School Daze

Springtime at Schreiner Iris Garden--Final Project

2010-06-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

Springtime at Schreiner Iris Garden

More than 60 years ago, F. X. Schreiner moved his family and his beloved iris collection from the harsh Minnesota climate to the more temperate Willamette Valley in Oregon. He chose the Quinaby district, just north of Salem. Today, his grandchildren, Steven and Ray, and their children maintain a 10-acre garden filled with over 200 named iris. On an additional 200 acres, they operate an internationally recognized hybridizing program that produces flowers that win domestic and international medals.

Throughout the year, iris collections or other seasonal flowers and birds and insects can be enjoyed. Photographers, artists, painters, the young and young at heart are welcomed to picnic, view the gardens or purchase flowers from dawn to dusk each day of the season.

Plein air painter, Brooks Hickerson, captures the beauty of the Schreiner Iris Garden.

Even young children like this toddler, Jake Smith, are captivated by the beauty of a bearded iris taller than himself throughout Schreiner Iris Garden.

Hybridizer and co-owner Steve Schreiner spends many hours each day carefully checking the test garden. He evaluates the progress of the plants at Schreiner Iris Garden that were hybridized two years earlier. Although hybridization is done in the wild by bees, blossom formation requires very aggressive or large bees, like the bumblebee to be successful.

Honey bees easily pollinate open flowers like the beautiful oriental poppies at Schreiner Iris Garden. Consistent, successful hybridization of the iris, however, requires human intervention.

Anita and Vidya Rao stroll one of the many paths that invite visitors to wander through Schreiner Iris Garden. Each bed overflows with varieties of flowers including lilies, colorful poppies, columbine and pansies interspersing the Schreiner award-winning iris.

The Hybridization Process

Remove the falls--the lower petals.

Remove the standards--the upper petals--to expose the crest.

Identify the anther and stigmatic lip--the male/female part.

Pull the crest back to expose the stigmatic lip.

Remove the anther then scrape it lightly across the lip to deposit pollen on the lip. Allow the crest to return to its position.

When the fertilization is successful, seeds will grow in the seed pod below the anther.

Fertilized seeds will be planted the following year, and a beautiful new blossom will be seen in the spring of the second year.

My Neighborhood--resubmit

2010-05-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

All action starts on Main Street. That is the heart of my town. The main grocery store, the barber shop, a hotel, the library, city hall, fire and utility departments, and the community center, all line Main Street. The Mint Festival, Flower Festival and all other events begin on Main Street. Jefferson became my hometown the day I saw that street. I missed the Mayberry-RFD-type life I enjoyed as a child and I found it in Jefferson.

There are several "landmarks" in Jefferson, but I have two favorites. One is The building bearing the name "Center of Main Street." Aother landmark is a colorful bicycle owned and ridden by Glenn Marlatt, a resident of nearby Talbot. On most weekdays, Glenn can be seen riding his bicycle throughout town, stopping to visit with everyone who will stop to chat along his way.

The community center is the hub of the community. Activities for citizens of all ages are planned and enjoyed at the center. Monday is weekly pinochle day. Jim and Marlene Anderson, who have lived in Jefferson for more than 50 years, enjoy the weekly gathering with friends, as well as the good-natured rivalry as they play on opposing teams.

The library and Conser House are another sign of life in Jefferson. Librarian Valerie Hauser has only been on the job for a year, but she is excited about the prospect the new facility that is currently being funded.

Jackie Schumacher, a Stayton resident, has been the assistant librarian for two years. She says she chose the job because she just likes books and people.

News Story-- for Friday 5/28

2010-05-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

When a little sun popped through a rainy week, Jordan Tunstill and Elise Hermes took a break from studying to enjoy it. For Jordan it is a sanity break. He says, "If I study all the time, I will lose my mind!"

PROJECT CHANGE!! Final project proposal

2010-05-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

Since I have fallen in love with the place, and taken a lot of pictures of it in the last three weeks, I would like to take pictures of Memorial Day festivities on the 31st. I will visit on Friday and Sunday to do some preshooting of the iris fields, the business aspect of the garden and then take pictures the memorial on Monday.

Photos would include a picture of the iris fields, one of the garden, the Jazz Band that will be playing in the afternoon, an artist capturing the beauty of the poppies, a picture of any obvious veterans, and people enjoying the flowers.

Schreiner's Iris Gardens Memorial Day

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date:Monday, May 31, 2010 time:11:30 AM to 4:00 PM venue:Schreiners Iris Gardens address:3625 Quinaby Road North East Salem, OR 97303 View map Annual Chicken Dinner

Plan to join us for our Schreiner's Iris Gardens Memorial Day Chicken BBQ featuring the culinary delights of the Gervais Knights of Columbus, and offering the lively music of the Capital City Jazz Band from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. This annual event takes place every Memorial Day and is filled with fun for the whole family.
category:Arts and Entertainment website:Click to visit the site

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If that fails, I will submit the project already done of Jefferson Nursery.

"Mr. Jefferson" (news item)

2010-05-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Glenn Marlatt is Jefferson's representative. Although he lives between eight and 10 miles away in Talbot, he is seen most days riding through town, even in the rain. He stops at the community center, Papa's, Derek's Barber Shop, the library, fire station and by each school as part of his routine. Long-time residents know him, look for him and seem to know exactly where to find him when he isn't with them.

I caught up with him at Derek's and the community center this week. His warm smile greeted me and when he was all "spiffed up," he was ready for pictures.

If you visit Jefferson, watch for him. He pops out of a side street and surprises you when you least expect it.

Talbot resident, Glenn Marlatt, prepares for his daily bicycling junket around Jefferson keeping an eye on the town and visiting everyone he can along the way. He is "Mr. Jefferson"--a town "landmark."

Glenn's transportation is loaded, parked at the curb, and ready to go riding down Main Street.

Sports/Action Photo ready for grading

2010-05-11T23:36:00.000-07:00

"ONE VILLAGE, MANY TRIBES"

Darryl Thomas and Kailee McMurran perform in "One Village, Many Tribes,"the concluding dance in the show. Thomas and his wife, Valerie Bergman, internationally renowned choreographers, along with their eight-member ensemble "Rainbow Dance Theater" captivated the audience in an afternoon performance of "The Roots of Hip Hop" at Russell Trip Theater on May 11.

Faces of San Francisco

2010-05-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

If you're going to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you're going to San Francisco
You're gonna meet some gentle people there.....

I went there with no flowers but I met some gentle people there.

Lonely voices crying in the city
Lonely voices sounding like a child
Lonely faces looking for the sunrise
Too disturbed to stop and rest a while.

I saw the lonely faces and the voices of the children. In the streets of San Francisco. Two songs, different messages and me. I left San Francisco saddened by the lives that wander those streets looking for a sunrise that may never come.

A man and child sit and watch life on the streets of San Francisco...

Attorney Joan Kubota enjoys a good book and a good cigar in Golden Gate Park. She says she learned to smoke cigars in the Philippines but learned to enjoy "big fat" cigars when in Cuba where "women really enjoy rolling them."

Eugene Curley plays his guitar in Golden Gate Park

And there is love..... and religion on the street in San Francisco...

Women, the disabled and children ----sit or sleep or peddle their wares...on the streets and in the parks of San Francisco.

....and there is love...

but I was left with the haunting question, will the next generation also become a voice from another face--wandering the streets of the city?

Panelists discuss covering local news as if people matter

2010-05-04T02:32:00.000-07:00

Panelists Tiny (POOR Magazine), Tim Redmond (San Francisco Bay Guardian), Tracy Rosenberg (Media Alliance), Michele Fitzhugh-Craig (ZM Productions and Shades Magazine), Eva Martinez (El Tecolote), and JR Valrey engage in a heated discussion regarding ways to cover local communities as if people matter.

Profile/Mug Shots

2010-04-16T01:16:00.000-07:00

LBCC pre-nursing student, Jason Riley, is also a Jefferson, Ore., volunteer firefighter. He completed his EMT training at LBCC in 2009 and has been a firefighter since 2008.

Campus News Photo 2--Sand Volleyball Practice

2010-04-16T00:29:00.000-07:00

Sand volleyball--Triana Crane style

In a practice game at the Activities Center on Wednesday, April 14, Triana Crane sends Chase Rogers airborne to return her volley, as his teammate, Mark Ekins, prepares to set-should he get the opportunity.

********************************************************************************

Crane gives her all-----


                                                                                                                       ----and saves the volley!

Edible Art

2010-04-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Student Marty Holgan prepares to create a masterpiece

First, the bread...

Then, the cheese....

Crisp leaves of Romaine lettuce...

tomato slices...

and cucumber slices.....

more cucumber slices....

Red onion pieces...

......add black olives

And VOILA!

Online magazines: Are they making money?

2010-04-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

Are magazines making money online? According to an article by Tom Foremski in the "Silicon Valley Watcher" dated March 22, 2007, that answer would be "no."

