Monday, March 30, 2009

trailblazer history nugget

rip city row is two rows in the 100 section of the arena that you usually buy the seats in a group for large parties.
"the nickname rip city is usually used in the context of the city's nba
team, the portland trailblazers. the term was coined by the team's legendary
play-by-play announcer bill schonely during a game against the los angeles
lakers in the blazers' first season. in a recurring segment on comcast sportsnet
northwest, schonely explained that a three-point play by blazers' player jim
barnett caused the net on the basket to rip. schonely exclaimed "rip city!" at
the sight, and a member of his broadcasting team urged him to run with that as a
rallying cry for the young team"

--
i finished the double bind. wow. great find at my liitle north portland library. the end really threw me for a loop. it kinda got me excited. i think it would be an interesting book club discussion. it would be fun to read the double bind and then the great gatsby and discuss. oohh, fun.

this is a good day...


this is similar to my favorite ben & jerry's flavor, ever, one sweet whirled. the difference? no marshmallow swirl. o the humanity!

mmmmagic

el magico numero ... 4
the phoenix suns really are giving me an early birthday present.
thank you cavs for coming back and absolutely man-handling the dallas mavs.
big game on tuesday. we. must. beat. the jazz.
check out the race...

the blazers are 1.5 games out of 1st place in the northwest division
() = games back

denver
portland (1.5)
utah (2)

now, here is the far more important race - the playoff berth. so what we have here is 8 teams vying for 7 spots. phoenix is helping portland clinch a spot by losing (any combo of portland winning and phoenix losing changes our "magic number." if the season was over today, portland would be playing houston. i have to admit, the houston match- up does make me nervous. they have played portland tough this year. the one scenario i don't want to see is denver/portland. that would be a disaster. we just can't seem to defend denver. we'll see in a few weeks when they end the season at home with denver. it should be a HUGE game. oh, did i mention i'll be there in rip city row? my friend anthony's boss bought the tickets and he invited me. how awesome!
portland is playing really great right now. nicolas batum is blossoming, greg oden is playing with confidence off the bench, lamarcus aldridge is quickly establishing himself as one of the up and coming power forwards in the league, we have b.roy and one of the deepest benches in the league. our second unit could easily start on another team.
GO BLAZERS!!

los angeles lakers [the lakers have clinched the west so it's really just a race between the teams below]
san antonio (10)
denver (10.5)
houston (10.5)
portland (12)
utah (12.5)
new orleans (12.5)
dallas (15)
--
phoenix (18.5)

Sunday, March 29, 2009

lost

thank you lost.
i am in.
could lost be the most intriguing show?
ever?
it's one of the only shows i can't wait a week for.
i save up 2 or 3 at a time.
i'm caught up.
shit.
--

Friday, March 27, 2009

yeah, that's right. portland trailblazers.

el magico numero...6
--
trailblazers obliterated the pheonix suns last night at the rose garden - winning by 20 points. [129-109] one of mike rice's [m.r.] keys of the game was that the winning team would need to score 118 points. me and anthony thought he was drunk again. dammit. i hate when m.r. is right. you know we'll have to hear about it. rudy fernandez had one of his best games of the season. the spanish armada (r.fernandez & sergio rodriguez) gave us a show last night with rudy sinking 5 of 6 3-pointers! wow. l-train (lamarcus aldridge) knocked down 29 points and killed the boards with 12. that was playoff basketball boys. good work. i loved that blow out last night. it was so loud inside the rose garden that my ears were ringing afterwards. me and anthony couldn't even talk to each other. i was so pleased that game was shown nationally on tnt. unfortunately, now everyone knows how awesome portland is. damn.

--

adam on a.i.? wow. loved it. the best.

--

Thursday, March 26, 2009

amos, tori

for some reason i thought about tori amos this afternoon.
so i googled her to make sure she wasn't arrested or dead or something*.
then i posted a picture of her.
i did find out that tori will have a new record out on may 19th**.



