Pink Martini

Lucky ME! A colleague at work gave me tickets to go see the sold out Pink Martini show last night at the excellent Crystal Ballroom. They are perfect for a ballroom because they are a 40'sesque small orchestra, lots of good musicians. It was very danceable, though I, myself, did not dance. On the way in the door, I ended up on an elevator with the lead singer China Forbes, who is something like 8 months pregnant and made that look really good. The band's from Portland and people get pretty unhinged about them. Now I know why.

Black Cab

So maybe I was the last one to know, but this Black Cab series is pretty cool. See indie rockers in the back of a cab that drives through London while they perform an acoustic set. How about that?

Eartha Kitt RIP

Love me some Eartha Kitt.

Eartha Kitt - I Want to be Evil

Texas Hiatus, Xmus Missus

Go West Young Tex has gone to Texas. See you when I get the chance. Much to report. In the meantime, ponder that Portland is the reigning champion city for men with beards.

Arctic Blast 2008!!

1. Watching the kids use the Max like a chairlift, riding the train up to the top of Washington Park with their snowboards, riding down, doing it again.

2. Walking into downtown and confirming that they don't plow in Portland AT ALL. not one street or sidewalk, so far as I could tell. Only a handful of businesses shoveled their walks. It seems that Portlanders have a very hands-off approach to this kind of weather. Close down, go home or to a bar, wait for it to be over. The amtrak station is closed because the switches are frozen, the airport is closed, and POWELL'S is CLOSED! In Portland, that's like closing the hospitals. What are people going to read?!!? I was planning to buy xmas cards at Powell's. So if you don't get a card from me, it's because of the weather.

3. Shuffling over to Clyde Common which was open and warm. I sat by myself at the bar and ordered The Board. Its sort of like a happy meal for foodies. Its a plank with a hole bored into the corner. My board (it changes) had a some toast, braised pork belly and pickled romesco. In the hole, I found a little manhattan in an ice cold little shot glass. Not bad for $13.

It's nasty out there, y'all. Last night it snowed about 5 or 6 inches. This morning, freezing rain landed on top of it. So all of portland has a frozen coating, and I'm stuck on my hill. I'm doubtful about how I can even walk out to civilization. The weather lady says it won't thaw today. I have discs 1 & 2 of the first season of The Wire. I have several cans of sardines and oatmeal, but no half and half. I'm out of firewood but I'm getting caught up on laundry. I'm hunkered down in hoodie on couch and slippers for the foreseeable future.


Whispertown 2000 - Old Times

The midwesterner in me gets a little conflicted about this. But it's still funny.

Locked Out/In

Far be it from me to question the wisdom of the federal judiciary, but court has been closed an awful lot this week. I am told that they close if Portland Public Schools are closed. Okay. I can see it being pretty impossible to staff the building if enough people have kids at home. But the thing is, it's just not that bad out. Sure, there's a little snow coming out of the sky, but it's not sticking in inches or anything. People told me Portlanders are generally wusses about the snow. True that. I, for one, hustled to court this morning, only to find the doors locked (and therefore my clients are locked and can't be heard on a motion for release). And so i shuffled back to my office, put my suit on its hook on the back of my door, changing into jeans. and now and am watching the snow fall and swirl outside my 16th floor window. Ahhh...


Last Christmas - Pas/Cal

When Water Comes to Life - Cloud Cult

White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes

Bbbbrrrr

That storm brought cold cold weather and my furnace is running at full tilt at all times to keep up. There's ice on all the streets and the courthouse shut down yesterday, scuttling two of my hearings. Word has it that tomorrow the weather is going to get snowier. All I know is that I'm not driving until it all melts. They don't do salt or plows here. It's a studs and chains place. I live on a hill and I'm on foot for the foreseeable future.

Icy Demons - Miami Ice

Brittain Ashford - Snow

Frightened Rabbit - Keep Yourself Warm

Coos Bay

I have an aunt and uncle who live in Coos Bay.  Very sadly, their granddaughter (my second cousin), Amy Young, passed away two weeks ago from mesothelioma. She was only 22 but lived a pretty amazing life. I went down to Coos Bay for the memorial service on Saturday morning. I wore one of my lawyer suits and that was not the right thing. Tie-dye was the order of the day. Luckily, her brothers and cousin made all manner of tie-dye t shirts, neck ties and crying hankies, so that we could all get in the proper spirit.   Her brothers are very brave and strong and I am honored to be their kin. 