In the same article Helen Leggatt states, "despite investments totaling millions in marketing dollars, only a handful of the industry players present could claim more than 3 percent of their sales came from online."

I am speechless.

I spent $4.99 on a magazine filled with ads for a great number of products. I imagine that "someone" buys some of the items featured. But the "free" online version, which has similar content plus videos and links to numerous other sites and products I can enjoy, makes little to no money on the venture. In fact, according to this article, advertisers aren't making much money from the ads submitted, either.

Additionally, Foremski says, "The economics of publishing online can't support the people and processes that are needed to produce it.

It's because publishers have to compete against online publishers such as Google whose costs of publishing a page of content and ads is minuscule. The reason GOOG or YHOO or Craig's List can sell advertising cheaper is because they don't have to pay for their content.

It costs tens of thousands of dollars for newspapers and magazines to produce, market and distribute a "page" of content.

There is no way that they can compete against competitors whose comparable costs are pennies per page."

Unbelievable!

There was an interesting comment posted on March 23, 2007 from "Anonymous": For all the problems in traditional print publishing, I'd still be more likely to cite an article in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal than I would a blog posting about the same topic..... Credibility is still an issue with blogs. So is transparency. So is personal bias....but at least we tend to know where MSM is coming from, i.e., I may know the biases that they have, may even prefer a certain slant on content for that very reason."

Hmmm. More things to think about. Are the articles in the print and online versions of magazines the same?

I've been looking at leisure magazines. What about news magazines? Are online newspapers more blog than news content?

I guess that's another subject, but it is one I will be checking in the days ahead.

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I created a new blog list--it is at the bottom of the blog page.

Online version of Men's Health Magazine

2010-04-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing my quests--

Interesting! Things are a little bit different on the home page of Men's Health Magazine..

The print version has an article about Dwight Howard and his workout. The online version has a video: "Dwight Howard: MH Cover Guy."

One of the important things I saw was the space for comments. That is a great thing for online. And yes, right on front page there is an ad for a health beverage. I expected that, though.

However, the better thing about the online version is the ease of additional research--links, even to Facebook from the Powerade ad. There are links to sponsors. There is an interactive survey. It's funny how quickly we get comfortable with the interactive aspect.

I still don't understand all of the women that are added, but I guess that's what gets the men there to look.

Is the expected impact of men's magazines different from women's magazines

2010-04-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

I'm looking at Women's Health and Men's Health magazines more closely to answer the question--what are the magazines trying to sell--health, sex, clothes, shoes, vehicles or what?

In Men's Health there is actually a "centerfold" girl, well, not exactly "center" because she's only on one page. But, you get my drift.

Here is what I found:

ITEM	MEN'S MAGAZINE	WOMEN'S MAGAZINE

Clothing	6	10
Shoes	5	5
Deodorant	2	1
Cologne	4
Hair	4
Cars	4	1
Trucks	1
Weight	19	24
Sex	2	1
Cancer		2
Tampons		1
Toilet tissue		1
Dishes/Tide		2
Cell phones	1	1
Insurance	1
Febreze		1
Vitamins	1	1
Time-off stuff	1
Sports Beverages	1	1
Beer	1
Tech	1
Stocks	1
Water
Golf	2
Glasses	1
Tires	1
Motor oil	1
Pet food	1	1

It is absolutely amazing! I expected ads pertaining to health, you know--vitamins, bottled water, diet foods, tennis shoes, but Tide and Febreze in the women's magazine? K-Y Jelly and a centerfold in the men's magazine? Incredible.

Who thinks of these things?

And, if I like anything I see, I have to order it by mail, or make a phone call, when I am browsing through print media as opposed to clicking to a link and making a purchase on line.

So, I'm wondering--is it different online? Is there an online version of either of these magazines? If so, is the advertising different and is it more accessible?

Magazines: Are they still an influential media?

2010-04-14T00:17:00.001-07:00

About Me--my magazine "expertise":

I am a recovered magazine-holic. I kept subscriptions to several--Woman's Day,Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, Reader's Digest, Redbook, Parents, Family Circle and frequently purchased others: Country Living, Backyard Living, PC Magazine, Bride, Glamour, Seventeen, Guideposts, Mother Earth News, Newsweek, Organic Gardening, Time, US News & World Report, National Geographic, Writer's Digest and several craft magazines--quilting, crocheting, etc., and that is not the end of the list. I have had collections that I have read from cover to cover, more than one time.

Realizing this and looking at this project, I decided to see if I could determine the level of influence these magazines are having on the lives of readers today, are they effective, cost effective, how the print forms compare to online versions.

As a writer, I like to write to convince as well as to inform. When I read magazines, that is what I look for, but I am wondering if have I purchased a little information scattered through an advertising collection.

I have heard comments about the influence of radio, television and music on society so many times that it is tempting to believe that those are the only influential types of media available or the only types that have a lot of influence.

When I walk through grocery stores, or stores like Wal-Mart or Fred Myers and look at the rows of magazines, I think people forget the importance of magazines. We are so used to TV, radio and other forms of media it is easy to forget the role of magazines--their availability at times when radio and TV are not available or are inappropriate.

Magazines are still very influential.

That's my opinion, but I stopped at a store today and purchased a few just to see if my opinion had merit. I believe it does.

From my own listed collection it is clear that there are magazines for just about every craft, magazines for wines, food, health and fitness, every sport, for men, women, parents,families, teachers, photographers, animal lovers, brides (I didn't see one for grooms--I wonder what that means?), children, teenagers, senior citizens, car enthusiasts, fishermen, cattlemen, cowboys, (even cowboys and Indians), racing enthusiasts, crosswords and games, horoscopes, relationships, recipes, how-to, travel--and there were more.

I decided to purchase Cowboys & Indians, Women's Health, Men's Health, Parent & Child, and another I had never heard of, "Marie Claire."

Just flipping through the pages one thing is immediately clear--these are major ad opportunities for everybody! At least six articles were "announced" on the cover of each magazine--seven or more on some of them.

After turning nearly 50 pages of "Marie Claire" I finally got to one story, "Big girl in a skinny world." (It was page 89.) At least one of every two pages prior to that page was an ad or contained an ad for something from clothes to makeup, jewelry, trips, hair products and beyond.

In Women's Health, the items that exist in every issue begin on page 12, however, no real "stories" begin until page 41. The ads throughout the magazine are numerous.

Interestingly, Men's Health found a way to get something other than ads in by page 17. There also actually seemed to be more articles of substance in this magazine. Was it possible that men were actually getting more information in their magazine? I would have to investigate.

Parent & Child was a little different--possibly because it is a Scholastic magazine. Information began on page 10, and while there were ads, they were a different kind of ad. Perhaps I would call them more "sensible" ads aimed at "sensible" parents. ("Marie Claire" had ads that seemed to be aimed at women who just had money to spend.)

There was something about that Cowboys and Indians magazine that was a bit different, and it wasn't just Noah Wyle on the cover. Yes, there were ads, but there were also lengthy articles. The ads also were about things that were more "interesting" somehow.

That is another thing I will have to investigate---next time.

Displaced worker prepares for new career

2010-04-09T01:48:00.000-07:00

Albany Police Vehicle Involved in Collision With LBCC Student

2010-04-09T01:27:00.001-07:00

On Monday, at about 11:15 a.m., an LBCC student's vehicle was involved in a collision with an Albany Police Department SUV at the corner of Belmont and Highway 99E, just north of campus. Because the accident involved a police department vehicle, the Linn County Sheriff's Department is conducting the investigation. No further details were available Tuesday.

Words that make you think....

2010-04-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

The sign in the Registration window says: "Graduation applications get turned into Admissions."

Does this notify students that graduation applications become admissions, go in the direction of Admissions or inform them of the place they should submit the applications?

Campus News Photos

2010-04-02T09:32:00.001-07:00

Rob,
The 2 pics above the *** are the only ones to grade this week.

Quiet Moments:

Students Casi Ward and Vurthy Pen found a quiet spot in Takena Hall to read.

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Spring Term Begins

At a Glance

Who: Various LBCC students
What: Get involved in the business of a new term
When: March 29 through April 2, 2010
Where: On LBCC Albany campus

This week LBCCs Albany campus was buzzing with activity as students completed enrollment procedures and began classes. Many avoided the long lines at the Bookstore by shopping during spring break.

Seville and Sebastian Strickler look for the right backpack...

Sara Avilti and Brittany Reynolds chat as they wait in line--

while Andrew Decker, president of the Honor Society, assists Amber Austin with her purchase. All this takes place under the watchful eye of Rich Stoneberg, "the Guardian" of the book store lines.

Travis Eichner takes a break in the sun
while Kortnie Jazmin studies. While elsewhere on campus, students enjoy a variety of activities during the week: studying, reading a favorite newspaper (the Commuter), visiting with friends, playing a game of Hacky Sack, a game of basketball in the activity center, while others enjoy a baseball game. One student even enjoys a nap.

Dick Gentry, a returning veteran, displays a leather jacket with a message.

Angelina Gardner checks for messages.

