ok, well what about Portland, Oregon?

It's a fun town to visit, though, especially for midnight drunken scooter races.

- hundreds of streets and all of them named!

- parks, with trees, paths and park benches!

- automobiles in fantastic profusion from every corner of the world!

- a river flowing smack dab through the middle of town with both color and texture!

- lots of people! At last count, nearly 450,000 of the crapulent bastards!

This list does not even begin to scratch the surface of this wonderful metropolis. We even have places where you may purchase hot, ready-made food for take-away, a sky that varies from day to day, and residential neighborhoods full of houses. Our exciting "downtown" area has awesome buildings multiple storeys high, including many with elevators. In P-Town the fun never ends!

And for Powells, which I've only visited virtually, as should you all.

Will I actually be the first, besides Douglas, to say something serious and positive about PDX?

For its price of livin', Portland's probably one of the best American cities to live in. Despite it being a west coast city, the weather can get downright FUCKING MISERABLE at times.. like during the ice storms in winter, and days like, oh, today.. where it's (check's Yahoo weather page) 96F/35C with 60% humidity... (ok ok so maybe not miserable compared to the east coast)

Portland's a fair sized city but it does feel even smaller for some reason. It's a nice arty drinkin' town. Musically -- well, if you can ignore the Dandies or Jackie O Motherfucker or the Epoxies easily enough, you'll find a nice variety of stuff to see, befriend, etc. (Minmae and Celesteville as one of several examples)

Like the rest of the northwest, it's kinda hippie/kinda swarthy occasionally.

Gareth, if you're looking at the Northwest.. and for something cheaper than Seattle (not that Seattle is super expensive, but compared the rest of the immediate region, it's pretty pricey), you should also check out Vancouver...(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that is -- not to be confused with Vancouver, Washington, which is confusingly enough right next to Portland, OR... )

The truth of the matter is, if we didn't give them away, the creeps would pile up in the streets in unsightly heaps, along with all myriads of god-strangled kittens. As it is, heavy machinery sweeps the streets every night, pushing the creeps under freeway overpasses, but they won't stay put like the dead kittens do.

OR-e-guin

Not Ore-GAWN

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

They're cheap if you're used to NYC/SF/Seattle, expensive if you're used to West Virginia or don't have a job. Which, of course, is a big problem, as the unemployment rate is, they keep saying, the highest in the nation. I'm not sure if that takes into account the people who make a bunch of money on the East Coast, move to Portland for 6 months, and then move back when the money runs out.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city.

It does help to keep in mind that there's the Portland that most people think of -- the unwashed close-in southeast Portland that, in fall of 2000, had a Nader sign on every lawn -- and there's also the other Portland, where the mayor and her cronies get really excited about making downtown friendly to huge corporations and tearing down old building to make depressing overpriced and artsy "lofts". So. Nobody refers to Portland as a "world class city" except, well, those creepy people who think that it's good to be a "world class city".

Anyway, search: Stumptown coffee, Q Is For Choir record shop, the fact that everyone has a band and no one can make any money off their band, lots of beautiful bridges, the weather, a tiny city where you can walk or bike everywhere, lots of vegetarian food, no sales tax, etc.

Destroy: Politicians resting on a reputation built by people in the 70s, small-town dating pool (everyone knows everyone), everyone is lily white, the weather, events at the waterfront park that ruin your Sunday afternoon, people who come to Portland and expect it to be New York City or northern northern California, huge budget deficits, the Mercury, etc.

better hurry thouhg, I'm only here for another week.

I'm so proud of him.

I'm in Seattle now! Portland was good.

http://www.dirtyducktavern.com/

And this guide looks a little old, anything good? (I'm not quite a bear, but they're better company than some.)

http://www.oregonbears.org/PortlandGayLife/portlandgaylife-barsrestaurantsclubs.htm

Jeezus, bars closing at 1 on weeknights!?! When will civilization arrive??

Also, Starky's is a place you may want to check out. Nice, friendly neighborhood bar.

http://www.starkys.com/

I don't feel like I'm worthy enough to go to Starky's yet.

Town Lounge is nice and small, which generally makes the room feel "full". Very tiny stage, although the one show I went to see featured a band with 8 people in it, at least one of whom was put off to the side somewhere.

I think I have heard OK things about the Dirty Duck but I mostly only know the gay bar scene here through anecdotes. (The only place I've been to on that OregonBear list is Hobo's, which is sort of a piano bar/restaurant.) Joq's is right near my place, and it seems modest and nontwinkish enough from the outside, though I've never been in. This website suggests that they have food, which I can't imagine is recommended.

I've been thinking about trying to get Martin M. to go with me to brunch at Starky's someday. I have perhaps built it up too much in my head, though.

Friday April 7th
At the Towne Lounge in Portland
w/Boy Eats Drum Machine
--and--
Saturday April 8th
At the Voyeur in Olympia
w/LKN (http://www.myspace.com/LKN)
Quitty and Dan from The Light Year (http://www.myspace.com/thelightyear)
And Swan Island

love to see anyone that can make it

Oh, I'm not quite ready for that yet (even just listening).

I'm thinking of staying a little closer to the West Burnside bar strip and Powells, at least for 3 nights, rather than the White Eagle. I'll know how to budget when I do my taxes in a couple days. :o

Although, you know, Powells, yes. They should rent rooms above Powells.

(Some library around Portland has apartments above it - this would almost be better than living above Uwajimaya in Seattle.)

Anyway, I used to work at the Towne Lounge some as I'm friends with the owner and all the employees, etc. It is a nice, small place -- the sound can really fill the place up but I think most bands try to keep it a little quiet because of that. Als I was a DJ there regularly when the place first started and it's really blown up, which is nice to see. I live just down the street so I'll try to drop by your show on Friday, Shakey.

July 5 - Beavers baseball
July 6 - Lilys @ Doug Fir

I don't know what our writer friend, Matt, thought of all this (I have a sneaking hunch it was all very circa-1995 Brooklyn to him AWRIGHT!). But I did finally figure it was time to go. It was during the "talent" portion of the pageant, when one of the naked dudes, cupping his man meat gently in his hands, inserted paint tubes in his butt and began to use his naked ass as a paintbrush.

Apparently they had a falling-out with the hosting bar (Porky's) in North Portland, and starting on the 29th it'll be held at the Acme (in Hawthorne, right?). I expect to be there on the 6th whether I go to the Lilys show before or not.

http://www.bootypdx.com/index.html

I found about this through the BUTT magazine spread (literally) on Portland in the current issue.

tour info, i think

http://sneakinout.com/site/?page_id=3

Please be done with your 100-degree heat wave before my arrival next week.

Those of us with 8am Latin classes are decidedly unhappy about this turn of events.

Probably about as well as those of us in AC-less apartments that get the sun all morning and afternoon.

Off to see an air-conditioned movie, at least!

I did get a SOLO tour of the Widmer brewery, and made it to Cathedral Park on my last morning (byootiful). Had lunch with the delightful mensch Casuistry -- one of those New York natives who has to emigrate to calmer burgs so there are vacancies in Gotham for bitter Noise boys from the sticks.

This week it is cloudy and in the 70s, which is not so bad at all!

