The 13th Annual Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (PLGFF) takes place October 2 - 8, 2009 at Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave. PLGFF is a non-profit arts groups that annually showcases queer feature, documentary and short films from all over the world. Here are the highlights:

Sing-Along HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
John Cameron Mitchell’s gender-bending, rock musical is back complete with a host, props and complete lyrics so you can sing along

OFF AND RUNNING
Life gets complicated when the adopted daughter of two Jewish lesbians decides to find her birth mother and get in touch with her African-American roots in this stirring documentary.

AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK
John Hurt stars in a biopic about the great British wit, Quentin Crisp’s, life in New York City.

HANNAH FREE
Sharon Gless stars in a drama about an ailing lesbian’s reflections on her life.

OUT LATE
Documentary featuring gays and lesbians who came out of the closet late in life.

GREEK PETE
Part narrative, part documentary the graphic, insightful film follows a London escort’s desire to be nominated for a “World Escort Award” in LA.

OUT OF THE BLUE
French melodrama about a middle-aged woman’s attraction to a younger woman.

I’m re-addicted to this bandanomenon. This is what KLF is about:

Justified & Ancients, all bound for Mu-Mu Land:

Back to the heavyweight jams:

I’ll never forget The White Room…
or my 1st Blue Man Group show <<< clip is spot-on!
They said “Tammy, Stand By The Jams”

Over n’ Out.

Another year, another couple thousand films! It’s hard making predictions of what you think another voting body would choose based on past behavior, your own personal favorites, etc. I try and balance these a bit, thinking that talent, like cream, rises. While I’ve been shaky on nominations in years past I remember naming longshots who have deservedly won several times. This time around as the nominations for the coveted award have just been announced I make my predictions of a few of those who you may not expect to walk to the stage, but gave incredible performances. Granted, after seeing Slumdog Millionaire I added it to a few categories below, so some basic changes were made this last month. After all was said and done I only correctly chose six of the eighteen categories below (I’ll stick to my night job, but keep the movies coming). For the first time, you can participate in the official Live Oscar Challenge online. Even YouTube has its own page for the ceremonies!

Best Picture:
Frost/Nixon; Slumdog Millionaire

• I’ve seen better pictures, but I think this will take it. I’d rather be handing it to Milk which is more topical, more worthy in this time of change, and the ‘people’s favorite’ would certainly be Benjamin Button here.

Actor In A Leading Role:
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon); Sean Penn!

• Every tiny move his face made in this film was pure acting. Sean Penn as Harvey Milk is a very close second though I still haven’t seen The Wrestler (so I may change my vote here in the next few weeks). Hey, the web is malleable. Mickey Rourke made a startling performance in The Wrestler, unforgettable actually, and though I think it was incredibly worthy I’m sticking to my guns.

Actress In A Leading Role:
Angelina Jolie; Kate Winslet 

• Sounds like an ify choice, eh? This descendant of Jon Voight, mother of many who says this is her last film was amazing to watch on screen for the first time, and in our face for 2+ hours. Her contemporary sculpted face (tattoos and all) were transformed into a woman from yesteryear in this true story of strife and mistaken identity. Of course Meryl Streep blew our toes completely off in Doubt as the stern sister and should get this, but she already has a mantleful, right? Kate Winslet won the Golden Globe, and I haven’t seen this film, but am told it’s good. And of course, Anne Hathaway does a turn against her glamourous and lightweight roles as a messed up sister - who knows….

Actor In A Supporting Role:
* Heath Ledger (Dark Knight)

• Yes, Ledger was superb in this silly role, downright evil incarnate. However, I do really think Michael Shannon could take it as the disturbed son in Revolutionary Road. It was, by far, the best role on screen this past year I’ve seen - though only too briefly on screen. Of course you know I’m a huge fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman, but his role as the controversial priest was lo-fi compared to other work he’s done. Josh Brolin was an uncanny Dan White lookalike, but the part was too removed for this award, not in the same class with the other gents - but he’ll be back.

Actress In A Supporting Role:
Viola Davis; Penélope Cruz

• This one is hard because I think it was a complete tie between Taranji P. Henson and Davis - both impassioned, both almost complete unknowns - they each gave incredible blockbuster, real performances which I’ve written about here. Henson was simply on screen for a greater period of time is all, but I think the “less is more” factor will kick in here. If Amy Adams were to win I think it would simply be Hollywood favoritism as her role was too safe, too soft - she’s a lightweight here as she’s proven better. Penélope Cruz is wonderful, but I can’t yet rate her performance here, and Tomei is the only actress here who has taken home one of these statues (but she’s quite notable in this picture!).

