The All you can Eat Sushi and Complaints Thread
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They say Borzoi mix
kinda Lassie looking in the shape of the face.
...be sure to bring your rain gear, a good resume to get a good paying job, and consider driving, carpooling, or riding a bike.
Be prepared for lots of gloomy, rainy days and the occasional "non summer". Daytime in winter is very short with the sun setting well before 5PM and not rising until after 7:30AM. If you have bone gnome issues this is not a good place.
Housing prices here are ridiculous (for purchase or rent) if you want to live in the city and not the 'burbs. I checked prices the other day and for to buy a small house here is about 210,000$. A similar size (and IMO nicer) house I saw in Milwaukee WI was 89,000$. Rents even for a modest size flat can be 800$ to 1,000$ ore more without utilities.
Transit used to be good here, but over the last decade we lost a lot of bus service because of all the focus on LRT (Light Rail) and a useless streetcar line (pretty much just for tourists). For example, LRT doesn't serve the area of town where I live, yet they made deep cuts in local bus frequency and reduced evening/weekend service as well through my neighbourhood (and I'm in the city, not the 'burbs). The LRT is not much more than a "glorified" streetcar rather than commuter rail or rapid transit as much of the system runs at street level and has to mix with other traffic as well as deal with traffic signals (especially though downtown).
It's also expensive especially for a smaller city like Portland: 2.50$ a ride (whether you are going a few blocks or across the city), 100$ for a monthly pass.
OK, if you can put up with all that, there are some good sides to living here:
The Beer. Portland is affectionately referred to as "Brewvana" by some and has easily taken the"Beer Capital" crown from my own hometown of Milwaukee. It's almost hops and malt overload here with all the small breweries and brewpubs. I have two within walking distance of my flat. (both which make and sell only their own). There are festivals all year wound with the biggest one, the Oregon Brewer's Festival, held on the last weekend of July along the riverfront in downtown. As an offshoot distilling has also caught on here and there are a number of small distilleries (one street nearby I call "distillery row") that have been doing good business. Going on a beer run at the local market (or even mini mart) can be an overwhelming experience with all the choices there are. The Market I go to has almost an entire 60' wall chilled display just devoted to beer and ale, a major percentage of which is craft brews.
...and I've seen bigger.
Cannot end the discussion without mentioning the McMenamin Brothers. These fellows were among the founders of the Craft brew revolution that swept the area. From a handful of pubs and small breweries in Portland they have grown a regional empire that stretches from Seattle to Southern Oregon. One of their hallmarks has been to rescue old buildings and bring new life to them as pubs restaurants, cinema houses, and even hotels. Their centrepiece is the Edgefield on the far east side. Once the county's poor farm in the early 20th century it has been transformed to a beer lover's resort. with a brewery, winery, distillery several small pubs on the property a "pitch and putt" golf course, and outdoor amphitheatre whihc books some big acts in a more relaxed setting (Ringo and his All Star Band have been there twice). Rooms have no telephones, no TVs, and are furnished with an eclectic mix of lovely old Victorian and Edwardian styled furniture. I like to think of it as the "Happiest Place on Earth for Beer Lovers" and used to often spend a weekend there just to relax form the pressures of weekday workaday life. The interesting part is while reachable by transit, it feels like you are miles and miles away from the city.
Other locations include:
--The Crystal Ballroom (formerly Rinlger's Ballroom) where you can "Dance on Air" (the floor has as unique spring mechanism underneath). Numerous live acts play there including some nationally known ones.
--The Kennedy School, am old neighbourhood school that had been closed for years in which the guest rooms are old classrooms and the auditorium is now a cinema.
--The Hotel Oregon. Located in Mc Minville Just southwest of Portland this is an old historic hotel that has been completely restored and features a beautiful rooftop bar which looks out over the city. It is a focal point for those who tour teh Tualitin Vally whihc is Oregon's "wine country" . Every spring they it is the site for the annual UFO Festival which commemorates the famous 1950 UFO sighting.
--The Crystal Hotel . Formerly an old residential hotel the "Majestic" it was fully restored several years ago and reopened as a guest hotel. On the west end of the same block is another one of the their "small" pubs: Ringlers' Annex which the quaint little "Flatiron" building (which used to house an old radio station) that has a unique cellar pub. This is where I spent a lot of time plotting the story surrounding my Leela character as it has a decidedly Film Noir feel. In the story I even relocated it to Vienna where several scenes occur. Theris a table underneath the stariway leading in I affectionately refer to as "the Spy Table".
--The Rams' Head. Opened in 1990 on the ground floor of a lovely old apartment building known as "The Campbell" and was one of the Brothers' first "historic" locations. The pub is located in what originally was the "Campbell Dining Room" which fittingly, was one of the city's biggest speakeasies during prohibition. When I lived in the neighbourhood this was one of my favourite hangouts as it just had such a nice warm "homey" feel.
