cathleen's place

Enough

2008-07-23T17:42:00.001-04:00

I’ve decided blogging isn’t for me. I’ll leave this blog here to be a nice reminder for me of my struggle to quit smoking. I’ve enjoyed finding unusual things to share with any who happened to stop by. I’ve also enjoyed telling about our travels. And of course, who doesn’t like to rant about the nuttiness and injustices in the world?

There simply are too many blogs. There are millions of them, millions of people with something to say. I no longer wish to add to the noise, confusion, whining, opinions, and conceit.

The journey

2008-07-13T01:18:00.004-04:00

"To engage with the summons of our souls is to step into the deepest ocean, uncertain whether we will be able to swim to some new, distant shore. And yet, until we have consented to swim beyond the familiar lights of the port left behind, we will never arrive at a newer shore."

~James Hollis, from Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life

I cried, I laughed, I enjoyed every minute of it, over and over

2008-07-11T17:02:00.008-04:00

This is the best video I've ever seen. Best = most uplifting, happiest, most amazing in it's scope, and even most educational. I watch it over and over. (The video is Dancing 2008, the image is from his earlier video.)

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

I hope you'll go visit Matt. His site is wonderful.

Oh, and buy some Stride gum.

Just for laughs

2008-07-09T18:40:00.003-04:00

I found out what lolcats are and I'm addicted. I'm usually a little late for these parties, but oh well, who cares? Amirite?

And who doesn't like Maxine? Oh, really?

Ron Mueck

2008-07-09T16:01:00.003-04:00

Artists. They do the most amazing things. Like:

Ron Mueck - For more of the funniest videos, click here

A sort of funny thing, but not exactly

2008-07-09T15:03:00.005-04:00

I read an article about lawsuits against Wal-Mart (or is it WalMart, I can't remember and am too lazy to look it up and they keep changing it). It looks like the company could face over $2 billion in fines. Yowza! I hate WalMart. I feel like I lose about 100 IQ points just walking in the door, not to mention feeling guilty for being willing to purchase anything that they sell.

The article is by Inspired Protagonist over at Seventh Generation. Here's part of the article:

Altogether, Wal-Mart faces more than 70 lawsuits, filed throughout the country, in which employees have accused the company of making them work off the clock or miss required breaks. Cheating people who make so little is pretty unconscionable. But to learn that the practice was part of a national strategy, well, that’s a sad statement on big business.

Now, here's the part that I thought was sort of funny: In the comments section, there are WalMart apologists! Yes! It's so weird to me that people would go to an article in the Seventh Generation Newsletter and write nice things about WalMart, or worse, criticize people who are damning WalMart. It's sort of funny because it reminds me of $cientology trolls who make a habit of flaming all over stories/articles/comment sections that are critical of $cientology. But not exactly funny because it's disgusting.

I'm just saying.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela

2008-07-07T21:22:00.001-04:00

Like guitar music? Like new, young, fresh musicians? Try this:

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A really good and important rant

2008-07-07T12:32:00.002-04:00

I have plenty of rants. Plenty. Maybe you're as tired of them as I am.

So go and listen to Melissa's rant. She's got something on her mind and I think it would be valuable for you to hear about it.

Anonymous strikes again!!

2008-07-03T13:18:00.006-04:00

This is the best Anonymous video so far. Nothing shows how much fun they are having like this great piece. It's 4 1/2 minutes of pure pleasure.

Your Mission: Spy vs Sci from LRonHu88ard on Vimeo.

Join us on July 12 for Spy vs. Sci. It's a very fun way to change the world.

The Kid Safe Chemicals Act

2008-07-03T11:53:00.002-04:00

From Environmental Working Group:

"The human race is now polluted with hundreds of industrial chemicals with little or no understanding of the consequences. Babies are born pre-polluted with as many as 300 industrial chemicals in their bodies when they enter the world. Testing by Environmental Working Group has identified 455 chemicals in people, and again, no one has any idea if these exposures are safe."

Do you get it? It seems to me that global warming isn't going to matter -- our species won't be able to reproduce in a few generations. Visit EWG and see what you think.

Exploring Portland: Audubon Society

2008-07-02T19:26:00.007-04:00

Kim and I and Jeff spent an hour on Sunday looking at possible houses, even though we've made up our minds that Blueberry Hill is the absolute best. I haven't written about this house, but as soon as it's ours, I'll show you why we held out for it.

