The 11 🌷 July, 2020

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Happy Earth Day!

Hello from the porch @ Sumney West. Scooterville. Whatever you want to call it I'm not at the Oregon Country Fair right now where I would normally be and so you're getting a July issue of The Eleven! And right on cue, the powertool orchestra has begun - so, I'll start by sharing my latest missive on the topic right here . Here's the URL for this article in case you'd like to copy and paste it to social media or Nextdoor. Even if you just convince one person to make a simple change as described in this article it will mean a quieter world for you and your neighbors. Or, perhaps it's you I'm speaking to :)

https://albertideation.com/powertoolorchestra

It's Time to Shut down the Powertool Orchestra

There's a denial around noise and its health aspects in our world. One example of this is a neighbor of mine who insists on locking her new car with a key fob that sets off a loud beep of the horn (these can often be disconnected).

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albertideation.com

I spent many days of my youth mowing our lawn. Now that I look back on that time I wonder what all that effort was for and why we keep doing it. Why do we grow something that just needs to be cut constantly? Clue: we don't! Luckily, I'm older and wiser and now spend my time trying to end the 36 billion dollar lawn care industry. The climate crisis is demanding that we rethink how we do things - I see stopping lawns as some easy low-hanging fruit - hop on board and join me!

Like you, I'm trying to navigate my own response to the virus. Lately, this has involved repeated discussions with people I'm close to. I keep feeling like I'm taking physical distancing more seriously than some and though I often feel like I'm being rigid, I am going for the safety of all parties involved. This has meant skipping camp-outs and other gatherings where I either don't want to do the physical distancing dance or where I don't feel like those who are hosting have thought things through well. This has meant more isolation than I'm used to. I'm usually the one hosting parties and get-togethers and my Summers are usually filled with weekend after weekend of music festivals. So, this is an intense adjustment.

Part of it feels super healthy. I've been saying to myself " hey, how about a Summer off ?" for the last 5 years and I seem to have finally gotten my wish :) Unfortunately, it's something I put off because, well, I knew it would mean missing floating in the circles of love and friendship that I've built up over the years. Virtual music festivals are certainly happening and do bring some of the joy - at least the music, but there's nothing like being there. I've been considering this an opportunity to digest . Digest all the fun. Digest all the highlights. Digest all the lessons - and spread what I've learned about building community far and wide - years of Burning Man, Beloved Festival, Oregon Country Fair, Breitenbush Summer Solstice Retreat, Singing Alive, Northwest String Summit. Oh, that's where I've been! Vancouver Folk Festival, Northwest Folklife Festival, Soak, Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Ecstatic Dance Campout, and on and on - not this year, but oh such precious memories.

Many people have been checking in with me about finances and my business, Albertideation. Like many small businesses work has slowed some as a few clients have shuttered temporarily or permanently and no longer need my services. It's been interesting to help some businesses pivot, but some have decided to just call it quits. What's interesting, and not that surprising is that email marketing is actually thriving during Covid , so I could probably be working at normal capacity with more effort on my part. I have been pivoting to trying to find people who are already using Constant Contact (the main platform I use) and who are doing good work in the world and seeing if I can help them make things go better. In that vein I've been working with the Coast Range Association which has been doing incredible work to protect Oregon's forests for years.

If you see a Constant Contact newsletter from an organization doing good work in the world, please forward it to me and I'll reach out to them. Often, there are a couple things that once changed can really make a different in an organization's efforts to reach out or fund raise.

Well, this has been fun. Thanks for reading. I didn't think I had much to say, but I guess I did. I hope you and your family are weathering the current interesting times well. I'm hoping we'll come out of this with some really good changes - or, be on the road towards them in any case. This virus has given the world a chance to think about alternatives , and that's a good thing.

Take good care of your health both mental and physical and let's keep working for a better world together.

Yes, we can!

Love,

Albert

PS - Yes, I'm trying to find my beloved :)

PPS - that's me below as Albertus Magnus according to my friend Zen Achilles who does awesome adjustments of his friends each year for our birthday.

Robert Hubbell's " Today's Edition " continues to provide me with a sane recap of what's going on in society and gives me hope that things will get better. With our efforts. He's been on fire, lately.

What am I listening to?

I've been a huge fan of Portland jazz station KMHD for the 19 years I've lived in Portland. I jokingly talk about it being my way to a PhD in jazz. You can stream it wherever you are . My favorite show is Isabel's Takin Off M-Th 3-6pm PST but it's great most of the time.