Portland
I visited the Greek city of Thessaloniki last spring. There are 360,000 Thessalonians, living on 18 square kilometers of land. Most streets in the city are lined with six-story apartment buildings. Compare that to 540,000 Portlanders, living on 350 square kilometers of land. Most streets in the
Portland
I was taking advantage of the beautiful weather today to stroll through Laurelhurst, and I noticed two churches along the way. One church is in full-blown Mediterranean style: arches, domes, stucco. The other church looks like a Masonic temple: solid, squat, frugal with windows. If you had to guess
Sports
Which two teams have won an NFL championship despite losing the Super Bowl?
Food
One of my roommates asked me to try a wine he had bought that disappointed him: Parsons Creek "Old Vines" Zinfandel from 2002. It's never a good sign when you sniff a wine and the first thought that comes to mind is "pool chlorine"
History
Western Union no longer delivers telegrams. (Link courtesy of Steve Goddard.)
TV / Film / Radio
I watched "That's Entertainment!" this weekend. What an amazing collection of film clips! Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in "Singin' in the Rain". Fred Astaire in "Royal Holiday". Astaire and Eleanor Powell in "Broadway Melody of 1940"
Food
Do yourself a favor and try this ice cream. Best ice cream I've ever had. (Sorry, Blue Bell!)
Music
This post by Rob Booth jogged my memory. I was walking across the Morrison Bridge recently, and listening to my Squeeze compilation. The song "Hourglass" came on, with its chorus of: I thought for a moment about whether I had something to throw over the railing into the
Portland
At 6:00pm local time today, there was a 2.8-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter half a mile from where I live. I didn't feel a thing. Disappointing.
Portland
The side streets of inner East Portland are a fantastic medley of style and color. Almost all of the houses were built between 1890 and 1940, and share the charm that age confers on buildings that are cared for. What raises the neighborhoods from charming to enchanted, though, are the
Miscellany
One of my uncles is a model train builder, and he visits stores that sell parts and equipment to hobbyists. As you probably know, some people spend a lot of time and money getting their model train environments Just Right. Not just the trains themselves, but train stations, streets, towns,
Music
One of the musicians whose music The Good Show introduced me to is the late Nick Drake. It's good rainy day music: quiet, mellow, reflective. His song "One of These Things First" is a work of sonic beauty. Drake appears to be popular in Portland: I