No Portlander has ever called me a mensch.

NYC is predictably 86, muggy and full of people who don't look where they're going.

i'd like to go back!

Roxy, give me the deets and I'll make it happen.

portland has good IPAs.

what neighbourhood are you in, chris?

I'm in close-in NE, not far from Sandy and 20th. I actually really like this neighborhood a lot. It's a nice mix of industrial and residential and is a quick walk or bike from my favorite parts of town.

Uh, I'm in a two bedroom for under $700. I don't think you should have any problems with that budget.

http://www.hplfilmfestival.com/images/poster06.jpg

Oct 6->8th at the Hollywood Theatre, NE Portland.

Speakers, guests, vendors, and films both short and feature-length!

http://www.hplfilmfestival.com/images/SandwichBoard.gif

I am now at work, trying to get some rest. Whee.

now i just need to know where to eat? breakfast and dinner suggestions welcome. bakery ideas would be appreciated to.

[really wish i had tix for the katatonia/agalloch/moonspell show instead,but my betrothed is not to fond of metal]

Anyway, where are you staying? There's no shortage of great breakfast and dinner places in Portland. But search Valentine's, the Farm, Nicholas, maybe J&M for breakfast or Bijou. Stop at Voodoo Doughnuts. Pearl Bakery, perhaps also Grand Central. And, you know, Powell's.

breakfaast-wise, i like fat albert's.

we are staying at the doubletree on NE Multnomah. really wanted to stay at mcmenamins kennedy school hotel,but it was booked way in advance.

thanks for the info.

and for dessert: Pix Patisserie

If you're swinging by music shops, you might want to stop by Jackpot (2 locations - downtown and Hawthorne)

also, there's a zombiewalk in portland tomorrow.

SE Division is starting to blow up (finally!). Petit Provence does breakfast and is also a bakery. There is also the aforementioned Nuestra Cocina and Lauro for dinner (entrees run $12-$23).

Maybe some others can pipe in to disagree or agree but it seems like PDX'ers are crazy about going out to breakfast on the weekends. Expect a wait if you head out too late.

except all the new places overcharge, w/ the exception of The Nest.

at any rate, Say Hi To Your Mom is playing tonight at the Towne Lounge, so time to head to that.

Cup and Saucer is still hanging on.

Ethiopian places on Broadway are generally good (I tend to go to Blue Nile the most, because it's closest to me) and Costello's is my local coffee/sammich haunt.

PDX is still a huge breakfast town, and the restaurants still close too damn early.

I still need to try Pambiche.

I think Il Piatto is overpriced and bland (which is a shame since I live within spitting distance and I liked it ambience well enough) and Swagat has caused way too many GI issues in friends and smelled far too strongly of ammonia the last time I went.

Ken's Artisan Pizza is new and pretty great.

I have never been to Portland before but I have one important question - where can I find some of your ex-pat English "soccer" pubs where I can see the crucial, balanced-on-a-knife-edge, season-defining Man Utd-Chelsea game on Sunday 26th?

I am staying at the Mcmenamins Kennedy School thing, but I'm driving up so I imagine most places are within my reach.

I might do some other stuff too, who knows.

haaaaaaaaa! I just read this. We booked back in August.

yeah, the Horse Brass.

http://www.horsebrass.com/

Good stuff. HP Sauce. Etc.

Horse Brass is the English pub but do they show the games? I don't even remember them having a tv -- but they sure ought to. Costello's, the coffee shop near me, regularly shows soccer games. Either way call first.

But seriously, adam, look me up when you get here.

thanks for the suggestions upthread. we had a great time in your rain soaked city this weekend.the trees and parks all over town were amazing. will oldham was lots of fun,the mission theatre is a quaint place to see live performance.

**sorry to say,but i still find easy street [seattle] the best store for my cd needs in the nw. selection and $$ wise.

yes and yes. both excellent.

And hopefully it'll stay calm while I go vote...

if anybody's around tonight, head to the Lucky Lab in NW. I'll be there with friends and fellow volunteers.

fortunately, all my cardboard boxed stuff is up in my room.

Go to Movie Madness, one of the greatest video rental places in the country, which also serves as a sort of movie costume museum. It's right near the Horse Brass Englishy Pub. From there wander over to the Belmont district a few blocks over in the upper 30s, see what's playing at the Avalon (a 3rd-run theatre and nickel video arcade). Stop at Stumptown for some coffee, or just go to the tasting annex next door. Eventually head south about six blocks to Hawthorne, one of the first neighborhoods to be gentrified in the modern push, and wonder whether all the other neighborhoods going under gentrification will end up like this. Putter about Hawthorne if you like, checking out various stores that sell various goods. Or else keep heading south, poking about the great old Victorian houses, until you get to Clinton and 26th. See what's happening at the Clinton Street Theater, the country's oldest continually-run single-theater movie house (which plays a lot of local films, ironic hipster films [they're showing the Transformers movie again this week, in a double feature with the Gobots movie this time] or the films (especially crunchy lefty documentaries) that the main art house [Cinema 21] doesn't pick up. Pop into Q is for Choir or Green Noise for records if you like. Then head north two blocks back to Division and over a few to the early 30s and go to Pix Patisserie for some very rich chocolate desserts. Grab a free weekly and see what's playing that night. On your way out, head over a few blocks to the Oregon Theater, which shows adult movies and which I'm sure is a fine establishment. Masturbate furiously. The E Room is nearby -- one of those bars everyone talks about, and sure it's a lesbian bar, but you came all the way to Portland, you might as well give it a shot. If that doesn't work out for you, go up to Division and 42nd-ish and have a bite at the Kalga Cafe, which I haven't been to in years but it seemed pleasant enough at the time. Keep walking around, you're sure to find things to look at and enjoy.

Chris OTM.

Traditionally, when a Portlander received visitors from far away, the way to show them a good time always was to drive them out of town to Mt. Hood, Multnomah Falls or the Oregon coast. This has been modified in the past decade to include a routine more resembling what Chris recommended (although the traditional leaving-town agenda still has many fans).

Any recommendations for places for checking out furniture? Particularly an interesting looking, affordable chair of some sort?

do i move here, y/n

I like it so far.

good skag

y

it's either there or Chicago.

CHICAGO:
PRO -- friends, band, diversity
CON -- flat, not near mountains/wilderness, will probably just turn around and move again in a year

PORTLAND:
PRO -- pretty, near rec activities I like, good music scene?, where I want to go to med school
CON -- no friends, white, too many hipsters?

move here. weather/dive bars/sprawl/music scene is better than chicago

hung far low

better dive bars than Chicago??? I have trouble believing this.

I mean, the biggest hang up is that my best pals live in Chicago, and I could rejoin the band. Other than that, Portland seems like a dream.

But let's pretend for a second: where do I live there?? I go on craigslist and none of it makes sense to me. My friend from Vancouver, WA says her friends from high school are moving to the NE side? the NW side is industrial/hipsters, south-side is for rich people....???

...is Mt Hood the best bet for skiing, or is there stuff closer?

Stay east of the river, you'll be fine. Between the river and NE/SE 50-odd avenue.

NW is yuppies. SW is yuppie families.

Yuppie families, ewwww!

