FuNnY Videos

The video side bar has been acting funny, so here's a link to Bunny's Youtube site with family vids and Bubby's fave music vids.

Psychos for Cycles

I'm cRAzY about cycles. Not just bicycles, but layers of chaotic, interconnected cycles in nature that weave together all the world's systems into a random order.

Yesterday, the City's green building team was riding the Streetcar on our way to an ice cream social across town (YUM!). As we passed Portland State University's meek Systems Science building, I was delighted to see a diagram of adaptive Panarchy cycles stuck to their window. My recent research at PSU focused on applying these adaptive cycles in nature to the design of sustainable climate protection policy. Combined with a couple of scoops of local Coffee Crackle and Kulfi Cardammom ice cream at Cool Moon, this connection to Panarchy at PSU was a sweet cap on a week of social and ecological coincidences.

The week's events all started at the Riverplace near downtown.

13 years ago, Bunny and I were engaged at the end of this dock. This place is SACRED to me. Every weekday on the my ride into the office, I have a morning ritual here: stopping for a moment, soaking up the sunrise over the Willamette River, giving thanks, praying, then taking a deep drink of Portland's ancient forest-filtered water from a Benson Bubbler and dedicating a day of service to the City. With the grey days of Winter phasing out and Spring cycling in, I've been thirsty for feeling more connected to community and this was my intention last week.

On Thursday, I was flipping through a Portland weekly in a waiting room and came across a recommendation for the annual Clowns Without Borders circus the following night. One year ago, I blogged about how this wonderful performance arrived on our radar with nary a day's notice despite recurring only a few blocks from our home. This year was no different.

Later that night, I delivered flowers to the Laurelhurst Theater and caught a second run of Terry Gilliam's Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Being a big fan of Gilliam's prolific catalog of feature films (ever since Time Bandits), I stepped into the theater ready to be transported into a bizarro world. And that's essentially the plot of the film: a traveling circus troupe draws their audience individually into a magic mirror. On the other side, they enter an imaginary world filled with their own personal hallucinations and consequently experience a spiritual reckoning that returns them transformed and enlightened.

Friday was cold and rainy. More Old Man Winter. I'm OVER it! Fortunately, we had Clowns Without Borders to redeem the grey day. Lilly and her best friend, Ruby, were full of glee and River was captivated for over 2 hours. They wandered in and out of their own kindred imaginariums, and we followed endearingly.

On Saturday night, BunZ arranged a date to celebrate our friend Aisha's 40th birthday dessert party. We started with dinner at the new Spints Alehouse in the neighborhood. Within a half hour, my good friend Adrian unexpectedly walked in and joined us for impromptu Bavarian beers at the bar. This might not seem like much of a coincidence, EXCEPT that I've been trying to meet up with him for a couple of months AND he also turns 40 in a couple of weeks. I'm turning 40 this year, too, and find much therapy in watching friends turn that corner with nearly all faculties intact.

After multiple slices of cream pie and social networking conversations at Aisha's (RU Facebook-challenged, too?), Bunny and I headed out to the 'Couv to finally catch Avatar before it leaves 3D theaters.

Of course James Cameron deserves many accolades for ushering in a new age of digital animation technology, but I was more captured by the film's deep ecology ethic and ancient wisdom. Even if it replicates a story that's been told thousands of times from all corners of the Earth, I'm still thoroughly inspired EVERY time I hear that Mother Earth holds a divine plan for humanity as natural resources dwindle and our weather becomes auspiciously weirder.

Sunday was the Grand Finale...I hit the road for an epic bike ride through Forest Park and Sauvie's Island. At one point on this rural island at the confluence of the mighty Columbia and Willamette, I stopped to admire hundreds of Canadian Geese funneling into a field. Then continued on to my destination, Cistus Nursery, to meet Bunny, Lilly and River. Cistus stands out from any other plant nursery around Portland. It's dreamy like the jungle in Avatar: fractal layers of semi-tropical plants and their exotic fragrances fill the air. I found a spot to lounge in the sun and wait for my crew as spring petals floated down from the sky. Upon arrival, we toured the nursery and found a gigantic cala lily that emanates the sweet scent of hard candy.

From Cistus, we headed out to hike the beach at the end of the island. Rare warm, clear and calm days in Spring are the perfect time to walk this beach as the surrounding four volcanic, snow-capped peaks are reflected in the Columbia. Occasionally, massive cargo ships chug on by churning up waves onto the beach and leaving a stream of bunker smoke in the sky.

