Happy distractions

Things making me happy this week, in no particular order:

This picture:

I accidentally captured this doofy expression one afternoon last week, and I still can't look at it without cracking up.

This song:


And this song:


Central Market's spinach & feta chicken sausage. Yum.

My new peacock earrings:


This book:


Christian Bale losing his shit on the set of Terminator: Salvation. Now imagine him delivering that verbal beatdown in his ridiculous, raspy Batman voice. Gold!

The fact that I haven't wanted to quit my exercise/healthier eating plan yet. I'm feeling optimistic, even if the actual physical exertion part sucks mightily. (It still does, if you were wondering.)

(Yes, I know it's only Tuesday, but I have to divert myself with such pleasant thoughts if I have any hope of making it to Friday unscathed.)

The definitive "Why Portland Is awesome" post

Yes, I've already listed a bunch of reasons why I love Portland. I've posted pictures, related anecdotes, and generally rhapsodized about the place. Maybe I was exaggerating a bit -- after all, Portland is not perfect, and it has its drawbacks just like any place. But the way I felt there was no exaggeration. I felt home. The city is tailor-made for me. And ever since I've been back, I've felt a little homesick. So in the spirit of the holiday season, I feel compelled to post an exhaustive Compendium of Awesome, starring the fine city of Portland, Oregon.

Warning: reading this post may cause a sudden, burning desire to pack up and move to Portland immediately.

For the word nerd
For the foodie
For the music lover
For the nature enthusiast
For the film & TV buff
For the eco-conscious
For the artist
For the daytripper
For the conscious consumer

