The Buck and Mike Blog

On Tuesday we stopped by Portland’s Museum of Contemporary Craft with a couple of visiting artist friends. I spent a few minutes in the museum a year ago when I first arrived, but it was good to share it with friends.

The Museum of Contemporary Craft has been around since 1937 and so it shows a maturity and depth of understanding of crafts that you would expect. It is not a big place, but the space is full of light and the pieces are beautifully exhibited across two floors. There is no admission charge, which is much appreciated by students, starving artists, and we under/unemployed souls. A bonus is The Gallery, a fine museum shop with some superb craft pieces, books, videos, cards, and other things available for purchase. Some of the craft pieces were done by artists in the current shows.

One of the current shows, Call + Response, was especially good. I was particularly taken by the amazing wood structures by Karl Burkheimer and stunning textiles by Jiseon Lee Isbara. (The photos below are borrowed from the museum’s web site.)

Karl Burkheimer, Five Fourths, 2008. Wood, birch plywood, rice paper; 83 x 62 x 62 inches	Detail of Jiseon Lee Isbara’s “Scattered,” 2008–09; Cotton fabric, cotton and silk; thread, hand and machine stitched, inkjet printed; 2.5 × 3.5 inches to 8.5 × 11 inches each

This little jewel of a museum should be on your To Do list whether you are a Portland-area resident or a visitor.

Museum of Contemporary Craft, Karl Burkheimer, Jiseon Lee Isbara, Portland

A report on my birthday week:

I spent most of the week training some Dept. of Transportation people in Seattle, WA. I decided to take the train because I had never done so. It was a nice change of pace and the scenery was beautiful.

The Portland train station, built in 1896, is one of the oldest continually-operating train stations in the country. One of the highlights was gliding past the Tacoma Narrows bridge just before the sun set.

The training was at the Henry Jackson Federal Building. It was very busy and a bit stressful, but I was to spend some time checking in with some old friends. Part of the fun included dinner with artist and buddy Marjorie Masel, her boyfriend, and a family friend from Chile. They took me out to a lovely dinner in advance of my birthday.

Thursday afternoon I had a few hours between my last training session and my train back to Portland, so Marjorie and I went to the Frye Museum for an exhibit about puppets titled, appropriately, The Puppet Show. A few interesting things, but the highlight was hanging out with Marjorie and discussing art. I returned home pretty tired on Amtrak Thursday evening.

On Friday, our friend Maggie from Washington, DC, arrived for a short visit. We picked her up at the airport and, after a lunch stop, went directly to Multmomah Falls, our favorite Oregon Wonder. On the way, we stopped at Vista House, built in 1916-18 as a view point over the Columbia River Gorge and a “comfort station” for visitors. (More on Vista House in a later blog post.)

After a short rest, we headed to Hopworks Urban Brewery for dinner, where I watched Mike and Maggie test 10 new micro-brews. Guess who was the designated driver.

After dinner we headed to Mock Crest Tavern to see our favorite band, Sneakin’ Out, in their first engagement since returning from the national tour that took them to Carnegie Hall in NYC, Wolf Trap in Washington, DC, and several other great locations.

Saturday we dragged ourselves, and Maggie, to the Portland Japanese Gardens, a tour of the city, and dinner at our place. Then we headed to the Living Room Theatres for a showing of Coraline in 3D, then to Voodoo Donuts before heading home to collapse and feast on donuts.

On Sunday, we drove Maggie through some of our favorite neighborhoods and had brunch at Vita Cafe, in the Alberta Arts District, before heading to the airport to drop her off. We had a great time with Maggie, though I’m sure she is as exhausted as we are.

Train travel, good food with good friends, art, movies; gifts from Mike, Mom, and Marjorie; cards from friends and relatives; calls from Mom and some siblings; flowers from Liv and Scott and the world’s most perfect grandbabes; a visit from Maggie the Party Lady. What more could one ask for a birthday week?

Polititians regularly change their positions and flip-flop around on issues like fish pulled from a lake. Often it’s hard to tell what a person actually believes and stands for. (Mitt Romney, are you listening?) When a politition changes his position, I usually ignore it because it’s a matter of expediency. Okay, so I’m cynical.

So changing your position is easy and temporary. Changing your heart and mind, however, is different. It is personal, sincere, and believable. When a person changes his or her heart, I believe we are obligated to listen. Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd has done just that on the subject of marriage equality. I think his statement merits reprinting and we are obligated to listen.

Rights, responsibilities and love

Op-ed By U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd

Meriden-Record Journal
http://forums.ctrecord.com/showthread.php?t=3739
June 21, 2009

Public officials aren’t supposed to change their minds. But I firmly believe that it’s important to keep learning. Last week, while I was in Connecticut meeting with members of the gay and lesbian community from across the state, I had the opportunity to tell them what I’ve learned about marriage, and about equality.

While I’ve long been for extending every benefit of marriage to same-sex couples, I have in the past drawn a distinction between a marriage-like status (”civil unions”) and full marriage rights.

The reason was simple: I was raised to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. And as many other Americans have realized as they’ve struggled to reconcile the principle of fairness with the lessons they learned early in life, that’s not an easy thing to overcome.

But the fact that I was raised a certain way just isn’t a good enough reason to stand in the way of fairness anymore.
» Read the rest of this entry »

Christopher Dodd, Meriden-Record Journal

The campaign and vote on California’s Proposition 8 last fall revealed—and caused—some major fractures in the Mormon community. Never before had there been a move to remove any group’s rights from the state constitution, guaranteeing it would be hotly contested on many levels. With huge backing from Church headquarters and the Mormon community, the proposition narrowly succeeded and gays and lesbians lost their right to civil marriage.

In many cases, the fractures between friends, family members, and coworkers were deep. The Church announced that righteousness had prevailed and that the proximate demise of the family unit was spared. This angered gays and lesbians, who were by implication not righteous and were out to destroy marriage and families. The wounds were rubbed with salt when LDS headquarters asked for civility and sounded the victim trumpet. This further awakened memories of ecclasiastical abuse, broken homes, and damaged souls. The chasm just widened.

A new web site, www.LDSapology.org calls for reconciliation on this issue. It contains a petition that will be delivered to the First Presidency on the first anniversary of the passage of Prop. 8. It calls for forgiveness on all sides, recognition of responsibility, and a beginning to the healing. I think it’s a good start and I recommend you visit www.LDSapology.org, read the material, and ask for a reconciliation. We don’t have to forget, but we have to forgive. Otherwise, our families really will be destroyed.

“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” Hannah Arendt, writer and Holocaust surviver

Proposition 8, Mormon, Prop. 8

A fun story in Wednesday’s Oregonian tells about a small gesture of kindness:

Margaret Haberman, The Oregonian
Wednesday June 10, 2009, 3:00 PM

It’s amazing what a small gesture can do.

Someone left a neatly sealed envelope on a stack of free papers in one of the boxes outside Powell’s Books. I happened to be the lucky one who reached in and found it.

On the outside, someone had written: “Finders Keepers!” In smaller lettering on the side: “Remind someone you love them, when they least expect it.”

The envelope was sealed. Something was inside — it felt a little chunky. With a message like that on the front, it could only be good, right?

The chunkiness turned out to be a zipper baggie. Inside: a $10 bill.

“Countdown” is the fourth—and last—in the series of entries in this year’s Film Board of Canada contest. In it we are asked to think about how we deal with our fading abilities, part of the inevitability of aging and life’s progression.

Thanks to the Film Board of Canada and sponsor YouTube for providing avenues of support for such talented filmmakers during a time in our history when artists are underappreciated and underfunded.

Film Board of Canada

Today’s Film Board of Canada contest finalist addresses the existential dilemma: being alive requires us to reach our full potential, but can we reach too far?

