Apocryphenia

Friday, February 08, 2008

How Swede It Is

I have a crush on Sweden these days, which is funny because I don't really know anything about it at all. Here are some interesting facts about Sweden that I just looked up so that I could have something to post. These facts probably comprise about half of what I actually know about the country (and I learned them only moments ago):

• Sweden has the highest proportion of personal computers per capita in Europe, with 500 P.C.'s per 1,000 people.
• Roxette, Ace of Bass, and The Cardigans are all Swedish.
• With 42.7% of female parliamentarians (in 2002), Sweden has the highest proportion of women lawmakers in the world.
• Sweden is set to become the first country in the world to phase out petrol for biofuel
• With Ericsson, Sweden is a global leader in mobile telecommunication technology. The country also has the highest percentage of mobile phones per capita in Europe (108.4%). There are now more mobile phones than people in Sweden.
• In Sweden when a person says "no" they smile and nod their head up and down.
• In Stockholm the buses run on poo.

So as you can see, if you like technology, women, biofuel, or mediocre 80s pop, Sweden might be your thing too. But like I said, I didn't know any of that until now.

My crush on Sweden has been slowly growing for a while now. There was a girl named Something Andersen back in third grade. We kissed each other. Then when I lived in Chicago with Jim and Bill and Amy et al. used to get breakfast at Ann Slathers in Andersenville, an actual Swedish restaurant in an actual Swedish neighborhood. I don't remember the food other than their sticky buns. Clearly memorable.

Then came IKEA. We finally got our own here in Portland, but Rachel and I would drive up to Seattle each time we got a new place just to get more cheap, modern design that (most importantly) fits in the space you need it to. They get a bad rap, but it's better design than Target and just as cheap, if not cheaper. Then there was The Shout Out Louds, a great band whose album Howl Howl Gaff Gaff kicked my ass even more than last year's Our Ill Wills. Finally, I descovered Jens Lekman. Yowzers! I don't know how those guys in Bloomington signed this Scandinavian Burt Bacharach (to the Secretly Canadian label to further confuse things) but Jens is been in heavy rotation in mi casa for a few years now. If you have never heard the song Maple Leaves, stop reading this now and go soak up the sounds of Sweden right away. It's one of the best songs of the decade. The break beat that kicks it off, the strings, the sleigh bells, the sounds of giggling Swedish youth in the background at the end. Perfect. I just listened to it three times in a row. This is a link to a blog about alternative Swedish music, of which there is a lot. I can't seem to dodge it now. I had been listening to Jose Gonzales for a few months, patting myself on the back for finally finding a Latino musician that I really liked. Turns out he's Swedish. Even better!

So I was kinda crushed out on Sweden before last weekend, but then I went to Broder. Broder is a Swedish restaurant here in Portland which has really excellent food. We ordered a smorgasboard. Their menu is here. Apparently Crispen Glover digs Sweden too because I sat right next to him as I ate. No joke. He was showing his weird little films at the theater next door that night. Here's the clip of him on Letterman from '88.

In short: I <3 Swdn.

Labels: music sweden food crush

posted by Pat 2/08/2008 06:34:00 PM 0 comments

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Someday this sign is going to say: Neighbor of the Month: Clint Springer


I don't know what to call my neighborhood. The hub that I tend to go to for things like groceries, post offices, library, hardware, Country Bills, Optometry, bubble tea, Radio Shack, smoked game meat, video rentals, mediocre Thia food,etc... is called Woodstock. However,Woodstock butts up against another neighborhood that is referred to as Felony Flats. I think that people who live in Felony Flats even call it that, but nobody wants to cop to living there. There is a liberal arts college around here called Reed and when I first moved into the neighborhood and would tell people where I lived, they would tactfully say: "Oh, I hear there are some really affordable homes in the Flats." That's when I began pushing the "Outer Reed" designation. The Portland Tribune did a feature on Felony Flats and the high rate of crime in that part of town. They were actually calling it Felony Flats, which was weird, but weirder still was the way they described the neighborhood. They described it as being "gun-shaped".

