jefF-STOP: September 2007

ATL 10/1/07 - Oregon, SF

ART/OREGON NEWS

ART NEWS - Looking forward to "Jacques Brel" at the Alliance. "Dark Play..." at Actor's Express was excellent. The last Improv in the Park is this Wednesday in Piedmont Park.

OREGON NEWS - The Oregonian intends to replace 'Peanuts' reruns in its funny pages. Every two weeks, it runs a new cartoon and then has readers vote for either Peanuts or the new 'toon. Peanuts has never lost one of these comic smackdowns. (Charles Schulz died on February 12, 2000).

The hybrid Vietnamese/ American wedding that I attended included the groom's side of the wedding party forming a procession and walking 1/4 mile to the ceremony, bearing gifts of fruit, rice wine, & tea.

Portland's annual Breast Cancer walk drew over 47,000 supporters, raising nearly $3,000,000.

Mt. St. Helens has been continuously erupting for the past 3 years, pushing lava into its crater - it would still take 200 years at that rate to recreate the mountain's former size. (Mt. St. Helens' first big eruption in recent history was May 18, 1980; I was a sophomore in high school and got out of mowing the lawn for a week or two for fear the newly fallen ash would dull the reel mower blades.)

I went to a going away party for Jacob; a funny, engaging high school kid who made me feel welcome at his shindig & who just happens to be in a wheelchair; when most kids his age are heading off to college, he is 'going away' to a clinic of sorts in CA for OT and tendon replacement. He has an amazingly upbeat attitude and makes any reason I might feel sorry for myself for extremely insignificant.

Roslyn Lake Park had a going away party, too. An impending $17 million project to tear down the hydroelectric dam that creates the lake is cheaper than modifying it to meet new salmon protection regulations. No one mentioned how the electricity it 'currently' generates is going to be replaced.

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ATL 9/24/07 - Oregon

No time for news after returning from my trip to my homeland...but after all that childhood reminiscing, I thought it was a good time for a tribute to the most beautiful woman in my life.

Thanks for everything, mom!

ART/LOCAL/OREGON/WEB NEWS

ART NEWS - At the AllianceTheater - "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris"

'The Hertz Stage transforms into a chic bohemian Paris nightclub for a theatrical event like you’ve never before experienced at the Alliance.'

LOCAL NEWS - MARTA and the Woodruff Arts Center are in talks about a possible expansion of the arts campus over the top of the transportation site. This could include the relocation of the Calatrava-designed symphony hall, but that project has only attracted 1/3 of the $300 million required to make it a reality. (Don't get me wrong - I love Starchitects - and I'm gonna get flamed for this, but I think the proposed building looks like a mosquito emerging from a starched, men's shirt collar.)

OREGON NEWS - Here are a couple of pics of my trip - view from the tent, sunset, and the Vietnamese wedding gate. It's after midnight, so only time for one story...

...I was in Oregon for my annual backpacking trip, my friend's fantastically fun Tie-Dye Anniversary party, and another friend's wedding to a delightful Vietnamese woman. Their original introduction 5 years ago was arranged by Auntie Lucy, so, during a slow moment of the reception, I asked to meet Auntie Lucy.

1st thing out of Auntie Lucy's mouth - "Where are you from?" "Atlanta, ma'am."

2nd thing out of Auntie Lucy's mouth - "Where's your wife?"

Always plotting, that Aunt Lucy is. I just said I was "traveling alone." Sorry, S.

OTHER OREGON NEWS - The "Fish of the Week" in Monday's Sports Section was a 15 lb. catfish caught by an 8 year old boy using worms for bait. No joke.

WEB NEWS - I like the wallcoverings, fabrics, and customized lamps at inhabit.

...the rest of the story...