Long lost brother

The face of the man walking into the Capital Press lobby was familiar. I stopped for a second, not sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or not. But sure enough, the man walking in the front door was indeed familiar.

The last time I saw him was in the lobby of another newspaper office in another Oregon city. That time, more than a dozen years ago, was in Coos Bay.

Ed Fournier and I went to college together at Oregon State. We were fraternity brothers. In fact I was his Big Brother in our house, Pi Kappa Phi.

I haven't been such a good Big Brother in the years since and Ed and I have lost touch, much as I have lost touch with my Big Brother, another Ed — Ed Redmond.

Ed was here on business to talk to our general manager, Mike O'Brien, and he had a business associate with him, so we didn't get a great deal of time to talk. But we had enough time to swap business cards and get caught up a little on the years that have passed in between our last meeting.

The one thing I have always loved about working in newspapers, is you never can predict what each day will bring. The news of the day can change your plans and your routine. I will definitely chalk today up as a "good news day" due to an unplanned meeting of an old friend in the front lobby.

Thanks for stopping by, Ed ,and taking some time out of your busy day to say hello.

Dow Chemical takeover?

The stock price for Dow Chemical, which makes agriculture chemicals among other things, shot up today amid speculation the company may be the focus of a hostile takeover bid.

Read the AP story here.

The big money behind the bid will supposedly come out of the Middle East.

Today Show forks up tasty food safety coverage

Did anyone catch the Today Show story today with the headline "How safe is your produce?" I'd be curious to know what growers and shippers in the produce industry thought of the story.

The story followed the process of how fresh spinach travels from "farm to fork." When I saw the teaser for the piece before the story aired this morning, my first reaction was, "Oh crap, more mainstream media scare tactics." But after watching the piece, I thought they Today Show and Matt Lauer did a pretty good job of describing the steps taken to protect produce from contaminants in the field and remove possible problem-causing crud in route to the grocer's shelf. They also reminded people at home that they play a key role in food safety.

Newspaper board visits Cal Poly

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Tonight several Capital Press board members are in San Luis Obispo, Calif., in preparation to meet with representatives from California Polytechnic State University … or better known as Cal Poly.

The university has more than 18,000 students, and one of the things that drew us here is its focus on agriculture and agricultural communications.

For the last few years, once a year, the CP board had visited different places to meet people from the state who are either organizational leaders, or faculty in universities, who can give us more insight into their state. We learn valuable lessons, such as how important agriculture is to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California; what can we do to help provide information they need; and what stories are out there for us to cover in the future.

Flying from Portland, Ore. to San Francisco and then on to San Luis Obispo today showed the variances in terrain that farmers and ranchers deal with here. There are rich valleys, so green this time of year from the winter rains. There are mountains, some are thick with forests, others have only a few trees here and there and grass barely covering the slopes. There are large ranches reaching to the edges of the Pacific Ocean, with scattered herds of grazing cattle. And there are rocky, rugged, or sandy areas that challenge anyone to farm them.

Whenever one comes to this part of California, John Steinbeck’s novels come to mind and how his writing captured those who labored here during his time. Now, there are other images that Steinbeck would not yet have witnessed: roads winding up mountains and hillsides to huge houses, or expensive mansions seem to be taking over where perhaps farm houses once stood.

Tomorrow is our main day on campus, meeting faculty, staff and even students. It should be a great learning experience, and hopefully we can have a good discussion on how better share their stories and changing agriculture in this part of California to the rest of the world.

We had similar discussions in the past with UC Davis at Davis, Calif., with Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., and Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore.

We appreciate the time these universities take to meet with us, explaining their past, their present goals as well as their challenges and opportunities of the future.

Stay tuned to this blog to hear more about what we learn here.

Technorati tags: Agriculture

Velvet paintings not just about Elvis anymore

The oddities tour continued Sunday with a stop at the Velveteria in Northeast Portland, a museum devoted to velvet paintings.

I was prepared to embrace the tack of the velvet paintings, but I didn’t know I’d have so much fun doing it. After regaling friends and family with stories of the world’s largest hairball and Bobbie the Wonder Dog, I had no problem finding someone to join me on my museum tour.

We walked in and paid our $3 admission charge before we were allowed to enter the gallery. I didn’t know where to look first, but my eyes landed on a painting of a familiar face. But I was sure I had to be wrong.

“Is that Jack Kevorkian?” I asked Carl, the founder.

