Have You Seen The Horizon Lately by Jamie S. Rich

Giving someone a good book for a holiday gift is giving them something that they’ll experience for hours. A good book can also be an amazing experience, and experiences will always trump any physical gift you can ever give someone.

Have You Seen The Horizon Lately, was written by Portland author Jamie S. Rich and published locally by Oni Press. It one of the most stunningly emotional and well written books of the year. It’s quite possibly the very best book you’ve never heard of.

In Have You Seen The Horizon Lately characters grapple with deep emotional issues, struggle to find a way to connect to each and desperately seek the road to happiness.  This is the kind of book that you simply won’t put down and one you’ll never forget.

Giving someone a great book that they’ve never heard of, but fall in love with is a blockbuster gift, and in this case it’s an extremely affordable one too.

Other novels by Jamie S. Rich to check out include:  Cut My Hair,  I was Someone Dead and The Everlasting.

Also check out his graphic novels including: Twelve Reasons Why I Love Her (with Joelle Jones) and Love The Way You Love.

The list, which is constantly growing and updating is a fantastic resource to quickly get info on the coffee shops in an area.  Since all Coffee shops aren’t created equal, this new resource breaks each one down by:

• Atmosphere
• Amenities
• Ideal For
• Wifi Rating

As with any Wiki,  readers are encouraged to contribute their knowledge and help make this resource as comprehensive as possible.

Another great resource on the About Us site is the Portland Tech Twitter Page, an invaluable resource if you want to connect with Portland’s tech community.

A group of Nader supporters in front of the Obama/Merkley campaign office

Many Nader supporters held signs criticizing Nader’s exclusion from the debates, saying “Open the debates,” and “Nader Debates, America Wins.”

One sign read Nader Debates, America Wins. Step Up, Barack

The recent economic news was also a concern. One protester held a sign reading “$700 billion out of my cold, bare hands.”

Their chances aren’t good: polls by the American Research Group show Obama ahead in Oregon 52% to 41%. 6% were unsure, and the Nader supporters were included in “other”, with just 1%.

OK maybe not. Actually those are all lies, but it’s fun at least. The truth is Metblogs is the largest network of locally focused blogs on the web, covering almost 60 cities around the world and we’re looking to add a few new bloggers/writters/authors to this fine site. If you wanna know more about us check out this wikipedia entry but it’s kinda boring so I won’t waste time repeating it all here again. If you wanna write for us, here’s the scoop:

• All author positions are volunteer. That means you don’t get paid.
• You must live in (or very near) the city you plan to write about.
• Anything you post must relate to the city somehow. That means you shouldn’t post a movie review, but talking about going to see a movie at a local theater is fine.
• There’s no requirement for how much you can or should write, but we ask that if we set you up as an author you make about 3 posts a week.
• You can post about things you love, you can post about things you hate. It’s entirely up to you

Additionally, because of our global network, there’s plenty of options for things you write to be read by people all over the world. Interested? Want more details? Post a comment and we’ll be in touch!

In learning a new city, there’s a lot involved! First you have to remember which landmarks stand for north, south, east and west. Ok I’m pretty good with that and it’s sort of a no-brainer (kinda like the Asahi building in LA is North if you’re going towards Hollywood on La Brea). Then there’s the figuring out what’s where and what you like and how to get to it. Friends would be hard if I didn’t a) already have a few here and b) make friends easily. In that I feel that I have an unfair advantage. I think for most people that would be that hard part.

The hardest parts, however, have been finding a job and finding a place to live! MAN! Seriously…

So I’ve been pretty absent from here due to the looking for a job and looking for a place. Once the job aspect was settled, the main priority was looking for a place to call home. For as bad as the job market is, it felt like the rental market (is there really such a thing?) was just as bad. The boyo and I were joking in that we felt like we had to be on starter blocks to get ready to GO! as soon as anything was listed. Advice I heard from friends was that you have to a) apply, apply, apply! and b) bug landlords/ management properties. Somehow, something worked, and I’m still not sure what! I wish I had advice I could pass on to other newbies to the city… but aside from saying that I did just apply to all sorts of places and kept looking at places no matter how frustrated I was… well something paid off!

Persistence, I guess.

I’m trying… and I guess… I guess my message here is that… well, if you feel as stuck as I felt. Just keep plugging away and you’ll get what it is that you’re looking for eventually. Maybe there was something more I could have done, but I was not privy to that information. However, if I hear anything, I’ll pass it on.

Portlanders John Hayden and Miguel McKelvey founded Englishbaby.com to help people learn English by relating the culture – music, movies, TV, etc. – not just vocabulary and grammar.

