Rainbows, Earthquakes, Domestic Violence Awareness, Radio Pledge Drive, Electronic and Non-Electronic Reading Devices

We've had some big, gorgeous rainbows around town lately. This one was right outside our door the other day. It's one of the perks of the storms we've been having. I heard we also had some earthquakes in the region on Friday night, supposedly felt here in Unalaska. Can't say that I noticed! Blogger is not letting me insert links this morning but you could cut and paste this address if you are interested:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kial/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1565633/Local.News/Earthquakes.rock.region.no.damage.done

I've been up since 4:30 this morning when I received a phone call about a psychiatric emergency. At first, I was pretty disoriented but ended up being thankful that it had nothing to do with any of our family. You know how those phone calls instantly create a frightening scenario in your mind. I am not sure why I am still on the on-call list since I left my previous job in MARCH. I had to call my friend Donna, wake her up and scare HER next, so she could take over and make sure everything was okay with the situation. Thanks, Donna! Meanwhile, I could not get back to sleep. After tossing and turning for about an hour, I finally just made myself get up. I'm listening to our cool radio station (just so happens I work there but I am not biased!) which is playing Bob Dylan's "Tangled up in Blue" at the moment. One of my all time favorite Dylan songs.

This is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Last night, the City Council made a proclamation and the Chair of USAFV (Unalaskans Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence) presented a statement about the issue. USAFV staff, Board members, volunteers and supporters stood silently before the Council, masks over our faces, holding signs depicting common situations of domestic violence. Our masks represent the invisibility and anonymity of many victims, who remain "faceless" to the community at large. Because many victims are fearful to come forward, we wanted to stand for them.

Unfortunately, Alaska has one of the highest rates of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and suicide in the nation. Organizations like USAFV are working diligently to bring more awareness and education to the community as well as assisting victims with a variety of services. Look around--victims of domestic violence are your family members, your friends, your coworkers, your neighbors, your kids' friends.

Seems like it's been really busy lately and I just can't get motivated to blog. We're working on the radio pledge drive for next week--local musicians in the studio all week long, which is always a lot of fun and everyone's favorite thing. We're calling it a one day pledge drive this year, not asking for money till Friday, the 23rd, when we will have a full day of activities and promotions. See www.kucb.wordpress.com for more info and go to our website at www.kucb.org to pledge online! You don't have to live here to support our local community radio station! You can even stream via the website if you want to check us out.

I just ordered a Kindle and am anxious to see how it works on our vacation. I usually weigh our luggage down with too many books! With no more free checked bags and outrageous prices for the second bag, I no longer have the luxury of carrying a library with me. My mom loves her Sony reader and I know a couple of people who love their Kindles. It sounds like it's a toss up between them but what sold me on the Kindle was that you can access wifi with it and download from anywhere. That will be easier for us on our many travels.

And it's Book Club this Sunday night--we are reading Red Earth and Pouring Rain, a novel by Vikran Chandra. It's a pretty thick book and I am just getting started, as usual. So far, it's intriguing. How could it not be, when it includes a poet reincarnated as a monkey who can type?