my own private river

those of you who have been keeping up with my blog since my meager beginnings, may remember this post about my love of portland acquired through many, many viewings of my favorite film ever, my own private idaho.

while i had been to portland several times as a kid, i truly fell in love with our fair city while i was living in albuquerque after i saw the film my own private idaho at the funky little guild theater. it was at that time that i made it my goal in life to one day move here.

after moving here, i have visited and experienced so many places from the film and even have the luck to run into gus and scott green in the neighborhood once in a while. (ok, i still don't know where the chinese restaurant is that they all hung out in the film so if anyone out there knows where it is, i would looooove to know.)

when the film milk was released, i was lucky enough (for once) to win tickets to its premier at the schnitz where both gus and james franco talked about the film. i have been a huge fan of franco's since then because he just seems like a genuinely cool guy. and well, gus...enough said, i will love and adore his shy quirkiness for eva!

so imagine my excitement when i saw advertised in the willamette week that gus and franco will be at the hollywood theater this sunday showing franco's collection of out takes of river from my own private idaho that have been put together in a short film. oh you know i will be there. to see the young and beautiful river in never before seen footage is just about it for me.

the bonus for attending this showing is that the proceeds go to help the renovation of the hollywood theater which is one of the most beautiful theaters in town.

so if you are a portland film buff at all, a fan of gus's films, a fan of franco's, or the much missed phoenix (RIP), i expect to see you there!

the screenings take place at 12 and 12:30 this sunday the 25th and the cost is $35.00per person.

hollywood theater
503.281.4215
4122 ne sandy blvd

so long satyricon

my very first night in portland back in 1998, my best friend picked me up at the ben stark hotel (now the ace) and took me to a "performance" art show over at satyricon. which really was no more than moxy love crux backing up for the strippers.

because this was such a new scene for me, i fell in love with portland and with satyricon that night. well i still love portland but sadly, satyricon has been gone for quite some time for me.

satyricon closed several years ago and then reopened briefly as an all ages venue. that lasted a year or so and then opened back up as a night club. however, fate would hold nothing more for satyricon after the building was set for demolition to become yet another housing project here in old town.

several years ago, we saw the closure of satyricon's restaurant portion, fellini, and that is when we all knew the end was in sight. on any given night at fellini, the average portlander could hang out with band members waiting to play or celebrating after a sucessful show. i actually really liked fellini more than satyricon, as it was not quite so gritty. yet that is what was always so great about satyricon. apparently restaurant codes aren't applicable to night clubs!

and today was the day. my coworker came in my office to tell me the walls were coming down so i had to run out to get a shot of my portland history. satyricon may no longer be here but all of my great memories of that place will always be with me...especially strippers dancing to the moxy love crux.

photos
cxoxs
oregon music news
moi

historic portland

back when i had free time to do things like volunteer, i worked with an organization called the bosco-milligan foundation. this foundation is focussed on preserving historic portland artifacts big and small- from the building all the way down to a door knob. bosco and milligan were two gentlemen who's passion was to go around portland collecting old bits of buildings that otherwise were headed to the landfill. they amassed quite a collection of architectural salvage before they both passed away quite prematurely.

for a while the historic preservation league of portland was responsible for their collection but it required more attention than they could give and thus the bosco-milligan foundation was formed and has been run ever since by a close friend of benny and jerry's, cathy gailbraith.

the photo above is a buidling that the two owned and ran their stained glass business out of. for many years it sat untouched lacking the funds it needed to be renovated. if you have been in portland for a while, you will know this building over on se grand ave. well, a few years back, the renovations were completed and the building was reopened as the architectural heritage center and the home base of the bosco-milligan foundation. this building works as a resource center and library for all things old portland.

i mention this now because the archtectural heritage center has some really cool programs on a regular basis and this spring they are hosting walking tours of portland. the tours begin in april and run through the summer. there are some really great neighborhoods on their list of tours-belmont, hollywood, yamhill, vista and reedwood. i can't wait for the reedwood tour, i've always wanted to check out the reed college campus and this tour focusses on the mid-century houses on and near the campus.

many of the tours require pre-registration since there are only so many spaces available. so go to the ahc site for more information and to register for the tours.

when i was in interior design school many years ago, i went on several walking tours of portland and let me tell you, there are some amazing gems in our community often designed by very well-known architects.

