Burnin’

The Wall Street Journal is offering a little lifestyle essay from novelist and short story writer, Thomas McGuane.

McGuane in many ways is a close literary relative of Jim Harrison. Interestingly, both hail from Michigan, where hunting and fishing are practically a religion. Maybe the fact that I hail from Nebraska—where hunting and fishing is absolutely a religion, along with football—makes me a prime candidate to be a big fan of these unabashedly western writers.

In the Journal piece, McGuane speaks eloquently about his two dogs, Abby and Daisy, the Pointer Sisters.

Bird dogs plead with you to imagine the great things you could be doing together. Their delight is a lesson in the bliss of living. As Bob Dylan says, “You’ve got to serve somebody.” I serve my dogs and in return, they glom the sofa. Too many hunting dogs live depressing lives in kennels with automatic feeders and waterers, exercised only enough to keep them ready for work.

This last bit makes me happy, as Darby and I have a new bird crazy dog and she’s logging some pretty solid “on the bed” time, something my two grandfathers would never have allowed. Their dogs were “strictly for hunting” although they were fed manually, run daily and well cared for.

[BONUS LINK FRIM THE GOOGLE] Here’s a 1984 interview with McGuane in Key West.

Powell’s Books recently dropped plans for a $5 million expansion

The New York Times decided that Portland would make a good case study for cities feeling the pain of recession.

Portland, a metropolitan area of 2.2 million people, affords an ideal window onto the spiral of fear and diminished expectations assailing the economy. The area has long attracted investment and talented minds with its curbs on urban sprawl, thriving culinary scene and life in proximity to the Pacific Coast and the snow-capped peaks of the Cascades. In good times, Portland tends to grow vigorously, elevated by companies like the computer chip maker Intel — which employs 15,000 people in the area — and the athletic clothing giant Nike.

But in recent months, Portland has devolved into a symbol of much that is wrong. Housing prices have fallen more than 14 percent since May 2007. Foreclosures more than tripled last year, according to RealtyTrac. The unemployment rate for the metro area surged from 4.8 percent at the end of 2007 to 9.8 percent in January 2009, according to the Labor Department.

With a major deepwater port on the Columbia River, Portland has benefited from the growth of global trade, gaining jobs for stevedores, truckers and warehouse workers. But as the global recession tightens, Portland’s docks are a snapshot of diminishing fortunes.

On a recent day, parking lots at the port were full of 30,000 automobiles that had been shipped in from Japan and South Korea, yet sat unclaimed by dealerships as sales plummeted.

I’m not sure what to make of this story. Facts are facts and the fact is times are tough. Yet, something resembling normal life is clearly going on at the same time. New restaurants are opening in revitalized Old Town. Bands are playing. Coffee shops are full. Conferences are going off as planned.

As someone who writes stories, I know first hand how you shape a story by leaving things out. The story above and most stories on the economy today leave the good news out (on purpose) because it doesn’t fit with the story their editors are asking for. Why editors need to ask for that same negative reinforcement story over and over is beyond me, but since the habit is well established it pays to look past the paper directly to people in the community for news.

Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.

I like seeing the open source concept made popular by hackers applied in this way by an Ivy League institution. It’s democratic, which is good for the community. It’s also a subtle form of “tryvertising” for high school students considering Yale, which is good for Yale and its prospects.

I believe in Oregon. I want to grow a business, hire people, and help the state realize a great economic future. I promise to hire Oregonians, grow my business in Oregon and keep my company in the state of Oregon. I want to build value not just for my employees and shareholders, but for State employees and the people of Oregon. -the pledge of Beaver State entrepreneurs

A group of Oregon entrepreneurs—Harvey Mathews, Wayne Embree, Josh Friedman and Mark Grimes—is pushing to raise $100 million to help support startup ventures based in the Beaver State.

A few days ago at NedSpace entrepreneurs gathered to deliver their elevator speeches. Members of Capybara Ventures, NW Technology Ventures, NedSpace, Oregon Angel Fund, Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, Reference Capital, Software Association of Oregon and Starve Ups were there to listen and encourage.

Startup Geek, David Abramowski says:

With all of the talk of the Obama Stimulus Plan it just makes sense that some of the money is directed towards the people that want to create new companies. The case is simple. Small businesses employ a hell of a lot of people and could employ a lot more. It doesn’t take millions of dollars to get a smart entrepreneur down the path to success. This meeting was all about showing the state of Oregon that there is talent, there are ideas, there are businesses to invest in.

Rick Turoczy of Silicon Florist is encouraging entrepreneurs who did not make the meeting to fill out on online form he set up that asks some basic questions. Like how would your startup use $250,000 this year? Turoczy will compile the responses and forward them to the folks working on this who will in turn deliver them to the Oregon Treasurer’s and Governor’s offices, and to various Mayors’ desks.

I answered the questions with AdPulp in mind. I said we’d hire five writers. And now as I engage around this question again and consider the possibilities inherent in my own startup, I’m rightfully excited. With five full time, fairly compensated and totally motivated writers on staff, AdPulp could make some serious noise. I like that idea, maybe even enough to pursue funds from angel investors.

I don’t read the Sunday Review of Books each week, but I should. There’s always something to learn in there. For instance, I just learned that Conan O’Brien went to Harvard, wrote a thesis on Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner and spoke at Harvard’s commencement in 2000.

Here’s some of what he shared with those about to depart Harvard in 2000:

I’ve dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed. Your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve. Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you’re desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way.

I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon of The Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet, every failure was freeing, and today I’m as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good.

So, that’s what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over.

I can relate. I’m coming off a huge year earnings wise in 2008 and I know 2009 isn’t going to match up. Yet, I’m now free to write and pursue the things that matter most to me. Maybe I’ll make a mess of things as Conan suggests; maybe there’s no need for all that.

The story is never over and the music never stops.