YouTube

https://youtu.be/s4cleoDPnbY

Corinne Harris competes at Los Gatos on Sunday, May 31.

Now it’s on to Sacramento for Pacific Grove’s fourth year running

Arwa Awan took first prize at the county level of Poetry Out Loud with her dramatic recitations of Emily Dickinson’s It was not Death for I Stood Up and The Meaning of the Shovel by Martin Espada. Lyla Mahmoud, PGHS runner-up, recited Cartoon Physics by Nick Flynn.

Runner-up in the County competition was Chloe Reimann of Santa Catalina, who recited Spring and Fall by Gerard Manley Hopkins and The River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter by Ezra Pound. Santa Catalina’s runner-up was Mary Cho who recited Ecology by Jack Collom.

Former Pacific Grove Poet-In-Residence Garland Thompson acted as emcee for the event. He told how, in 2007, he was driving down the highway near Spreckels and heard a broadcast on NPR about Poetry Out Loud. He was so amazed and excited that he pulled his car over and made the phone contacts that eventually brought the opportunity to Monterey County schools.

Arwa will now go on to Sacramento to compete at the state level. Her three predecessors, Kylie Batlin (2009), Morgan Brown (2010) and Robert Marchand (2011) all went to the State level, and Brown and Marchand went on to the national level.

Pacelli takes his bike cam past Calendonia Park, turns right on Jewell, and winds up at the top of Lovers Point at the Rec Trail. Ignore him as he runs stop signs.

Celebrating her birthday by invading Cannery Row with a flash mob reciting “I Am Nobody” and eating gingerbread. The Pacific Grove High School Young Writers Club, Poet-In-Residence Dr. Barbara Mossberg, English teacher Larry Haggquist, and probably some students from California State University, Monterey Bay and some bewildered tourists.

Two elephant seals have come to visit Pacific Grove. Hauling up on the beach at Hopkins Marine on New Years Day, the first one made himself right at home among the harbor seals. A second arrived Jan. 7, 2012. In the video, you can see the first visitor in the back, on the left, covered with sand. He’s motionless until the last few frames. Video by Kim Worrell, aka oceanfoxx.

Says Kim, “Initially, the Harbor Seals scattered into the water and watched the Elephant Seal make himself comfortable on their beach. That first day a few brave Harbor Seals would venture onto the beach but all the Elephant Seal had to do was lift its head and the Harbor Seals would scatter. Slowly the Harbor Seals began to come back onto the beach but still gave the Elephant Seal its space. On Tuesday, [Jan. 3] Hopkins Beach was covered in fish. I was told by someone from the Monterey Bay Aquarium that it was sardines and mackeral that may have been dumped by a fishing boat. The birds were going nuts. There were gulls, herons, egrets, mature and immature brown pelicans and cormorants all trying to get their fish. The Elephant Seal continued to lounge on the beach and the Harbor Seals were a little skittish with all the birds around and the Elephant Seal. On Friday morning, the beach was empty and I thought the Elephant Seal had finally gone on his way, but to my surprise he was in the water swimming. I watched him for approximately 45 minutes swimming around with 2 otters and the Harbor Seals who all kept a little distance from him. Finally, he made his way back onto the beach and claimed his throne again. Today, a second male Elephant Seal arrived on the scene….and then there were two.”

Bob Pacelli’s morning missive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBYlfBGLb5k

Seems like a lot of work for just two days of the exhibit, but model train enthusiasts take a lot of care getting the show ready for next weekend, Dec. 10-11 at American Tin Cannery. Lance Wright, a Scout leader, owns the train but Philip Tuffs and his older brother, David, are running it. They’re working out the last kinks and practicing signals to run “PG Steel Co.” railroad as their dad, Simon, looks on.

Elks and Pacific Grove Recreation Dept. hosted the annual hot shot competition  at Pacific Grove High School. Winners in their division go on to the next level.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6PAQiPbkGQ

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djmaxjQauuY