A2Z September 2009 Edition

a) My ankle is bunk. I had a Spice Girls incident years ago (tripped over my own platform shoes)(OK I know, why the hell was I wearing platform shoes? What can I say, it was the 90s.) and ever since my right ankle has been sensitive on an on and off basis. This week, on. :-(
b) Fall means Back to Blog! I shall blog regularly again after my unexpected summer hiatus.
c) Our poor Corolla has a whole slew of problems right now. Nothing serious, but annoying enough. On the list: driver side seat belt is failing; dome light doesn't work; window rattles; some weird noise when we turn (okay that might be more serious). If anyone has a good mechanic in Portland let me know.
d) Dog or no dog? That is the question.
e) Egg Salad. I want to make egg salad today.
f) Excited to dabble in the film world again. I recently joined a small collective (if you're knowledgeable about the local film scene and interested in getting involved let me know!) producing a new program at KBOO called Behind the Screen. Listen in the last Thursday of the month.
g) I'm gazing out my window and the skies are gray. Or is it grey? Actually grey is the British spelling. So, now you know. Madonna would definitely use "grey."
h) House! Enough said.
i) Now that it's fall, I'm committed to doing more improv! A group of us gals just started meeting to play together. Hopefully that will get going on a regular basis. I founded a rad all-woman improv troupe in Chicago years ago called RED. One of the other members of this group was in Southern Oregon's Hamazons: Warrior Princesses of Comedy. Other improv opps I plan to partake in: Jumping Off Place and Curious Comedy's Open Court.
j) Didn't get to finish Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake before I had to return it to the library. I'm putting it on hold again.
k) Just watched Project Runway Allstars on DVR. Korto Momolu was robbed! Just goes to show that white man making an "edgy" collection that can be worn by twig-sized teens gets more respect than a woman of color making bold, well-crafted beautiful designs for women of all sizes.
l) I'm into my Burt's Bees' Lip Shimmer. Shade: Peony.
m) I'm excited to dive into the slo-cooker pork mole that Matt made. Yummy!
n) Check out the newly designed Bitch Magazine. The stalwart feminist pop culture rag took a break to regroup and are looking better than ever in "The Consumed Issue." They've also got a new Executive Director Julie Falk who we hope will continue to help steer the Bitch boat in the right direction. Call them Bitch Media now and enjoy not only the magazine, but their offerings of audio, blog and more. Support Bitch by joining their B-Hive!
o) Open auditions for Portland Theatre Brigade are happening starting next week! All young actors ages 7-15 invited to audition for this fabulous, empowering, young people's theatre company.
p) Pens I'm into right now: Uni-Ball Gel Grip Pens, 0.7 mm, Medium Point; Uni-Ball Vision Elite Liquid Rollerball Pens, 0.5 mm, Micro Point; and always the magical, wonderful standard Fine Point Sharpie.
q) Quip: 1. A clever, witty remark often prompted by the occasion.2. A clever, often sarcastic remark; a gibe. Courtesy of Free Dictionary.
r) RIP Richard Francis, host of KBOO's A Different Nature. I didn't know him well, but I know he was a sweet soul and well-loved at KBOO. Here are nice articles about Richard on the Kill Ugly Radio and Baron Landscape's Broken Hour blogs.
s) Super Project Lab, my hubby's improv troupe, has a whole bunch of shows coming up. This weekend they're doing "Old Flames" at Curious Comedy and they are sharing the bill with Canoofle. And Matt (my sweetie) directed the show!
t) TBA! TBA! TBA! Here's an interview I did with curator Kristan Kennedy for Behind the Screen.
u) Okay, nearing the end of the alphabet and feeling a bit stuck... I always wanted Wonder Woman Underoos. It seems they still make them.
v) The Verdana font was designed by Matthew Carter specifically to be read on a computer screen. Here's more from fonts.com.
w) Speaking of Wonder Woman, did you know that Joss Whedon started writing a live action film adaptation of Wonder Woman? Too bad it never came to fruition.
x) Xi is the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet. It is preceded by Nu and followed by Omicron
y) I'm a full-time working stiff now. Luckily it's at this marvelous place, Young Audiences.
z) Zee End.

Attention KBOO Members - Exercise your privilege and vote in the Board elections!