For the word nerd:
--Portland holds an annual literary festival called Wordstock. The book fair hosts readings, signings, and panels, and other events include a poetry slam competition, a live radio variety program, and an evening event called the Text Ball (with prizes for the most grammatically correct costume!).
--Powell's City of Books is the largest independent bookstore in the U.S. and covers an entire city block. It's open 365 days a year and holds over four million new, used, rare, and out of print books. You could spend a week in there and still find stuff to do.
--Beloved children's lit author Beverly Cleary is from Portland, and there's a Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden in the city where children can play. On the opposite end of the literary spectrum, author Chuck Palahniuk is also from Portland.
--Dark Horse Comics, the largest independent comics producer in this country, is housed in Portland and has an amazing library of titles, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Star Wars, Sin City, Hellboy, Aliens, and Predator.
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For the foodie:
--As I've mentioned before, James Beard, father of American gastronomy and author of 20 books, grew up in Portland. The prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards, held every May, honor the best chefs, restaurants, cookbook authors, and journalists (among others) in the country.
--Tillamook cheese probably wouldn't be around today without cows and equipment from Portland. The town of Tillamook is about an hour and a half away from Portland (one of many potential day trips from the city).
--Stumptown Coffee is an amazing independent coffee chain in Portland that buys and roasts its own coffee. The owner travels all over the world and forms relationships with coffee producers; he's even formed a non-profit that supports Rwandan coffee cooperatives. Stumptown offers Fair Trade Certified and organic coffees and takes pride in its sustainable business practices, both at home and abroad. I've ordered Stumptown coffee from their website, and it was freshly roasted and delicious.
--Portland boasts some of the best farm to table restaurants in the country. One example is The Farm Cafe, which uses locally grown produce and locally produced wines and spirits to create its constantly changing menu. The upside? Your food is fresher and more tasty, and you don't have to feel guilty about supporting evil corporate agribusiness.
--The abundance of wineries, breweries, brewpubs, and microdistilleries. There are even "brew and view" movie theaters that serve local microbrews and food that you can enjoy during the show. Oh, and Oregon Wine Country is about 25 miles from Portland. And there are at least 5 major beer festivals every year. There are more breweries in Portland (around 30) than in any other city in the country.
--Portland Farmers Markets are open April through December and provide a direct link between farmers and consumers. Portland (well, the entire Pacific Northwest) grows the most beautiful, fresh produce year-round, including some of the best berries in the world. Walking around Portland, you can find tons of wild blackberries that are safe to eat. We even found the most amazing apples growing wild on a tree in a residential neighborhood, free for the taking.
--Voodoo Doughnut and Wedding Chapel. The freshest, weirdest doughnuts you'll ever eat. Try a Maple Bacon Bar for starters and then check out their vegan selection to feel a bit more virtuous.
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For the music lover:
--Bands and musicians from Portland include The Decemberists, The Shins, Modest Mouse, The Dandy Warhols, Sleater-Kinney, Elliott Smith, Stephen Malkmus (of Pavement fame), M. Ward, The Kingsmen ("Louie, Louie"), Everclear (Art Alexakis), Spoon (Britt Daniel), Courtney Love, and Death Cab for Cutie (Chris Walla).
--Local music venue The Doug Fir Lounge is comfortable and stylish and has an attached restaurant and bar. We saw 3 bands for $5 there on our first night in Portland. They had free drinking water at the bar! And it was non-smoking, so you could actually breathe in there.
--The Oregon Symphony hosts outdoor concerts on the waterfront; the Oregon Zoo hosts a summer concert series.
--There's an annual Portland Jazz Festival.
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For the nature enthusiast:
--What isn't there for the nature enthusiast? You have mountains, old-growth forests, rivers, gorges... Portland even lies on top of an extinct lava field (the Boring Lava Field, which makes me laugh). There are great trails and hikes, and even in the middle of the city, you can find gorgeous wooded parks.
--Portland is known as the City of Roses; there are rose festivals a couple times a year and a huge test garden that holds over 550 varieties of roses. It's been in continuous operation since 1917.
--Portland boasts the most authentic Japanese garden in North America and the largest classical Chinese garden in the country.
--You can take an ecotour from Portland to the coast, stopping at scenic spots along the way, to go whale watching. A full-day whale watching trip won't even set you back a hundred bucks. Portland is also home to bald eagles and peregrine falcons; sightings of both are common.
--The Columbia River Scenic Highway takes you past magnificent landmarks like Multnomah Falls (look at it frozen!) and the Columbia River Gorge, not to mention stunning scenic overlooks and lush forests. It also features the greatest rest stop ever, Vista House, which is only 15 miles east of Portland.
--Even though it rains half the time, Portland has one of the most temperate climates in the United States. It has a narrow range of temperatures year-round, which means that summers aren't too hot and winters aren't too cold. When it does rain, it's not always the dreary, heavy rain that we experience in Dallas; it's often light, misty rain, and it comes and goes throughout the day. Plus, without all the rain, it wouldn't be so green!
