Road Scholar Program in Portland, Oregon – Sustainability issues

March 13, 2012 by albertkaufman 4 Comments

Portland, a great place for a Road Scholar program on sustainability

Road Scholar Portland

March 16, 2012

Road Scholar
11 Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111

Attention: Domestic Program Development

Hello!

My parents have been enjoying Road Scholar programs for many years. When planning to visit me in Portland, Oregon recently they were interested in combining their visit with one of your programs. It occurred to me that Road Scholar could offer a program around what this city is really excelling at – sustainable development, urban planning, mass transit and other related topics. I imagine participants might be interested in exploring these topics and taking some of what Portland has learned back to their own communities.

Portland has attracted some of the brightest minds in the sustainability movement. Their exciting work is creating a stir worldwide. I find living here fascinating (watch an episode of the new IFC show, Portlandia, and you’ll quickly see what I mean). I imagine some of your participants would enjoy visiting the “real” Portlandia and learning what all of the buzz is about.

Portland’s excellent food and natural attractions such as the Columbia Gorge would help make such a program quite popular.

Here are a few of the courses/topics I propose for a Portland Road Scholar program:

Community Gardens/Orchards
City Repair – a local group that works to make the city more livable cityrepair.org
Mass Transit – light rail/streetcars/buses = Livability – streetcars? – we make them here!
Depaving – removing pavement and adding in community gardens – depave.org
Neighborhood Councils – Portland has more than any other city and they are effective at creating change
Neighborhood Art Walks: Last Thursday on Alberta St., 1st Thursday in the Pearl, and more
Reviving main street – small businesses thrive in Portland – Buy Local Movement
Bike Culture – seeing Portland by bike
Tree planting (Friends of Trees) and other eco-conscious ways that the City’s infrastructure is being improved – stormwater, bioswales…
Hi-tech: Portland is a center for technical innovation. Participants could take part in social networking classes, learning how to document their Portland experience and share it with friends. I’ve been teaching classes in this since 2009 and I would love to offer my services.
Portlandia behind the scenes – why is Portlandia funny? A Portlandia screening in an old movie theater and then visits to some of the places shown in the series
McMenamins– This thriving local empire restores local movie theaters, chapels, and lodges into thriving brewpubs, restaurants, and hotels. Their success speaks to Portland’s appreciation of history and culture of creative reuse.
The Re-Building Center – the reuse of building materials
Portland’s quality-of-life values: getting rid of the freeway separating downtown from the river led to many other improvements and helps make Portland one of the most livable cities in the United States. See also: our amazing urban growth boundary
Farmers Markets, food carts, local restaurants
Ecstatic and Tango dance – both are experiencing steady growth in Portland (we are also the center for NIA and other body movement therapies)
Alternative medicine –Portland’s alternative healthcare scene is thriving (acupuncture, massage, watsu, etc.)

These are some sample topics. I can imagine many more which could contribute to an evolving program for those who visit Portland.

As a 10-year Portland resident (17 in 2018) and an avid networker, I have contacts with many experts on the above topics who would serve as excellent teachers. I would be glad to coordinate any and all aspects of this project and am also excited to collaborate on another Portland skill! I have long had an interest in teaching retired people life skills and this course could include tracks in financial management, alternative healthcare choices, and other later in life skills.

Portland is a special place. It’s repeatedly listed as one of the most desirable places to live in the United States. If this idea interests Road Scholar let’s discuss the idea further. I hope we can make a Road Scholar Portland Sustainable City program happen. And, I’m sure my parents; Rich and Hannah Kaufman will be the first to sign up!

Sincerely,

Albert Kaufman

2020 Update: I resubmitted this idea to the organization which has a local office in the Portland area. Still, no dice.

Filed Under: Road Scholar Tagged With: Elderhostel, Portland, retirement skills, Road Scholar, sustainability

Tree Planting Success 2012

March 12, 2012 by albertkaufman 1 Comment

Tree Planting Success!

We had a great tree planting in Irvington, Sabin, Grant Park, and Alameda neighborhoods last weekend (March 10, 2012). thanks are in order! Here are some of the folks we want to thank!

Friends of Trees Staff – esp. Jesse Batty and Erica Timm – for leading the charge and making the event go so smoothly.
Eric McClelland and Marai Boamod – who drove the rental truck to Molalla and back and picked up our trees!
To our fabulous local businesses who donated food and drink for the breakfast and lunches: Whole Foods, Helen Bernhard Bakery, Costello’s Travel Caffe, Caffe D’arte, Peet’s Coffee on NE Broadway, Kettleman’s Bagels
To the Holladay Park Church of God which has housed the event 2 years in a row. thank you!
To our 150 volunteers who gather early on a Saturday morning and head out into the day and planted the trees – thanks for your labor and generous spirit!
To neighbors who made food and donated food – the soups and chilis and stews were delicious, thank you!
To Holli Talkington who photographed our day!
The members of the band: Ten Spiders – we loved your music! Ten Spiders is available for hire – a great addition to just about any occasion.
To Alan Rahi and his partner Mira Eng-Goetz for designing and printing over 150 shirts for us! If you didn’t pick yours up it is probably waiting for you at the Friends of Trees office.
To my fellow neighborhood coordinators: Lisa, Malcha, and Neil, who do a lot of behind the scenes work to make the planting go well – esp. including picking up the food donations and calling in utility locations.

I’m sure there are more people to thank, please feel free to add them into the comment section. And, I’ll add more pictures here as they come in! Thanks, everyone for your help in adding to Portland’s canopy.

This year’s planting featured the volunteer effort of many young people. I’ve never seen that many young people volunteering together before – it was impressive. Someday I hope that these young people will come back and visit the trees they planted and smile.

