Portland, OR

I honestly don’t know what McCain was thinking, saying that he had important work to do in Washington, with the financial “crisis” — considering he has admitted as much as not knowing anything about said economy, but whatev. He has decided to grace us with his attendance at the first Presidential Debate tonight in Oxford, Mississippi.

Anyhoo, I did get an email from the Obama campaign with an invite to join others in watching the debate, a “debate watching party” as it were. One, it is best if I watch things like a presidential debate by myself as I am very obnoxious when it comes to politics. Luckily, I have a boyfriend that either enjoys my rants or tunes them out effectively. Two, I have to work. And that brings me to the point of today’s post.

Besides, writing and teaching, I also work in a restaurant. It is good for me as it gets me out of the house and off my computer, but also I get to spend time with adults. Well, relatively speaking. Restaurant people can be in a sort of “arrested development” in terms of what a lot of people call “real jobs”, but most restaurant industry people are fairly committed to their craft. No matter here though, as I have a bit of a gripe with the Federal Elections Commission for scheduling a debate on a Friday night.

Let’s look at this from an economic point of view. Friday nights are a big night for restaurants across the country. So to schedule a debate on a Friday night is rather foolish, as you may run the risk of cutting into a small business’ go-to night. Not only that but with the debate scheduled for 9pm EST, which is 8pm Central (the time zone for Mississippi), it underscores the “shaft” that we West Coasters get time and time again when it comes to television programming.

At 9pm, plenty of people have plenty of time to get a meal at their favourite restaurant and then go home or to someone else’s home to watch what may turn out to be a very interesting debate. 8pm, sure, you still have time for an early bite. But once you hit the Mountain and Pacific time zones, you are cutting into what is considered prime time for the restaurant biz.

That is reflected in the reservation book of “my” restaurant. Sure, you could say that once the debate is over, people will go out for a meal and a drink. But once you watch the debate, and then the tireless commentary that will no doubt follow, how many people are going to head out to a sit-down restaurant, after all the snacks and booze that will be served at those “debate watching parties?” I’m sure that there will be some, but I am more sure that tonight will be a slow night for restaurants in Portland. I could say the same for restaurants all along the West Coast, but I am not entirely sure how other cities view the importance of politics. Portland is a politically active city, so I am simply surmising about Portland right now. True, it is a rather historic and entertaining election season, but I just don’t know how many people actually plan their lives around presidential debates.

Personally, I will watch the repeats of the debate on CNN. For anyone else who refuses to let NBC decide their Friday night, CNN is airing repeats at both 9pm and 12am.

McCain, presidential debate, Oxford, Mississippi, Obama, restaurant industry, restaurants, business, financial, economy, small business, Federal Elections Commission, West Coast, Pacific Time Zone, Mountain Time Zone, Portland, NBC, CNN

First, my apologies for the dearth of posts in the last three weeks. I have taken a new job, and it has been a wild and bumpy ride in that this new job is a restaurant, and the last four weeks have been training, and now that the training process is complete I feel that I finally have time to resume my normal (*relative term) life.

One quick observation: The restaurant industry in any city is a small, incestuous community. Be it a major city like Chicago, or a smaller city like Portland, everyone knows everyone, and has possibly slept with that same population. However, if you want to learn a city, get a job in a restaurant. Waiters know all the best spots.

That said, I have been introduced to a great bar, with a great outdoor patio. And who doesn’t love a great outdoor patio on which to drink, right?

Rontom’s on East Burnside at 6th Avenue. There is no sign, so you kind of have to know what you are looking for, a grey building with tallish windows along burnside, maybe two blocks before Le Pigeon. Or you can look for the crowd of ESH (East Side Hipsters — a crossbreed of 80’s throwbacks, if young, and Marxists in thrift store clothes, if a little older) clustered outside.

Now that I am working nights again, it seems that is a precursor to going out after said shift. Rontom’s has been my favourite watering hole thus far. And yes, the patio is the main reason for this newly found libation station.

Come on, you put a ping pong table outside, and how can I resist?

Grandma wasn’t there, but could have been. It’s a big place.

The drinks were strong and appropriately priced. As a bartender myself, I hate paying more than six bucks for a Stoli and tonic. I know how much Stoli costs a bar, so anything more than that and it is literal robbery. Rontom’s charged me $5.50 for a tall, and I can live with that. Not that I am cheap, quite the contrary, but I do not like overpaying for alcohol just to sit somewhere posh, especially when I am so much more comfortable at a pic-a-nic table outside.