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For the film & TV buff:
--Matt Groening (The Simpsons, Futurama) is from Portland.
--Directors Gus Van Sant (Milk, Good Will Hunting), Todd Haynes (I'm Not There, Far From Heaven), and Todd Field (Little Children, In the Bedroom) are also from Portland. So are actors Clark Gable, William Hurt, Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), and Lindsay Wagner (Bionic Woman).
--Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny!) is from Portland.
--The movie Into the Wild was filmed in Portland.
--The city holds numerous film festivals every year and has a renowned film school.
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For the eco-conscious:
--Portland is often called the greenest city in the United States. City planners have been thinking green for over three decades and have established strict land-use policies and urban growth boundaries. There are hundreds of protected natural areas around the city and tough anti-sprawl ordinances. Sustainability is more than just a buzzword; it's actively practiced. Renewable energy, green buildings, effective mass transit...these all make Portland one of the most ecologically friendly cities in the world.
--Bicycling is not only safe in suburbia; urban cycling is typical, thanks to Portland's bike-friendly accommodations. It's often rated one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world, with over 260 miles of bike lanes and paths.
--Portland was the first city in the U.S. to make and enact a formal plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
--Freecycling thrives in Portland; it's a nonprofit movement that allows people to give away their unwanted items instead of throwing them away. It's completely free and legal, can save you money and time, and best of all, it keeps unnecessary waste out of landfills.
--Portland has 92,000 acres of green space, including the country's largest wooded city park (Forest Park, with over 70 miles of trails) and the world's smallest city park (Mill Ends Park, which is two feet across and was originally supposed to house a utility pole).
--Zipcar is available in Portland; the service allows you to reserve a car (including ZAP electric cars) by the hour or the day. Cars are parked all around the city; once you reserve one by phone or online, you just walk up to it, hold your ZipCard up to the windshield to unlock the doors, and drive away! They're located in 13 cities, from San Francisco to Boston to New York to Vancouver, and you can use your card in any of those cities if you're a member. ZipCar pays for gas and insurance, too.
--In addition to bicycling and public transit accommodations, the city is very pedestrian friendly, with compact square blocks and an easy to navigate grid that relies on natural boundaries to divide the city in a logical way. It's so easy to get around there; after a few days, I felt like a native.
--Benson Bubblers, the water fountains dotting the city landscape, reduce reliance on bottled water for many urban dwellers. There are 52 total fountains throughout the city.
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For the artist:
--In addition to a number of art museums, Portland boasts two monthly art walks: First Thursdays in the Pearl District, and Last Thursdays in the Alberta neighborhood. Galleries and shops keep their doors open late and serve appetizers and wine.
--For homemade, hand-crafted gifts, there's no greater place in Portland than the Saturday market (which is actually open on Sundays, too). Artisans and international food vendors descend on downtown every weekend from March to December to sell their wares, which include fine art, photography, candles, clothing, home accessories, woodwork and metalwork, pottery, ceramics, and even pet products.
--Parks, squares, and fountains around the city are enhanced by public works of art, including sculptures and murals. The bronze sculpture Portlandia is one of the city's most famous.
--Portland is a photographer's dream, mixing natural beauty with eclectic city landscapes at almost every turn.
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For the daytripper:
--Portland is 70 miles from the Pacific Ocean and about an hour from Mt. Hood. Cannon Beach is an hour and a half drive from the city. So is Tillamook (mmm, cheese).
--Timberline Lodge, where The Shining was filmed, is about an hour and a half from Portland.
--The desert of Warm Springs is a two-hour drive; so is the city of Eugene.
--Mount Saint Helens is just under two hours from Portland.
--Seattle is just over three hours away; Vancouver about five.
--The Amtrak Cultural Cascades route connects Eugene, Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, and Vancouver.
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For the conscious consumer:
--Portland does have a 9% income tax, but that's offset by its lack of a sales tax. Plus, it's deductible on your federal tax return. Car registration fees are much lower than they are here in Texas, and you only pay them once every two years.
--Cost of living is slightly higher than it is in Dallas (about 5-7% higher), but it's still one of the most affordable cities on the west coast.
--Public transit is free downtown (it's called Fareless Square). That includes buses, streetcars, and light rail. The light rail system extends all the way out to the airport; the fare from the airport to the heart of downtown is only $2.30.
--You can see second-run movies at the "brew and view" movie theaters for $3.
--Most places have free wifi.
--The outdoor summer symphony events are free.
--Some breweries, like Widmer, offer free tours of their facilities.
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I wasn't kidding when I said exhaustive! I'm very passionate on the subject, as you can see. :) Also, I like having all these lists on one page so I can visit it when Dallas is pissing me off. Like today, with the inexplicable return to 75-degree temperatures in the middle of December.