Filed Under: tree planting Tagged With: Friends of Trees, Irvington, Portland, portlandia, tree planting, young people changing the world

Lone Fir Community Garden

March 2, 2012 by albertkaufman Leave a Comment

Lone Fir Community Garden

3.19.12 – I believe this is a good idea, and have put this effort on hold for the time being as I learn more on the issue. Feel free to ask how it’s going, to me, and Metro…

Yes, it’s time for a new face for the SW corner of the Lone Fir Cemetery, dontcha think? Here’s a petition to create a community garden. Please sign and encourage your friends too, thanks!

https://www.change.org/petitions/turn-the-sw-corner-of-the-lone-fir-cemetery-into-a-community-garden-please

Filed Under: Lone Fir Cemetary Tagged With: community gardens, food, growing food, growing fruit, growing gardens, growing nuts, lone fir, lone fir cemetery, not leaving empty ground empty, nuts, orchards

Moregonian

February 28, 2012 by albertkaufman Leave a Comment

From a FB conversation yesterday about Moregonian…

I have an idea for an article for BlueOregon that I might write. It goes something like this. What if we (Portlanders/Oregonians) lived with a newspaper that had a more even keel to it, instead of reaching off into far-right positions as the Oregonian often does. Instead, what if our paper had more of a positive, progressive take on things. Instead of seeing a forest and thinking board feet – once in a while the paper might give environmental/tourism/other species a chance. Instead of mirroring the views of business alliances and conservative religious views we might experience something less op-ed intensive, and more straight news. I wonder how our lives might be different. My guess is that there would be more readership, and perhaps more people would take leadership in the community as they’d have less fear of sticking their necks out and become part of an attack in the editorial pages of the local paper. I think it would probably also lead to a more reasoned debate on the issues of the day. Thoughts?

…‎Jonathan: not sure I want to start a new paper. Just wondering “what if”. What if I lived in a town where the paper reflected the zeitgeist of the people who lived there. And it does happen. Eugene has a paper that is very “Eugene”. It’s actually incredible to read. Especially the letters section. Instead of keeping everyone in a constant state of suspense and printing and a lot of bullshit, the paper seems to encourage creativity and action.

(Sarah mentioned the great small papers we have here ) I want the main paper to be that good, too. I could be. I was in Las Vegas recently. Their paper is even-keeled, and pleasant and interesting, and topical, and seems more useful than keeping everyone fighting all the time. There didn’t seem to be a vendetta like the O has with the Mayor, with environmentalists, with Occupy Portland, with some of the City Council members. the paper is a bully. The paper also supported Bush and Gordon Smith which were so unreflective of the people who live here that they just stood out as stupid, and awful. They continue to be that on a daily basis, thus making our City less friendly, less cooperative, and more libertarian and crass.

I think we can have better and deserve better. It’s not going to just happen magically. It may be one more area we have to fight for in our lives.

Filed Under: Moregonian Tagged With: a better newspaper for Oregon, agenda, anti-democracy, bias, christian right wing agenda, honest reporting, Moregonian, pro-business, right-wing agenda, Rupert Murdoch, slant, slanted reporting, Snoregonian, spin, The Oregonian, truth

From Tower 2 – 2.26.1988

February 24, 2012 by albertkaufman 1 Comment

I used to work at Tower 2 of the World Trade Center on the 66th floor. My perspective at that time:

“if the thunder don’t get you then the lightning willlllllll!!!!” Other pictures – an office the size of a football field with a 50 Ft. high ceiling, ticker tape readout on LCDs zipping overhead, banks of pulsing, green, mini-screens in front of each person (clocks showing the time in Tokyo, Singapore, London, Paris, and Sydney on the walls), well-dressed, tall, lily-white men and women, with two or more phones in their hands – looking: at the screens, clocks, and ticker tape – speaking alternately into the phones or to each other for 7 hours straight eerie day, rain or shine, bull of bear – and me, scanning the clear glass windows overlooking the trading floor and beyond the windows at the Hudson River, the Statue of Liberty and New Jersey.

Filed Under: New York City Tagged With: World Trade Center, WTC

GGG: Dominatrix for Dummies – in PDX through the end of the month

February 16, 2012 by albertkaufman Leave a Comment

GGG – Dominatrix for Dummies

One of the most fun theatrical experiences I have ever seen. Please, if you live in Portland, Oregon, or know folks who do, come see this show!

This show is about so much more than S&M and training to be a dominatrix – this show is really about learning how to worship YOURSELF!

Radical Self-LUST! Come and get it!

The deets:

By turns raunchy, hilarious, and heartbreaking, GGG: Dominatrix for Dummies is Eleanor O’Brien’s solo show about training to be a dominatrix in NYC. Far from a simple guide to whips and chains, there is a love story woven into the fabric of the S&M adventure. From tap shoes to breakdance, Phil Collins to soul motion, GGG: D4D follows a deeper journey about what it means to be worshipped, and how everyone wants to be wanted.

Like the highly acclaimed series Inviting Desire, GGG: D4D shares the hallmark traits of this sex-positive theater company – erotic, authentic, and highly entertaining.

Just in time for Valentines Day, GGG: D4D opens on the 10th and runs Thurs-Sun at 8 pm

Thursday shows are followed by a Q&A
Friday shows are followed by a dance party!
Saturday shows are followed by an erotic open-mic
Sunday shows are followed by cocktails at The Blue Monk.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Get ’em while they’re hot!

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/223565

Filed Under: Portlandia Tagged With: Dance Naked Productions, Dominatrix, Dominatrix for Dummies, Eleanor O'Brien, Portland Theater