Here's a musical biopic based on the founder and founding of Chess Records, and it may be the worst musical biopic I've ever seen. Too bad since it's about a great era of music. Here the music is fine, but I would have preferred the originals with actors lip-syncing. As a story, this is scattered and without focus, using the music to elicit the cheap shots of emotion along the way. Characters aren't developed, we're left with cardboard figures and the musical myths we may be bringing to the material. The reach is much too great here, and the grasp small. This story still needs telling in powerful dramatic terms.
A musician highly recommended this to me. The difference, perhaps, between musicians and screenwriters watching a musical biopic. I say no story, therefore nothing to make me care. Some good cover music, however. I'll grant that much.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
What an evening!
With the new home network, I am online from the deck -- man, is this nice or what? Starbucks is going to lose a lot of money now that I don't have to go there to get online wirelessly.
Got a call from a recall woman with interesting info. Got a lot of sigs by hanging outside a Home Depot and later a Walgren's, her theory being the largest % of support comes from blue collar workers and seniors. "Every carpenter in Portland wants him gone," she said. I may try a local Lowe's for this reason, maybe go over there after my Monday hour at the library. Her goal is 1000 sigs. Wow. My goal was 100. Of course, she has lots of friends on her side and I have damn few. Most of my friends are misguided progressives.
Got a call from a recall woman with interesting info. Got a lot of sigs by hanging outside a Home Depot and later a Walgren's, her theory being the largest % of support comes from blue collar workers and seniors. "Every carpenter in Portland wants him gone," she said. I may try a local Lowe's for this reason, maybe go over there after my Monday hour at the library. Her goal is 1000 sigs. Wow. My goal was 100. Of course, she has lots of friends on her side and I have damn few. Most of my friends are misguided progressives.
Home network
Man, we got our home wireless network up and running in a breeze, following CD instructions that came with the router I bought at Woot for a song. This is very cool. I can get online upstairs out of my dungeon on the netbook. Cool indeed. However, this has changed H's experience a bit.
R.I.P.: Walter Cronkite
What can one say that hasn't already been said? I feel sorry for people too young to remember Edward R. Morrow, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley and Walter Cronkite from the days before what Cronkite called "the trivialization of news", i.e. most of what gets reported today wouldn't even be on a newscast then. Our unenlightened citizenry makes democracy weaker. How else could a Sarah Palin be taken seriously?
What's wrong with this FedEx driver?
For the third consecutive time, a package delivered by FedEx has been left at the wrong house. I've bitched each time but no improvement. Fortunately, the neighbor kid brings the package over but it's really a pain in the butt. Is there no learning curve at FedEx? I wouldn't recommend them for any delivery.
The writer's curse
Woke up with a head full of lyrics, rushed down to my office to get them down. Another parody, I Think About Your Lies, Sam, to the tune of Tom Lehrer's "I Hold Your Hand In Mind." 3rd Lehrer tune I've used in 3 days.
And now I'm up. But surely not for good. Snoop around, see if there's anything in my mail box I need to pay attention to.
And now I'm up. But surely not for good. Snoop around, see if there's anything in my mail box I need to pay attention to.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Chops
Man, my musical chops are so damn rusty I'm not sure I can get this together or not, but I'll give it the ol' university try. I want to put together a medley of the parody songs, accompanied with ukulele.
Next
Seems to me this was a strange waste of a day. Went to Pioneer Square but didn't check if anything was going on: it was, zillions of folks making sand sculptures, a zoo of workers, no atmosphere for politicizing. So a wasted trip. Then home and didn't get much done.
Guess the highlight of the day is the Mariners won.
But I got a good email from the library with rules for collecting signatures outside, and now I have a schedule at my branch, an hour a day Monday through Thursday, schedule in the right panel here at the blog. Also, getting scheduled for something Sunday and I meet with a coffee group Wednesday morning. So I'm keeping busy at it.
Tomorrow I need to get some writing done. But we also want to try and set up a wireless network in the house.
Guess the highlight of the day is the Mariners won.
But I got a good email from the library with rules for collecting signatures outside, and now I have a schedule at my branch, an hour a day Monday through Thursday, schedule in the right panel here at the blog. Also, getting scheduled for something Sunday and I meet with a coffee group Wednesday morning. So I'm keeping busy at it.