Is it houses or apts in that neighborhood?

Both.

Best to come out on a scouting trip and get a feel for the place. That's what i did, with the help of Casuistry.

Probably a good idea.

I suppose moving w/o looking would be, uh, dumb.

SE is a mix of houses and apartments. there are new buildings going up all through there. both of my portland friends live in southeast and neither are yuppies.

THIS MAN, MY FRIEND SHANTI, LIVES IN SOUTHEAST PORTLAND. LOOK HIM UP RIVER WOLF

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1361/872947682_8f7785c1d2.jpg

nice pith helmet!

any pdilxors going to Tim Sweeney at Holocene on Friday? I'll be there.

The Holocene is just so gross though.

Reed: Yay or Nay?

holocene's nice not gross u crazy

ultranegative on Reed. i have yet to meet a decent human being from Reed.

I've known a couple Reed dropouts that were pretty okay.

one of my favorite ilxors went to reed

I think the guys in Dagger of the Mind are Reed kids. They're fun.

move here. weather/dive bars/sprawl/music scene is better than chicago

-- kingfish, Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:58 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Link

wtf, for some reason I always thought kingfish was Britishes and just had an unhealthy obsession with US politics.

Holocene is basically the hellmouth. Being at the Holocene is like having the veil of maya removed and staring at the bleak abyss of nothingness that is the true reality.

Chicago clearly has better dive bars than Portland. Let's not be ridiculous here.

Oh man, Reed. PROBLEMATIC. Reedies are fine individually but get really upsetting in groups. Nice campus though, and they seem to be pretty smart people. But the Reedie culture is just not my scene. Nice campus, though.

Also Mt Hood is ridiculously close. Like 40 miles away? I don't ski though, but I believe that is where people go.

East side is a must, although if you're going to go to OHSU, then there are a few little bits of west side worth considering. SE is not as bad as your friends say, especially further out. Foster in the 60s/70s is up and coming, they keep telling me, and I know a bunch of people out there now, so it might be true.

And rw, I am out of town for the summer but sometime after midSeptember you'd be welcome to crash on my futon for a day or two. I suspect that is too late for your needs, though.

wtf, for some reason I always thought kingfish was Britishes and just had an unhealthy obsession with US politics.

haha, this is a new one. Massively anglophilic(like most amerikaners on here), but I've only lived in three cities my entire life: Flint, Ann Arbor, and Portland. Also, you should have been paying better attention when I talked about meeting John Edwards, etc.

I also have available couchspace, if need be.

thanks dudes. if i visit, it'll have to be late august, for a sept 1 lease or something.

i'm really fencesitting here, though.

Like we said, come & visit. I was here for about two days(after spending 4 years of visiting different cities) before deciding to come out here from michigan.

You can always move to Chicago now and move to PDX later, or vice versa.

well if i get into school at OHSU i'll be living in PDX no matter what!

Yeah, try a coupla of those chicago winters & summers and see whatcha think.

xp

Done one of each already.

I flew out here on a Thursday last September, left Friday morning for a week in California, drove back to Oregon on the second Saturday and got a ride to the airport at 5am Sunday morning. I may have been in the state of Oregon a total of 36 hours before I moved here, and half of that was sleeping or on I-5 or both. I moved here in January.

I'm semi-transient though and could move anywhere like, tomorrow. I know it takes a commitment when you're packing up a huge load of stuff.

I think Chicago is hotter and colder than Portland, and Portland gets about 6 inches more precipitation.

It's a temperate rain forest, and is marked by temperance. Except there is also drinking.

A lot.

Eek!

I need someone to make decisions for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMzeiMJQrvk

Remember the day of the snow apocalypse back in January? When people didn't realize that their 4WD cars couldn't handle icey hills and a complete lack of training of driving in adverse weather? Guess what happened when an enterprising sort decided to capture the hijinx...

As an old person who was born in Portland (I grew up near Hosford school) I find it interesting to see what young immigrants (aka "infillers") think of the place. I would never think of leaving this area. My roots are down deep into the mediocre detritus of this place.

Sorry, but I can't comment on the bar/nightlife scene, for obv reasons. Just mainly lurking here. Carry on.

Portlanders, please comment on this Slate article: Why Portland is America's indie rock Mecca.

Oh, maybe I should've revived this, but it's on ILM: PORTLAND becomes city for indie musicians!!

OK. I read it. It had almost nothing to say and said it at some length. He spends the entire article dropping names of musicians who live in Portland, most of whom moved here. He describes their cars, their clothes and their shopping habits. He notes that many of them don't play many gigs here. He keeps asking, rhetorically, what all this could mean?

Then, in the final paragraph he gets around to saying that, maybe, just possibly, they came here to live because it's a nice place to live in. Zounds! Not exactly the stuff of pure, crystalline insight, if you ask me.

"And, crucially, indie groups always have good experiences here, because the city produces very enthusiastic rock crowds."

I don't think this dude has ever been to an indie rock show in Portland.

Feature in Sunday NY Times real-estate section on PDX sez that studios and 1-BRs there are less than 2/3 the rental of same in mid-Brooklyn. Look for new influx of Gothamites in 6-18 months.

I would move there, totally.

people who moved to brooklyn attempting to become scenesters and then ran out of money count as "Gothamites?"

I still think about moving there sometimes. I'm sure by the time I actually could it will be too late.

i would go to powells once a week.

haha yes it seems likely that portland will be eradicated within the next five years xpost

Tom, there are nabes in Bklyn not served by the L train (like my US-flag-flying one where I'm living under a fucking Romper Room)

Too late as in "no longer affordable"

what's a gothamite?

oh man i remember Romper Room. it had that lady that made the little kids look into the mirror, and the mirror looked into their souls. . .???

xp

Batman, Bloomberg, Chloe Sevigny

a catamite but for goths

http://gothamist.com/

there is no direct flight from here to there

let's all move to portland. as kingfish demonstrates it's a great place if you're into incoherent cosplay for the major holidays

i'm in. except no cosplay thx

strongo used to live there.

jeremy kingfish von incoherent cosplay

what's a gothamite?

http://uncoolkids.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/88231827_59eec45d6b_o.jpg

i've only been incoherent once.

hahahaha

btw I'm just saying because yr halloween outing looked more fun than anybody else's

i used to live there. yall aren't missing that much

Where do you live now? Do you like it?

Seattle?

i hear there arent very many jobs there. anyone know if that is true?

i don't like it in seattle either

(i'm having a weird day. disregard me)

Portland seems like somewhere I would move if I was some kind of freelancer or worked from home. It's the dream, I suppose.

yup^^^^

Do they have a cinematheque or contemporary art museum?

horking from wome

Are they screening Blade Runner: The Final Cut there?

WE HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT PORTLAND OK.

http://www.google.com/movies?hl=en&near=portland&dq=blade+runner+portland&sort=1&mid=a95e86d6df3058e3&sa=X&oi=showtimes&ct=movie-link&cd=1

hooray portland!

they have the NW Film Center, and some art houses:

http://www.nwfilm.org/

The art museum ain't much.

yeah lotsa theaters cinema 21, clinton st and then all the fabled $3 theaters that serve beer and show 2nd run hits and the more popular arthouse fare. american eden come here now

There are jobs here. Post yer resume on craigslist and you will get decent responses(how i've found at least 3 jobs here).

