Stop the Madness: Columbia River Crossing!

This is a blog post about the Columbia River Crossing project, a proposed $4.2 billion, 12-lane bridge across the Columbia River, and why we don’t know enough to know whether or not that’s a good idea. It is also a call to action. Please read and act now.

Of Giza and Other Fine Places

Weighty, wet Piedmont clay caked on my shoes after only a few steps into a recent clearcut. With an eye for how I might record the experience, I gave it the moniker “Carolina Red.” Travelers take note: […]

Portland Must-Dos

Geyserite. G-E-Y-S-E-R-I-T-E. Geyserite.
Concordat. C-O-N-C-O-R-D-A-T. Concordat.
Equinoctial. E-Q-U-I-N-O-C-T-I-A-L. Equinoctial.
Shuttlecock. S-H-U-T-T-L-E-C-O-C-K. Shuttlecock.
Quite Enjoyable. […]

I’m Sensations (New Years Eve)

Happy 2008. I’m still on my Tommy kick, although the title is not so obvious this time. Alexandra says: 2008 is great. It even rhymes. Our toast last night was for 2008 to be better than 2007, no matter how good 2007 was. I decided to have a sensual New Year’s Eve; here are some of my experiences: […]

Photos of Three Simple Pleasures

A few days ago, I found myself with a disposable camera and a few pictures left to take. I snapped these on my way to the camera store where I had it developed: […]

All I heard was creak…

“A minor earthquake occurred at 11:20:54 PM (PDT) on Sunday, September 23, 2007. The magnitude 3.6 event occurred 8 km (5 miles) NW of Brooks, OR. The hypocentral depth is 22 km (14 miles).” — PNSN (Pacific Northwest Seismic Network) [...]

Photos from my Home

This post has pictures of my home. This one is misleading, because today is not a sunny day. One should take pictures on sunny days, but this is the Northwest. C’est la vie. So here is a sunflower. [...]

Transenthusiast

Couldn’t find a seat so I had to stand
With the perverts in the back
It was smelling like a locker room
There was junk all over the floor
We’re already packed in like sardines
—Weird Al Yankovic, “Another One Rides the Bus” [...]

Flight of Fancy

I’ve been coming to here a lot. The building itself makes me happy, especially the decor. Right now, for example, I am in a well-lit room with 25-foot ceilings, pink walls, and chartreuse [...]

YouTube Changed My World

Unfortunately, Mr. Hat, has a stereotypically mediocre intellect to go with his eponymous sombrero, bandoleros, and bad teeth; he comes up with one of the lamest excuses for why he can’t produce a badge proving his claim to be one of the Federales. So why did I find that line ( “I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!”) one of the funniest in the whole movie? Blame it on [...]