P&PS

Lack of perspective in literature (or in readers) often causes a contemporary condition I've heard referred to as "presentism"; that is, a disposition to judge all literature by the narrow standards of present time and present culture.  This leads to the phenomena such as the denunciation of classic novels such as Huckleberry Finn , on grounds that they deal with issues such as slavery, women's civil rights, ect., in a way not consistent with the notion of present-day political correctness. - "Presentism" The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabaldon Teaser Tuesday is  hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading . For other contributions click here .

I'm falling in love with Portland. It's not the same uncontrollable love I first felt for Vancouver, it's more a love that grows from familiarity, like the love I have for Boston.  It's more respect and understanding than anything else, but it'll do.  Portland reminds me a lot of what would happen if you took my home city and plopped Boston on top of it.  It's equal parts ramshackle and ritz.  It's classy but it's edgy too, the traffic is a little bit crazy at times, but drivers are great at letting pedestrians cross the road.  It's quiet and empty most of the day but people do appear in ones and twos as the evening wears on. Yesterday I went to another noon event; Matt Brown played at The Square.  If the jeans with the shirt and tie weren't enough to convince me he was awesome, his music certainly did.  It's not often that you find someone who is somehow inexplicably better live than they are looped on CD, but he's in good company wit...

Portland is odd.  Don't get me wrong it's charming, has great taste in music and food, and has some nice sights as well as all the shopping a heart could desire, but it's not what I expected.  It's high end upperclass, new society, meets old architecture, boho art and something else I can't quite put my finger on.  The city itself seems empty, maybe I've been spoiled spending so much time in Vancouver before coming here,  maybe I was expecting Seattle lite (blasphemy I know) but I expected to see more people on the street.  There's traffic sure, but for a city whose public transit system I've been hearing about for years, I haven't seen many people on the street outside of areas of high density shops, where ducking in and out of shops doesn't require anything more than foot power. Despite this and the rain we had yesterday, I'm enjoying Portland so far.  I haven't seen many of the sights but I did do some shopping.  Finally finally, my ...

Recently it's become apparent to me that while I had thought I was done with my wardrobe sculpting enough to move on to the shopping phase, this is in fact not true.  So, I've been tweaking it a bit more.  I've changed the silhouettes (no more tucked in tops, no more awkwardly styled shirts), and reworked my list of "uniforms".  Basically I've taken what I like and turned it into something more practical.  I need to be able to layer.  I don't want tons of colors.  I like neutrals; patterns can get tiresome.  I don't want to be overly influenced by what I have in my closet. What I've come up with is the following: Dress Dress + Sweater or Cardigan Bottom + Sweater Bottom + Top Bottom + Top + Sweater/Cardigan Dresses include sweater dresses and tunics to some extent.  Bottoms include shorts, skirts, pants, and leggings.  Tops include button downs, blouses, tees, and tanks, as well as some tunics.  Cardigans and sweaters are pret...

Camping is one of those things that's hard to share via picture, moving or still.  It's so much about the experience, the stars overhead, the springy soft ground underfoot, the wind on your face, that first pure hint of morning light, meals cooked by fire and ember. Sure there are the stories you tell, the ones around the campfire and down at the lake, and the ones you tell after, but it's not the same.  Stories can conjure memories and emotions but they can't make the sun shine or moths fall from overhead lights.  Okay, maybe the last one, moths are sneaky, but the rest, these personal moments and experiences, they're a lot harder to convey.  I'll leave it at I had an absolutely amazing time, despite the lack of nonrock based floors and comfortable chairs, I would have turned right around and done it again.  The lack of technology was restful and the presence of that much nature was restorative.  We mostly relaxed but I did get to see some amazing sights...

I was going to sit down and write up a post about the last couple of weeks in Vancouver (campiiiing) but I kept bumping up against Outlander and decided I better deal with it and the Edinburgh feels it inspired before I started to try and convince you that beautiful blue mountains in the distance were really green covered crags and hills. First up, is a bit of an explanation of the series; I pick a theme, a season, a place, a book, whatever strikes my fancy, set the mood, paint a picture with some of my favorite things, and then explain or clarify if need be.  For today we're talking about Scotland, particularly Edinburgh since that's what I'm most familiar with. To start, every traveler needs a bit of an education or at least some inspiration, be it from a guidebook, from a book book, or from history.  Neal Oliver's A History of Scotland either the BBC Documentary or the book that followed are a great place to start if you're looking for some nonfiction.  For...

We had our Independence Day fireworks on the 1st for Canada Day so last night was a bit of a different celebration.  For anyone familiar with Canadian music, particularly blues music, or any of you who read my blog last year, you know Jim Byrnes is amazing. Last year I saw him and his band sass it up at the Vancouver FanClub.  This year, I saw him take a stroll down memory lane at the Evergreen Cultural Center .  Covering quite a few classics and folding a number of originals into the mix, Jim, as always, created an unforgettable night of music.  Favorites this time included I'm Moving On, Nadine, Above and Beyond, Take Out Some Insurance on Me,and, surprisingly, Big Blue Diamonds a song I wouldn't normally recommend, but with which I am now fascinated. His opening act Babe Gurr had a similarly eclectic collection of songs with a fantastic use of rhythm and melody, particularly within her worldbeat fusions.  Musically she reminded me a lot of Abigail Payne...

I'm going camping next week, for the entire week and because of this excitement I'm making lists.  Lots of lists.  So here's one entitled 'Things To Do After Throwing Your Phone in the Lake': Hike/Walk Explore (including local flora/fauna) Swim Beachcomb Stargaze Sleep Nap (on the beach, in the grass, in  the tent in the middle of the day) Meditate (in all the above places) Read books (limiting myself to one bag and therefore two books... Outlander and something else that's long) Play cards (spit, spoons, war, solitaire) Arts and crafts (mostly knitting, maybe some hand sewing, or knotted bracelets of some sort) Cook campfire food (hot dogs and marshmallows) Take photos Write (letters, blog posts, journal entries, and stories) Talk with friends/tell stories Expect photos and tales of giant mosquitoes when I return.