so what better way to spend the warm months here than getting out and getting to know the historic neighborhoods of portland!

it's baack!

so last week i was walking through chinatown and saw this in it's former home (now ping restauraunt)which was once the hung far low restaurant, an old town/chinatown must see. it was removed several years ago when hung far low moved out to 82nd street. it turns out people make a special trip to chinatown to see the sign and there have been many disappointed tourists upon finding out it was no longer here. therefore, the owners of ping began a movement to bring it back.


this morning i was driving into work and snapped this shot. what's the deal? no fanfare? no glory? it just reappears like it was never gone.

although it has been painstakingly restored and looks even better than ever.

oh hung far low, how we have missed you!

go here to read the most recent oregonian article.

ahhh astoria

sorry for the lack of posts this week. i'm now unpacking from the big move and on vacation for the week. however, i'm needing a little break so tomorrow the girl and the dogs and i are taking a drive out to the coast. i'm hoping we can stop for lunch in astoria at my favorite cafe, the cannery cafe.

what i love about the cannery cafe is it's right on the waterfront. the food is delicious and it's in my favorite sea side town, astoria.

ever since i was a little girl, astoria has been my favorite place on the oregon coast. there is just something about it's scandinavian charm. once my parents took me on the little trolley ride that talks about the history of the town and as hokey as it seemed, i really enjoyed it. there is such great history in the town and i can't wait to head out in the morning for another visit.

if you are passing through astoria, check out the cannery cafe at #1 6th st 503.325.8642

GOAL!!!

oh yes people. it's that time, the time i have been counting down to for the past four years. it's WORLD CUP SOCCER!

i love world cup and aside from tennis, it's the only sport i will get up to watch and ungodly hours of the morning. and i must say, for this next month, it's all about world cup for me. i have to get my fill in to tide me over for the next four years.

the last world cup i was all about portugal and when they were out of the series i was pulling for forza italia. i am happy with either one making it to the finals. who is your team?

i got on line to see where i may be viewing my early morning games and found that beulahland has a really easy to navigate schedule listed and three big screen tvs, so i may start my viewing there this year. besides, they have great cheap breakfast and awesome biscuits and gravy.

beulahland is at 118 ne 28th ave 503.235.2794
here is their soccer schedule

fleet week

it's fleet week in portland when thousands of drunken sailors emerge upon downtown where hopefully they will be shanghai'd back into the seas from whence they came.


oh let the rose festival begin!

got milk?

my friend vince reminded me that last week, may 22nd, was harvey milk day. i don't know if you have seen the movie "milk" by my fave director gus van sant, but if you haven't, you really should check it out.

i was so lucky to get to go to the portland premier where gus and james franco were present and each shared a personal story of what harvey and the film meant to them. it was a very touching and moving film and i highly recommend checking it out. the final scene was just incredible.

i generally try not to get all political but i just can't believe that we are still fighting for equal rights for the gay community. have not all of our lives been inspired or touched by a friend or family member that is gay? why do we not push harder for equal rights?

a few years back, gay marriage was allowed here in portland but only ever so briefly before it was voted out. i don't think the way it was implemented was the right way(it was decided by our city council and not put on a ballot to begin with) but i was really surprised that so many people are still against this in our day and age.

oh when will church and state ever become separate?

the gordon house

i'm looking forward to the weather getting a little better so that we can head down to silverton and tour the frank lloyd wright designed gordon house.

i was able to see it in it's original location in wilsonville before they moved it down to the oregon gardens but i have not yet been able to go tour it again since the move.

this is the only flw house in oregon and i highly recommend checking it out, it's very unusual. it doesn't look like much from the outside but when you stand in the living room and look out, it has a really amazing feel. he was the master at connecting the interiors of his homes to the natural landscape and exterior of the house.




the house is in silverton at 879 west main 503.874.6006

it lists on the website that tours are on the hour between 11am and 5pm, may through october and 12pm to 4pm november through april. i would call first, though because the last time we went down, they were requiring reservations made ahead of time so we did not get to tour it.

i'm sure it will be very beautiful here in the next few weeks after more has bloomed so i'm going to wait a little bit longer before visiting it.

