A friend of Amy’s happened to be at the beard contest. She asked him if he saw someone with a “beard” beard and he uploaded this video in response.

On Friday evening Kevin, Earl and I were out between watering holes, enjoying the late daylight and walking the streets of downtown Anchorage.  Around the corner came a man just as we were taking some self portraits.  He asked if we were in the beard contest and if he could take our pictures – that he was Adam Tschorn from the LA Times.  I gushed “I’ve been reading your stuff!” which I really have been…

Here is his mention and photos of us. And the next day you can pick out Earl and I in the parade in the footage that Adam shot. In fact, if you look closely you can see Earl and i in the still frame for the video.

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Look at this beautiful poster designed by Jason Nitti and Neel Williams for this week’s World Beard and Moustache Championships.  I’ll definitely be coming home with a hoodie, t-shirt and poster of the totem design.  I’d definitely buy posters of the other designs if they were available!

For months this one cute kid in first grade has told me to cut off my beard.  I give him updates – “i will – in two months…” and today he told me to cut off the beard and i told him it would be gone next week.  He looked sad and told me to keep the goatee but shave the rest.  I told him it was probably all coming off – or at least the goatee would be very short and he once again gave a sad look and told me to keep it.  So cute!

In other beard news, those of you that wish you could grow a beard are in luck.  Erin makes felt and yarn beards and sells them in her imadeyouabeard Etsy shop.

Why am i so fascinated with beards?  Could i be compensating for something?  Perhaps my lack of interest in manly things like cars, sports, and watching TV all day?  Could i need to prove my toughness after sitting in a bus full of Vikings and repairing a sweater?  (No, really.  That happened.)

In less than 24 hours Earl and I will be in Anchorage and meeting up with Kevin and on the 23rd we’ll spend hours hanging out with some of the world’s best beards and mustaches.  (And the people they are attached to.)

I was shuttling some of the remnants from the festival to storage and saw someone stopped on the sidewalk and looking at the road just a few feet ahead of them. There was a small bird hopping around. I thought it was strange that the bird let them be so close – especially having the bird trapped between traffic and the pedestrian.

Then about ten feet away i saw another small bird. This one was obviously dead. Recently stuck too – it wasn’t there a half hour earlier when i moved a load of things. The living bird was trying to figure out why its mate wasn’t moving i suppose.

Twenty minutes later i was returning and saw the bird was still there – on the sidewalk this time. Just waiting.

It made me very sad. I wonder if they were building a nest together. I wonder if the bird will move on and find another mate. I hope it doesn’t get stuck by a car too. I’m afraid to drive by hours later – worried that i’ll see it still sitting there waiting. or worse, seeing its small body by the side of the road with its mate. Ravens will soon haul off the dead one.

This reminds me of the two dead birds at Seth’s quite a few years ago…

http://www.zieak.com/2004/06/04/dead/
http://www.zieak.com/2004/11/28/dead-birds/

Kevin sent me this link to a Coldplay freebie.  I’ve actually been listening to more Coldplay lately than ever before.  It helps that it is on the same mp3 disc as the Beastie Boys and Breakbeat Era.  I’m downloading it now so can’t say if i like it or not yet…