Some of you who know me may or may not know about the circumstances around my recent lay off from KBOO Community Radio. I've decided there's no reason to hash any of it out here (it's being well-hashed elsewhere and who knows, it may be fodder for a satirical short film someday). I'm still a proud member and active volunteer at the station.

And since I no longer work at KBOO, I can feel free to say how I feel about some of the folks who are currently running for KBOO's Board of Directors. If you are not a member of KBOO Community Radio then join now and support grassroots, locally crafted, non-commercial media. If you are, then you've probably received your official 2009 KBOO Voters' Guide and Ballot in the mail. Don't forget send in your completed ballot or deliver it to the KBOO Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, September 26, by 2pm. The Annual Meeting takes place at Liberty Hall, 311 N. Ivy St.

Hell yeah!
The reason I'm endorsing the following folks is because I think they are all excellent people whose unique and thoughtful perspectives will help propel KBOO forward during a time of needed change, revolution and evolution. I'm also pleased to note that each of the candidates I'm endorsing are women of color. Where else in Portland you gonna get that kind of slate?

Keller Henry - I've worked some with Keller and can attest to the fact that she is a hard-worker, bright and energetic. Though she's only been with KBOO a short time, she's shown incredible commitment and enthusiasm. Her experience as an activist and perspective as a queer Haitian-American would be a valuable asset to KBOO and the Board.

Nia Lewis - I've worked with Nia a bunch and she kicks ass! She has been serving on the board over the past year in one of the appointed positions and has proven her worth as a committed and savvy board member. As a young African American woman she brings a much-needed perspective as KBOO continues to grow inclusive of diverse voices.

Paul Small - Paula is extremely savvy and exceptionally committed. In her short time at KBOO she's already taken on the role of Board Treasurer (she was appointed to the board at the last meeting after serving on the Finance Committee over the past few months). With her experience in accounting and non-profits, her enthusiasm and grounding energy she will continue to be a strong addition to the board.

Mimi Villarqui - Mimi is a talented and enthusiastic KBOO volunteer who's been doing KBOO events and serving on the Development Committee over the past year. Her interest in marketing/outreach combined with her commitment to community radio make her a huge asset to the KBOO board.

Please, no!
I implore you to please NOT vote for the following candidates:

Scott Forrester and Michael Papadopoulos - They are in the process of suing KBOO. More of that story here.

Now you've got my $.02. Go forth and vote!

Summer vacation is almost over

Didn't realize I was taking a summer vacation from the blog! As the summer winds down I'm back. I've been busy, busy, busy, with lots of exciting, crazy antics, which I'll probably write about later when things are a bit more settled. Because I'm been so INSANE (just know, the last three weeks, and the last few days in particular, have been one of the biggest roller coaster rides I've experienced), and because my poor hubster is so darn sensitive to the heat, we decided to go to the air-conditioned movie theater last night. A welcome and excellent distraction!

There were a few good options at the Lloyd Center theatre (the one outside the mall on Multnomah) - Funny People, (500) Days of Summer, Julie & Julia. We chose Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci. The (based on true) story follows a nearly-30 young woman named Julie who dreams to be a writer, but depressingly plugs away at government desk job. Her husband encourages her to start a cooking blog. She decides that her blog/life project will be to cook every single recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in exactly 365 days. Parallel to Julie's story is Julia Child's story - how she began seriously cooking in her 40s while living in Paris, studying at the Cordon Bleu and her deeply romantic and loving relationship with her husband Paul. To top it all off it was written and directed by queen of the chick flick Nora Ephron of When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle fame. Sounds like too-perfect a package, right?

Loved it! OK, I admit, it's exactly what I wanted and needed for a distraction - a sappy, sweet love story. But it was even better than I expected from a formulaic Hollywood "chick flick."

First of all, Meryl Streep is frakkin' brilliant. She is such an amazing actress! She always manages to create fresh, complex, engaging characters, unlike so many other iconic (particularly male) actors of her caliber and age, who seem to fall into trite characterizations of themselves. (Think DeNiro, Pacino.) Streep's Julia Child is hilarious, loving, lovable, tragic, flamboyant and charming. Stanley Tucci makes a perfect Paul to Streep's Julia and their chemistry is heart-warming and wonderful to watch. Jane Lynch has a fun appearance as Julia's equally tall and charming sister.

