I ended my outdoor year last in Moab, at the end of November. Now, it is the start of April, and I'm back.

The replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct is turning out to be as much a legacy project for its legal precedents as it is for whatever civic edifice rises in its place - major issues so far include the State's ability to ignore environmental law before issuing contracts and contrary to public vote and the separate 'lead' authority of the Council and Mayor in that context.

This Seattle Times article concerns a third player rising to 'lead' status - the Seattle City Attorney, Pete Holmes, who has now filed suit on behalf of the City without explicit authorization from either the Mayor or the Council.

As Woodward puts it this book lies somewhere between transitory journalism and a more permanent historical work. However at 20 years out from publication it is looking like a very historically relevant work - both in its descriptions of the players of Bush I, including Dick Cheney and Colin Powell, but also in its presentation of the organization structure of the political/military elite.

"Jonathan Carroll is as scary as Hitchcock, when he isn't being as funny as Jim Carrey..." -Stephen King

A piece of fantasy written for a mature audience; a metaphysical juggling of our different selves at different ages coming together when needed.

25 years ago today marks the closed circuit tv suicide of Andrew Hermann, protesting the overly aggressive political correctness that was somehow also supposed to bring the school back to the mainstream of the Reagan era - as perhaps best documented in Richard Rushfield's book 'Don't Follow me I'm Lost'.

But is attacking young white males on the pretext of battling 'patriarchy' really politically correct feminism? Or is it really spoiled rotten white women providing scapegoats to the real crimes of old, white male abusers?

My first 'adventure' hike of 2011, into Hart's Draw Canyon via Bobby's Hole - between the Needles area of Canyonlands National Park and Moab, Utah. There is a very good social trail into these relatively unknown canyons - for directions see the Michael Kelsey Guidebook "Non-Technical Guide to the Colorado Plateau".