Category: Uncategorized

The highlight of the day is driving to the post office, plus stopping for a couple of other quick errands, while Ivi mostly attends to her phone.

 

 

Taking a “rainbow” light spectrum display from the skylight onto my computer workbench as a propitious signal to go outside and make photographs, I was almost immediately derailed.  Kim invited me to accompany her to Grandview Cemetery where she had. just after sunrise, placed flowers from our back yard at family gravesites and the VietNam Veterans Memorial.  Due to the harsh, difficult lighting conditions, we may try to return later for a better go of all this.

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Then, on the promise that we would be having a special meal tonight, I was induced to participate in a shopping venture, which turned out to also have a hardware research element to get hands-on with tools that Kim had been investigating online.

 

As consolation for the shopping effort, into the parking lot across the way cruised a pristine Washington-plated Model A Ford with a middle-aged couple and two dogs aboard.  By the time I reached it, the associated humans had disembarked and I could not confirm some of my suspicions, as I would have sworn that I could hear a distinctly non-stock exhaust note from the distance, despite the remarkably original exterior appearance.  (Wonder what it would take to lay in modern-era EcoBoost engine and other upgraded undercarriage pieces?)  Did I ever mention that it was with a 1931 Model A four-door that I learned to drive?

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Finally, I was able to drop by a potential customer’s facilities and venue, and grab some fast exploratory photos (not shown here).   Then it was back to the ranch and Charlie and Ivi and Nik and the evening meal prep.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the highest level public health agency in the US federal government, under the Department of Health and Human Services) recently published a map displaying “most distinctive causes of death”, state-by-state.

read more here

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UPDATE:

After the rain, through the same window:

A while back, we caught interviews on Charlie Rose, Fresh Air, the PBS NewsHour and elsewhere of Lynsey Addario, a “conflict” (i.e., war zone, etc.) photographer who has covered situations in almost every global trouble spot, from Africa to Afghanistan and much more) of the past fifteen or so years. Notified Friday by the local library that my special order of several weeks ago for her memoir had arrived, I eagerly picked it up, concluding my read yesterday and turning it over to Kim for a turn.

I soon got past my initial reaction that it was something of a self-serving (probably by definition what autobiographical work is intended to be) piece that had the benefit of hindsight, realizing that I had found a real page-turner. More than once, it inspired tears. I kept thinking that surely this one could be adapted as a movie, and, sure enough, last night a little research showed that Steven Spielberg is slated to direct, with Jennifer Lawrence to play Addario’s part.  (Not sure when it is to be released.)

Discovering this book, by the way, came about shortly after we happened to watch “A Thousand Times Good Night”, a 2013 Norwegian/Irish film directed by Eric Poppe (and inspired by his own experience as a war journalist) and starring Juliette Binoche as an obsessed war photographer.

While we’re at it, you should know about the stunning “War Photography”, a 2001 documentary film on the work of acclaimed photographer, James Nachtwey.  

Normally, this is the kind of post that I would limit to my photography blog, but it seems worthy of attention by a wider audience. Highly recommended.

See Addario’s website: http://www.lynseyaddario.com/

And learn more about her book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L9B7CSM/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb

Because yesterday’s small harvest of mushrooms turned out to be so delicious, Ivi and Kim returned to the mountains today for an extended hunting & gathering session.  By dinnertime, we realized that some key meal ingredients were needed, so a quick and determined trip was made to the market before the impending thunderstorm could cut loose.

 

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A bit more.  All unposed, candid, random and reckless.  Maybe one or two will end up in the photo blog.

 

 

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Vacating the Dorm

Marina left last night, so the rest of us redezvous with Ivi to clear out her dorm room and load the van.  Somehow, miraculously, it all fits inside, but we still have a big shopping stop to make at Trader Joe’s.

 

 

Shandong

Lunch finds us at Shandong in the Hollywood District (3724 NE Broadway St, Portland, OR 97232 — this is an address you will want to know).  Outstanding meal; easily worth a future visit.  

Leaving Town

Ivi takes the helm.  Incredibly, we also load three Trader Joe shopping bags full of goodies into the overstuffed vehicle. We cruise past some familiar Portland sights and hit the road.

 

 

Return Trip

Ivi insists on driving the distance, but time passes quickly, playing games invented by Nik and just talking.  Windshield photography again comes into play.  We arrive well before dark.

 

 

English Department Reception

The department hosts an excellent brunch, where we get to meet several of Ivi’s professors and advisors.  Each has much to say about Ivi, and we will not repeat it here.  We also hear an interesting spiel by one of the department faculty members, who is a trustee or an official for the Ralph Ellison estate collection of literature or something like that.  

Around Campus

Fighting the heat and crazy midday sun-shadow interplay, we spend a good deal of time walking about and getting in some good conversation.   We learn that Larkin will be able to drop in!  (Photos below bracket both sides of the commencement time, and some include Larkin, who actually only appeared just minutes before commencement … commenced.)

Commencement

Lucky to secure seating in the shaded part of the stadium, we grind it out for 2.5 or 3 hours.  Nothing compared to what the graduates must have endured in the open sun.  But the time passed with some good speech-making and the where’s-waldo exercise of keeping our eyes on the antics or non-antics of Ivi and her classmates.  (I was so distant from where Ivi was seated that I could hardly see her face or any details, but aimed at max zoom and shot in burst mode.)

Apres-Commencement

A cliche-avoiding English major would never say such a thing, but there was a palpable sense of relief throughout after the graduates were dispersed to various venues around campus.  We sneaked into the Frank Manor House, discovering a quiet and cool room to relax and chat.

Downtown Portland

We determined to eat dinner downtown, so we drove through intense traffic (where cap-and-gowned grads blew past us on bicycles, and where I sneaked a no-look, over-the-shoulder shot of the back seat occupants, some legal, some not).  Stashing the vehicle at the park blocks, we marched off under the guidance of Larkin’s GPS.  Not finding the intended restaurant (or was it closed? I never was certain), we found a Plan-B Mexican restaurant known to Ivi.  Good times, good food, and a sneak peak into its kitchen.

Larkin Departs

Almost no sooner than she appears, she must leave.