I’m lying on a bench underneath an arbor, looking up at the wisteria on the trellis. Sun peeks through the cracks of the bench. I sit up and look at the tree to my left, my eyes following the fractal beauty of the branches, watching how they replicate themselves in ever-smaller degrees of scale. I’m […]
Life + Outdoors
Posted inGet Out
Annie and Mary and Ladies and Crows
The Mad River Old Crows (aka the Old Crows), a Blue Lake men’s group/social club “with no hierarchy, agenda or rules,” emerged on the scene 13 years ago to enjoy each other’s company and to donate their skills, money and energy to community projects. In recognition of their many contributions, the Blue Lake Chamber of […]
Posted inField Notes
Revisiting the Whorf Hypothesis, Part 2
“The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis says that if you immerse yourself in another language, you can rewire your brain.” — Jeremy Renner’s character in Arrival Last week, I discussed the strong and weak versions of the Whorf Hypothesis. The former claims that one’s native language determines our worldview, to the point where we’re unable to think thoughts not […]
Posted inGet Out
Best of Crabs Season 2026
The 82nd Humboldt Crabs season is in the book, and as the sun sets on another amazing summer, it is time to give out my annual team awards as part of the Best of Humboldt issue. The Crabbies gave fans one last week to show up and cheer for their boys, going undefeated, highlighted by […]
Posted inField Notes
Revisiting the Whorf Hypothesis, Part 1
“The Hopi language is seen to contain no words, grammatical forms, construction or expressions that refer directly to what we call ‘time,’ or to past, present or future.”— Benjamin Lee Whorf Early in this column’s existence, I took a rather superficial look at what’s come to be known as the Whorf Hypothesis (“The Whorf Hypothesis,” […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
In the News: Mobley sentencing, toxic algae, the Crabs and mollusk noir
Thanks for reading and have a great week. In the News Culture Life & Outdoors
Posted inGet Out
Crabs Play Spoiler
After a tough loss to end last week, our resilient Crabs entered this week mathematically still in contention to make the Pacific Empire Conference’s Championship series. They needed some help as they welcomed the Medford Rogues to town for a pivotal weekend series. First, on Tuesday night, the Crabs got a much-needed reprieve from the […]
Posted inWashed Up
Mollusk Noir
On weekends, I front a punk band called the Dead Cousteaus. On weekdays, I’m a private investigator. So, on Monday morning, I was in my office nursing a bottle hoping to ease out of my weekend, but the shadow of a stacked broad crossed my desk. She smelled of mollusks and trouble. The “stacked” part […]
Posted inGet Out
A Wild and Wooly Night at the Rodeo
The Fortuna Rodeo’s Full Throttle Friday, as photographer Mark Larson discovered this week, is a very different vibe from old-fashioned riding and roping. Things start off low to the ground with Mutton Busting, in which youngsters take a traditional one-handed rodeo ride on a sheep. The introduction of motors and wheels amps things up significantly, […]
Posted inGet Out
Crabs on the Brink
Baseball can be fickle, exhilarating and heartbreaking. When we last left our beloved Crabs, they were on a roll and onto top of the conference, with a daunting and trying road trip in front of them. That road trip would be the worst-case scenario for the hometown heroes. Facing two of their toughest opponents in […]
Posted inField Notes
The Purloined Letter
“The fish is the last to see the water.” — Anthropologist Ruth Benedict Our lives are filled with obvious phenomena that sit right in front of our noses (sometimes literally), yet we often miss seeing them at all. I call it Purloined LetterSyndrome, after Edgar Allen Poe’s 1845 short story of that name. Synopsis: If […]
Posted inGet Out
Tempers Flare, Benches Clear, Crabs Prevail
After a dominating week launched the Humboldt Crabs baseball team into first place, the crustaceans welcomed the Bay Area Force into town for two non-conference games before a pivotal series with the Solano Mudcats. In game one, the Crabs, who are down a few starters, got creative again attacking the Force with an array of […]