Pirate Dog PDX

Beyond Bizarre!

David and I took a walking tour of that name that centered on the paranormal history/real history of Portland. With Ghost-o-meters and flashlights, we explored old buildings and "Shanghai tunnels."  Our guide told us how real ghosthunters use Scrabble tiles to communicate with the dead. I was especially impressed that we took the streetcar to the other side of the river (the "walk of death," we were told when mourning families took the ferry ride from the area funeral home (now Mothers Restaurant) to the Willamette River's east coast, where 1900's Portlandians buried their dead. It's also site of the White Eagle Inn, considered by our guide (who also cited Travel Channel) to be the most haunted building in Portland.

All 12 of us on the tour walked up dark, but clean, creaky stairs, past the McMinneman Brother's restored bar/club. Upstairs, I felt a cold spot eminate from the bar/boarding house/bordello. Seems Sam, the semi-retared, violent handyman at White Eagle Inn stabbed the stuffing out of Rose, local prostitute and all around sad woman. We stood in the upstairs hall where the boarding rooms are, where Sam literally rode Rose's crawling body and stabbed her repeatedly. Though numerous guests at the boarding house saw him do it, the police never questioned Sam... who, as the handyman, also paid off the police--as all successful businesses did.

My ghostie meter didn't do nada.

BTW, every damn building in Portland from that era seems to be a former bar/boarding house/bordello. Portland used to be shady.

"It's 5 o'clock somewhere."

Says my boy, Jimmy Buffett. I'm sure he meant Portland.

Portland is the place for bar-restaurants: Great atmosphere, cool drinks, creative food. Conquering the formidable PDX restaurant scene on a budget weren't no picnic, no sirree--until we discovered Portland's Happy Hour Guidebook at Powell's Bookstore. Hundreds of restaurants, key HH selling points and bar/menu items, and quotes like Jimmy's up there.

Our first happy hour meal was awesome: Burningman-the-Restaurant served up two caesar salads, two small, but totally filling entrees, and beer and wine for under $20.

"Follow your bliss," said Joseph Cambell, another HH quotee. Follow this book. That's the plan.

Worst School in America

If we are to be judged by our enemies as well as our friends, then I guess not having Sean Hannity on our side at UCSC is good news. Right?

Recently, David Horowitz was on Hannity's show and he ha-a-ated UCSC, calling us the "worst school in America." Oh my. My university colleague summed up the Hannity/Horowitz experience for fellow staffers:

We work for "The Worst School in America". At least according to Fox News and some dude named David Horowitz. Evidently this guy has a book out rating schools based on (liberal) "brainwashing of students?"

No idea how he measured that, I would guess he's not a scientist.

He did acknowledge that Astronomy is "number one", Physics is "first rate" and that our various professional schools are quite good.

Evidently, all it takes to be named the worst school is to call a department "feminist studies" (instead of women's studies) and have an admitted communist on faculty.

Horrors. Like Harvard? Ew. Unseemly.

This is akin to this year's Princeton Review top schools ratings, who (also questionably) found Uncle Charlie* to be a little crunchy and unshaved. We're number 3 in the category, "Birkenstock wearers." This year, we've slipped a tad in our "Reefer Madness" ratings when compared to past years, but Princeton still deemed us a national "Best Value" university because of our superior education for the money.

Hello? Solving global warming over here, folks. Who has time to shave? Or put on shoes with laces.

As one of our students that Princeton Review interviewed pointed out (quite rightly), we're many "different kinds of people, united in our desire to chill out."

That's a great brand in my book. Especially because we  are top astronomers and physics geniuses and poets united in pursuit of chilling.

Still, it's probably bad news for Uncle Charlie. In the end, embracing the "smart counter/future-culture enviro-geek" message isn't easy. Having America watch five ... straight ... minutes of "these guys suck" on Fox News is a bummer, from a marketing perspective, no matter who you are. It's no wonder our university relations team is struggling with the story.

That said, we can embrace our hippiegeeks here. Hug a slug today. Together, we're changing the world.

*Uncle Charlie's Summer Camp is our alumni-embraced acronym-re-named.

Sesame Street Annual Awards Show

For the fourth straight year, giant Muppet "#1" wins Number of the Year at the Sesame Street awards show, this year held at the Monterey Hyatt. Wendy Brickman, CEO of Brickman Marketing, presents the honor to the anthropomorphic digit.

Actually, Wendy's winning a 2007 Business Excellence Award from the Monterey Chamber of Commerce. Go girl.

Brickman Marketing rocks the MoCo Fair

This isn't actually Wendy and me, but it's how we look on the inside. These guys are The Two Bobs, who performed at the Monterey County Fair the year Wendy and I managed their marketing/pr contract. In 2006, Wendy, marketing superhero, and I, her taller, dorkier sidekick (one of many, I assure you) broke attendance records and immersed ourselves in free caramel apples at the Western Fairs Association annual conference and more 4-H events than you knew existed.

Here's a new one: Did you know that 4-H-ers shave their sheep, then dye the wool and knit outfits to put back on the sheep ... and win blue ribbons for the best sheep outfit? We've all heard the rumors about farmboys and sheep, but now I suspect that the sheep might be asking for it, practically naked and parading around in those trampy little wool miniskirts.

WriterChicks

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originally uploaded by rekabek.

Meet Rebecca. There are a lot of reasons to love her. She's smart. She's funny. She understands my boyfriend better than I do.

This self-portrait was taken at the going-away party of our boss in May. That meant our department became a party of two. Now that I'm here and she's quit too, I'm wholly responsible for all things steward-like at UCSC.

Scooby Dubious

Moving from the People's Republic of Santa Cruz to the center of the dog-loving universe has Rico a little confused.

Never before has he trotted happily through art galleries with nary a glance that he might soil a sculpture or pee on a patron. And, yet, tonight, in the Pearl, he suspects he might participate in the First Thursday artwalk, followed by cocktails with David's realtor. It's all a bit sophisticato for a little guy who couldn't walk down main street  without breaking Santa Cruz law.

What's more, tonight's gallery musings will be the second in two days. Yesterday, David, Rico, and I visited the Oregon coast. Rico wandered through art galleries in Cannon Beach, sniffed ocean air and deadstuff in Seaside, and walked all over the Lewis and Clark/historic site memorial in Astoria. He was not, however, allowed to climb the memorial. David did.

Like Portland, Rico is cultural. And though he was dubious of Portland's dog-accepting sincerity, he's on board now. Fill his bowl with pinot noir. Rico's adapting.

Potty PDX

If you know me, and at this nascent point in my blog, you probably do, you know I'm a big water drinker and therefore, a big fan of the abundant public restroom.

In Portland, the public restrooms are in quaint little brick buildings with art deco interior tiles that a New Yorker would pay about $10K a month to live in ... and thank you for it. Unfortunately, for this girl, they are too few and far between, as researchers at Portland State University have proven.

Though an advocacy group has been formed to solve our potty shortage, until they save the Portland pottying world, I've developed a vicious circle of a plan to support my great need for potties. Because I walk/MAX everywhere, I make my way across town by potty-hopping from coffee house to coffee house (where I order more water/tea/why-yes-I'd-love-a-scone to gain access to their customers-only restrooms).

Lucky you, that will no doubt result in future blog entries.  For now, let me say this. While Starbucks is prodigious, the independent coffee house culture here is strong. Many have wireless internet access. So we can be together. And, most have outdoor tables, so Rico can join us too!

Portland is paradise.