Tomorrow I need to get some writing done. But we also want to try and set up a wireless network in the house.
Cream
What I consider to be the best in my large body of work. Not everyone would agree. There's no accounting for taste.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Quiet desperation
When I got out of the Army, I worked for a year at Burroughs Corp. before returning to school, and that's the closest I've come to the dismal work/life environment that's the backdrop to Revolutionary Road. It was a year of much learning. I befriended some older employees who worked in PR, English majors who wrote company propaganda, each a frustrated novelist, each a heavy drinker (as I was), and they were great models of what not to be, an inspiration to return to school and do whatever it took to escape the corporate world. I succeeded.
One of my memories of that period is about my car. I drove a 5 or 6 year old car, a Ford, in pretty bad shape. I came to work early because I'm a morning person and got more done when no one was in the office. However, I also was on the clock and as often as not would forget to punch in when I was supposed to, which always created a hassle. I also parked up front near the entrance in the then pretty empty parking lot -- until I was forbidden to! Burroughs Corp was ashamed of my car, and I was ordered to park in the back corner of the lot. Hell of a deal.
On my last week there, an emergency came up on a day my boss was home sick. I took over (no one noticed at the time) and ended up solving a crisis. My boss' boss was so impressed he wanted to promote me onto his staff on the spot until he learned I was leaving. He told me to look him up after I graduated. Of course, I never did. My PR drinking buddies resolved that issue for me long ago.
So although I'm not as rich as I might have been otherwise, I've lived a great working life in that I've been my own boss most of the time. Much of my life revolved around project deadlines, giving me considerable flexibility (perfect for the drinking life, too). My Social Security isn't worth much as a result but what the hell, I wouldn't trade up to have joined the ranks of those in quiet desperation. I consider myself blessed, as a matter of fact.
One of my memories of that period is about my car. I drove a 5 or 6 year old car, a Ford, in pretty bad shape. I came to work early because I'm a morning person and got more done when no one was in the office. However, I also was on the clock and as often as not would forget to punch in when I was supposed to, which always created a hassle. I also parked up front near the entrance in the then pretty empty parking lot -- until I was forbidden to! Burroughs Corp was ashamed of my car, and I was ordered to park in the back corner of the lot. Hell of a deal.
On my last week there, an emergency came up on a day my boss was home sick. I took over (no one noticed at the time) and ended up solving a crisis. My boss' boss was so impressed he wanted to promote me onto his staff on the spot until he learned I was leaving. He told me to look him up after I graduated. Of course, I never did. My PR drinking buddies resolved that issue for me long ago.
So although I'm not as rich as I might have been otherwise, I've lived a great working life in that I've been my own boss most of the time. Much of my life revolved around project deadlines, giving me considerable flexibility (perfect for the drinking life, too). My Social Security isn't worth much as a result but what the hell, I wouldn't trade up to have joined the ranks of those in quiet desperation. I consider myself blessed, as a matter of fact.
A recall kind of day
A morning full of grunt work related to the recall effort. A good day! Finally called it a day and watched Revolutionary Road for the second time. Still love it.
I have a new regular table gig: Every Friday at Pioneer Square, 11am to 1pm. I'll be parked someone with an identifying sign and petitions. I prefer a passive to forward approach, i.e. I'm available and you come to me.
90 or more today! My kind of weather!
I have a new regular table gig: Every Friday at Pioneer Square, 11am to 1pm. I'll be parked someone with an identifying sign and petitions. I prefer a passive to forward approach, i.e. I'm available and you come to me.
90 or more today! My kind of weather!
The Recall Rag
(Tune: Tom Lehrer's Vatican Rag)
Look around and find the sign
Step right up, you're just in time
Think about the mayor's shame and
Sign-your-name, sign-your-name, sign-your-name!
We need 50,000 signatures
In three months, that's lots of work for sure
Citizens participate
There's no time to hestitate
Doin' the Recall Rag.
What's at stake is how the city works
Do we answer lies with deeds or shirks?
Every time a politician smirks
Citizens can fight with fireworks.
Do your part, sign the petition
Apathy's the great addiction
Two, four, six, eight
Time for Sam to abdicate!