In the other story line, Amy Adams does a very nice job as the sweet, quirky blogger. Her journey through Julia's cookbook is somewhat predictable, but well-played and satisfying. Eric Messina brings a nice grounding to their story line as husband Eric.

Another interesting aspect to the film is the political and social backdrop of the time periods of the two stories. Julia and Paul's story takes place amidst the scary McCarthy years, with Paul himself getting investigated for his communist ties. Julie and Eric live in Queens, Julie working at the Lower Manhattan Development Project post-9/11 answering calls about claims for survivors of folks who perished.

All in all, I enjoyed the film. It made me yearn for (and almost feel sick over) the gorgeous, rich French dishes. And it's always lovely and rare to see a good movie with strong, interesting, complex women characters, made by a strong female director.

Today's A 2 Z

A: Angry Asian Man
B: Blogorrhea
C: Chocolate, dark and bitter is good
D: Dr. Horrible
E: Elliot Smith
F: Fonts
G: Grace Lee Boggs
H: Hamblog
I: Improvisation
J: Juice, carrot-orange
K: KBOO
L: Lost, yes I'm enjoying it again
M: Colectivo La Malagua
N: Naomi Iizuka
O: Octavia Butler
P: Parks
Q: Quince paste and manchego cheese on a nice cracker
R: Racialicious
S: Spectacles
T: T, the letter
U: Ursula K. LeGuin
V: Vernal equinox
W: Word games, puzzles
X: Malcolm X
Y: Yam, roasted, but not candied
Z: Ruth Zaporah

donut wedding

My friend Lena just moved here from Boston. Her sweetie Paul just, just moved here from London. Today they got hitched in true Portlandia style - at the legendary Voodoo Donuts. Proprietor Tres Shannon did the honors. There were kazoos, a pirate and of course, lots of donuts. It was very sweet!

Here's a few photos. More on flickr.

Seth's Quake

Here's a short story I wrote a few years ago. I had developed this exercise inspired by some work Matt and I were doing at the time. "Oppstacles" we called them - opportunity-obstacles. I created four buckets to inspire some flash fiction - 1) Word/Object, 2) Place, 3) Relationship/Character, and 4) Song (lyrics). For this particular piece, my randomly chosen items from these oppstacle buckets were: quake, parking lot, obsessed, Bizarre Love Triangle.

Seth's Quake
Seth was sick and tired of being the “bad” brother. Sure, Osi was righteous and all that, but geez can a brother get a break? Osi has a beautiful wife and a son, and what about Seth? Nothing. Torrents. Terror. Destruction. Again, he’s lonely sitting here at the Costco parking lot for the 100th day in a row. Why? To see if Isis will appear again. She doesn’t show herself often, but Seth knows that Isis can hardly resist the wholesale quantities like a crate of fresh strawberries or that 24 pack of toilet paper. Seth has loved his brother’s wife since third grade when her voice cut through the torrent of anger and humiliation he endured as Osi yet again found victory at the school spelling bee. Isis told Seth, “You spell fine, but your real talent is to move the earth with your heart.” And from that point on, Seth did just that. His first natural disaster was a landslide in Peru. 18,000 died. Another kicker was the monsoons in Thailand. 10,000 died. Seth felt great power and shame. Osi, meanwhile brought food to drought stricken Ethiopia. He clothed poor in China. He built houses for homeless in Guatemala. Seth and Osi were like two sides of the same coin. One couldn’t exist without the other. It’s just that Seth’s side got such a bad rap. How can being so good at something be so bad? Finally, in the 23rd hour of the 100th day of waiting, lovely Isis appeared with her perpetual baby boy in a sling. Seth slowly rose up from his waiting spot in parking space 301. Each movement from Seth snowballed into a thundering rumble and shaking of the ground, as he reached forth to his unrequited. Before he could reach her to tell her of his undying love, she fell through the cracks of the broken ground slowly floating, like a feather in the wind. She waved as she always did, the broken record of missed connection between one who loves and one who is loved.