Animated Film:
Kung Fu Panda; Wall-E

• Just kuz. I didn’t see any of these three nominated though they all look very, well, cute. Doh!

Art Direction:
Changeling; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• I think Benjamin Button was way overly computer-generated-o-centric and Revolutionary Road didn’t put me into the period the same way this one did. The Dark Knight was amazing, but, it is “supposed to be” - it’s Batman!

Directing:
Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon); Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

• Of course I am rooting for my homeboy Gus Van Sant in this category as Milk, as far as I am concerned, has been the film of his career thusfar.

Documentary Feature:
* Man on Wire

• A VERY close split-second is Encounters at the End of the World. Both are amazing films.

Foreign Language Film:
Waltz with Bashir; Departures

• Though I haven’t seen it, The Class looks powerful too.

Cinematography:
* Slumdog Millionaire

• Button is close second. Again, Changeling the scenes are simply beautiful, though in this category I think they generally award based on long, lavish shots that set tone and define the place and Slumdog was visually captivating, Benjamin Button also did that expertly.

Costume Design:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Duchess

• But I want to say Revolutionary Road for this one. But that fierce academy of experts do love the Victorian, over-the-top design such as seen in The Duchess. Spin the bottle.

Makeup:
The Dark Knight; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• It was pretty great. I didn’t like the makeup in Benjamin Button at all, and I am sure Hellboy was amazing, but it is otherwise not mentioned at all in the nominations, so it seems like an add-in for these purposes.

Film Editing:
* Slumdog Millionaire

• Frost/Nixon (second);The Dark Knight (third); Milk (fourth)

Sound Editing:
* The Dark Knight

• Slumdog Millionaire (second)

Visual Effects:
The Dark Knight; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• Iron Man (second). The Academy will probably award this to Benjamin Button per $$$ spent though.

Writing/Adapted Screenplay:
Doubt; Slumdog Millionaire

• Six thumbs up. Benjamin Button is a GREAT story though - that was its strong suit as a film.

Writing/Original Screenplay:
* Milk

[Originally blogged on 01/22/09]

A friend from back east wrote about the awards with a stunning similarity to some of my own feelings about the actual ceremonies:

“I thought it was pretty dull but I liked the format better than in recent years.  Less joke telling, fewer production numbers, short acceptance speeches but no music cutting people off, no ongoing clips of the films nominated for best picture, not having last year’s winners announce this year’s winners….I liked the 5 prior winners saying things about each nominee but it was a lot of talking. Oh, I also really liked that they didn’t have the voiceover saying, “this is so and so’s third nomination and second win” as the winner walks up to the stage. I liked the set and Hugh Jackman did a good job. But it was boring. Nothing happened.  It certainly went smoothly, but who wants to see that?  Sean Penn was the only who made any kind of political statement at all.  I’m really glad he won.”

I especially liked bringing back award winners to present individually to nominees, very classy and honoring, in their words. The only way my opinion differs is I thought Hugh Jackman was just OK, he is suave but not deep and though he can “dance and sing” he doesn’t do either really superbly. I also liked what Sean Penn said about Mickey Rourke, but still think Anthony Langella gave the greatest performance as Nixon, I could never imagine ever feeling for the guy, and his part humanized a man who screwed up the highest ranking in American politics.   I also thought, though an living legend screen icon, that Sophia Loren looked like she was taken out of a box of foam peanuts after 2 years. Other than that, the big dance/song number was just a big old bomb. When Kate Winslet told Meryl Streep to ’suck it up’ I thought that was funny and slightly off. I missed the first few awards and the opening numbers so I can only comment from about an hour in, but as a presentation it was better than some, worse than many.

2012

Terence McKenna used the I Ching to develop “Timewave Zero” which aligns with the Mayan calendar’s “end of days”. In November these theory’s come to the silver screen as a major motion picture for release. Over the last several months I’ve become fascinated by the tales woven by both science and prophets. Some claim a cataclysmic axis shift in tectonic plates and/or polar meltdown, while others envision a ‘jihad‘ of sorts. In other words it is the conjunction of the Winter Solstice Sun with the crossing point of the Galactic Equator (the equator of the Milky Way) and the Ecliptic (in the path of the Sun). For more you can check out the wiki, watch the History Channel’s piece running on YouTube or for another take, download Ronald Weinland’s entire book called God’s Final Witness for free. These eloquent words of President Obama’s inauguration speech were so very powerful and re-rang in my ears today.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

CHURCH|STATE - Where’s The Line?