So step up and do your part
Bring your friends and show some heart
Think about the mayor's shame and
Sign-your-name, sign-your-name, sign-your-name!
Put your name down on the paper
Hurry up, it's getting later
Think of your children
They know what you're doin'
Gathering wherewithal
Time for an overhaul
Doin' the Recall Rag!
More songs
2 views on recalling the mayor
My op ed piece, which concludes...
An opposing view, which begins...
The opposition can't get it out of their heads that we actually don't care about the mayor's sex life. Personally I think the age of consent should be 15. So what? This is completely about lying to get elected. It is about orchestrating a fraudulent election. And I find it depressing that otherwise good "liberals" like the history professor don't give a rat's ass about this. Progressives who support the mayor depress me as much as right wing whackos do, and this city has too many of both.
In this same issue, the Tribune supports the recall (for reasons much like my own):
This is a sensible attitude. Want the mayor? Fine, vote for him in a new HONEST election.
It’s time for Portland to embrace the vision Obama brings for a new politics, and the first step is to recall Mayor Sam Adams.
An opposing view, which begins...
The hysteria over Mayor Sam Adams’ romantic life has mostly died down. Except for a few die-hards who can’t seem to get Adam’s sex life out of their dreams, most Portlanders have moved on.
The opposition can't get it out of their heads that we actually don't care about the mayor's sex life. Personally I think the age of consent should be 15. So what? This is completely about lying to get elected. It is about orchestrating a fraudulent election. And I find it depressing that otherwise good "liberals" like the history professor don't give a rat's ass about this. Progressives who support the mayor depress me as much as right wing whackos do, and this city has too many of both.
In this same issue, the Tribune supports the recall (for reasons much like my own):
Adams ought to face recall not because of his politics, but because he lied in order to win an election — and he did so after exercising extraordinarily poor judgment by becoming sexually involved with a teenager.
Adams’ deceptions influenced the outcome of the 2008 mayor’s race, and without a recall election, Portland voters will have no other opportunity to make a fully informed decision about whether they want Adams to continue as mayor. We urge Portlanders to sign the recall petitions now circulating and force Adams to be accountable for his behavior.
Full editorial
This is a sensible attitude. Want the mayor? Fine, vote for him in a new HONEST election.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Letter from ex-mayor Potter
My support for Mayor Adams’ recall is not about his actions with Beau Breedlove, because we may never have the complete information as to whether or not he committed any criminal act(s) with Beau. This is not about the Mayor’s sexual orientation. The only person I know who used his sexual orientation as an argument in this issue is the Mayor himself.
What this issue is about for me is the Mayor’s attempt to deny and cover up his actions with Beau before and after Beau turned 18. He lied to us all in order to win an election. He made false accusations about a gay man’s integrity while cloaked in self-righteousness. In the attempt to cover up his involvement, he lied right up to the time he recognized he could no longer hide the truth. He demonstrated a serious lack of integrity and ethical behavior. His actions caused many Portlanders to distrust him, and he was shunned by politicians at the state and national level. He was not invited to local events which necessitated other elected leaders filling in for him. Most every major print media has called for his resignation, including Just Out. He caused a division within the gay community in Portland and across the country that still sits heavy with us today. Today, there are many people who are afraid to speak out against Mayor Adams, yet feel they were duped by him.
Read entire letter
This was a letter to the editor at our gay newspaper. Good for Potter! His argument is very similar to mine, and my op ed piece should be out tomorrow. Let's get momentum. Onward.
Portland at its best
My wife is an enthusiastic Portland booster. My own relationship with the city is more complicated and less enthusiastic, but one thing I do appreciate is the city's fine public transportation system. We took advantage of it today for a fun excursion to lunch.
First, we parked at the hospital on the hill. We took the tram down to the south waterfront, then hoped the streetcar to the main waterfront. We had lunch outside on the river. Then we reversed the journey.
This is Portland at its best.
Tonight and Sunday I'll do my recall duty.
First, we parked at the hospital on the hill. We took the tram down to the south waterfront, then hoped the streetcar to the main waterfront. We had lunch outside on the river. Then we reversed the journey.
This is Portland at its best.
Tonight and Sunday I'll do my recall duty.
