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Entries from September 2020

Wednesday, September 30. 2020

National Coffee Day



September 29 is National Coffee Day and yes of course I got a coffee today - a 16 ounce extra hot oat milk latte to be exact.
Yes I am holding my latte cup from this morning in the picture.
Today was also the first (out of three) presidential debates between Donald Trump (R) and Joe Biden (D).
Exciting! I covered the 2016 race for president pretty extensively in the blog. This year I am really busy so I do not think I can cover the race as much. Tonight I followed the debate with distractions so I don't really have a good opinion about how I think they did. Most likely Trump will receive the most criticism from the media because that is how it has been since a while now, no matter what he does or says he can never get it right in main stream media.
All I can say is try to be a leader of a country while there is a world wide pandemic happening. Not the easiest task.



Anyhow....Happy National Coffee Day! This is the morning latte from earlier today....
I am since a while now choosing oat milk instead of cow milk in my lattes. It is very good! Try for yourself! Other milk alternatives that you can often find in coffee shops are almond, coconut, hemp and soy.

Saturday, September 19. 2020

Ruth

I woke up around 3 am today because of rain, thunder and lighting. The skies were angry and it lasted a while, the sound of the thunder lulled me back to sleep. When I woke up most of the smoke that had been clouding Portland for over a week was gone. Today I also felt like fall has arrived. Summer is over. Summer of 2020 was a strange summer in a strange new reality.
Today Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actually Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed at 87 years old. Quite a human. There is a ton of interesting and good stuff to read about her online so I won't say much because everybody can read for themselves. All I can say is that most people are not like Ruth. She did a lot of good. So Thank You Ruth!



The political climate is getting tenser here as we are approaching another presidential election. Less than two months away now. I seriously do not know what to believe anymore when I listen, watch or hear news, whether I gather the information from the radio, something I watch online or an article I read. Both sides of the spectrum are guilty of lies and exaggeration and I have witnessed people spread false information when I think they should known better. It is actually quite unnerving. As far as true journalism goes there are ethics, standards and values in the field of journalism. Seems like most of that is being overlooked.
Nobody has missed that Trump and Biden aren't the only two in the presidential race right? We have Jo Jorgensen and Howie Hawkins as well. Sorry to inform you all but Tati is not participating in the presidential election this time around. Perhaps Tati 2024?
Well enough of politics for now. Before I go, because I am getting tired and will most likely be in bed before midnight, let's send a thought to all the innocent and beautiful animals that perished in the fires here in the West recently. I feel bad for them. In fact....the animals all over the world that suffer and die because of us humans. How sad.




Monday, September 14. 2020

Fires

I don't know if the fires across Oregon, California and Washington have affected you but it is a SAD and SERIOUS situation here. People are dead, missing, homes are destroyed and animals are fleeing.
The air quality in Portland is deemed hazardous according to the air quality index and I guess I need a gas mask now. I am good, the smoke isn't bothering me. I do feel really bad for the people that are affected by this dire situation. And all the animals. Life is very cruel. What is the meaning of all of this?
WHY all the suffering all the time?



Outside looks like a hazy radioactive fog. The temperatures dropped because the sun is not coming through the thick clouds of smoke. I have not experienced anything like this before.







I had Pet Pack today, it's been about a year since I started. Last year September 8. A year went by fast.



My dinner. Eat less, or even better, eat NO meat and more vegetables!



One more thing....I went to the grocery store today (which was packed with people by the way....probably stocking up for the end of the world) and while in line for parking I noticed a still burning cigarette get flicked out the window of the car in front of me. I saw where that car parked, I parked my car. The dude that threw out his cigarette looked middle aged to me cause I saw him get out of his car. So old enough to know better. I learned as a child to not litter. I found his cigarette on the road, I stepped on it to make sure it wasn't burning anymore. He had left the windows rolled down so I dropped the cigarette on the driver's seat.
I HATE people that litter. Nasty, selfish pieces of shits. FUCK YOU. To all the "proud Americans" that like to loudly proclaim how proud they are to live in the USA but litter. You are all hypocrites! If you really were a proud American you would not trash the country you are so proud to be a citizen of.
Oregon is on fire and people throw out cigarettes? I know he most likely does it driving down the highway as well. Scumbag.