But it’s not just about American culture – so they’re going to China for a week, will be staying with members of Englishbaby.com and filming Chinese culture for the site as well.

I love this take on the Olympics! Sure, the athletes are competing for their countries, but they’re also there to meet people they might never otherwise meet, to share their lives and experiences, and connect with one another. And we may not agree with the politics of another place – but heck – we often don’t agree with the politics we have here at home!

Opening ceremonies are Friday – so when you’re sick of the cheesy NBC athlete profiles – flip open your computer, log onto Englishbaby.com and see what’s going on with a few Portlanders and their Chinese friends in the midst of all the craziness in Beijing.

“Our dear friends The Prids – David, Mistina, Joey and Maile – and two of their significant others – Kristin and Chris – were in a serious accident early Sunday evening while en route to Los Angeles on tour. A tire blew and they lost control of the van and it rolled several times. David was airlifted from the scene of the crash, he suffered a broken collar bone, broken ribs and has 6 staples in his head. Chris broke his arm and may have spinal injuries. Maile has a broken vertebra and toe and a severe cut with stitches on her knee. Joey broke ribs, Mistina suffered a concussion, and Kristin is in similar shape.

As of late that night, everyone had been released from the hospital but David had to go back in the middle of the night and was released Monday afternoon. Maile had to return to the emergency room Tuesday afternoon but was released later that day. She will be staying in Fresno for a short time then flying home. Friends of the band, Marshal and Kiisu, drove down from Portland and will be driving the rest of the band home today.

A special paypal account has been set up to help out and donate directly to The Prids. There have been so many generous donations made already as well as fundraisers organized and the band is extremely thankful! However, help with mounting expenses is still badly needed. There are still thousands of dollars in hospital bills to help cover (most of the group doesn’t have health insurance!) If you can’t help out monetarily, please repost this info on your blogs, etc. Thanks! ”

Also, I’ve been informed by several people (Divebarwife included) that there will be a benefit this Sunday at one our fast becoming favorite little places to hang, Plan B, for The Prids.

More on that here

Well today I have to sadly report that The Prids, whilst on tour in California near Fresno, were in an accident that was really quite bad. The van, I was told, blew a tire and they lost control of it. The van went off the highway and rolled several times leaving the van wrecked, the equipment broken and the band members rather beat up. One band member, when last I was given information, was still in the hospital, but the others were released after being treated for various broken bones, cuts and bruises. Unfortunately, they are left with little to no money to get them home, pay hospital bills and buy new equipment, not to mention a van.

A couple of close friends of theirs rented a van to drive down to see what they could help possibly salvage and to see what help they could be. Any help would do and if you’d like to donate to the local band you can contact donate@theprids.com.

Channel 12 ran a small story on it here

As gas prices are rising local Portlanders are looking for alternate means of commuting around town. Bicycles are a number one as far as this city goes (we all know that!). But have you noticed more mopeds on the road? We’re talking small motorized engines with pedals here–not scooters! I certainly have.

According to founder and co-owner Patrick Fitzgibbons, local scooter shop P-Town Scooters has been selling new Tomos mopeds by the half dozen load every week. Portland Craigslist has been popping up quite a few vintage ones as well.

In my personal opinion, it’s a great thing that more people are hopping out of their cars and riding mopeds. They are efficient little machines that get about 100 miles per gallon. The vintage mopeds can be a bit of a pain with how much you have to repair the aging parts and mechanisms but so worth it once you get it running.

Now–for full disclosure–I am a part of the local moped gang Puddle Cutters, a part of the national Moped Army. Much like the local bicycle culture, we have our own scene. What is amazing beyond the transportation issue is that Portland produces such unique subcultures such as this one.

The Puddle cutters are having our annual rally this weekend, Hold My Beer, This is Going to be Awesome. We are raffling off a brand new Tomos moped with the generosity of P-Town Scooters. Raffle is this Sunday at Plan B, 5PM. Don’t miss out on the other events, rides, and parties either!

I sat here for awhile trying to figure out the best title for this post. Alas, there it is. I have decided to leave Portland Metblogs and try something new. I want to thank Metroblogging for the opportunity to write here over the years. I especially want to thank all the readers and commenters who have come and gone leaving behind amazing discussions. YOU are why I wrote. Now off to another adventure. Take care. Be well. Live long and prosper. So say we all. Best of luck. Godspeed. Keep on Keepin’ on. Just deal.

Your Portland blogger,

Dieselboi (aka Brett)

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Originally uploaded by dieselboi