Online hyperdrama class
Setting up my Spring online hyperdrama class at Tunxis CC in Farmington, CT, which requires learning Blackboard and an interface I'm not familiar with. But they have good tutorials and I think I'm getting the hang of it quickly enough. This actually should end up being a lot of fun.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
All Star game
I've always been an American League fan but growing up it seemed the National League was always winning this baseball ritual. Indeed, the NL won 7 of 10 in the 50s. And overall, despite the current losing streak, the NL is still ahead:
The AL leads 4-3 in the 9th as I write but I wouldn't mind the NL making a bottom of the 9th comeback, just to give the St. Louis fans a thrill. We'll see.
But here’s the rub: the National League still holds the all-time advantage at 41-36-2, meaning the NL went 38-19-1 from 1933 to 1987 with the following dominant streaks of their own:
11 in a row (1972-1982)
8 in a row (1963-1970)
19 out of 20 (1963-1982)
Source
The AL leads 4-3 in the 9th as I write but I wouldn't mind the NL making a bottom of the 9th comeback, just to give the St. Louis fans a thrill. We'll see.
Hear, hear!
Cesar Chavez Boulevard: When "no" really means "yes"
by Sue Fischer, guest opinion
Tuesday July 14, 2009, 11:30 AM
Residents and business along 39th Avenue feel violated by the City Council's decision to change, against our will, the name of the street where we live and work.
In some cases our ties to the street go back many, many years. We said "no," but because we needed better reasons to say "no," we apparently really meant "yes." We fought back, but not hard enough. The only resistance we were credited with was resistance to change. Besides, we were told, we deserve what we got because we're all racists by association, according to city leaders, because of a few ugly opposition letters.
For those of us who live, work and pay property taxes on 39th Avenue, it's not only about the expense and inconvenience of an involuntary and unwelcomed address change. It's about losing a sense of identity, losing the sense of feeling in control -- however tenuous or illusory -- over the personal space provided by our homes (which include our addresses) and businesses in a turbulent economic environment.
Read more.
We'll get a ton of recall signatures along this avenue ha ha.
Obama's style
I love our President's style. He wears a White Sox jacket to throw out the first pitch of the All-Star Game. This seems like an insignificant gesture but in politics it's huge. Almost all politicians tip toe down the middle of the road in public affairs, trying not to step on toes. Obama is a big White Sox fan and he's got the balls to show it in a huge arena. I love it.
And today, asked about the economy, he said:
"I love the folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, 'Well, this is Obama's economy,'" the president told an outdoor crowd at Macomb Community College, veering off his scripted words. "That's fine. Give it to me. My job is to solve problems, not to stand on the sidelines and harp and gripe."
Read the story.
I love what Obama has brought to politics. Unfortunately, here in Puddle City we haven't been able to join the party yet because our mayor is an old-school, conniving liar of a politician who calls himself a progressive but acts like a big city hood.
But I digress ha ha.
A film on Secretariat
Hollywood likes to label and cubbyhole its artists. Thus Portland screenwriter Mike Rich keeps getting assignments to write feel-good sports stories. His latest, scheduled to start shooting this fall, is about the great race horse Secretariat. I'll be eager to see it. Rich's challenge, and it's a big one, is to match the quality of the most recent Seabiscuit film, and he doesn't have the historical backdrop that the other horse had. I'll be very curious to see how it all turns out. I wish him luck.
Sotomayor's Woody Allen/Marshall McLuhan Moment
There is a famous scene in Annie Hall in which Woody Allen and Diane Keaton are on movie line, and a guy in back of them is pontificating endlessly about Fellini and Beckett. Allen is getting more and more annoyed by the pretentious guy and finally, when the guy starts talking about Marshall McLuhan, Allen steps out of the frame and confronts the guy with the actual Marshall McLuan, who tells the pretentious fop, "You know nothing about my work." Allen then says, "Wouldn't it be great if life were really like this?"
Today, Sonia Sotomayor had an actual Allen/McLuhan moment.
Check it out.
I love it.
Karaoke Tonite!
Watched the DVD start to finish this morning. Although there are things I'd change, in sum there's much more I like than dislike and this definitely is "a keeper" in my body of work. Even charges my battery to do more video.
