Lane Clausen Gazebo. Bobby Lounsbury read a wonderful biography of Ida, and Ray Hadley described first meeting her. George also spoke, and Shannan Turner told a few anecdotes about her, one from her sister and one from Christie Ragan Barstad. Joe Thomas showed up to the dedication party, and asked for a tour of the library land, so Maggie Billington and he and I walked up to the (extremely overgrown) library drive and proceeded to view the cliff, the car garden, and driveway & parking site, and the actual library site itself. Oodles of people came. I keep remembering more of them: the Lounsburys, Jody and Jerry Hassle, Janet Thompson and Dave Sala (who took a tape recording of Ida at the Malemute that Jill Cameron had and recorded it onto a CD so we could play it as background music for the event), Jill, Amy Cameron and Joe Geiss, Kate and Maggie Billington, Scott Allen, Ray Hadley, Ruth Jasper and Shannan Turner, Hans and me, Nancy Burnham and Don Cameron, Ginger Meta, Sarie Brainerd, Jeff and Corinna Martt (who brought bratwurst and a grill), Margaret and Stanley Rogers, Kayt Sunwood and Sine Anahita, Monique Musick (camera in hand), Greta Burkart, Lynn Kulp (with homemade mocha ice cream!), Brad Rouda and a friend of his named David, and a whole lot of wasps (who concentrated on the salmon, so we left them to it).

The place is wonderful for parties on a summer day, I can tell you! It's an amazing space. I brought Ida's Clip Joint sign, someone else brought a photo of her, and we have a copy of the dedication on the cork board. Amy Cameron brought a few posters, so now the cork board is Officially Open for Posting.

Yeah!

Ye Olde Independence Day Celebration and Hoo-Roar

Yes,it's that time of year again. The annual 4th of July parade & picnic is about to deluge Ester with gazillions of people who aren't into the militaristic display at Pioneer Park or the (now not-happening) Fairbanks parade. Folks who like a bit of political and social satire (well, okay, a LOT of satire) with their floats come out to Our Fair Republic for a lot of beverage-through-the-nose-snorting fun on Independence Day here where Progress Is Our Least Important Product. For those unsuspecting innocents who don't realize that off-color and politically incorrect silliness is the usual fare at this event, consider yourselves forewarned.

After the parade comes the Park Picnic, put on by the Ester Community Association. A large roast beast (usually a pig) is served up to the public, purchased and cooked by the Ester Volunteer Firefighters' Auxiliary, along with the usual hot dogs, potato salad, watermelon, et cetera, from the ECA. Be prepared to bring a large side dish full o' your most succulent potluck food, and to shell out a donation. The money raised at this event (also known as Organized Eating and Fun & Games) is used to help Ester firefighters in the aftermath of a fire, keep the park ship-shape, and pay for all that food and beverage and flatware provided to the public.

Details: parade check-in (for participants) 11 am, Main Street & Ester Loop. Kids on bikes should wear a (preferably wildly decorated) helmet. Getcher paper plate when you sign in so the judges can tell who you are so's to give you a Fabulous Award. Don't forget to bribe the judges early, well, and often.

The parade starts at noon for all you Designated Spectators, and the picnic starts after the parade reaches the park. Be prepared for Silly Games and Water Sports (willing or non).

Rumor has it that the Red Hackle Bagpipe Band will be back and in surprising costume. The Banana Girls will return but may not be as organized as last year. There is also a rumor that actual Republican candidates will walk this year. Let's hope they're not as serious as the Democrats have been. Other than that, the Publisher has no word of the contents of aforementioned parade.

See you there!

A bit of silliness from my day job

Here's some annual craziness: Flying Axes: the Farthest North Forest Sports Festival, sponsored by the UAF Resource Management Society and the School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences. The video is from the 11th annual fest, last year. This year's is tomorrow, October 3, at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm (the birling happens at Ballaine Lake later in the afternoon).



And here's a story about it from the News-Miner. My favorite line: "Plaid shirts are not required." Good warm wool felt and/or other suitable lumberjack wear is recommended, however.

