Goings On At Post Apocalyptic Bohemia

North Portland is the 5^th quadrant of Portland, sometimes dubbed the “forgotten quadrant.” Considered by most citizens to be sketchy & unpleasing, those in know recognize NoPo to be the Brooklyn of the most Brooklyn of cities, outside of Brooklyn, NYC. My inner-circle taunts me about my inability to venture out of North Portland.  Since becoming a Stay-At-Home Mom, my universe has deflated to St Johns for the gym, Arbor Lodge for dog walking, Overlook  for friends & my clinic, & of course, Kenton, my neighborhood.

North Portland is a diverse mixture of residential, commercial, & industrial. It includes the Portland International Raceway, the University of Portland, & the massive cargo facilities of the Port of Portland.

NoPo is a peninsula, with the mighty Columbia River on one side & the north flowing Willamette on the other. The confluence of the 2 rivers, at Kelly Point Park, is the end of North Portland & essentially the most northern point of Portland.

The Columbia Slough, a narrow waterway, about 19 miles long, is about 10 blocks from Post Apocalyptic Bohemia. The slough is home to more than 150 bird species including eagles, 26 fish species, otters, beaver, & coyotes.  It is one of the nation's largest freshwater urban wetlands.

Lewis & Clark actually landed & walked around North Portland after learning from Native Americans that the neighborhood was on the upswing, with many gay couples & plenty of fun spot to eat & explore.

My favorite structure in Portland, The Saint Johns Bridge is located in the North Quadrant, as is the Boys’ Fort in my back garden & BOYS’ FORT, The Husband’s retail shop & design studio.

Just to challenge myself, I took the Husband on an adventure, penetrating deep into SE Portland neighborhood of Sunnyside for shopping & lunch. We stopped to spend some time knocking around with The Husband’s buddy- Bret at the Old Portland Hardware, one of the most “Portland” of my city’s retail outlets. Bret constructs & fabricates furniture & lighting from re-purposed materials. He is keen to my vintage photography collection & had held on to some choice pieces just for me. Old Portland Hardware is a special spot that you deserve to check out.

Nothing soothes being unemployed like spending a little money on something you don't need. I was thrilled with the vintage photos that I picked up to add to the collection.

John & CC Have New Hats

As one of my pals professed: "I really like your blog, but I like the stuff about you... not the birthdays of dead gay people". I started to collect vintage (1860-1980) photographs of men together a decade ago. I have more than 100. I was sharing them with readers of Post Apocalyptic Bohemia, but I began to wander away to other subjects along the way.

I borrowed against my IRA to catch up on the bills & repairs. It has been an interesting experience to usually not have any cash for some fun. I long ago decided that a perfect day included going to a part town with which I am not familiar, some bucks in my jeans & no agenda. I earmarked a tiny portion of the cash flow to just such a plan. I took the Husband with me because... well, I sort of had to.

The Husband found some swell stuff to use in projects for his BOYS' FORT, & I found this photo, at the best salvage store that I have encountered: Old Portland Hardware & Architectural.

I find this photo to be one of the very finest I have added to the collection. It is certainly the sweetest of a sweet selection of snapshots & formal portraits of men in couples or groups from the past 150 years.

The names are written in pencil: John Fuller & CC Brown. The rest of the piece is a perfect embossed paper in a Victorian pattern. I love these 2 gentlemen. What is their story that led to this portrait?

Would you like to see more of the collection?

Will It Go Round In Circles?

I am a collector. I collect orbs: marbles, globes, bowling balls, baseballs, round river rocks, bocci balls; I am attracted to round things. Perhaps because I meditate on circles: orbits, seasons, & friendships.

I have hundreds, in the house & in the garden. Last week the Husband arranged some of my balls at the base of our New Zealand Laurel tree. I noticed right away, & I have to say that I was pleased. I appreciate my balls being displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner, & the Husband knows how to handle my balls. What do you collect?

September's Here Again

The sun shines high above
The sounds of laughter
The birds swoop down upon
The crosses of old grey churches
We say that we’re in love
While secretly wishing for rain
Sipping coke & playing games

September’s here again

David Sylvian
1984

Do You Wanna See My Balls?

Just short of needing meds for being compulsive obsessive (alphabetized CDs, color coded closet), I am not afraid to own up being a collector (but not a hoarder). I have posted about collecting certain writers & musical artists. I collect different versions of certain songs- Mack The Knife & Waters Of March, to name 2. I collect river rocks, but only those that hva stripe & are oval. For decades I have been  drawn tocollect orbs, from marbles to bowling balls, globes to gazing balls.

About a year ago, I started posting about my collection of vintage photographs, mostly 1860-1960, of men being affectionate with each other. It is a getting close to being a world class gathering of snapshots & formal portraits. I have been in the process of trying to determine who I can leave them to. I would love to find an institution that would like to preserve this hand-picked archive of men touching, hugging & kissing each other. Some of these photos are framed & put into very tasteful groupings by the Husband, & many I just have in protective sleeves in a box that can be brought out for viewing. They are all treasures to me, but sometimes I will revisit one & really scrutinize & study it, their is power in visiting the past. This one was framed on the fridge & it slipped out of the bottom of its clip-on frame & slid under the appliance. I am so lazy. I took months for me move the thing & retrieve SHO-ME:

I like to consider who the gentlemen are in the photographs, who they might have been & what the meant to each other.