I don't live in the Flats, but I don't really live close enough to Woodstock to call it home either. The good news is that after checking out the Woodstock Neighborhood Association website, I can rest assured that I am, indeed, in the friendly confines of Woodstock proper. However, I'm only a few blocks from Foster Ave, which is part of a new up and coming neighborhood that is bordered by Foster and Powell. They are calling this one.... wait for it...... FoPo. I know. But technically, I'm closer to Holgate than Powell, so I could live in FoHo. There's also a Boise Ave. around here (FoBo), it's all south of Powell (SoPo), and north of Woodstock (NoWo).

All of this is by way of a labored welcome to B Student and the soon to be Ms. B to their new digs on this side of town. I'll be helping them move into the neighborhood next week. So, welcome to Woodstock, NoWo, FoPo, FoBo, FoHo, SoPo, Outer Reed, Not Felony Flats, kids. Care to join the neighborhood watch?

posted by Pat 1/20/2008 07:00:00 PM 0 comments

Monday, January 14, 2008

Tried a new type of food -eating actually - the other night. Izakaya is like Japanese tapas. Served on little tiny plates and in relatively small portions, the idea is that you just keep ordering (and drinking) until you are full. It's bar food, but it is exotic and intriguing. Around here, if you want good Asian food you head to the burbs. This place is in a stripmall in Beaverton. I think it's traditional to be unassuming, so there is little to signify this place as a restaurant from the outside. The funny thing is it's directly next to a bar named Mario's, which is so very assuming that they advertise they are "Now Serving Sushi and Sandwiches!" Not much sushi at Yuzu, but so much goodness. Here's what we remember eating - there was likely more:

• Ground (American) kobe beef, breaded fried and topped with Japanese mayo.
  
• The dish with pig intestines that are cut to look like noodles with tofu and sweet potato noodles.
  
• Panko-crusted oysters
  
• One dish with lotus root and shiso.
  
• Lightly salted anchovies -
  
• Pork with a thick layer of fat served in a sweet sauce/broth with spicy mustard on the side.
  
• Breaded and fried Japanese sausage
  
• Mushrooms wrapped in pork loin
  
• Green onions wrapped in beef
  
• Salmon covered in cheese
• Kim chee egg rolls with cheese
• White fish carpaccio with roasted garlic chips
• Shochu with cassis orange

posted by Pat 1/14/2008 05:56:00 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

posted by Pat 1/09/2008 09:14:00 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Here's a good way of looking at the writers strike:"Imagine if when the writers on the Bob Hope radio show were told by their employers: "Hey guys, we want to use your material, for free, for this crazy new medium, television, and we don't want to pay you for it, cuz the medium is too crazy and dicey and we're not sure it's going to pan out."...TEN YEARS AFTER EVERYONE IN AMERICA OWNED A TELEVISION."

Read this on Mindy Ephron's blog: Things I've Bought That I Love. Considering she's a writer for the Office, as well as an actress on the show (Kelly Kapoor), it's rather ironic that she is on strike and still keeping up her blog about blowing money on shoes, but she does have some insightful things to say about the strike if you scroll down. Her blog is a hoot to boot. Here she is dressed up as Pepe the drug dealer from "City of God" for Halloween. ha.

posted by Pat 1/08/2008 11:25:00 PM 0 comments

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Walton Ford is an artist that I like a lot. They are like Audubon paintings with a whiff of menace. Or maybe Darwin's journals drawn by Hieronymus Bosch. I didn't know about him until I saw a book of his work in the Taschen catalog. It's a $1,800 art book. Now, who buys that? Wow.

posted by Pat 1/05/2008 05:30:00 PM 0 comments

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Clint, Liz, Rachel and I have been holding a book club for a few years now. Kelly just joined us with our last book. I really enjoy meeting with these people who are such engaged readers to talking about what we have read. We don't always meet with the regularity that we intend, but we never fail to meet, chat, pick a new book, and move on. We have begun having our meetings over dinner, and if possible a food that is somehow connected to the book. This time around it's going to be fun. We just read The Last Chinese Chef, by Nicole Mones, and I think we are going to find some non-Americanized Chinese food. I can't say that I've ever had that before. Stay tuned for the restaurant report. I won't say much about the book here other than I'd recommend it, even if you aren't a foodie. My lovely wife is firmly in the foodie camp and I dare say, I think it's rubbing off on me. Here's a link to the author's website. She lives in Portland and has a standing offer to meet with book group. I think we are going to extend an invitation.