Day 8 NaBloPoMo done. Quarter of the way there.

zombie haiku

apparently haiku is a favorite form on twitter. i recently discovered a special niche - zombie haiku (#zombiehaiku). here are a few of my picks:

Oh, friend, lasting friend, you have taken a mouthful. I am whole no more. @lamusique

Silent morning air / still as a lonely graveyard / morning rendezvous @Christwitery

rigor mortis pain / the living all move too fast / a zombie's lament @kristen_pfaff

With a strong sucking, they pop right into my mouth. Eyeballs taste like grapes. @WootiesDotNet

i am grey on the outside, blue inside, dead all over so sue me @t_love_pdx (yes, that's me)

the boneyard

When Matt and I went to Las Vegas back in March, the one thing I wanted to be sure and see was the Boneyard. It's part of the collection of the Neon Museum, an organization preserving, salvaging and restoring old signs so they just don't end up in the dump. They are also all about celebrating the "neon sign" as a uniquely Las Vegas artform. For now, the Boneyard is a big lot (actually two lots) where they store all the signs that they've salvaged. In addition to neon signs (many of which also also use incandescent bulbs) the museum ends up salvaging all kinds of other large signs. I thought it was pretty dang groovy, and a great Vegas activity if you're not much of a gambler or need time away from the regular action. You can only visit by appointment only, so don't forget to call at least a week before you want to go.

Here's a few of my favorite photos from the Boneyard. My whole set is up at flickr.


Next time, I'll be hitting the Liberace Museum.

reading list

In an effort to create better life balance, I've made time to read more lately. I'm really into sci-fi right now, especially women authors. Any other recommendations are welcome! And please share your reading lists, too.

t-love's Reading List May 2009

Current

• Neuromancer by William Gibson
• Standing Up To the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times by Amy Goodman and David Goodman
• The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 edited by Dave Eggers

Recently finished

• Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
• The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin

On deck

• Tales From Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
• Storycatcher by Christina Baldwin

NaBloPoMo day 5.

news roundup

It's May 4, which means Day 4 of my NaBloPoMo month. Only 27 days to go...

Here are some random news and headlines that have caught my eye over the past few days:

When Coffee Wars Get Bitter: The Floyd's Saga - There's some shady stuff happening with one of my local coffee shops. Our PDX explains how Floyd's, the cool drive-thru coffee shop, were forced out of their space. Photo courtesy of One True b!x on flickr.

R.I.P. Al Robles and Manong Al Has Left the Building- Longtime Filipino-American community activist and poet Al Robles passed away. He's best known for his work around the closing of the I-Hotel in San Francisco, a former low-income residence for lots of Asian American elders that got torn down amidst lots of controversy and not-without a huge resistance from the community. He is featured in Curtis Choy's classic documentary Fall of the I Hotel as well as his latest film Manilatown is in the Heart, currently hitting the film festival circuit. Hyphen and Racewire report.


Brazilian theater director August Boal dies - Another sad loss for the community. Boal is the founder of Theater of the Oppressed, which he continued to teach until now. His work has been incredible in empowering communities to communicate and make powerful change. Photo courtesy of Teia 2007 on flickr.

If Pigs Could Fly: Traveling in the Time of Swine Flu - Interesting commentary from Sandip Roy at New American Media about America's new-found role in the swine fly scare.

Highest Paid CEOs for 2008 - In case you're not pissed off enough already. Based on AP research here's an unfuriating list of some folks who've made off well, despite the rest of us struggling. And yes, 4 of the top 10 are from our friendly banks.

sweet shamelessness

Time for some shameless promotion.

First me...

Here's some recent audio work I've done at KBOO Community Radio. I've been part of the APA Compass Collective for the last couple of years. I also recently started a new pilot show with S.W. Conser called Behind the Screen focusing on local filmmakers and festivals.

• Tze Chun, writer/director, Children of Invention - an interview I did with a filmmaker in April who screened at the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon
• Bethany Leal, Network Director, Multi-ethnic Immigrant Workers Organizing Network (MIWON) - this is an interview that fellow collective member Sudarat Musikawong did, which I produced and edited
• Behind the Screen - in this recent episode we discuss upcoming film festivals and I did an interview with the founder of Filmusik, a new group that does new live musical scores for old films

I also write for the Asian Reporter. Here are a few of my recent opinion pieces:

• Hatsing!
• Filipino food: the hot new cuisine?
• Of course the arts impacts the economy

Now to brag about my friends' projects...

• My friend Sarah Liane Foster is a brilliant clown. Check out her new solo show The Last Show You'll Ever See playing later this month at Curious Comedy Theater in NE Portland.
• I know a bunch of folks involved with the live soap opera Soap St. Theater including creator/director/writer Eric Martin Reid, musician Ralph Huntley (of Live Wire! and Super Project Lab fame) and actors Adrienne Flagg (also Creative Director at IFCC and founder/artistic director of Portland Theatre Brigade), Jennifer Lanier (also a Portland Theatre Brigade teacher) and Sean McGrath (another LiveWire! cast member).
  
