Around 1992, a local told me about The Great Piano Drop. If you’re like me, your reaction was just “the what?” But once I heard the story, I understood why it’s legendary. If you’ve ever lived in or around Duvall, this is part of your heritage. In April of 1968, at a farm in Duvall, [...]
Archive for the ‘History’ Category
The Great Piano Drop
Posted in History, Music, tagged 1968, 60s culture, Alan Stein, Carnation, cotton candy, Country Joe and the Fish, Duvall, farm, Great Piano Drop, helicopter, heritage, HistoryLink, illegal drug use, LSD, marijuana, musical festival, piano upright piano, Sky River Rock, Snoqualmie Valley, the sixties, Van Over, Walt Crowley, Woodstock on April 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Erin Go Bragh!
Posted in History, Silliness, tagged 419 scam, Dr. Seuss, Erin Go Bragh, green eggs and ham, Ireland forever, Nigerian leprechaun, St. Patrick's Day, St. Patrick's Day cartoons. drive snakes out of Ireland, wearing green, wearing of the green on March 17, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Japanese Quake Watch
Posted in History, Nature, tagged 7.2, 8.9, 9.0, aftershocks, biblical earthquake, Cascadia, earthquake depth, earthquakes, exponential, fifth largest earthquake, foreshocks, Hawaii, Honshu, January 26 1700, Japanese earthquake, Juan de Fuca Subduction Zone, matthew 24:7, Miyagi prefecture, Oregon Coast, Pacific Northwest earthquake 1700, Pacific Northwest tsunami 1700, Pacific Ocean, Pacific plate, Pacific Rim, plate tectonics, pray for Japan, Richter scale, Ring of Fire, rip current, Sendai, subduction zone, Tokyo, tsunami, tsunami that hit Japan 1700, tsunami warning, U.S. Geological Service, USGS, Washington coast, what caused Japanese earthquake, why does tsunami happen on March 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
To say that last night’s 8.9 earthquake in Japan was horrifying is an understatement. As news stations around the world show photos and video of the damage, the science and specifics of the quake can get lost in the mayhem. This is Japan’s largest earthquake on record, and the fifth largest in the world since [...]
It’s Groundhog Day!
Posted in History, Pop Culture, tagged Bill Murray, encouragement, feeling stuck, Frogger, gift of each day, Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day movie, I Got You Babe, making the most of each day, Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, Punxsutawney Phil, put your little hand in mine, seeing his shadow, Sonny and Cher, Spongebob, spring, winter on February 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
February 2nd is the day millions of Americans wake up terrified that Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe” will be playing on the radio. Why? If you’ve seen the 1993 movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray, you understand. I, for one, will be using an annoying digital tone as my wake-up prod, not the [...]
Camano Profile: Marlene Moodie
Posted in History, tagged Arlington Library, Brier, Brier Library, camano island, Camano Library, island county, King-Snohomish county line, librarian, library manager, long commute, Marlene Moodie, Mountlake Terrace Library, pages, shelvers, Sno-Isle Libraries, Sno-Isle Trustees, Stanwood Library on February 2, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Camano Island is home to a diverse and talented group of people. Thousands of them work on the mainland, some quite a distance from their enchanted isle. Despite the time it takes to commute to and from their jobs, they are able to balance enriching home lives on Camano with fulfilling careers that benefit other [...]
Egyptian Antiquities
Posted in History, tagged antiquities, Cairo, civil unrest, Coptic Christians, dwarves, Egypt, Egyptian museum, fortune seekers, gold-hungry, greedy, looters, Narnia, Narnian dwarves, plundering, radical Islam, thieves, Zahi Hawass on February 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Egypt is an unstable place with an uncertain future right now. There are fears that radical Islam could use this window of opportunity to set up shop. The Coptic Christians are crying out for justice. Women refusing to cover their heads (you go girls!) are demonstrating along with seemingly everyone else. In the midst of [...]
Sat-Kaa’s Passion
Posted in History, tagged Sat-Kaa, Fred Fulmer, Tlingit art, Hoonah, Pacific Northwest tribe, Alaskan tribe, wood carving, totem pole, war helmet, house post, Snoqualmie Valley, Israel Shotridge, Scott Jensen, Native American art, Coastal Indians, Stonington Gallery on January 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Fred Fulmer is a local German-Tlingit wood carver originally from Hoonah, Alaska. Many Snoqualmie Valley residents have probably seen his work without realizing it; his self-carved totem pole greets passersby on Highway 203. Recently I attended a presentation of his and learned more about what drives his passion. The Tlingit are a matriarchal society and [...]
Star of Wonder
Posted in Faith, History, Nature, tagged 2010 lunar eclipse, 525 A.D., 6 B.C., Anno Domini, Aries, aster, astronomical event, Bethlehem, calendar mistake, celestial object, comet, conjunction, constellation, Dionysius Exiguus, execution, GPS, Grover Cleveland, Herod, infanticide, Jesus, Jesus' birthday, Joseph, journey, Judea, Jupiter, king, kings of the east, Mary, Matrix, Michael Molnar, occultation, perfect light, Persia, planetary alignment, Pope John 1, Saturn, Star of Bethlehem, Star of Wonder, trek, We Three Kings, wise men, Zoroastrians on December 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Originally posted December 22nd, 2010. To throw another element into this discussion, the original Greek in the Bible indicates that Jesus was a toddler when the Magi visited, not a newborn, which may further complicate our calendar. Last night’s lunar eclipse was spectacular. It was difficult to find a good webcam view of it, but some [...]
Lego Antikythera
Posted in History, Nature, tagged ancient computer, Antikythera Mechanism, archaeology, astronomy, Greek shipwreck, Lego Technic, Legos, world's first analog computer, x-rays on December 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This is just too cool not to reblog. In 1901, the world’s first known analog computer was recovered from a Greek shipwreck. It wasn’t until 2006 that scientists realized what it actually was. I remember the shock waves that epiphany created. Here’s the real shocker– this computer was created about 80 B.C., more than two [...]