posted by Pat 1/03/2008 05:15:00 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Since this is the season of best-of lists, I'm going to list the best things of 2007 that I have currently loaded on my ipod. Not comprehensive, but a decent snapshop of what I've been listening to this year:

Aquaduct - Or Give Me Death
Caribou - Andorra
The Clientele - God Save the Clientele
Jens Lekman - Night Falls On Kortedala
Sharon Jones - 100 Days 100 Nights
The Papercuts - Can't Go Back
Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators - Keep Reachin Up

posted by Pat 1/01/2008 07:00:00 PM 0 comments

Monday, December 31, 2007

Let's see if anyone is paying attention to this blog any more. I doubt it; it's been almost two years since I've posted anything. Then again, the internet never forgets.

Here's something funny that I found today. The pic below is pretty self-explanatory. Other faves: Tiffany, David Bowie, and Clif Richard.



Happy New Year Everyone! Have a safe and festive night and I'll see you in 2008.

posted by Pat 12/31/2007 12:10:00 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

"Looks like you droids have seen a lot of action." Star Wars: The Empire Brokeback

posted by Pat 2/15/2006 04:46:00 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

What Shakespearean character does W most resemble? Sadly enough, none of them. He is miscast as a comic character in the middle of a tragic play.

"I doubt that there will ever be a great play called "The Tragedy of George Bush." As a playwright, I find a problem with Bush as a dramatic character in a serious drama. Although he is perfectly suited for satire, he is now caught up in a tragic national drama, the Iraq war, and it is as if Shakespeare's Bottom had stumbled into Hamlet by mistake and taken over the stage".

posted by Pat 1/17/2006 06:23:00 PM 2 comments

Sunday, January 08, 2006

I'm becoming a big fan of the Wikipedia. I sometimes fact check some of the info that I get from the Wiki before going public, but they are always correct and I'm beginning to trust it more and more. For example, I'm teaching a Shakespeare class now and need to get lots of info on plays and characters and adaptations etc... and it is the single best resource I have found. I'm curious how some of the librarians out there in blog-land feel about the Wikipedia. What are the major criticisms? Do you use it with any regularity? Is it becoming a trusted source? Is it scorned? What's the buzz?

To get some insight on how they keep the NPOV (Neutral Point of View) in all of their articles, check out the discussion for the entry "Nu Metal". This is not a valid entry yet, and I suspect it won't be. Reading this is like reading the letters page of Hit Parade magazine if their readership went off to grad school. It's awesome.


In other news, in case you haven't heard, I asked Rachel Bell if she would marry me and she said yes.

posted by Pat 1/08/2006 08:24:00 AM 7 comments

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

So..... big things came my way since I last blogged.

I'm now a homeowner. Rachel and I bought a house together in SE Portland at 58th and Schiller. It's down near the Woodstock neighborhood, or for those of you not as familiar with PDX, sort of near Reed college and The Delta Cafe. We moved in the day after Thanksgiving and I just cleared out the last of our stuff from the old apartment last night. We had lots of help in the schlepping: mad props to Clint Springer most of all, who kicked ass all day long, but also thanks to Selena, Ryan, Palmer, Greg and Annette. You people are the Egyptians of our time!

Did a lot of painting before we moved in and made what was truly ugly look pretty good. We've got most of our stuff unpacked at this point and are down to hanging up art, of which we've acquired quite a bit.

I've got to make this quick since I have to get to class in ten min. (Ask me about grad school sometime): Rachel and I will be in Indiana Tuesday 12/20 through 12/25. While we are there I'll be throwing a big ole shindig at my parents house on the 23rd. This is a Friday night so I hope lots of people can come. If you've never met Rachel before, this would be a fine time to do so, and I bet I will even be able to convince Ty Price to show up too. Hot Shit!