Thursday, September 10. 2020

Burning Man Baker Beach

Because of the pandemic also known as COVID-19 or Corona as some call it, Burning Man at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada was cancelled this year. First cancellation since the event started being held there which was in 1990. Although Burning Man did not start there, the event was born in San Francisco at Baker Beach so I decided to go there this year and check it out.....
I just had a FEELING something would be happening there. I read and heard talks about Burning Man gatherings planned at Black Rock Desert anyways and I know that others decided to do something in the Alvord Desert in Oregon, which looks a lot like the location in Nevada and would be a good location for the event if for some reason there is a need to move somewhere else. I decided against going to Black Rock Desert, I wanted to go to San Francisco where it all began.
So last Saturday is when the Man would burn according to the original plan and about 8 PM I arrived at Baker Beach California. I knew that the event was held towards the north end at the beach the first four years, Burning Man started in 1986. And yes as I headed down the beach I could see people and lights and then I saw the Man! And the Golden Gate bridge illuminating the sky in the background.









It was fun, the spirit of Burning Man.....nothing like the real deal but STILL a great feeling to be there and take part in it. Had there been an option this year to go to Burning Man in Nevada at your own risk if there was no cancellation I would had went without hesitation.
I don't know how others are going about their lives but I work, go to the grocery store and do my everyday things that I have to do almost like normal, the only thing different is that I wear a mask when required and I am more diligent about washing my hands. That's about it. But more on that another time....maybe.
I know that San Francisco's mayor London Breed sent out this message last Sunday, "Last night, over 1,000 people crowded on Ocean Beach to celebrate Burning Man. This was absolutely reckless & selfish. You are not celebrating. You are putting people's lives at risk. You are putting our progress at risk. No one is immune from spreading the virus."
Yes I know....BUT I can say that I saw crowds (hundreds) of people sunbathing, playing and hanging out at a beach by Fisherman's Wharf both Sunday and Monday. No beach closure, no talk about being reckless and selfish. So I guess it all depends on where you gather and who gathers.
Yes, I drove to San Francisco from Portland and back to attend Burning Man at Baker Beach because I am selfish and reckless I guess. Some people go to Mecca, I go to Burning Man.

Thursday, September 3. 2020

New Elk

What is happening in Portland lately? Lots of unrest. I haven't been to any places where the protesters have gathered lately because I have been busy but since my last time visiting downtown at night, one person was violently beaten by a group of sad examples of humans that are out there screaming Black Lives Matter, Fuck The Police etc and want justice for one group of people but think it is completely OK to attack a person and beat and kick them bloody and unconscious. Cowards. Hypocrites. It was also discovered that the main suspect had walked around downtown and acted violent towards others and acted threatening in general. He has a criminal record consisting of past violence. He belongs locked up for a LONG time.
Also last Saturday night a protester of one group got shot and killed by another belonging to another group. Like WHY? Same again....you are out there screaming for justice and supposedly being against violence and injustice but in reality you are a hypocrite. As with the other perpetrator, the offender has a lengthy rap sheet that speaks loudly of what kind of a piece of shit he is. Father of two as well. Pathetic "role model". Same as with the other piece of shit, he belongs locked up for a LONG time.
I am not with any group. I am for what is right as in the right thing to do. I hate the looting, shooting, destroying, violence and killings. Fuck that. Go burn down your parent's, grandparent's, cousin's or a friend's house and destroy their property or your own dwelling (if you have one) instead of public property. Low intelligence morons.
Can't people see that the destruction will cost money to fix, tax payer money. Money that could go to something else instead. That something else that people are protesting about. A better life. Destruction leaves ugly blemishes on a city for all to see.
So Elk sculpture got put away and the fountain Elk stood on is destroyed. Recently somebody put up a new elk (or whatever it is supposed to be) where original Elk once was.



Sure new elk is fun but it does NOT make it right what happened to original Elk that was put there in 1900, so 120 years ago. I heard somewhere that maybe (key word here is MAYBE ) the maker of Elk was a racist (Roland Hinton Perry, a sculptor an artist). Or perhaps the person that commissioned the elk. Who knows? You know what....I don't give a fuck!
Guess what....Auschwitz, Treblinka and Majdanek are still standing in Poland and Dachau in Germany and people are OK with that. Ponder the history in those buildings for a second.
So yeah.....to the idiots that ruined the fountain and the original Elk. YOU SUCK.



