Ken McAlpine
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About Me:
Ken McAlpine's writing has appeared in national magazines and newspapers; his magazine articles have earned three Lowell Thomas awards, the top award in the industry for travel writing. His latest book "Islands Apart: A Year on the Edge of Civilization" based on the Channel Islands and other Southern California communities is a thoughtful and funny look at our fast-paced contemporary life, and how time spent alone in nature can give us a fresh perspective about what matters most. He is based in Ventura, California.
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Entry10:00 AM on February 12, 2013Mist blew in. I tasted salt on both our lips.
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Entry12:19 PM on February 5, 2013There's a new Walmart in Simi Valley. It's the second Walmart there -- on the same street, miles away. What do all these big boxes in Ventura County mean?
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Entry10:53 AM on January 29, 2013It's the people you never hear of who really make a difference. And the boys from New Jersey and the California surfboard shaper fit that bill.
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Entry10:25 AM on January 22, 2013I do worry about the children. How do they see a bulletproof backpack? What do they think about a playground fenced off on the weekend? What does this look like to someone who still believes in Santa Claus?
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Entry10:00 AM on January 15, 2013There is no place I'd rather be than here in salt-laced, downy-soft nightfall. There aren't words for this sort of happiness. It is like falling in love. Huell understood.
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Entry2:33 PM on January 9, 2013What is right, wrong, innocence, guilt?
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Entry11:10 AM on January 2, 2013As the world marks another year's passing, life, the onrushing gift, might best be unwrapped with a moonlit neighborhood walk.
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Entry12:00 PM on December 24, 2012Did it or didn't it? The end of the world, or a new beginning?
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Entry10:33 AM on December 18, 2012Looking for the perfect Holiday gift? Here it is, courtesy of a Benedictine monk with a marvelous sense of humor.
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Entry3:32 PM on December 11, 2012In this world where so many things are going wrong, so many things are also going right -- like this choir program in Ventura County.
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Entry10:00 AM on December 4, 2012The end of Jalama Road in Santa Barbara County may be beautiful, but dawdling along it can be just as rejuvenating.
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Entry5:00 PM on November 27, 2012I whistle as I drive because this road makes me happy, and long ago I ascertained that getting lost presents no problem if you don't care.
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Entry6:40 PM on November 20, 2012Should you travel to Morro Rock (and you should), you are apt to meet Bob Isenberg. He's been there, off and on, since 1969. He's easy to find. In his words, "Look for the guy with the tripod."
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Entry5:55 PM on November 13, 2012In this cacophonous age when almost everyone is shouting to be noticed, quiet speaks loudly.
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Entry3:45 PM on November 6, 2012There's so much debate, din, and shouting in politics. But beneath all the noise, I hear the whisper of things lost.
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Entry10:00 AM on October 30, 2012"Hearst broke down social strata," says Jim Allen of Hearst Castle. "He was definitely a Californian."
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Entry11:02 AM on October 23, 2012Something is seriously wrong when our most important asset -- the education system -- has to ask for money.
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Entry3:30 PM on October 16, 2012"I want to go away and see things," she told me. Many people say this sort of thing. Not so many have Stage 3 cancer. She had a bucket list, she said. Ambling around the country, going nowhere in particular, was on it.
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Entry10:37 AM on October 9, 2012Should you visit Piedras Blancas beach, I advise you visit in the evening's last light. There is something bizarrely ethereal and comforting about the gloaming that drapes itself on this stretch of sand seven miles north of San Simeon.
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Entry11:22 AM on October 2, 2012I'm betting that the issue of homelessness gives all of us pause.
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Entry11:45 AM on September 25, 2012This natural glory so close to civilization, the Santa Monica Mountains are a wonderful weirdness.
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Entry10:30 AM on September 18, 2012The new science of "surfonomics" is now attempting to place a dollar value on waves, but there's no dollar amount one can put on the experience.
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Entry10:35 AM on September 11, 2012A Ventura filmmaker and artist is making a documentary on the man who had creative ADHD and forty-eight hours in his day.
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Entry10:00 AM on September 4, 2012Life is short, and Ventura author Ken McAlpine shares a handful of simple, yet important lines of advice he once shared with a friend's son.
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Entry11:50 AM on August 28, 2012On average, less than a dozen humans are killed by sharks each year, and it feeds worldwide fear and media fascination. But an estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year by fishermen.
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Entry10:00 AM on August 21, 2012Little things are often more interesting and, if you pay close attention, they sometimes dole out lessons applicable to very big things.
No recommendations yet.
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Entry10:00 AM on February 12, 2013Mist blew in. I tasted salt on both our lips.
-
Entry12:19 PM on February 5, 2013There's a new Walmart in Simi Valley. It's the second Walmart there -- on the same street, miles away. What do all these big boxes in Ventura County mean?
-
Entry10:53 AM on January 29, 2013It's the people you never hear of who really make a difference. And the boys from New Jersey and the California surfboard shaper fit that bill.
-
Entry10:25 AM on January 22, 2013I do worry about the children. How do they see a bulletproof backpack? What do they think about a playground fenced off on the weekend? What does this look like to someone who still believes in Santa Claus?
-
Entry10:00 AM on January 15, 2013There is no place I'd rather be than here in salt-laced, downy-soft nightfall. There aren't words for this sort of happiness. It is like falling in love. Huell understood.
-
Entry2:33 PM on January 9, 2013What is right, wrong, innocence, guilt?
-
Entry11:10 AM on January 2, 2013As the world marks another year's passing, life, the onrushing gift, might best be unwrapped with a moonlit neighborhood walk.
-
Entry12:00 PM on December 24, 2012Did it or didn't it? The end of the world, or a new beginning?
-
Entry10:33 AM on December 18, 2012Looking for the perfect Holiday gift? Here it is, courtesy of a Benedictine monk with a marvelous sense of humor.
-
Entry3:32 PM on December 11, 2012In this world where so many things are going wrong, so many things are also going right -- like this choir program in Ventura County.
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