I'll check the in on the blog regularly between now and then.

Adios amigos.

posted by Pat 12/13/2005 01:28:00 PM 4 comments

Sunday, September 18, 2005

"Paranoia means having all the facts." - William S. Burroughs
Avian Flu
Peak Oil

posted by Pat 9/18/2005 10:24:00 PM 2 comments

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

If my students ever try this, I quit.

posted by Pat 9/13/2005 05:44:00 PM 4 comments

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Pastafarians. heh heh.

posted by Pat 9/11/2005 02:46:00 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

"Now Go Play Football!" (Proof that Texas is messed up)

posted by Pat 8/10/2005 09:50:00 AM 0 comments

Iraqapallooza! Featuring Clint Black: coming to you this September 11 by Pentagon Productions.

So, let's see..... in the last few weeks our stragtegy is been to change the name from "War on Terror" to "The Global Struggle Against Violent Extremists" and to throw a concert. I'm going to say that we are officially out of ideas.

posted by Pat 8/10/2005 09:31:00 AM 2 comments

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Went swimming the other day with Clint and Rachel. The Washougal River the perfect place to beat the heat. Public property, easy access from the road, plenty of room for everyone, swift current, but not too strong to whisk you away, lots of deep pools. We were diving off rocks, shooting through channels, basking in the sun; why we didn't bring beer was a mystery. Strangely enough, I can't wait for another day in the mid 90's. Bring on the heat!!!!

Speaking of heat, this article on Lollapalloza was interesting for many reasons, but mostly because they couldn't stop talking about the deadly Chicago heat. Oh, how I don't miss that. Condolences to all of you in the Windy City. My heart goes out to you.

Non-weather related:
I'm still trying to figure if the intelligent design debate (debunking) was a calculated political move by W. to shore up support with his base, or just the consequence of of him talking unscripted with Texas reporters on the first day of his vacation. Scientists often refuse to debate ID advocates because to even enter the debate means you have to cede the principles of basic science, which undermines your entire argument from the get go. Personally, I think the best way to debate them is with satire. Silly, but then so is ID. Be sure to click on the "I Want to Believe" link.

Non-evolution related (maybe):
Ground Control To Major Tom...... (pic)

posted by Pat 8/07/2005 10:16:00 AM 0 comments

Friday, August 05, 2005

Three things I'm listening to now:
The Hold Steady - Like Mule, but with more pop culture refs.
The Brakes - Apparently a supergroup, but without a single member of CSNY, ASIA, or ZWAN... whatever.....
Bearsuit - Self-described "lo-fi shambolica". The Shaggs meet Belle and Sebastian.
Moonbabies - Swedes who rock it with a tasty groove. Can't. Stop. Listening.

Plus One:
The band that has charmed me in a way that no other band ever (ever) has is The Lucksmiths. I could listen to them for the rest of my life. The fact that they have a massive discography to explore and that they are still playing for free in record stores (the only place I've ever seen them) just makes them even more charming. I'm so in love......

posted by Pat 8/05/2005 02:10:00 PM 2 comments

Thursday, August 04, 2005

If life were like the game of Risk, then the Pacific Northwest has just become more fortified and will be harder to take out now. Springer has moved his armies and bunkered down in NE Portland where he will be defending our enclave against neocons, zombies, or neocon-zombies. Welcome comrad! Huzzah!

He and I took Jim and Jennifer to the airport yesterday and sent them home. I was reminded of the scene that happened 8 years ago after Jimmy and I drove out here together and then he got on a plane and I stayed behind. We were standing in pretty much the same place at the airport. A lot has changed in 8 years. I didn't even have a place to live that first time when I took him to the airport. Or a job. Or many friends. This time he left with Jennifer, and I went back to a place I really like calling home, and hey!..... who's that? It's Springer! Whoo Hoo!

posted by Pat 8/04/2005 09:02:00 AM 4 comments

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Don't think of an Elephant.

