vote yes on 4!

i voted today at the northwest arctic borough. i voted on the democratic ticket and marked yes and no on a few questions.

here are a few of my predictions:
--measure 4 will not pass (thanks to sarah palin and her 'personal' message)
--ted stevens will win, as will don young (let's face it, alaska is still a very much a republican and very white state)

we'll see how the election goes and who wins and what passes/doesn't pass. who and what did i vote for? i was hoping to vote for ted, but i could only vote on the democratic ticket. out of all the democrats, i voted for mark begich and ethan berkowitz. i also voted for donny olson and mr. joule, only because they were the only candidates. i was talking to a guy at work today and he said i should've wrote in mickey mouse instead of donny. he called mr. olson a "crooked bastard." i think that's pretty funny, if you ask me. remember, that's what HE said! haha! i voted for ethan because ms. benson's platform was too weak. she didn't bring up enough issues to make her sound like a good candidate. i also voted 'no' on the gaming commission question, as well as the same day airborne hunt. i voted 'yes' on the public funding and on the clean water initiative. vote yes on 4!

that's how i voted. i asked a lady at work today how she voted, and she said her voting is not something she talks about. how boring.

anyways, i voted today!

thought of the day

i believe a man's duty is to provide for his family.

very true, mos def.

monkey girl

this little eskimo girl's name is clara dawn. she's 7 years old and will be starting the 2nd grade this fall. she's such a sweetheart! clara dawn was born august 3rd, 2001. she's into polly pockets (sp?), baby dolls, and little furry pets.



here, clara dawn poses with two owl pieces that i carved. the top piece belongs to her mom and the bottom piece belongs to this lady in washington. i need to send the piece to the lady in washington soon.



they are both carved from walrus ivory. the top piece has baleen in-lays and the bottom piece has plastic beads for the eyes. they both have leather string. pretty cool, ay? this little eskimo girl is a great model. don't ya think?

q & a

1. What are your initials?
jwc. or jmfc?

2. What is your favorite thing to wear?
under armor gear, black bunny boots, my black jacket, and my cabela's coveralls. and my malaggi (that's a fur hat)

3. Last thing you ate?
bbq'd food from next door

4. Where is your best friend at?
dre's in bethel, recharging

6. Last person you hugged?
saima mama jama johnson?

8. How many U.S states have you been to?
ak, ca, wa, il, and wi. and hi. 6?

9. How many of the U.S states have you lived in?
1-the great state of ak

10. Does anyone you know want to date you?
nope

11. Name something you like physically about yourself.
idk, maybe the fact that i look yup'ik, considering i live in inupiaq country

13. Who is your best friend(s)?
dre, saima? vern? best is too limiting

14. Why are you still up?
its 5:44 in the afternoon and its too early to be sleeping

15. Who/What made you angry today?
not one person. i'm a lover, not a fighter

16. Favorite Food?
dried pike and seal oil! its all about the soul food!

17. Favorite holiday:
Christmas!

18. Do you download music?
i have. the last song i downloaded was by robin thicke

19. Do you care if your socks are dirty?
yup. socks should be changed every single day

21. What are you wearing?
underwear and jeans at the moment

23. Do you love anyone?
yup

24. Do you like George Bush?
nope. the guy is a fuckin terrorist! he's responsible for the death of thousands of american soldiers in his so-called war on terrorism

26. Have you ever gone white-water rafting?
nope

27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you?
yup

28. How much money ya got in ya wallet?
$20.00?

30. How is the weather right now?
sunny and blue skies in kotzebue!

31. What are you listening to right now?
itunes, johnny cash

32. What is your current favorite song?
lost without u, robin thicke?

33. What was the last movie you watched at the theater?
i honestly don't remember. transformers?

34. Do you wear contacts?
yup. contacts help with my hunter vision

35. Where was the last place you went besides your house?
last night i hung with dan and darce, and had a bon fire in the middle of kotzebue

36. What are you afraid of?
us fish and wildlife officers

37. How many piercings have you had?
none, guys don't get piercings. piercings are for girls

38. How many pets do you have?
none, but i do help take care of a bird, a hamster, and fish in an aquarium

39. What's one thing you've learned today?
i've thought about one's actions and how they define a person. it made me think of my actions and how i'd like to live my life. mos def

40. What does someone usually buy from a drug dealer?
some weed

42. Have you ever fired a gun?
of course! i've shot many guns

43. Are you missing someone currently?
yup. coltrane is too far from his dad

44. Fav. TV shows?
lately, they've been america's most talented and last comic standing

45. Do you have an iPod?
yup, a red one

48. Who would you like to see right now?
my son. and lucy liu? and maggie q? haha!

49. Favorite movie of all time?
its a toss up between broke back mountain and titanic. haha! just kidding. either gladiator or die hard

50. Do you find yourself loved?
yup, most of the time

51. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't supposed to?
yup, too many times

53. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn?
butter, baby!

