stupid grin

The weather is so perfect today. The suns out but it's not hot. I think it's one last hurrah before fall really starts settling in over the weekend.

I caught the bus to the Post Office where my overnight package was being held, only to find out they were redelivering it today...and I didn't even care. I just smiled, walked back to the bus stop and made smalltalk with the elderly Russian couple until the bus came. That's how much I love today.

Going for a walk now...

Top 10 Tuesday!

Today's Top 10: Albums!

This was much harder to narrow to just 10 than I thought it would be. And, great fun listening to all these...just to make sure...

1. Dusty In Memphis - Dusty Springfield
2. Evolve - Ani DiFranco
3. Woodface - Crowded House
4. The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
5. Either/Or - Elliott Smith
6. Us - Peter Gabriel
7. Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet
8. BBC Sessions - Cocteau Twins
9. The Ultimate Collection - Dinah Washington
10. The Greatest Hits - Janis Joplin*

*I'm not crazy about the idea of a Greatest Hits collection being in my top 10, but it's there because this album is the single most-played album by my mother during my childhood. It may be the root of my love for music.

The almosts:
All of REM
Nevermind - Nirvana
Our Endless Numbered Days - Iron & Wine
The Tain - The Decemberists
The Crane Wife - The Decemberists
Lion and The Cobra - Sinead O'Connor
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
CrazySexyCool - TLC

Happy Anniversary Punkie!

Today is my & Cahen's 6th anniversary!

I got snapdragons (one of my favorites); Cahen got suspenders (to hold up his ever-fallin' britches).

And, I made our anniversary playlist - Annie 6:
"Little Bird" - Annie Lennox
"Get Out The Map" - Indigo Girls
"Portland, Oregon" - Loretta Lynn/Jack White
"Running Up That Hill" - Kate Bush
"Lover Lay Down" - Dave Matthews Band
"Your Sweet Voice" - Matthew Sweet
"Love And Some Verses" - Iron & Wine
"Red Right Ankle" - The Decemberists
"I Will Follow You Into The Dark" - Death Cab For Cutie
"Let's Spend The Day In Bed" - Over The Rhine
"Three Little Birds" - Bob Marley & The Wailers

"Every little thing is gonna be alright..."

Happy Annie, Punk. I love you.

PLEEEZE, Shut Up.

Ok. It needs to be said.

A concert is NOT the appropriate place for a conversation. When the artists are performing, show some respect and shut up. If you really don't care to hear/see the performance, why are you there? If it's so you can say you were, leave and then lie about it. I promise, if anyone asks, I'll say I saw you there.

It's so disrespectful to the artists and the fans. And, it really pisses me off.

Why am I ranting about this?

Because it would seem that Portlanders are worse than Angelenos about talking during a concert. (Which seems crazy since everyone I've met is so nice.)

• Last weekend at Doug Fir Lounge, seeing Over The Rhine, 3 hipster girls stood in the back of the room and quacked about...I dunno...their outfits or their ever-so-cool frames THE ENTIRE SET. The show was amazing despite the clucking in the back.


• Two weeks ago at Wonder Ballroom, seeing The Watson Twins, there was so much chatter coming from the back of the room, it was hard to hear the acoustic performance of the band. Who was it? The shitty opening band to which we gave our full attention while they were onstage. Fuckers. I'd include their name, but I know that even bad publicity is good publicity. And, they'll get no support here.
  

Ok. Rant over. Back to happy...

My Top 10 songs

Tuesdays are for top 10's...well, for a few weeks at least. I thought it might be fun to be able to look back at these in a year or so and see if they're still the same.

This week: Songs!

(In random order)
"Oregon Hill" - Cowboy Junkies
"Both Hands" - Ani DiFranco
"Grace Cathedral Hill" - The Decemberists
"Que Sera Sera" - Sly & The Family Stone
"Superman" - REM
"I Used to be a Sailor" - Tracy Chapman
"Legal Tender" - B-52's
"Crying" - Roy Orbison/kd lang
"They Stood up for Love" - Live
"Summertime" - Janis Joplin

For those who read my blog, please feel free to tell us your top 10 in the comments - or request a cd and I'll burn ya one.

Russell Crow, Cameron Crow, Gregory Peck...

If asked, many of my friends would say that my favorite bird is the puffin. I probably would've agreed, until recently, when I've realized that I am drawn to and most fond of crows. The somewhat awkward way they walk through the backyard grass. Some may find their noises shrill and loud, but I consider them a call to attention. I always encourage the cats to come watch them with me.

So I let my newfound fondness for the dark fowl lead me to more information about them.