Pictures

2010-03-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

Playing in the cherry blossoms

Rachel Houck enjoying Spring flowers on campus April Showers and Spring Flowers

Two men praying together

Two views/her and Mt. Jefferson

Mischievous munchkin

A Passion for Glass - Glassmaking Artwork and Techniques"

2010-03-09T00:40:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Bill and Jane Siebler, LBCC alums
What: Talk: “A Passion for Glass - Glassmaking Artwork and Techniques”
When: Thursday, March 4, 2010, 2 to 3 p.m.
Where: Mt. Vineyard Room-Calapooia Center
How: PowerPoint presentation of the collection and the glassmaking processes
Contact Information: bisiebler@yahoo.com/541-745-7184

Silica plus heat equals glass. Simple. Take your bucket and shovel to the beach, pick up a bucket of sand, heat it and voila! Glass.

It would be wonderful if it were that simple!

It isn't, and Bill and Jane Siebler will tell you so. They both have a true passion for glass work that shows in the number of pieces displayed in their Corvallis home, which they have shared with LBCC over the last several weeks.

As a result of their collecting, both Sieblers have tried their hand at glass making; however, Bill has a love for the art of glass making at the experiential level. He has mastered flameworking, producing marbles and small sculptures.

Jane says glass working "is more difficult than you expect it would be," and prefers to just enjoy the collection.

In their presentation, he explained that while it is technically true that sand plus heat equals glass, glass making is quite a science.

"Temperatures over 3000 degrees will melt sand," he said. However, glassmaking today includes "additives that lower the melting point to 2000 degrees, and one or two additives to stabilize it."

The items in the collection shared by the Sieblers, however, are more than just melted sand, as Analee Fuentes' Art Design class, members of the faculty, staff and other students learned.

They all watched and listened in rapt silence as Bill showed examples of several techniques used in creating items which included vases, plates, bowls, masks, paperweights and even marbles.

He showed furnace work, which we know as "glass blowing." It is the most general type in which "molten glass is taken directly from the furnace and manipulated by blowing through a tube or being worked with a variety of hand tools," Bill says.

He also shared information about flameworking, casting, fusing, and cold assembly.

The Sieblers have made plans part of their collection (which includes the work of artists such as Dale Chihuly, Ruth Brockman, Lino Tagliapietra and Rudi Gritsch) to have a permanent home at LBCC.

Librarian Brian Miyagashima made a surprise presentation in honor of these former LBCC faculty and staff members (Jane was also an LBCC student), announcing that the library has purchased two books to add to its collection in honor of their contributions.

The Siebler collection will remain on display in North Santiam Hall and the library until March 19. If you haven't taken the time to stop and enjoy it, you should.

And think about the beauty of the converted product the next time you are at the beach with your bucket and shovel.

Stephen King and My Journalistic Future

2010-02-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Alethea Skinner
What: Commenting on Stephen King's book "On Writing"

This week I felt the need to hide a book I was reading--for the first time in my adult life. That was my experience when I took Stephen King with me to the Grandparent's Day celebration at Jefferson Elementary School.

One grandparent and at least one teacher commented about the author, his style of writing and whether or not they would be caught in public with one of his books. Others just looked at me with a quizzical expression.

"I read one of his books; it was awful," a grandma said.

"It's a book on writing I am reading for my class," I hastened to assure her, showing her the title and explaining my position on the language content.

"Oh!" was her only comment, but she eyed me with a raised eyebrow.

How embarrassing!

Well, King seems to have a bad reputation for scaring people and for foul language. Still, there are things I have learned from reading between the words (and omitting a lot of them).

That is what I will share.

Throughout his book, in the midst of all of the stories, King actually provides aspiring great writers with valuable knowledge about the mechanics and subtleties of perfecting the craft.

For instance, he said he believed"large numbers of people have at least some talent as writers and storytellers, and that those talents can be strengthened and sharpened." While it seems an insignificant tidbit, for someone who is struggling and filled with self-doubt, it is a major encourager.

I believe I have "at least some talent" as a writer and storyteller.

There were times I have wondered about story ideas--where you get them, the source of a writer's inspiration. According to King, story ideas come from various places, rather than an "Idea Dump" or "Story Central." Rather than trying to find story ideas, the key is learning to recognize the ideas when they appear.

I had better do more watching then.

I have actually found King's "-isms" are very helpful. I particularly liked his comments about the basic unit of writing being the paragraph rather than the sentence. He says it is "the place where coherence begins and words stand a chance of becoming more than mere words."

Not only have I found that to be true, I have seen it happen (without comprehending it) in my own writing.

"You must learn to use it well if you are to write well," King says.

In the middle of this book, however, I found what is probably the most important thing I will take into my journalistic future: "good writing consists of mastering the fundamentals (vocabulary, grammar, the elements of style) and then filling the third level of your toolbox with the right instruments" and this: while there are impossibilities when it comes to different levels of writers, it is possible, "with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one."

It is my hope that I am at least a "competent" writer, and that the help gained in my classes and from this book are "timely." I am dedicated and am committed to the hard work portion.

I want to become a good writer.

I also realize, again, that somehow I have to do more reading. I don't even know where to find the time, or what is worth reading! I used to read National Graphic, Times, US News for the flow of the words, the rhythm of it, not just for the news it contained. It was the same with GRIT magazine.

But, you have to read a lot in order to develop your own style. King says you can read "listen" as you drive. Never thought of doing that. Somehow, I imagined that the things I learn about writing would be lost.

I learn a lot from seeing where paragraphs are formed--seeing the mechanics.

Still, the words would be in my brain, and that is part of the process.

Guess I'm going to have to divorce myself from Keith and Chris, and say goodbye to MSNBC. The analogy between my TV watching versus reading and King's son's saxophone practice versus playing for fun was very convincing.

That is how I was about piano as a child; I must do the same with my writing.

I loved his "Ideal Reader." I have one that rides me like a mule but without whom I would never be able to write.

I actually even have a "Tabby" when I need her--my older sister. Oh, she is rough! However, she sees beyond her sister to the writing and does not hesitate to point out the areas that were weak, confusing or whatever. She just isn't close enough to do it often.

So, thank you, Stephen King, for inspiring me to change my bad habits, add to my toolbox and to keep going.

I have miles to go and things to write before I sleep.

Rory White--Photographer, Artist, Social Activist

2010-02-22T22:42:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Rory White--artist, photographer, social activist
What: Creator/director of The Lamp Art Project
When: 1998-2008
Where: Lamp Community, Skid Row
527 S. Crocker St., Los Angeles, Calif.
Contact: Roreewhite@hotmail.com
Websites: www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/34171-rory-white
www.lampartproject.org
Note: All pictures/art used with permission of the artists, Rory White and Magdalena Astrid Dahlen.

As a model for photographers like Lucien Clergue and Ansel Adams in the 1970s, Rory White was considered a "hottie" before "hot" was the word for "good looking."

Born into a Jewish family in Los Angeles, Calif., he spent his early childhood in Germany--just after WWII.

He studied photography in his youth and learned oil painting from his mother, the late Renee White, who had studied with Saul Bernstein and Richard Diebenkern.

While his siblings followed their parents into the psychiatric field as doctors and therapists, he charted a course through the world of painting, writing and photography.

He was on the road to a successful modeling career, a road that would ultimately lead him straight to Skid Row.

As the years sped by, White left the modeling world and lived a quiet, secluded life in the "wilderness" of Big Sur, selling historical paintings to museums and large collectors while perfecting his craft as "an artist (oil painting, etching, relief sculpture, photography), and as a writer (expository, surreal prose, epic blank verse poetry)."

His life was full.

As he was writing "a large autobiographical novel focused on man's inhumanity to man" ("Hacky-Sack Boys, Big Sur and the Sonnets of God"), however, something was happening inside. His views of God, Jesus, religion and the people around him were changing.

In our e-mail interview, White directed me to one of his websites where he shared that by 1987, he was drawn to working among those who were the victims of AIDS--the marginalized and ignored people he felt religious people were turning their backs on.

Those were the people he felt God wanted us to help.

Seven years later he says he felt "called by God to do inner-city work." However, answering that call would mean ending his 15 years of wilderness living.

Without hesitation he answered that call and moved to the inner city of Los Angeles where he found a rent-controlled apartment near the ocean in Santa Monica that was so tiny his bathroom was also his kitchen.

That's when he realized that the funds were coming in and people with aids (PWAs) were getting help, all except those who were homeless. The homeless PWAs were often transgender street prostitutes, commonly African-American or Latino/Latina, and many had mental diagnoses. They were the outcasts of society's outcasts.

And many ended up in Skid Row.

"This brought my awareness to Skid Row, the highest concentration of homeless persons in America," White says.

And he followed them right to their "home" in Skid Row's Lamp Community.

The Lamp Community, founded by Mollie Lowery, was designed to work with people who are challenged with homelessness and mental illness in downtown Los Angeles--to get them into permanent homes first, then begin undertaking the underlying causative factors of homelessness.

