Fall 2024 Tiny Letter - no national politics!
Watch, read, listen.
Y’all know I’m fond of giving my opinion. 😀 But I’m trying my best to withhold opinion and analysis for a while longer. It’s a disaster, to be sure, but there’s already plenty of chatter about it, some of it from people far more politically astute and less cynical than I.
Consider commentary postponed. Imagine an array of ‘phew!’ emoji.
In local elections, though…
Portland just elected a new mayor, a business owner named Keith Wilson, who has spend a lot of his own time and money studying the issue of homelessness. He has proposed a bold goal of eliminating unsanctioned camping within a year. This may be unrealistic, but it gets points for ambition. Even a 50% decrease would be a big win.
We also elected 12 city counselors, 3 per district. Only one of them is an incumbent. These newbies come in with a sense of urgency, desire to cut red tape, and actually get shit done. I’m rooting for them to succeed. Unlike some other races, our city council race felt very positive, with candidates supporting each other, and focusing on experience and problem solving instead of personalities.
This was also the start of ranked choice voting, and I’m a big fan. The math is complex, but the concept is simple. You rank candidates from 1st to Nth choice (N may be 3 or 6 or 9 depending on the race). Then votes are calculated in a way that gives a fighting chance to candidates that are not a majority of voters’ first choices, but still accumulate enough support to win.
It makes races far more representational, because you don’t just choose candidate A, B, or C, and that’s it. You distribute your preferences across multiple candidates. Ranked choice voting was employed in our city council race, which had 80-odd(!) candidates running for 12 seats.
Still not trying to be early Tim Ferris, but:
Living in a small apartment, I’m very particular about what I bring into my space. Here are a few things I’ve found improve my quality of life.
Dedicated mp3 player. Y’all have heard my rants about the value of CDs. Although it’s probably cool in Portland to go jogging with an anti-skip portable CD player strapped to your man bag (a.k.a. murse, man purse, fanny pack), it’s not that practical. But instead of dealing with Apple Music or Android Whatever (Google Music? dunno), Bluetooth glitches, sweating on my iPhone in the gym, I just load up a $50 mp3 player with a ton of music.
I think these are out of production, but there are others. Even a used iPod Mini would do. It weighs a few ounces, is 1/5 the size of an iPhone, and all it does it play music. Once again: no notifications, no software updates, doesn’t need WiFi, battery lasts forever. Just choose and album and play it. If it gets run over by a wayward skater, well, it’s under fifty bucks.
I got the JBL Live 660NC, and am pretty content. Noise cancelling headphones. I’m late to the party on these, but I’m a fan. I bought a mid-tier model for $100. You can spend a lot more on the Bose brand and pump an eerie level of silence in to your ear holes, but I’m happy with mine. They’re great for:
The gym, where an endless cycle of radio hits is played, FOREVER. The DJ is probably an AI, but even so, the songs are sometimes announced with the sort of enthusiasm we might want to reserve for something that’s actually new and interesting, like a song conceived in this century. Look, I love “Everybody Wang Chung Tonight.” I’ve even got a t-shirt idea about it on deck. It’s awesome because the artist, Wang Chung, basically name checks themselves in their own song. Wang Chung feat. Wang Chung. This is common for rappers, but synth pop? Can you imagine Depeche Mode offering a track called “You’ve got to find the Depeche Mode?” But still, none of us need to hear that hit yet again. Once or twice per year is plenty.
Plane flights. They cut out much of noise floor, so you can listen to music or watch videos without having to turn up the volume so dang high.
Mass transit. While I like interacting with strangers, sometimes on a MAX train slow roll out to the ‘burbs I just want my own tunes.