• Most people know, but may have forgotten, that a group of crows is called a murder.
• They rank at the top of the avian IQ scale - smarter than all other birds.
• When in need, they use tools to help them get food. They will drop thick-shelled seeds onto busy streets, so cars will run them over and crack the shells for them. They use bread crumbs to bait fish to the water's surface.
• They represent the spiritual transition into the afterlife - not to be confused with representing death.
• It is said that when robbers attacked the home of the first Dalai Lama (when he was a child), his parents fled. Upon their return, they found 2 Crows caring for the young bodhisattva.
• They heralded the birth of the 14th Dalai Lama (the current one).
• They are significant symbols in most non-Christian faiths, associated with the afterlife in some, with birth in others.
• In Greek Mythology, when crows gave Athena bad news, she turned their feathers black.
• They once idolized a man named Homer Simpson.

Hospitality and Humility

On Sunday, Cahen and I joined some friends for a walk up to Mt. Tabor Park to eat pb&j sandwiches and watch the sunset.

When we walk with our friends Chelsea and Dakota, we always check out the houses. There are many beautiful houses around here, especially as you get close to Mt. Tabor Park. It turns out that we have a common favorite. From the street, there isn't much you can say about the house itself, because it's surrounded by lush greenery, with hidden places to sit throughout. Some gardens are meticulously manicured, others strategically planned to appear unkept. And, then there's this kind of garden: the one that's been nurtured for years, allowing for careful negotiation with the plants to keep them flourishing while also making passers-by swoon.

We stopped to take it in and discuss our favorite details. The clumping bamboo. The fuschia in full-bloom. The semi-enclosed dining area.

Then an old fella, shoulders sprinkled with sawdust, approached. "That's what 20 years of hard work gets ya."

He offered, and we eagerly accepted, a tour. As we gushed over the details, he humbly gave the credit to his wife and daughter. We were all making mental notes for our own "dream house" - the weights & pulleys used to close the door behind us, the 30-foot-high grapevines, the secret enclosed koi pond retreat. I'm sure he, his wife and daugher are all equally responsible for the spectacular beauty of the place. It's also evident that time played a big role. There have been many hours over the course of 20 years tending, cultivating, pruning, watering, planning, shopping to make this place as lovely as it is.

I got something more from our tour than I expected - a gentle reminder to love what I do every moment. And, if I do, there's no telling what beauty might surround me in the years to come.

Sunset dinner on the mount was lovely, too.

Art, too, is in the eye of the beholder

I had a great night of art this week. Thursday marked the beginning of Portland's TBA Festival - an annual 2 week performance art festival.

I planned to attend the opening performance "On the Great Migration of Excellent Birds" - a large group of singers performing a piece intended to resemble the sounds and actions of birds. Then, walk around the galleries and check out new art premiering on "First Thursday".

*

The birds, albeit somewhat disappointing in magnitude, were delightful. A hundred singers gesturing like birds, chattering like birds, chirping like birds - and singing about how great it would be to be one. The highlights of the performance were the whistling and chirping (it really sounded like a bunch of birds) and the sometimes gimmicky "craning" of their arms and hands.

Then, I wandered through The Pearl district's many art galleries. My favorite gallery Beppu Wiarda premiered beautiful new work from Arvie Smith. The Pony Club's featured artist, Josh Simmons, left me wanting for something more. I did delight in the vulgarity of the work entitled "How to Fuck".

Afterwards, I intended to go home.

On my way to catch the bus, I thought I'd grab a quick cocktail. And made the pleasant mistake of walking into a drag show bar (Darcelle XV) 30 minutes before the early show. I opened the door and was immediately greeted by a 7-foot tall (including the hair) drag queen. Ahem, excuse me: Female Impersonator.

Me: "Sorry I was looking for a bar."

DQ: "Well, we got drinks. Come on in."

After a cocktail, I tried to make a quiet exit, but Darcelle herself said to sit "here" for the show and pointed to the table next to her wig changing station in the back. There's not too many things I can say I know for sure - but I know you don't argue with a Drag Queen. So I sat. And thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The show hasn't been updated in decades. I chose to forgive her, she is 77 after all - the oldest performing Drag Queen in the world. Lorena Bobbit jokes ("She was in a bad car wreck recently. Some dick cut her off."). Darcelle's first number was "Rhinestone Cowboy" in the standard ass-less rhinestone chaps. And what would an evening of old time drag be without a rousing "Hey, Big Spender"? Cheap drinks, cheap "women" and all around good fun. I'll be forcing everyone I know to attend shortly...in the meantime, I took a quick pic.

I remember thinking, during the show, that this was some of the best performance art I've ever seen. Perfect way to end my "night of art".

in the glow of the laptop screen

On this perfectly chilly September evening, I'm sitting in front of the open window, letting the wind blow through me and tickle my cold toes. I wonder if I'm helping set the mood of the neighborhood, in the dark - only lit by the laptop's glow, with my glass of wine, reconnecting with The Cowboy Junkies for the passers-by to hear.

And the hours, well, I dont mind
How they creep on by like an old love of mine
Its the years that simply disappear that are doing me in
-from "A Horse in the Country", Black Eyed Man