His intent was "to focus on the homeless, doing general advocacy work at first--food, care, shelter and medical benefits."

Then, in 1998, Lowery gave him the opportunity to combine his passion for art with his passion for helping the homeless of Skid Row. She gave him a free hand to design, implement and build a project--The Lamp Art Project--and allowed him to run it for 10 years.

He created the Lamp Art Project as "a child and integral part of" the Lamp Community. Its concept is that individuals with these challenges have a level of artistic genius equal to any other segment of the population.

"While it is a high-level fine arts project that accepts artists from 'absolute beginner' to 'highly advanced' levels in experience, all of its member-artists have been challenged with homelessness and mental diagnoses."

The project is important because, "although one can show photographs of meals being offered and shelter provided, it is difficult to show photographs of the internal healing of human self-esteem, the strengthening of mental health, and the self-actualization achieved in this atmosphere."

According to the Art Project website, however," art is the mirror of society. Art provides a visible manifestation of human worth and meaning and healing.

Art is healing in itself.

Creativity is essential, not superfluous, to human life.... Art provides a picture, almost like an X-ray, Cat-Scan, or MRI, of the invisible things of the human soul or psyche."

White hasn't made an unaffected, untouched journey, however. He says the people who have had the most impact on his life are the amazing people he met among the homeless, people rich in who they were as people and Mollie Lowery and those who blossomed as genius artists--among them Darlene Altemeier Dobbs and Magdalena Astrid Dahlen.

I spoke with Dahlen who now lives in Gresham, Ore. Even though her parents encouraged her in her artwork, she says her life was so dysfunctional she could do little more than doodle and play around with a little watercolor.

"Somehow I wound up in LA on Skid Row at Lamp Art," she says, "and that's where I met Rory."

Through art therapy, "he gave me something to do, and people to be with so I could not isolate myself to my room. If you needed help, he would stop and help you right then and there.

And, he would give you his last dime, if you needed it. He is real, not a phony.

He has empathy--whether he is talking to a prostitute or a beggar, he relates as if he were one of them--he has a heart of gold."

And yes, there were some times when working on Skid Row was dangerous.

For half of the 10 years he worked in the Lamp Community he rode the bus, which meant walking to the bus stop even when he worked very late at night. There were a few "close calls," but White says a greater danger is allowing your heart to grow hard to the poor.

He initially avoided that danger by refusing to allow it to settle in his heart. Then, he says he was "so blessed and impressed by the poor, it became easy."

However, he says the dangers from the street people are not as high as some believe. Most residents are totally peaceful. The problem is that the acts of violence are the only ones that make the news.

In 2004 White received the Eli Lilly Welcome Back Award (WBA) for Outstanding Community Service in the Field of Depression and Mental Illness for his work in Skid Row.

In May 2008 he received another Eli Lilly Welcome Back Award (WBA) "Person of the Decade" at the Willard Hotel (adjacent to the White House lawn, along with an accompanying show of his Skid Row photographs. An award for outstanding bravery and achievement in working with persons challenged with depression and other mental illnesses, it was his number one personally satisfying award.

True to his style of giving, he put the money back into the Lamp Community by designating the $10,000 grant that came with the award to and for the film "Ashes and Roses." The film, currently in post production, allowed them to use large amounts of his skid Row still photos in the matrix (and as one of the subjects of) the film.

He also won two Frederick Weisman Awards for the Art Project-an acknowledgment of the high level of art produced by formerly homeless artists.

Additionally, an Annenberg Family grant funded a high- level exhibition of the project's artists, and White's work at the downtown Los Angeles "Pharmaka Gallery."

In 2008, White left his beloved work with the Lamp Community and moved to Washington State to again live in the country and teach at a local university.

His art project continued to flourish under a new, wonderful, coordinator, Hayk Makhmuryan and Darlene Altemeier Dobbs, studio assistant, who began at the art project while living in a homeless shelter.

White says she is a major peer-staff figure at the art project. who has become a great artist. She has accomplished "a major and cohesive body of work, oil paintings portraying downtown Los Angeles and street scenes and the peoples of Skid Row."

For two years his heart longed to continue his work in Skid Row.

So, he moved back a few weeks ago and began working on his own work again while waiting for the opportunity to rejoin the project he created.

The Lamp Art Project website, which he designed and built, has been designated a "Virtual Treasure" by the University of British Colombia's Archival and Library Science's Virtual Museum Project.

The Lamp Art Project website says, "the art project is an extreme epitomization of the amazing genius, often hidden, but herein made visible, of the homeless people of Skid Row, and those now no longer homeless, through the work of Lamp Community. It remains a particularly, and poignantly, critical and visible component of Lamp."

It also remains as a tribute to the boy who chose to walk a different road.

Fighting to be RIGHT!

2010-02-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

What:Political Battles
When: This political season
Where: Nationwide
Why: The losing party hates the new leader/the winning party doesn't trust their new leader's ability
Pundits who have weighed in: Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin

Every now and then I have the urge to reach through my TV screen, grab the lapels of a speaker, jerk him or her close to my face and hiss, "What is wrong with you?"

After eight years of distress, fearfully enduring the leadership of a man I voted for twice, why on earth would anyone block the agenda of a president who is actually trying to do positive things for this country?

I am so confused, frustrated and just plain angry!

I am amazed at the way people have changed since the election of Barack Obama.

I was watching "Hannity & Colmes" the night of the 2004 Democratic National Convention and heard Sean Hannity gush about how incredible the keynote speech Obama delivered was and how we just needed to get him on "our side."

As a Republican at the time, I heartily agreed!

However, once Obama decided to run for president, Hannity turned. That meant demonizing the opposition at any cost.

I expected that.

I did not expect that people would turn who loved this president when he was a senator and when he appeared as a light on the Democratic horizon. They now act like rabid dogs--in the furious stage.

They nip at his heels at every turn.

As one blogger said on the The Democratic Party website, "President Obama is being treated like an intelligent African American student in a mostly white classroom. Every mistake he makes is a grave one and every achievement he gets is not good enough and (sic) underrecognized."

He has been called "uppity" by people such as Congressman Westmoreland and Rush Limbaugh.
According to the Urban Dictionary, the word "uppity", when applied to people of African descent, means they have forgotten their place and was usually applied to those who dared to look a white person in the eye.

That might explain why the GOP and Tea Party crew use the word "uppity" and treat him like someone who has forgotten his place and just needs to be taught a lesson.

That is one thing that makes me angry.

What makes me angrier is this: The leadership of his own party acts like "He's our boy, so we gotta support him, but frankly, between you and me and the fence post, I ain't quite sure we can trust him to make the right decision on the 'big' stuff." (That's Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of that motley crew.)

In their own way, Biden and Clinton said he couldn't be trusted to make the right decisions during the campaign each time they said he wasn't ready.

Their words became Republican talking points.

It is as though they support him and trust him until he makes decisions with which they are uncomfortable, then they go weak in the knees, back pedal and leave him hanging.

They second-guess him.

That makes me even angrier because what I am left with is this: Obama is not going to get a break from either side of the aisle. Not yet.

He is the man caught in the middle.

He ran for office from the left and came back as close to the middle as he could get in order to work with people who disagreed with him politically. He risked angering his own party members in order to "reach across the aisle" and embrace his enemies.

And for what? To be denigrated by his own?

Too bad he had the audacity to believe that the people who voted for him actually believed in his ability to do the job.

So, in my rage, I scream at the individual I have snatched through my TV screen, whose lapels I clutch and whose face is within inches of mine: "Wake up!"

We are in debt up to our eyeballs, we are still a country at war--sacrificing our kids for a cause "W" believed in--we are losing jobs rapidly and in a huge recession.

Wake up!

As a country divided, we are imploding, being pulled down from within, as the world watches from the outside.

Do you need an example?

In her closing address to the recent Tea Party Convention, Sarah Palin mentioned the hope and change promised by President Obama and asked this question: "How's that hopey/changey thing workin' out for ya?"

For me, there is but one answer to her question.

Things are turning out far better than they would have been had we ended up with you and John McCain and the ideas conveyed by both of you as you rode on his "Straight Talk Express." When I consider the choice between "that hopey/changey thing" and "The Straight Talk Express," I choose hope and change every time.

Thanks for asking.

Justin's Blog

2010-02-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

Today I visited Justin's Blog.

I really liked this article.

As a matter of fact, I liked it so much it made me start wondering how students could possibly help each other.

Is it possible that we could donate a book or books to the library that could be checked out overnight or loaned for the term. Those would be books that the book store refused to buy back (a little too "used") or an older version. I've bought expensive textbooks at Goodwill. Some have been an earlier version, but most instructors allowed the use of those books. It was just up to me to compare and copy pages if necessary.

You did a great job of identifying the problem and presenting precise solutions.

It is very informative.

I just like your blog.

Hidden Champions

2010-01-26T17:45:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: LBCCs Chamber Choir, Re-Choired Element
What: State Champions
When: 2009
Where: South Santiam Hall (SSH)
Contact Information: Instructor James Reddan, 541-917-4550
Entrance Requirements: By audition only, as vacancies occur
Other choirs: Women's, Men's, Concert--open to all

South Santiam Hall is hiding a treasure.

