A now for some tortured twang…

Ever since viewing 2009′s ‘Crazy Heart’, I’ve been on a country music kick of sorts. It’s not the new country playing on my local radio stations that I’m into – it’s the old country classics: Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard.  The same sort of haunting, tortured tunes that Jeff Bridges strummed as Bad Blake are what I’m after. Watching PBS’s ‘American Masters – Merle Haggard‘ last night was even more of a push. While mostly sad and depressing, the songs seem real and honest – sometimes strikingly so. I listen to the lyrics and learn them almost instantly. On my trip to the library today I walked out with 3 Merle Haggard’s, 1 Hank Williams, and a Ray Price album.

You may want to check on me in the morning.

Foreign Relations

How the border between India and Pakistan is closed, every day. [VIDEO].

Playing footsie

There are all sorts of International collaborations going on in honor of the 2010 World Cup. Take, for example, the Swedish sock powerhouse ‘Happy Socks‘ teaming with NY design collective ‘Wong Wong’ to create this limited edition sock collection representing 9 of the participating countries.

France

Argentina

Now my feetsies will be styled out as I root and jeer during the month long tourney!

Goober Alert

Wow! The GOP has produced some real gems for Oregon’s Governor’s race this year. I’m especially interested in the “growing of cows” – [Goober alert around minute 4:40] This debate was pretty painful, but it did give a platform for all voices in the race. I suppose that’s a good thing?

Republican primary debate – Part 1 | KATU.com – Breaking News, Sports, Traffic and Weather – Portland, Oregon | Related Content.

diggin’ it

so far, so good.

take a moment to get lost

i’m in love with this piece of film.

lost in a moment from dennis wheatley on Vimeo.

the pace.
the music.
the simplicity.

it transports me like nothing has in a long time.

enjoy.

Eat a Chiquita!

I’m going bananas over the new brand design @ Chiquita!

Build well & give back

There are not many places in Portland where you can observe and admire a true relic. Things in this city are mostly new, or at least of the 20th century. That is one of the reasons why I love to travel  – to see old stuff.

In Boston, you can walk The Commons and see a cemetery where two signers of The Declaration of Independence are laid to rest. In Charleston, you can view the slave markets where thousands upon thousands of slaves were imported and traded during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade of the 15th through the early 19th centuries. To get anything older than that, you really gotta cross the pond. Standing underneath an Gothic arch in Assisi or climbing the stairs of Brunelleschi’s Duomo in Florence, gives a perspective and sense of time that are truly humbling.

But in Portland, we just don’t have all that much old stuff. That’s why I’m happy to recognize, admire, and respect it when I run across something of note. This week I have re-discovered such a relic – The William S. Ladd Carriage House, circa 1883. I say re-discovered, because I went to college just a couple of blocks from this building and walked by it umpteen times. Back then, I admired it’s Victorian detailing and wondered about it’s significance. Today, I admire it’s newly renovated state and notice it’s prominent setting on one of Portland’s central city blocks.

The Carriage House sits at the corner of SW Broadway and Columbia, just five feet NW of it’s original foundation. The house underwent a two-year rehabilitation that finished in May ’09. Thanks to the united efforts and determination of preservationists, community members, and building developers, the house was spared from demolition and given a long overdue face lift. It now sits, juxtaposed to a beautiful 23-story glass and steel condo tower bearing the name of the original Carriage House owner, The Ladd.

The Carriage House is the last surviving legacy of a true Portland pioneer. William S. Ladd built well and gave so much back to his town & community. Over the decades, this building has housed horses, cars, artists, and architects. And while it may never again serve as a stable, it will shine on in the shadows of one of Portland’s newest city dwellings.

I think William would approve.

Check out this time-lapsed video of the Carriage House journey down Columbia Street.

El Niño?

January 24, 2010 ~ NW Portland

Today, it was 52 degrees and the air smelled of honeysuckle. Weirdness.

First Aid Kit

A friend recently told me that “Swedes are better than us.”

In most things design related, I would agree.

In manufacturing safe automobiles, I would again agree.

And when it comes to teenage, sibling, folk singers, I would most definitely agree.

The harmonies these sisters create together as Swedish import, First Aid Kit, are other-worldly and their lyrics seem wise beyond their years. I’ve been haunted by their tune – Hard Believer – all day. Grab a blanket, pour yourself a cup of tea and crank the volume – you’ve got some listening to do!