Life

THEATER REVIEW

'The Blue Bear' pays off for viewers who are patient

Perseverance Theatre faced several challenges in adapting "The Blue Bear" as a play. One was trying to convey the enormity of the Alaskan landscape and megafauna on a stage. Most formidable, the play had to turn a literary meditation into a drama with action.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Time for your floral preseason workout

Enough snow. There isn't anything else to say about it, except "enough." Not even a remark about all the nitrogen that it contains and how good the deluge will be for our lawns this spring. Who cares? Enough snow.

MARKET FRESH

Local treats available for Valentine's Day

From sweets to the sea, Valentine's Day in Alaska runs the gamut. Dannon Southall at 10th & M Seafoods says they are running a few holiday specials, including pre-orders for live lobsters.

Perseverance Theatre offers Alaska classic

Last winter, readers returning from trips to Juneau raved about a new play they had seen at Perseverance Theatre, "The Blue Bear." For the next couple of weekends, Anchorage theatergoers will be able to see the two-man play at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts.

First Friday Rambles

Friday's snowstorm may have deterred rational folk from making the First Friday art openings, but several exhibits should be caught as the weather improves.

ART BEAT

Anchorage travel photographer to talk about his exotic shoots

It looked like a painting to me, but I am assured by the American Society of Media Photographers that this is a photograph by Wayde Carroll. Carroll is an editorial and commercial photographer based in Anchorage and specializes in location assignments, lifestyle and travel stock photography.

Blog: Art Snob

NED ROZELL

Eroding islands, disappearing glaciers, greenhouse gases

The latest meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco in December 2011 featured hundreds of talks about Earth science, some of those relating to Alaska (and some of those comprehensible to a non-scientist).

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

JEFF LOWENFELS

Sweet pea starts can help take your mind off winter

It's been a tough winter, and I am getting lots of demands for something, anything, that can be started indoors now and will be usable in the garden this summer. I fall back on sweet peas. You can start them now and get fabulous flowers very early in the outdoor season.

MARKET FRESH

Celebrate the Super Bowl with seafood

Rumor has it there's a big football game coming up Sunday. For many, it will mean nachos and chili and hot wings. But we do things differently in Alaska.

Website: Alaska Grown

Ketchikan artist drawn to paint animal carcasses

Artist Callie Bellon doesn't know what draws her to paint dead animals. "Everybody asks me for an explanation of what it means," she said. "It's just carcasses."

Whale film 'Big Miracle' makes Alaska debut

Young Anchorage actor Ahmaogak Sweeney joined hundreds of Alaskans for a special preview screening of Universal Pictures "Big Miracle," the first modern major movie shot entirely in the state. What they saw was a harmless, polished romantic comedy aimed squarely at parents and their animal-loving kids.

Video: Alaska actors talk about the movie

Photos: "Big Miracle" movie stills

Light and legend: Glass artist has Alaska roots

Born in San Francisco in 1963, Preston Singletary has lived in Seattle almost ever since. But Alaska has a claim on him. His maternal grandmother was full-blood Tlingit from a Sitka area family. Traditional Northwest Indian themes and forms are fused into the glass works that have made him an internationally known artist.

ART BEAT

Cliburn award winner scheduled to perform at UAA

The announcement last week that Sa Chen, among the top winners of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will present a recital at the University of Alaska next month certainly caught my attention.

Blog: Art Snob

NED ROZELL

The giant waves of Lituya Bay in Southeast Alaska

One of the prettiest places in Southeast Alaska has felt some of nature's most violent behavior.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

Genaux offers rare vocal 'Pyrotechnics'

Sometimes Vivica Genaux loves to sing with the precision and breakneck speed of an athlete -- in "techno rhythm." Other times, the tunes are achingly slow but still bursting with passion.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Catalogs with attitude improve winter

Some gardening catalogs are just plain clever. This is always a reflection of their owners' sense of humor or dedication to the subject matter at hand. It means not only great information but a good read is as well.

USDA's new planting zones reflect global warming, even in Alaska

'Big Miracle' premieres in Washington, D.C.

"Big Miracle," the first major production subsidized by a state film incentive program that's among the most generous in the nation, premiered in the nation's capital Wednesday as debate burns in Alaska over whether the program is worth the cost.

MARKET FRESH

Rempel's vegetables return to Center Market

Every Wednesday, Mark Rempel drives from the Valley to Anchorage for the Center Market. That 90-mile round-trip will feel like a breeze today.

Website: Alaska Grown

Family advocate has key role in whale rescue film

Bonnie Carroll is well-known in veterans' circles as the founder of a vast organization that provides grief counseling and help for thousands of families of fallen military members. But it was her involvement nearly 25 years ago in a high-seas effort to rescue three gray whales stranded off Alaska that is now receiving Hollywood treatment.

Blog: Hollywood Alaska: Fundraising screening tonight