A Poem by James P. Blaylock (for Anson)

"Beer, beer, beer.
"Never fear."

Soapbox

No, I'm not going to get up on a soapbox and rap at ya. I'm gonna talk about the 2008 Portland Adult Soapbox Derby, which happened today. This is the third I've attended, and for some reason the magic was missing. The first year I was knocked out of my socks and into a bubbling whirlpool of awesomeness -- how could I have lived in Portland so long and not been hip to this most cool event? People making incredible non-motorized cars and careening down Mt. Tabor, an inactive volcano, at top speed? Not only were the cars absolutely mindblowing (in both categories: Art and Science), the atmosphere was the epitome of southeast Portland greatness: cool families, scurvy hippies, blondes with dreadlocks, shirtless skaters, eight million bicylists of all stripes, the occasional square from the west side, and everyone clutching a sweating can of PBR and having a blast.

Last year I also had a good time but I was in the midst of a non-drinking period and that took a bit of the fun out of it -- but not much. Instead of pounding brewskis, I made a movie.

This year was the first that Barb could attend (as in past years she was working retail which means Saturdays) and, of course, Elizabeth Rose. It was fun, still, but not as magical as in the past. Maybe it was the weather: HOT. It's almost 6pm right now and it's 99 degrees out (90 inside). Plus, the baby was fussy and couldn't be calmed. We left after maybe an hour or so because she became inconsolable.

There's always next year.

The Missing

I'm away from my baby for the first time since her birth: in Cleveland for three and a half weeks to train newly hired service reps for the VA. Cleveland's pretty cool, the extra money is nice, the work is fine -- the only thing missing is my family; especially this beautiful baby!

It's notable how much the missing can really hurt. I saw a fellow traveller here at the hotel step off the elevator carrying a pair of little baby girl shoes and a dart of missing struck my heart. I saw a news story about a local man who allegedly murdered his 2-month-old namesake son and felt a pang of such sorrow... that little baby deserved so much more.

I love my baby girl so much.

Thankfully, we can afford to have Barb and Elizabeth fly out in a week, and stay for the remainder of the trip. Can't wait.

The bachelor thing was fun for a day or two, but the novelty is already wearing off. Frankly, I'm a pretty lame bachelor. I hunker down in my hotel room listening to Built To Spill, drinking beer, and either reading (Lonesome Dove, which is awesome), internetting, or playing video games (see Experiments in Otaku or I Think I'm Turning Japanese, above). Tonight I spent a minute or two looking at the fireworks over Jacobs Field (I'll never call it Progressive Field!), then went back to my beer and my DS.

Gift Theme

The other night at dinner I told the story about Barb and the picture of the Asian gentleman with the enormous cat (see Barb is Funny, below). Today I get a link to this picture from buddy Snark, with an email saying "I know you love this stuff." Frankly, I do love it. I desperately want an enormous cat. But now I'm fearful that this will become my gift theme.

You know what I'm talking about. Certain people get stuck being identified with a certain totem, and whenever it's time to buy that person a gift, one can always just default to that theme. With Wendy, for instance, it's frogs. Supposedly you can't go wrong getting Wendy a pair of frog socks, or a frog towel, or a frog calendar for her birthday. A friend of my father's, Dave Mann, his theme was Snoopy. Can't think of something he'd really like? Get Mr. Mann a Snoopy coffee mug.

I think gift themes are a lazy way to make easier the difficult task of gifting someone with something meaningful. And to any friends or family who are reading, I do not want to be the person with the enormous-cat gift theme.

The Beauty, Pt. I

Riding around southeast Portland on an early spring night on a bike of your own build with a sixpack of Lagunitas IPA in your bag is an experience peerless.

Drunken Photography

I took my newish digital camera to Dave and Snark's New Year's Eve Ham Feed, got drunk, and took a lot of pictures. Beside the usual snaps of folks partying I took art pictures and insisted on showing them on the 2.5" LCD to anyone who would look. "Look at that, that's a beautiful picture," I'd say, proudly showing off the macro shot of the chrome plated towel rack I'd just taken in the bathroom. Reactions were polite at best. Turns out that at least a couple were beautiful (not the towel rack, though). But in sober retrospect I can see that it might be obnoxious to have some drunken artist insist on you looking at his obscure photos on a tiny display just seconds after he snapped them.

I am in love with digital photography because it gives me what I could never afford in 35mm: unlimited film.

Darryl at the Plaid

Just got back from a beer stroll to the Plaid where I ran into my next door neighbor Darryl. Why am I not friends with this guy? He's a drummer in a band, he's got a ten-month-old child, he's huge and blond like my oldest friend Roo, and his wife's name rhymes with his own! He's cool.

Fact is, they reached out first, by crashing a Christmas party of ours two years ago (or was it three?!) and Barb and I never reciprocated. Not for not wanting to, but just because we were busy and we're shy and you can easily let two (or was it three?!) years slip by when you are constantly putting things off one week, and then another...

I resolve in 2008 to have Darryl and Jarryl over for dinner, or at least drinks. And to learn how to spell Jarryl's name.

Sites

Instead of whining about my hangover (damn you William and your fancy bourbon!), I'll list the sites I visit on an almost daily basis. It's not very long. I am sometimes bemused by the fact that for me the internet is tiny, a local neighborhood of websites. I take a look at ActionTrip, CHUD, Cool Tools, Ebert, and the New York Times. Like everyone else, I use Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, and IMDb, but really my era of exploration with the internet seems to be over. I've settled down.