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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 […]

COLLECTORS, SMALL MIRACLES, GOOD LIGHTING

Collectors call an empty cabinet, “A blank canvas,” into which they start throwing things like a Jackson Pollock painting. To them it’s one of many small miracles to create. Every drip is important, every splash significant; every teacup and tray, too. At least that’s how they explain it when asked “At what age did you […]

Historical Debris: A Record Of Time

    Most museums have a bar they set for accepting historical debris, artifacts, one of a kind deals, and whatever an important person touched or signed.   Paul Revere silver, the last breath of Thomas Edison, the Magna Carta? No one is making any more of that stuff, so that’s a bar too high. […]

HOW TO INTERACT WITH RAJNEESH CULT MEMBERS ON PORTLAND STREETS

    Most days after work in the 80’s I walked the same way to my NW Portland apartment. The path took me past a place called the Martha Washington on SW 11th. I walked the same way so I could talk to an interesting woman from the museum.   Note to remember: All museum […]

MUSEUM BINGE TOUR, pt 1, Ginevra de’ Benci

Lots of museums and little time? Take a Museum Binge Tour. The museum binge tour saying goes like this: “Everything on every wall isn’t worthy of the same scrutiny, so move on, rookie.” If you’re one of those, a museum binge tour runner, or act like one, you’ll need to do some explaining. Tell the […]

MAKE AN OFFERUP YOU CAN’T REFUSE

With a growing pile of ‘treasure’ don’t give up, OfferUp. If you have storage space, you probably have stuff in there. Maybe the stuff is in there to keep it out of sight. Like the bike that reminds you of another time in your life, a time when someone you cared about had the same […]

MUSEUM ARTIFACTS DON’T BELONG IN TOILETS

If you have something worthy of a museum artifacts collection, keep it safe. A museum joke that bears repeating: This is George Washington’s hatchet he used to chop down the cherry tree. The handle’s been replaced six time, the head four, but it represents the same space. Funny stuff. I think it came from Saturday […]