I really enjoy it here. I'm very happy I got the fuck out of michigan and made it out here.

We still need to see Blade Runner. I'm trying to drag people along with me tonight or tomorrow.

I like the gays there and in Seattle, I wonder if they wd like me

Also, this isn't exactly a non-drinking town. Beer & wine is everywhere, and this is good.

I just really like the weather, which means I should probably move back to London.

Also food, beer, coffee, thrift stores.

xp!

yeah the bars in Portland are awesome! and plentiful

The $3 beer theaters should be a national treasure. That's how we got to see They Live last month.

At least one of them is reportedly haunted.

I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT PORTLAND, OREGON

MAYBE

HOW ARE THE SPORTS TEAMS

lol

CAN YA GET BRISKET

brisket = yes and many places

sports teams:

blazers = HAHAHAHA
PSU vikings = enh, most folks root for OU/OSU/Seahawks
Winterhawks = chicago farm team, have yet to go a game
Lumberjax = pro lacrosse
Timbers = pro soccer, occasionally plays against english clubs

you forgot the Beavers

(I have t-shirt and went to Dogs in the Park day)

if we move to portland, we'll just start our own sports franchise/brisket shack.

love the location of the baseball stadium but dunno about the inside. it's PCL, right?

yep. It's grungy but acceptable.

I like it and haven't even met any other artists yet/still/really.

does the portland sky feature visible stars at night? cause that would take some getting used to

Yes.

The baseball stadium is affable.

I am hopefully leaving for grad school next year. It is not as awesome here as it used to be, perhaps, but it is still better than many places.

The art museum does indeed suck.

what about the nat hist mus?

is it still the heroin capital of America?

what about this -> http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/joomlaeotic/?

staying downtown vs staying in nw

why is portland not as nice as it used to be? what happened? global warming? or republicans?

a little more expensive, a little more 'place of the moment'? (i lived there 97-00 and would like to pretend i still know the city well but only get down there 3-4 times a year. maybe kingfish and causistry should tell me to shut up if i'm way off the mark)

staying downtown beats staying in NW. screw both of them, actually, and stay on the eastside.

i've only been here for 3 years, so i'm too recent to notice any change in quality, but Alberta St by where I live is rapidly gentrifying(corrugated tin exteriors EVERYWHERE).

We've been having a nice fall, for the most part. Nice & sunny a lot more than i expected.

Another fun thing about portland, which i probably have mentioned a few times: pinball is still viable here.

corrugated tin exteriors

such a portland affectation. i totally notice it whenever i come down. how the hell are those going to look in 10 years?

(Seattle's is still worse though i think: 2 floors of brick and then cheap wooden slatting. it looks ok at street level but up? yeech)

whoa you guys have like a beer festival every two months. whoa awesome.

I am also moving away from Portland in the next few months. It's kind of a dumb place unless you are like 22 and into your friend's "art" as a way of life, or unless you are 35 and settled and into your dogs as a way of life.

Portland's love of dogs is one of the great things about here.

Yeah, absolutely. But I don't have one.

Neither do I, so I have to enjoy others'.

Both Seattle and Portland have awesome dogs and cats. Portland is more of a DAWG city though, whereas Seattle is more for the nano-dogs on the fluorescent leash.

The streets are lined with cats, at least on the east side.

Lined, not paved.

Jergins correct about decline.

I'm guessing that Portland will be a bigger economy and more expensive city than Seattle by 2010.

which is both good and bad for Portland. Despite the shitty election results here, Seattle has a momentum, but Portland has a warp speed momentum right now.

Well it has catching up to do.

The election results here were terrific, but it was just for measures.

no way rents can rise that fast in 3 years

Enh, I voted for measure 50, just for a way to get funding thanks to our trashed revenue system.

I'm somewhat fine with preventative smoking taxes, but this was not that. This was a regressive tax, with an unfair burden placed on poor people, who are seriously exactly the people who should not be responsible for paying for this.

Nevertheless there is a certain pragmatism behind the measure which I can't entirely reject. It would not have been the end of the world if it had passed, and I was on the fence about it for a while.

Wonder how many legislators really do use the "well, it's not the end of the world..." metric? Seems like a lot.

I am so fucking relieved measure 49 passed, my faith in my state has been renewed. Good job, Portland voting bloc!

Wasn't so much in favor of 50 cause it gave all the goodies to private insurance companies exclusively, according to my nurse friends who were against it. I am all for a smoking tax though.

Also, Dear New York Times: Shut up about us already.

Amen.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i still haven't finished my application for OHSU what the fuck was i thinking

Casuistry OTM.

Also, Dear New York Times: Shut up about us already.

But but but they say all these nice things about your restaurants and how everyone should go there and...oh.

Ned OTM.

People! Arrghhhh! New people everywhere! Arrghhhh! {weeps quietly and rips his remaining hair out in double handfuls}

time to figure out which city will be the New Portland

Cleveland. Oh, please God, let it be Cleveland. Make it soon.

only if Kucinich leaves Congress and runs for mayor again

Cleveland

pats in the flats, now that's class.

I really, really, REALLY like Portland a lot. I spent a couple days there last month, will spend a couple there again after Thanksgiving. I kind of hope that my wife's job will get us transferred there in a couple of years. But I'm pretty sure it will be too late for buying a house post-NY-times influx.

Pittsburgh as the new Portland, maybe? I've never been there but it's been kind of fascinating to me lately.

Portland, ME is the new Portland

A couple of years just might be a great time to buy although I'm thinking the best time might be next year. It's hard right now, because mortgage requirements are tightening up and sellers are still hanging on the notion that they can ask inflated prices. That balloon is starting to deflate: I was looking at housing comps in my area and all of the houses (South Tabor for the natives) sold for $5k -$10k less than the asking price. But don't get too hopeful: Factors such as the region's Urban Growth Boundary (especially in light of the passage of M49) and the fact that really Portland as a whole is still cheap in comparison to Seattle or San Francisco will only slow the price drops that other regions are seeing right now. Portland as a region in terms of real estate values is essentially a lagging indicator as to the health of real estate across the nation.

Having said that, there are still underpriced neighborhoods in town. It's just harder to find them.

xpost haha. Due to the nature of my job, I just may find myself in Portland, ME someday!

i moved from portland oregon to portland maine once

try explaining that to acquaintances

there's one important factor in all this portland talk that we've all left out: GLASS CANDY

Because Dandy Warhols will always be hated more in PDX than Glass Candy.

And don't get me started on Pink Martini.

PM dude's boyfriend is a nice and talented guy. The WWeek wrote a profile about him that was basically "PM dude sure knows how to pick 'em!" Which seemed, you know, massively insulting, that at the end of the day he was still PM dude's boyfriend.

...still *just* PM dude's boyfriend.

Well you're not helping, you haven't said what he's talented at!

I am moving to Portland , Maine

Nor have I mentioned his name. I am actually blanking on PM dude's name, but his boyfriend is Ph!l!p I0sca, who does textile design and artsy things like that. He did the textiles for the newly remodeled hotel on Stark (is that the Ace?).