54. What Magazines do you read?
gq, discover, and few hunting mags

55. Have you ever ridden in a limo?
nope. i've driven a party bus though!

56. Has anyone you were really close to passed away recently?
yup. my nephew big boy was young! too young

57. What's something that really bugs you?
my messy ass neighbors and dumb ass peeps

61. What's your favorite smell?
a woman. some bitches smell good. seal blubber on my hands and knife smell good too!

62. Favorite baseball team?
nope. i don't watch baseball

63. Favorite cereal?
honey nut cheerios

65. Whats the longest you've went without sleep?
a day and a half. i believe its physically impossible for someone to go past two days without sleep

66. Last time you went bowling?
i don't remember

68. Who was your last test from?
maniilaq association? strep, yo

69. Last time you were at work?
thursday. i took friday off

70. What's the closest orange thing to you?
gold fish food?

icon, baby

i saw it! i held it in my hands! its sweet!

i looked at the new thompson/center icon at sportsman's. damn, that's a great looking rifle! its sleek and its baaaaad! i get all excited thinking about that rifle. its kind of weird to get all excited about a rifle. or its not. anyways, that's my next rifle. either that or a cz 527 varmint in a .204. no, it'll be the icon! icon, baby!

'tis the season

AUGUST--'tis the season for berry picking! i've been thinking about berry picking for the past day or so.

when my coworker and i took off from the office today, i told him that if a man picks berries, and that's all he does over the seasons, something is definitely wrong. i said that if a man picks berries, he better go out and do a little hunting to balance out his subsisting activities. he laughed when i told, but its kinda true if you think about it.

you see, berry picking is generally a women's subsistence activity. let me explain. berry picking is a gathering activity that is done when the summer is almost over, when its nice out, and the weather is not too cold. it may be a little wet, the gnats may be a bitch to deal with, but the act of berry picking is not too hard. now don't get me wrong, berry picking is a pain, but women are better built for this kinda pain. women can bend over for hours, gathering fat, plump, juicy berries and most have the patience for it. women are better built, mind and body, for this activity.

for myself, you wouldn't see me on the tundra, bending over with a pail full of berries. i'm a hunter, not a gatherer. i've done some berry picking in my day, but its not something that i miss a day of work for. kinda like shee fishing. i'm not a shee fisher, i'm a kusquqvak fisher. back to berry picking, i'll do what i can to support the woman in her 'sport.' berry picking is for women, but men can do it too. he just has to shoot something to compensate.

go berry pickers! more power to you!

sdb!

this is my buddy sean denning barnes of mamterilleq, usa--for all you non-Yup'ik speakers, that's bethel, alaska, usa. he's an artist, and a damn good one too! here's a little excerpt from his website:

"throughout my career i have been inspired to paint the human figure and explore the narratives of the human condition. my most recent work is an expression of a subsistence culture connected to the land.

my images depict a place distant and removed from the modern world. working in oil and graphite i find moments telling of the virtuous beauty and personal mystery in a subsistence life. texture and stark contrasts of value and form give structure to these moments." --sean denning barnes

check out his works at http://www.sdbarnes.com/Sites/dbstudios/index.htm

here sean sits with my first polar bear neck piece. necklace--whatever you want to call it. i call them neck pieces. anyways, this piece is a thing of beauty. its one of those pieces that you just want to stare at.

sean and i used to go out on the land and shoot things. we brought home a bunch of caribou. sdb is a nukalpiaq and a damn good artist. check out his works!

crabber!

i took the afternoon off yesterday and went out crabbing! so, last night i had king crab for dinner, cooked by ME, in my kitchen. i think its pretty cool to go crabbing and bring some home to eat.

i went with grant, patrick, and ulla bear. we went in grant's boat. i've heard of peeps checking their crab pots, but i've never actually went checking them. i'm curious now how they do it in the winter! i'll mos def help out my peeps when they check their pots in the winter.

here are some pics of the crabbing and the cooking. i strongly encourage you to go out crabbing when you have the opportunity and see the pots, the crabs, and the experience! one of clara's buddies came over yesterday while i was cooking and i told her clara wasn't home. i offered her a little snail and she ran off with it. later, i asked her about the snail and she said some lady cooked it and ate it. friggin snail eaters! i thought that was pretty funny.

i look kinda weird, but oh well. the pics came out in reverse order. you get the picture, or should i say 'you get the idea!' happy crabbing!