*i'm relieved to know that tori is not dead or in jail and probably in england someplace being...english.
**this record is called abnormally attracted to sin. oh tori.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

merry christmas!



i saw this on perez this morning. i laughed out loud. we think she's all better. but she's not. she's still nuts. poor thing. perhaps she forgot her meds this morning. i know how i feel if i forget. eek! keep in mind that this was on march 24, 2009. listen closely around the :48 second mark.

---
quickly, holla back to tara from the biggest loser. she smoked all those fools - she pulled a 2 ton car with close to 300 pounds in it. awesome. and to think she almost let them break her. if she can gain some allies and keep herself in this game, tara will win. they would all be fools to keep her around. but i love tara, i'd love to see her win. maybe she'll win the second prize.

---
scully is acting so lovey with me right now that i fear she is going to steal my breath in my sleep tonight. i just wanted to let you all know should i wake to my breath stolen.

again?

try posting again lesley...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

on this day ...

[1973 ... the album "dark side of the moon" by pink floyd was released]

[1989 ... the nation's worst oil spill occurred as the supertanker exxon valdez ran aground on a reef in alaska's prince william sound and began leaking 11 million gallons of crude oil]


Monday, March 23, 2009

scully growls & hisses at ellen

on this day ... 2008



a roadside bomb killed four u.s. soldiers in baghdad, pushing the overall american death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

on this day ... 1965

on march 21, 1965, more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led by the rev. martin luther king jr. began their march from selma to montgomery, alabama.

pine state

[the mcisley. oh. my. god. it's good. not vegetarian friendly.]
in portland?
go here.

el magico!

portland trailblazer's magic numer... 9
[c'mon phoenix! i don't want to root for you to lose. give up! let us have it! it's been much longer for us and we want it real bad. well, i do.]

Friday, March 20, 2009

r.h.n.y.c.

i can't believe i just read one of the most profound books i've ever read and now i'm watching a real housewives of nyc marathon. really? last season i really enjoyed these ladies. i thought they were funny and not as super ridiculous as the orange county wives. but this season? they are all just a little bit catty. luann is out of her mind. she thinks she's an expert on etiquette and she's writing a book. meanwhile, she's trying to hush a crowd at a benefit (where she's being honored, of course) and then goes back to her table and continues to talk about how rude everyone is throughout the entire intro. the zinger? she was shocked that the woman giving the intro wasn't referring to her as "countess." she married a count (15 years her senior) and takes her "title" very seriously. it's hilarious. the episode where ramona tells luann that she thought her husband was twice her age was priceless. you can't script this stuff! alex and simon are the "white trash" snobs. her and her husband live in near squalor in brooklyn. their brownstone is a disaster - they're remodeling. they are living in a closet with their 2 obnoxious children. i think jill and bethany are the most human. the new "wife" kelly is ... well, i'm not sure why she's on this season. she's the ex of tyra banks photographer, the infamous jil bin simone. awesome. however, she is the most stuck up of them 5. ooohhh, next week is fashion week in new york! i can't wait.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

future record night ... like tonight

3/19/2009
[love]





--
i finished the road. i'm trying not to swoon over it so ridiculously. it really has me thinking. no survivor tonight so record night it is. i'm taking a break from reading so i can recover from the last one. i'm not ready to let them go yet. i needed some positive mojo after the tragedy of that book. who doesn't make love songs better than lenny kravitz? and that old stevie wonder record? awesome. i lost that record in the divorce and i mentioned it to my friend jenn whilst we shopped for records for record night and she bought it for me. she's so kind. me, her and sharon got breakfast and hung out today. it was fun.
peace and love

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

words i couldn't conjure about the road

"there is an urgency to each page, and a raw emotional pull...making [the road] easily one of the most harrowing books you'll ever encounter...once opened, [it is] nearly impossible to put down; it is as if you must keep reading in order for the characters to stay alive...the road is a deeply imagined work and harrowing no matter what your politics." -bookforum

"devastating...mccarthy has never seemed more at home, more eloquent, than in the sere, postapocalyptic ash land of the road...extraordinarily lovely and sad...[a] masterpiece." -entertainment weekly.

