blog #133 >> One Got Fat

After all the bike safety talk here in Portland, I thought it would be a good idea to post this instructional short film on bicycle safety from 1963. It may be the most bizarre-creepy-disturbing thing I've ever seen. And the moral of the story is: Don't wear monkey masks while riding a bike... they may cause vision impairment.
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blog #132 >> Local Music I Dig

At NW Media were I work we see a lot of local artists. Everything from hip-hop to ambient noise, from Indy rock to country gospel, we've seen it all... Well, that is we think we've seen it all, until someone comes out and surprises us. There's always one more genera of music we hadn't thought of yet... like Filking.
Well, I was thinking today, I've heard a lot of local bands... most of which I don't particularly like, but I've heard some very fine ones as well. And it's about time I give some of those better bands some credit. So here are some of my favorite bands from Portland. And please remember, I play the accordion, so any band with an accordion in it is a winner in my mind. (I left out Richard Kadrmas and His Band, Czech Polka Party, my favorite Oktoberfest band, because I was afraid no one else would appreciate them quite as much as I do.)

My number one favorite P-Town band:

#1 The Decemberists


Like most of my favorite things, The Decemberists for me were an acquired taste. The first few times I heard them I didn't like them at all. But then after awhile the songs got stuck in my head, and then I started turning up the radio whenever they came on. They definitely grew on me... a lot. The Decemberists kinda have an Indy Rock/Sea Chantey sound to it... And now I love them. I can even play The Mariner's Revenge Song on Big Red.


(After this the order is always changing.)

#2 Vagabond Opera


If you mix some Old World Eastern European music and some 1920's cabaret together, add a dash of New Orleans, some gypsy caravan, striped socks, and throw in a fir-dancing hula-hooping girl than you've got the Vagabond Opera. An exciting blend of music for anyone who enjoys accordions and handlebar mustaches.







#3 Captain Bogg and Salty


EAT A LIME! Avast, Mateys! If ye have thee a hoard of wee little scallywags than this be the crew for you. Set sail with Captain Bogg and Salty on The Pollywogg, for adventures and sea-faring tales, tunes and treasures.
(Photo by Chris Owen)




#4 Mark Twain Indians


(Yes, I designed the poster.) One of the band members works with us, and the music is pretty good too. They feature fresh Indy-rock indigenous to the north west. (For more read poster.)





#5 Fruition
Truly a band no one's heard of yet. But I still really like them. They have an acoustic string band, and they sound like Amy Winehouse singing Bluegrass with very catchy tunes.

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blog #131 >> Magic Eyes

Remember Magic Eyes? Popular in the 90's? You know... those strange geometric posters that some claimed to have seen fantastic 3D images in. I've never been able to see them until last week, and now I'm obsessed. I even made my own floating image... see above. And if you cross your eyes (a little), and stare at it long enough, everything will pop out of the page. The image below is from Arale's Picasa page.
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blog #130>> Miracle Grow

One part water, two parts sunshine, three parts prayer, and Miracle Grow once a week*... And I got this mammoth hanging basket and some lovely potted plants. It's amazing to see how much they've grown in the past couple of months. See this earlier post. I'm very proud of them.
T
*Please note: I did NOT fertilize the nasturtiums as they thrive in infertile soil.

blog #129 >> Photo Booth meets PhotoFunia

Ah yeah, my latest way to pass the time.
Photo Booth with PhotoFunia? Mix them up and you've got hours of entertainment. Have you ever wanted to be on a billboard? t.v.? newspaper? museum? president? astronaut? PhotoFunia has got it all. Just upload your photo for all kinds of enjoyment. A special thanks to Angry Chicken where I found out about it.
See some of my work below, it's like I'm everywhere! I've got some of my nephews up here too.
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blog #128 >> Book of the Week: The Boxcar Children

Well I'm afraid the book of the week has become the book of the month! I need to keep up on these. Anyhow, this week's book is The Boxcar Children. I loved this book when I was little and had completely forgotten about it until I was listening to Boxcar by the Rosebuds, and then it brought it all back. It's amazing how something that took me weeks to read as a kid, now took me about two hours to finish. I'd forgotten how much I liked this story. But I realize now that four kids living by themselves out in an abandoned boxcar in the woods is not only completely implausable but also extremely dangerous. But when you're ten, you don't think about that. You just think how cool it would be to pick wild blueberries for dinner, cook a stew of baby vegetables in an old kettle over a camp fire and build a swimming hole for a bathtub. I also loved reading about their trips to the dump to find "treasures" to take home... hmmm... maybe that's why I like junk stores so much. I also remember my favorite place to read this book was in the tree house. In fact one winter I forgot it up there, so now it's all stained and faded. But I think it just adds to its character. It's also an Oregon City School Library reject. If you've never read The Boxcar Childred, you should.
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blog #127 >> Garden Update

Here are some new shots of the garden.
And it already needs to be weeded again.







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