And Aimless has been in the same room as him!

one freezing day in portland i cried on the bank of the brown willamette river, then i ate a muffin and fixed up my mascara and got on with it.

And then J0hn D. wrote a song about it.

Not just dogs, but pugs pervade in portland. This makes me happy.

Also, Dear New York Times: Shut up about us already.

hahaha, on Monday (right after real estate feature) the lead national page had a "Portland bike culture" story.

One of Pink Martini was the subject on a bareass-on-a-bridge photo in Butt.

Another fun thing about portland, which i probably have mentioned a few times: pinball is still viable here.

<3 <3

DETAILS. Also: I may move there next week, strictly on the basis of this fact. I know that there's a cool retro arcade?

http://www.groundkontrol.com/

Yes, I saw (or was forwarded by my expat ex in Brooklyn) the bike article. Also there was a recent article about one of our renegade restauranteurs.

Your search - "pugs pervade" - did not match any documents.

Suggestions:
Make sure all words are spelled correctly.
Try different keywords.
Try more general keywords.

This clinches your reputation as a phrasemaker par excellence. Or else someone with many words on small scraps of paper stuffed into their head, which fall out into random patterns.

you're right, i ought to get that domain registered.

what would you do on a free winter weekend day based downtown without car?

Powell's.

Finnegan's/Portland Central Library/the Virginia Cafe/Ground Kontrol/Reading Frenzy

Scope the PSU chicks.

so there isn't much to do, then?

Head to the chinese buffet on SW 2nd(i think), right by the huge outdoor clothing store and the used bookshop(both marked by large neon signs)

ha! No, there's not much to do!

sorry, never mind.

I mean, Powell's. Duh. It's our only tourist attraction.

Alternatively, ask your favorite PDXILXor for coffee and chat.

or your favorite Local Indie Rock Legend

gabb, what do you expect to do in any city? I mean, you could try to jet-ski in the Willamette if you want.

something that's particular to the city and/or shows it at its best (under the circumstances)? it's a moot question, though - i won't be showing up in winter as I thought.

Yeah, so, Powell's and coffee. Maybe catch a living room show. But if you're not coming, you're not coming.

My friend just got back from Portland. He said there is great strip clubs and its very clean.

Oh yeah we have those too. I never think of them. But the people who like strip clubs say we have good ones in plentiful supply.

rip dino's, the skeeziest strip club in town

Santacon is coming up, dec 8th.

do you have any escort services?

wot, in portland? are you kidding?

I will personally escort just about anyone anywhere in this town.

i used to live in portland, with escorts. they are a special type of lady

Dino's finally closed? Where will the one-armed pole dancer go?!

oh god...yeah...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMzeiMJQrvk

This is still in my Top 10 YouTube's of all time. I love the SOUNDS in this!

Gabb, if the weather is just right, here's something you can definitely do that's very characteristic of the city in these conditions. (Well, the Pac NW too.) Just make sure you get both types of insurance for your rental.

I Dj at that retro-arcade.

which night?

chances that i'm into med school are getting slimmer by the day, and chicago is getting me down (winter in/near mountains = yay!, winter in the midwest = fucking awful), and i want to live in the pac nw, even if it is just a bunch of stupid white people.

how do i get a job? is it feasible to get a 1 BR that's affordable? is it really like 2:1 dudes:ladies?

(ps i know i have asked these questions on this thread before)

Ask away about the NW, but i might be too stupid and white to answer.

http://www.milkgallon.com/gm6/DSCF1393.JPG

joeks, bruv

I know, I just wanted a setup for the pic above.

You get a job by knowing people who work for places that are hiring (or places related to those places). Basically.

One br = maybe $700/mo or so. That's about what I'm paying.

gimme a job

that's is the crudest request to get blown I have ever heard

Want to be a bike messenger?

done that

....is the pay better in pdx?

better than what?

^cantankerous

it's been that kind of week

it's monday!

I don't know any bike messengers!

i know some and i don't even live there!

gbx, just come out here. you'll find a job. it's one of the easiest cities to move to.

better than chicago! i was making like sub $300 a week when i worked as a messenger.

i am making plans.....just you wait. lease is up here in august, tho :(

wait jergins i thought you DID live in portland?

I will ask, gbx - I don't live in pdx either, but I know some bike messengers there. Also, some other people.

no, seattle. but i used to live there (and wait in fear on the pdx thread that i'll say something that's no longer true, the dumb knowitall that left portland years ago). i get there once every month or two though.

it's weird in a oh-shit-time-flies way that i remember the last time you were thinking about moving here. that was about a year ago, yeah?

xpostiness

i share a house with two housemates. I like it.

If you were moving here right now I would know someone who had a decent room for you.

My bike messenger source says expect a starting hourly rate of $9, and the bigger guys will guarantee a 40 hour week. She also says summer is not the time to try for it, because everybody wants to bike in the summer.

The best place in Portland, bar none, is Artichoke Community Music on Hawthorne. My personal home away from home, man.

has anyone been to the Ace Hotel Portland and have any opinions? Was gonna stay there or Jupiter.... my friend has a mural in one of the Ace rooms so thought it would be funny to stay there, but its more $$$$

the jupiter is just fine, but i'd actually recommend any of the motels on e.burnside or by the convention center for better value.

Today is fookin' hot. I'm in beulahland right now, listening to some one blasting Dino Jr on the p.a. and studying for my latin class. Thunderstorms are on their way in. ah, what a day.

hi, PDX! yr BEAUTIFUL!! <3<3<3<3

i understand jupiter reserves a few rooms for people who party too hard in the nabe or something. i plan to maybe stay at the Ace if and when I ever get to Portland (i'll actually stay around NW 21st of course).

Artichoke Music was, for a long time, owned by Steve Einhorn and Kate Power, two people I might be able to claim as actual friends, although this would place me in roughly the same objective category as about 5,000 other poeple who know them, admire them and put some sort of claim on them by prior connection. They sold the shop not too very long ago.

BTW, Kate has one of the finest natural singing voices I have ever heard, a contralto, if my ear is working the way it should.

Phil, I think you'd like the Ace. It's right near the gay bars and Powell's, and a friend of mine did the curtain treatments. The Jupiter is hipster in a different direction -- the Ace is more gay/artsy, the Jupiter is more partied-out hipster. You could play either way, no doubt!

I am pretty happy that Artichoke Music is still around.

I am pretty stressy and sad to be leaving Portland after 8.5 years here, but other adventures await!

has it been that long!

chris otm about the disparity between ace/jupiter. Jupiter is probably "easier" (unless there's all-nite coke parties going on in the room across the way from yours) and the Ace is probably more "interesting".

gabb if you're ever around the NW section of town holla at me. I know all the tolerable sections of my neighborhood.

Hello Portland.

I am moving to you in a few months.

Where in you should I live?

We'll need 2 bedrooms with at least some space for a dog. Being able to walk to a grocery store that sells delicious foofy veg shit and also liquor is v. important to me. We are not rich, though I am used to Chicago rent and paying like 60% of my paltry income.

Yr pal,

Nick

(Seriously, I'm having huge problems figuring this out on my own, mostly because I keep getting confused about the scale of the place, coming from big sprawly cities.)

we'll practically be neighbours!!

