After six months of COVID and social distancing, staring at the same four walls of my newly rearranged and then re-cluttered home office, I’ve learned how lucky I am to live in a place where wilderness is a short drive away. We all need our “panic hole,” as Jim Harrison termed it…a wild space insideContinue reading “Place & Story & COVID”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Five fictional villains endlessly more fascinating than Donald Trump
Michael Shannon is an actor known for his talent for playing complex and often malevolent characters, so it was interesting to consider his response when he was…
Three days in Chicago
“Make no little plans,” or so they say. This is your guide to spending three days in Chicago, featuring pizza, blues and architecture.
Losing Mesopotamia
The Iraq War, the Sixth Extinction and the lightning bolt that allowed me to appreciate contemporary art.
Totalities
Viewing the eclipse seventy miles off of the Oregon Coast: thoughts on hype, denial, climate change and whatever remaining hope we have to make things right.
Words and Walls
A blog post from Inside Higher Ed about misguided policy, fear and the power of kindness.
In post-fact America, stories still win
A blog post from Inside Higher Ed about how we can fight the decidedly un-enlightened vision of the incoming regime.
Balancing career and calling: insights from three writers
Balancing writing and literary careers can be precarious and challenging. Here three writers give their take on how they wrangle a “bi-vocational” existence.
Sacred places
I return from a trip away to learn about the mass shooting in Roseburg. A classroom full of beautiful people. A writing class, no less. Everyone has their sacred places. Writing classes rank highly among mine.
Telling stories for fun and profit
I’ve made up stories since I was a kid. I started my own version of The Hobbit at least eleven different times. Then later on I tried making up stories that were more original. A few were. Many weren’t. Some were good. Others lousy. Ultimately, stories are aggregations of a thousand overheard conversations, films, books, poems,Continue reading “Telling stories for fun and profit”
Making Vino
While we’ve been busy making Vino Veritas, a documentary about the wine biz, I also recently made my first Willamette Valley pinot noir in the garage. Here’s a documentation of the process. Tough weather last year, and it shows, but the wine is soft and drinkable, if a bit bright. I hope the acid willContinue reading “Making Vino”
Wine in Arizona
While down in Phoenix for the in-laws 50th wedding anniversary, I took a side trip down to Arizona wine country in and around Sonoita, gathering footage for our wine documentary project. What I found surprised me. The challenges and risks are there, as they are in any emerging wine region, but not like you’d expect.Continue reading “Wine in Arizona”
Commercial script
I wrote the following script for a broadcast commercial for Oregon State University. Our marketing director challenged the web/multimedia team to come up with and execute a concept based on our brand platform and OSU’s historic leadership in the area of sustainability. And here’s the result. A friend said of the voice: “It’s kind ofContinue reading “Commercial script”
Stream of consciousness editing
I think it’s probably a misnomer to call this thing a reel. It’s really just a collection of shots from various projects and home movies over the past year, strung together by some transition techniques I’ve been experimenting with. My seven-year-old daughter said the title should be called Mixture of Movies. So it’s probably notContinue reading “Stream of consciousness editing”
Somber sunset
I spent most of Super Bowl Sunday hiking in Finley Natl. Wildlife Refuge, avoiding having to watch the Packers win. The late winter cloud cover can be oppressive in this part of Oregon, but if you get a break in the weather between fronts moving in from the coast, you can witness some beautiful, somberContinue reading “Somber sunset”
Multimedia Storytelling
I’ve stumbled across a new favorite blog by “multimedia journalist” Richard Hernandez who teaches media at Berkeley. He’s one of those storytellers who’s gifted in multiple mediums, from prose to video and motion graphics, and he’s got the energy of one of those rare and really good teachers who can convey an energy and enthusiasmContinue reading “Multimedia Storytelling”
Flickr Gallery Update
So long Sammy, 1994-2010
Sammy was cold when I found her this morning on the couch. There wasn’t shock or surprise…she’d been dying hard for the better part of a week. Mainly there was relief: I was thankful she was no longer suffering; I was grateful I didn’t have to watch her waste away any more; glad that IContinue reading “So long Sammy, 1994-2010”
Saved by poetry
I work a full-time gig putting in plenty of extra hours. I’m not saying this to whine, only to point out that it takes time and effort to do a job as well as you can, and jobs are what pay the mortgage. I also turn out a script or two, squeezing in time atContinue reading “Saved by poetry”
Shoryland open for business
Friend and satirist Lein Shory of Irate Savant fame is back in form with a new blog. Funny stuff. If the publishing industry weren’t all aflutter with self-pity and panic, they would have snapped up his darkly comic first novel months ago. As far as I know it’s still available.
The Dilettante's Field Manual 