* * * * *
it was hard to start this book because it's written in a very stream of conscience, non-punctuated manner that is hard to comprehend. once you do, the first review is spot on! i read 90 pages last night before bed for the very reason of making sure the boy and his father stay the good guys. and alive. it's told in short cryptic, concise paragraphs. it is punctuated with deeply philosophical ideas that really make me feel a pit and a sense of urgency in my stomach. this is rare for me with books. please check this book out and we'll talk about it.

biggest loser spoiler!!!!

* * * * *
oh cathy from the biggest loser sacrificing herself for aubrey. i really admire that cathy. there is something about her that reminds me of my own mother. selfless. funny. adorable. approachable. way to go cathy - don't ever stop. kristin, come on girl! +1? my heart broke for her. the frustration and pressure is probably mounting now. tara too - she is starting to plateau i think. it's going to be harder and harder for her to lose weight. she looks amazing. kristin looks great too, but has more weight to lose than tara. the thing i love about the biggest loser is that everyone (well, sans vickie from last season) is there to lose weight and make their lives better and support each other. cathy knew aubrey would have a hard time at home with 5 kids and she did lose 5 pounds this week.

* * * * *
wait! there is a commercial for a "cleaner" called 30 seconds outdoor cleaner. it gets off moss and slimy stuff that collects over the winter. especially here in the damp pacific northwest. you just spray it on and rinse it off after 30 seconds and, voila! moss gone. what is this chemical? it's getting washed into our rivers and streams and could kill oceanic life and you know, us. don't use chemicals for this people! as sharon would exclaim, "IT'S TOXIC!" call me, i'll bring over the power washer and go to town. i power washed sharon's entire house, deck and porch last year. i also power washed my friends, andrea and jerry's deck! i also power washed the courtyard at my apartment! i'm thinking in a couple months it'll be time to do more power washing. i love that thing! it's amazingly satisfying. it's way better than sweeping or vacuuming. [1 C, 2 U's? i can never remember! spellcheck!] you get out the iPod, make a power washing playlist and go to town! sharon came out and brought me a cold beverage and a snack from time to time. and i was allowed bathroom breaks.

* * * * *
so go get the road. for reals, not for fakes.
also...
go get neko case's new record, middle cyclone. it's not her best by a long shot but it's catchy. she can't help it. plus she's on the hood of a 1967 mercury cougar - the car i learned to drive in and drove mostly through high school. we all cried the day it drove down the street. thanks for the memories, neko! oh, plus me and johna and jenn will be at the crystal when she comes to portland. i was hoping for a different venue, but it's the perfect mid-sized room for her.
poor natasha richardson! get well soon...

Monday, March 16, 2009

uh, cute

if you saw ellen's show today you'll want to check this out before they take it down. i don't know how we can not let two people this in love be legally married. honestly. [you can probably see it at ellen's website too.]

recent record nights

3/2/2009
[influential women night]


3/15/2009
[tranny night!]


[i swear, when it's nicer out, i'm having a record night/early evening. i don't care what my no-fun neighbor has to say about it! you will come armed with your record and beverage of choice...maybe when my sister is here!]