After wasting some gas driving all over Portland, we needed some good physical exercise. Haris had told me that a visit to the Audubon Society was a must, so that's where we headed. It's at 5151 NW Cornell Rd., right on the edge of Forest Park. I wanted to see some rescued birds and hike in the lush Oregon primeval forest -- and I wasn't disappointed.

I love trees. Even that awful tree in our front yard in Clearwater -- we spent hours pulling up the sprouted seeds from that tree -- was truly a beautiful tree.

That's our favorite bird, the turkey vulture. This poor guy was enjoying some road kill when a motorist tried to make him into someone else's dinner. He won't be released -- he was too badly injured. But he's extremely well cared for here.

I'm a big fan of helping folks who are doing good works. The Audubon Society has been around forever and I've never really paid much attention to all the good they do and the myriad ways they improve our world. So I dropped a few thousand dollars in the gift store to help them out.

Just because

2008-07-01T20:16:00.006-04:00

"Greg thought he was so clever to make this rigid mesh bag to hold our clams alive on our boat anchor while we are at the island--- but the sunflower sea stars are more clever, as they can eat the clams right through the bag!"

This is from Lauri, our lovely friend up north. You can read more about her life in Alaska here.

Alien Boy...

2008-06-27T14:19:00.004-04:00

...is the name of a documentary film being made here in Portland. Matt Davis is the writer and Brian Lindstrom is the director. (The picture to the right is James Chasse in 2004.)

From the Alien Boy site:

In September 2006 James Chasse was tackled by three law officers on a downtown street corner before a dozen eyewitnesses. James was not suspected of a crime, he had not committed a crime.

The officers beat him, kicked him, broke 17 ribs and his shoulder. They used a Taser on him repeatedly. He screamed for mercy. The officers thought James was a drug dealer, a homeless person, a non-person, a ghost. They were wrong. James was a poet, a musician, he had a family which loved him, friends, neighbors, dreams and hopes. He was an artist; a small, shy, gentle person. And he was a person with schizophrenia.

James was sent by paramedics to jail. Jail nurses refused to admit him. He died en route to a hospital in a police car driven by the same officers who had earlier beaten him.

A grand jury refused to indict those officers. The City and County refused to terminate or discipline them.

Alien Boy is a feature length documentary film about the life and death of James Chasse.

I'd like to encourage everyone who reads this to support the efforts of the filmmakers to get this project done. That, of course, means $$. Help them out. It's important. And read up on what happened to James Chasse. Whew.

Road trip: Anna, Illinois

2008-06-25T15:38:00.014-04:00

After our night in Chattanooga, we drove to Paducah, Kentucky (a short trip, only 267 miles). The next morning, we decided that a side trip was in order, so we headed out early and took a county road instead of the freeway.

One of the coolest parts of a long road trip is not being in a hurry -- feeling that exploration is time well spent, especially in small towns. We chose Anna, Illinois. Just because.

A little research into the town of Anna tells us that it was a sundown town (non-whites were not allowed to live in or pass through the town after the sun went down) and that as of the 2000 census, Anna is 96.2% white. Anna is the name of the founder's wife, but there is a story that in 2005 a store clerk told James Loewen (the inventor of the neologism "sundown town") that Anna stood for "ain't no niggers allowed." Yuck. The town has a total area of 3.4 square miles and the area around it is primarily farm land, as it has been since it was founded in 1854. (If you want bigger pictures, click 'em.)

Of course we had to stop for breakfast on our way to Anna. Somewhere outside of town we found this little place and had us some greasy eggs and really bad coffee. Yum. At least the waitress was nice. The rest of the people looked at us like we were from Mars.

The first thing we saw when we got to Anna proper was this antique store. It turned out that inside was the very famous Anna Kirkpatrick Pottery Museum. The pottery itself is fascinating and the stories about the two brothers who created it are fabulous. If you're into old stuff and funny stuff, follow the link -- you'll love it.

After an hour of Mr. Isom's great storytelling, we wandered around the little town. It's mostly old buildings in various stages of decay, but it's got life and spirit and I'll wager their 4th of July celebrations offer up the best BBQ, apple pie and fireworks you'll find anywhere.

These are the kinds of pictures I like -- sort of for flavor, you know? Flowers, old bricks, windows, and so on. It's an interesting little town. I suspect it would be okay to live there, everybody knowing your business, hearing every detail of other people's lives. Hmmm, but not for me.