While the work of individuals with a variety of artistic talents is clearly displayed in several parts of the building, tucked away out of the view of the campus in general, another group of artists perfects its craft.

If you were to continue walking through SSH between 11 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays-- after enjoying the glass-enclosed displays-- you would soon discover LBCCs hidden treasure, a treasure guarded by James Reddan.

If you opened the doors to Room 213, the harmonies of the 20 voices of LBCCs chamber choir, Re-Choired Element, winner of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Gold Award would flow over the campus. In fact, if you walk past those doors around that time most days of the week, you will hear music from the 75-voice Concert Choir, 15-voice Men's Choir or 15-voice Women's Choir.

After representing LBCC in Heritage Music Festivals on the West Coast last year, with the Concert and Men's Choirs, Re-Choired Element won the Oregon Small Ensemble Festival to become the top community college choir in the state and the only one to receive a superior rating.

The Road to Victory

LBCC's choir is probably the most active of all of Oregon's community college music programs. In fact, Reddan says, "LBCC is fortunate to have one of the state's thriving choir, music, theater and dance programs. Most were cut back or totally deleted due to economic budgetary constraints. We are fortunate that LB's program is thriving and growing."

Each year choir festivals are held all across the country. Last year, LBCC chose to perform at the Heritage Music Festivals held in Seattle and San Francisco.

According to Reddan, "At the festival, competing choirs are evaluated by all they have done over the course of the year--not just their performances during the festival. Each choir must attend and perform at an on-stage clinic adjudicated by one of appointed adjudicators. Depending on that rating, the choir is invited to the Festival of Gold."

The choir also receives a CD of the performance and a plaque displaying their final rating as Gold, Silver, Bronze or Festival.

Both four-year and two-year colleges compete together for the title. While there are 17 community college programs in the state, only three competed this past year," Reddan says.

Because the festivals are sanctioned Oregon ACDA events, the participating ensembles are eligible for the Oregon ACDA Gold Award Recognition and can choose a location for the upcoming year.

The Festival of Gold location choices for this year were Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. Reddan says he chose NYC for the LBCC choir program because of the city's thriving arts culture.

About the Director

Prior to teaching at LBCC, Reddan taught in high school and middle school programs in Las Vegas, Nev. When he joined the LBCC music program, Reddan's plans were to get the choirs growing, to not just increase in size but to grow musically--to have good, high--quality musical experiences. He has toured and directed domestically and internationally and says he is looking forward to the possibility of taking the Re-Choired Element on an international tour, at some point. (The choir went on its first performing tour all over the West Coast last year.)

Re-Choired Element This Year

According to a recent LBCC newsletter the 2010 Oregon ACDA Small Ensemble Festival will take place on Saturday, April 24th, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Russell Tripp Performance Center.

Flying Today

2010-01-25T11:31:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: US Airways
What: Commercial Airline
Where: United States
Phone reservations: 800-428-4322 and

Online reservations: www.usairways.com

Having an emergency that requires making flight reservations on short notice is one of the worst things that can happen to a student on a fixed budget--especially on holiday or major playoff or bowl game weekends. The going price for a flight that normally would cost $300 or less can be as much as $1500 on those days.

I had that experience last week, and it was not a good experience until I Googled "cheap flights to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)" and came across a website that featured US Airways.

Suddenly, there were flights between $516 and $586. Since it said there was only one ticket left at that price, I quickly made the economical choice .

Then the nerves set in.

What was the last plane to crash and what was the name of the airline that landed in the Hudson River? Was US Airways a "good" airline?

I was about to find out.

As instructed, I arrived at the airport two hours early, and made my way through the security checkpoint--twice. That's what happens when you buy beverages on the wrong side of the checkpoint.

Food goes through security checks, beverages do not. And no, you can't stand there in the line and drink it; you have to go through the line again or throw it away.

They said it very nicely.

When I finally arrived at the gate, I realized again that something had changed since the days I thought I wanted to be a stewardess--all flight attendants and ground hostesses are no longer perky 18 to 21-year-old females, with height at least 5-foot-6 and weight less than 120 pounds.

Actually, according to a 2009 Newsweek article on the aging of flight attendants, the days of selection by age and physical characteristics (young, slim, and attractive) are gone.

There was something rather comforting about people caring for your need having smile lines around their mouths and crinkles around their eyes.

But what was up with all of the "fees"? One would think that at $1500 for a seat, luggage could travel for free, and the passenger could have a blanket, a pillow, and a meal or at least a snack.

Well, that was yesterday, and I found myself longing for yesterday.

Today there's the checked bag fee, the curbside-helper fee, the earphone fee, the beverage fee, the snack fee, the meal fee, and a pillow and blanket fee on some flights (although they call some of those "fees" prices rather than fees).

Before Aug. 26, 2009, one carry-on piece of luggage was $15 to $20. After that date prices went up to $20 to $25. In January there was another price increase. (International flights do allow more free luggage than domestic flights.)

There is also a small savings when tickets are purchased online and baggage fees are paid online.

Inflight Cafe offers chef-prepared meals and snacks, if you want to pay the price. Interestingly, the price for most of the food and comfort items in the in-flight catalog was around $7.

Although the airlines hate to admit it, all of these fees are having an affect on the numbers of people who fly. The Travel Inside r says it is the number two cause of passenger decline. "All of the nasty fees discourage people." Their research indicates "It is now possible to pay more to an airline to transport your luggage than you pay to travel yourself.

Most of us passengers/customers think it outrageous that it is cheaper to fly a 240-pound passenger, complete with amenities and frequent flier miles, than it is to place 120 pounds of luggage in the hold."

So, here's a piece of advice. If you are taking a short trip, pack a smaller bag to carry on, pay the curbside helper (that's just a nice thing to do), and pack your favorite snack and beverage in the piece of carry-on luggage that will go under the seat in front of you. Because flights are generally chilly, take your own small blanket and take a small pillow if it is a long flight.

Suddenly, I was brought back to the reality of my flight. Forget the price of anything and whether or not I had good service. The pilot's voice was saying there would be turbulence as we entered the airspace near Phoenix. Oh boy. I was already looking out of the cabin windows for birds, praying that the Canada geese were somewhere far from the airport.

Was US Airways the airline that ended in the Hudson River?

I should have Googled that.

Note: US Airways logo from their website (http://content.usairways.com/en-US/Resources/images/layout/hp_header_logo.gif)

What I've Learned from Stephen King--So Far

2010-01-25T11:05:00.001-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Me
What: Commenting on Stephen Kings book "On Writing--A Memoir of the Craft"

One thing is certain. Stephen King's book on writing teaches you "stuff." And, you learn very quickly that some of the "stuff" is not what you are wanting to read or to learn, necessarily. That's my conclusion, anyway.

Why?

Although I have not always lived a God-centered life, I have never liked to hear language that I was taught was "vile", "filthy", "gutter language" or just plain old "profanity," and it is hard to read with a filter.

Therefore, reading and trying to actually learn from Stephen King has been difficult.

Yet, there are gems about the craft of writing scattered in the mire.

(I am not certain that Shrunk and White would consider King's words that I would have omitted as "needless words" that should be omitted, though.)

Still, that is the first point about the writing craft that King drives home: Rule 17. It is still important to do that. It is so easy to just "write"--get it on paper--and that is usually with all of the words one would say when talking.

That is not necessary to do when writing. In other words, tighten it up.

Continuing through the pages, I quickly concluded, if this guy is considered a great writer, then there is hope for me. The writing craft is there and needs to be honed. So, I am on the right track.

I like the way he re-emphasized the way ideas come for stories, recognizing ideas that come to mind, and the nugget "Loose pages plus paperclip equal correct way to submit copy." As I said, gems in the mire.

He confirmed something that I believe to be true: part of writing is having someone believe that you can--just believe in you.

I also am still learning that everything doesn't get written in a day. As he said in writing about "Carrie", some stories have to sit and simmer a bit.

However, the most important thing I have learned from King at this moment is found on page 69. I say it is the most important thing because of its impact on my life.

Several years ago I began a book.

I had the opportunity to present the initial pages and concept to a publisher's agent who was seeking a book on the the subject I was writing about. She was in tears as she read. "I want this book to be the ONE book we publish on this subject," she said as she fumbled through her purse for a Kleenex.

Well, it got hard. Hard because it was emotionally hard. And that is exactly when King says that "stopping a piece of work just because it is hard...is a bad idea."

So, maybe I will continue reading King's book and pull my unfinished book off of the shelf.

Who knows, there may be more valuable gems in the mire I need to mine. I am quite positive there are.

Six Degrees

2010-01-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Me
What: Reflecting on relationships with a hurting world

Six people are supposed
to separate me from
you and your pain--
where are they?

I am too close. I
am hurting. The
pain is too much.

You scream and
the sound comes through
my mouth.