• My friend Risa Morimoto's documentary is airing nationally on PBS's Independent Lens this week for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The film is called Wings of Defeat, which reveals the true stories of World War II Kamikaze pilots. Check your local PBS listings for exact times.
  
• A bunch of friends and colleagues organize and are taking part in the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival going on right now. It's their 25th Anniversary! Congrats folks!
  
• Levi Ethan Cecil is a musician I know (and also a dj on KBOO - his show is Midnight Mixtape) who's doing something very grassroots to try and get his CD released. Check out his website to learn more.
  

Okay, that's it for now. I'm sure there will be more later!

Day 3 of NaBloPoMo done.

Buck Howard, pretty great

NaBloPoMo Day 2. I managed to work the "sweet" theme in...

Matt and I adventured to Living Room Theater to see The Great Buck Howard. I didn't know anything about the film, but the description sounded intruiging, and just the right light tone we were looking for. It stars John Malkovich, who I often find is annoyingly just shades of the same character on screen, but we still thought we'd give it a go.

Malkovich plays Buck Howard, a washed up stage entertainer as a mentalist. (The character is inspired by real-life mentalist The Amazing Kreskin. The film's director Sean McGinly was actually Kreskin's road manager for a while.) A mentalist is kinda like a magician (though he hates being called one) and a hypnotist rolled into one. His claim to fame is that he had appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 61 times. The story follows Buck through the eyes of his new road manager, Troy Gable, played by Colin Hanks (aka son of Tom, both in real-life and in this film). Troy is a law school drop-out who finds himself sucked into the world of the Great Buck Howard.

Buck and Troy travel his circuit of civic centers in third class cities like Bakersfield and Akron. Despite his corny and outdated performance style, Buck still enthralls the audiences, especially with his signature finale. The "effect" (what one might call a trick or an gimmick, but with mentalist, you just write things off as fake) is this: Buck enlists two audience members to hide the cash that he's receiving for the gig somewhere in the theater. He enlists another two volunteers who stay with Buck and his entourage backstage in the Green Room while it's being hidden to ensure that he is not cheating. Once the money is hidden, Buck returns and somehow, someway, always sniffs out that wad of cash.

The trajectory of the film moves toward Buck's big new effect, which he insists will be the impetus for comeback he's been waiting for. I won't give it away, but I will say that the end is both predictable and not.

I loved John Malkovich in this. He creates such an interesting, specific and empathetic character in the guise of a diva buffoon. In his shiny suits and gawdy sunglasses, Buck has these hilarious mannerisms, such as an overly vigorous handshake and his constant demonstrative declarations, "I love this town!"

Overall, I found both the writing and the performances to be quite good. Colin Hanks is extremely likable, Emily Blunt is capable, Steve Zahn is wonderful as an overzealous Cincinnati "groupie." Tom Hanks even makes an appearance, albeit, a rather forgettable one as the senior Gable. There are also lots of other fun cameos from the likes of David Blaine, Jon Stewart, Griffin Dunne and others.

If you're looking for a sweet, interesting character comedy, I would check it out. And if you see it at Portland's Living Room Theater, I would also recommend the chocolate cake with peanut butter cream icing. Yum.

Sweetness

I'm trying NaBloPoMo again this month. I tried it a few months back and lost steam because I went out of town a few times. For the month of May I will post on my blog once a day. Yes, every single day in May. That's 31 posts. Of course I picked a month with 31 days! But it is spring, so I suppose I'm feeling inspired. The theme for the month is "Sweet" if I choose to use it. Today I will...

