More Ashland photos

Ashland's Breakwater Lighthouse on Chequamegon Bay. The hexagonal lighthouse is 58 feet high and was first lit in 1915. (By some odd coincidence, the same year Stan first got lit. LMAO!)

Built in 1916, the last remaining Soo Line iron ore dock juts out over Lake Superior at Ashland. There were originally four ore docks, each a quarter-mile long. As of late 2007, this historic dock was slated for imminent demolition, as its owners, Canadian National Railroad, are concerned about possible liability issues for the aging concrete and steel structure. (It was still there as of my recent visit, however!)
FUN FACT: The Ashland High School athletic team goes by the name the Oredockers. This could make for some interesting taunts at football games by the opposing team, I would imagine. LOL

Here's the Lake Superior shore in Ashland on a winter's morn.

The Great White North

In response to a request from our very own devil's advocate, Stan, who wanted me to post a photo of what the winters are like up in Ashland (the flipside of the summertime view I previously posted), here is a shot of the ice road across Lake Superior leading to Madeline Island, about 25 miles from Ashland.

It doesn't always get cold enough for the lake to freeze, but most winters the locals get to take advantage of this (to me, terrifying) alternate route to the largest island in the Apostle Island chain, as well as the only one with a year-round population. When I first saw the ads for that A&E program, Ice Road Truckers, I immediately thought of Madeline Island. LOL
I have taken the ferry over (a 25-minute ride) and visited the island with friends. Two Episcopal priests, as it so happened. One was a woman named Judy, whom my friends always jokingly referred to as "Judith Priest." LOL

Here's a little background on Madeline Island from Wikipedia:

"The island can only be reached by ferry during the summer months; in the winter, ice usually becomes too thick for ferry traffic. The last ferry runs of the season are typically some time in mid-to-late January, though in recent years the ferry has run well in to February, and in 2006 ran the entire winter.

When ice conditions allow, the "ice road" officially opens to vehicle traffic from Bayfield across the frozen surface to Madeline Island. The ice road is traditionally marked by Christmas trees and is officially an extension of County Highway H. If ice is too thin for automobile traffic, but too thick for ferry traffic, access to the island is by airplane, snowmobile and windsled only."

If you're of a mind to, you can learn more about the rich history of Madeline Island here.

All signs point north!

Sunset over Lake Superior in Ashland, WI - Summer 2002

NOTICE of INTENT to VACATE said PREMISES:

All concerned parties having now been duly informed, this is an official announcement: As of Aug. 22, I am the new night editor at The Daily Press in Ashland, WI! Woooo-hooooooo! (pinches self) When do I assume my new duties, you ask? ASAP! We agreed it would be no later than Oct. 1. If I get the apartment I want, I am looking at a mid-September move date (checks pulse) and a nervous breakdown sometime in the next two weeks. ;-)
I truly believe this whole thing was meant to be (for reasons I will delve into in a later post) and that somehow I have been preparing for this major leap of faith for quite some time, perhaps without even really being aware of it. I have wanted to move up there since I first visited friends in the area in 1999, and I have made many memorable trips back there over the last nine years. Ashland is right on Lake Superior and not far from Bayfield and the Apostle Islands.


Bloody hell! Having computer problems.... will post more soon!!

"It's the rapture! Go git mah Jesus wig."

Here's an awesome tribute to Ruby Jean "Granny" Cuyler from Squidbillies, the best show on Adult Swim. Granny is voiced by the talented Dana Snyder who also can be heard on Aqua Teen Hunger Force as Master Shake. Just for shits and giggles, here's the Wikipedia description of Granny:

"Early and Lil's grandmother is purple, hangs from a walker, and has only five tentacles for unexplained reasons. Granny is a devout Christian and regularly sees visions of Jesus, though like the rest of her family she does not shy away from violence or foul language. Aside from being an apparent nymphomaniac, she is also frequently rattled and unclear about her current whereabouts."

Now after viewing this twisted video, some of you (specifically those who know what I have been doing to earn a living for the last year and a half) may be puzzled by the paradoxical irony of it all. However, if there's one thing I've learned in my nearly 48 years on this planet, ya gotta maintain a sense of humor about most things. Otherwise, you end up old and crabby before your time. (Just like my ex-husband...LMAO!!)

Summertime makeover

In case you hadn't already noticed, I've been busy this weekend sprucing things up around here. ;-) In the upper righthand corner, I added a poll for all of you "dorkside" aficionados. (You know who you are!) And if you scroll to the bottom you will see my latest TOP 10 list, plus the Turner Classic Movies "Summer Under the Stars" photo booth widget.
The latter offers different photos and a fresh video daily highlighting TCM's featured star for that day. Today it's Gregory Peck, but I was surprised and a little disappointed (even though I have it on VHS) to see they weren't showing To Kill a Mockingbird. That is one of my all-time favorite films and probably Peck's greatest performance - certainly his greatest role.

DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS!

"In the late 1980s, Internet users adopted the word 'troll' to denote someone who intentionally disrupts online communities. Early trolling was relatively innocuous, taking place inside of small, single-topic Usenet groups. The trolls employed what M.I.T. professor Judith Donath calls a 'pseudo-naïve' tactic, asking stupid questions and seeing who would rise to the bait. The game was to find out who would see through this stereotypical newbie behavior, and who would fall for it. As one guide to trolldom puts it, 'If you don’t fall for the joke, you get to be in on it.'

Today the Internet is much more than esoteric discussion forums. It is a mass medium for defining who we are to ourselves and to others. Teenagers groom their MySpace profiles as intensely as their hair; escapists clock 50-hour weeks in virtual worlds, accumulating gold for their online avatars. Anyone seeking work or love can expect to be Googled. As our emotional investment in the Internet has grown, the stakes for trolling — for provoking strangers online — have risen. Trolling has evolved from ironic solo skit to vicious group hunt."

The above two paragraphs are taken from a disturbing yet fascinating new article from The New York Times Magazine about the secret lives of Internet trolls. The writer, Mattathias Schwartz, delves into the hidden motivations, aspirations and machinations of this increasingly malevolent and anarchic subculture.

Anyone who has ever frequented a message board or other online forum has probably come across at least one troll. I have witnessed troll behavior ranging from mildly annoying to downright infuriating (not to mention patently pathetic). However, the kinds of things described in the aforementioned article take trolling to "a-hole" new level.

Why do trolls spend so much time and energy messing with people they've never even met? As one who has indulged in some fairly mild trolling over the years (one memorable instance of which resulted in a certain much-despised poster being banned from a site - mission accomplished!), my own motivation to heckle someone is always driven by what I perceive as malicious, inflammatory or otherwise unacceptable online behavior on the part of my intended victim.

Schwartz, on the other hand, offers this equally valid if somewhat dire explanation:
"...while technology reduces the social barriers that keep us from bedeviling strangers, it does not explain the initial trolling impulse. This seems to spring from something ugly — a destructive human urge that many feel but few act upon, the ambient misanthropy that’s a frequent ingredient of art, politics and, most of all, jokes. There’s a lot of hate out there, and a lot to hate as well."

BTW: here's an insightful observation by Schwartz that I wish a certain newspaper publisher would keep in mind when policing his own blogs:
"All vigorous debates shade into trolling at the perimeter; it is next to impossible to excise the trolling without snuffing out the debate."

In the end, Schwartz's conclusions only serve to reinforce what I have long held to be true - Don't feed the trolls! He writes:
"The willingness of trolling 'victims' to be hurt by words ... makes them complicit, and trolling will end as soon as we all get over it. ...trolling will stop only when its audience stops taking trolls seriously."

Read the complete article by Mr. Schwartz here.