We wanted to follow a road along the Mississippi River up to St. Louis, but we never could quite find it, in fact, we got really lost. Oh well. We saw some beautiful countryside and we did get a glimpse of the Mighty River.

It was a long day. We drove over 500 miles that day. And the first town we got to outside of St. Louis happened to be hosting some gigantic soccer thing and every hotel/motel was booked. We got back on the road. Arghh. Gotta love it. That's a road trip at it's finest.

Slayde spends the summer in Juneau

2008-06-17T16:57:00.011-04:00

Slayde and Ben have gone off to the far north for the summer. She is doing an internship with a law firm there. Have I mentioned that she's going to slay dragons for us? It's an environmental law law firm. Heh heh. Don't we love it?

Well, Slayde and Ben are both outdoor enthusiasts -- fishing, hiking, shooting Bambi, oh wait, that's not them. So here they are, out in some serious wilderness, right outside their front door.

Slayde writes:
"Here are some pictures from our first couple of weeks here. The first is the view down our street as I walk to work, with Mt. Juneau in the background. The day is characteristically overcast - its rained pretty much every day, and it's COLD.

Next is a wharf where Ben has gone fishing a few times, and a bald eagle that came to visit when someone (unfortunately not Ben) caught a salmon. The eagle came flying in really low - I wish I had been able to get a picture of it as it was swooping in.

Then there is one of Ben and my co-intern fishing off of Douglas Island, which is the island across the Strait from Juneau. They got stranded, as you can see, when the tide came in. We've done a fair amount of fishing (well, mostly Ben has - I just go out and read and stare at things and take pictures), but no salmon yet. We are going to try another fishing spot this weekend.
Then we have a few pictures from our epic hike. I think I told you about this one. We climbed Mt. Juneau (3,500 vertical feet), hiked the Juneau ridge (5-6 miles, maybe, and another 1000 vertical feet), tobogganed down into Glacier Valley on our butts (yay!) and then hiked another 6 miles out, mostly through snow. The whole thing took about eight hours. I should probably have started smaller for my first Juneau hike, and was too preoccupied with how much I hurt to take pictures, but Ben got a few. He was really quite amazing at coaxing me along, considering that I wasn't sure I had it in me for the last three quarters of the hike or so. The first picture is of my backside just as we were about to reach the top.

Then one of some of us plodding up the ridge. The first group picture from the hike was really just a test picture when Ben was setting up the camera, but I attached it because of the incredible color of the little snow lake behind us. It really is that brilliant color. Amazing. Everyone we went with is in incredible shape. They seem to do this sort of thing all year round, and the guy on the left in particular is one speedy hiker. My co worker was telling me he can do the hike in four hours (I think that would have to be at at least a jog), and that he doesn't really have a slower speed. So they all marched on ahead, then waited for Ben and I to catch up periodically."

I don't know about you, but personally I'm impressed as hell. I think I'm doing good to "hike" up to a little waterfall and it takes about 15 minutes to get to it. Huh.

Back Fence PDX

2008-06-16T15:01:00.005-04:00

What's this? you ask. Well, it's a fabulous idea dreamt up by these two lovelies. And I'm very honored to be one of the inaugural speakers.

Yes, I am going to tell a $cientology story -- all about escaping from the evil cult's clutches...the first time.

You are all invited, please bring family and friends. The other storytellers are amazing.

(Click on that bad boy on the left so it gets big enough to read.)

Inspiration: Beautiful, ethereal photography

2008-06-15T22:16:00.004-04:00

I found this today and thought you might enjoy a visit. Her photography is truly lovely and special. Be sure to read her artist statement.

Friends and blogs

2008-06-12T13:31:00.008-04:00

I've been thinking about how having a blog affects me, even if only a tiny bit. One thing I discovered is that I've been expecting everyone I know to read the blog, check the blog, comment on the blog, et cetera ad nauseum. Then I figured out that there are people who are not the least bit interested in blogs, mine or anyone else's -- in the same way that I'm not interested in television programs, at all, none, forget about it. But I like blogs. I've learned a lot from other people's blogs and I've enjoyed some very, very funny writing. I enjoy blogs and I mostly enjoy blogging. But the moment I caught myself being annoyed because my friends were not reading my blog regularly, was the moment I seriously considered deleting it. When I don't have time to communicate directly and personally with my dearest friends, there is something very wrong. I imagine that all other bloggers figured this out ages ago and I'm just a little slow on the uptake. Whatever. Just my 2cents worth.

