28th Oct 2002
Portland Weekend With Adi
Just got back from three nights in Portland visiting my beloved wife, who has been there a month and will remain another two weeks studying digital film editing at Avid Film Camp. The camp has them training on the Avid digital film editing software program and actually cutting an independent film, Yorick [official site | IMDB], a prequel to Hamlet based on the life of the court jester to Hamlet Sr. (whose skull Hamlet famously contemplates in the graveyard). The writer and director is the charming Jonny Stranger, who hosted a fun little party at his place for the editing students the night of my arrival.
Portland is a lovely city, blanketed in mountain mist, a tranquil, hippie-dippy, Northwest burg of half a million. Quite liveable, I imagine. Though not for us, Adi assures me. Decent public transit. We got around easily enough without a car on light rail and buses, though they don’t run frequently enough in the evenings. Too bad for a town that bills itself as the Green capital of the U.S. (metaphorically; I’m unaware of any literal campaign to that effect, but I wouldn’t be surprised). Here are various impressions:
- Adi is amused by the fact that the downtown shopping district includes a handful of “high fashion” stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue (almost appropriately enough on SW 5th Avenue), featuring all sorts of elegent clothes, yet everyone in town dresses in fleece, jeans and hiking boots, and thus not surprisingly the department stores are almost empty.
- While we were standing in line for Michael Moore’s liberal polemic “Bowling for Columbine,” a guy in his 50s or 60s exits the showing ahead of us with a ying-yang earring. Old school!
- On the light rail (which is what they call it instead of my preference, “tram”), the disembodied recorded voice of the announcer says at each station stop “Doors will open to my left” (or right). But how do we know which way she’s facing?
I bought my Halloween costume from the Spoonman (who has the enviable web domain Spoonman.com) from his stall at the Portland Saturday Market (whose slogan is apparently “And Sundays Too!”). No, I didn’t get the kitchen knife (he has a wide collection of headwear). You’ll just have to show up at Dana’s party to see it. Very convenient costume, tho. Requires nothing else. The guy is quite creative, also has jewelry, eyewear, wind chimes and other clever gifts.- Hippie jazz pianist at the Saturday Market (an outdoor craft fair, basically) had a sign on his dilapidated upright piano with this poem I quite liked:
Yesterday is history
Tomorrow is a mystery
Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present. - Had brunch with my old Montana college roommate Rayce, who looks as boyish as ever, owing in large part, no doubt, to his lovely wife of many years, Ronda.
- Visited the Japanese gardens, which are quite beautiful. In a freaky moment, not an hour after Rayce dropped us off at the gardens, I run into Hans, another guy from the same big gang of friends I hung out with in college. Hans, who like Rayce I haven’t seen in more than 15 years, now works as a ranger at Mt. St. Helens in Washington state. He and his family just happened to be visiting at the same time.
That’s about the highlights. Also saw a couple of movies, but more thoughts on those shortly. Just thought I should check in, as it’s been a while.
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