Which brings up a whole other film. I just returned from the theater and seeing the hist/hysterically relevant Religilous (w/Bill Maher). Maher shakes it up, and as in all good documentaries, asks as many difficult questions as possible. He notes that there are nearly five times non-religious people than there are gays or jews in this country and how much of a silent majority we are. He interviews priests, ministers, rabbis, and many others from various denominations, and the results are revealing - and still veiled in the abyss of privacy. OK, so I’m more a distant cousin to a pagan and at times I talk to the wind, the moon and the water…but I don’t walk on any of them. I clearly get his point, and the film is phenomenal - I wish it were a hugely wider release as many more people would benefit from being exposed to the basic prnciples of questioning the foundations of their beliefs. It would seem the rational thing to do, even when contemporary religious doctrine (and its sister, rhetoric) may seem a little less so. Most stones are overturned when he talks with an “x-gay” man, visits and gets thrown out of spots in Salt Lake City and the Vatican. Though not explored in the film are any Asian-based religions, satanists, wiccans, the Hare Krishnas or the Jehovah’s Witnesses - but the intimate chats with televangelists and clips from those speaking in tongues alone are worth the price of the ticket. Grandma Molly always called me ‘Doubting Thomas‘ when I was lil’. After forty it still fits righteously.

So, another year has slipped by and the holidays are upon us once again. And with an imminent recession who thinks of shopping for dust collectors in this time of need?  Museum and gallery closures are predicted over the coming few years, but let’s keep hope alive especially with an incoming prez who seems to want to make right for those who have less now than ever before.

You could remain in the background, or rest between the sheets, but no, you are a smart cookie, a concerned cultural advocate wanting to see real change. Over the last few years I’ve tried to take my turn at bat, donating to all sorts of very worthy causes, including wielding a less-than-poison pen, and generally causing some distorted brows, and perhaps a Mona Lisa smile in the crowd. But I’ve kept unBlogged (and other pursuits) in the community’s minds eye. I’ve the psycho/social fuel to carry on. But fueling the bank is hapless these days (ask me for details if you don’t already know the whole story). This holiday season and into the new year, consider clicking below to keep me busy, and typing away just so.

Anything helps really, but when considering economies (cultural, social, trade-based, other), note that I certainly have not relied on any form of advertising dollars (check my sidebar). If you are reading this, even if a first-timer here, together we somehow effectively enrich each other, even if within a split-second passing afterthought. That fleeting reality understood, it is an honor to effectively journal the interesting, gorgeous, obtuse, and downright fringe happenings all around me. Perhaps it’s not always the headliners, or even one liners, just know that with me I’ll dig up the most interesting among us, those who always find their way between the lines. With newspapers sadly losing status, we are simply left with each other to culturally fend for ourselves, out here on the world wild web. Though I can’t see you, know I am very thankful to have your loyal (or passing) readership.  If you consider that click wisely I’ll thank you publically here  - or politely keep it as discrete and anonymous as you request. Operators are standing by as it’s easy with PayPal, you just click on my twin heads above (that’s my good side, and the other cheek).

It’s About Time (& Place) W/Out Borders: This ain’t no advent calendar, white elephant handout.  As an incentive, for a limited time only, I plan on sending up to the first 20 who respond with a donation of $25 (or more) a limited edition small piece that will be made for this sole purpose. Help keep my roof and know you will become a star atop my lil’ tree.

In my opinion, one of the most exciting and original pop bands of the last three decades, The B-52’s just keep it froogin’. To be a fan since about “1980″ (when you couldn’t go to a party without hearing this one) and to only now discover this video gem is sublime. Bless YouTube!