Also, the female bartender was cute, and put my tall in a pint glass. A girl after my own heart…

Portland, Chicago, Stoli, Rontoms, Rontom’s, outdoor, patio, drinking

Tomorrow March 29th marks the second annual “Earth Hour“, an event that started in Sydney, Australia last year, and is spreading all over the world for its second run.

Earth Hour is a sixty minute period (obviously) in which we, as consumers of energy, can curb some of our electricity use, at least when it comes to lighting and electronics. At 8 pm, turn off all of your lights and electronic equipment, i.e. computers, tvs, dvd players, etc. Keep everything off for one hour. Sure, it won’t make that much of a difference in the whole scheme of things, but it is more about making a statement. If we can go an hour without electrical entertainment, why not go without it even more often? Maybe make Earth Hour a weekly event at your house. Go for a walk, plan a candlelit dinner for someone special, or simply sit there in the dark, or twilight depending on the season, and enjoy the night sky.

Also, Earth Hour is meant to show us all that by cutting lighting, we can cut a significant part of our electricity consumption. The California Energy Commission (sorry to use CA, but it’s the first place I found actual numbers) estimates that lighting and small appliances/electronics makes up 25% of our electricity usage. So maybe even if you don’t turn off the lights, you can still do the responsible thing and switch to more efficient lighting choices.

By the way, have I mentioned that Portland is awesome because you can still see the night sky. A city of a million plus, and I can still see the stars. And I don’t live out in the ‘burbs, either. Trust me, you don’t realize how much you can miss seeing the stars at night until you live in a big city with a lot of light pollution. Or even a small town with lots of light pollution. Click on the small map of the Earth at Night below this paragraph for a reality check.

Portland, Oregon is not officially involved in Earth Hour, and yet, Portland, Maine is. Odd. However, we don’t need no stinking “official city” badges on this one, as you can participate on your own. Though I do think it would be super awesome cool if the entire city shut off the lights at 8 pm.

You can check out the Earth Hour website here if you feel so inclined. There are links and more info on what you can do to save the Earth, or at least think you are saving it. The World Wildlife Fund is the uber-sponsor for the event, and it is a great organization that I have been supporting since high school (yeah, I was one of those kids).

Here’s a little video on how it all began.

Earth Hour, Portland, Oregon, Maine, Sydney, Australia, consumers, electricity, electronics, World Wildlife Fund, activism, event

If you haven’t heard Portland is, um, “known” for its strip clubs. And the first time I was ever in Portland, yes, I too, went to see what all the hubbub was about…

Here’s my question: Does the number of strip clubs correlate to a high number of hot strippers in town? The answer in Portland is, sadly, no. The advice I have been given is never go at 2:30 pm on a Tuesday, if you get my drift.

However, I would be remiss not to point out that Barfly is promoting its, get this, 12th annual Strip-o-rama. One, it’s a brilliant idea, and two, this will be the 12th year of this, what must be, a magical mystery tour for drunks-that-love-strippers.

Well, if that doesn’t pull you out of your post-holiday withdrawals or blues or whatever the young kids are calling ‘em these days, I don’t know what could!

If no, you could always go out and catch 27 Dresses, the new Katherine Heigl vehicle. I think that would lead to suicide for some this time of year, and I wonder why they choose this time of year to release it. Maybe for everyone sick of good films…ah, I digress.

Oh, wait, I know what you could do this weekend. I have a habit of reading classifieds, so I ran across this.

Come to Open Hands Acupuncture on Saturday, January 26th from 12p-4p for free demo acupuncture, massage and naturopathic consultations.

We’re located at 114 N. Killingsworth Ave. For more information, call us at 503.281.4656.

114 N. Killingsworth Ave., 97217 via Willamette Week

If I were in town, I’d probably check that out. Four minutes of free massage is better than no massage. Maybe there will be cookies…organic spelt cookies in this town. Still, organic spelt cookies are better than no cookies at all.

Anyway, I will try to post a fuller list of things to do this weekend that maybe won’t suck.

Disclaimer: Any information provided by this writer may suck, and the writer is not held responsible for that resultant suckiness in perpetuity throughout the universe.

Portland, strip clubs, barfly, 27 Dresses, Katherine Heigl, accupuncture, massage, organic, spelt, willamette week

Like essentially everyone else in Portland, I’m an active MySpace and an active FaceBook member … and I probably spend way too much time on both networking sites. FaceBook has a neat application that will show you the “Top _____ in the ______ network.” and today I got to see the

Top TV in the Portland network
(and since I’ve obviously been on a PDX media kick lately, I figured I’d share my reactions to their list!)