"DEFUND" in pretty and somewhat burnt letters made of flowers was put in front of City Hall. As in defund the police. So defunding the police CAN be a good thing IF the money goes to something that will be useful and helpful for the community. I am for that if it's well done. Several cities (Austin, New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles to name a few) have cut funds, of course not completely but allocated the money elsewhere. How this will play out in reality only time will tell. But if you are out there yelling Fuck The Police, Kill All Cops and similar insults and think shooting police officers is OK, like the murders of David Dorn and Tamarris L. Bohannon, (WHERE IS THEIR JUSTICE?!) then you do not deserve any assistance from the police should you ever need it. Ask a friend or a neighbor for help if you get assaulted, robbed, burglarized or raped and hope for the best. Tags like these are all over Portland. So lame to spray paint shit like that.



Coincidentally since the protest in Portland began on May 29 several cannabis shops here have been burglarized accompanied by armed robberies at some of them. 22 dispensaries so far. Since the police is busy in other places, mostly nightly with the protests they can't get to people that need their assistance. All fun and games until YOU become the victim of a violent crime or a property crime huh?



This statue of a woman, man, child and wagon wheel is also destroyed and gone. It used to be in the same park as Elk, which is a park in front of the Justice Center where a lot of the protesting has been going on. Here is what I have found about the statue called "The Promised Land".
"In Chapman Square is a bronze statue commissioned by the Oregon Trail Coordinating Council to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Oregon Trail in 1993. The Promised Land, by Oregon artist David Manuel, depicts a pioneer family - father, mother, and son - at the end of their journey. The red granite slab upon which the statue is mounted is inscribed with a quote by Thomas Jefferson."
So the people that emigrated to the US in the 1820's and forward, the majority of them fled poverty and famine, like the Swedes and the Irish. To my knowledge they were just poor people trying to make a better life for themselves but this statue has angered people in the past. I have read up on some of the objections to it (the land belonged to the Native Americans and was stolen, the man is holding a Bible) and at the base of it there is a quote by Thomas Jefferson and he did own slaves. I am personally against the destruction of the statue but I can see where others come from on the issue.





What's left of "The Promised Land". A slab that people now sit on.



I DO get why there is anger, unrest and pain. But I do not think destruction and violence is the solution. Neither do several African Americans that I personally heard speak downtown Portland.
I am not going to be one of those people that suddenly because of BLM give others advice to educate themselves on the history of the US and the struggle of blacks just to look good and collect points, to try to come across like I care just to forget about the whole thing after a few days or weeks. I have read a lot of history on different topics since I basically learned to read.
And I do understand that since I am not black I have not experienced certain complications and situations.
I feel that every able adult has a social responsibility, what that means to me can mean something completely different to somebody else.
Although I most of the time have little hope for humanity because we are destroying this planet and everything that is beautiful on it but that doesn't mean that you should give up, you need to continue trying. I believe in the message painted on the plywood below.....just like many others. And I believe in it until somebody does something so they don't deserve it. I can think of a few individuals that I have no love and respect for. I don't go around gushing "love" for everybody I see, I am not that nice.



Portland is a beautiful city. There are so many nice things to see and do here.
I truly enjoy living here and I often go on long walks in the city and I volunteer downtown with some of the less fortunate and somehow miraculously where I volunteer we ALL get along....different colors of skin and all. Nobody is yelling or acting violent. Imagine that!
We are approaching day 100 since the protests started. I am hoping for peaceful gatherings from now on.



Eric Ward (director of progressive nonprofit Western States Center), "Portland has become a proxy for a reelection campaign, and for alt-right and white nationalist paramilitaries and vigilantes who want to live out their fantasy of racial war."
"I'm enraged that a person was killed on the streets of Portland. I don't care what their political ideology is."

Reverend E.D. Mondaine (president of the Portland NAACP), in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, Mondainé denounced what he called the “white spectacle".
“Unfortunately, ‘spectacle’ is now the best way to describe Portland’s protests,” he wrote. “Vandalizing government buildings and hurling projectiles at law enforcement draw attention — but how do these actions stop police from killing black people? What are antifa and other leftist agitators achieving for the cause of black equality?”