You cry and
the tears make
muddy streams down
my face.

Your hunger fills
my stomach with
a lion's roar.

Your blood drips down my body
making crimson puddles on
my carpeted floor.

Your labored breathing
comes as gasps through parched lips
on my face.

I wrap my arms
around myself
do you feel comforted?

Trying to get through the pain

2010-01-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Me
What: Thinking about the devastation of Haiti

"Breaking News"
continues to flash across the bottom of my TV screen.
I want to see and yet I don't, but I have to
I can't ignore it, act like I am not touched.

I reach across the empty space filling the miles between us
Arms aching--reaching but not touching the babies, the children
No medicine to ease the pain
No water, no food. Just life in the sun, the rain—
and despair.

Hold on, help is coming...I breathe the words
even as I watch life slipping away
on my TV screen.
He can't. They can't
hold on, much longer. Yet
they must. I will it. I command it.

Another life slips away. Another gets the news
it's too late. No chance. Mama? Daddy?
Gone. Horror too great to bear even
across all of these miles.

I hear my soul
Screaming with the grief of hundreds,
the thousands, the millions who are broken
lost, hurting.

The sun will come out tomorrow but
who wants to look at what it sees?

Galleries open for Winter Term

2010-01-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

What: Galleries open for winter term.
Who: Featuring the work of Kurt Norlin, Jim Adams, Robin Cushman, Bill and Jane Siebler
When: Exhibits open Jan. 4. Norlin’s exhibit closes Jan. 29 and Adams’s and Cushman’s closes Feb. 26. Siebler exhibit closes March 19.
Where: North Santiam (Adams and Cushman)and South Santiam Hall (Kurt Norlin) Siebler Glass (Library and South Santiam Hall)
Gallery Hours: Weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More information: Phone: 541-917-4638.

What do students do when they are waiting for classes in North Santiam Hall or South Santiam Hall? Visit the galleries!

At least that is what some do.

Diedra Peters says, "Actually, I like looking at exhibits. They're more entertaining than looking at white walls!"

Alyssa Johnson, who says she looks at the exhibits almost every day, quickly points to Robin Cushman’s painting entitled “Caravanserai” and says, “My favorite one is that one!”

"Actually, I look quite often," says Jeremy Cornforth. "I take the time to stop and look one or two times a week when I'm walking around the building."

While some shows generate more interest than others, the galleries are one way students and the community gain exposure to culture. That is one goal of the department. Everyone cannot travel the world, the region, or even the city to find the work that is displayed. By bringing a variety of shows on campus, culture is brought to the campus community.

This term, the works of photographers Kurt Norlin and Robin Bachtler Cushman, artist Jim Adams, and Bill and Jane Siebler's glass collection are featured.

Adams' and Cushman's exhibit, "Twist", and the Siebler's "A Passion for Glass" display are located in the North Santiam Hall gallery. A portion of the glass collection is also located in the library.

Norlin's display, “Desert Dance”, is located in the South Santiam gallery.

The Art Selection Process and Purpose--
The art department’s selection team has a specific interest in showing high-quality art created by artists in the Pacific Northwest each term. However, it is not just there "to collect dust," or break up the monotony of bare walls.

Gary Westford and Rich Bergeman (gallery coordinator and former LBCC instructor) are part of the team that selects the artists and the works that will be displayed each year. Westford says, “The team is specifically interested in showing high-quality work featuring Pacific Northwest artists that we can share with students and the community in general.”

Westford, Fine Arts instructor, says, “All of us are extremely busy with life—classes, kids, the economy—and I can see where it is easy to not take time to look at works of art. We are over-stimulated in our culture...we need to take time.”

Bergeman says, “Everybody who passes [the exhibits] and even takes a casual glance might have a nice break in their day. It only takes a little bit of art to plant a seed for the future. It enriches our outlook on life.”

Librarian Brian Miyagashima is very supportive of using library display areas for exhibits and commented, “It’s good to integrate art into the environment of this campus."

The Artists and Their Displays--
If you like rather abstract, kind of "weird" types of art, Jim Adams gives you several opportunities to try to figure out where his mind was or what he was thinking as he was creating.

Adams, a California native, has taught at Oregon State University and LBCC.

In a recent LBCC news release he said, "My artwork is a kind of spontaneous expression of some sort of inner tale that wants to be told. I am not telling specific stories so much as presenting a state of mind. My goal is to create imagery that will be intriguing to the viewer in its complexity, humor, and technical excellence.”

And that's one good reason to view his work. You can actually spend a lot of time trying to discover the state of mind Adams was in at the time or the state of mind he wants you to land in as you study his work. The imagery is definitely complex and humorous.

His figures remind me of dolls made from cotton-filled nylon stockings. They are whimsical, fanciful, and yet, if you look long enough, you can see some of life's realities portrayed. One instructor saw his family life.

If it is your cup of tea, you will find it intriguing.

Kurt Norlin, an Oregon native and former LBCC instructor stated, “Photographing the land is kind of a dance between the photographer, the camera, the land, the light and the weather.” He is also a former LBCC instructor.

His work takes you into the great expanses of the high desert. It is almost as though you were there to see it yourself--to feel the wind blowing your hair. Your eyes search for the distant horizon.

On Thursday, Jan. 21, Norlin will present a gallery talk at a reception from 7:30-9 p.m. in the SSH Gallery, "where he will discuss his own work as well as the tradition of panoramic landscape photography in the American West," according to LBCC's news release. Students and the community are invited.

Cushman, another Oregonian, is a commercial and fine art photographer who reportedly says that she is "interested in the ways in which nature is repackaged and re-presented and how humans interact with such artificially constructed nature.”

Her work shows the incredible possibilities you can create in your own space, if you have the imagination. If you don't she shows you what others have done with theirs. Like other students, I wanted to make changes to my own yard space.

Bill and Jane Siebler, retired educators and current Corvallis residents, have been collecting glasswork since the late 70s. Their collection includes the works of artists from the Northwest and from around the world. There are several pieces made by Bill, who has now become a skilled marble maker.

Marbles are supposed to be "cats' eyes" and such things. These artists create flowers and the put them inside a glass ball and call that a marble.

Who could play a game with such a fantastic item?

The glass pieces range from vases, to plates, to creatures and paperweights--each with amazing form and colors. They really make you want to take a trip to the nearest glass factory to watch or even try your hand at making a piece.

Those opportunities are available not far away in Eugene (studios and a glass school) and Newport (studios, galleries and classes).

“Desert Dance” will be on display through Jan. 29 in SSH. “Twist” can be viewed through Feb. 26 and will occupy both floors of NSH. "A Passion for Glass" can be seen until March 19.

Googling Life Struggles

2009-11-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Me
What: Wondering today if God really loves me.
Why: "Christian" by name leaves me feeling lost and alone.
Remembering: I am adopted--that makes me wanted, looked for, chosen, and my adoption fees were paid.

Google is a funny tool God loves to use to send answers to human questions.

Today, I Googled "knowing the Fathers will" knowing I'd left out the apostrophe. Immediately Google asked me if I meant "Father's". Just as I prepared to click on the one I meant, I saw "An introduction to your heavenly Father" and chose it.

"Father's Love Letter" was there. (Had I originally typed "Father's" I would not have seen this site--I checked.)

Somehow, I think growing up in a religious family is one of the most detrimental things that coul have happenedd to me. (Religious families are parented by a parent or parents who go through the motions of knowing God, while acting more like the other guy.)

As a result kids are warped by the lack of connection or the severance of a connection with God, and it is a major struggle to find Him and connect or reconnect.

When I once Googled "What must I do to be saved?" Google said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

I believed but still felt so disconnected.

The Father's Love Letter today reminded me that I am child who was stolen by the enemy and given a phony birth certificate. Thank God for the letter that reminded me that Someone loved me so much He came looking for me, sent His only biological Kid with the money to pay for my adoption.

I was adopted by a King!

I was wanted, looked for, chosen, and all adoption fees were paid. And, my birth certificate was changed the moment I believed it!

I'm the King's kid--heir to all of His best stuff--His promises, His blessings--everything, forever. The enemy cannot get me back unless I DECIDE to go back to him.

What a thought.

Still Dazed

2009-11-29T02:10:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Me
What: Looking at my first semester
Why: Panic sets in because the term is almost over, and I still have work to do.

The panic is finally setting in. We are counting days, and I still have work to do. YIKES!

I hate this point in the term. Absolutely hate it!

All term I've struggled to do papers, projects and exams and have chanted to myself, "I think I can, I think I can" over and over, just like that little engine from kindergarten.

I was doing great! I really was.

Right now, however, I'm feeling more like the little red caboose chug-chugging behind the train. The smokestack on my back as I come around the track is out of steam. I don't even have enough steam left for the "choo!" at the end.

Guess I'd better switch back to the little engine and start my first song over or make the second verse the same as the first. (Help me somebody!!!)

"I think I can, I THINK I CAN!"

One thing is for sure, I have to be able to say "I thought I could" when the last class of the last week is over. I have to make it successfully into the station.