First let me say that Portland has great taste in television; I have seen at least an entire season of all but one show on this list.

1. Family Guy - is an animated show geared towards adults about a horribly dysfunctional family in Quahog (co-hog), Rhode Island (a fictional town). Family Guy began in 1999 thanks to Seth MacFarlane and has been “cancelled” twice but thanks to the love from it’s fan, it is continually brought back on air. My favorite part of the show is absolutely the cut-away scenes that do nothing to actually add to the show, but are just so random they make you laugh.

2. LOST - this show is my absolute favorite show ever. Last night someone asked me why I was so fascinated by the show, and I really have no concrete reason. Sometimes it’s because I often feel just like Kate (played by Evangeline Lily) and sometimes it’s because I just want to know what the hell the weird smoke monster is! Castaways stuck on an island in the middle of no where (well, we kinda know where it might be) deal with personal drama and with “stuck-on-an-island-full-o-weird-shit” drama. If you’ve never seen any of this fantastic show, start at the very beginning and get hooked like I did!

3. House - Hugh Laurie plays a smart-ass yet oh-so-smart-and-hot doctor on this Fox television show. If that’s not enough to make you want to watch it, the fact that they have all sorts of weiiiiiiird medical ailments featured should be enough to draw you in.

4. Friends - the one show on the list I’m not a huge fan of. Of course I’ve seen a few episodes, and I know the general plotline, but I was not one of the Friends-fanatics that my generation went through. Sorry for those of you looking for details on these 20-somethings’ (30-somethings??) lives.

5. Scrubs - Hi. Larious. Serious comedy starring the beautiful Zach Braff. I have seen every episode from every season released. The latest season was just added to my NetFlix list and I will laugh my way through this satirical medical school/student dramedy all over again. Please enjoy the YouTube (Digger) is looking for a writer if anyone is interested) video of one of my favorite Scrubs scenes.

I was invited to see the 20th Anniversary of the Christmas Festival of Lights at The Grotto on Saturday night. (I passed on it and wandered downtown instead.) Although I didn’t go, I heard good things from my friends who did and I thought I would share the information for ya’ll!

I had one friend say that it was “damn Christian propaganda” and another who said “The presentation of lights was spectacular but the 60-90 minute quoted time to walk through The Grotto was grossly exaggerated as it would only take a leisurely 20 minute walk.” While I do have very educated and loquacious friends, I think she knew she was being quoted. I had another friend honestly admit that it was “not worth the 7 dollar a person fee.”

Between November 23rd and December 30th, 2007, The Grotto’s beautiful Christmas lights are up and open to the public. You can go between the hours of 5pm and 9:30pm (grounds close at 10pm) except on Christmas day. It is $7 for general admission and $3 for children ages three to twelve. Children under the age of two get to go through free! (I’m sure they’ll remember the wonderful sights, too!)

The Grotto began in 1988 in hopes of spreading the true spirit and meaning of Christmas. The Grotto welcomes the St. Stanislaus Polish Church choir and over 60,000 visitors see them yearly. There are actually over 150 concerts performed in the 500-seat chapel in the month that it is open.

The Christmas Festival of Lights at The Grotto is located at NE 85th and Sandy Boulevard in Portland, Oregon!

About Portland OR, Portland OR, Portland, Christmas Festival of Lights, The Grotto, Christmas, Christmas lights, Christmas concerts

Continuing the Meme around Portland post from earlier, here are some more of my own opinions - but remember - TELL me about your favorites, too! Tell me what you think I should check out!

Best Land Mark: Uhm, a Portland landmark that is my favorite? Pittock Mansion. Not only do I love being up in the West Hills just to look at at things, I love being a photographer and going up to Pittock Mansion. If you haven’t been up there, and have the chance, you definitely need to check it out! Oooh, on top of everything though, the bridges are fantastic! FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!!

Entertaining The Kids: My favorite thing to do with children in Portland is take them to the zoo and the Children’s Museum. Both offer year-round events for the kids, and are adult-friendly enough that we don’t feel the need to spork our eyes out repeatedly (or as repeatedly as you can spork eyes out). The lights done at the zoo are quite fun, and while you might freeze your buns off, it’s worth it!

