backspace
Hanging out with the cousin at Backspace, an Internet coffee shop/gaming center in Oldtown Portland (115 NW 5th). Very nice, open space with local art, free wifi (natch), a computer repair center, a couple of old school arcade uprights (including Joust, my favorite, with Popeye a close second), somewhat more adult local art in the back featuring Full Frontal Nudity, and a large LAN network for WOW and Halo and such. They are unabashedly geeked out and regularly hold LAN tournaments with things like video cards for prizes. And they have these cool blond wood benches with chess tables built in. AND they're open til 2 AM. AND they rent PSP's for a very reasonable $6 an hour. About the only thing they don't do is serve beer, but in Oldtown that's not really a problem. Very cool place - I can't believe I haven't been here before. The inhabitants are obviously cut from similar cloth as myself, if a bit more steeped in Portland cool: hoodies abound, usually of the Pabst ad/snowboard gear/obscure video game reference variety, which I'm finding a very nice change from the tattered hoodies with homemade patches advertising gender ennui I encountered in Seattle. And if there's a few questionably dressed gamers around (guys who wear their trenchcoats belted shut indoors, people all in mismatched shades of black, the guy in the corner affecting the faux Edwardian dandy getup), well, to be honest that's just making me feel nostalgic and comfortable. They're playing Gary Neuman, for God's sake, and it's a B-side, not "Cars". (Something off the "Assassin" album, maybe?) I see they even had a launch party for Nintendo DS MarioKart, which came out in Nov. I like it here. Mr. emotrouble, when you visit, we'll definitely make a point of stopping by here.
Stephen seems to be in better spirits. His back isn't hurting quite so much this week and the work thing is slowly crawling toward a resolution.
I haven't much else to say, other than that the celebrity death triad of Richard Pryor (which made me tear up)/Eugene McCarthy (who wasn't, as I originally thought, the one responsible for McCarthyism - that was Joseph McCarthy - or a dapper wooden puppet - that would be Charlie McCarthy)/Robert Sheckley (old-school sci-fi giant for you nerd illiterates) is an odd one. Odder still if you break urban legend and expand it to a quartet - Donald Watson, the founder of veganism, died several days ago. A mixed bag for the office pool, for sure.
Almost done with school. I do a Powerpoint presentation on barbecue tomorrow, turn in my scanty portfolio on Thursday, and my last day's on Friday the 16th. I spend a week or so blanketing the city with resumes, then I fly out on the 23rd for Detroit (God help me, it's not even Detroit itself, but a suburb). Somewhere in there, or for New Year's after I get back, I want to either visit Seattle or have Seattle-area folks visit me. Messers jamesleeland and havdrake, how are your schedules shaping up?
Off for beer and Chinese food.
Stephen seems to be in better spirits. His back isn't hurting quite so much this week and the work thing is slowly crawling toward a resolution.
I haven't much else to say, other than that the celebrity death triad of Richard Pryor (which made me tear up)/Eugene McCarthy (who wasn't, as I originally thought, the one responsible for McCarthyism - that was Joseph McCarthy - or a dapper wooden puppet - that would be Charlie McCarthy)/Robert Sheckley (old-school sci-fi giant for you nerd illiterates) is an odd one. Odder still if you break urban legend and expand it to a quartet - Donald Watson, the founder of veganism, died several days ago. A mixed bag for the office pool, for sure.
Almost done with school. I do a Powerpoint presentation on barbecue tomorrow, turn in my scanty portfolio on Thursday, and my last day's on Friday the 16th. I spend a week or so blanketing the city with resumes, then I fly out on the 23rd for Detroit (God help me, it's not even Detroit itself, but a suburb). Somewhere in there, or for New Year's after I get back, I want to either visit Seattle or have Seattle-area folks visit me. Messers jamesleeland and havdrake, how are your schedules shaping up?
Off for beer and Chinese food.