Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


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Saturday, May 17, 2008

May 18th

By Ron Beasley



May 18th may not mean much to most but if you lived in the Pacific Northwest 28 years ago it is a day you will never forget.  It was a day that we witnessed something few do - a major volcanic eruption.



Mtsthelens021_2



On Sunday May 18th, 1980 I had to work. I was employed by a large manufacturing facility that used a number of RF generators in the manufacturing process. As a result we could not get radio or television reception in the building. We heard rumors that something had happened at Mt St Helens throughout the day but because it was a Sunday few people were coming and going. I left work about 2 PM and headed home to NW Portland. I started down the east side of Portland's west hills and was greeted with an amazing view. When I got home I grabbed my camera and took the picture on the left.





Mtsthelensjulyeruption_2  There were numerous smaller eruptions over the next few months but most could not be seen because it was overcast or dark. One eruption in July, 1980 occurred on a beautiful day and I took the picture on the left at about the same location as the picture above.



More can be found here.



You can click on the pictures for a larger image.



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2 comments:

  1. anna missedMay 17, 2008 at 6:54 PM

    I saw the same eruption from the top of a 4 story building in Seattle. Started as a tiny poof in the distance and within an hour it was a gray wall that covered the entire horizon. You could actually see huge clouds of ash expanding and billowing - from 96 miles away. An amazing sight to behold!

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  2. LibbyMay 18, 2008 at 12:32 AM

    My Dad was living out there at the time. I still have a little vial of the ash somewhere.

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