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This week: My Strange Fascination with Alaska Edited by: SophyBells  
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Hi, I'm SophyBells ~ your editor for this edition of the Comedy Newsletter. Last month I was fascinated with polygamy; this month it's Alaska. Hmmm, maybe next month I'll write about my life as an Alaskan polygamist! 
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My Strange Fascination with Alaska
I searched WDC for comedy items about Alaksa to share in the highlights section. There were NONE! So I searched for satire genre items about Alaksa. Bupkiss! Then I realized I'd spelled Alaska wrong, and found one.  Still - just one? You can find it below.
When all of my new Polygamy shows ended last month, I started searching for something else to strike my reality television fancy. I hit Yukon gold when I found not one but THREE reality shows about Alaska! One is a "Survivor" type show (except there is no tropical island and no one gets voted off) called "Ultimate Survival Alaska," with eight mountain men ranging in age from early 20's to however old white-bearded Willi is, being dropped in the wilds of Alaska for 72 hours at a time to see if they can survive and make it to the next extraction point, called the "LZ" or "landing zone." Nat Geo describes it this way: "Dropped in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness by bush plane, with only their raw, mountain-man ingenuity, they’ll navigate through treacherous glaciated river valleys, barren ridgelines, and high mountain peaks, battling hunger, hostile predators, and perilous weather conditions along the way. It's an epic competition series where the only prize is survival." Yeah - so pretty much what I said. Sounds fun, doesn't it?
Anyway, if any of them don't make it to the LZ in the 72 hours they are allowed for each of their little escapades, an ominous voice tells us that they will be left behind to fend for themselves. Geeze, that's harsh! Even harsher since they are risking their lives and don't even get a prize for being the top survivor (other than bragging rights)! I wonder how long they would actually leave them there? Like, forever? Till the end of the season? Would they leave a camera crew with them to see if they survive? So far, in rotating groups of 2's and 3's, they have all made it to the LZ in time, which is getting kind of boring. I'm starting to root for one or more of them not to make in time just to see what would happen. Now that'd be a fun reality show! "Left Behind: The REAL Ultimate Survival Alaska."
Update: Sophy asks and she receives - On the most recent episode two of them didn't make the LZ in time! They got to the landing strip and the plane was gone. Fortunately for them another plane was about to take off (convenient) and and the pilot agreed he would take them part of the way to their next spot. Hopefully from there they can figure out how to get to the final destination (with no money to pay for travel). Next week we'll find out if they made it in time to join the rest of the group. I bet they will.
Also on Nat Geo is a show called "Life Below Zero," which follows six people as they "battle for the most basic necessities in the state with the lowest population density in the United States. Living at the ends of the world's loneliest roads and subsisting off the rugged Alaskan bush, they battle whiteout snow storms, man-eating carnivores, questionable frozen terrain, and limited resources through a long and bitter winter. Some of them are lone wolves; others have their families beside them. All must overcome despairing odds to brave the wild and survive through to the spring." (From the web site)
I don't get this one. These people have all chosen to live more or less off the grid, most of them above the arctic circle. They aren't competing for the title of "Ultimate Survival" or cold hard cash. This isn't a game show - it's their CHOSEN life! They live there, like, on purpose, in other words. Sure, it's beautiful. But mostly it's COLD. Really really cold (thus the title, "Life Below Zero"). Four of the six are two couples - one couple lives in a tiny town with his wife and kids (I'm pretty sure they can see Russia from there!), while the other couple live completely isolated from all human life, sharing their homestead with 24 sled dogs near the Canadian border. The other two are single people living alone in the middle of nowhere. One of them is a young man, a hunter/trapper who is kind of creepy. The other is the Sue, who resembles and talks like a long haul trucker, and lives quite literally at the top of the world.
Finally there is Discovery Channel's "Alaska: The Last Frontier," (I thought it was space?) which centers on the Kilcher family and their familial compound community outside Homer, Alaska. Led by patriarch Atz Kilcher, (who happens to be singer Jewel's father) and his brother, Otto, the family have lived on their land for three generations. Another show with no prize for winning or competition involved, but it's fun to watch. There are four generations currently living in and around the family homestead. Brothers Otto and Atz and their wives, and their sons Eivin and Atz Lee with their wives. They all live a "self-sustaining" lifestyle, which basically means they don't shop at WalMart or watch HBO (or, ironically, the Discovery Channel). They grow or hunt all of the food they eat, use generators and solar panels for electricity, wood stoves heat their homes, and spend every daylight hour working their butts off!
What I have learned from these show is that I never want to live in Alaksa! I might go visit there, because it's very pretty. But I don't think I could live there year round - it's too COLD. Plus I'm not sure I want to live "off the grid." Why? Because most of the people on the shows I've been watching don't have indoor plumbing, a must for Sophy. The Kilchers have nicely decorated outhouses, as do I presume the Below Zero folks. The Ultimate Survival gang go in the woods. So if not having porcelain facilities that flush are part of living off the grid, better put me back on it!
What are your favorite reality shows? What do you like about it/them? There are a slew of them this summer, on regular networks and cable - and they are great comedy fodder. So get out there, turn on your TV, and start watching! |
Below you'll find some comedy offerings from WDC members. Don't forget to leave a review and rating if you read the item.
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Now for some comments about my last newsletter "Comedy Newsletter (June 12, 2013)" about my fascination with polygamy:
From Lynn McKenzie 
How about polyandry (one woman with many husbands)? I demand equal time!
I agree with the equal time thing, but more than one husband sounds exhausting! 
      
From LJPC - the tortoise
I liked "Big Love" when it first came on, too, but I think that's just because I've always liked Jeanne Tripplehorn. She and the youngest wife made the series for me. But there are so many new and bizarre reality shows (Toddlers & Tiaras, Hoarders, Breaking Amish, etc.) that polygamists just aren't that interesting anymore. But yes, you should totally be allowed to marry George Clooney! 
~ Laura
Yes I should, shouldn't I? Thank you!
From Mark Allen Mc Lemore
Arizona here I come... perhaps then I will find my fiance's dad who split when she was 10. Well, that will be the reason I tell her I am going. Then, one night I will send for her to come and meet her new, uh, is this where the "Sister's" comes in?
Anyways, great newsletter. Can't wait to here about your new love of Alaska, I have always loved Louisiana and look at all the reality television from there! I knew I should have moved to Shreveport when my cush Union job here in Michigan split country in 06.
What reality shows are in Lousiana? I only know about "Pit Bulls and Parolees," which moved there from CA last year. Always looking for other good ones!
From RICH 
Hello - Sorry,I had to do this to you, as you did ask, and I do have the answer.
Go well and enjoy.
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How to solve a small problem - women.
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Thank you!
From Happy Spring
One of the best and funniest newsletters this year! Loved it!
Gee, thanks so much!
From Pita
HAHHAHAHHAHHAHHAHHAHHAHHAHHAHAHA I almost fell over laughing at the topic, the essay (which was funny and awesome) and the image of you writing about polygamy.
What's so funny? You don't think I'd make a good sister wife? Yeah, me neither!
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming! Until next time! SophyBells
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Comedy: July 10, 2013 Issue [#5765]
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