Nick, in Oregon liquor is only sold at state-licensed liquor stores, although you may buy beer or wine at grocery stores. Liquor stores close at 7pm. This will probably take some getting used to.

welcome the PacNW, en i see kay :-D

Nick --

Look at the area around SE 39th and Holgate. Trader Joe's and Limbo (produce store) are just a couple of blocks away and the nearest liquor store is at 52nd and Powell, which really is not that far. Also, 2 parks in the area. Good luck!

Phil, I think you'd like the Ace. It's right near the gay bars and Powell's

Oh, but I'm scared of gay bars and I don't like books that much, but still I think you've convinced me to stay at the Ace. I don't think I can handle a partied-out-hipster motel. I'm getting OLD!!!! The Ace looks super nice - the website is really well done, while the Jupiter's has some god awful generic lounge music playing on theirs. I'll prolly be there not during the weekdays so prolly not so much partying. gotta go take photos and meet ad agency people ugh.

Also, you're leaving Portland?? Where to?

(unless there's all-nite coke parties going on in the room across the way from yours)
these things happen in portland?? i always had this stereotype of portland kids drinking free-trade coffee and microwbrews and discussing their bikes and tempeh.

Rubes, I know! And my friends and I definitely have a bit of a crush on the Bay Area, so don't be surprised if I'm around every once in a while.

I didn't know Oregon did the state-licensed thing. I did mean beer and wine, though, so it's fine. My scotch-drinking friend will probably have a bit of an issue, though.

My only problem with that area is that it's right next to Reed, which may depress my admission-declined ass. Pretty, though. I'll probably get over it.

Thanks!

Yes we have coke. It's the same people, really, but the coked out ones tend to be less interesting, maybe. Depending on what you find interesting.

I'm off to Toronto for grad school.

It is not too hard to find liquor stores, though it would be nicer if it was Cali-style and hard alcohol was in supermarkets.

Also, for scale issues: 20 standard grid blocks = 1 mile, basically. And it is generally very walkable.

these things happen in portland?? i always had this stereotype of portland kids drinking free-trade coffee and microwbrews and discussing their bikes and tempeh.

lol,

"Don't do that line, Kyle! You know that cocaine isn't an ultimately sustainable lifestyle -- for you, and for the environment. And cocaine only supports organizations that ultimately fatten up the lifestyles of fascism in the Western World as well as more unfortunate worlds."

"Sigh. Thanks, Brody. I'll just keep sticking with speed."

"Kyle, I'm proud of you. You are now a new man."

en i see kay -

I manage an apartment complex with my wife in Reed neighborhood you're talking about. Our 2 bedrooms are currently renting for around $800 a month. Unfortunately, we don't accept dogs. However, I think you should be able to find some houses for rent in the area fairly easily - I assume for around $1200.

It's a great neighborhood. Tons of stuff within walking distance. Woodstock (main road that leads to Reed) has plenty of wine shops, some bars, liquor store, restaurants, Safeway, Bi-Mart, etc.

Yeah, Woodstock is nice.

Where is the liquor store in that area, darin?

In between Radio Shack and Laughing Planet.

what the hell is laughing planet??

Hippie burrito joint. I had a burrito once at their Belmont location. Not too bad.

Apparently, being a cyclist is a near-requirement if you want a job there (this I learned from the website).

This kind of shit makes me simultaneously giddy and preemptively annoyed about living in Portland.

It's not, but you'll get a lot of peer pressure to bike. I tried it for a while, it wasn't me. I reclaimed my status as a walker.

I'll probably bike a lot, but I do find the folks who think that biking is a moral imperative quite annoying. I mean, not driving, yes, but if I walk a lot and take the bus, I'm fine, lemme be.

At the same time, I adore any environment where those assholes can thrive.

people will make love to you if you bring your own tote bags to co-ops

(that's the case up here, anyway)

Some neck beard at Laughing Planet charged me four bucks for a ramekin of brown rice and I've never been back since.

simultaneously giddy and preemptively annoyed < new town motto

hey portland / seattle people

I am taking my favorite drive in the world again this weekend from SF up 101 to portland -- I'm looking for the beautiful scenic route to cross over from 101 to 5, any time after the first 100 miles after crossing the Oregon border, it can take forever in fact it's better if it does as long as it's nice instead of developed -- would love to hear any recommendations

I've seen enough Gus Van Sant movies to know that I definitely want to live in Portland.

Gosh that drive is such a joy, Milton. I did it a couple years back (all the way from Dallas!) but crossed over around Florence as I wanted to see some friends in Eugene. It was pleasant enough but probably not exactly what you want.

as far as coke parties go, where there's an art school, there's a way.

scenic route to cross over from 101 to 5

A few years back, I headed east at Bandon and ended up on the 5 at Roseburg. It's long, because you go northeast, then southeast, then northeast again, but I remember it as pretty, with temperate rainforest bits.

Milton,

I think you could take Hwy 34 in Newport over to I-5. There are a couple of other ones that are nicer. Somewhere around, I think, Hebo there is a road that will take you through the Willamette Valley into Salem. It is a lovely and fun (read: twisty) drive.

If you want to get the full meal deal on the coast, you can drive up to Astoria and take 30 into Portland. But, it will take forever, especially on a holiday weekend.

florence drive isn't bad, starts off nice. last time I went, I made the mistake of crossing over on the 18 during rush hour, malls & gridlock all the way up

the Bandon looks great. curious about the 34 at Waldport. we'll see.

xpost bingo, thanks. I've done the full coast thrice before, this holiday weekend I think will have to be more about the back roads...

can someone recommend kinda like a cool fashion boutique in portland?

somewhere that fashion victims and label whores might go shopping

Not that this matters, but I was reminded by rereading the first few posts on this thread that I finally met Meltzer a few months ago. I always thought it was a little weird that I hadn't met him, and then I met him. The end.

As you know, I have no idea where the fashion boutique is. There's an underwear-only store (men's only, I think?) not too far from the Ace, but you'd have to google that bitch up.

oh, also congratulations on grad school! when you leaving? i'll prolly be in portland sometime between aug 16-23 for 2 or 3 days

I am leaving on Thursday.

any opinions on Le Pigeon or Clyde Commons?

Nope. Where they at?

Le Pigeon is where Colleen's used to be, on E Burnside. It is spendy, by Portland standards. Also it is generally meat-y (Frenchy name!) so I have only had brunch there and am not the best person to ask.

Dunno Clyde Commons.

oh, i looked at the menu and it didnt seemed pretty reasonable, but i think prolly im used to jacked-up prices from restaurants paying manhattan rents. the men looks TASTY! the clyde commons is the restaurant at the Ace? I think I'm getting a room there.. psyched about finally finally going to portland

er, the menU looks tasty....

hm actually i googled it and the le pigeon chef does also look tasty

Yeah that's what you meant.

No, Portland restaurants are so affordable it is scandalous. I mean I am sort of realizing that I completely underestimated how expensive food would be here, compared to what I had gotten used to.

yeah i think im going to enjoy eating there.

so whatre the gay bars like...

I never went to one.

never????

