It`s tiresome to complain about the speed of time, but honestly, what happened to June? Well, I think war might have claimed a lot of my focus. Not Pride which is the usual mental motif in June. With maximum mean spirited visibility, the US Navy under Donald Trump, stripped a naval carrier of its name, the USNS Harvey Milk. Milk was a man who served his country as a naval officer and then became the first elected openly gay man in California politics. Now his pioneering civil rights work is not thought worthy of the honor.
To no ones surprise, the Southern Baptist Convention called for the overturning of same sex marriage. Fundamentalist faiths everywhere start their indoctrination early. The SBC introduces shame and fear of sexuality from the get go. Kids who may have noticed they were somehow different, will internalize that as 'wrong'. Dark warnings about deviant sexuality and its damnation begin in Sunday School and undermine the chances for a healthy sexuality later. Now they come for the marriages of those who escaped such nonsense into freedom. I have some experience with this massive group and its joyless beliefs. Dancing and playing cards are frowned upon, you can imagine the rest of their curriculum. Why do most religions treat human sexuality with complete disrespect? This most vital and powerful of all human energies is not recognized for its complexity and nuance, resulting in disastrous conflict and ruined lives. We see this in the news all the time.
The Supreme Court of my country announced yesterday that parents may legally 'opt out' of allowing their children to even hear of families with two dads or two mothers. I finally believe that in spite of public approval and fear of legal mayhem, this Supreme Court is entirely capable of invalidating my marriage. Along with many thousands of others. It has become a Republican kangaroo court.
This is why I protest. I`m a newcomer to street demonstrations and I have found them welcoming, reassuring and even fun. So I was in Tigard, part of a nationwide group of 7 million. No Kings! I`m thinking we may need to get even louder. National one day strikes, targeted boycotts, bigger demonstrations that actually impede something... I`m not sure what else. With the lower courts now hampered, these right wing nut jobs running the government are going to feel unleashed.
I`ll stop now
Life can be gloomy these days with democracy on the ropes. Now is a good time to paint the house! Something cheerful! It worked!
Fellow Oregonians, visitors and tourists, do not miss out on Smith Rocks State Park. It only took me 32 years to make the two and a half hour drive from my home. The park is small but it`s like a chunk of Utah was dropped into our high desert. And it even has many young people scaling up those mountainsides! What the hell are they thinking? I completely lack the daredevil gene. The place is stunning and absolutely sublime in mid-May.
Because of the damage they can do to their communities, we avoid Air BNBs at all cost. But sometimes there isn`t a suitable alternative. So we stayed outside of Redmond on a sheep farm in a tiny house. I`ve always wanted to see one up close and this one was a great example. Though we never met her, the owner of this vacation unit thought of EVERYTHING. I have never seen so much intelligence in such a small space. We enjoyed everything but entering the sleeping loft which had to be accessed by crawling on your belly. Very little headroom but a nice little window at the foot of the bed for breezes and somehow we managed to sleep like dogs. From the outside it looks as big as a tool shed.
The honors keep coming. The founder of Feedspot, Anuj Agarwal, wrote me to say a panel had deemed my blog Painter`s Process, the one you`re reading right now, the fifth best Landscape Bog out of 60. The list is here. No matter who is doing it, it`s always nice to be acknowledged. Thank you Anuj! The fact that anyone reads it pleases me. Thanks to all you little people!
The humble, simple, extravagant iris. Every year, there they are without needing much of anything.
The photographer, Alejandro Cartagena, stood on an overpass in Mexico and photographed workers on the way to their job sites. This practical means of transportation has now been documented with charm.
Descension is the most beautiful, recent public artwork that I can think of. The artist, Anish Kapoor, works at such a masterful level. His provocative projects always have an insistent sensuality to them Easy to understand and popular. He is the sculptor of the Bean on Chicagos waterfront. Of course its actual title is the much more poetic; 'Cloud Gate'.
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