More Musick

So I'm back, after snarfing a few munchies (some excellent black bean salsa and chips). The band is great. If you want to hear some good music, come on down. I talked with Pete Bowers about Into the Woods, and met Jack Hebert, who looked terribly familiar but I couldn't place him until Mike introduced him by last name. He's one of those people I know by two names, sort of like Jacques Cousteau, Mike Musick, etc. Must have both names or the name doesn't stick in my mind.

At any rate, other interesting folks include James Pagell, Scott Johnson, amy Taylor, Shannan Turner, Amy Cameron, Jenny Schlofeldt (not sure I have the spelling of her name correctly), Jeanne Laurencelle, several regulars at the bar, and more unusual folks of various sorts. Mike stood at the mike (ho ho ho, yes yes, I know) for a few minutes and spoke on the importance of using less: less energy meaning less cost to the borough, rebates from the state of several tens of millions reserved for retrofitting houses and public buildings.

This is one of the things I think is an appropriate use of public money: if we save fuel, we save a LOT in terms of money, and we make ourselves much more secure with regard to fuel dependence. But I've gone on about this before.

Bob Siftar was feeling feisty and asked Mike about his old wood stove, which, as he said, "worked fine!" Mike had been talking about how the emissions standards for wood stoves didn't necessarily have to be an onerous thing, and in fact, if one improved one's efficiency (i.e., establish the baseline and then improve the efficiency of the heater--oil furnace, wood stove, whathaveyou), one could actually get a lot of money back on the proposition. So if your stove works fine, GOOD.

Jack Hebert does a lot of this for a living: evaluating houses for their heat loss and fuel efficiency. He works with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center and, he said, "for some reason people think my opinion is worth something." I'll say. The guy's only been working with green building for what, ten, fifteen years or more?

Hans just walked in, with his usual insane grin. Lori Neufeld, with her magnet attraction toward good music, has been here for a while. Time to mingle again, I think.

A most pleasant evening. We'll see if I can provide more substantive info on Musick's stance later.

Mike Musick meet and greet

Your intrepid blogger is here at the Golden Eagle, blogging live from the scene of a political fundraiser/gathering for Mike Musick, who is running for re-election to borough assembly. (The election is October 6.) Mike arrived a few minutes ago and is looking cheerful, chatting with Joe Thomas (that's state senator Joe) and Maggie Billington. I'm not close enough to eavesdrop, but I can step away from the computer and butt in on the conversation, I think. Northern River is tuning up for their next song--wait, they've started. Hoo! Great stuff. Beth is going to town on the fiddle.

Spoke briefly with Joe Thomas about the Ester library plans (new and improved).

So: who's here? Don DeWitt, Ray & Jill Cameron, JD Ragan, Nancy Burnham, Bob Grove, Charley Gray, Bob Siftar, Kate Billington, Jeff Stepp, Pete Bowers...Mike is out there mingling.

Aha. Mike Musick has just come over and I plan to query him on a few items (seeing as I didn't get to this for the Republic).

(Don DeWitt) Q. Have you heard about the plastic bag that dissolves in sunlight?

A. No. I'm not setting policy. I'm just working on setting up a recycling commission; I'm sure they'll they'll be happy to look into that.

(DeWitt and Musick discussed the relative merits of photodegradable plastic bags, on whether the degraded product--a powder after four months, according to DeWitt--is toxic or not)

This question related to the one I planned to ask him, as a Facebook user was curious about how he had voted on the plastic bag fee/tax ordinance and why.

Musick: I really wanted a grassroots, bottom-up recycling movement so I voted [against the ordinance] because I understand this community and that this would create a divisive situation...

[Musick said that he wanted to address the questioner directly about this (the bag ordinance and the fee). Mike has been instrumental in reviving the recycling commission (not yet officially voted on). I spoke with Layne St. John, a former assemblyman and chair of the Solid Waste Committee about this earlier--Hans and I ran into him and Janice at the Blue Loon earlier tonight where we had gone out to dinner. Layne described how the recycling commission/program idea has resurfaced over the years again and again but has never been able to stick. We talked about land fills, municipal composting, and methane gas reclamation from landfills, and the economics of recycling in such a small population base. I believe we need to get this thing in gear; shipping raw materials outside ends up being too expensive, but perhaps we can do the ol' value-added product thing.]

Okay, time to do a little mingling of my own. Will be back shortly.