No matter how tough the ride.

Come on, Girl, we're almost done. WE CAN DO THIS!

After all, a new term looms on the horizon.

Party Crashing at the Pres's House

2009-11-27T05:05:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Michaele and Tareq Salahi
What: Official gatecrashers
When: Obama's first State dinner
How: Secret service/security failure
Mother's Conclusion: "I think they need a spanking," according to Christina Lamb, Times Online reporter.

How do you get your picture taken stroking the chest of the vice-president of the United States at a by-invitation-only affair at the White House? Walk in looking like you belong.

According to an early report by Times Online reporter Gates Withell, a former cheerleader and her wine-lover husband pulled off the stunt despite the fact that we are post 9-11, with a president who has repeatedly had death threats.

The desperate housewife donned her sari, her husband donned his dinner jacket and waltzed right past every security checkpoint.

People have commented "There was a breakdown between the social office and the secret service." Are you kidding?

Initially the Secret Service said president was never in danger. I guess they do not consider a handshake is close enough for "danger."

Others said said it was a comedy of errors. Hmmmmm.

I find it incredible that two people, who were not listed on the official guest list, not only gained entrance to the event in the White House, they made contact with most of the highest people in our government.

Had they chosen to do harm, this country could have been without its president, vice-president, white house chief of staff and whoever else the Sahali's came in contact with--not to mention the possibilities of harm to India's prime minister and his wife.

What this incident did more than anything, as far as I am concerned, is show the world how easy it would be to get inside the security circle that should be around our president, our White House. I am especially concerned since it has been reported that the Sahali's are offering their "how we did it" story to the highest bidder.

After all, the hijackings of September 11 did not begin on September 11.

Then, there are the people don't want this couple punished.

Strange.

If someone entered my gated community, got past the guards at the door, and my private body guards, crashed an RSVP-only party at my house, then brazenly played "show-and-tell" to the world about how they breached my security, I would want them punished along with the people who allowed them access to my home and my family.

And I'm not the president of anything.

When the Ducks Met the Wildcats

2009-11-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: University of Oregon Ducks
What: Defeated University of Arizona Wildcats
When: November 21, 2009

There are times when you just have to love a Duck--even if you are a Beaver fan!

If you are an Oregonian and love football, you have to love it when your state has an unexpected victory.

I started watching the game just as Morgan Flint's field goal attempt hit the crossbar and bounced through the uprights. It was a 43-yard kick that almost missed.

Oregon was in trouble.

Come on, Ducks! Let's GOOOOOOOOOO!

I guess Arizona had planned to run down the clock until the pass into the end zone was picked off. Oregon had a chance.

Oregon had the ball on their 20 with just over three minutes remaining.

As the clock ticked down, the Arizona fans began to cascade out of the stands like a crimson waterfall. They hovered like vultures around the rim of the field--watching--waiting.

The Wildcats had the Ducks in their fangs, and they could taste the victory.

However, (I love that word) in three minutes and five seconds, the Ducks completed 15 plays and scored with six seconds remaining.

In the remaining six seconds the score was tied.

It was fantastic to watch the opponent slowly file back into the stands like a videographed waterfall being played in reverse.

Musoli led those Ducks through the first over time, into the second and to victory. I was screaming all the way! Wooooo hoooo!

It kind of reminded me of life.

When circumstances seem stacked against you, and your "enemies" (real or imagined) are enjoying the state of your affairs and waiting to gloat over your defeat....watch out!

There is always the hope, the possibility that you can muster enough energy from your "team" to pull victory out of the mouth of defeat.

You are the quarterback.

Dig down deep and cock your arm and throw. Throw short, throw long. If you have to, run.

Just don't give up the struggle.

Believe in yourself and your "team"------

Follow-up Stories to LBCC New President Story

2009-11-22T09:29:00.000-08:00

1. Interview new president about his plans for LBCC.

Does he plan to focus on the items that were important to his predecessor, Rita Cavin?
Does he have a new vision for LBCC? If so, what is the new vision and does he believe he will have support to accomplish it?

2. Attend a Board Meeting:

Is the Board in sync with new president?
Ask faculty and staff whether or not they are satisfied with new leadership.

--OR--

Before the end of Spring term:

Interview Hamann to see how the transition has gone.
What are the plans for the Fall and forward?
Find out what the "buzz" is about the new leader: Interview Faculty/staff to see how well they feel they are faring under new leadership.

If major changes have been evident on campus:

Ask students/staff/administrators how they are impacted by the changes.
If major changes have been forcast for the upcoming year, ask how they feel they will be impacted.

Hamann Accepts Linn-Benton Presidency

2009-11-20T11:49:00.001-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Gregory J. Hamann
What: New LBCC President
When: Selected November 18, 2009
Why: Current president retiring
Effective: February 1, 2010

According to a LBCC news release on Thursday, November 19, 2009, Gregory J. Hamann accepted the offer to become LBCCs new president.

Hamann will assume his new position on February 1, 2010, following the retirement of President Rita Cavin on January 31.

In his news release Hamann said,“It is with a sense of excitement and gratitude that I have been offered and have accepted the position of president at Linn-Benton Community College. This new position represents a wonderful opportunity for me to continue to contribute and to grow as LBCC and I take on the new opportunities and challenges that we now share.”

In addition to serving as president of Clatsop Community College in Astoria for the past six years, it is reported that Hamann, a Minnesota native, has also been a middle school teacher, a college counselor, and an administrative dean.

Additionally, the news release reports he has "worked in student services and administration for 12 years at Whitworth College."

The presidential search was facilitated, in part, by the visit of LBCC Board of Education Chair and Board members, along with representatives of management, faculty and classified employee groups. This group reportedly visited Clatsop Community College on November 12.

The news release says the Board "is pleased that Dr. Hamann has accepted the position and believes he will do an excellent job in leading LBCC to support our students and the workforce training needs of our community.”

"Hamann has a doctorate in educational leadership from Gonzaga University and a master’s in counseling psychology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology and social studies at the University of Minnesota," according to the news release.

Hamann also is reported to be "an avid runner and has been known to surf with students and staff at Clatsop."

Mother Nature Acquitted in Katrina Levee Failures

2009-11-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval
What: Handed down decision in Katrina investigation
When: November 18, 2009
Why: Years of "gross negligence" by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

In a decision handed down by U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval on Wednesday, blame for some of the flood damage caused by levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina was shifted from Mother Nature to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

According to breaking news report on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show, it was a "landmark decision" in favor of the people of the lower ninth ward and St. Bernard Parrish.

Richard Fausset reported in the Los Angeles Times today that Judge Duval's decision stated that the corps failed to maintain the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Canal, which made the resultant flooding in some areas a man-made disaster.

In July 2008, I spoke with survivors of the flooding in the ninth ward, who were still convinced that if the channel had been properly maintained, storm surges would not have been able to breach the levees, and the massive flooding would not have occurred.

They were not blaming the government for other failures; their focus was on the levees.

One was a Charity Hospital employee who was called to work and forced to stay in the hospital or lose her job. "Never again! she said. "If a hurricane is coming this way, I will lose my job. I will not go through that ever again!"

They believe the levees created a death trap in the ninth ward and St. Bernard Parish.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed laws that provided funding for the operation and maintenance of the wetlands and other projects that would protect the area from future storm surges.

The Corps of Engineers began a study to de-authorize the canal in 2006.

The Deep-Draft De-authorization Report, which the Corps of Engineers submitted to Congress in June of 2008, resulted in construction of a surge barrier to permanently close the channel.

The project was begun in January 2009 and final closure took place in July 2009.

Fausset reported that during the trial "attorneys for the government argued that the Army Corps of Engineers was not liable for the post-hurricane flooding because it was immune from civil lawsuits questioning federal flood policy decisions."

Fortunately for the citizens, Judge Duval concluded that immunity was negated by what he considered to be "gross negligence."

In his report, Fausset sees this decision as a possible problem for the Obama administration.

Billions of dollars have already been promised to help rebuild Louisiana, and President Obama has promised "more attention and care" during his administration than was evident during the Bush administration.

The nation will be watching to see what this administration will do with the thousands of claims that remain.

Will it agree to a universal settlement or decide against it as did the previous administration?

*****************

Add pictures from 9th Ward, 2008

Cavin Retiring

2009-11-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: Rita Cavin, LBCC president
What: Retiring from office
When: Effective Jan. 31

What people should remember: "Nothing--no one remembers past presidents."

Rita Cavin expects to join the ranks of forgotten former presidents when she retires on Jan. 31 because "no one remembers past presidents."

At least, that's what she says.

A president who worked so hard to establish connections between LBCC and the community, who led multi-million-dollar fund-raising campaigns that stimulated campus development, built and furnished new buildings, and renovated existing buildings or who touched lives in personal, unseen ways will be hard to forget.

Many people on campus say they never knew her, rarely saw her or met her once or twice. She was a rather unseen president.