ping a ling

since i've been back from my trip, i'm still getting settled in. i haven't yet finished unpacking and all that i have had time to get at the grocery store are staples like milk, cereal and dog food for lulu. because of this fact, i've been going out to lunch way more than usual. this is not a good thing as i generally eat lunch at my desk so that i can afford to eat out for more interesting meals like breakfast on the weekends or dinner. however, i made one great discovery near work that i'm so excited about. it's the newish restaurant, ping.


ping is brought to you by the pok pok folks and is located in the former hung far low location in chinatown. with chinatown's seriously sad restaurant scene, a new addition is happily welcome. ping's decor is a far cry from the old hung far low. i love the use of reclaimed wood and vintage accessories. it is a very warm and cozy atmosphere.

the food at ping is focused around the grill as you have quite a list of skewers to choose from. things like pork meatballs and spicy octopus along with the stand-by chicken breast which was really yummy too. we sampled several different skewers with rice and each of us got out of there for $10 including the tip.

and i cannot forget to mention the service. our server was a sweetheart. he explained the menu to us, made helpful suggestions and really made us feel comfortable and welcome. i'm loving this resurgence of portland restaurants that want to provide good service. i'm so tired of the "you're lucky we let you dine here" attitude.


look at these great radios they have the back wall lined with. the decor was somewhat masculine but with these little touches that i loved and that any girl would notice and appreciate.

so check out chinatown's great new addition ping at 102 nw 4th 503.229.7464

party with proust

periodically, the proust questionnaire makes its rounds in bloglandia and now i've been tagged. i thought it would be fun to answer the questions and then challenge you and your friends to do so at your next party. so here we begin, your true insight into hawthorne girl. you already know i'm a little nutty and now here is proof!

1. what is my favorite virtue? the ability to love openly

2. what is my favorite quality in a man? i'm a little old fashioned and still love chivalry.

3. what is my favorite quality in a woman? i love the sisterly bond that women can form, even if it's not your "true" sister.

4. what is my chief characteristic? independence. i grew up the youngest of four children and i think by the time i came around, my parents were too tired to be control freaks so they just let me do my own thing. at one point in my life, my mom said she was sorry to have raised me so independently because she didn't think i really needed her (entirely not true but you get the point).

5. what do i appreciate most in my friends? their unconditional support. i can't tell you how many times my friends have heard the same old story but they act as if they never had and continue to give me their fabulous advice and support.

6. what is my main fault? I tend to be a little lazy. i want all of these great things (like speaking five languages) but i don't want to do the work to achieve them.

7. what is my favorite occupation? if i could do it all over again, i would be a writer.


8. what is my idea of happiness? to have the people that i love all around me for sunday night dinners.

photo courtesy of northern virginia magazine

9. what is my idea of misery? to feel absolutely and utterly alone. or to be out of coffee.

10. if not yourself, who would you like to be? a woman in paris in the 1930s or 40s, like coco chanel. this is also my favorite perfume.

photo courtesy of diaphotography

11. where would you like to live? in a big old barn or chapel out in the country--or maybe paris.


12. what is your favorite color and flower? red and orange tulips.

photo courtesy of the dude

13. who is my favorite prose author? hemingway, duh.

photo courtesy of gonzalo

14. who is my favorite poet? edna st. vincent millay. "my candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night but ah my foes and oh my friends, it gives a lovely light." hey, that's how i feel right about now!

photo courtesy of maine

15. who is is my favorite painter and composer? the composer part is easy--pachelbel. since the first time i heard him in college, i've loved him. as far as painters go, kahlo, picasso, and o'keefe. probably more for their whole being than their paintings per se, although i do love their art as well and i've grown up with them in my life forever.






16. who is my favorite heroine in history? sylvia beach.


17. what is my favorite food and drink? easy--green chile chicken enchiladas, tamales and wine.

photo courtesy of the food network



18. what natural talent would i like to have? to be able to play the accordion.

19. what is my present state of mind? ho exausto!

20. what characters in history do i hate the most? anyone who had anything thing to do with the extermination of the jews or the native americans.

21. what is the reform i admire most? gay marriage.