The Fourth of July Parade

Jesse Hensel made this excellent little slide show with interviews about the Fourth of July parade in Ester.



This is an intriguing and very positive contrast to some of the comments that were posted on the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner's blog in reaction to Rebecca George's article about the parade. I thought her article and the background piece on the Ester Community Association's role in the picnic were overall very good, although the Ken Kesey reference at the beginning played right into the stereotypes associated with our village, as exemplified by the Hippie Chick character in the Malemute Saloon variety show. Funny that Ester used to be considered a redneck area, and now is considered an Evil Liberal Nest of Perversion. Sheesh.

Anyway, I've been receiving some excellent photos; I'll be posting some here and on the Republic's Facebook page as soon as I make sure it's okay with the photographers.

I, as readers of this blog may know, was in the Banana Girls Marching Ukelele Band, and had a heck of a good time, although my coordination on singing, playing, and marching suffered somewhat in actual performance as opposed to practice.

Ester Fourth of July information

Every year this time, I get lots of people calling me wanting to know when the parade starts and how they sign up. I'm not sure why folks are under the misapprehension that I know what's going on, but they keep calling, and I am afraid that I have not clearly qualified well enough that I don't (or didn't) know what was going on.

So I found out. For those curious folks out at Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks, et cetera, here's the skinny:

The Fourth of July Parade: starts at noon. This is an irreverent, sometimes risqué, off-beat, and pretty impromptu event. DO NOT EXPECT: glorification of anything except a good time; child-safe language or G-rated requirements of any kind; tastefulness; respectfulness for ANY institution or individual. ON THE OTHER HAND: don't rule it out, either. Anything goes. We've had Revolutionary War soldiers, a Visqueen statue of liberty, leather-and-whip wielding fishnetted literati, giant puppets, men in drag and mops, dogs in costume, pigs in porkmobiles, fake politicians with real bribes, real politicians with fake bribes, dance troupes, couch potatoes, marching bands, gaggles of kids, horses, extremely loud firetrucks, etc. You're going to get a huge range if you come to watch our parade. It is never a serious or somber event, although the lampoons may be pointed at serious issues.

Parade check-in time: 11 am. Sign in up by Hartung Hall to get a paper plate with your number. Be prepared to give your name and the name of your character, float, or whathaveyou. This is so that once the judges have been properly bribed and made up the awards, they can identify you down at the park and present the award. Also, so the publisher of the local paper can list you and your award in the next edition of The Ester Republic!

Suggested bribes: Ester parade judges, usually drafted the night before, are eager and willing to accept bribes of all sorts. Cash is always useful, but it's a little, well, crass, so it is not often provided (and it's a little embarrassing when it is). Fine beverages, power tools, and inventively appropriate widgets or other items are the rule. (Well, I'm not actually sure that power tools have ever been used for bribes, but I've seen everything from root beer floats to books to radishes to poetry recitals by short pirates—not your typical bribery.) NOTE: one perennial award is the Best Bribe (sometimes also the Worst Bribe) award. Another coveted award that has been given several times is the Golden Banana Award. The other prizes vary hugely from year to year, and are made up on the fly.

Picnic at the park after the parade. This is a fundraiser for the Ester Community Association. It's our biggest fundraiser all year, and helps the ECA maintain the park and the community hall, pay the heating and electric bills (not cheap these days), buy goodies to feed people when they come to work parties or Cleanup Day, and so on. It is a potluck. We ask that you don't just help yourself to the food without donating something to the meal (and chips or dip don't count--please bring an actual dish of food) and/or to the ECA. The ECA sets up a table every year with a big sign and people man it to take donations; please contribute! That nice soccer field takes a lot of work and moola to keep up.

Marching band update

Our band appears to consist of Kate, Hannah, Leah, perhaps Cameron, maybe Debbie Rimer, and myself. (So far.) We've chosen two songs (two genres) with two more yet to be decided on. Next practice: Sunday at 1 at the Golden Eagle Saloon porch. The first practice was great fun, with two baritones, a tenor, and two regular ukeleles. Who knows what will be there next weekend?

Flamingo Man

The mysterious Flamingo Man was last spotted at this weekend's birthday bash (theme: Pink) for Raz, held in the deep woods off Chena Pump Road. While ordinarily he'd stick out like a fuscia bird in a flock of white, he was relatively tame in comparison to some of the other guests, and so was able to mingle unobtrusively.