No, never. Well I went to Hobo's once or twice, but that hardly counts. But I get really depressed in gay bars and have learned to avoid them for my sanity.

oh, well i know what you mean there. i never go to gay bars at home, but hey, im on holiday!

Well apparently they've all moved! Vaseline alley is significantly less lubricated. Anyway no one ever said that any club was particularly great, they just went to the bars they went to and made fun of them the next morning.

There's some law in Oregon that bars are required to offer at least five things to eat, and we just to joke about what Silverado's (which is sort of the default gay bar I guess) must offer. Cocktail wienies, vegan rocky mountain oysters, and little packets of crème fraîche, maybe?

We tried La Pigeon a few months ago and thought it was quite good. Enough with the cafeteria-style seating though. I want my own table, damn it!

There's some law in Oregon that bars are required to offer at least five things to eat

Bar i used to DJ at got around this by offering five tv dinners priced at like $30 each.

the bistro menu at Higgins looks like a great deal

Yeah the one time I was there it was pretty tasty. But I wasn't paying for it.

oh hell yeah:

On Saturday July 26th only at 7:45 at the Hollywood Theatre, The Grindhouse Film Festival presents an incredibly rare 35mm screening of SHAOLIN VS. WU TANG!

SHAOLIN VS. WU TANG (1981) It’s Shaolin shadow boxing vs. Wu Tang sword style in this kung fu classic! An evil lord murders a Wu Tang master in an attempt to turn the Shaolin and Wu Tang against each other. The two schools each begin training to prepare for a showdown while the villainous lord attempts to combine the two styles to become the supreme kung fu master. This is old school kung fu at its best, filled with excellent fight scenes, strange training sequences, martial arts weaponry, and an opening credit sequence that alone is worth the price of admission. Starring and directed by Shaw Brothers superstar Gordon Liu (36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN) with fight choreography by the great Lau Kar Leung.

I recently discovered this 35mm print buried in an old film vault, long forgotten. The print is in perfect condition and had never been run through a projector. Until now, this movie has only survived on poor quality butchered bootleg video. Don’t miss this!

PLUS: 35mm Kung Fu trailers! We’ll also be giving away a vinyl copy of the Wu Tang Clan’s initial album “Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)” which heavily samples this movie, courtesy of Jackpot Records. For more information and advance tickets: www.grindhousefilmfest.com The Grindhouse Film Festival is an independent production, not associated with the Hollywood Theatre.

dear God do I think i should attend this

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/events?utm_source=events&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_events&utm_content=08-04%20Adrienne%20Barbeau#2304

Adrienne Barbeau

Film, television, and Broadway star Adrienne Barbeau and New York Times-bestselling author Michael Scott team up for Vampyres of Hollywood (Thomas Dunne Books), a sexy, scary, and deliciously clever novel full of Hollywood glamour, behind-the-scenes secrets, and the truly bloodthirsty reality of Tinseltown. "Compulsively readable," cheers Publishers Weekly. "Briskly paced and full of fang-in-cheek humor, this novel is one of the more entertaining recent works of supernatural noir."

so i don't really post. ever. i read often, though.

i'm seriously considering a move to portland in the next 2-3 months and am wondering which areas of portland are the best for living/commuting. any insight?

Flugtag is saturday, and the adult soap box derby is on the 17th.

http://www.soapboxracer.com/

Living: eastside, closer-in. But there's plenty of great neighborhoods. Where do you plan to commute?

honestly, i don't even have a clue. i haven't even visited portland yet! i tend to make rash decisions all too often. i guess i just meant someplace that isn't totally inconvenient relative to everything else. i'm searching craigslist now for apartments/roommates and ain't real sure about which listings are worth checking out.

it's worth it, at least.

the west side gets too much hate :(

for good reason. Fuck those punters at the Bitter End.

lol i work at the bar next door to that place

Do you know Adam from Neckties Make Me Nervous? Shorter skinny guy, about my age, has glasses and facial hair, used to be married to a stripper.

Don't think so, no. It's possible. I forget more people than I remember meeting these days.

oh anyways as to the question for the revive, kingfish is right. people tend to like the eastside better and it's cheaper and you'll definitely want to live pretty close in. and if you want to make a rash decision about moving somewhere this is a pretty good place to come. everybody seems to love it here, at least for a few years. it can be hard to get a job unless you know someone is the only real caveat.

Depends on your line of work, actually. And if you post your resume on CL, like I tell everybody to and few listen, to their regret.

yeah that's true. I seem to only know a bunch of lib arts twenty-somethings and early-thirties types who only have experience in the service industry.

A great, formerly local tea shop recently up and moved to Portland. Missed, but I thought I'd give it a little plug here:

http://www.janamtea.com/

Sorry, I mean *is moving* to Portland. Just realized the site says they still don't have a new storefront. Anyway, their tea is great and you should order it in the meantime.

Adult soap box derby is next weekend:

Saturday August 16, 2008 from 10:00am - 4:00pm
Mt. Tabor Park
SE 60 & Salmon
Portland, Oregon 97215

http://slog.thestranger.com/files/2007/09/soapbox01.jpg

Clouds right now is a good vibe. Did anyone go to Astoria today for that fest?

ugh, i'm somehow djing two different clubs in old town tonight. feel the burnout!

anything fun aug 17-21? an acquaintance of mine has some weekly party on saturday the 16th but thats no good to me :( :( im staying at the Ace

Whoa I live here now.

Where should I get my hair cut?

All of it? Or just what's on your head?

We'll see how it goes.

Just remember all haircuts are Full Serve by Oregon law.

You should find a girlfriend who cuts hair.

Link plz

Bishop's is a decent local chain. Fairly reasonable, but long waits sometimes.

You should find a girlfriend who cuts hair.

Or boyfriend. Remember, you're in Portland now!

Well, I lived in Boys' Town in Chicago before this, so my boyfriend who cuts hair finding days have likely passed.

Ended up going to Rudy's on Division, liked it a lot. Realized way too late I could have been flirting with the woman cutting my hair.

No, see, in Boys' Town you would have ended up with a GAY boyfriend.

hi portland see you tomorrow :)

attn pearl liquor store that has rums i've never seen: see you friday

ew escape the pearl

THE LIQUORE STORE THERE HAS RUMS I HAVE NEVER SEEN IN ANY WASHINGTON STATE LIQUOR STORE

we has many liquor stores, each with more exciting boozes than the last, all in increasingly amusing sizes

this is how i got a huge ass bottle of monopolowa

i drove by that store on the way to the blazer game yesterday and i was like "oh man that looks like a place I should probably next set foot in if i intend on paying rent ever again"

where next = never

I'm going to be in Portland next weekend and was wondering if anyone knows of good art supply / crafts / industrial supply type place where a person would be able to buy sheets of plastic. I'm looking for good sized thin sheets of flexible opaque plastic that could be cut and fashioned into lamp shades and such.

Is there some giant all-encompassing arty type store somewhere that might have things like this?

Remember to register to vote by 5pm in TWO DAYS. This Tuesday.

If you've moved at all(even across the street), you have to re-register.

Joygoat, look for a place called SCRAP. They'll be able to help you further.

How did I get so drunk at the Crystal Ballroom tonight? Despicable.