22. what is my favorite motto? "you can't take it with you."

and that's about all i can manage tonight. so go my friends and conquer proust!

j'aime la boheme

as a shout out to my loyal reader steve, way the heck over in maine, today's post is about one of his favorite composers, puccini.

a few weeks ago when i posted in my paris in portland post, i mentioned that i did not have such a great time in lucca, italy and he quickly reminded me that lucca is the birthplace of one of the greatest composers of all time, giacomo puccini. i have no idea how i forgot this major detail since the lucchese people LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their puccini connection. when you walk into town, you are greeted by his likeness.

since i did not have a digital camera when i was on my trip, my pictures are not the greatest so i found this one off the lucca 2002 website.



and i'm happy to report that puccini's spirit is here in portland right now with the opera la boheme. i really, really hope that i can make it to the show but tickets are going fast since there are only 3 shows left. i'm going to try to make the one on thursday, the 1st but there is a matinee tomorrow at 2:00 and then another show on saturday the 3rd at 7:30pm. oh i hope i can get tickets. sometimes hawthorne girl procrastinates and this is the result.

well, the least i can do is watch baz luhrman's version on dvd if i can't make it but i'd much rather see it in person!

mmmm...gravy

ok, i know i'm supposed to be posting about my closet project today so i have to admit, i'm a little behind. we had an unexpected visitor this week so i didn't get as much done as i would have liked but i have it all worked out in my mind, now i just need to execute it.



since we had company, though, it was a great time showing him around to some of my favorite portland places. the last morning before he left, we went to "brekky" (as he calls it) at gravy. i hadn't been here for a while so i was looking forward to it.

i had the two eggs with veggie sausage and i could not believe the size of my meal. it was delish but it was hard to go to work afterwards because i really needed a little nap. miles had the oatmeal brulee with berries and it looked really good. i need to try that one next time.



gravy is over in my next favorite neighborhood at 3957 n. mississippi 503.287.8800

then i sent miles back on the road. he took the historic columbia river gorge highway and then planned on crossing over at stevenson and heading to lewiston, idaho. his final destination is cody, wyoming.



thanks for a fantastic visit miles, and have a great ride to wyoming. we'll catch you sometime in cali!

love ned ludd

the foyer decor


the heart of the restaurant

i had one of the best dining experiences that i have had in a really long time last week at the newish restaurant, ned ludd. i had driven by the restaurant out on mlk a few times and wondered what it was all about so i was excited when my friend told me that is where we would be dining for his birthday.

we were able to make reservations for the group, which sometimes can be difficult in portland as many restaurants do not take reservations. what's more surprising is that i was the first in the group to arrive and they actually let me sit at the table until the rest of the group got there. immediately i was helped by our very friendly server. i asked to order some olives for the group and she encouraged me to try the pickle platter instead. so the pickles arrived and she told me what kind they all were and wow, let me tell you, they were really good. i'm glad she coaxed me to try something unusual. the entire table was impressed by the pickles--each vegetable had its own distinct flavor.

from here we went straight in to salads and entrees. everything on the menu sounded so good it was hard to choose but i went for the hen's leg with mashed potatoes for dinner and a baby leaf lettuce and duck salad. both of my choices were incredible, especially the hen's leg. other diners at the table had pork chops, trout and roasted vegetables along with an assortment of salads and everyone was very happy with their choices.


the pork chop


the hen's leg

the concept of this restaurant is that they do not use machines to prepare the foods so everything is either grilled or cooked in a wood oven. i'm sure there is much more information about this on their website but i was too busy enjoying my food and company to ask about it. i do know that ned ludd was a man who lost his job at a mill and was replaced by a machine. he was so angry about the fact that people were losing their jobs to machines that he took a sledge hammer to said machine, smashing it to pieces and resulting in a labor movement as a result. there is a wonderful mural of this story in the back of the restaurant but as i was quickly losing light, did not get a shot of it. besides, you really should go and see it for yourself.

and i can't forget to mention the decor. it was so, so cool. i could not stop turning and looking at everything. the other diners probably thought i was casing down the joint but i really just love this style of decor--industrial and open but pretty and romantic at the same time.


the corner of the bar, i loved the barrels on top of the loft area.


the little bar. yes, that's my flash!


this pretty much sums up the decor--the contrast of rustic with romantic.

