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BOOK POWER TO BRAIN POWER

We were talking about books the other day, talking about book power, in our little salon.
You know it’s a salon when the other people have thousands of books in their home after a downsize.
How do you downsize a book collection?
Don’t ask me, I just make another bookcase, but there comes a time.
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PORTLAND RECHARGE PRIMER

Walk down Broadway and you can feel the Portland pulse, the Portland recharge, which is no surprise when you see the volcano map.
But, more than that, the city feels primed for a renaissance, a Portland Renaissance.
And that means an Oregon Renaissancea?

 

. . . new growth of activity or interest in something, especially art, literature, or music

 

Start by turning left here and going down Broadway toward Burnside.

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JOIN OREGON HISTORY FOR THE PEOPLE

Oregon history is full of familiar names and places we remember from Mrs. Kraus’ third grade class.
Statues around the state show them as they were.
Their exploits are logged in libraries and museums.
The Oregon Historical Society at 1200 SW Park, Portland Oregon is both museum and library.
That’s a 2 for 1 if you’re keeping score.
Yes, it’s open to the public, but if you join you’d be a part of yesterday’s Summer Membership Celebration where history was on display inside and out.

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NAME RECOGNITION IN AMERICA EXPLAINED, TO BE OR NOT

Two nights ago I watched Hamnet from the blue velvet couch.
It’s about Shakespeare, which isn’t a spoiler. At least it shouldn’t be.
With one of the more helpful movie openings, it explained that Hamnet and Hamet are the same name. The same.
So I was set. Hamnet it is?
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NOT LOST, BUT STILL A HISTORY OF LOSING

You are not lost if you still have enough gas in the tank and sunlight in the sky to keep going.
But, not everyone agrees.
I chalk it up to those who’ve experienced enough losing to know the symptoms.
They’ve seen losers, been losers, and know what they’re talking about when they call you a loser.
It’s up to you to agree. Don’t do that.
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toughen up

MILLENNIAL SELF CARE = SELF RESPONSIBILITY

  You know it’s not pledge week when NPR rags millennials about ‘self-care.’ Instead of pledging money to them, they’ll buy an ‘experience’ instead. Cue Jimi Hendrix? Gracy Obuchowicz says it’s more than just social media that has pushed millennials to the forefront of the self-care discussion. “Our generation has seen enough,” she said. “People […]

CDC SAYS OPIOIDS SHOULDN’T BE FIRST CHOICE? THAT HURTS.

Pain relief moves from legal heroin to physical therapy, exercise, and over the counter pills? Who knew? I wrote a post about an author’s reading called BLACK TAR HEROIN, SAM QUINONES, AND DREAMLAND. Sam Quinones showed up in Powell’s City of Books and talked about pill mills supplying zombie customers with their opioid prescriptions; about […]

CANCER ROOM: BEST OF TIMES, WORST OF TIMES

The biggest motivation for writing a cancer room memoir like ‘LICKING CANCER, The Full Response’ is paying tribute to the people I met in there.   From staff to patients, it’s a team focused on the same goal, until it goes off the tracks, and it does in one way or the other for everyone. […]

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boomer years

SEX, DRUGS, AND ROCK AND ROLL. OR JUST DRUGS

How To Live Next To A Heroin House. A move to the suburbs in most cities means a move away from drugs and crime. Not Portland, Oregon. My inner eastside apartment was too dangerous for a young family. Houses had metal barred windows and bad yards. The juice was never changing. It was a bad […]

BOOMER BUCKET LIST: SNOW MACHINE

Be Careful Or You Might Ride Your Boomer Bucket List Right Into A Bucket. Have you made your bucket list, the things you want to do and see before you kick the bucket? If not, you’ve got time. What’s the difference between a normal bucket list and a boomer bucket list? Call it age. Call […]

THE COMMAND VOICE

You know it forever if you’ve heard the Command Voice. The voice of leadership is the Command Voice. You follow instructions better when it comes from that place. If you joined the Gerald Ford Army of 1974 and did basic at Fort Ord, you heard the command voice, you heard General Patton outline what to […]

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buckle up

THE PORTLAND RIVIERA ON NORTH MISSISSIPPI

Is there such a thing as the Portland Riviera? When you hear the words French Riviera what comes to mind? Movie stars? Warm, sandy, beaches? France? How about the Spanish Riviera? It’s in the same neighborhood, same water, as the French Riviera, but not as famous. These two Rivieras don’t have signs designated at ‘clothing […]

SASQUATCH BIG RIG vs REAL LIFE RIG

    How does the Sasquatch Music Festival pull off a three day stand without the drama of conflict and violence? It is America, but no violence? How can that happen?   The rest of the world needs to know and maybe they can tamp down the problems in their neighborhood.   It starts with […]

OREGON LOVE IN THE DISTRICT

Reluctant traveler finds Oregon love on the road. The best part of traveling to the other side of North America is answering the question, “Where are you from.” The easy answer is, “Oregon.” The one that gets across is, “Portland, Oregon.” Saying anything else needs explaining, like Tigard, but since I get mail marked Portland, […]

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