- Watch online
- Get the DVD for $9.95
At the speed of gray
Yesterday was a trickling slow motion of a day. Got precious little done but sure took a long time doing it.
One thing I did get done was more reading in Fr Lt's Woman. I had forgotten the wonderful scene, not in the movie as explicitly, of Charles getting sick in the room of a prostitute after she tells him her name is Sarah. What an incredibly fine book. It's good to read a book like this because it reminds me of my limitations. Nothing wrong with knowing your limitations.
Two writer friends in Paris are starting their own POD press, and I'm going to help them with the design of their books, the technical stuff. Wild Ocean Press. Both Oregon writers. A worthy thing for me to do.
Looking forward to spending some time with Miranda tomorrow.
One thing I did get done was more reading in Fr Lt's Woman. I had forgotten the wonderful scene, not in the movie as explicitly, of Charles getting sick in the room of a prostitute after she tells him her name is Sarah. What an incredibly fine book. It's good to read a book like this because it reminds me of my limitations. Nothing wrong with knowing your limitations.
Two writer friends in Paris are starting their own POD press, and I'm going to help them with the design of their books, the technical stuff. Wild Ocean Press. Both Oregon writers. A worthy thing for me to do.
Looking forward to spending some time with Miranda tomorrow.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Op ed
My op ed piece will be published Thursday, the "pro" recall half of a pro-con spread in The Portland Tribune. Wonder if the con is someone I know.
Meet us at the Bipartisan Cafe
Poet and screenwriter Gary Miranda and I will be manning a table on Wednesday nights, 7-9pm, at the Bipartisan Cafe, 7901 SE Stark St., with Recall Sam Adams petitions at hand. Come sign a petition -- or come to talk writing with a couple of old farts, I mean pros.
Childhood regression
For lunch I made myself a peanut butter and bologna sandwich on white balloon bread -- and damn was it good! My fav as a kid. Need to have another soon. Maybe for dinner ha ha.
Lists
Money Mag has come out with its 100 best small towns in which to live list. NW towns are:
There's no accounting for taste.
Top 5 were:
1 Louisville, CO
2 Chanhassen, MN
3 Papillion, NE
4 Middleton, WI
5 Milton, MA
10 Mukilteo, WA
12 Sammamish, WA
17 Newcastle, WA
51 Richland, WA
64 West Linn, OR
79 Lake Oswego, OR
92 Silverdale, WA
There's no accounting for taste.
Top 5 were:
1 Louisville, CO
2 Chanhassen, MN
3 Papillion, NE
4 Middleton, WI
5 Milton, MA
Video update
The first short I wanted to do this summer can't be done -- an actor isn't available. I could recast and do it or wait, and I'm going to wait and see if I can schedule it in the fall. There's a second video to check out now.
A gray dull day. Jesus.
A gray dull day. Jesus.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Woody Allen
If I'd never seen a Woody Allen film before, I'm sure I would have loved Whatever Works. But I'm a fan who has seen most of his films, and as a result I was very disappointed. Here we have little that is fresh. So similar is the lead character to the iconic protagonist usually played by Allen himself, so familiar all his complaints, jokes and wry observations of life, that the film comes off as a caricature of a Woody Allen movie, almost a self-parody. It's entertaining but it's too familiar to be special. I was glad when it was over.
MJ wasn't the only one to die on June 25th
My 24-year-old nephew, Brian Bradshaw, died in Afghanistan on June 25, killed by an IED, but you'd never have known it from the national media.
I cannot tell you how that silence added to the pain of losing this bright, funny, thoughtful young man, whom I remember so vividly as a toddler, wandering the house in cowboy boots and hat (and nothing else).
I suspect it's a pain shared by many of the 4,000-plus grieving families whose loved ones have sacrificed their lives in two wars that have largely disappeared from the news.
When I flew West for Brian's funeral, the mayor of his small home town personally met each of dozens of flights of arriving family members. Flags flew at half-staff. Six hundred people attended the funeral service.
That is partly a testament to Brian's remarkable capacity to connect with people and leave a lasting impression - his lopsided grins were so infectious. It is also a testament to the level of caring and support the town offered to my bereaved sister and her husband.