And, because I love to flaunt my photographs, here are some random old shots I thought you might enjoy.

Oregon stories: Oak Knoll Winery

2008-06-11T16:42:00.008-04:00

Who knew there were hundreds of wineries in this area? Of course, if you're like me, and you had not made the connection between Willamette River and Willamette Valley (of the you-can-grow-anything-and-it-will-be-awesome fame), you would have been one of the ones who did NOT know. Okay, that's fine. Now I know and now I get that thing about Willamette Valley.

I went out to Oak Knoll Winery (that little red pin) (don't forget the part about clicking the picture so you can actually SEE what I'm talking about) to visit Haris. Occasionally she sings there and sometimes she runs the tasting room there.

It was incredibly fun driving around out in farm country. There are even alpaca ranches out there. And huge tree farms and wonderful nurseries with every conceivable kind of flowering thing. Oh. My. God. I really need my own yard. Now.

This was my first ever visit to a winery. I didn't even manage to visit a winery in Napa for crying out loud. It probably has to do with not particularly caring about wine. I went to Oak Knoll because Haris invited me and I love Haris.

Portland Exploring: Ladd's Addition

2008-06-10T19:36:00.009-04:00

Ladd's Addition is one of the oldest residential districts in Portland. It's known for its peculiar diagonal street pattern relative to the rest of the area. It is roughly eight blocks (east-west) by ten blocks (north-south) in size (by reference to the external grid) and is bordered by SE Hawthorne, Division, 12th, and 20th. Locally, Ladd's Addition is known as the neighborhood to get "lost" in, since unsuspecting drivers who enter the development commonly find themselves disoriented as they drive around in circles trying to get out. (You can embiggen -- thanks to BloomingWriter for that wonderful word -- any image by clicking on it. Try it, you'll see.)

Last Saturday, Jeff and Kim and I were out rambling around, looking at houses, wandering down NW 23rd Ave. (very fun, kind of trendy) and we decided to "get lost" in Ladd's Addition. This is the central round-about and there's a lovely hidden space inside all these humongous bushes where you can have a little cocktail party or wedding reception.

We drove around trying to get lost, but Kim is actually a GPS device so we always knew where we were. It's a fantastic neighborhood, very well kept and unusual in that it has alleys. (I haven't seen that anywhere else in Portland -- that doesn't mean there aren't alleys anyplace else, I just haven't seen them.) I love alleys. You get to see parts of people's yards that ordinarily would be hidden. And sometimes you get to warp back to San Diego accidentally (when you stumble upon a killer whale, wtf?).

Oregon stories: Elowa and Upper McCord Creek Falls

2008-06-01T15:49:00.013-04:00

Yesterday, Kim and Jeff and I went out to the Columbia River Gorge for some hiking and waterfall enjoyment.

It was a perfect day for it too. Come on with me and I'll show you what was there:

Elowa Falls

The bridge

Survey marker

Kim and Jeff

Succulents growing in a rock crevice

One of the little blue butterflies that Jeff mentions

Kim pondering a very old, very rusty pipe

Gigantic slug

A tiny little path carved out of the cliff

Lots of mud

The Upper McCord Creek Falls

The Upper McCord Creek

Thanks for coming with me. Where would you like to go next time? How about Astoria?

June 14th Sea Arrrgh, Join in the fun!

2008-06-01T01:44:00.004-04:00

I'd like to invite anyone who's been sitting on the sidelines and thinking how great it is that someone else is taking on the cult of $cientology to jump right in (with both feet) on June 14th. You are most welcome.

We are Anonymous. We are legion. Expect us.

Join the Sea Arrrgh, make yer mark and fly the colors -- June 14 protest of the Cult of Scientology. from TheDonzerlyLight on Vimeo.

Road trip: Chattanooga, Tennessee

2008-05-25T18:35:00.010-04:00

I've procrastinated long enough. It's time to tell some stories about driving across the country.

Our first night away from Clearwater, Florida was spent in Valdosta, Georgia -- not a place I recommend. But I most likely wouldn't recommend any town or city in Georgia, simply because it's the deep south and I'm not fond of deep south, deep fried food. And you must understand, everything is deep fried. Everything. Even your salad. We went to find some dinner and stopped at what looked like a real restaurant, you know, the kind with chefs and real food. The first tip-off that everything wasn't quite right was the distance between the booth seat and the table. Hmmm. I had to sit on the very edge of the seat to be near the table. I was at a loss until I looked around and realized that for most Valdostans, that huge space was necessary. Enough said. Our choice for an appetizer was stuffed mushrooms, because how difficult is that and it was one of the only things that didn't have the word fried in front of it. Guess what? The stuffed mushrooms ARE fried. Deep fried. In old oil. We gasped when we saw them and sent them back. The rest of the dinner was actually fabulous (nice fish with rice, simple food, not fried).

