Hey, why not?
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Miroslav Sasek - Illustrator Extraordinaire
I recently discovered some great book reissues of the work of one Miroslav Sasek, a fantastic mid-century modernist illustrator.
He was best known for his long-running series of children's travel books. I've picked up This Is London, This Is Ireland, and This Is San Francisco, and goodness, gracious, they're spectacular (however, the printing is a bit dull and flat).
Sasek illustrated with great wit and originality. I look at his work and see an incredible sense of design, whimsy and intricacy.
Paint by Numbers as Art
A fairly posh 1st Ave. art gallery in Portland was showing paint by numbers art.
My take: Paint by Numbers is trending up, up, up!
Monday, April 14, 2008
ESPN Fantasy Baseball Tracker
A great way to track our Fantasy League teams. No more combing through the newspaper for stats!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Ira Keller Fountain
During the winter, the Ira Keller Fountain is dry, but not to worry — it's still worth checking out. Absolutely nobody was there when we visited, so we had free rein of the massive monolithic concrete forms. It's a photographers dream, a desolate, almost distopian landscape right out of a science fiction film.
Portland is Nifty
I've never been to a Nordic city (Stockholm, Helsinki, or Copenhagen, for instance), but here's how I picture them: brisk, gray, clean, high-functioning, orderly, artistic and (ahem) white.
Portland is all of those things. The city doesn't make you feel insignificant, like Manhattan. The buildings are built to a more human scale, and the city blocks are scaled down to half the size of typical big city blocks. Walking is a pleasure; the sidewalks are made with neatly arranged red bricks rather than aggregate concrete. Drivers are passive, not aggressive. Pedestrians and bikers seem to rule the roost.
The weather was typically Pacific Northwestern: daily periods of rain, sun, rain again, only now mixed with slush, then sun, then, is that hail? Wise Portlanders wear sensible shoes and hats; foolish Portlanders wear high heeled pumps and silk blouses. When riding public transit, you notice other riders entering the train with pant legs completely soaked from knee to shoe.
Now, about the whiteness: Portland is by far the least racially diverse major city I've ever visited. I'm not exactly sure why it's so white; it just is. Chinatown was notable for a curious lack of Chinese. The few black folks I saw looked more like Bobby McFerrin than say, Bernie Mack. Is this why Portland is often called America's "Most Livable" city? Are headlines like this really secret code for "Psst... you'll like living here, it's really white"? You'd expect a lack of racial diversity in an isolated city like Reykjavik, but c'mon, in Portland, Oregon?
Still, the city works magnificently. Bikers pedal to work in special protected lanes; pedestrians hoof it through the sporadic rain squalls in the North Face outerwear (who needs an umbrella?) and the light rail system slips through town with barely a sound. Portland city planners certainly have a vision, and it's working.
One thing thankfully lacking in Portland are churches. Oh, you'll see the occasional steeple downtown, but one gets the feeling that Portlanders would rather spend time in a bookstore than in a church. The latter tells you what to do, the former let's you figure it out for yourself, if you're even interested.
Japanese Gardens
For some reason, I've lately become obsessed with Japanese gardens. I'm not a big Japanophile (sure they make cute toys and great electronic products, but why the sell-out to the West?) I guess I love what Japan used to be, before Commodore Perry. I love the Japanese principles of gardening, and the incredible beauty they can create.
The Japanese Gardens in Portland (inside Washington Park) are the most beautiful I've ever seen. They've been called the most perfect outside of Japan, but I don't know how one judges something like that. I do know that I saw every shade of green that could ever be conceived, and that when the sun flashed from behind a cloud, every shade of green changed once again. It's a serene, self-reflective space, with a blessed ban on cell phones and loud conversation. The gardens were installed in 1963, but because of the way things grow in Portland, they look like they've been there for centuries.
Michael Graves in Portland
Michael Graves, he of Target fame, was formerly a big time architect. During the 1970's, he developed a style that rebelled against the prevailing stark-box forms of modernism in favor of an elegant, witty approach.
One of his most famous buildings is the Portland Public Services building. Completed in 1982, it's been called the first major post-modern structure.
Here's a critical opinion:
"When first completed, this postmodern landmark was wildly innovative and controversial. On the varied facades of this chunky 15-story municipal office building, speckled with smallish square windows, masses of deep colors—browns, blues, and a rusty red—make emphatic statements against a sandy background. A stylized garland of blue ribbons (rendered in concrete) decorates one side while a huge statue of a woman, Portlandia, added in 1985, dominates the main entrance."
— from Sylvia Hart Wright. Sourcebook of Contemporary North American Architecture: From Postwar to Postmodern. p39.
Portland, Oregon
Cami was invited to read a paper at a big academic conference in Portland. I tagged along, and tried out the new camera she got me for my (40th) birthday.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Bilingual Bai Ling
A quick glance at the personal blog of actress Bai Ling (recently arrested for shoplifting at LAX) indicates that she resides in some sort of perpetual dreamscape.
Her blog entries tend to describe the weather in Albuquerque before musing on the nature of love. She's also a fan of the ellipsis:
The sun is not out just like my mood, looking for the sunlight in the desert, hope it will show me a tender smile just like I used to smile so many people when they are down......