On our return, we ran into an old colleague from PNCA who remarked that he's never seen so many birds in Sauvie's fields as today. Sure enough on our drive back home, we spotted a flock of geese and pulled off the main road into a field filled with thousands of geese - mostly migrating species that we've never seen around here before. Their orchestrated honking was deafening as hundreds more continued to flock magnetically into this one field. Seriously MIND-BLOWING like the Serengeti. Again, it felt like entering a scene from Avatar's enchanting natural world where the definition of community extends far beyond human boundaries.

I know...I know. It's silly and a bit cuckoo to find coincidences between film and real life. But I did mention that I'm cRaZY about cycles, right? Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Annual...Glacial - I love them all. The first few months of 2010 have recalled many fond memories from Winter last year while reliving cyclical patterns (with a slightly different twist): lunar New Year at The Chinese Garden (on Valentine's), River's birthday celebration followed by a sweet stretch of warm sun (at the beach), and a dreamy early-Spring Columbia Gorge wildflower hike (to Tom McCall Point).

I heART Portland ;~)

Valentine's is always filled with love as Bunny immerses herself into an array of flowers to design incredible sculptures at Starflower. One of her bouquets is currently featured on the cover of Portland Bride & Groom!

She's one part in thousands of Portland artists who celebrate Valentine's with creative expressions. Last night, we went to the Portland LOVE Show opening at the Olympic Mills Commerce Center. On our first date, Bunny and I watched fireworks on the 4th of July (1997!) from the rooftop of this warehouse on the Industrial Eastside. Since that time, Portland's arts scene has continuously thrived. The last decade has been like a Renaissance in this City of Roses (despite the recession).

Much like the live music scene highlighted in my last post, art openings and parties intertwine our community together. In the case of this 5th Annual LOVE Show, 400 local artists contributed drawings, paintings and sculptures dedicated to LOVE! Plus, it's a giant kickass potluck with DJs, bands and a fundraiser for the Oregon Food Bank.

BunZ and Lilly were cuttin' the concrete to dance hall beats with our whacky friend Peter, and our long-time Portland friend, Juanita, was showing red velvets at the LOVE Show. She also had an earlier opening at Alma Chocolates down the street from our home. Mmmmmm! Chocolate! Juanita is a sculptor at heart but has mastered velvet painting over the last decade. She also paints on velvet jackets - check out her blog!

Cheers to feeling the love of community!

Rock It Baby!

For the past 15 and 1/2 years, Portland's thriving live music scene has connected us with community. On any given night, hundreds of performers play their hearts out across town. And often, the music is woven into an enchanting night of chance encounters with friends, strangers and old acquaintances.

In our early years together, Bunny and I would head out to a punk club or party most nights of the week and get inspired by a bunch of Portland's rising pop bands. With the arrival of parenthood in 2003, we gradually faded from this scene. Or at least switched gears from nightlife to a host of all-ages venues where Lilly could join in the fun. But Lil' lost interest in loud music over the last year and when combined with the needs of newborn River, getting out for a night on the town has become an increasingly rare event.

Still, we do make it to live shows every couple of months when the timing's right. Like the night before BunZ birthday, I was hoping to take her out dancing to the nerdy punk beats of Guidance Counselor.

Bunny's rearing to boogie down on any night of the week, but I'm much more rigid and need a mix of retro 80s beats with a modern edge to get my groove on. So I was glad to hear that this new wave dance party band was playing the newly revamped Mississippi Studios. That is until I found out that ALL of our baby sitters were UNAVAILABLE.

But the crazy thing is the very next day we were headed back into town from sledding on Mt Hood, and I received a text from my good old friend Andy (who very recently started drumming for none other than Guidance Counselor):

"Hey! I'm having a house party tonight. Semi-private double birthday dAnce party! You're invited! Guidance Counselor plays at 9:30, dAnce party to follow...Pls COME"

Of course this is a date with destiny, but first we had to return home to a SURPRISE! party for BunZ 36th Birthday.

The surprise party was a blast with around 50 old and new friends celebrating my wonderful wife. By late evening, I scooted everyone out, and we rushed over to Andy's packed basement to dANcE. Pure joy - a perfect ending to a perfect day.