The next day we drove through Georgia and into Tennessee. (Refer to the map if your geography skills are as horrible as mine.) Crossing into TN from GA, we chose Chattanooga as a place that looked interesting and worthy of a bit of exploring. Consulting our trusty AAA guidebook, we find that the old Mayor's Mansion has been converted into a Bed and Breakfast, so off we went.

THIS is the Mansion. It has been lovingly restored and gently updated for the comfort of paying guests.

We arrived early enough in the day to take a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. Of course, even though we were in a new place, never before seen, I only have eyes for the flowers. I've said it before and I'll say it again: flowers are the best.

I love big, old trees. I'm also fond of flowering trees. And I cannot resist napping cats.

The Mayor's Mansion has a first-class manager/chef and the breakfast was incredible. I was in too big a hurry to taste the second course (the baked eggs/cheese/asparagus) so I only got pictures of the first and third courses. Amazing, wonderful food, served in a lovely dining room.

What I know about Human Rights abuses: Scientology

2008-05-15T20:03:00.008-04:00

I'm a little bit behind the curve here -- I just now found out that today is a Bloggers Unite day and the topic is Human Rights. There are plenty of excellent posts on excellent blogs.

I have a pretty limited view. I don't read the papers or listen to TV/radio news. I'm woefully uninformed. It's a bad habit that comes from being afraid to know about all the pain in this world. I don't like admitting it, but it's true. I can't see what I can do to help.

So, what I know personally about Human Rights abuses has to do with the Church of $cientology and their horrible treatment of Sea Org members. I experienced a tiny bit of this treatment in 1969: I was locked in a basement because I said I wanted to go home. I was 3 months pregnant and was not getting enough sleep or good nutrition. I just wanted to go home and take good care of myself and my baby. That made me an enemy of theirs and that's what they do with enemies -- they lock them up. (Or they declare them Suppressive Persons and then sic the dogs on them.) I eventually talked my way out of the basement and out of the office and into my sister's car. She drove me home. The "church" began calling the next day -- I should come back immediately, they'll take good care of me, etc., etc. And this is a mild story. It's fairly unbelievable what they are doing at this very moment and in this country. They have forced labor prison camps in Hemet and Los Angeles, California and in Clearwater, Florida. They force young women to get abortions or face losing "everything." Most Sea Org members work about 126 hours a week for $25 - $30 dollars/week (if that). They live on rice and beans for months at a time. They are physically, mentally and spiritually abused day in and day out. And they are told that if they leave, they will starve and be bums on the street.

Here are a few places you can go if you want to inform yourself about this evil cult and it's Human Rights abuses:

Counterfeit Dreams
Ex-Scientology Kids
Exposing the Con
Scientology Disconnection
Why I Left Scientology
Ask the Scientologist

And there are things you can do. Find out about the next Anonymous protest and maybe participate: Enturbulation.org -- A Source for Information on Activism Against the Scientology Organization.

I've been to all the Anonymous protests so far and they are great. These people are courageous, fun, funny and very committed to making the evil cult known as $cientology crumble.

Rock on Anonymous!

Oregon stories: Sauvie Island

2008-05-09T00:54:00.016-04:00

What a glorious place! Absolutely luscious, rich, bucolic (this doesn't mean a sick baby, it means pastoral, which I didn't know until a few weeks ago), and very down home. Here's the Wikipedia page if you're interested in the history. I did a quick search and found out that unless a whole lot of you want to donate a whole lot of dinero, Kim and I won't be living on Sauvie Island any time soon. *sigh*

Melissa and I (and the little guy) drove around the island, stopping to tempt a horse, take a few photos, check in at the local market/car repair/chicken farm for a day parking pass and a map. The thing to do is spend one day per weekend out there, all summer long, picking the fresh organic fruits and vegetables. Mmmmmmmm, yes. And you'll want to check out the Maize Maze at the Pumpkin Patch in September and October. Rumor has it traffic can be a bit nuts, so plan accordingly.