Even the desk clerk who checked us into our hotel attended, as a simple gesture of common humanity.
Along the route from the church to the cemetery, people came out of their houses to stand with their hands over their hearts or to wave small American flags. Cars going in the opposite direction stopped. Some drivers got out to stand in respect.
To all of them, I say "Thank you. You know how to honor those who serve to protect you."
Once I left town, though, soldier's deaths once again became invisible.
Because of the incredible kindness of the people of Steilacoom, Wash., however, I wonder how many other people, in Maine or Texas or New York City, would also have honored Brian and the other soldiers who have died in the last two weeks if the media had simply let them know:
Somebody's little boy died today. Someone's little girl found out today that Daddy is never coming home.
That news is hard to bear; when the nation they died for barely notices, it's crushing.
--Martha Gillis
CBS Sunday Morning
Watch the video.
A book I've been waiting for
Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future
By Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum
Basic Books, New York, July 2009
Hardcover, 209 Pages, $ 24.00 New
Extended Author Q & A Here
Forty years after Apollo 11 half of all Americans believe that humans were created in their present form less than ten thousand years ago. Senators, Representatives, and influential pundits proudly deride global warming and ridicule the overwhelming scientific evidence for anthropogenic climate change. Science sections in traditional media outlets are reduced or eliminated completely, while virtually every newspaper runs a daily astrology column. How did the most advanced scientific nation on earth end up like this, what are the consequences, and what can or should be done about it?
Read the review.
Young Bob Dylan
Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues is playing at the moment, a perfect example of why author comes from "authority" -- which is to say, the artist is a "performing self", to use a term that was the title of a book of critical essays popular among grad students in the 60s, and coming with this must be confidence, even arrogance; a clear individual voice; and considerable energy, as in full steam ahead, the critics be damned! Dylan had it, Ray Charles had it, Norman Mailer had it, Salinger had it, Faulkner had it, all important artists have it. Voice, authority, confidence, energy. My way or the highway.
I don't think our MFA programs teach enough recklessness. Everybody begins to sound the same. Literate, surely; but the same, the same, the same.
The plot thickens?
Our former mayor and his wife, both "establishment progressive" figures in the city, have come out in favor of the recall movement. This is EXACTLY what the recall has needed, some visible liberal support (other than what visibility yours truly has, which isn't much any more), and we can use as much as we can get to disassociate the movement from its homophobic fringe of support. I have no idea if this will help but I know it can't hurt. I still think the task is formidable, but perhaps doable. We'll see.
In the past week I finished two pieces for publication, both requested, a big deal since I don't write for publication these days: a contribution to an upcoming anthology on screenwriting craft, and an op ed piece I am calling "Why Progressives Should Support the Recall of Mayor Sam Adams," which now seems well timed. I really stress my argument that supporting both Adams and Obama is a contradiction in political values. I hope I can change some progressive minds.
Adams is a tragedy in classical terms since his own flaws have caused all of his problems. If he came clean in the beginning, resigned in order to have a new election, which he himself supported, I think he could have won again. He has a lot going for him. But out of fear, arrogance, ambition, or something else or combinations of these, he kept digging himself deeper and deeper into the black hole of lies and deception. I keep waiting for the kid to file a civil suit, Adams ended up using and betraying him so much. I haven't seen such a self-destructive politician since Nixon.
And the movement to get Nixon a street, 23rd Ave., has begun in earnest. Ah, what a delightful comedy of political bravado! When the chips come down, don't know if I could vote for a Nixon street or not but if I do it's in the spirit of balancing one absurd decision with another. There are so many constructive, creative ways to honor folks who deserve honoring, without making innocent small business people and residents pay the bill. Talk about knee-jerk old school ideological decision making! And Portland considers itself some kind of liberal vanguard. The bottle bill was creative. Making the beaches public, decades ago, was creative. Renaming a street is knee jerk nonsense. We've lost the creative edge we used to have.
blah blah blah.
Well, it's gray and rainy, what else is new in July in Portland? But we are supposed to have 80 degree weather through the week, so we'll see.
Going to church with H today, as I usually don't, to hear a sermon on the nature of evil, a subject of interest to me. Then we plan to see the new Woody Allen movie. Then, depending on the weather, I may canvas -- or consider my op ed piece a decent contribution to the cause for the weekend.