Sunday, March 15, 2009

on this day ... 44 b.c.

roman dictator julius caesar was assassinated by a group of nobles that included brutus and cassius.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

this day ... 1967

the body of president john f. kennedy was moved from a temporary grave to a permanent memorial site at arlington national cemetery.

lez letdown / pruning / blazers steal a win

lez letdown...
well, the l word came to an abrupt and unsatisfying end. it had to be one of the worst series endings i've ever anticipated and witnessed. my prediction was incorrect, of course, but it would have been better than never knowing what/who killed jenny. i saw what chaiken was trying to do here, reiterate a million times what a close knit group they are. that even though they all had "reasons" to want to kill jenny (no matter how asinine) - they never would because they loved each other unconditionally. friendships like these don't come along everyday, which is true, but because they were so beloved i think we/they deserved a little more than the interrogations about what might have happened to jenny. are we to assume she fell through the railing outside bette and tina's bedroom? what was nikki stevens doing in the bushes? bette was pretty pissed at her, but does my sweet bette porter have it in her to kill jenny? perhaps jenny's little dog, sounder, had had enough too. i'm not ruling anything out at this point. whatever. all i know is that the first lesbian drama on television came in like a lion and left a scrawny kitty cat. it's a shame. i feel used. i know chaiken had the best of intentions but it fell about 2 miles short of the finish line. we did find out that jenny did steal the negatives to lez girls and shane finds molly's letter. tasha came back to alice (thankfully, something good happens), helena can't trust dylan and leaves her and kit rides into sunset boulevard (the drag queen). we get one last look at sexy carmen, marina and tim during jenny's sweet and touching tribute to bette and tina for their going away gathering. [by the way, the remodel on bette and tina's place is frighteningly modern...like "jetson's" modern. it doesn't even look like their fantastic california sprawler.] alright. i'm disappointed. what can i say?

pruning...
i pruned for the first time yesterday with sharon in her yard. i did the rose bushes. it was such a beautiful day yesterday (almost 60 degrees!!!) and i had a great time. it makes me want a yard - but i know better! thanks sharon!

blazer's steal a win before road trip...
i can't believe the portland trailblazers came back to win that game against new jersey. it's annoying that it was so hard for them. this should have been a gimmie. however, they are coming off the dallas loss and leave for a 5 game road trip today. nic batum was unbelievable (20 points 2 blocks). this rookie got a shot when martell webster went down and has been a pleasant surprise to fans and the coaches. san antonio got pritch-slapped in the draft when portland snuck in and drafted him the pick right before SA was about to draft him. [pritch-slapped is a term we use here in rip city for getting duped by general manager, kevin pritchard. he gets 98.9% of the credit for putting together this great, young, portland team. thanks kevin!] joel pryzbilla had 5 blocks - all in the first half! brandon roy had 0 (yes, that's Z-E-R-O) field goals in the entire first half and ends the game with 31 points.
portland moves into a tie with utah for first in the northwest division. only 17 games remain...
portland's magic number: 11
we believe.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

i heart l.a.

no my first name ain't baby - it's lamarcus. mr. aldridge if you're nasty!


Wednesday, March 11, 2009

neko

neko case (born september 8, 1970 in alexandria, virginia) is an american alternative country singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the canadian indie rock group the new pornographers.
case recorded and toured for several years as 'neko case & her boyfriends' before switching to just her name. she primarily performs her own material, but also performs and has recorded cover versions of songs by artists such as loretta lynn, tom waits, nick lowe, buffy sainte-marie, randy newman, queen, bob dylan, neil young, and hank williams. She frequently infuses humorous narratives into her live sets.
she is protective of her artistic independence, combining punk's do it yourself ethic, a strong business sense, and clear opinions about her artistic goals. she has spurned offers from major record labels because they don't offer her enough control of her music, remaining affiliated with mint records in canada and bloodshot and ANTI- in the United States.


1997

2000

2001


2002

2004


2006 [fox confessor brings the flood]

2007


2009

with the new pornographers
2000 mass romantic
2003 electric version
2005 twin cinema
2007 challengers

Monday, March 9, 2009

iPhone

if someone asks you if you want to check out their iPhone, just say no. if you find yourself with that sleek, shiny, hand-held computer in your palm remember i warned you here first. love. love at first sight/touch. just a click - oh, you're on the internet. another - oh, i'm updating my blog. another? i've just taken your picture. what? music? yep. phone? yep. amazing. this little thing is what i thought things might do in the "future" - here it is.
sharon and diane bought theirs because johna ordered one and sharon didn't want to have iPhone envy. it ends up that johna can't figure out her address and typed it in wrong so they wouldn't send it to her because her info didn't jive with her card info! what a stoner. now me and johna have iPhone envy and think we are going to become "friends & family." it's cheaper the more people on your plan you have. i'll keep you posted.
i heart iPhone

