Easter 2008 Weekend

I drove up north to spend some time with family during the Easter holiday weekend. After a leisurely brunch on Saturday– courtesy of my sister’s cooking– we headed to downtown Seattle to take in the sights and enjoy the unusually sunny day.

Our first stop was the Punk Rock Flea Market at the Underground Events Center, which the organizers perhaps named thusly to attract hipsters and hipster-wannabes (synonymous terms, in my opinion). Unfortunately, it also struck the fancy of curious onlookers (namely us) who were treated to a menagerie of junk– disguised as “arts and crafts”– for sale. Plus, you had to pay one dollar to peruse through rubbish. But, as the old adage goes– one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure– so I’m quite certain the entrepreneurs at the market made a sale or two before the end of the day. The next time I feel a hankering to wade through a collection of crafty knick-knacks of various levels of perceived value, I would sooner visit Portland’s Saturday Market where the quality is much better on any given day and admission is free.

We walked several blocks up to Pike Place Market which is always bustling. But because of Easter weekend and the uncharacteristically nice weather, the place seemed more abuzz than usual. We laughed at the drivers who attempted to traverse the cobblestone streets surrounding the market amid the hordes of pedestrians. Thankfully, none of us felt compelled to see any flying fish, which, although fun, is forever referenced with the Market and has enjoyed overexposure in movies, documentaries, and photography.

Prior to dinner, we meandered the Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park where I snapped quite a few pictures, not the least of whom were of my totemo kawaii nieces.

Dinner on Saturday evening at the Old Spaghetti Factory near Pier 70 was tolerable at best. Remind me never to eat at Old Spaghetti Factory ever again.

Sunday was a wake-up-whenever-you-feel-like-it affair, replete with yet another tasty brunch and several hours of play on the Wii. Today, I am nursing a bum right wrist. Thanks a lot, Nintendo.

Blah, Blah, Blah

I heard that spring is officially here so why does it still feel like winter in Portland. No, we don’t have snow. We very rarely do. At least, not in the valley. In fact, I think it snowed only three or four times this past “winter” and they were mere dusting. That was our only indication that the season indeed changed from autumn to winter. I truly wished we had the true four seasons here in Stumptown. Of course, I really shouldn’t complain about what we do or don’t have here by way of seasonal changes. I mean, it couldn’t be any worse than what’s happening in the Midwest right now.

***

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama will be in Portland today and all 10,000 of the free tickets were snatched within minutes of their being available a few days ago. So fast and in hot demand they were, in fact, that some very keen people decided to sell their free tickets on Craigslist. And I heard that people are actually buying them. Thank G-d capitalism isn’t dead.

***

I guess the U.S. has been at war with Iraq for five years now. What have we got to show for it? Let’s see: nearly 4,000 dead soldiers, the value of the dollar continues to go down while gas prices endure its upward momentum, a looming economic recession, and George W. Bush still believes he’s doing things right.

***

Easter is just around the corner. Not only is that day a celebration of our Lord rising from the dead, it is also a day of hope and peace and joy. The ultimate joy I personally will feel is that I’ve decided to allow myself to drink Espresso again once Easter comes around. Yipee!

Shoot ‘Em Up: Senseless Fun

When I first saw the trailers for this movie, I swore that I was never going to see it. It looked like one among a long line of pointless action movies that was trying to bank on having some well-known faces in it– namely, those of Clive Owen’s, Paul Giamatti’s, and Monica Bellucci’s. Indeed, even after hearing from some people I know how much they enjoyed this film, I still had no inclination to view it. Why, then, did I not only add it to my Netflix queue but move it to the top so that I can receive it immediately? I have no clue.

I put the DVD in the player and removed all expectations. To my surprise, I ended up liking the film. Not for any deep meaning, mind you, but for what it was: a pure, unadulterated guy movie! Non-stop, crazy action? Check. Amazingly evil villain? Check. Witty one-liners uttered by the hero after effortlessly whacking two dozen bad guys without breaking a sweat? Check. Female lead cast not because of any acting prowess but for pure eye-candy? Check! Add to this list the fact that one of John Woo’s films inspired this movie’s creator to give birth to this veritable bloodfest and Shoot ‘Em Up is just the movie for you.

It’s not going to win any Oscars, but it’s got my vote as one of those movies you pop into your DVD player whenever it’s raining or when you’re bored or when you just want to feel alright about yourself.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he could buy him a drink.

“Why of course,” comes the reply.

The first man then asks: “Where are you from?”

“I’m from Ireland,” replies the second man.

The first man responds: “You don’t say, I’m from Ireland too! Let’s have another round to Ireland.”
“Of Course,” replies the second man.

Curious, the first man then asks: “Where in Ireland are you from?”
“Dublin,” comes the reply.
“I can’t believe it,” says the first man.
“I’m from Dublin too! Let’s have another drink to Dublin.”
“Of course,” replies the second man.

Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks:
“What school did you go to?”
“Saint Mary’s,” replies the second man.
“I graduated in ‘62.”

“This is unbelievable!” the first man says.
“I went to Saint Mary’s and I graduated in ‘62, too!”

About that time in comes one of the regulars and sits down at the bar.
“What’s been going on?” he asks the bartender.
“Nothing much,” replies the bartender. “The O’Malley twins are drunk again.”

[Borrowed from Irish Jokes for St. Patrick's Day.]

Ghostly Figure Caught on Film

I don’t know what to make of this…

Sunday Night Music Video Mashup

Finger Eleven “Paralyzer”

311 “All Mixed Up”

Matt Pond PA “So Much Trouble”

The Shins “New Slang”

Not The End of A Model World

Some of you are already aware of my penchant for anthologies. These are a couple of compilations that I’d recently enjoyed:

Michael Chabon’s “A Model World” contained readable and engaging shorts, including the multi-part “The Lost World” as seen through the eyes of the very real character of Nathan Shapiro. If you’re not a fan of long, drawn-out sentences, then you may get somewhat distracted by Chabon’s writing style. But if you allow yourself to focus on the prose itself, the characters Chabon has created and the snapshots into the lives they lead will make poring over this anthology worth your while.

Kate Atkinson’s “Not the End of the World” is a delightful collection of tales bearing muted meanderings into the world of the fantastical, including a story about a woman who continues to “live on” despite having perished in a car accident. What’s interesting is that the stories themselves seem to be interconnected somehow through the reemergence of certain characters– a sort of six degrees of separation, if you will. The best short is entitled “Pleasureland,” aptly situated at the end of the book, and weaves a tale about two friends living the last few moments of what could potentially be the end of all things. There were plenty of references and terminology that would make immediate sense to a reader familiar with Scottish ways and locales, which may otherwise confuse some American readers. But, overall, Atkinson’s voice speaks perfectly clear about matters universal.

Piclens: A Cool Way to View Web Image Files

An awesome add-on for Safari or Firefox users:

What I really like about Piclens is its intuitive design and accessibility. It makes browsing web-based image files as cool and functional as all get out!

How Sexy is My Name?

So, I entered my full name into this nifty widget and got the following result:

Find out how sexy your name is by clicking here.

Saturday Pic Picks // 03.15.08