For some reason the Baranof Enquirer website was down today, kinda. Perhaps there is a vodka shortage in Fairbanks or Drew got the flu but in any case I had to go to the Mother Frances Shelter and steal my dad's paper. No, I'm not spending 50 cents on it.Misty Maynard (no relation to my alter-ego folk star slash Bells Flats Militia leader Maynard McNickel) covered a historic Kodiak moment; the 100th batch of Liquid Hangover being brewed by the immortal Ben Millstein. I still can't give this brother enough props. Not only does he underwrite Jock of the Rock but he makes REALLY good beer. Lots of places have small hometown breweries and their suds are watery or tasteless but not us. We are damn lucky to have access to such fine ales and lagers made from Kodiak water. I still don't understand why more places carry North Pacific over Sweet Georgia Brown but hey, The Sun always shines so I can't complain. OK, all I do is complain but not about this. Plus, Ben is a Subaru driver so he is automatically good people.
I even liked how the article pointed out the green aspect of buying beer locally since no bottles or cans have to be shipped in. In fact bottles and cans don't end up in the landfill either. I wasn't a big believer in the rotating growler system he uses but I admit it works well. I wish the local pubs would reflect this in the price and pints were $3 instead of nearly $5 at some establishments. That goes for all beer really. Why is PBR $3.50 a can when they practically give it away everywhere in 'Merica?
On the other end of the spectrum some cracker named Joe had a cow over the Mirror on-line poll. First mistake, it is an on-line poll in Kodiak. If these things were dead on then I'd be the mayor and Obama would be the final straw towards the end of western civilization. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Joe Uncool the city's head librarian (somewhere Beavis and Butthead are laughing) . Anywho, he was astonished that more mudderphutters use Wikipedia than the library as their primary reference source. Now I'm willing to bet my library card that if he walked over where the massive bank of public computers (which get so much use they have a waiting list) he'd probably find at least one or two people using Wikipedia right there IN THE LIBRARY!
Wikipedia may not be 100% but I'm sure there are some books on them thar shelves that are outdated or misguided. I've seen a Bill O'Reiley book on the rack so don't tell me this old school knowledge center has it over anybody or anything in the facts department. Plus...
1. When I use Wikipedia at home I don't smell Turkish cannery workers or homeless shelter types who are smart enough to stay awy from the brainwashing machine at The Living Room.
2. Wikipedia is open better hours and requires less unleaded to access.
3. I haven't had to write a term paper since Reagan was president.
I'm not sure where libraries fit in in today's world. I enjoy their wide selection of magazines and access to local papers of other small Alaskan communities but there isn't much there I can't find without Firefox (I don't even have to think in Russian). Libraries remind me of one of my pet peeves; people who have huge book cases at home to show off all the books they may or may have not read in an attempt to look intelligent or sophisticated. It is kind of a nerdy version of the guy with a small Cheney and a tall Chevy w/ a 14" lift kit and 400hp. When I'm done with a book I give it to the library.
I even liked how the article pointed out the green aspect of buying beer locally since no bottles or cans have to be shipped in. In fact bottles and cans don't end up in the landfill either. I wasn't a big believer in the rotating growler system he uses but I admit it works well. I wish the local pubs would reflect this in the price and pints were $3 instead of nearly $5 at some establishments. That goes for all beer really. Why is PBR $3.50 a can when they practically give it away everywhere in 'Merica?
On the other end of the spectrum some cracker named Joe had a cow over the Mirror on-line poll. First mistake, it is an on-line poll in Kodiak. If these things were dead on then I'd be the mayor and Obama would be the final straw towards the end of western civilization. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Joe Uncool the city's head librarian (somewhere Beavis and Butthead are laughing) . Anywho, he was astonished that more mudderphutters use Wikipedia than the library as their primary reference source. Now I'm willing to bet my library card that if he walked over where the massive bank of public computers (which get so much use they have a waiting list) he'd probably find at least one or two people using Wikipedia right there IN THE LIBRARY!
Wikipedia may not be 100% but I'm sure there are some books on them thar shelves that are outdated or misguided. I've seen a Bill O'Reiley book on the rack so don't tell me this old school knowledge center has it over anybody or anything in the facts department. Plus...
1. When I use Wikipedia at home I don't smell Turkish cannery workers or homeless shelter types who are smart enough to stay awy from the brainwashing machine at The Living Room.
2. Wikipedia is open better hours and requires less unleaded to access.
3. I haven't had to write a term paper since Reagan was president.
I'm not sure where libraries fit in in today's world. I enjoy their wide selection of magazines and access to local papers of other small Alaskan communities but there isn't much there I can't find without Firefox (I don't even have to think in Russian). Libraries remind me of one of my pet peeves; people who have huge book cases at home to show off all the books they may or may have not read in an attempt to look intelligent or sophisticated. It is kind of a nerdy version of the guy with a small Cheney and a tall Chevy w/ a 14" lift kit and 400hp. When I'm done with a book I give it to the library.
