The hour of departure is approaching. By this time tomorrow I'll be in the land of Shaawat Seek', Governor Baranof, and Sarah Palin.

It's been unseasonably cool in the Great Lakes region, so one can only guess how fierce the weather will be in Alaska. Could this be the year when the glaciers spread out from the mountains, advancing at the speed of a war canoe?

I think you all know I'm not one for making fancy speeches when I leave. All I can say is that if I'm not back in 2 weeks, don't keep waiting, carry on with your lives without sorrow and regret. You'll know that the balalaika and I went out together, just as we would have wanted it.

In Sitka, all of the moror vehicles are pickup trucks.

Everyone gets up a 4:00 am, because they are going fishing. Nevermind that they were up 'til 1:30 am drinking the night before.

The New Archangel Dancers put on quite a show. They are all women, so the men's parts have to be danced by male impersonaters.

In Russian folk dancing, all the show-off athletic stuff is done by the guys. This means that in the New Archangel group, the girls who are the most sleek and streamlined play the guys.

In other words, the guys are hot. I think thinks makes some people uncomfortable, but I'm cool.

Closest ever grizzly bear encounter--a mamma bear and 2 cubs.

She gave me a hard look, so I left.

Two cruise ships anchored today and flooded the place with tourists.

Fortunately, they have to be back on their ships by 6:00, or else they miss their dinner.

What time is yours, and what's the menu?

Last meal (I forgot what time) was at "Two Chicks and a Kabob on A Stick." It's two sisters that grill halibut at a stand on Harbor Avenue.

As you know, when Alexander Baranof became the first governor of Russian Alaska, he established the capitol in Sitka (Shee atika). But, what you might not know, is that when he first arrived in Alaska his first significant step was to establish a fur trading post on Kodiak Island.

There are Russian songs that you can hear only on Kodiak Island, because they were written by Kodiak islanders that never went anywhere else. That is, you can hear those songs only on Kodiak Island, except for this week, because this week some of the Kodiak Krewe have come to Sitka.

One song tells about how a guy should learn to be a good dancer, because a guy who can dance is always a chick magnet--don't matter how ugly he is. Most guys learn this lesson too late.

"As a predator, I have to conserve and sustain the prey species."
-- Mr. Bennett

Wise words, Mr. Bennett.

That's why he's got 450,000 (approximately) coho and sockeye salmon babies in big tubs at the hatchery. When the babies get big enough, Mr. Bennett sets them loose in the ocean, and two years later--like lambs to the slaughter--they return to the place of their birth.

Have you read Michael Chabon's alternative history / Chandler-inspired novel 'The Yiddish Policemen's Union'`? It is set in a version of history in which Sitka, instead of Israel, became homeland for the Jews after WW2... great book.

Did the Israelis come into conflict with the Canadians?

For open-mic night, Tamara put one of these Judy Garland hats over her right eye ...



... and sang this song. She told me it was on Youtube, so I thought she'd be wearing the hat, but she's not:



The name of the song is "Ocharovana, Koldovana," which means "Enchanted, Spellbound."

There was a little bit of conflict with the natives, but not on a Palestine scale. The big problem is that the Jews have only got a 60 years' lease on the land, which is about to end. So there's a murder of course and a lot of cloak and dagger stuff involving a hyper-orthodox Jewish sect, U.S, spies and whatnot. Can't possibly do it justice in a few lines, but I enjoyed it a lot. Chabon is a great writer.

There was high drama 1 hour beforew the big concert. One of the male impersonator dancers injured herself, and couldn't go on. Whatever could they do?

As luck would have it, one of the balalaika players was also a dancer, and even knew the routine for the big dance number.
But, there was still a big problem. The dancer was a MALE.

But they had no choice, he was the only person who could step in at the last moment.

This could be a breakthrough--the first male participant in the New Archangel dancers. Afterwards he complained about the costume they lent him: "This collar has no room for my Adam's apple!"

In the future, I'd like to see them admit men to the group, but make them dance the women's parts. They could be a group of really cute guys dancing with really ugly women.