Wind

It's so blustery and windy that the Fairbanks Open Radio and the Annex signs got blown right off the signpost. So we won't be doing any bonfire tonight, and we're closing up early...to retire to the Golden Eagle. Look for us there!

Note: burn permits are required as of April 1 (found this up when I called up the EVFD earlier to let them know that we'd be having a fire and not to worry). This came as a surprise to Hans and me, as we thought they'd be needed only after May 1. That must be studded tire removal day...

Open house at the Republic tonite

Yuppers, tonight's the night. From 5 to 9ish tonight, the Ester Republic Press office will be be open for snacks, conversation, and a bonfire of old and damaged papers. Come on down, BYOB, and converse with the publisher.

See! a clean desk for perhaps the -- ONLY -- time in the Republic's history!

Meet! the Publisher AND the Editor, who will be all gussied up for the occasion!

and best of all,

Burn! old copies of the paper, that left-wing liberal rag! (We'll see if that brings any of those right-wingers out of the woods!)

Hoo!

Directions: (traveling from Fairbanks) head to Anchorage. On the right side of the Parks Highway, after a bit of a hill, you will see a large grey building at 2922 Parks Highway. This is the Annex gallery and art space. On the right end of the building is a door, leading to a stairwell, up which one must trudge to get to studio #2, the new Republic office.

If you get lost, call 451-0636, and we'll talk you through the way there...

More on the West Valley High School reunion

So I commented on this before, but there's a 30-year West Valley High School reunion coming up on the 17th through the 19th. This is for the class of 1979, with 1978 and 1980 invited to attend, too. Looks like some fun events, at the Pump House, the Alpine Lodge, and Alaskaland (I refuse to call it Pioneer Park).

Apparently David Wheeler is deceased. I wonder what happened.

Office open house April 24

The Republic's office open house will be on the last Friday in April, 5-9 pm on the 24th. (Actually, I'll be in the office during the day, too, but that's when the party is.) NOTE: Contributors are especially invited to attend! I will be plying you with food and beverage, so come by and keep yer friendly neighborhood editor company!

Just so's you don't forget, this is at the NEW office, studio #2 at the Annex, 2922 Parks Highway, in front of Water Wagon. There's plenty of parking, and the door to the studios is on the right side of the building (the front door is the one to the gallery—also worth a look-see).

A possible bonfire of (really old) extra back issues may be in the works, depending on what the landlady says, so if you want issues from the first five years of the Republic's publication, get 'em now!

Still in Anchortown

Well, my flight got canceled. Rather than spend five hours at the airport waiting for a flight that might or might not actually go anywhere, I decided to stay another night and attend some more of the Alaska Press Club conference. I had to catch the bus as Dimitra had already left. I'd forgotten what it was like, it's been so long since I've used a bus. All kinds of interesting people.

It's snowing. Big fat fluffy flakes that turn to slush fairly quickly.

Last night's blogger panel was pretty lively. It was especially interesting meeting people I've only known or heard of via the internet: Phil Munger, Andrew Halcro, Shannyn Moore. I've met Amanda Coyne and I think also Tony Hopfinger in the flesh.

Today the conference has been fairly low-key, given the dearth of speakers and attendees (volcanic ash in the vicinity does tend to put a damper on get-togethers like this), but good. Tonight is the Anchorage Press party, which ought to be fun.

The Publisher's Picks 2009

Wowsa. That was one hell of a party. The bands were GREAT. There was enough food, and everyone seemed to have a good time. There were HUNDREDS of people. The Publisher's Picks went very rapidly, because only a few people were on hand to receive their awards, but here's the rundown:

• Satire: this award went to "Ester Thought Posse Report," to the Ester Thought Posse Company, Dr. Bhagat, Deepa Bhagat, and Soo Ichy, who were foiled in their attempts to make Ester a clean-thinking environment.

• Review: runner-up in this category went to Gabriel Hill, for "Hot Off the Griddle", a review of the Easton Stagger Philips CD, One for the Ditch. Gabe, after listening to the album, believes the world is gonna be alright.

The Publisher's Pick for Review went to David A. James for his review, "Shwing!” of the book, A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis. He figured it was time to review a book about dicks, and said so.

