It sure took ‘em long enough, but finally our quarter is finally here! (I know it’s the order states were admitted to the Union, but come on, how long have we been looking at Georgia and Connecticut?)

And as if that weren’t enough, later this year we’re also (sort of) on the nickel! (Scroll a bit to see the one I mean.)

And as if THAT weren’t enough, you can, as odd as it sounds, buy money at the US Mint site as well as all other manner of change related paraphernalia. Don’t worry if you have Alex P. Keaton-esque dreams about currency-you can get bills too. Of course you already know all this if you are a serious numismatist. :)

There I was on the MAX train, headed toward town at about Millikan Way.

Two female PSU students are talking. One of them relates a recent lecture from one of her profs, detailing how, in the 1950s, some politicians used what she termed “the scare tactic of Communists wanting to dominate the world” as a rationale for defense spending.

“You mean kind of like now with Iraq?”, her friend asks her.

“Like yea,” answers the first.

Then the two students talk about something that one of them heard, tat Se. Gordon Smith had “refused to sign” a U.S. Senate resolution condemning the lynching practices of yore.

“If he refused to sign it,” then he’s a bad man,” one said.

One woman said that she met him once- at a memorial rally for Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming youth likely slain because he was gay.

The other woman wanted to know how that seeming expression of tolerance on Gordon’s part equates with the presumption that he did not want to sign the lynching apology.

I almost piped up that they were wrong. The lynching apology passed by voice vote,not requiring any signature. And Gordon Smith, whose Mormon forebears also encountered some persecution (though, of course nowhere what we did to African-Americans) has proven himself to be a tolerant and kind man.

I didn’t vote for Gordon this last time, but I know a jerk when I see one, and Gordon is as far from it as possible.

The real takeaway here, is that I came home thankful that I am active in professions – journalism and blogging – where I can help clear up misunderstandings and hearsay.

Late this afternoon I’m on NW Trendy-third, headed north after a Chinese meal of shrimp and lobster sauce.

Then I get to the #15 bus stop at Everett when I see the darndest scene.

A twenty-something, petite woman is rolling a dolly with a plushy couch.

Her dolly spills her couch on that high Everett curb crossing, right in front of another twenty-something woman.

They tie her couch back on the dolly, “thanks” and “your welcome’s” are exchanged.

Ten seconds later, another spill. And another tie up from a stranger. And another. I briefly think to myself, “dewwd, you need the exercise, and the karma so why don’t you offer to help?

Then I might think, well,I am unshaven for two days, old enough to be her father, and am not without X-chromosomal company behind the lock that fits my key.

But at the very moment I refrain from helping, her task finally looks like it may be starting to jell. She’s rolling the dolly with the couch up the hill toward Burnside – and, I’m guessing, one of the inexpensive apartments that line that section of street.

By the fifth spill, she gets it right, and applies whatever push power she has available. She may not have gravity on her side, but she does have momentum. In the right circumstances, momentum can trump gravity. Take that, Ike Newton.

The last I saw, she was getting ready to cross Burnside, probably to wheel her quarry in to one of those inexpensive apartments near the Chevron station.

I am wondering why she didn’t opt for home delivery, or get some muscular, 23 year-old Sk8tr boi guy to help. I mean, if I know that breed, put it that way – altruism is not their only motivation.

Hopefully now, she’s ensconsed on her new couch, watching something cool on the tube.

I’m only too happy to give some freaking mad props–when deserved.

Chance of Rain (thirty something and hawthorne, right before the Rock Soft Futon) is dishing up some wicked calzones right now. Vegetarian *and* carnivorous. They’re so goddamn good.

Anyways, eat a calzone, and drink some coffee. They’ve got the free wifi too. RAWK.

Today’s Author Faves question is this: What are you listening to right now?

In the grand tradition of the one previous Faves post, we’ll start with me!

Banana Lee Fishbones is listening to a fairly even rotation of the Rent Soundtrack, The Voice Of The Future by Dr Theopolis, and the sounds of my block now that the kids are out of school and the non-rainy weather keeps them outside doing summer vacationy things.
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Thien-Kim took a break from singing along to fill me in:
Right now I’m digging on local band “Sounds Like Fun.” Three guys, big smiles, sweet hooks. My favorite song off their CD “Make Something” is “Kinda Almost Really,” for this line: “You kinda made me laugh, you almost turn me on, you really made me feel…something.”