Sunday, March 8, 2009

lez girls

coming to a 6 year end tonight is ilene chaiken's ground-breaking lesbian series, the l word. i've talked a lot about how annoying this show is - but when you break it down, it's just a soap opera with chicks. hot chicks. when the l word first appeared it got a lot of flack for all the women on the show being "too hot" and not "lesbian" enough. it's true that only two of the women are actual lesbians (leisha "alice" hailey and daniela "moira/max" sea) and that the "straight" women are hot, hot, hot. [i've had jennifer beals in my minds eye for 6 years - yum!] perhaps "too hot" to be gay. the writing lacked and the acting sometimes left a lot to be desired (good acting cannot overcome bad writing). ilene pissed me off when she killed off dana and broke my heart when carmen was written out. [can anyone forget carmen's sexy dance for shane in the dining room?]ilene's show, however, has broken down many stereotypes and boundaries for lesbians on television. if i had a show like the l word when i was coming of sexual age perhaps it wouldn't have been so hard for me to be honest and feel good about who i was. the only gay person i saw on tv was billy crystal in soap and he was so flamboyant it seemed a mockery. ellen degeneres came along 20 years later and changed every one's perception about homosexuality and probably made it possible for a show like the l word and it's predessor queer as folk.
all of the actors really took this show very seriously and boldly embraced their characters. they had to because in the hands of worse actors this show never would have lasted more than a season. j. beals and laurel holloman (bette & tina) have some of the best chemistry between two virtual strangers i have ever seen. l. hailey (alice), is close to comic genius i've seen in a while. her timing is spot on and i hope she gets to do something else fun soon. [it's rumored that alice will be getting her own spin-off type show, but i have no actual proof or info. so as the real estalker says, don't go spreading it around like it's gospel!] katherine "i swear i'm not really gay" moennig is shane. i'll never be able to look at her in another role with out thinking of shane. mia kirshner as jenny was just brilliant. she took that character from meek victim to fun loving friend to crazy film director to shattered woman. great. thank you mia! i've already spoken of rachel shelley and helena peabody's odd transformation. who am i forgetting? oh, kit! giiiiiirrrrrl! bad ass pam grier was left short of a fully developed character. i think it was season 4 or 5 when her lines consisted of "giiiiirrrrrl" "baby girl" "baby sis" "my boo" and others. the many great guest spots like ossie davis and gloria steinem to snoop dog and sleater-kinney. great extended guest spots from marlee matlin and cybill shephard.
i'm worried about how this is going to end because there is only the one episode left and nothing is getting resolved! here's how the bear thinks this will end (especially if chaiken was feeling really evil):
who killed jenny? jenny killed jenny. the last act of defiance. her swan song. but wait! we're back in tim's converted garage and jenny is sitting in front of her laptop. this is lez girls, jenny's novel about the escapades of tim and jenny's glamorous lesbian neighbors she eyes through the fence, bette and tina and their circle of los angeles lesbians. the book ends with jenny (the writer) killing off the evil jenny (the "character") because it's the only way it could end. the show began with jenny arriving in los angeles and it will end with her leaving. tim and jenny are married and live happily ever after. i know this isn't the most popular of endings but i will laugh my ass off if she pulls a dallas on us.
so, in conclusion, thanks ilene chaiken for giving us 6 maddening years of a lesbian soap opera - who knows when we'll see another. these women will forever be in my lexicon. don't forget to watch tonight or find it online. i can't tell you where but if you look hard enough you'll find it. if you've never watched, go. go now and rent seasons 1-5. by the time you're done season 6 will be available!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

s.d.