• Letter to the Editor: this was a tie between two letters by the same author, Eric Forrer, an observer of human endeavor, for “Six-Pack Punctuation” & "Stupid Watery Ideas", on the value of substance and eduction in politics and the folly of water sports, respectively.

There was a dishonorable mention in this category again this year, for “Trying for Another Dishonorable Mention”, a short insult-filled diatribe railing against the paper, by W.J. Stringer, subscriber (also known as His Very Fine Excellency, William the First, Emperor), whose post in government has gone to his head.

• Poesy: this was awarded for “Before the Riot,” a free-verse poem by Shanna Karella, who longs for spring.

• Travel Writing: went to “Ticolandia,” about a journey to Costa Rica, by Dan Darrow, whose house is full of monkeys.

• Wildlife Photograph: this was awarded for “the Bear-tender,” a cover photo taken by CP McRoy, Intrepid Wildlife Photographer, who kept safely on the other side of the window.

• Portrait: this was awarded for “Joe Geiss, EHL player,” a cover photo capturing the essence of Interior masculinity in the wintertime, taken by Monique Musick, another intrepid photographer.

• Sports Writing: this went to “Fairbanks Spring Hysteria,”, a story on the origins of the Great Tanana Raft Classic, written by Admiral Merritt Helfferich and Commodore George Cresswell, instigators of inspired lunacy.

• Cartoon: this, as always, was a tough category. The first runner-up was for “Bail-Out,” an editorial cartoon by Jamie Smith, economic prognosticator.

The Publisher's Pick in this category was "Tom DeLong: Party Crasher,” an editorial cartoon by Dan Darrow, who was rooting for the underdog.

• Column: this award was given for “Dose of Reality,” a journey through the Byzantine world of medical finance, by Neil Davis, who is slogging through the morass for the rest of us.

• Most Delicious: this went to “Greek New Year,” recipes by Mary Wagner, who watches Dr. Zhivago every New Year's Eve.

• Most Independent: this was awarded for the article, “In Defense of the Lunatics,” on winter bicycling, by Mary Wagner,
an all-weather bike commuter.

• Most republican (note the lower-case "r"): this Publisher's Pick was awarded for “The Long View,” a column on the history of Alaska by Ross Coen, who, by reminding us of where we've been, helps us keep an eye on where we're going.

• Esteroidia: this is awarded for an item illustrating or exemplary of life in the People's Republic of Ester. This year, the Pick was “The Center of the Universe,” a letter to the editor on the geography of Ester by Average John Reeves, subscriber.

and last but not least,

• the Mike Kelly Award, presented to those who provide a much-needed civics lesson, science education, or sex advice (or all of the above): this went to “Live Free or Die,” a column by irregulars Hannah Hill & Kate Billington, who kept Lady Liberty's torch lit in dark and troubled times.

Ten years of crazed publishing

Yes, it's coming up this Saturday at the Golden Eagle Saloon: The Ester Republic's Tenth Anniversary Birthday Bash! I am frantically getting ready for this party. Fortunately, Su Tate has been helping me with putting up posters and spreading postcards thither and yon, and simply organizing everthing.

The Schedule:

• 7 pm: the Party Begins, with nacho bar (I'm making black bean salsa), keg o' beer, and potluck. Bring your favorite eats!
• 8 pm: the Publisher announces her Picks for the year, and a few all-time faves for the decade. Awards and prizes presented.
• 9 pm: the Slippin' Mickeys, playing Irish tunes with a rock edge. (Kelly Louden tells me that almost none of their songs were written after the 1930s.)
• 11 pm: the Bac'unry Bruthers, yer favorite bouncy jug band.

Collector's items of various sorts will be available for sale, but mostly there will be eating, drinking, dancing, and making merry. Ye Olde Editor hopes that you all will be able to make it through the Great Quantities of Snow to Attend what will surely be the Republic's Shindig of Shindigs, not to be repeated unless we make the twenty-year mark.

Sometime late at night your favorite local publisher will collapse from exhaustion, but she plans to be well fed and well danced before that point.

The poster has been going up all over town. I commissioned it from Corwyn Wilkey, player in and designer for Sweatin' Honey. Definitely worth every penny: