Our best holiday gift was being able to travel south to Ashland, OR, to meet Liv and Scott and The Two Best Grandkids for parts of two days. We had a great time and hated to see it end. We look forward to seeing them all again a few times during the next year.
A little video interpretation of a Christmas classic by The Drifters to cheer up your season.
Okay, I like Christmas lights more than most people. Our modest lining of the house eaves, flower boxes, doorway, and a couple of bushes with LEDs make up the best display on the block. The warm lights seem like an indispensible part of the quiet celebration of the Season of Lights for both Christians and Jews. They remind me that hope is always shining in even the darkest corners of the world.
Some people, however, seem to believe that Christmas is the Fourth of July. And so, even the simple hymn “Amazing Grace” gets a fireworks dance treatment in this display. I see nothing to remind us of a humble child born in a humble barn on a cold night a couple thousand years ago.
On Friday, Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the bill passed earlier in the week to permit the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The signing ceremony took place at All Souls Unitarian Church, a building familiar to us because it is a block from the apartment where we lived until the summer of 2008 and was part of the view out our living room window.
The mayor reminded those in attendance that his parents, who were present, could not have married 40 years ago in many states because they are a mixed-race couple. The bill was supported by over 300 ministers in the city, many of whom had complained that not allowing them to perform marriages restricted their religious freedom.
Because the District of Columbia is not a state (despite the fact that it’s population is larger than that of Wyoming), Congress has dictatorial power over approving or disapproving everything they do. As an example, when we lived there a Republican Congress has even been able to suppress the results of an election because they knew what the outcome would be and they didn’t like it. In this case, Congress has 30 days to intervene if they find it necessary. Experts do not expect that to happen and we will keep our fingers crossed.
A city always in the forefront of civil rights, Washington voted some time ago to recognize all marriages performed outside its jurisdiction. The area has a high concentration of gay couples, not just in the city but in its Maryland and Virginia suburbs. This is a major win for the movement for marriage equality and we heartily congratulate the city council and the mayor for their courage and commitment to civil and human rights for all.
The video below is of the signing of the bill, produced as part of the church’s Standing on the Side of Love campaign. The sense of joy on the part of clergy, politicians, and attendees is palpable.
I read today of the death last month of Jeanne-Claude, the wife and collaborator of the artist Christo. Her husband, knows for his large-scale temporary art projects throughout the world, often said that he could do nothing without her. Theirs was indeed a deep artistic collaboration.
Born on the same day (he in Bulgaria and she in Morocco), the couple met in Paris in the 1950s, when he was a struggling young refuge from his native country. He had already been working under the single name “Christo” and continued to use that name—at her insistence, because she thought it was catchy and would help establish him—until the 1990s, when he insisted at all projects carry the signature “Christo and Jeanne-Claude,” including those done before the 1990s.
Her huge personality and carrot-colored hair were well loved in New York, where the couple lived. At her death, they were continuing planning for “Over the River,” a series of panels to hang over the Arkansas River in Colorado. We have a poster of a drawing of this project and hope to travel to Colorado to see it when it is completed.
In the winter of 2005 Mike and I were lucky enough to travel from our home in Washington, DC, to Manhattan to experience “The Gates,” one of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s most memorable pieces. We wandered through the paths of Central Park, under some of the 7,500 banners reminiscent of the color of her hair installed overhead in a monumental effort that spanned 23 miles. We visited on a Saturday afternoon, with thousands of cheery New Yorkers and their families. The next morning our host woke us up to tell us it had snowed. We dressed quickly and walked the half-block to the west side of the the park. We were nearly the only ones there. It was a magical moment we will never forget. With her husband, Jeanne-Claude left an indelible mark on the world.
Further reading;
| Buck and Mike at “The Gates,” Central Park, New York, 2005 |
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Today was a really, really bad day, running errands without much success, not quite getting the holiday spirit despite hearing the “Silent Night Cha-Cha” and that wretched song about the kid who drums for Jesus (presumably waking up the baby and making him scream like I do whenever I hear it).
But four sightings from the car caught my attention (even evoked thin smiles) making me glad I cart my camera pretty much everywere.
First was a guy standing on the corner near the trendy and upscale West Elm store singing “Deck the Halls” with a full voice, wearing red antlers.
The second was a marvelously handpainted Buick stopped at a light next to me. It evoked my recent blog about my affection for art cars (here). It was so colorful and whimsical I couldn’t help but love it.