“Yes, that is Dr. Jack Kevorkian,” he confirmed. “And that’s the leader of the Heaven’s Gate cult over there.”

Sure enough, there was another of Marshall Applewhite looking wide-eyed and crazed. Carl explained that the two were sold as a set in Tijuana, Mexico. I’m not sure what the artist was thinking when he created those, and I wonder what others he had planned in that series.

Moving on to the next wall, I found the “Unicorn Combover,” which was one of my favorites, perhaps as much for its name as for the artwork itself. It featured a unicorn with a long flowing mane that covered the head of a person next to it. There were apparently plans by the Velveteria folks to make that one into a T-shirt, but it was cost-prohibitive. I hope that changes soon because I’d line up for one of those.

The main exhibit going on at the moment is of Polynesian beauties. The founders purchased several paintings from a Hawaiian artist who had been told they were too tacky. However, they were some of the more artistic paintings on the walls. We even were given leis when we walked in to set just the right mood.

The exhibits change regularly and have been featured on The Travel Channel and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Many visitors to Portland or recent transplants like myself are often the ones who clamor to the museum to take in the velvety goodness.

Of course, the Velveteria also had the obligatory Elvis and dogs playing poker paintings, but there were so many other interesting subjects to see. Another personal favorite was of Hulk Hogan, wearing his wrestling belt and a bandanna on his head. But what made this artwork particularly unique was the green hue to Hogan’s skin, making him look more like the Incredible Hulk. I have fond childhood memories of the Incredible Hulk, so that one was special.

Just around the corner from the Hulk are two paintings depicting Jesus. In one, he is sporting a gravity-defying beard that’s pretty spectacular, and in the other, he is wearing the crown of thorns. But as Carl pointed out, the likeness bears an amazing resemblance to Sammy Davis Jr. He even put a small picture of Davis next to the painting to show the similarity. Indeed, the painting was dubbed “Sammy Davis Jesus.”

And there’s a small room in the back that’s filled with paintings of nude and topless women, and another section for paintings that glow under blacklight. The museum has paintings of E.T., Mr. T., Michael Jackson, Mel Gibson and over 100 others. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, so as not to ruin the fun for everyone else. You’ll just have to check it out on your own.

At the end of my gallery tour, I was overjoyed to see that the Velveteria had souvenirs. At so many of the quirky places, that isn’t the case, and I leave with only my memories and maybe some photographs. But not this time. The museum offered T-shirts, post cards, bumper stickers and bracelets, among other items.

I purchased a shirt and a few post cards, but I couldn’t resist the hot dog earrings, which I’m sporting now as I write this. Especially at $1 a pair. At first, they seemed so incongruous with the theme of the place. But in an odd way, I realized, they fit perfectly.

The museum is open noon to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday at 518 NE 28th Ave. between Sandy Boulevard and Glisan Street. Portlanders apparently aren’t so quick to stop in, but they are definitely missing out.

Technorati tags: Agriculture

No kidding ... where do you get a goat?

Sometimes the biggest challenge can be for farmers to find their customers, and for customers to find them.

On Saturday, a group of customers visited the Italian deli shop in Corvallis, Ore. that's named Natalia and Cristoforo's. It was obvious the young men who were buying some cuts of meat that day were regulars, as they chatted about jobs, people they knew and the food in the shop.

This deli shop is tucked away on a side street in downtown Corvallis. Inside, there are all kinds of Italian specialty meats, cheeses and wines, as well as imported pastas, oils and sweets. The place has a faithful following of people who enjoy the specialty sandwiches on the menu. The place isn't fancy; its seating area is downstairs among the wine bottles, with several old tables and few mismatched plastic or other chairs, but the food is of top quality.

As one of the guys talked to the owner about an upcoming social event, he suddenly quizzed, "Do you know where I can get a goat?" Apparently, these young guys were interested in buying a whole goat to cook for a bunch of guests.

The owner shook his head, answered he didn't, but also mentioned this is the second time he's been asked that question.

Who knew there was such a market in Corvallis?

However, it raises the question: where does one find specialty meats, especially as people of various cultures blend into the American society mix and desire food of different origins and preparations?

Another question: are farmers actively approaching butchers, deli shop owners, or other markets to see if they want their specialty meats? Or suggesting that if these small shop owners can't handle such orders, if they can please pass on the business to the farmers directly?

The guys made their purchases and left, leaving behind an untapped market for some goat producer.


Technorati tags: Agriculture