Second in the series of Film Board of Canada finalists is “The Black Hole” a short parable warning us about what can happen when things seem too good to be true.
The Black Hole (2:51)

Film Board of Canada, The Black Hole

We have all read in our history books about the grand buildings, public landscaping, scenic road engineering and construction, the public campgrounds that were built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers, eager for for any steady work. I have relatives who worked for the CCC. The government hired filmmakers to shoot training and booster films, some managing to create art out of chaos. Painters were called into service to decorate civic buildings, giving us some of the most amazing buildings of the century. (More on that another day.)

Canada understands that a country’s culture must move forward. The National Film Board of Canada has supported filmmaking for many years. During that time companies have stepped forward with some minor sponsorship support. The films are cutting edge and engaging on the most basic human level.

I’d like to share a quite distinct film by one of the finalists. In it, we are introduced to Sebastian, a new selfless hero. I’ll link to a new film each day this week until the last one.

Civilian Conservation Corps, CCC

Nowadays, many people who offer free items on Craigslist ask that the items go to charity or to someone who really needs the items. Looking for free wood scraps for fireplace burning next fall, I came across this entry. I’ve seen the ad before. The person bakes for people who are in need of bread. A very kind act in tough times, it reminds me of the stories by relatives of feeding transients at the back door during the Great Depression of the 1930s. My great-aunt said she always baked an extra loaf because she knew there would be someone who needed it.

Also, see our earlier blog about another Portland hero. If you see or hear about a business or individual who shows extra kindness during these tough economic times, please share it with us.

This afternoon New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signed legislation that allows marriage licenses for all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation. He had held off signing the bill passed by both houses of the state legislature until he had assurances that religious organizations would not be forced to officiate in marriages that run counter to their beliefs. Of course, the clergy has never been forced to perfom weddings they don’t want to. Anyway, you can now get a civil and a religious marriage license–whatever that means. Further, civil unions already performed in New Hamphire will now be considered to be regular marriages. The signing of the legislation makes New Hampshire the sixth state to grant full marriage equality. The only remaining New England state is tiny Rhode Island. Bills are pending in New York and New Jersey.

Links to Resources:

• The New Hampshire story in the New York Times.
• Maps showing the status of the move toward full marriage equality in the United States.
• Status of the marriage equality movement internationally.

New Hampshire, John Lynch

I am proud of my Mormon roots and everyone knows I really love my church and my people, so I was dissappointed when it entered California’s Proposition 8 fight last fall. I said then that it would end badly with no winners. If the Proposition passed, people would be angry at their interference and it would hurt the Church. If the proposition lost, the Church and its members would have spent a lot of time and money for nothing. Win or lose, it would tear apart many families, contribute to more suicides, and estrange members from their friends. The Church’s involvement was not a true indication of the tolerance, kindness, generousity, and patience of the Mormons I know and love. So there was no winning.

I also warned that if the Church used scare tactics and spread half-truths in the battle against marriage equality, it would have the same weapons used against it. I was right on all counts. Now they are crying “Foul!” and playing the martyr card. As this article points out, you can’t have it both ways.

‘The Mormons Are Coming!’

Supporters of Same-Sex Marriage Trumpet the Church’s Work Against It

By Karl Vick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 29, 2009

LOS ANGELES — As more states take up the debate on same-sex marriage, some advocates of legalization are taking a very specific lesson from California, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dominated both fundraising and door-knocking to pass a ballot initiative that barred such unions.

With the battle moving east, some advocates are shouting that fact in the streets, calculating that on an issue that eventually comes down to comfort levels, more people harbor apprehensions about Mormons than about homosexuality.

“The Mormons are coming! The Mormons are coming!” warned ads placed on newspaper Web sites in three Eastern states last month. The ad was rejected by sites in three other states, including Maine, where the Kennebec Journal informed Californians Against Hate that the copy “borders on insulting and denigrating a whole set of people based on their religion.”
» Read the rest of this entry »

Mormon, Proposition 8, Karl Vick, Washington Post, same-sex marriage, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Californians Against Hate