It is a beautiful day for lovers, for romace, beauty mystry dancing in the light of the sexy red wine......hope you are somewhere with your special one who is close to your heart and give you the joy of love..
love has no time, love breathing its joy through day and night, through life, through time, through air, through space, through our gentle heart......
I am lucky to be awake, dancing the wind in the darkness to find the warmth of home for love...... Walking again from the set to my trailer, darkness, darkness around me like a winter blanket pure......
Pure darkness is so beautiful, with out it we can never see the stars and the beautiful smiling moon......
After reading her prose, it's not hard to believe she truly did forget to pay for a pack of batteries and two Star magazines in the airport. She was busy musing on the nature of transience!
There's so much more at her blog.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Never Get Involved in a Land War With Asia!
Fourteen years ago, Dick Cheney had it right.
It's chilling to hear him talk about how many "dead Americans" an Iraq invasion would be worth. Remember, he didn't serve in Vietnam due to "other priorities."
Clichés Worth Retiring #1
SUBMITTED FOR RETIREMENT:
The phrase "not your mother’s ________."
VARIANT:
"Not your grandmother’s ________."
This tired line, once sassy and forward-thinking, has devolved into a catch-all catch-phrase lazy writers employ to impress gullible youngish women. Want to put a hip spin on some new brand of iced tea? Tell the world it's "not your mother's iced tea!"
If you've got a masochistic streak, try these links. Though I list but a few, trust me, I could list hundreds:
Not your mother's breast milk
Not Your Mother's Computer Virus
Not Your Mother's Barbie
Not your mother's sex talk
Not Your Mother's Hockey Puck
Not Your Mother's LDS Music 2
Not Your Mother's Disiderata
Not your mother's mobile home
One thing is for certain: in the tortured land of Cliché-dom, "not your mother’s ________" is certainly not your mother’s tired old cliché.
Dying For One’s Art
If you've spent any time on the University of Oklahoma campus in the last 10 years, you've probably noticed this flamboyant sculpture of a mustang with flaming red eyes.
It was the work of one Luis Jiménez, a noted Hispanic-American artist from Texas.
Jiménez was killed in 2006, when a larger version of this mustang sculpture fell and crushed him in his studio. This is such a strange and ironic way for an artist to die that I'll just leave you to mull it over for yourself, without further comment.
His daughter, Elisa, was a contestant on Project Runway, Season Four. She was the crazy gal who spat upon her fabric instead of drawing chalk lines.
Both father and daughter seem to be accident-prone. On an episode of P.R., Elisa described being hit by a car while trying to cross a street in London. Advice to Americans visiting England: before crossing the street, look to your RIGHT. The cars don't travel in the same lanes as they do in America. In case you forget, the Brits paint "LOOK RIGHT" in big white letters on the road surface, just to give Americans a sporting chance.
Phascinating Phact #2
The only word in the English language with three consecutive double letters is bookkeeper.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Knotts’ Landing
If you're like me, you spend an inordinate amount of time reflecting on the career of Don Knotts. This West Virginia native won 5 Emmy awards for his portrayal of Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show," and went on to star as "Three's Company" landlord Ralph Furley. Were he born 2 generations earlier, his appearance and physicality could have made him a silent film star; but television proved to be the ideal stage for his nervous, bumbling (yet Napoleonic) characters.
Why not take some time to check out his first television appearance?
From 1951, watch Don Knotts try his hand at drama, on a 15 minute episode of "Search For Tomorrow." Maybe it's our own hindsight, but this natural comedian manages to be funny even in a serious turn.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Obama vs. Clinton
My heart says "Obama," but my head says "Hillary."
Obama is the nebulous "change" candidate. We've never seen anyone quite like him. Impossibly lean, his very physique suggests a sort of spartan Lincoln-ness, the anti-fat cat. His demeanor is calm and reassuring, yet his oratory can move crowds to tears. And his own family tree makes us hope that this black man with a white mother can help tone down the polarization and divisiveness of the Bush/Coulter/Malkin/O'Reilly idealogues.
But, is he still so naive as to believe Washington can change?
If Hillary were a man, she'd be described as a tough, brilliant, and focused politician, with a real understanding of what it takes to pass legislation. But Hillary is a woman, so she's stuck fighting stereotypes. She believes she must appear strong and hawk-like; this led to her ill-advised war authorization vote, and her standing refusal to negotiate with our "enemies." It's a shame to think a woman must act more like a man to achieve a position of power, but for now, it's true. Still, she's as qualified for the job as any candidate could be.
But, do we really want to continue with this Bush/Clinton/Bush dynastic hold on the White House?
Which candidate will face a tougher road to the White House? Hillary, without a doubt. A white woman will have a tougher time cracking the glass ceiling than a black man. Look at a football field: white men and black men play together while white women with pom poms cheer them on from the sidelines.
So, that's our dilemma. Let's try to work through it with some lists:
Why I want to vote for Obama:
1. He opposed the Iraq occupation from day one.
2. He's not a baby boomer.
3. His election will instantly restore America's reputation abroad
4. His campaign is forward-looking and inclusive
5. His election will end the 28 year old Bush/Clinton hold on the White House
Why I want to vote for Hillary:
1. Her high level of political savvy
2. Her personal character
3. Her promise to focus on economic issues that affect working class Americans
4. I know her; I feel safe with her.
5. The historic importance of her election will be a positive development for women around the world.
Friday, February 1, 2008
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