Tell me you haven’t ever started a love affair that made you shrug your shoulders and say, “Eh…”?
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Benkay stopped car shopping long enough to say:
I’m digging on two tracks off of the new Daft Punk album (Robot Rock and Steam Machine) but the rest suck, and will probably get the new Moby (Hotel) later. Other than that, I’m totally rocking the Magnetic Fields. They’re simply at the bleeding edge of your music consciousness. It almost hurts to listen to them, they’re that cool.
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Betsy turned it down and informed me:
What I’m loving most? My own personalized Last.FM streaming radio station, courtesy of Audioscrobbler.

How does it work? I listen to music via my computer & iTunes. A free Audioscrobbler plugin (remember you get what you pay for) sends the data to Audioscrobbler (my profile’s viewable and lists what I’ve last listened to.) Once I have enough data compiled? It feeds me similar music from similarly-minded people via my profile station.

I’m not listening to stuff I already have, from artists I already like – instead, I’ve been listening to a ton of very interesting stuff.
I’m probably listening to it right now – go see what’s been playing, will you…?

My Audioscrobbler page: http://www.audioscrobbler.com/user/betsywhim/#
Last.FM: http://www.last.fm/index.php

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Russ claims all he is listening to right now is himself think.

And there you have it. That’s what we are listening to, how about you?

Almost two weeks ago I hauled my sweetie to Astoria with me to attend the Goonies Never Say Die 20th Anniversary Celebration. I was just about the same age as the kids in the movie, so when it came out I was all over my non-attic-having house wishing my dad worked in a museum and looking for Rich Stuff even though I had no Goondocks of my own to save.

It was while we were there, beholding the Truffle Shuffle, that I had that moment that most folks eventually have…the flash of “Holy $#!^ that was 10/20 years ago? That’s SO long but I remember it and…”

Yeah, that moment. It got me thinking about a few different things, so in no particular order, here they are after the jump.
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If you don’t know by now, I’m an avid Flickr user (http://flickr.com/photos/benkay). Ergo, I went to the PDX Flickr meetup last night. Guess what I forgot to bring?

That’s right: a camera with film/card. I’m a genius.

For the second year in a row, I managed to completely avoid the Fun Center downtown.

In fact, much to my chagrin, I avoided the entire Rose Festival. Which is not to say that I enjoy copious doses of Portland’s annual stab at civic confab-ness. I do, however, have a long history of enjoying the Starlight Parade, going back to my high school marching band days.

This year, sadly, I was forced to eat steak in Seattle rather than viewing my favorite parade in the world. And last weekend, I slept in rather than sitting on some sidewalk in Portland getting rained on while watching lots of floats loaf by.

The parades aside, the other annual harbinger of rosiness is the Fun Center at Waterfront Park. This event begins the summer-long effort to destroy all the grass that’s been re-planted along the former highway during the rainy months, and marks the official beginning of the spend-your-off-season-savings/summer-time.
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There was an emergency regarding a woman with two kids. The woman had become disabled and was worried that her electricity would be cut off. Even though I don’t live in Portland and the woman lives in Beaverton, I called Randy Leonard’s office and I was treated courteously and I was able to get the information I needed that might help her.

Randy has a great staff. But, you know, I still disagree with him on the cell phone tax issue.

The reason I called his office is because I know he reads blogs. He has even commented on my personal blog. I think this is cool.

It was a definite emergency and she is still disabled, but from the info I have her electricity won’t be cut off tomorrow.

Well!

With the ships leaving today, it looks like most everything is over now. I’m sort of looking forward to the arts festival, mostly because I like artsy stuff but also because I think it draws less of a crowd, which I enjoy too.

I managed to dodge virtually all the Rose Festival stuff this year, and consider myself lucky after finding out the Church of Scientology won an award for their float-I don’t need a personality test!

Anyway, I have lived here long enough to claim Portland as my home, but I wasn’t born and raised here. I feel a bit guilty about not being excited about the Rose Festival on the one hand, but on the other I feel like that’s the mark of a “real” Portlander, since most everyone I know has practically made Avoidance Of Rose Festival almost a sporting event. (Except for my gay friends, who compete in the “extreme” sport of Avoidance Of Rose Festival While Simultaneously Trying To Get A Good Look At If Not A Good Time With The Sailors Of Fleet Week.) But if that’s how real PDXers feel, why are there tape lines on the sidewalk the Thursday before? So I’m a bit conflicted.

Did you avoid it? Did you have a good time? Did you pay to get in or just skip it altogether? We want to know!