so i urge you to get to ned ludd and check it out. from beginning to end it was a great experience, and i must reiterate that the service all around was fabulous. i can't wait to get back there as soon as possible. it is a smaller restaurant and i'm not sure if they take reservations for smaller parties but i suggest you call ahead and check. they also have a patio if it's nice out and a small bar area but it was full the entire time that we were there. it's located a little ways out at 3925 ne mlk, jr blvd and they do have some parking on the south side of the restaurant. 503.288.6900

bon appetit!

rockmount my world

sometimes i'm lucky enough to have experiences in my life that i'm not even sure of why i'm worthy. one such experience occurred last week while i was in denver.

i know you are all well aware of the fact that i grew up in the great southwest. it's a fact that while i was living there i did not appreciate nearly as much as i do now that i can look back on it in retrospect.

when i was growing up, all of the men in my family wore the western style snap front shirts that have recently made their way back up the fashion ladder. and even though i am not so much into the western style of dress, i've always had an appreciation for it because that is the way cowboys dressed up and expressed their sense of style, for which i'm all about.

my grandfather was dressed in such a manner when we laid him to rest and most of the other male guests were dressed in this style and i was wearing my finest cowboy boots that i had purchased specially for the occassion.

my point is that an appreciation for western wear is not lost on me even though i don't often put on my annie oakley gear any more.

oh yeah, back to denver...

i met the owner of rockmount western wear while i was in town and i was so surprised by how excited i was to have met him and to visit his old historic store in downtown denver. if you're not familiar with rockmount, it is the oldest western style shirt still in production and the first to be designed with the snap front detail. there is even an original in the smithsonian collection in washington d.c.

rockmount is in it's third generation, now being run by steve weil, who's grandfather started the company in the forties and just passed away last year at the age of 107. steve's father also passed away last year, leaving him at the reigns of the ever growing business and taking over the main design work as well. i was surprised to learn that a company this old is run so small and that steve is a very hands on person. if you email the company's website, you most likely will get a response from steve, directly. that is so cool!

and, as unassuming as steve is, i could tell that he was very excited about the celebrities that embrace their designs including bob dylan, eric clapton, the pretenders, mark chesnutt, heath ledger and jake gyllenhall (in brokeback mountain) and the white stripes.



so, if you are ever in denver, i highly recommend a visit to the historic rockmount western wear store. it's a store and museum all in one and very cool to boot (no pun intended)!
1626 wazee st 303.629.7777



and i can't forget to mention our dinner after visiting the store at tamayo. this is a modern mexican restaurant with a heavy spanish influence. when we talked about going there, someone mentioned that their portions were not very large. umm, not true! i thought that for a tapas style restaurant, they had really great portions and i couldn't even finish everything. i started with the halibut ceviche and then had an amazing chile relleno for dinner and it was more than enough. although, that could have been due to the fact that i had a ton of their yummy guacamole to start out with. you can find tamayo at 1409 larimer 720.946.1433

oh lovejoy

drugstore cowboy


on the set


the lovejoy columns









i was walking through the pearl today and started past the lovejoy columns and realized this would be a great post for this afternoon. do you remember the columns from the movie "drugstore cowboy"? they were used as the location in the opening scene.

when the pearl district began it's major redevelopment a few years back, it included the demolition of the lovejoy bridge. it was unclear what would happen to these famous columns and after the bridge was torn down, the columns were put into storage for a few years. i was so happy to see them resurrected in the little plaza that they currently stand in (nw 10th and everett).

here is the history that is imprinted on one of the columns and shown in a photo above.

"from 1948 to 1952, greek immigrant and artist tom e. stefopoulos created a series of paintings on the columns of the old lovejoy ramp. the two columns in this plaza bear six of tom's original paintings...prior to being redeveloped, much of what is now called the 'pearl district' was a rail-yard. this rail-yard, spanned by the lovejoy ramp, was where tom worked as a watchmen for the sp&s railroad. during idle moments tom created these paintings. as he explained in a 1967 interview, 'when trains stop at crossing, waiting for other trains to switch, i climb on top of boxcar next to painting, reach out like this, and paint. sometimes, when i'm not finished, the train wait a minute-i paint-then climb down and wave her on'. as cultural treasures, these painted columns were saved from demolition..."

i highly recommend you stop by and pay homage to the columns if you haven't yet. they are such a big part of our quirky portland personality. thank you gus for immortalizing them in the film drugstore cowboy.
www.lovejoycolumns.info