The third was also a car, this one with a Hanukkah menorah on top, with the correct number of bulbs lit (as we’re on the sixth day of Hanukkah). It also had a nice greeting from Chabad of Oregon. I specially like the fact that I snapped the picture in front of a Moroccan store with a camel in the window.
The fourth will just require your imagination. Merging on the Ross Island Bridge (too dangerous to photograph) I saw an old guy holding a hand-lettered cardboard sign that said, “Your Message Could be Here” and a URL I missed because I was driving.
Ah, I love Portland.
You might remember Britt Savage from my blog earlier in the year about the dress she designed and built out of IRS tax forms. (See the blog post here and see pictures and the story of the tax dress here.) It was the best use I’ve ever seen for tax forms. She held an eBay auction and gave the money to charity.
Well, she’s back! This time, the ex-Playboy Bunny, gas station attendant, and $100,000 Star Search Female Vocalist Champion has created a wonderful dress made from Christmas gift wrap. She is wearing it to a singing gig in Nashville tonight, then selling it on eBay and donating the procedes to charity. Check out the auction and more pictures of the dress here. It’s a great gift for someone for Christmas.
It is unique and wonderful and fits within our Reduce/Reuse/Recycle ethic. More and more artist are beginning to recycle materials nowadays. I wish more fashion folks would do the same thing. It’s responsible, inventive, and great fun. Best of luck, Britt. How about a dress this spring made out of Easter grass?
Read a nice article and interview on Nashville Music Buzz and check out her music on iTunes and Amazon.com by searching for “Britt Savage.”
There are still Americans who believe our current climate changes are just part of the nature order of things, an that we should just learn to live with it. They deny the reality of global warming, as there are deniers of evolution, the Holocaust, and the death of Elvis. Americans are especially good at denying their addictions, especially to the fossil fuels that are the major causes of damage to our home.
The United States has traditionally blocked worldwide acceptance of strong environmental protections as “not in our national interest;” in other words “we don’t want to change our selfish way of life.” Island nations that are sinking below the rising oceans or being ravaged annually by storms don’t have such luxury. Perhaps it’s time to put aside our belief in our superiority and invincibility and begin to think globally.
I’m hoping the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, which ends this week, results in some sweeping changes that will allow my grandchildren to see a world at least as nice as the one I have grown up in. At the current rate of decline, theirs will be a very different, more depressing, place.
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. We always light the candles each night on our nice brass menorah (well, we sometimes miss a night) and chant the traditional Hebrew Hanukkah prayers. Although not a particularly important Jewish holiday, it is one of my favorites. The Hahukkah story is beautiful and has many important lessons for us today about faith, obedience, and pride in our own heritage.
This is the only time Mike and I have spent the first night of Hanukkah apart in our 12 years together. (He’s visiting his folks in sunny Florida, for which I may not forgive him since it’s currently 20 degrees here in Portland.) I dispensed with the lighting of real candles at sunset this evening and instead “lit” the candles on the mini geeky LED menorah I bought for him this year. Electric menorahs are common, as they are safer and still meet the commandment to “kindle the Hanukkah lights” without burning down the house. I still did the prayers, by myself, remembering to do the extra shehecheyanu blessing on the first night to give thanks for the gift of life and for living to celebrate the season once again, and “lighting the candles” in the correct order. I even remembered to put it in the window for the world to see, as is tradition.
Still, without my own special Jew at home it just isn’t the same.
Today we celebrate Human Rights Day, the anniversary of the 1948 signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is possibly the most important individual document ever created by the UN and ratified by member countries. It recognizes the humanity of us all and grants basic rights and protections to all people around the world. The first few words of this powerful document—“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”—seem basic, but the concept is still not accepted around much of the world.
There is no better example of the importance of the struggle for basic human rights today than Uganda. A bill before the country’s legislature would make homosexual sex a death-penalty offense. Just being gay could get you a life sentence. If you know someone who is gay and don’t report them within 24 hours, you can get three years in prison. Yes, including family members. As a side effect, we can anticipate an exponential rise in AIDS in a country that until now has had the best prevention program in Africa. “Moral” extremism will kill the country, as it has in so many others.
Read about the Uganda situation in this CNN article.
Amnesty International, the human rights organization I worked with for years, is sponsoring a special Global Write-a-Thon today. Please give a moment of your time to help.
Many people are posting their Christmas wish lists so friends and family have some hints. I don’t have one, so here is my list of things not to give me. Thanks, anyway, for thinking of me.
| Kilt Beach Towel | Obama Chia Pet | Hello Kitty Toilet Seat |
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Viagra Switch Plate | Revolver Hair Dryer | USB-powered Toothbrush |
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