sarah dougher is an author, teacher, and singer-songwriter from portland oregon.
dougher has a ph.d in comparative literature from the university of texas. apart from her musical endeavours, dougher teaches courses on the history of women in rock music and lyric poetry in the women's studies department at portland state university.
dougher has been an organizer for the rock and roll camp for girls, and is currently involved with the girls rock camp alliance, an international coalition of girls' rock camps.
she is a full time teacher and development person for p:ear, a mentoring program for homeless teens in downtown portland.
the first of her solo albums, day one, was released on indie label k records in 1999; the latter two, 2000's walls ablaze and 2001's the bluff, were released on mr. lady records. in june 2005, dougher released harper's arrow on the cherchez la femme label.
dougher has also worked with sleater-kinney vocalist corin tucker and novelist sts in the band cadallaca, where she provided backing vocals and played the farfisa organ. in the tradition of 1960's girl groups, each member of the band assumed an alias, dougher being credited as dusty. the band put out two official albums: introducing cadallaca and out west, both of which contributed to the band's growing cult-fanbase.

dougher was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2004 - she is now in remission.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

helena peabody

the l word. this show is finally coming to an end after 6 gloriously bad seasons and the person i ended up really rooting for and loving - helena. yes, the helena peabody. the one that seduced a very pregnant tina and ruined bette's life at the california arts center. in season 2 she was a monster; in season 3 she's a hilarious, funloving sidekick to the group. everyone ends up loving helena. even bette by season 6. helena ended up losing her fortune, been hoodwinked by a woman she fell in love with (damn that dylan!), was hoodwinked again by a different woman but stole all her money and hid it, went to jail [the conversation where alice told her not to drop the soap was hilarious], fell in love with her cell mate, got out bought the planet with kit, then fell in love with first said hoodwinked girl again (yay, dylan!). through all of that helena became my favorite friend on the l word. oh, and she just got sexier and sexier.

rachel shelley - isn't she cute?

on sunday the l word comes to a close. ilene is leaving us with 8 pathetic episodes. episode 7 i thought would start wrapping things up, but i was foiled again. i have this horrible fantasy that jenny is still with tim and writing her first novel about their sexy lesbian neighbors, bette and tina and their menagerie of friends and their probable escapades. she lives vicariously through what she sees through the fence. she marries tim and lives happily ever after. wouldn't that just piss everyone off? the last 2 seasons, jenny has been a pretty over the top, sensational villain. i mean, this is stuff writers save for daytime serials. this couldn't have all really happened. we shall see. if all this is true then maybe dana is still alive! that'd be one way to have dana in the finale. good god, i can't wait for this to be over!

Monday, March 2, 2009

playlist

hey ya'll! the sun is out. again! yay. i'm going to air out the apartment today and clean. for some reason a sunny day makes me want to clean stuff and get organized. so, i made a playlist. of course. this playlist was inspired by songs i played on KCSC in the 90's. enjoy!

last laugh by dance hall crashers...and maybe i was wrong this one time
no-handed by sarah dougher...stop acting like i knew stop acting like i planned it
where you get love by matthew sweet...i'm here if you want to keep me near
slow dog by belly...thought i'd leave this world by 21
one of these days by camper van beethoven...when you figure it all out be sure and let me know
supervixen by garbage...i will be your religion
these days by r.e.m....we are hope despite the times
bigmouth strikes again by the smiths...now i know how joan of arc felt
two beers later by cadallaca...now the room is different boys, beers and boobs
lost & saved by juliana hatfield...you're on your feet and i'm in quicksand
beautiful john by madder rose...you're no flower
wave of mutilation by the pixies...drive my car into the ocean
valerie loves me by material issue...it's such a shame she's not with me
my iron lung by radiohead...you don't mean it but it hurts like hell
start together by sleater-kinney...don't tear apart what we worked for
time bomb by rancid...secrets to a good life if knowing when you're through