Men don’t understand women. There are a lot more differences between men and women than just breasts, buttocks, childbearing hips, monthly tantrums (women blame it on “periods,” but I have a theory it’s just an excuse to throw regular fits over food messes and the toilet seat being left up), attire and giant footwear collections. [...]
Stories By Alden Lee
Long lasting marriages of UAA
February 14th, 2012Love, in all of its unbridled passion, bonding and lovey-dovey mushiness, is a commitment. Several of UAA’s faculty can attest to how deep a commitment it truly is.
“Our marriage is a challenge,” said Andre Thorn, Director of the UAA Multicultural Center. “It’s a daily challenge that we both strive to make work.”
Thorn’s situation is different than most: He and his wife of 17 years live in separate states. Five months ago, the couple made the difficult decision for Thorn to move up to Alaska and assume his director position, while his wife Stephanie remained in Columbia, Mo. to complete her Bar tests. She will be there for the next six months.
Free tax assistance program helps those in need
February 7th, 2012It’s that time of year again. Lady Liberty, dressed in her customary gloves and heavy winter boots, can be found dancing and waving signs out on the street corner, probably bumping to some iPod tunes to fight back against the winter chill. W-2 forms are being scrounged up, 1099 forms are being collected, banking receipts are being rifled through. Tax season will soon once again be in full swing.
ORW: Unnatural Odors
February 7th, 2012A smell wafted from our refrigerator.
No one was sure what it was or where it came from. But it was THERE, without a doubt. Lingering, spreading, pooling out in invisible noxious clouds whenever the fridge swung open.
UAA students launch rental site for outdoor gear exchange
January 31st, 2012For those looking to grab affordable outdoor equipment in a non-sketchy manner, pay attention to this website.
GearSpoke, an online rental service scheduled for electronic life in mid-February, allows renters to upload pictures of equipment and gear for potential buyers to comb through. Users have the opportunity to interact with the renters, establishing a sense of connection and trust before any exchanging is undergone.
ORW: (Halfway) up the mountain
January 24th, 2012I’m an outdoor guy. I’ve often been of the belief that I previously reincarnated from a mountain goat.
Much of my pleasure in life is derived from climbing up the side of a cliff or running full-tilt down a rocky mountain trail or swan diving into a lake. I’m no stranger to bounding across boulder-strewn landscapes, bellowing: “The hiiiiiills are aliiive, with the sound of muuuuuusiiiic!!” like an athletic Julie Andrews with dude parts. Don’t ask why this happens; it’s just inspiration in the moment.
Mystery thief returns portrait of founder after several months
January 24th, 2012For a short while, Beatrice McDonald disappeared.
Someone must really appreciate McDonald’s likeness. It might be her decidedly 60’s-style haircut. Or her groovy, black-framed, wing-tipped glasses. Or perhaps her prominent secretarial work in the 70’s and 80’s, and her rich history with UAA.
Whatever the reason, someone lifted McDonald’s portrait off the wall of the Beatrice McDonald Hall and made away with it in mid-November.
O.R.W.- And a Joyful HanuKwanzaaMas to You!
December 18th, 2011In an age where everything we say has the potential of being considered politically incorrect—where “chairman” has become “chairperson” and homeless people prefer to be called “residentially flexible”—the holiday season has become a nightmare of PC relations. “What can I say so that I’m not offensive?” wonder people all over the nation as wintertime festivities [...]
O.R.W.: Black Friday massacre
November 29th, 2011Black Friday!
Any self-respecting person would be fast asleep at these ungodly hours, enjoying their Turkey Day-induced coma, but these are not your typical self-respecting people: these are the Consumer Elite. These are America’s finest, dedicated to preserving our nation’s most important principle: Buy, buy, BUY!
Relief sought for Somali refugees
November 8th, 2011News of the devastation in Somalia continues to grow with each passing day.
A crippling drought, the worst in six decades. Ravaging famine, killing Somali children in droves and spreading disease through the southern region of the country. Bloody civil war, raging between rival warlords for the past 20 years and displacing hundreds of thousands of families. All across Somalia, refugee camps overflow with those fleeing the capital and other unsafe areas, but are poorly equipped and slowly dwindling in food supplies. Militant groups, especially Al-Shabaab restrict the arrival of much-needed medical support.
O.R.W.: Calling customer service: please hold
November 8th, 2011I’m standing in my room, slumped catatonically against a wall. A cellphone has leeched itself to the side of my face, and horrible, poppy jazz music is seeping into my eardrums, slowly turning my brain into a pile of Sexy Sax-Man mush. In my comatose state, I dimly wait for an end to the relentless [...]
Thawing out Alaska’s cold case murders
November 1st, 2011The case had grown cold.
It was a discouraging inevitability. Sitka Police spent hours combing the area around the crime scene, collecting scattered clothing, traces of blood and hair, even the victim’s jewelry. The body had been found, buried naked beneath a fallen tree near a bike trail the victim had walked down just two mornings earlier. Police uncovered a short-sleeved blouse, a dark green letterman jacket, and a single sock. The cause of death was established: sexual assault followed by asphyxiation from a wad of mud and leaves forced down the throat. A man came forward claiming to be the murderer, with a detail-matching confession that made him a believable suspect.
O.R.W.: Bag snatchin’ from costumed kiddos
October 24th, 2011BOO! Pardon me, just a little mood setter before we begin. Halloween is right around the corner. With it comes all the ghoulish horrors of unsupervised adolescents running around egging houses and snatching up whole piles of candy from the bowl out on the porch steps that has been clearly marked ONE PIECE ONLY PLEASE [...]
Crime on the Decline
October 18th, 2011Lee Chee Chang stood above Emilio Ramirez and shot him in the parking lot of an east-side Muldoon bar, Anchorage police say.
Chang’s older brother, Ka Meng Chang, lay dead just yards away on the southbound lane of Muldoon Road, gunned down some time before. Two others, a man with bullet wounds in his arms and Ramirez’s critically injured girlfriend, bled on the premises of J.J.’s Lounge as witnesses scrambled to make sense of what had just happened in the early hours of Oct. 10.