Viva Portland!

Entertainment overdose

Argh, I wish I could shake this constant fatigue! It seems I'm only capable of lying around watching movies or reading when I'm not at work. That Netflix instant viewing option is dangerous, I tell you. Since Friday, I've watched Bull Durham (which is still funny and charming 20 years after it was made), Becoming Jane (historical inaccuracy be damned, I found myself totally engrossed by the love story), and sex, lies, and videotape (I swear, I never found James Spader sexy before Secretary, but now? Oh my god. It's that cold, impassive, vaguely reptilian face of his). I also watched Kung Fu Panda and True Romance yesterday, both of which I absolutely loved.

Yeah, it's been a lazy few weeks.

I started reading The Age of Innocence a few days ago -- its brilliance stands in stark contrast to the majority of so-called "literature" written today. I'm taking it slow, trying to savor the language and absorb the sharp social critique and stinging wit, and so far, it's been an absolute joy. I'd only read Wharton's The House of Mirth before, so this is a treat. Surprisingly relevant to modern society, too.

Speaking of brilliant works of fiction: ABC, how could you give up on a show as joyful, colorful, and witty as Pushing Daisies? It's a beautiful, romantic, clever, silly, magical, whimsical love letter to language, and it makes me smile until my face hurts every single week. And after January (barring a miracle), I won't get to bask in it anymore. Yet Private Practice lives on to bore and annoy? There is no justice.

Ok, I've prattled on long enough. I'll leave you with some songs I'm digging right now:

"Time to Pretend" (MGMT)

"Sex on Fire" (Kings of Leon)

"You Are the Best Thing" (Ray LaMontagne)


"The Chain" (Ingrid Michaelson)


"So They Say" (from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog)

The lives of others

I just spent half an hour reading through every entry on this website. Obviously, there's a big market for this kind of entertainment (see PostSecret), so I don't feel so alone in my compulsion to know the tiniest details about strangers' lives. I'm fascinated by other people's stories, from the mundane to the earth-shattering. I devour Facebook status updates and Twitter posts (tweets?). I love reading blogs written by people I'm never likely to meet. I love details. I love stories of all sorts, real or fictional.

It's why I can't stop watching some TV shows well past their sell-by dates; I have to see what happens to the characters. (Is this why people watch soap operas?) It's why I love short stories, poems, novels, memoirs, plays, news stories, websites of all stripes, comic books, you name it. As long as it's competently written and I can relate to it, I'm in. It's why I could watch 43 episodes of In Treatment in just over a week. I'm addicted to other people's private lives. But overall, I think it makes me a better, more compassionate person. I try to understand what makes people tick. I'm not (over-)judgmental. I want to know where people are coming from, so I listen.

Or I'm just a busybody who needs to get my own life. Take your pick.

Starting Out in the Evening

What a lovely, perfect movie. I fell deeper in love with it minute by minute, and the more I thought about it afterward, the more it resonated with me. The acting is fantastic, especially the performances by Frank Langella and Lili Taylor (though Lauren Ambrose and Adrian Lester are wonderful as well). The characters are complex and well-shaded, and the parallels between the two main stories are subtle, yet well drawn. It's heartbreaking, but simultaneously uplifting -- just a quiet, sad, intimate story that makes you think long after its conclusion.

The plot concerns an aging, frail novelist named Leonard Schiller whose works have slowly faded into obscurity over the years (in fact, they're mostly out of print). An ambitious, eager grad student named Heather, whose personal investment in Schiller's works has developed into something like infatuation, has decided to write her master's thesis on his novels, with the intent of reviving interest in his literary achievements. Meanwhile, Schiller's adult daughter struggles with her desire for children as she nears middle age and re-embarks on a relationship with a former lover who doesn't share her dreams.

What follows is a profound meditation on self-worth, happiness, hope, the indignities of age, the decline of the literary age, the nature of love, and the meaning of freedom. The characters' struggles are beautifully rendered and, most importantly, realistic. I particularly liked the honest portrayal of romantic relationships, which proved that love is not all you need. Love is a wonderful thing, but true compatibility is what really matters -- finding someone who's fundamentally right for you. I also really enjoyed the exploration of selfishness versus self-abdication, and that middle road of selflessness that you can occupy without giving up your sense of self. Kudos to Adrian Lester and Lili Taylor for fleshing out such an essential story.