If we're talking sweets, we're talking dessert. If we're talking dessert, then for me, above all else, we're talking CHOCOLATE. And I mean the real kind, not the icky, weird concoction they call "milk chocolate." Here's a few factoids and trivial things about our friend chocolate:

• The Mayans and Aztecs were the original chocoholics. Some of them loved it so much they even grew cacao in their backyard gardens. Now, that's my kinda urban gardening!
• One of my favorite chocolate books is Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquival. Each chapter of the book begins with a recipe. The novel employs a heavy dose of magic realism which works well with the foodie, soap operatic plot.
• Xocolātl is a popular cacao drink that the Mayans and Aztecs made. Dagoba makes a bar they call Xocalatl.
• Seeds from the evergreen tree Theobroma cacao are used in making chocolate.
• Another fictional chocolate I enjoyed is the film Chocolat with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. The themes aren't entirely different from Like Water for Chocolate with passionate chocolate making and high drama about a small conservative French town who receives a big shake up with a new chocolatier in town.
• Theobromine is the bitter alkaloid in chocolate that gives you that nice chocolate buzz.
• "Chocolate gives you zits." Remember that old rumor? Well, bust that myth, cuz it ain't true.
• Portland is home to some pretty nifty chocolatiers. Alma Chocolate, Cacao Drink Chocolate, and Moonstruck Chocolatier are some of the standouts.

Here's a young girl after my own heart. Photo courtesy of RIPizzo on flickr.

Gorging on the gorgeous Gorge

Matt and I took a much-needed day off today. It was time for a little nature adventure. Our first thought was to hit the famous Multnomah Falls. A friend advised we try some of the other, slightly less popular (and less crowded) hikes. So, we consulted our trusty Afoot & Afield Portland/Vancouver hiking guide. After considering a few, we decided to check out Horsetail Falls.

I can't believe how close all this stuff is to Portland. The Columbia River Gorge is only about 30 or so miles east. I'm embarrassed and a bit regretful that we haven't explored here sooner.

This is Horsetail Falls. So wonderful to sit underneath and just experience the falls crashing into the creek. It's springtime so all the falls are going off.

As you can see from my curry chicken salad sandwich, we enjoyed a divine lunch in front of Three Falls.

The famous Multnomah Falls. Stunning.
You can see more of our photos from the trip at my flickr photostream.

And here's my curry chicken salad recipe:

2-3 cups of chopped chicken (you can use canned, or I always used leftover rotisserie chicken)
2-3 tblsp curry powder
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 -3/4 cup peas
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2-3 tblsp mayo

Fold all that stuff together in a bowl until well-mixed. Serve with greens or in a sandwich.

the happy home office

It's early and I'm sitting here in my new office. Matt and I have been spending the last week or so trying to purge, clean, organize and store some crap in order to switch our office spaces and by doing so create a more workable guest bedroom. After some serious cleansing and negotiating little bits of space, have pretty much accomplished our goals. I must admit IKEA (and their yummy cinnamon roll) comes in handy at these moments.


It's been quite a process and we're nearly there. It reminded us both about how traumatic moving is, but also how exciting it is to make positive change. And that was on just the smallest level of switching two rooms. Needless to say, I'm anxious/thrilled that someday in the near-ish future we'll be shopping for a new home. But, that's a whole other story...

I'm also excited about my cute new business cards. I used some laminate samples I found at SCRAP and printed the text on clear labels, which I stuck on the back.


As someone who works from a home a lot of the time, it's always a challenge to stay tidy, organized, motivated and to keep boundaries. Having a separate space definitely helps. Inspired by my new office digs, I will now share with you some of my home office philosophical insights:

Those who multi-task, stand tall on a pile of paper, binders and notepads.
Warning: a new home office may bring inspired work, prolific blog entries, random acts of crafting and a safe space for screaming.
A good pen, engenders a happy writer.
Containers, containers, containers.
Land lines still sound better than cell phones.
Things to add to the to do list: jiggle your head, relax your shoulders, eat a snack, sing a song, talk a walk.

Stuff to see around PDX in the next few weeks

I thought I'd better start this list of things I want to see over the next couple of weeks. Of course, it includes some shameless (yet, deserved) plugs.


My hubby's improv group Super Project Lab has a new show for just two weeks more (Saturdays at 8pm) at the Winningstad. It's called "Dear ___" and in this format the players incorporate the audience's letters, email, postcards and correspondence into the show. Plus if you bring a letter in, you can get 2 for one tickets. Another bonus - a portion of this run's proceeds benefit the awesome program Write Around Portland.


This month's Hip Hop Cabaret at the IFCC celebrates women's contributions to hip hop. Seems like a great way to honor Women's History Month and International Women's Day. Sunday March 8 at 7pm.