The new(ish) disc Funplex kicks it with a fresh Summertime spin. Songs like Hot Corner, Pump and the title track are pure bliss! (not so sure about the back-up dancers…)

Today Jesse Hayward is meeting me for a studio visit. But this time around he is the curator. It’s kind of exciting for a peer to invite you into a small group show that has tooth from day one. In fact, it’s the way I curate in the first place, it is firstly peer-based, less about the balance of power - of course, part of that has to do with the fact that I am not directly associated with an institution. That potentially makes the role less scary to some of the participants. You see, when the tables were turned about a year ago, I met Jesse at his studio to look at his work a few months prior to his inclusion in the Oregon Biennial and subsequently in his solo show at Chambers Gallery. And as I remember it, the show I curated for Guestroom Gallery last year was originally intended to simply be a three person show (I dreamt of including only Hayward, Anna Fidler (I love her new site) and Scott Wayne Indiana). The show was meant to be a real freeform, expressive, colorful show…but alas, scheduling didn’t provide the right timing, and that happens, and I am more than satisfied with what turned out in the end.

That said, I remember the exchange we had in his work space, adjacent to his home, somewhere in north Portland. His gloppy work had turned to stripes, and super-vivid colors and the overall experience was like entering an eye popping candy gingerbread house of bric-a-brac psychedelia. Now that the shoe is on my foot, at least I have a clean large space that he can peruse. But my personal aesthetic for making is completely polar to his. In some ways the work is perceived as ultimately pretty stoic, clean, about lines and repetition, the silhouetted shape. Even some of the street photography I do has a sense of collected chaos and restricted gesture. It will be quite fitting, though, for his upcoming curatorial (debut?) in The Hook-Up in June, which will be part of the New American Art Union’s ongoing series (five in all). He’s got some interesting artists lined up for this as he disclosed to me, and of them I am the sole unrepresented independent. He intends to present a very interesting concept that he first discussed with great lilt when we met for our visit last year, and then, in turn, invited me to participate back in January.

Good thing I painted and cleaned. The space is significantly brighter than depicted. I’m going to open the studio and let him loose.

After painting my studio floor for six hours why would I further torture myself (and perhaps you) by rap-tap-tapping away on le iBook? Well, I’ve been jonesin’ for a blog fix since yesterday. Hell, maybe I just want to rant n’ rave about stubbing my baby toe in the dark on Friday. I didn’t even hit it that hard, but to my surprize it came with a growing red stain in my white tube sock. Split the darn tip off in a freak accident. Oh, heck, we’re all falling apart gradually. Or did I really need to bring up that my hands are like two big bruises from the repetitive action of the paint roller over 1000 sq ft?

Speaking of feet…Yesterday while walking to the gym it seemed like a comedy that could only be written for the people of this fair city. As I approached the Hawthorne Bridge from the lower SE side, I first came to a halt when a big ole log train (one of those mile longers) had me wait before I could cross over to the steps that would take me upwards towards the bridge. As I got across the tracks and upon the curve of the bridge I noticed a sign down at the crossing that said “Do Not Come In Contact With Water - Sewage Spill” (lovely) and as I looked away a big flock of geese gracefully dove down to the water’s edge just skimming within inches of the surface of the contaminated river. Within about fifty steps the Hawthorne Bridge rose up and stopped traffic, bikes and many walkers on this fairly nice day. I actually waited in line to cross over the bridge. It reminded me of elementary school, back when we had to wait single file to either get on the bus, or in line at the cafetaria. It gave me a chance to look out at the expanse of the city, in its growth and subtle grandeur.

BTW, I didn’t see any sea-faring vessel pass under the bridge. A Portland moment, indeed.

When the Willamette Week rolled out their ‘crème de la crème’ this week and honored me in two categories I was immediately humbled (again and again). Though I must say that when it comes to group shows, it really is the synergy between the physical objects in space that help form the magic. For that I have thirteen individuals to thank, not to mention Guestroom, a risk-taking space that provided the opportunity for this independent undertaking. Thanks to Richard Speer for noticing, and for writing about a scene that is continuously reinventing itself.

One of my best buddies, Erik Hayes, who lives in the ‘other’ Portland (ME), descended upon Boston today with his new partner Lou, a hulk of a man and a realtor.  It was my first intro to this new guy, but we both agreed that we looked strangely familiar to each other from his and my Boston days.  Together they look amazingly matched, and temperment-wise (and in aura) they are quite a pair.  The best pairing I have seen Erik in since we met many moons ago.

Erik originally hails from Maine and moved to Boston several years ago before relocating to San Francisco around 2002 and then earlier this year he ventured back to New England to be with his mom before she passed this Summer.  Erik works for AAA, which, as I told him, came in quite handy the other night when I borrowed my mom’s car and it broke down! 

