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January 10, 2021
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Happy 2021! This is 2021, right? With all of the horrific scenes of this past week and with more than 4,000 deaths from Covid-19 yesterday, this year doesn't seem too different yet. Sometimes I fear that I will be singing along with David Byrne, "same as it ever was; same as it ever was" until the cows come home.
I hadn't expected much in the way of good news until after January 20th, but now I am terrified about what could transpire in the next 12 days. I am 100% behind the decision by the House to bring impeachment proceedings against #45 AGAIN, and maybe this time the Senate will have the backbone to convict.
After the seditious act of storming the Capitol, in all the speechifying I've heard and on all the twitter or FB posts I've read, one particular line makes me livid. "This is not who we are." "This is not America. We are better than this." If you are saying this, I ask you, what country have you been living in? Those statements are pure gaslighting as we have been shown time and time again. America has one set of rules for folks who are white and another set of rules for those who aren't. There's also a great divide between the way men and women are treated, not to mention the almost insurmountable barriers put in the way of transfolk or others whose identities don't fall into some neat little box. And heaven help you if you are a black transwoman. Sadly, in 2020 at least 44 transgender or gender non-conforming people were fatally shot or killed by other violent means, the majority of which were Black and Latinx transgender.
The land on which we live and work was stolen. Our country was built through slave labor. We continue to disenfranchise voters. We separate children from their parents. We let rapists off with a hand slap. I could go on and on and on. You might have your own personal examples of being treated as a person without inalienable rights depending on the color of your skin, your ethnicity, your religion, your sex, who you love. As an assistant manager at an Oklahoma City Arby's in the early 80s (I know--sometimes we put aside our dreams in order to feed our families), I was fired for standing up to my married male boss for harassing a 16-year old girl about going on a date. I applied for unemployment, but with blatant lies by regional management in the hearing, it was "he said, she said," and I never received a penny. When we lived in New York, my high school daughter worked at Baskin Robbins, and an "illegal" co-worker was being forced to work overtime for no pay. Fern stood up to the manager in defense of her fellow ice cream slinger, and she was fired.
Oregon is no better. I took my biracial grandson to H&M, and while I was in one part of the store, I noticed a sales clerk following his every move. At a basketball tournament, my grandson was called the "n-word" on the court, and when I complained to that child's coach, he held his palm up to my face and said, "talk to the hand." One bright and beautiful morning as Sage and a friend were within a block of Jefferson High School, a police car pulled up, they were asked to turn over their backpacks, and all of their belongings were strewn across the sidewalk. When it comes to my grandson, I could recite many more examples of how his treatment by Portland police has been different from his white teenage friends, but you get the picture.
When 74 million people voted for #45 in the last election, it's impossible to say "this is not who we are." But maybe this time we can move beyond the hell that has been our history into a future where we are determined that this is not who we will be.
Over the next week I need to file all the applications to make sure that the grant money I've received for the Clinton is forgiven. Nothing that I've received so far can be used in 2021, but because of your generosity, I have enough set aside for another month. There is still no word on when we can apply for the funds that will be made available from the last relief package, but hopefully, the powers-that-be will get their act together soon, and we can survive another quarter.
One news organization asked folks to describe 2020 in a single work or phrase, and an eight-year old child described it as a "year of missing." Missing school. Missing friends. Missing grandparents. Missing the playground. I've missed a lot, too. I especially missed having our unique and engaging programming and the opportunity to see you all on a regular basis. The Grief Writing Workshop I attended last fall described the grief of expecting something that we did not receive. I understood that with every fiber of my being when Hillary was not elected president in 2016. This year I grieved the trip that wasn't taken with my grandson to Japan. So many of you have had to miss graduations or special birthday celebrations. Opportunities to travel or go to school or take on new jobs and challenges. The poem I am including today is one I first shared in 2016, and it's a good one to remember now.
Good Bones
BY MAGGIE SMITH
Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.
For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,
sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying
to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.
WANT TO HELP????? WATCH/GIVE....
An Interactive Online Performance by Master Magician DAN KAMIN
Any time
Any amount
Dan Kamin responded to the Covid crisis by creating a mind-bending performance of eye-popping online magic called SHAZOOM! It’s upclose and personal, and it beams from Dan’s Magic Parlor directly into your home, office or school. Interested? Just say the magic word—SHAZOOM!—and contact Dan. The virtual party runs up to one hour.