Some of you reading this may already be familiar with George Lakoff, the smartest guy on the planet. If not, I suggest reading this article, and then following up with his book, Don't Think of an Elephant, about how to talk with conservatives and assert a progressive agenda in a way that will get results. Like Chomsky, this guy is a linguist, and he understands that whoever controls the language, controls the issues. He calls it framing. Even the title of his book is an example of what not to do. If you are thinking of an elephant, you're already dead. I like the guy because he's positive; he speaks about values in a way that shows how to enter the debate with conservative America while not ceeding all moral ground at the onset. This is a short little hand book that is worth reading several times.

posted by Pat 6/30/2005 08:44:00 AM 4 comments

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Chuck Klosterman has a new book out now called "Killing Yourself to Live". His first book called "Sex Drugs and Cocopuffs" was very funny. This one is about going to visit the site of rock and roll deaths: he starts off at the Chelsea Hotel and then rents a car and drives north to Rhode Island to the scene of the Great White disaster. I haven't read a word of it but I am curious. It involves rock, history, roadtrips, and even though it's all about death, it's sure to be funny. My kinda book.

A book that I have read this summer is Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires. She used to be a restaurant critic for the NYT and the book is her memoir of working at the Grey Lady. It seems that when you are the times restaurant critic, you don't get the same kind of treatment that everyone else gets (imagine that) so she dons many a disguise in her attempts to write a fair review. I like this book because it talks about the way The Times works, and also it's all about food in NYC. But mostly, I just like Ruth. She's a great storyteller and the way that she writes about food is fun.

Food writing is a whole genre of writing that I have been diving into recently. Next time you are in a book store, when you see the food section, don't walk on past. Skip past the cookbooks and look for Food Literature. Or if you are feeling more lowbrow, grab a culinary mystery. These books are very formulaic and I've yet to read a single one, but the titles kill me: "Red Beans and Vice", "How to Cook a Tart", "The Last Supper". Oh yes, they kill me. Mwahhhaha.

I also read H.G. Bissinger's classic piece of sports journalism Friday Night Lights about the 1988 season of the Permian Panther's run for a football state championship in Texas. If you have seen the movie, which I just watched last night, you only see the football. The book is as much about football as Moby Dick is about a whale. Dealing with race, oil, standards of education in the great state of Texas, adolescence, the American Dream, broken dreams and ugly Americans, this book is great. Those of you who know me know I don't give a rip about football, yet I found both the book and the movie to be very entertaining. If you like the idea of sports, more than knowing who won a game and how the team is doing this season, this book is for you. So there.

Snoop!
Want to see Joe Pernice's apartment? I did.

Stalk!
Pitchfork writers get stalked, just like normal celebs. See where snarky gets you?

Seethe!
If anyone ever wanted to get me this Ann Coulter T-Shirt, I'd wear it. I thought it was a joke until I saw the other T-shirts they were selling on the same site.

posted by Pat 6/28/2005 09:10:00 AM 0 comments

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Something lazy thisway comes

Just a lazy Saturday night after a lazy Saturday. I haven't had time to even breath for about two weeks, so today has been truly joyful. The only thing I have to do in the next 12 hours is go eat some Dim Sum in the morning.

When Bell and I were in San Francisco a couple of months ago visiting Bill and Amy, we drug them out to Dim Sum in the Outer Richmond neighborhood. We'd heard that it was where all the Chinese people went to eat (not Chinatown, strangely enough) so we went to this address that we'd heard was good and saw that there was a line out the door with people getting take away. Good sign. I don't think Bill had ever had dim sum before and he was a little put off by the whole thing. It was a cultural onslaught: The speed of the counter; The language barrier; The difficulty of the menu; Our crippling hangovers from the night before. We ordered way too much, not enough of what we liked, and left a lot behind. I still contend that it was a really good meal, but I'm sure Bill and Amy would argue differently. I'm scoping out a new place where they are suppose to have great food, people who speak English, a clear menu, and a languid pace with which to order. Bill, let me try this again. Breakfast is on me.

Hey Ned. Do you know why my comments page isn't working?

posted by Pat 6/11/2005 10:31:00 PM 7 comments

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Congrats to Springer! Oh, Sweet Portland! My faith in you has been redoubled.

posted by Pat 6/07/2005 10:28:00 PM 0 comments

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