We met at Admiral’s Hill and made a b-line for one of our favorite eateries, Fire & Ice (now in Tahoe!) where they treated me to a truly wonderful lunch.  One price gets you up for as many trips to the grille to try as many different combos as you wish.  There are so many flavors to savor.  It’s a gem.  From there we walked to the South End where they wanted to see my work in the Studios @ 35 exhibition.  We snapped pictures of our old ‘hood and stopped at places where each of us lived at different times before and after we all met.  We also stopped in an amazingly old-fashioned, true Bostonian sorta spot called Aunt Sadie’s that the Boston Phoenix called “Best place to pretend you’re rummaging through your grandparents’ attic”.  So true.  When we walked in there was an older lady playing piano in the middle of the store while a gent of about 75 years sang warbly show tunes.  Very fun. It reminded me of old gay Boston, of the Napoleon’s era.  The place was color coordinated between linens and lotions and all sorts of unnecessaries that were wonderful.   Magnets emblazoned with gay-isms, cute baby toys, rude cards, fancy holiday decorations, all sorts of over-priced surprises.  But all in one place making the shop a fascinating study in the hyper-smart type of retailing that goes on in these parts.  A psychological distillation of good taste.

From there we walked towards the Boston icon in Copley Square, IM Pei’s John Hancock Building.  To all of our dismay they now do not allow people to tour the skywalk. Another 9/11 hiccup.  We walked through Copley Place, past Gucci and Louis Vuitton, Armani and Tiffany’s through to the Prudential Center where we bought funny postcards and took more pictures.  Then back to Newbury Street where we popped into Teucher Chocolatier to wrap our visit up sweetly.  How wonderful to see these two men, happy, holding hands, down the always tepid on again, off again semi conservative streets of beantown.  There was a nice holiday aire to our visit.

After we parted and then headed back north, I then returned to have T-giving leftovers with mom before darting out before 10PM to Inman Square favorite, Christina’s, where you just have to look at the roster of flavors to believe it.  Pinch yourself twice.  Or, in my case, pinch more than a holiday inch

Anything but fair weather friends are found on my old home turf.  It was so comfy and pleasant spending time, just chilling with Kevin as we had a nice lunch at Papa Razzi in Hanover.  Then, once back into Boston we headed straight for the North End to take in the wonderment of Trani, the ice cream injectable hot spot.  Waltzing right past the Old North Church, we indulged on ‘Bust-Outs’ and ‘Nut Wits’!!!  A quick trip to Harvard Square found us oogling at silly poseable figurines in Newbury Comics and then the best independent music shop in Cambridge/Boston, Twisted Village!  Later in the afternoon it was wonderful meeting up with my former partner and jazz guy Charlie Kohlhase.  As he turns into the golden age of half a century next week I wanted to take him out for a special night at fave B&G Oyster House in the South End.  We dined in the delicacies of the local waters.  Just prior we decided to pop by Tower Records as they go out of business and offer 40-60% off all merch.  Both Charlie and I are music buying-aholics and the Burlington branch wasn’t completely picked over.  I bought him The Zombies box set to toast his big day. And to all a good night!

Peter Gabriel’s Games Without Frontiers chimed from the iPod alarm clock this morning. The refrain ‘if looks could kill they probably will..’ rang differently than before for reasons threefold:

1.) I just happened to be staring at the box beetles above my head gingerly navigating the skylight — they have decided to make my home their home when its cold. They usually meet their imminent death by way of common household vacuum — alas, this morning, they seemed to need a warmer place to stay;

2.) On last night’s episode of Futurama the naughty robot known as Bender played ‘God’. In this episode an entire civilization of small people lived on his metal shell. Because of his dorky fumbling the people set up camps and slowly destroyed each other in war as he continued floating endlessly into space;

3.) Yesterday I went off shopping for socks and soy at the local Freddie’s (Fred Meyer) and ran into an artist I know rather well. She looked sad, uncomfortable. My empathetic side, although meaningfully contained, got the best of me. Seeing her in this state put an uneven slant on the remainder of my day. Her normal taut, perky self was replaced by a paler side that needed space. I empathize with how she feels just having been in and out of the hospital myself as of late. My heart goes out gently.