However, Lori Fluge-Brunker said, "Every president has his or her own management style." Some govern by walking around and talking with people on campus, but that was not her way. (Cavin) seemed to be more involved in community relations and legislation--getting projects completed."

And, there were at least four major projects Cavin hoped to accomplish when she became president.

She said she "wanted to make governance more participatory, for everyone to know how the budget was put together, for women to have more responsibility and to improve the facilities."

Today, Cavin says "there is more participation in governing the college, people are more aware of how the budget is put together, there are more women in positions of responsibility, the library/learning center remodel is completed and other facility improvements are in progress.

She accomplished her goals, and those are contributions that could make a president worth remembering.

One of Cavin's greatest concerns, however, was about the students--that they would be exposed to a broader world than the Willamette Valley.

"The international experience is the biggest gap for students," she said.

She was concerned that LBCC students were missing the diversity she'd observed students enjoying on other campuses because many local students come from families who "have been in this area for 150 years, and (some) students have never left this county--never been to Salem," and therefore, their view of the world is limited.

She believes a broader world is vital to education, which is why she says she worked so hard on the international project.

As a result of her efforts, the first faculty member (Rob Lewis) will go to China in the spring as part of the exchange program, and the first Chinese students will arrive to take classes on campus this summer. Cavin will not be on campus when the exchange programs begin, but people should remember they began with her.

While she has had many successes, Cavin spoke with a tone of regret about enlarging Takena Hall.

"I feel bad," she said. "Takena was the next scheduled project when I came. I bumped it to get the health sciences building done, but when everything is finished, nursing will go to Lebanon, culinary arts and the transportation hub will go in the enlarged Takena Hall, and there will be more space for students."

Enlarging Takena Hall will again be the next project on the schedule.

The exchange program, the building of the health education building on Lebanon campus at the medical center and the doubling of the size of Takena Hall are all projects Cavin wishes she were still going to be on campus to see completed.

Instead, they are projects she leaves for her successor.

Cavin, however, was not only involved with establishing community connections, fund raising and legislation.

Memories of Cavin will linger in the minds of Roxie Putman, Carla Raymond and Renee Windsor-White because of personal touches.

Early in her presidency, Cavin learned of the death of Putman's husband.

"What stands out in my mind," Putman says, "is I was invited to her office for a private lunch. She just wanted to see how I was doing and to make sure my needs were being met in full. It was a kind and loving thing to do as a human being--not just as the president. It spoke volumes about her character, and it touched me very much."

To Carla Raymond Cavin was "another loving grandma" who sent flowers and shared Raymond's grief over the loss of her grandson three years ago.

Cavin's assistant, Renee Windsor-White, will remember her as "the best boss ever!" An engraved paver bearing that sentiment will remain as her tribute.

That is the legacy of this president.

Right now, Cavin says "it is time for traveling and enjoying a healthy lifestyle."

On Jan. 31 she will retire, completing the chapter she began in September 2003 and closing the book on the educational career she began over four decades ago.

Interestingly, the woman who says she "only wanted to be a teacher and never thought far enough ahead (about her career) to see herself as a college president" became the first woman president of LBCC.

And, of all the things she accomplished at LBCC, the one thing that makes her particularly happy is "knowing that people finally stopped asking, "'What is it like to be a woman president?'"

She can leave as "just Rita Cavin, the sixth president of LBCC."

Albany City Council Work Session

2009-11-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: City Council members and the public
What: Albany City Council Work Session
When: November 16 at 4:00 p.m.
Where: City Council Chambers at City Hall, 333 Broadalbin SW, Albany, Ore.
Why: Work sessions provide opportunities for members and the public to learn more about various topics and discuss them without having to make any final decisions.
Key Topic: What will happen to the International Paper Mill and its property now that it is closing.

The primary topic of discussion at the Albany City Council's November 16 work session was the future of the International Paper mill and its property after the plant closes.

City Manager Wes Hare presented possible responses to that question in his report on Business Oregon.

"In working with the governor," Hare said, "IP should be contacted to put the site into productivity as soon as possible" and preferably something that would "create jobs and possibly a paper mill that wouldn't compete with IP."

It is hoped that the owners will divest of all property, including the valuable ponds with the island. The council is also hoping that the old Millersburg school will be returned to the town along with land that was used for the treatment process.

Hare said he believed that possible contamination "should not be an issue, with the resources that are available for cleanup."

Other topics discussed included:

Annual performance benchmarking
INFOHUB
Letter of thanks to the veterans group for their "super job" on the Veteran's Day parade

City council work sessions are held most Mondays to give the council members and the public opportunities to present and debate pertinent issues without needing to make decisions about them.

******************
Pictured:
Mayor Konopa and council members Collins, Olsen, Reid, and Coburn,
stenographer and citizen

How do you say goodbye to your child?

2009-11-16T00:46:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

Who: The writer
What: Contemplating the death of an adult child
When: November 7, 2009

Cell phone buzz forced me from my Saturday morning reverie with a message asking me, "Do you know...?"

No, I didn't know and as I read farther, I did not want to know.

Unfortunately, you cannot "unknow" anything. Once it is in your brain, you are pretty much stuck with it unless, of course, you get amnesia, or Alzheimer's disease.

I was stuck with the knowledge that another classmate's child had died less than six months following the first.

Both were young men in their 30s when a child is supposed to be in the prime of life.

I looked through the pictures displayed of this child's life and wondered how you say goodbye.

After friends and family finished sharing their remembrances, and pictures flashed methodically on the screen, I realized one thing: You cannot say it.

A child is in your heart forever.

Your hopes and dreams may be shattered by untimely death, but there is no goodbye--not to your child.

The eyes have only closed in sleep.

If you believe that, you softly say, "Good night, sweet child, I'll see you in the morning."

"Smoke 'em if you got 'em"--- What-t-t-t-t?

2009-11-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

What: Article review
About: California, Marijuana and its economy
Why: Assignment

Californians are seeking to stimulate their failing economy by switching drug control tactics--if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Instead of spending millions of dollars locating, prosecuting and jailing marijuana growers, peddlers, and users, they are considering just taxing the whole process to increase revenues or, as Adam LaMascus says in the Commuter, "handle it like we handle alcohol and regular tobacco: regulate it, tax it and only track people down when they are being reckless and endangering others."

Those words signal frustration, desperation, and/or resignation--we have a problem, we have a problem we cannot solve or we have a problem we are tired of trying to solve.

I chose this item primarily because of its title and the picture that accompanied it. Since we began studying article writing, I started analyzing the way other reporters create the "hook" that draws a reader to a story, and this worked for me.

I was particularly intrigued by Adam LaMascus' statement, "I say go for it, and I don't even smoke." I would like to have had the further clarification of that statement closer to it than a full two paragraphs later. Had I written it, I would have followed my "go for it" statement with the part about living in a college town and being a first-hand witness....

That statement took my focus off the story and made me start skimming to see whether or not it was qualified later.

In the space allowed, LaMascus did a good job of presenting the basics of the pros and cons on the subject and makes you either want to run to California or get farther away from it.

It was interesting that the American Historical Reference Society has revealed that many of the founding fathers and other presidents smoked marijuana--that was an important addition. Good job!

(That kind of makes you wonder about those who are always yammering about the glory of the founding fathers--just a little bit.)

Visit to Newspaper Ends Newsroom Fantasies

2009-11-06T11:19:00.000-08:00

At a Glance

What: Field trip to the Democrat Herald

When: November 4, 2009

Why: To observe the news reporting process and ask questions

Producing a city newspaper is supposed to be a busy, noisy process in a building filled with activity--like "Lou Grant" or a newspaper version of "Murphy Brown" and run by Mrs. Pynchon.

At least that is what I thought until we visited the Albany Democrat Herald on November 4.

It was so quiet that I was whispering in the lobby, and Martha Wells seemed, well, "reachable".

While intellectually I knew it probably wasn't quite like that, I did expect more activity at the DH than I observed and learned later that we had arrived during the "rest" between producing papers.

DH publisher, Martha Wells gave us a lot of information anecdotally and in her answers to our questions.

I was very happy to learn that the DH gives young writers the opportunity to learn the craft of news writing through Young Voices. Every high school student with an interest in journalism should know about it.

Wells underscored our previous learning when she emphasized "get the nut graf higher in the story," reminding us of the inverted pyramid, and the importance of getting right to the point of the news story.

"Don't leave obvious questions in readers' minds," which can happen when important information, located too low in the story, gets chopped.

Associate Editor, Steve Lundeberg, dispelled any notion that may have existed that Rob's "three sources rule" really applied beyond the classroom.

"You need to engender some trust," he said. "You need the other side of the story."

Other than erasing my preconceived notions about newspaper publishing and those involved in the process, I learned two things that were important for my journalism aspirations:

· Telecommuting opportunities do exist for good reporters.

· Job shadowing is available at the Democrat Herald.

My life requires the telecommuting flexibility and job shadowing provides the opportunity to find your niche in a career field that has several scopes of practice.

The trip to the DH was a very enlightening experience.