The annual Clowns Without Borders benefit show is coming up Friday, March 20th at 7:30pm at the Da Vinci Middle School Theater, 2508 NE Everett, Portland. "The best of new vaudeville and modern circus to fund two Portland-led Clowns Without Borders projects in Haiti." CWB is just amazing and this annual showcase is always a lot of fun. Bring the whole fam!


Da Vinci: The Genius is a much-lauded traveling exhibit currently on display at OMSI. The exhibit explores everything you ever wanted to know about Leonardo. An intriguing display is the "Secrets of Mona Lisa Gallery" in which French engineer/photographer invented a 240 million pixel camera to photograph the Mona Lisa Gallery. I don't really get it, but it's peaked my interest. No if I could only track down some comp tix...

13

13 trivial things about Friday:



1. Etymologically speaking, "friday" refers to "day of the planet Venus." (photo from voobie's photostream on flickr)
2. The original Friday the 13th in 1980 made the name Jason and hockey masks super scary. The franchise spurned eleven, count 'em, eleven sequels, including a mashing of the series with another iconic horror franchise Nightmare on Elm Street in Freddie vs. Jason. And now, a new revamped Friday the 13th opens in theaters today, at a multiplex near you.
3. Freaky Friday is a classic children's book by Mary Rodgers in which a mother and daughter wake up and find themselves in each other's bodies for a day.
4. The hit 1995 film Friday helped boost the acting careers of Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. Two sequels: Next Friday and Friday After Next.
5. The first T.G.I. Fridays restaurant opened in New York City at First Avenue and 63rd Street. Now in strip malls across America.
6. In Robinson Crusoe, Man Friday is a native whom Crusoe saves from other savage cannibals. Man Friday becomes Crusoe's personal slave, I mean, servant. Now we use the terms Man Friday or Girl Friday to describe a loyal, dedicated assistant.
7. Black Friday often refers to that lovely day after Thanksgiving when shoppers go insane on the first shopping day or the Christmas season. The anti-Black Friday is "Buy Nothing Day" a day of protest started by Adbusters Magazine.
8. Ironically (or not) Black Friday also refers to human disasters like the Haymarket massacre, the Eyemouth disaster and the US Canadian tornado outbreak in the 80s.
9. Casual Friday, in which companies allow their employees to do away with the suit and tie for a day, actually started in the 50s with a few companies, but became more popular in the 70s, then the 90s with the dot-commers.
10. Friday is the title character in Robert Heinlein's award-winning 1982 sci-fi novel about a superior artificial woman.
11. In the classic kids song "Today is Monday" where you go through foods associated with each day of the week, Friday is fish day.
12. In Christianity, Good Friday is the day that Jesus Christ was crucified, three days before Easter when he arose from the dead. Maybe it's just me, but "good" in this case seems a misnomer. I'd go with something more like "Crap Friday" or "Shite Friday but don't worry Good Sunday."
13. Speaking of divinity, TGIF/Thank God It's Friday was first coined by an Akron, Ohio deejay Jerry Healy in the 70s. Another Ohio deejay, Alan Freed, is credited with first using the term "rock and roll." Go, Ohio, my home state.

when in doubt, make a list

oy, i've been so busy that i've had little energy for blogging. so, what to do? time to make a list. here's a list of places i'd like to see, based on recommendations or inspiration from trusted friends. domestic sites for today; i'll go international another...

the boneyard: a part of the neon museum in las vegas, the boneyard is a a lot filled with non-restored signs of all kinds. seems pretty surreal, industrial, nostalgic.
(photo by angie1611 on flickr, creative commons license)



grand canyon: what can i say, i've never been.

high desert test sites: from their website - "The High Desert Test Sites are a series of experimental art sites located along a stretch of desert communities including Pioneer town, Yucca Valley, Joshua tree, 29 Palms and Wonder Valley. These sites provide alternative space for experimental works by both emerging and established artists." andrea zittel is one of the artists who founded it. rad stuff.

sequoia national park: hamblog recently made the trip, and it inspires. big, old gorgeous trees in the amazing sierra nevadas.

25 Random Things

I have been remiss in posting but finally garnered some inspiration. This meme has been going around Facebook and I've been tagged several times to do it so here goes.