In other news, the PDX Movie Group went out to see Stranger Than Fiction (one of the better movie sites in recent memory) on Friday night. That’s the latest Will Ferrell vehicle that just happens to co-star a cavalcade of stars including academy awardees Emma Thompson, Linda Hunt (in a bit part) and Dustin Hoffman along with Maggie Gyllenhall and Queen Latifah. It had a strong, quirky plot and was a solid film, with an odd set of character perameters and some typical outcomes. If you’ve seen the preview you get that Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson) is real-time writing about the life of taxman Harold Crick (Ferrell). It’s not at all slapstick, which is a sonic curveball for this actor who leads well. I’d rate it ***1/2.

Paul said something odd today. We were discussing ingredients in cereal. I normally prefer to eat foods low in things like high fructose corn syrup and other unpronounceables. He looked at my cereal, and said, “organic is a corporation”. I ‘think’ he is referring to organic foods as being big business now that most of what is somewhat healthy has become readily available on a basic consumer level. But, I eat whole foods whenever I can, and don’t think I want to change that. For sure it’s got me curling my brow sidewards.

Between hospital visits in the continued uphill battle against my own body I have had some wild and simple reckoning with nature. Why is it that the trees stand out so much for me this year…why is their color so much brighter, even through the grey skies? Probably something to do with the natural prism of light perspective. Nature’s fractals have seduced me. Last night, while driving home in the dark I noticed a parking lot in the hills lined with fiery red trees. They were simply luminous in the dark, lit only by the streetlights. Dazzling and vibrant. No, this ain’t no drug trip, this ain’t no disco….

Also in the past few days a friend noted something about my previous post about being apart from a lover for any period of time. Though he was DUI at the time (I should be worried?), his comment was poignant, maybe a tad protective of my heart(?), maybe he just became aware of my ability to be somewhat sage about life? Moreover, his simple comments on the telephone made me realize that friends can really be attuned to your goings-on - whatever their own personal state of mind - even outside of your awareness. Though, of course, my comments are based in the here and now, my experiences are 41 years of growing, knowing and all the bumps in between. And though sometimes we do get in our lil’ capsule, enclosed, retreating and reclusive - life doesn’t stop evolving and is nothing if you don’t actually LIVE it. So I say live out loud.

The past few days have been chock-full of unpacking, organizing, cleaning, hanging and donating (art), travelling, and taking time to heal. I picked up some truly nice new work I purchased by artists Guy Martelet and Roberta Aylward. In the coming week I will comment on having seen exhibitions at Small A Projects and New American Art Union, but for now I need to take another pause with nature.

Part of a relationship, of course, includes time away. Sometimes this is much needed (creative space, organization, relaxation). And sometimes it leaves an awkward void in the spaces in which the other traditionally occupies. Time/physicality separates us, yet harnesses the psyche between us with healthy legroom, space to explore the corners of the world through the self as a fiercely autonomous being. The sum of parts between sincere lovers is often like the stray matter of a puzzle when we leave for family, business, events - during these times you never quite form half the picture.

It’s late. We went to bed early tonight after three back-to-back episodes of Futurama (becoming something of a nightly ritual). And after having just moved my entire house and home and gallery work too, some settle is slowly shaping. But a fateful call came in from a friend of Paul’s that her son James was in a car accident in Corvallis. Not too many details at the moment, just that he sounded badly hurt. He’s only in his early twenties and is in grad school down there. My stomach hurts thinking about it, honestly. I’m going to try to get back to sleep while Paul consoles the family. This will certainly be a long night for the family.

—

Next time I need to catch up on all the movies I have recently seen. By the way, if you like movies as I do, and are in the Portland area, give thought to joining the PDX Movie of the Week group.

That is the question.

For whatever reason (indulge me) Autumn often infers great change. The return to school, turning time backwards, the bright harvest foliage and leaves strewn everywhere. Natural change is self-evident, but this year change is more something self-referential. Encapsulated in this spur of newness are relationships, health issues, studio focus and employment. And as fate would have it, after my position at OHSU was eliminated earlier this month, a wave of change has certainly fallen.

But change makes way for planting new seeds to root elsewhere. For instance…I have already moved my residence (now living atop a large hill nearly in the center of the city) and become partnered with someone I am attempting a ‘life garden’ (we will sow, grow, and who knows…). This was in the form of unexpected, welcome change. As Paul and I further meld together, find our common interests and independent differences, this will be a time to refine the center of my personal life while kicking my studio practice up a notch.

Then, it’s out of town, on-and-off for a few months, showing my creative wares outside of my region (Boston and Boise). This, too, is very much positive change that will shake my tree and provide a leap from my normal cocooning tendencies.

Oh, ‘trick or treat’.