What do you think this scene was all about?

Singles, 3s, or groups? Most of the Vintage Photo Collection are duos & a handsome handful of groups of 3s. There are very few groups, but here are 2 more that I favor:

Click on image to enlarge.

"A Good Snapshot Stops A Moment From Running Away." Eudora Welty

More from my collection...  & sometimes the very best things come in 3s.

A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. One must not take photos.

The title quote is by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Another from my collection:

I was going down for the third time

 My heart was broken,

I was not open to your suggestions

I had so many questions

That you just kissed away

Tell me, I guess that cupid was in disguise

The day you walked in and changed my life,

I think it's amazing,

The way that love can set you free

So now I walk in the midday sun

I never thought that my saviour would come

I think it's amazing

I think it's amazing

 I think you are amazing

George Michael

"When You Take A Photograph Nothing Is Ever The Same As They Said It Was". Diane Arbus

It is all about the packaging...

“Unless a picture shocks, it is nothing.” Marcel Duchamp

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” Aaron Siskind

From my Men Together Photography Collection, & because, I just posted about dogs, I am offering 3 more photographs, & yes, I know #1 is just a guy & his dog. It doesn't quite fit, but I loved it when I found it, & this snapshot has a prominent place in the house. I think this man & the pup are just delicious & it seems to capture a very specific moment of canine + human= love. I continue to search for photos of male couples & their dogs families. The Husband & I couldn't have been the 1st to be documented!

Another Photograph From My Collection

Another photo from my "Men Together" collection. The Husband & I have always loved this photograph of 2 gentlemen farmers & their 2 terriers because it could be us a century ago. You can click on the picture for a better view. Great pic?

“Photography Takes An Instant Out Of Time, Altering Life By Holding It Still.” Dorothea Lange

Click on the photos to enlarge... it is worth it.

I purchased these 2 photographs together as a pair, & I could not be more thrilled when I had them in my hands & I was trying to act nonchalant as I asked the dealer for a price. This pair of snapshots have a prominent place in the display. I don't mean to gloat, but I love owing & living with these photos!

"A Good Snapshot Stops A Moment From Running Away". Eudora Welty

This is the photograph that started my obsession with & my collection of vintage photographs of men being affectionate with each other. It was an opening night gift from Cristofer, who was playing my son in a production of The Fantasticks in 1985. The Fantasticks is one of only a handful of plays that I have been in more than 4 times. I have done 5 productions, in over 3 decades, of this classic, playing all the male roles, except El Gallo, the male lead. I don't understand why I never got to play masculine, baritone leads in musicals.  Really, what was it about me?

Cristofer was a really cute, sweet, smart, & talented young man, in his early 20s, at the University of Washington. We car-pooled to rehearsals & performances & got to know each other really well, sharing opinions, interests, & passions over a period of 12 weeks, with an extended run of the musical. He is straight, but we did make out once. As I say- "the right lighting & the right liquor... they can all be had." He remains a very good & trusted friend. Cristofer started my collection with this photo. It is one of the best ones. WW1 era, & if the 2 men are "putting it on" for the camera, well... I am not convinced that it there is not love in their eyes. That is how I see it any way.

"The Camera Can Photograph Thought” Dirk Bogarde

Just short of needing meds for being compulsive obsessive (alphabetized CDs, color coded closet), I am not afraid to own up being a collector (but not a hoarder). I have posted about collecting certain writers & musical artists. I collect different versions of songs- Mack The Knife & Waters Of March, to name 2. I collect river rocks, but they have to have a stripe & be oval. For decades I have been fascinated by & collected orbs, from marbles to bowling balls, globes to gazing balls. I have a collection of vintage photographs, mostly 1860-1960, of men being affectionate with each other. It is a getting close to being a world class gathering of snapshots & formal portraits. I have been in the process of trying to determine who I can leave them to. I would love to find an institution that would like to preserve this hand-picked archive of men touching, hugging & kissing each other. Some of these photos are framed & put into very tasteful groupings by the Husband, & many I just have in protective sleeves in a box that can be brought out for viewing.

In the late 1980s, the Husband received a magical old scrapbook from the 1930s as a gift from his employer at the time. It was the scrapbook of what is obviously a British male couple in their early 30s, at least 1 of the pair is an architect or draftsman. The photos include nice images of their pair of lovebirds & their Staffordshire terrier. There are great shots of them, obviously in love, holding on to each other & touching, & there is a series from a “grand tour” that includes men in swim suits on Mediterranean beaches being much more immodest than Americans of the period, & photos naked brown men in North Africa. We would drag out the scrapbook to show people until, with little regret, the husband took them out of the book & framed them in the same style & size of simple black frames.

I thought I would start sharing different vintage photographs form my collection as a new feature on Post Apocalyptic Bohemian.