3 police officers are sitting across the way. Wish I had a recall petition on me. Would they sign it? Or are they not permitted to while on duty?
I just hope this recall business doesn't get ugly. There was minor ugliness reported on the news, a canvasser yesterday chased off with "homophobic" accusations. The recall movement has the support of gay publications but it also could use a very visible gay figure in active support. If nothing else, this is going to be a fascinating process to work in and witness. Democracy at work, after all. But man, the rules sure make it hard to pull off. I suppose this makes sense or recalls would happen all the time for trivial reasons.
I had a recent conversation with an articulate bright doctor in town, a progressive, who was against renaming 39th, and he told me as soon as that battle was over (he lost), he'd get behind the recall movement with all his energy. I wish I had taken his card. I really dug his mind and his style.
Are there more progressives with common sense in town or more ideologues? We'll find out.
Another summer task is to clean my office. I want to get rid of 75% of what is in there. I started on one small bookcase. It's a summer long job but what I'm done, hopefully I'll look like I've begun the transition to traveling light. I remember one move I made years ago, driven by the dictum that if it didn't fit in my VW bug, it didn't go. Tough love ha ha.
In the past week I finished two pieces for publication, both requested, a big deal since I don't write for publication these days: a contribution to an upcoming anthology on screenwriting craft, and an op ed piece I am calling "Why Progressives Should Support the Recall of Mayor Sam Adams," which now seems well timed. I really stress my argument that supporting both Adams and Obama is a contradiction in political values. I hope I can change some progressive minds.
Adams is a tragedy in classical terms since his own flaws have caused all of his problems. If he came clean in the beginning, resigned in order to have a new election, which he himself supported, I think he could have won again. He has a lot going for him. But out of fear, arrogance, ambition, or something else or combinations of these, he kept digging himself deeper and deeper into the black hole of lies and deception. I keep waiting for the kid to file a civil suit, Adams ended up using and betraying him so much. I haven't seen such a self-destructive politician since Nixon.
And the movement to get Nixon a street, 23rd Ave., has begun in earnest. Ah, what a delightful comedy of political bravado! When the chips come down, don't know if I could vote for a Nixon street or not but if I do it's in the spirit of balancing one absurd decision with another. There are so many constructive, creative ways to honor folks who deserve honoring, without making innocent small business people and residents pay the bill. Talk about knee-jerk old school ideological decision making! And Portland considers itself some kind of liberal vanguard. The bottle bill was creative. Making the beaches public, decades ago, was creative. Renaming a street is knee jerk nonsense. We've lost the creative edge we used to have.
blah blah blah.
Well, it's gray and rainy, what else is new in July in Portland? But we are supposed to have 80 degree weather through the week, so we'll see.
Going to church with H today, as I usually don't, to hear a sermon on the nature of evil, a subject of interest to me. Then we plan to see the new Woody Allen movie. Then, depending on the weather, I may canvas -- or consider my op ed piece a decent contribution to the cause for the weekend.
3 police officers are sitting across the way. Wish I had a recall petition on me. Would they sign it? Or are they not permitted to while on duty?
I just hope this recall business doesn't get ugly. There was minor ugliness reported on the news, a canvasser yesterday chased off with "homophobic" accusations. The recall movement has the support of gay publications but it also could use a very visible gay figure in active support. If nothing else, this is going to be a fascinating process to work in and witness. Democracy at work, after all. But man, the rules sure make it hard to pull off. I suppose this makes sense or recalls would happen all the time for trivial reasons.
I had a recent conversation with an articulate bright doctor in town, a progressive, who was against renaming 39th, and he told me as soon as that battle was over (he lost), he'd get behind the recall movement with all his energy. I wish I had taken his card. I really dug his mind and his style.
Are there more progressives with common sense in town or more ideologues? We'll find out.
Another summer task is to clean my office. I want to get rid of 75% of what is in there. I started on one small bookcase. It's a summer long job but what I'm done, hopefully I'll look like I've begun the transition to traveling light. I remember one move I made years ago, driven by the dictum that if it didn't fit in my VW bug, it didn't go. Tough love ha ha.
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