Dan trained Robert Downey, Jr. for his Oscar-nominated performance in Chaplin and created Johnny Depp’s physical comedy moves for Benny and Joon. He also played the vengeful wooden Indian that came to life in George Romero’s cult horror classic Creepshow 2. Dan has performed his one-man shows in theatres and with symphonies worldwide.
You can read more about Dan in The Escape Artist, his highly entertaining account of how the legendary Harry Houdini got him started in magic. And be sure to check out his super cool website, which has video clips galore.
ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT CLINTON STREET THEATER!
Dan Kamin contact information:
dk@dankamin.com
(412) 563-6505
www.dankamin.com
New stuff is available! BUY A TICKET, WATCH AT HOME, AND SUPPORT THE CLINTON!!!
For the horror fans among us.
I BLAME SOCIETY
"One of the most AWKWARD, QUIRKY and ORIGINAL horror films (...), and definitely one of the BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR. An EXQUISITE example of how quickly the thin line between reality and art can blur."
- Film Inquiry
IMDB User Review: Very creative serial killer movie
29 June 2020 | by victoriapilotyyc
I loved this film! As an aspiring Filmmaker I found the creativity of this film absolutely brilliant! The use of different film equipment really made it feel like you were watching an authentic documentary. Dark and comical, I love it!
A struggling filmmaker (Gillian Wallace Horvat) senses her peers are losing faith in her ability to succeed, so she decides to prove herself by finishing her last abandoned film… and committing the perfect murder.
A DOG CALLED MONEY
As imaginative as the creative process it documents, A DOG CALLED MONEY is a uniquely intimate journey through the inspiration, writing and recording of a PJ Harvey record.
Writer and musician Harvey and award-winning photographer Seamus Murphy sought first-hand experiences of the countries she wanted to write about. Harvey accompanied Murphy on some of his worldwide reporting trips, joining him in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Washington DC. Harvey collected words, Murphy collected images. By capturing the immediacy of their encounters with the people and places they visited, Murphy shows the humanity at the heart of the work, tracing the sources of the songs, their special metamorphosis into recorded music and ultimately cinema.
SONG WITHOUT A NAME
Based on harrowing true events, SONG WITHOUT A NAME tells the story of Georgina, an indigenous Andean woman whose newborn baby is whisked away moments after its birth in a downtown Lima clinic - and never returned. Set in 1988, in a Peru wracked by political violence and turmoil, Melina León’s heart-wrenching first feature renders Georgina's story in gorgeous, shadowy black-and-white cinematography, "styled like the most beautiful of bad dreams" (Variety). SONG WITHOUT A NAME is a "Kafkaesque thriller" (The Hollywood Reporter) that unflinchingly depicts real-life, stranger-than fiction tragedies with poetic beauty.
NEW!!!!
VHS Vengeance presents
"Kingdom of the Spiders"
VHS Vengeance is Portland’s longest running Live Movie Riffing Comedy Show. Each month Hosts Nick Puente, Aaron Wagner & Michael Garcia present the best of the worst VHS tapes in their collections, offered up with hilarious commentary, special guests, and audience participation.
For this special stream of the William Shatner classic, Kingdom of the Spiders, the boys are joined by Portland’s premier Shatner expert and host of the Boohaha podcast, Avalon Leonetti!
VHS Vengeance presents
"The Boy in the Plastic Bubble"
For this special streaming event the boys are joined by Portland producer & comedian, Ricky Stratton! So why don't we all sit back, relax, and give the John Travolta quarantine classic The Boy in the Plastic Bubble a good talking to.
IN OTHER NEWS
Reminder--Portland's Black Owned Businesses Need Your Support. These businesses are part of what makes Portland great and your support is more important now than ever.
Support Black Owned Businesses
Distractions
Did you know that Portland Parks and Recreation has loads of videos for you and your family? How about some soccer practice for your littles one? Or maybe you prefer to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (it's by Mozart, in case you hadn't heard)? They've even got Dance Fitness routines for 4 minutes or 30. Check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/stayandplaypdx
There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning.
― Louis L’Amour
Don't be a stranger. Write until we can meet again.
Kind regards,
Lani Jo
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