Coos Bay is fairly remote and there's only one flight in and out each day.  With some time on my hands I drove down the coast in the morning to Shore Acres.  Along the way I passed through an idyllic little fishing community called Charleston.  There were 15 ft piles of oyster shells on the sides of the road, many ocean going fishing boats, and a couple of bars.  Not a gift shop in sight.  Once I got out to the ocean, you could tell there's a storm coming down the coast, (they say from the Bering Strait!).  My friends say its snowing in Portland.  With the weather coming, the waves were gigantic and the white caps reached all the way back to the horizon. People were standing at the viewpoint looking for whales through giant binoculars.   A very Oregon day of green, black, grey and blue. 

There's a Hole in My Soul

I know I said whitewater rafting is the most fun you can have. But it's off season. And late. And so the NEW most fun you can have is to go dancing at Rotture at There's a Hole in My Soul which is a bunch of kids shaking their asses to 60's and 70's motown for hours and hours. You want to kiss the DJ all over for hoarding that vinyl. I am a bit of an R&B afficionado an i think all night I only heard one song that I knew (love that) but it was all terribly danceable and it just got more and more crowded and more sweaty and more funky and I was just out in the middle of it by myself doing the mashed potato. I deeply wish you had been there.

One Day Love - Tommy Dodson

Mr. Henry - Eula Cooper

I've Got Reasons - Mary Jane Hooper

Cookie Folk

I went and saw Laura Gibson play at the Doug Fir tonight. You know what? She made everyone cookies. Little jelly thumbprints. I had one and they were very, very good. There are some bad xmas cookies out there. and not only were her cookies good, but she was great. She sang a shortish set, was accompanied at one point by a man playing a saw, and it was just very enchanting. Loving on Portland again!

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Laura Gibson

All the Pretty Horses - Laura Gibson

Wintering - Laura Gibson

My New Pets

I went to Pistils garden store on Mississippi this weekend and picked out some little plant pod friends to hang in my windows. I got inspired and also ended up building a terrarium in a giant flower vase that i never use. And Canup also sent up some plant clippings to get me going in the greenery department. Bachelor Tex will endeavor not to kill.

Heavy Hands - No. 6

Up the Falls

It was another gorgeous December day in Portland on saturday so Billy and I drove down the Columbia Gorge to Multnomah Falls. It wasn't too crowded and we hiked up across the Benson bridge all the way to the top. I am feeling it in my legs today for sure. One of these days when I have more time, I want to go on the full seven mile trail up to the top of Larch Mountain. And then I can make up some fictional peril in my head and Escape from Larch Mountain.

Happy Repeal Day

Billy is coming to town and we are going to a speakeasy party, a theater performance, and then maybe another party. And we are so glad that Eliot Ness won't be at our heels.

Something New

Here's something you don't see everyday. I was in the lockup with a client yesterday and somehow the handcuffs jammed and the marshals couldn't get them off of my guy. They went and got a huge pair of bolt cutters that they keep around saying, "this happens more often than you think" and snipped the cuffs off. Pop. The spanish interpreter who was with me mentioned that the word in spanish for handcuffs is the same as the word for wife. Esposas. How grim is that?

David Bowie - Be My Wife

Powell Butte

Getting back to town, I re-organized and laundered, but was in serious need of a geographic re-calibration. So off I went to Powell Butte, though it was a little cold and threatening rain. It is in a not-so-great corner of Portland (Powell and 162nd). The entrance to the park abuts a trailer park and I saw more than one working girl out that sunday morning. But once I was into the park, I never would have guessed I was in a city and it was great for a meandering 2.5 hour hike. And I wasn't even expecting it, but when I got to the top of the butte, i had an amazing view of the surrounding river valleys, which were packed with low thick clouds. And on the horizon, five mountains: Hood, St. Helens, Rainier, Adams and the tippy top of Jefferson. People were riding around on mountain bikes and horses, but most of the trails I was on were just for people feet. After I worked myself up, I went to Best Baguette, a vietnamese $3.00 french bread sandwich place that is tucked away out in deep SE.

And this is two-thirds of the way to being a funny joke.