Tuesday, July 22
5pm - ???
Plan B
SE 8th & Main

We had a great group of people last month - including several of our new authors and commenters, as well as our old friends and regulars. And what do we do at these things? Let’s see, we talked about about: beer, bikes, bacon wrapped foods, vegetarian restaurants, crazy neighbors, kids, iPhones, Zip Cars, blogs, bands, humidity, why we live in Portland, the East Coast…..

We hope to see you all again next week. Come on down for some food and drinks and talk about all things Portland…or anything else!

Now I know that we are in a bit of a food shortage* and that corn is on of the most talked about shortage items. But you know that the corn we at is not the same as the corn that is fed to animals, the corn that is used in Ethanol, or even the corn that is popped. Farmers may be planing more of the fuel type corn and less of the food type corn - but that shouldn’t mean that the sweet corn that is planted should be any less tasty than usual. And yet it is. Now I know I’m not going to find anything as sweet and juicy as that Midwest corn, but Oregon corn can be decent, and even for early in the season, the stuff this summer has just been abysmal! We had delicious ribs from Gartners last night, and alongside them, some really really sad sweet corn.

I’ve tried getting it at a variety of places - but so far not much luck. Any suggestions? A particular farmers market or stand? A certain grocery store? Your backyard?

Please help - I need my corn-on-the-cob fix!

*I have a really hard time saying ‘food shortage’ in a place where we eat so much and waste so much and for many of us it just means fewer fancy meals out, but for many people, I do know it’s truly a problem we must solve!

Words cannot explain… just watch…

P.S. none of that footage is sped up. They really move that fast.

Tuesday - July 8
Hillsboro Stadium
8pm

Why do people feel compelled to take a summer vacation - when everyone else is doing so - prices are higher - it’s hot and sticky and gross outside? Now if you have school age kids it makes a little more sense - they’re already out of school. But I remember my parents taking us out of school for a week to go to Florida in November and things like that. A week out of school isn’t going to kill them.

Is it just so ingrained in us from childhood that summer means vacation that we have to do it? And especially 4th of July week or weekend - that’s just asking to end up with more people, longer lines and more hassles. Why not wait to camp next weekend? Go to the Grand Canyon in October. Hit Disneyland in November. Do Vegas in December. Or am I missing something? Is there really a compelling reason to do vacations in the summer?

It was pretty early in the morning, and none of us had enough coffee yet - so my office was fascinated with the procession. Then they all move to the center of the pad in a very orderly fashion and we see a guy with a camera and a ladder. It was photo shoot time! Maybe it was the lack of caffiene, but a bunch of cops lining up for a class picture just cracked us all up.

Do you think they smiled or did they have their serious faces on?
Do you take class pictures at your job?

The sun is shining, the patio is beckoning, and so are the bacon wrapped kosher dogs and ‘The Lemmy’ (vodka, lemonade, and raspberry liqueur.)

See you tonight!

Now we just need to get the Oregonian to stop tossing FoodDay on our doorsteps each week whether we’re subscribers or not. I thought maybe by leaving them in a pile for a month they’d just stop - but instead, my front walk just looks a bit whiskey-tango.

Or maybe when I get my new recycling roll-cart I can just leave one of the old yellow bins out there and they’ll drop straight in for me! (And stop with the plastic wrap in the dry months!!)

My husband and I headed over there to see The Detroit Cobras - a fantastic garage soul band. They were one of the first bands he introduced to me when we first started dating an I’ve been a big fan ever since.

I’d never heard of the opening act, Les Sans Culottes, but they sounded interesting so we had a few drinks on the patio then headed downstairs to check them out. According to their website they’ve been together since 2001, but have primarily played in the NYC and LA areas, so they didn’t really have a fan base here. The crowd did the typical Portland thing and stood back, watching arms folded. The stage was full - seven members of the band - but they filled it even more with their stage presence. Most of the songs were sung in French - including versions of “These Boots Are Made For Walking” and “My Sharona” - and when they spoke they used French accents - despite being from Brooklyn - and by the time they finished playing, the floor was full and booties were shakin’!

When The Detroit Cobras took the stage, the first words out of lead singer, Rachel Nagy’s mouth were, “Let’s get this over with so we can drink.” My heart sank. The last time I’d seen them they were less than stellar - but I’d seen them many times before and they were great. Their new album is really good, so I was hoping that last time was just a bad night. Now I wasn’t so sure. The sounded good - but just very well rehearsed with little enthusiasm. They could have been playing in the studio instead of in front of several hundred eager fans. As the night progressed, they did liven up - and it turned out to be a really good night. But Les Sans Culottes absolutely stole the show. Even when the Detroit Cobras were playing, the bass player and one of the female singers from Les Sans Culottes rushed to the front of the crowd and just started dancing their asses off - and looked like they were having more fun than the Cobras.

Please - Les Sans Culottes - come back to Portland again soon!

The show started early at 6 - although we weren’t terribly interested in the first band - so we bolted out right after work knowing we’d have to fight our way out I-84. Once we arrived, we bought tickets from a ‘friend’ (paying $14 over face-value of tickets, but still saving ourselves $12 in ‘convenience fees.’), then headed down to the winery for some tasting. We tried several McMennamins wines that I’d never had before - Julia was a great - then headed back out to the venue.

For concerts, the entire northeast part of the lawn is fenced off with the stage set up at the far north end of the lawn. Up on the top by the Little Red Shed are the food and drink vendors (and porta-potties!) then everyone sits down the hill. Because they started so early, all three bands were finished before it got dark, and while I’d say it was mostly adults - there were some little ones running around too. And the adults - ever so Portland polite. People had their blankets to sit on - but up toward the front people were standing and dancing around - and not stepping on anyone’s blankets. It made me giggle when I realized it. All these groups of people standing around watching, and singing along and dancing - with pockets where no one stood - because there was a blanket spread out on the lawn. Gotta love Portlanders!

All in all though - it was a great night. And despite the ridiculous pricing - I’m a big fan of Edgefield concerts for a nice summer night out. Billy Idol will be there two weeks from tonight - and so will I!