Popular Outdoor Activity: Running, walking, hiking, biking, skateboarding, rollerblading (yes, I still see people rolling by on those things!), scootering, segwaying, sitting on the curb, eating lunch on a patio. There are tons of outdoor activities to do in Portland!

Breathtaking Views: A breathtaking view in Portland? Open your eyes. Look to the East, you’ll see the Cascade range leading you towards the Coast. Look towards the West; you’ll see Mt. Hood, Mount St. Helens and on a clear day, you might even see Mt. Adams. Look in the morning and see the sunrise over the mountains, and then in the evening, watch it set over the other mountains. Go out late at night and see the lights sparkle all around you. Drive over the bridges late into the night and look at the lights all around you. (I wonder, on a light-type-scale, how Portland rates among night lights compared to other cities.) Look at the river (but please don’t get in), look at the old architecture, look at all the new architecture. Just open your eyes in Portland and (whether positively or negatively) let your breath be taken away!

First of all, thank you to all of your recent visits lately! My stats are climbing and the word about About Portland, OR is getting out. This is both exciting and encouraging and I may see about running a contest in the month of November if the traffic keeps up!

Second, thank you for bearing with me on my new ideas lately. Wednesday’s “Keep Portland Weird” didn’t happen but instead, I got the honor of writing a cool article on a Portland fashion designer being featured at Portland’s Fashion Week. Check it out, check out the website, and buy me this dress, please!?

Third, let’s get going with some fun things to do this week in Portland, Oregon!

1. Buy yourself some tickets to see Mr. Billy Joel! Tickets for his November 24th concert go on sale this Saturday. You can purchase them at Live Nation as soon as 10am on Saturday!

2. Go check out Fright Town! The Memorial Coliseum’s Haunted House opens on Saturday. (The little note at the bottom of the ad warns against bringing small children. Instead, bring your crazy Aunt Patty! Heck, be brave and bring MY crazy Aunt Patty!)

3. Learn to dance! The Ballroom Dance Company has dance classes starting every day of the week. This Friday, October 12th is the first class in a 5-week group class series of both beginners Salsa (7-8pm) and Cha Cha (8-9pm). On Saturday you can learn beginners Swing from 11am-noon as well. If you’re feeling adventurous, join The BDC on Saturday night from 7:30-11pm for their ballroom dance party. A $10 admission covers a beginners lesson, drinks & snacks for the evening. Or you can choose to join the Lindy Hop & swing dance party from 7:30-midnight on Saturday as well! The $8 admission to that includes a beginners lesson.

4. Live horse racing is back at Portland Meadows. Go watch the horse races or waste earn some money betting on those ponies. Every Sunday, Monday & Tuesday the first race posts at 12:35pm. Parking, grandstand and clubhouse admission is free so even if you don’t want to bet, you can cheer on your favorite horse!

5. Check out Portland Center Stage’s performance of Cabaret. If you’re over the age of 18, enjoy this performance at many times between now and November 4th. See Storm Large (yes, of Rockstar Supernova & Storm Large & the Balls fame) play the role of Sally Bowles and Roman Fruge as Clifford Bradshaw. Portland State University’s VanGuard staff member Aaron Kelly reports “we are taken through the entire realm of emotions, from stimulation and levity to a tenderness & even fear” during the performance. What could be a better date than that?

About Portland OR, Portland OR, Portland, things to do, things to do in Portland, Billy Joel, Memorial Coliseum, Rose Garden, concert, Fright Town, haunted house, Portland haunted house, ballroom dancing, salsa, cha cha, swing dance, lindy hop, The Ballroom Dance Company, horse racing, Portland Meadows, gambling, Portland Center State, Caberet, Portland State University, VanGuard, Aaron Kelly

I’m a Portland State University student and spend a lot of time in the library. Earlier in the week, I noticed a flier in the elevator that caught my eye; it’s the picture/poster I have shared over there *points over there* for you. Since then, I have been hyper-aware of all of the other posters for the Philobolus Dance Theater. (I’ve also been hyper-aware of the millions of things to do in Portland lately since I want to share them ALL with you guys!)

The seven members of the Philobolus Dance Theater (artistic directors include Robby Barnett, Michael Tracy & Jonathan Wolken) will be in Portland for a performance on Wednesday October 24, 2007 at 7:30pm at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. New York City Newsday calls Philobolus Dance Theater “physically daring dancers who break all the rules.” Who wouldn’t want to see something like that?