Santacon is in two saturdays.

Spent tonight at the lhurst watching top gun with plenty of other drunks yelling advice to the characters onscreen.

Now have to wait 3 hours before driving my roommate and his gfriend to the max train for their flight. Hopefully i sober up in time.

Also, the Hanson Brothers are touring again, will be in town next week. Should be rockin'

Hmm.

As a Portlander, I welcome any comic thrashing (this town needs it), but I have a bad feeling about this. Plus, those IFC comedies are terrible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE_9CzLCbkY

And a 720p version of that vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVmq9dq6Nsg

I wonder how much more online stalker action the "hot girls" got after this hit.

Echoing what Darin said above.

Plus, looking at them walking along the Eastbank Esplanade and Waterfront Park reminds me I need to start running again after the new year.

I know way too many people in that video. It's unnerving.

i didnt know carrie brownstein acted or did comedy

Clay, who do you see? I think I recognize a coupla the tall-bikers from when they lived on Alberta, but that's it...

a bunch of the ppl in the video i've seen at film shoots and some theater stuff that i've participated in over the years, so i imagine all these folks come from a local Portland casting agent. i personally know a few of the ppl but don't want to get too specific because mostly i really don't like them at all lol.

What?! Not liking media-saavy Portlanders? Whodathunkit

I hope this is good, but the clips I've seen were all like LOL LESBIANS IN COFFEE SHOPS LOL which makes me wonder exactly who the audience for this show is.

Although omg that line in the music video "Portland: a place where twenty year olds retire" cracked me up.

leaving early tomorrow morning for pdx. hi again, pnw

I want to move to Portland, sight unseen. Or Seattle, seen for a week several years ago.

Is one more affordable than the other? What are the pros and cons of each city?

I was born in Portland and have lived here almost every year of my life and yet I feel strangely ill-equipped to answer this question in a way that you would find relevant. The best I can say for Portland is that it doesn't consider itself a big city or act like one, which is not true of Seattle. Seattle has always been a striving, ambitious city.

Both cities have plenty of places to go and things you can do, and if you wish you can lead a quiet, happy and unassuming life in either place. Hearsay tells me that job hunting is not easy here. I don't know about the Seattle job situation at all.

i think portland is much more affordable, right? at least based on our glances at its real estate market.

both cities are about the same size, population wise. actually seattle, portland, and vancouver are all about the same size. but bc of their different histories, seattle really does have this alpha city by the sea feel, whereas portland does feel more like a pleasant city by the river. which is i guess what they are! vancouver feels like this even more massive metropolis, even though i'm pretty sure seattle has more people in the metro area.

One advantage we'd have is that neither my or my wife's income is currently dependent on any local economy.

If you income is not tied to locality, then the affordability of housing ought to be better in Portland.

portland is so dope

Seattle is getting very expensive to live in if you don't work at Amazon or Microsoft. I work in social services, live in a 1-bedroom in Fremont, but I should probably go back to living with roommates if I want to ever save any money. The general consensus among many of my friends is that Seattle is quickly turning into another San Francisco and eventually we'll all be driven out to Olympia or Bellingham. Of course that doesn't solve the problem of Washington having an insanely regressive tax system.

On the other hand the local socialist/progressive movement did manage to make $15/hr a real thing. And I'm regularly stunned to be living in such a beautiful place.

Portland is much more affordable for housing than Seattle. It's also got a better public transportation infrastructure. No sales tax in Oregan. No income tax in Washington. Because of the Columbia river gorge (which is beautiful and, predictably, gorgeous), Portland is 10 degrees colder than Seattle in winter and 10 degrees warmer in summer.

both cities are about the same size, population wise. actually seattle, portland, and vancouver are all about the same size.

well the Seattle metro area is about a million people larger than Portland. But pdx and vancouver are both around that 2.3m level.

Rents in Portland have nearly doubled in the last five years due to increasing imports of under-30's. So while housing prices have returned to the sort of pre-bubble numbers, I'm finding myself priced out on a 1br further and further from the centers of the city.

My brother-in-law lived in Portland for the last six or seven years, and just moved to Seattle. There were a lot of reasons but job availability was kind of a big one; he always talks about everyone he knew in Portland having to hustle and have three part time jobs to make it work, even if cost of living was noticeably cheaper than Seattle.

I live like half a day's drive from both places and have spent a good bit of time in both, and from that perspective Seattle definitely feels like a much larger, shinier, more grown-up city than Portland which feels like a really big town. I think I counted 6 or 7 giant construction cranes over Seattle when I was there in July, much more development, condos all over, etc. I also think scenery wise Seattle is much more beautiful. I'd happily live in either though, and it's really kind of a toss-up which I'd move to if it ever came to that.

Portland has really changed radically in the last ~10 years or so in that nobody from here lives here anymore, excepting the burbs.

I probably should choose a diff't time to talk abt this ott.

nobody from here lives here anymore, excepting the burbs

i often feel this way about my own town, wonder if everyone feels this way

I feel like it wasn't always this way -- and not every city has had its signal boosted like Portland has in the last x years -- but then I wasn't always in my mid-thirties either. probably a good deal of my observance is not too far from hey kids get off my lawn.

I want to get on that lawn. This lawn I'm on is not for me.

Seattle: legal recreational cannabis products, ferries, giant ferris wheel, Sounders, Storm, Seahawks, Mariners, Scarecrow Video/Grand Illusion, Fantagraphics.

Yeah, I'd say visit each city first, which is what I did 10 years ago. Portland and Seattle are both PacNW places with considerable immigration rates, but have different vibes, pricing, tech economies, traffic, and sprawl. Mass-transit is viable(mostly) in Portland, for example.

Lunch at Salumi then strolling over to an Angels @ Mariners day game was one of my Seattle highlights.

I wanted to go to both cities for a few days each last month and combine them with a quick visit to my work client in San Jose (so I could write off the travel expenses), but that was too ambitious and without enough planning, so I'm going to try to do that next March.

WmC, I sent you an email re: Seattle. Does yr gmail account still work?

Got it! Will respond via email.

gonna say kingfish otm here as a PacNW-er

I'm regularly stunned to be living in such a beautiful place.

I feel this way a lot in Eugene

In my experience Portland is harder to drive around in w/o getting lost, but Seattle has worse traffic. don't know anything about housing costs.

wmc you should visit
lot of otm in this revive. seattle is more expensive but there are more job possibilities. both are changing and growing a lot. lxy counts cranes from i-5/mercer and saw 18 last week. having lived in both it is a mid-sized city vs big town choice. i've picked seattle but both are great

I always feel like Portland is way easier drive around with the alphabetical street names north of Burnside in NW, the pretty solid grid with street addresses matching up with cross streets on the east side, etc. I always get the big east side east-west streets confused but just when I'm at my most lost I magically end up at the red BALKAN FOODS place at 39th and Belmont and can re-orient myself.

Seattle feels much weirder with more one-ways and diagonals and weird interruptions for water and hills and such.

If this happens, I'll be moving solo. My wife absolutely refuses to be uprooted.

I magically end up at the red BALKAN FOODS place at 39th and Belmont

ha this intersection is totally a kind of mystical navel