Foam roller, yoga balls, other soft tissue tools. Of all the money I’ve spent on PT, massage, chiropractic, and various gadgets and modalities…just taking the time to manually work out the kinks with cheap accessories like these has probably given me the best results of all. You can’t fix a torn ACL or rotator cuff by just rolling on it, but you can encourage mobility and supple tissues by investing some time here. Part of the antidote for the desk jockey, WFH (Work From Home) lifestyle. Put on music, a podcast, or mindless TV, and roll.
Holiday stuff for the kids
I learned about Foldscope years ago, when they first launched the idea of an ultra low cost, foldable microscope. Now they have a bunch of products. These are great for the kids in your life.
Foldscope Paper Microscopes | Portable Microscopes
Foldscope makes science more accessible. Our foldable paper microscopes are low-cost devices that bring the wonders of the microscopic world to all.
Alex Edelman Comedy Special
This is comedy gold, it’s as close to perfectly done as I’ve ever seen. It’s also incredibly uplifting.
Kurt Cobain, agitator
Cobain was an ally of the underdog. In this story, Nirvana was so put off by the (multi-)phobia of this show’s audience, that he trolled ‘em, starting and stopping familiar songs as a spirited F-you.
The Nirvana Concert “Sabotaged” by Kurt Cobain to Spite an Angry Crowd
When Nirvana played a huge stadium show in Buenos Aires in 1992, an all-“female/queer/trans” band called Calamity Jane
IPM FTW (Integrated Pest Management For The Win)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-10/good-bugs-reduce-vegetable-pesticides-glasshouse-virginia-sa/104371086Vegetable growers in Australia's glasshouse capital deploy 'good bugs' to reduce pesticide use
Usher, The Seducer
This isn’t the kind of article I typically read, but I found it honest and compelling.
Why Is Usher So Sexy? Lessons in the Art of Seduction
Shirtless lessons from the king of getting everyone else all hot and bothered.
How Robert Smith of the Cure Became Rock’s Most Dogged Activist
With his band’s first new album in 16 years out Friday, post-punk’s dark prince discusses enduring on his own terms and clashing with the most powerful company in live music.
On a related note, I was part of an effort that tried (and so far failed) to keep the monopolist jüggernaut known as Live Nation/Ticketmaster from building a venue in Portland. We are the last large(r) city without one of their venues. Everywhere they land, they seriously injure the local music scene.
Tiny Rats in Vests Helping Humanity? I vote yes.
Giant Rats In Tiny Vests Trained To Sniff Out Illegally Trafficked Wildlife | IFLScience
This brings a whole new meaning to getting ratted out.
In keeping with Portland’s artsy reputation, the Airport has established a microcinema
Hollywood Theater – Portland, Oregon - Atlas Obscura
At this airport "microcinema," you can catch a film before you catch a flight.
In partnership with the Port of Portland, the Hollywood Theatre operates a first-of-its-kind free 22-seat microcinema at Portland International Airport, showcasing short films by Pacific Northwest filmmakers. The airport microcinema is located after security in the airport’s C Concourse.
How cool would it be to have your film shown here?
Keeping phones out of the classroom
I’m pretty sure that if I were a high school student today, I would also be upset about Grant’s cell phone-free campus, because abruptly changing your communication habits is very difficult. Still, I think it’s a stellar idea.
Imagine if these high school students learn to relate without so much reliance on devices, and sustain its benefits into adulthood. They could be the generation that bypasses the worst of phone addiction, diminishing the status of social media in favor of real human connection.
Inside a Portland High School Where Students’ Cell Phones Are Kept Under Lock and Key
Grant High School Principal James McGee, along with principals at Beaumont Middle School and Cleveland High School, is leading the charge in PPS to create cell-phone free campuses.
Closing quote
When you are a frustrated songwriter, it isn't enough just to write a song. Anyone can do that! You want it to sound a certain way. If it doesn't end up that way, you don't want to have written it in the first place.
Ideally, your song should be so good, a person listening to it would see a geometric vision of infinity, lose muscular control, and collapse to the ground like a sack of rivets.
— The Frustrated Songwriter, p. 1