From what I can see of the pictures and from what I understand from the descriptions of the performances, every type of movement is included in these dance performances; sliding around, lifting one another up, stretching out your own (and others’) limbs and twisting your body parts in ways that regular humans (us) can’t even imagine. It sounds acrobatic, it sounds creative and the pictures are proof that the company prides itself on “push[ing] the human body to its outermost limits.”

Apparently both of the previous Portland performances have been sold out before and so tomorrow I plan on reserving my ticket. Does anyone want to go with me? Anyone want to meet a not-so-famous blogger to ooh-and-awe at the amazing spectacle I’m sure Philobolus Dance Theater will be?

About Portland Or, Portland OR, Portland, dance, Portland State University, Philobolus Dance Theater, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

For the first time ever, I attended Alberta Streets ever growing, LAST THURSDAY, which is very different from the Pearl District’s First Thursday.

If you are expecting Posh galleries, and people dressed in their finest fashions think again. What you will encounter is an amazingly eclectic array of people from all parts of Portland uniting to celebrate the indivduality in the Portland Art’s Scene.

What you will find is tons of tables covered in homemade art, clothing made from tablecloths, photos of portland, original abstract artworks, tons of home made jewelery, vegan cucakes, mosaics, collages, etc. (check out some art here.. www.artonalberta.org )

Check it out, Last Thursday, will be the Last Thursday of every month. The next date will be.. August 30th, hope to see you all there.

While writing about Voodoo Doughnuts yesterday, I came across this really cool YouTube video about what makes their doughnuts so special. Some people are willing to go through just about anything to wrap their lips around one of the bizarre doughnut concoctions.

I got a personal kick out of the interview with Tres Shannon, co-owner of the peculiar shop, when he was asked about some of the more memorable people who come into Voodoo Doughnuts. A few years ago, I worked for one of the most successful indie record labels in L.A., Dimmak, owned by Steve Aoki, who also owns Cold Crush Records. So i got a kick out of it when they mentioned The Coup and Livesavas (a hip-hop trio based right here in Portland,) as some of the really cool people who come into the shop to satisfy their nighttime munchies! But that wasn’t even my favorite part of the interview, it was actually the part where Tres was saying that he “was looking at the hole one day, and just really understanding it.” Yep, you’ve really got to love the inherent weirdness of Portland!

Oregon has always been a mecca for hippies and outdoor lovers alike, and Portland is no exception. But aside from the ever popular outdoor sports of hiking, biking, kayaking, mountain climbing, sight-seeing, skating, skiing, snowboarding, and all of the other great outdoor activities that Portlanders and Oregonians love so much, there is an entire culture of people that embrace the hippy bohemian lifestyle. It has become a part of Portland’s reputation, part of its style, and part of the locals’ way of life. From eclectic dining experiences to eccentric style and fashion, themed restaurants to street fairs and waterfront festivals, Portland one proud-to-be-weird city!

Just a few examples of some of the weird things you can eat and strange things to do while in Portland:

• Voodoo Doughnuts - Not your typical doughnuts! Open 24 hours, 6 days a week, and lots of strange toppings on their menu. Things you may have heard of, things you’ve probably never dreamed of, such as vegan doughnuts, maple-bacon donuts, cock-n-ball or voodoo doll doughnuts, cereal-topped doughnuts, and even a Doughnut & Wedding Chapel, where for $175 you can get married and have doughnuts and coffee with 10 of your favorite people! They even have a Doughnut Eating Contest on the first Friday of the month!
• Apizza Scholls - Some of the greatest pizza, and the strangest rules, you’ve ever imagined. But you’ve got to time out your trip just right, because they open at 5:00 p.m., and when the fresh hand-made dough is gone - they close up shop! The rules are, no more than three toppings, no more than one meat topping, and no substitutions on house pizzas. Why? According to the pizza chef, too many toppings prevent crust from cooking to perfection!
• Horse Project - You’ll just have to find your own place within this project, whether you choose to find pretty ponies in the streets, decorate them, or just laugh at them, they’re everywhere. Just make up your own adventure, but be sure to check out the history of the project!
• GrassHut - Check out some really funky art at the Grass Hut on Burnside. Their blog is pretty strange too, but if you’re in the mood to take a wild and funky trip to their gallery to check out some of their artwork, you won’t be disappointed!
• My Father’s Place - For some great nighttime fun, and a taste of the truly fun and weird people in Portland, take a load off and go for a drink while you ponder the concept of mannequin parts on the ceiling - seriously!

portland, oregon, art, nightlife, weird, fun places, food, strange, pizza, donuts