Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Event

  • Running the Table

    Running the table occurs in billiards when a player takes the break shot, pockets every required ball, and wins the game outright before his opponent ever has a chance to take a single shot. The entire sequence happens flawlessly, a perfect balance of skill and luck with awesome and impressive results. I’ve been trying to…

  • Celebrate the Day Twice

    As happens frequently here, I noticed an interesting phrase deposited by a search engine in my web traffic logs. The gist of the query — from an unknown but curious user — seemed straightforward enough. Could someone celebrate a birthday twice by crossing the International Date Line? Yes, it’s absolutely possible. There must be any…

  • Tourist Options During a Government Shutdown

    The benefit or the curse of living in the Washington, DC area — and the jury is still out on that call — is that national and international news for everyone else is our local news. Currently we can’t escape the theatrics of yet another impending government shutdown. Here’s to hoping that the immature politicians…

  • Penciling-In Reagan

    I discussed the erasure of Martin Van Buren from geographic features as his popularity waned during the Nineteenth Century. Interestingly the opposite phenomenon seems to be happening with a more modern historical figure, Ronald Reagan. His stock continues to climb as the years progress. Also his February 6, 1911, birthday generated great publicity on its…

  • Egypt Returning to Normal?

    Much of the world watched events unfold in Egypt during January and into February 2011. I know I couldn’t pull away from CNN on the day that pro-government thugs pushed through Tahrir Square on camels and horseback (map). I kept watching into the wee hours as running street battles unfolded on live television. So I…

  • A Helpless Bystander

    Snow hit the Washington, DC metropolitan area yesterday evening (January 26, 2011). It wasn’t a bad snow, certainly nothing compared to last year’s “Snowmageddon.” However, the timing was awful. It hit right at the height of rush hour in an area with the worst traffic congestion in the United States even on a perfect day.…

  • Leap Year Capital of the World

    Every town craves a little positive attention, maybe create a little local pride, distinguish itself from its neighbors and bring in a few tourist dollars if it’s particularly lucky. However, the universe of remarkable characteristics that puts a place on the map remains pretty limited. What can a small town do when nobody of international…

  • Almost Halfway

    Regular readers know that I find frequent inspiration from one-time visitors who drop onto the site by random search engine queries. Presumably they find what they need and then they move along. Earlier this week the query captured in my website traffic log said, “45th parallel near haines oregon along highway 30.” I’m a big…

  • Visiting Oz

    And I don’t mean Australia. There are several ways to distinguish oneself on Twelve Mile Circle. One path takes awhile. Stick around here long enough, post a bunch of comments and eventually I’ll get to know you and write an article that I think will appeal to you directly, maybe seriously, maybe somewhat frivolously. Another…

  • The Returns Are In. Maybe.

    I’ve been meaning to fill you in on the results of a referendum I mentioned a few weeks ago. Approval would have moved the Benton Co., Washington county seat to from Prosser to Kennewick. The vote happened more than a week ago. Only now do I feel there’s enough certainty to announce a probable result.…