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TRAVEL GOALS FOR ASPIRATIONAL ADVENTURERS

Travel goals are more than just getting out of town. Let’s start there. More than changing surroundings, travel goals are so much more. Like what, then? Some are bigger than others, but they are all goals.

MUSEUM QUALITY IS WHAT BOOMERS CALL THEIR ACCUMULATION

Museum quality is a collector’s goal. Leave the bad, take the good. Then what? If possession is nine tenths of the law, what’s the last tenth? After you’ve got what you’ve been looking for, put it in a box, on a shelf, in a case. The idea is to enjoy the company of an artifact, […]

BREAKING THINGS IS EASIER THAN FIXING THINGS

Breaking costly things is part of adult life. We find something useful, and use it. And it breaks. Sometimes they break themselves. If it breaks, we fix it, or throw it away and buy an updated version. The proud and the brave say, “Not me, man. If something breaks, I try to fix it before […]

TWITTER TALK DONE RIGHT

Twitter talk quoted: replying to @DavidGillaspie Museums are shit places to gain an understanding of history because colonizers build and fund them. T. Roosevelt is famous for that “Only good Indian is a dead Indian” quote, but apparently not famous enough. You are an old white man with a colonizer perspective. Some nerve. Me: Hey […]

SORTING HISTORY: WHAT MATTERS vs WHAT MATTERS MORE

Sorting history is the difference between hoarders and historians. If there were no difference, every garage full of crap would be a museum. And I say garage full of crap with all due respect, since I’ve got one piling up. In the end, that stuff tells a part of our story. But it doesn’t have […]

INVISIBLE BEAUTY: WHAT WE DON’T SEE

Invisible beauty is all around when I take a walk with my favorite. From the lattice-like leaves of a tiny plant, to clouds, to Mt. Hood, it’s all around for the taking. One of our walks goes past a rosemary bush that needs more trimming than the owner can do, and we love rosemary chicken, […]

OREGON HISTORICAL: JOB THREE OF FIVE

Oregon Historical is the third of a five part series inspired by a twitter post asking to list five jobs. From mill work, to army medic, a museum job was a perfect fit. The idea started from three thousand miles away.

PREEMPTIVE CONVERSATION: SORRY, I WASN’T LISTENING

When is the best time for a Preemptive Conversation? Married men have different answers than singles, from both sides of the fence: Her side, and yer side.

ART HISTORY FOR THE ART FANS

The two words, art and history, joined together as Art History, are too often dismissed as an elite thing, which is code for “who gives a damn.” “Oooo, art, tell me more,” said no one ever, unless the speaker had an agenda to fulfill, like trashing on something they don’t like. But art history is […]

LIFELONG MEMORIES IN PARIS AND LONDON: ROLE MODELS FOR PORTLAND OREGON

Time spent in Paris and London brings comparisons and competition for lifelong memories. People who live in both cities, who have apartments and houses in each, are the best judges. Oddly enough I met just such people on a visit to Bruges, Belgium. What are the chances of meeting people in one country and seeing […]