25 Random Things

Rules:
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I'm generally not an addictive person, but I do think I've become addicted to volunteering/doing projects. Either that, or I'm not as good at saying "no" as I thought or my ex-Catholic guilt has cursed me with endless obligation. At the moment I have 4 paying gigs, all of which include a certain amount of "volunteer" hours and at least 4 active volunteer gigs. Oh gods, I think I'm going to lie down now. Oh wait 24 more "things" to go. See? Another project.
2. Sadly, I am eating a burnt frozen pizza right now. A bizarre oxymoron.
3. I am also known as Tita Toni, Aunt Toni, t-love, Tone, T, TTR.
4. I get my hairs cut every four weeks by a fun gal named Juneka.
5. I freakin' hate washing dishes. I live for the day we have a dishwasher.
6. I love my hubby very much. He makes me laugh, pretty much everyday. One of our wedding vows was "Never forget the importance of snuggling."
7. I am a cylon. I am a geek.
8. I love a good handbag. I know, weird. I think I got it from my mom who also loves a good handbag. She taught me how to identify quality vs. trendy. Thus, I like expensive handbags. I also love a good tote bag and a good panier (for my bike, yo). Okay, I am a bag freak.
9. I love Portland. I like the size of it; the vibrant and collaborative arts scene; the rivers and bridges; the proximity to the ocean and to the mountains; the bike culture; the history. I know it's a super "white" city, but that just means there's lots of good work to do, activism in educating people about racism, socio-economic oppression, etc, etc. See #1.
10. I'd like to speak Spanish. I'd also like to speak Tagalog more. I had a funny experience when I went to the Philippines with Matt (my white hubby). I'd never been to the Philippines with a non-Filipino and realized quickly that I was going to have to translate for Matt. And whaddya you I was able to translate fairly well. The funny thing was, people would speak to us in Tagalog, I would translate and respond in English. They would respond in Tagalog. It all worked out somehow.
11. I knit, but I want to try crocheting. Last weekend someone showed me how. I'll be trying it any day now.
12. Oh dear, not even half way there yet. Let's see. The most recent book I've finished: Ursula K. LeGuin's My Left Hand of Darkness. Loved it! Other books I have not yet finished: Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Standing Up to the Madness by Amy and David Goodman, On Beauty by Zadie Smith.
13. Countries I've visited: Philippines, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada. Countries I'd like to visit: China, Australia, Greece, South Africa, Peru.
14. I love word games. Boggle, Scrabble, crosswords, word jumbles, cryptograms. I'm a general fan of board games. My newest (thanks to my bro Eric for the most excellent Christmas present!) is called Foodie Fight - kinda like trivia pursuit for foodies. It was a big hit at my friend's birthday beach outing last weekend.
15. I wear eye glasses. I am a glasses person. I feel like eye glasses are a part of my visual persona. Eye glasses and short hair.
16. I wish I felt more confident in my creativity.
17. I recently started feeling like a near-40-something, rather than a thirty-something. And I'm cool with it.
18. I am a chocoholic. I do also like other sweet things - bread pudding, fresh fruit cakes, pies - but if there is a chocolate option for dessert, it always trumps anything else.
19. I'm pretty good with directions and I like reading maps.
20. I'm also one of those people who finds things. Common scenario: hubby looks all over the house for his lost keys. Pockets of clothing, bags, drawers, table tops, car, etc. The first place I look for his keys (usually someplace he has already tried to look) I find the keys.
21. In 2005, Matt and I had a crazy summer of wedding events when we married. We called it the "Union Tour" and even had concert-like t-shirts made with all the various locations and dates. First an engagement party in his hometown, Middletown CT hosted by his folks. Then, a wedding shower in my hometown Rocky River OH hosted by my folks. Then, the actual wedding ceremony in Stateline NV/Lake Tahoe. After that, back to OH for the wedding "reception" again hosted by my parents. Finally, a last-minute small gathering of friends in Davis CA where we were living at the time. Truthfully we missed out inviting our close friends to anything which is our only regret. Look out for our 5 year anniversary!!!
22. I am very good with spatial relations. I perfectly pack moving trucks, car trunks, luggage and boxes. One time I packed a car well-enough to fit 5 humans and all our snowboard crap into a car. My friend declared that I had good "spatial consideration." I know use that term for my special skill.
23. I enjoy making compilation cds. Back in my teens, I used to call my mix tapes "Tone's Tunes."
24. I recently found out that I'm anemic. Annoying!
25. I make a delightful lasagne and a lovely veggie curry.