On many occasions, live music has been my salvation from the depths of depression and doubt. In the middle of last week, I had a big meeting with the Mayor's office - attempting to get a climate protection policy back on the Mayor's agenda after many months of being on hold. Despite feeling deeply connected to serving the City since 2007, this past year has really been trying my patience, and lately I often feel frustrated by the perverse politics and bureaucratic red tape that restricts government from being effective.

Later that evening, BunZ fell asleep early with the kids and I found myself alone and wired. Flipping through a weekly, I happened across a rare performance by The Gossip later that same night.

This local act's popularity exploded in the last year with a You Tube vid that's received over 10 million hits. They could easily pack a cavern in Portland, but for this "undercover dance party" they were billed as the opening act anagram "PIE GHOSTS" for only 5 bucks at the intimate Mississippi Studios! Of course the show was sold out far in advance, but nothing stops me once the stars align. Within a couple of minutes lingering outside the venue with The Gossip rocking in the background, the doorman said,

"Hey, are you just looking for one ticket to the show?"

"Yep," I smiled hopefully.

"Well then perfect timing!" he replied, crossing off one last name on the guest list.

The Gossip's edgy dance fever was a perfect remedy for untying the bureaucratic knot in my stomach. They mixed old school punk classics (Talking Heads, Nirvana, Bikini Kill) into their rocking hits, and frontwoman Beth Ditto's comic wit between songs had the audience rolling. Hands down one of the best shows that I've ever seen, plus I ran into my sympathetic friend Wing - the other counter culture champ from the bureau. Once again, I was saved by Rock n Roll.

The week closed out with BunZ and I catching a screening of All Tomorrow's Parties at Portland's annual Reel Music Film Festival and reminiscing two solid decades of being inspired and energized by live music.

HaPpY NeW DEcAdE!

Looking back on the losses of friends and family in the last year, 2009 has been a long and trying year. Yet the longer view of the decade recalls 10 years filled with serendipity and minor miracles. When the new millenium rang in on New Year' Eve 1999, Bunny and I were fresh from living in a van for a year. It was that odyssey that opened my eyes to the strange and systemic connections that bind us all together.

Grateful for the blessing of community, I'm looking forward to the dawn of the new year AND a new decade!

Memorial on Maui

Six weeks after my uncle's passing, we arrived back in Maui to remember and celebrate his time with us on Earth. Moments after leaving the airport, we bee-lined for Baby Beach to meet Aunt Shanna and dip our feet in the ocean. The wind is relentless, but this beach is perfect for small children as a barrier reef creates a calm pool protected from the crashing waves. My cousins, Aaron and Katheryn, were raised on these shores.

Although well-known to locals, Baby Beach is typically uncrowded. And on the afternoon of our arrival, the beach was desolate except for a couple of beach combers and one small family wading in the pool. Lilly Star, being a social butterfly, suited up and immediately engaged the family. Within a few minutes, we realized that their daughter was a student at Sunnyside Environmental School in Portland last year under the same teacher as Lilly this year. The odds of this happenstance are unfathomable - a perfect community moment in time. As a rainbow revealed itself arcing over Lilly's impromptu play date, I was reminded of my uncle's advice, 'even if you are an introvert, be extroverted because you'll experience more life that way.'

In the days leading up to the memorial, we celebrated my uncle with our Maui family on their Upcountry farm and short excursions to the beach. The mornings were quiet and peaceful, the afternoons were buzzing with preparations, evenings were filled with stories over dinner, and at night, we'd fall asleep to the laughter of my cousins as they selected songs for the dance party.

On the morning of the memorial, a big rainbow stretched across the farm reminding me of Davey's bright and colorful spirit. After a short hike and dip into Twin Falls, the family convened on the farm for the final preparations as guests arrived. The memorial was sweet, endearing and sad all at the same time. Davey was remembered as a wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle, friend and angel in his community. We ended the night all smiles celebrating his favorite pastime - dancing!

After the celebration, we enjoyed a couple of long, calm beach days with Bunny's cousin Kate in Lahaina, and Aunt Shanna at Makena. Snorkeling in a protected marine reserve, Lilly and I swam with an array of rainbow fish and a sea turtle! On the seashore, River liked chomping on the rocks and sneaking handfuls of sand into his mouth.

On our last day, we said goodbye to family and shared one last moment on the beach remembering my dear Uncle Davey.