Starting Over also highlighted the sad scarcity of literature in a world of instantaneous, mindless entertainment. There's such a small market for literary fiction these days; it seems like celebrity tell-alls and self-help books are the only books that sell. I love this movie for making literature feel essential again. It made me feel that thrill of discovery that great novels spark in me.

I wish more movies would strive for such emotional honesty and effortless storytelling. I'm all for mindless entertainment (Iron Man, for instance, which was hugely enjoyable), but there's something to be said for a film that sparks philosophical debates and also feels like having a warm, intimate conversation with a friend over hot cocoa.

Best of 2007: Entertainment edition

It's year-end review time! Of course, we're already two days into 2008, but I see no harm in revisiting my favorites one last time. And who knows, you may find some new favorites in these jumbled lists.

Favorite new movies I saw in 2007, in order of release date:

• Pan's Labyrinth**
• Zodiac
• 300
• Grindhouse
• Waitress
• Knocked Up
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Interview
• The Simpsons Movie
• No Reservations
• Stardust
• Superbad
• Into the Wild
• Juno
• Enchanted
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

**technically released 12/29/2006, but I saw it January '07

Favorite TV shows I discovered in 2007, both new and old:

• Pushing Daisies
• Gossip Girl
• How I Met Your Mother (discovered during Season 2)
  
• Battlestar Galactica (caught up on all 3 seasons this year!)
  
• Freaks and Geeks (finishing up the last 3 episodes!)
  
• Weeds
  

Favorite movies not released in 2007 that I saw this year:

• Little Children
• Half Nelson
• Casanova
• The Holiday
• Children of Men
• United 93
• An Inconvenient Truth
• Kinsey
• Rosemary's Baby
• Billy Elliot
• The Departed
• The Descent
• The Illusionist
• The Prestige

Favorite books read in 2007:

• Franny and Zooey, by J.D. Salinger
• The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen
• Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
• Harry Potter 1-7, by J.K. Rowling

Favorite music discovered in 2007:

• OK Go, Oh No
• Georgie James, Places
• The Fratellis, Costello Music
• MIKA, Life in Cartoon Motion
• Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare and Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
• Feist, The Reminder and Let It Die
• Ingrid Michaelson, Girls and Boys
• Silverchair, Young Modern

Songs I was obsessed with in 2007:

• “Fireflies” by Rhett Miller and Rachael Yamagata
• “Let It Rain” by OK Go
• “Places” by Georgie James
• “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” by Stars
• “Yours to Keep” by Teddybears
• "Girl's Not Grey" by AFI
  
• “Henrietta” by The Fratellis
• “Grace Kelly” by MIKA
• “Breathe Me” by Sia
• “Fluorescent Adolescent” by Arctic Monkeys
• “1234” by Feist
• "Cake Parade" by Georgie James
• “2000 Miles” by The Pretenders
• “You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Aimee Mann
• “I Don't Feel Like Dancin'” by Scissor Sisters
• “Die Alone” by Ingrid Michaelson
• "Miss Murder" by AFI
• "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers
• "Chariots Rise" by Lizzie West
• "Nothing Better" by The Postal Service
• "The Hat" by Ingrid Michaelson
• "Crash the Party" by OK Go
• 3/4 of Led Zeppelin's entire oeuvre, as always

Favorite local restaurants discovered in 2007:

• Afrah
• Asian Mint
• Coal Vines
• Greenz
• India Palace
• Noodle Wave Fresh Thai
• Queen of Sheba
• Red's Patio Grill
• Roti Grill
• Tandoor Grill
• Tony's Cafe
• Twisted Root Burger Co.
• Udipi Cafe
• Zander's House
• Zorba's

Favorite local bars/hangouts discovered in 2007:

• The Tipp (Tipperary Inn)
• Fusion Cafe
• Beckley Brewhouse
• The Fillmore Pub

Favorite local event in 2007, hands-down:

• Friday, July 6: Led Zeppelin tribute concert at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

I'm sure I'll come back and add to this list, since it gave me the warm fuzzies remembering the joy all these things brought me, but this is all I can manage for now!