---The Bagdad. A 1920's vaudeville/cinema palace on Hawthorne that was rescued from oblivion, lovingly restored, and recently received an upgrade to the projection and sound system. Alas the old organ is gone (now in a Cinema in New Jersey) but the entire auditorium and lobby was completely restored including the huge chandelier in the auditorium. The one small difference, every few rows of seats were removed for tables and you can drink beer and wine there as well. The building includes two other annex pubs: the Backstage (which used to be the old vaudeville stage and scene shop) which has a 50' high ceiling and the original hand painted stage curtain hanging above the bar, and Greater Trumps, one or their smallest pubs (which would almost fit in the floorspace of my flat). The latter has become one of my usual hangouts when I'm on Hawthorne, reminding me of those little "hole in the wall" pubs in London or Dublin. It is small enough that they were able to get a permit to allow cigar and pipe smoking in spite of he city's smoking ban in public establishments.
After almost three decades in business and growing to over 60 establishments covering Western Oregon and Washington, McMenamin's still does not distribute their ales, wine and spirits to retail outlets. They do bottle a few of their signature brews like Hammerhead, Terminator Stout and Ruby Ale but they can only be purchased at their pubs, restaurants. and hotel gift shops.
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Dogs. Portland is a very dog friendly town and a number of larger city parks have off leash areas. There is even a dog friendly pub on lower SE Hawthorne called the Lucky Lab. which has a huge covered outside area where you and your four footed friend can enjoy an afternoon (and yes, they have doggie treats as well).
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Cool old neighbourhoods. Belmont, Sunnyside Kerns, Kensington, Ladd's Hollywood, and Laurelhurst (with magnificent old homes) just to name a few Se Hawthorne is the city's "bohemian" district with little cafes, restaurants (you won't find a Burger Sling or MickyD's here as the neighbourhood association has successfully kept them out), shops, pubs, and even an old 1920's cinema palace that has been fully restored which is also a pub. On the avenue towards downtown there is also a "true" farmers market.
For fancy shopping and dining there is the Pearl (which used to be an old warehouse district) and NW 23rd just north of downtown. Check your bank balance.
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Parks. Portland has a lot of parks from the sprawling Forest Park in the west hills (with miles and miles of hiking trails and spectacular views of the city) to the world's smallest, Mill Ends Park, taking up a small circle just over two feet across (founded by an employee of the old Portland Journal, see link below), which is now part of the city parks system.
Mill Ends Park
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Music. Just about anything to suit one's tastes from the symphony, to blues and jazz, to indie bands. In summer, Portland hosts a waterfront blues festival that lasts several days and coincides with the local Independence day celebration.
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Books. Powell's "City of Books" is a local icon and landmark. The largest independent bookseller in the nation if not the world, the main store takes up a full city block and is for floors tall. They have a larger collection of volumes than many public libraries (including our own Central Library) and if you can't find what you are looking for, they can certainly get it even if it is out of print. Readings and book signings are common events. There are also several branch and specialty stores as well including a couple on Hawthorne (which include Powell's 'Books for Cooks and Gardeners"), Powell's at PDX (the airport), and Powell's Technical Books across from the main store.
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Cinema. I kind of mention this with some reserve however Portland is kind of unique in some respects. Yes there are the big multiplexes in the suburban malls, even two in downtown (Fox Tower and Pioneer Place) and those new "luxury" cinemas which can cost you a day's wages to go to. However, there are also a couple old gems that survived like the aforementioned Bagdad on Hawthorrne, the Hollywood on NE Sandy, and Roseway also on NE Sandy. A number of "second run" cinemas are also pubs such as the Laurelhurst (a few blocks from my place) and The Mission.
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Bicycling. If you like to ride a bike, this is the place. Portland has put a lot of effort to make the city safer and more "friendly" for cyclists. There are streets designated as 'bike boulevards" that parallel busier thoroughfares by a block or two (I live on the very first one ever established). Bike lanes are prominent on many streets in the city and there are even what are known as 'Bike Boxes" at major intersections to prevent motorists from making the dangerous "right hook" turn in front of a cyclist at a stoplight. In some places there are even separate bike traffic signals that allow cyclists to cross hazardous intersections without having to deal with other traffic. Many neighbourhood shopping areas in the city have "Bike Corrals" which offer a safe, solid, place to lock up while doing errands.
Overall, most of the city from downtown eastward Southward and Northward isn't bad with respect to hills, but to the west there are the notorious West Hills, with grades that would challenge even a Tour de France racer. Beyond the hills is pretty much "Car Country" (Washington County), many areas of which resemble LA. I'd personally would never ride a bike there.
So again if you can take the weather, afford a roof over your head, and have access to different means of transportation than just transit, it is still a nice place to live. I can think of worse places I've been.
...oh and another good thing, Oregon has no sales tax.
Morning. Hot today. Hot hot hot. Lots of parties for Australia Day yesterday and the city feels sluggish and hung over. Lucky is a public holiday today for some, I guess.
