Leaves!

Through the gray skies and rain, Portland does have a good showing of fall colors. Here are some nice ones near my neighborhood. I especially like the leaves on the ground. Teddy Roosevelt definitely belongs on a horse amid the trees.

I went to the ocean

I've lived within 100 miles of the ocean my whole life, but rarely visit, and when I do, I'm delighted. Last weekend, I went to Cape Lookout State Park near Tillamook, OR. I stayed in a yurt and listened to the rain on the roof while eating camp food, playing board games and reading. The yurts are small cylindrical houses, about 15 feet in diameter with conical roofs and skylights at the top. They have lights and heaters, so it's winter camping in luxury. I recommend them.
In the morning, we set off for a muddy, misty hike toward Cape Lookout point. Walking along the edge of a tiny peninsula, we got great views of the coast from many directions. This might have been easier in summer, but I liked the fog. Oregon wilderness always feels a bit prehistoric to me, with all the ferns and moss.
What's with sea foam? I don't think I've ever seen sea foam like this.
We did not forget the Tillamook cheese, and stopped at Blue Heron wine and cheese, where they have a pretty good petting zoo and even have an emu.

Congratulations on your new president!

We did it! And we were not thwarted by the electoral system this time. Now we just have to wait until January to see what this man can do.

This was a good election in so many respects. A few downsides from my view are Gordon Smith beating out Jeff Merkley for senate (Oregon), and the passing of California's Prop 8, reinstating a ban on gay marriage.

Nevertheless, there is much to celebrate, including great results on the Oregon statewide ballot measures. Of particular interest, we voted in opposition of a "top two" open primary system in the state. This is an interesting concept that seems like a chance to get candidates who better represent that voters into the general election. But, it would actually cause parties to split votes among a slew of candidates in the primary, potentially advancing only candidates that are supported by a unified minority. Two general elections is not good for minor party candidates, or major party candidates either. So, good job, Oregonians, on voting that down.

I'm also impressed to see that school bonds passed in many places, demonstrating voters' commitment to education and children even during an economic disaster.

Voter registration and turnout was great, so I hope that continues for near-future elections.

My classic CDs

We all must go through the cycle of buying new CDs, listening to them religiously for a while, and then forgetting about them when other new music replaces them. This weekend, I decided to go back to not just my all time favorites, but a broader sample. I flipped randomly to a page of my CD holder and made myself choose one of the 8 CDs that appeared (pretty lenient anyway). I ended up listening to Mark O'Connor "Heroes", the Macalester College orchestra playing Vivaldi, and Gaelic Storm "Tree".

Heroes was a favorite of mine at one point in large part because of the concept-- the whole CD is fiddle duos with Mark O'Connor and another fiddler who inspired him. That means a good range of styles on one disk. There's Texas Swing, some Bluegrass, and even some Indian music. And, man are those good fiddlers!

The Mac orchestra is a bit sloppy at times, but it's good to reminisce. Plus, I love listening to the Four Seasons.

Gaelic Storm's CD was my favorite of the three. I love the songs. I want to sing along and learn to play the fiddle parts. This is the band from the lower decks in the movie Titanic. They are a good trad/non trad Irish band and have some funny songs and pretty songs in this collection. Nice percussion, vocals and fiddle.

Halloween!

Halloween used to be a big production, with months of forethought. My mom sewed multiple costumes for me, which were frequently used for several years. One year, she made me a Wendy dress out of an old sheet, and I went with my neighbors Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tinkerbell.

I miss trick or treating, and I miss dressing up. My neighborhood doesn't have enough kids for me to stay home with a bowl of candy either.

This year, I discovered something fun to do: Trick or Vote. With Halloween just four days before the big election, Portland (and 50 other cities in 40 states) are doing a fun get out the vote campaign. I get to go door to door in costume, but this time, I'm asking for a pledge from people that they will vote their whole ballot and get it in by the deadline. There are a lot of important issues on the ballot in addition to the president, so we hope to encourage people to look at all the candidates and measures. It's nonpartisan, which makes it easier to reach out to everyone.

After much deliberation, I finally settled on dressing as Beethoven because my hair is just right for it. I've compiled a black coat, white tights, short pants, a white frilly shirt, and a red scarf.

Michael Dorris and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Michael Dorris was a Native American writer, anthropologist and head of the Native Amerian Studies program at Dartmouth College. In 1989 he published an autobiographical account of his experiences raising his adopted son who had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The book is called The Broken Cord. It's a poignant tale of the love and frustration he experienced as a first time father with a special needs kid. It's also the story of Dorris's unfolding research into the syndrome and its epidemiological and social nature. At the time, FAS research (both clinical and epidemiological) was just at its infancy. Dorris hadn't guessed that it was the cause of his son's physical and mental disabilities or even heard of the disorder until his son was a teenager. By that time (the early 1980's), some health care workers on reservations were estimating the effects of FAS and FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effect, with less pervasive symptoms) hit up to a quarter of kids in their communities. One of the most troubling results of FAS or FAE is poor judgement or the inability to grasp the long term consequences of immediate actions. Thus, women who themselves have been victims of FAS are the most likely to repeat the cycle. All the education attempts are tainted by the simple fact that those who are most likely to drink during pregnancy are unable to learn to avoid behaviors that are damaging to themselves and to their innocent babies. A lot of research progress has surely been made in the past 30 years since FAS was discovered, but as a disorder of the poor, the downtrodden, the uneducated, it will always take a back seat to such well-funded disorders as autism and cancer. Advocate, educate, work for change. But how? Dorris thought he was doing good by caring for these children, giving them all he could provide, but it is never enough to change the course of their preventable fate.
A Broken Life (story of Michael Dorris's suicide in Solon.com)
A well referenced wikipedia article on FAS

Crooked Still at the Pickathon

The Boston-based quasi-Bluegrass, Newgrass, do your own thing-grass band Crooked Still was at the Portland Pickathon this year, sporting two new band members and a new CD. Following the potentially devastating departure of ex-bandmember, cellist Rushad Eggleston, the band has picked itself up and taken to the road with a new set of tunes. The two new band members are erstwhile fiddle prodigies Brittany Haas and Tristan Claridge (Tristan now on the big fiddle, a.k.a. cello). Tristan told me it's a bit difficult to say when they joined the band-- was it when Rushad left last fall, when they sat in the studio putting together the new CD in the winter months, or when they played their first gigs early this summer? Sounds like a lot of relationships. The new CD is cutely called Still Crooked, and I haven't had a chance to listen to most of it yet. Tunes from the first two CDs still got a lot of play at this show. Tristan had learned many of Rushad's cello lines note for note, but they lacked the distinctive drive (perhaps the term is wildness) of Rushad's playing. Brittany's fiddle adds splendidly where there was nothing to replace-- Brittany did play on a few tunes on Crooked Still's first CD Hop High and fiddler Casey Driesen appeared on Shaken by a Low Sound. I think it will take time for this new group to coalesce, though Tristan has certainly come a long way from his strictly flawless, painfully perfect contest days. I'm missing Rushad, but I'm pretty darn happy to see the band keep on going.