I’m not sure if this is typical for NASCAR or more along the line of Elvis’s car being sent on tour after his death. Since Earnhardt is alive and well, I’m guessing the former. In any case, you can see the car at Wentworth Chevy on Grand & Burnside right across from downtown. Tomorrow it moves on to Mt. Hood Community College and then to Hooters. Hmmm, Hooters, National Guard, NASCAR – don’t tell the New York Times and the rest of the media, but I think this proves we’re really rednecks….

Governor Ted Kulongoski and legislators will gather in the Capitol Rotunda for a midday celebration. Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini will play the piano and conduct the assembly in a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday.”

Well, I’m glad it will be a rousing version of Happy Birthday, not like those half-hearted atonal group mutterings we’ve become used to. Anyway, the article also promises that there will be a “year-long” birthday party next year. That’s a scary thought – I can handle maybe a week-long party, but a whole year? Does that mean 2 years of hangovers and tidying up?

More info here for you die-hard party people.

You may be asking yourself, what kind of idiot is blogging when they’re on vacation in Mexico, when they should be laying on the beach drinking margaritas? Well, I figure vacation is a time to do the things you enjoy, and one of the things I enjoy is web surfing and blogging, so here I am. Well, the real “here” is Sayulita, about 30 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. This seems to be a popular destination for folks from the Pacific Northwest, as we’ve met many Seattlites here. It’s a small fishing village which is still pretty unspoiled by the turistas. The weather’s been great, the food is awesome and the people are very friendly. Am I annoying you yet? Sorry about the Portland winter – I hope you all can head off to some kind of vacation soon, too. See you next week!

After (too many) years as a poor struggling musician, a recent increase in income in the last few years has caused me to stop shopping at my old stalwarts like Fred Meyer, Safeway and Food Valu. Instead I now spend way too much money at the New Seasons on Interstate. I enjoy the increased quality of the goods I buy, the organic and sustainable stuff – I’m down with that. But, good God, people – is it too much to ask for the “friendliest store in town” to carry some friggin’ Red Delicious apples?? What’s friendlier that a bright red shiny sweet delicious apple? It’s “America’s favorite apple”, after all!

Ok, New Season’s produce section has an excellent selection of organic produce. And every time I go there I search in vain for my little apple friends. But I am disappointed again and again. And after shopping there regularly, the idea of getting my fruits and veggies at Safeway again gives me the creeps. It’s akin to stepping back behind the counter at Music Millenium, living in a studio apartment in a meth-addled building on Burnside, and having 20 bucks to buy all my groceries for the week again. I just can’t go back. But now I have to make a special trip to Freddie’s or Safeway to get some Red Delicious apples. So, why is this? What does New Seasons have against these apples? Are they just too mainstream, too boring, too white trash? Oh, I’ve tried the other apples, but they’re too tart, too small, not shiny enough, not big enough to cut in half and slather with Jif – frankly, just not red and delicious enough.

But, as it turns out, it looks like America loved the Red Delicious too much. This article in the Washington Post makes the case that years of modifications to the fruit to make it last longer, be more tasty, to have that bright shiny color have actually made it inedible. It’s like the Red Delicious is the fruit world’s Plastic Surgery disaster, the scary Burt Reynolds of botany. So, is New Seasons saving us from ourselves? Or is there some snooty produce buyer somewhere laughing at the thought of stocking something so gauche?

I spy with my little eye a dude with dyed black hair in a Misfits jacket, carrying a small coffin with a handle. Coffin emblazoned with a large white cross on the front. Contents unknown. Possibly lunch.

I suppose the biggest flaw with Walsh’s book is that he didn’t actually get any interviews with the original surviving band members. Which in an oral history setting seems to be a dealbreaker, no? Instead we are regaled with anecdotes and stories from friends and Minneapolis scenesters and band management. The band does have a voice, but all of their contributions are pulled from various interviews from over the years.

The most interesting stuff comes from recent interviews with late period guitarist Slim Dunlap. He provides the insider’s look into band dynamics and recording that the rest of the book lacks.

I never saw the ‘Mats in Portland, but I did see them in New Orleans in 1987, where they gave one of their infamously bad shows. But it could have been worse, as the internets tell me:

Portland has a special place in Mats history, as the site of perhaps their worst, most drunken show ever… a 1987 show so bad they Paul scratched “We’re Sorry, Portland” into the vinyl inner groove of the Don’t Tell a Soul LP the following year.

Though the book left me unsatisfied, I imagine that with this particular subject matter, the reading and Q & A session with Walsh could be entertaining.

Last Monday Lucy, our 4 year old Great Dane, had a seizure (or something else still undetermined) and we rushed her off to DoveLewis in Northwest Portland. (Which made me wonder- can you call an ambulance for a pet?) My wife had been there before, but I hadn’t – and I have to say they do a really great job there. The care was prompt and thorough and Lucy pulled through fine, though they did not notice a heart murmur for which we have to do further testing. In Corvallis. (Apparently that’s the only place you can get a canine EKG in the Portland area.)

The DoveLewis building and facilities are nice and new and the staff were friendly and reassuring. I’m very grateful that Portland has such a fine “24-hour animal emergency hospital”. I saw on their site that they were just selected as Oregon’s 8th most admired non-profit. Makes me wonder who the first seven were…