Mighty Quinn

It's a beautiful night.  Cool but not cold.  Huge waning gibbous moon overhead.  Ripples reflecting light off the still unfrozen water.  I just got home from another long day of work since I was in charge of the Tuesday night movie.  I did get to see about 6 seals swimming some distance offshore today, though.  I hope to see more as the water starts to freeze up.  I also need to go online and check sunspot activity and aurora predictions so I can actually observe an auroral event that I've talked about in programs.  It tends to happen in the wee hours of the morning, though, 1:00 - 3:00 or so.

I ended up with another winner of a movie to present tonight.  It was a 1960 film, The Savage Innocents starring Anthony Quinn.  The plot was very much like one of the last movies I had which was a 1933 film, Eskimo.  This one was way more stereotypical, though, and had no native actors and was in English (the other was Inupiaq or another native language).  The funny thing is that the non-natives in the audience tonight cringed and winced at the portrayal of Eskimo life, but the one native audience member asked where he could get the movie!  One interesting fact related to it is that Bob Dylan was a fan of the movie, and it inspired him to write the song that became famous as "The Mighty Quinn." 

Mary asked what kind of winter entertainment I was referring to.  Well, some of it remains to be discovered by me, and other things that I call entertainment are probably more rightly considered vocation, work, lifestyle, or something like that.  I'm talking about ice fishing for sheefish.  Skiing -- it's flat around here, so I don't know if skiers do mostly cross country or snowmobile out to a more mountainous area, but I know some people talk about skiing.  Snowmobiling -- both to actually go somewhere with a purpose and for just getting out to access countryside that was inaccessible before the snow and ice made the landscape one big road.  Dog mushing -- this is becoming less common.  Not as many people have dogs, but there are a few in town who mush for their own recreation and others who race.  The Iditarod is a big deal as well as the Iron something-or-other...the snow machine equivalent to the Iditarod dogsled race.  There's also an ice skating rink that hasn't been used for a few years.  However, my neighbor, who is now a volunteer firefighter, is going to try to get the firefighters to spray it down once it freezes for good to be able to use it to play broomball.  I'm not familiar with the game, but I think it's just what it sounds like.  This is a start.  I really have no idea what to expect this winter.  I guess I had just better be ready with my parka, mittens, insulated bib overalls (still need these), bunny boots, and my camera warming in a pocket waiting to take pictures.

Speaking of pictures, I finally got some of mine up on the walls.  A certain set of family members is conspicuously absent, though.  I need a picture of the Houston threesome.  Mary, I don't have a picture of you at all except for some of the snapshots with a tiny Nate!  I think I have an idea for you guys.  We need to talk. 

Well, that's all for today.  I need to try to go to bed and keep some sort of schedule because it's getting light later and later, and I notice I'm not waking up on my own all that early.  I guess I'm shifting into deep winter sleep mode!  No time for winter naps now, though.  I have a full work schedule at least until Christmas.  I'm in town next week but have 4 programs at the elementary here.  The following week I go to Noatak.  The last week of October I'll be in Noorvik.  So, goodnight everyone.  Please write comments when you can...I'd like to think I'm not talking to myself!