...happy belated Australia Day (raises a pint of Fat Yak Pale).
about 50° colder than that here. but sunny and almost no wind.
Heading down to the bike shop to top off the tyres before making the weekly shopping run.
dog friendly pubs, books, and beer - sounds great :)
that yellowie circle sure is a beamer, huh :coolhmm:
Oh, well happy Australia Day, belated!
Dana
that yellowie circle sure is a beamer, huh :coolhmm:
Pitiless sun like an unblinking yellow eye in a merciless deep blue sky :)
Your snow is on our TV right now, feels incongruous we are making cold wind with aircon and you are making warm air with heaters, there must be a better way if only we could think of one hey :)
It's only 20F here right now. Could be worse, I guess. Will be worse, I'm sure. But for now...and tomorrow, not too bad.
Dana
KK, perhaps you should consider writing for a travel agency, or the city's tourism department. Or do a blog.
Dana
feh can't believe i'm working tomorrow. already spent some of the money on the nightshift sale
is it too soon for those cliff diving dudes in the speedos? :)
h? what does wodeling mean? typo?
yeah, that was a well written article.
Oh, well happy Australia Day, belated!
Dana
I guess it is nice to see so many celebrating the sunburned country but it would be better to have it later on when the weather is cooler I think. You don't get to choose your birthday hey :)
June for the USA, at Possum Kingdom Lake what a cute name :)
http://www.redbullcliffdiving.com/en_INT
I guess it is nice to see so many celebrating the sunburned country but it would be better to have it later on when the weather is cooler I think. You don't get to choose your birthday hey :)
I think I did. I was due late December as my mom tells it. I hung in there until Feb. 14th. That way everyone had time to recover from Christmas gifts. :lol:
Dana
I guess it is nice to see so many celebrating the sunburned country but it would be better to have it later on when the weather is cooler I think. You don't get to choose your birthday hey :)
I think I did. I was due late December as my mom tells it. I hung in there until Feb. 14th. That way everyone had time to recover from Christmas gifts. :lol:
Dana
Hey Valentines day, what a lovely birthday to have :)
sighs, gonna need to buy a bed soon. i miss being able to ly flat. not enough to sleep on the floor.
my recliner was assembly required with one of those L crank thingees.
June for the USA, at Possum Kingdom Lake what a cute name :)
http://www.redbullcliffdiving.com/en_INT
Kingdom of Possum? :)
i still have the link to the underground town http://www.cooberpedy.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=191
'm trying out the mvp hosts file. it's supposed to reroute all the ad click nonsense to 127.#
Kingdom of Possum? :)
i still have the link to the underground town http://www.cooberpedy.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=191
So hot there the only sensible place to live is underground. And you get to find opals as you extend your house, a real wonder :)
Meh I'm stuck in what must be the only traffic jam in the country today. Fixing the bridge again Whisky Tango Foxtrot?
sleepy time - trying to dream in my made up galaxy realm. don't want to start from the drawing board for a man named lisa.
is metrosexual still a thing or is it so last decade and a half ago?
opening scene
Odysseon Station Observation Deck or TurboHawk
Hover Platform
Factory Robot
Kingdom of Possum? :)
i still have the link to the underground town http://www.cooberpedy.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=191
So hot there the only sensible place to live is underground. And you get to find opals as you extend your house, a real wonder :)
Meh I'm stuck in what must be the only traffic jam in the country today. Fixing the bridge again Whisky Tango Foxtrot?
taxi driver with the same haircut? :)
Kingdom of Possum? :)
i still have the link to the underground town http://www.cooberpedy.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=191
Population of 3,500...cosmopolitan? :smirk: The city I grew up in had a population of over 100,000 at one time. Right now it's about 88,000. And I would never call Fall River cosmopolitan. Maybe I need to look that word up, I must have something wrong.
Dana
June for the USA, at Possum Kingdom Lake what a cute name :)
http://www.redbullcliffdiving.com/en_INT
Is there a Possum King? :)
Hope it's not like Burger King.
I think I did. I was due late December as my mom tells it. I hung in there until Feb. 14th. That way everyone had time to recover from Christmas gifts. :lol:
Dana
Hey Valentines day, what a lovely birthday to have :)
Is my Brother's Birthday too. Mom always called him her little Valentine.
I had 2 relatives that their birthday was christmas day. My oldest son was suppose to be born on St Patricks Day but came out a week early
I finally determined how to change the color of the lights for use in LuxRender: I need to change the temperature. I'm so used to using the color picker. :red: I need to read about temperatures of lights because that subject is new to me. I never knew that lights have temperatures. I guess the source has a temperature like an incandescent bulb, yellow sodium light or neon lights. The incandescent bulbs are hot. Let them cool down before you unscrew them.
Is there a Possum King? :)
Hope it's not like Burger King.
Um...that would be queen...Jethro and Ellie Mae will tell you that Grannie's possum is the best around!
Dana