1 Dead in Attic - Chris Rose

Chris Rose is a columnist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper. After evacuating his family from the city to avoid Hurricane Katrina, he was one of the first to return and witness the devastation up close and personal. The book, 1 Dead in Attic, is a collection of columns he wrote during the first year of the "recovery."

If New Orleans is in any way important to you, you need to read this book. I have talked to a lot of people who have lived this experience, but no one has put it all out there to see like Rose. At times funny and at times down right scary, his columns bring to life the day to day struggle that was living in New Orleans after the flood. Rose's house was not flooded and his Uptown neighborhood made out a lot better than most, but the pain of seeing so many places you know and love washed away and the rest of the city struggle to find its footing takes its toll on him. In fact, I got the feeling along the way that Rose was starting to lose it. His writing became very angry and he was clearly frustrated that progress was not being made, and in fact the city seemed to be going backwards in many ways: with half the population traffic was worse and crime was up. As time goes on, he struggles with how to communicate what is happening to the outside world. On the one hand the Garden District and the French Quarter are open and he wants tourists to come. This New Orleans is doing fine. On the other hand large parts of the city are not getting any help, insurance checks are not forthcoming, and people are not coming home. The city is schizophrenic and it's not funny. Cases of PTSD and other mental illnesses, as well as suicides are going through the roof, and there are not enough mental health workers, so people are self medicating. Finally Rose admits he too has seen too much and is suffering from severe depression. He started to get the hint when he realized all he did was sit and stare out the window. He didn't talk to his wife, he didn't interact with his kids and he didn't want to go to a job he loved. After some therapy and medication he wrote an amazing column admitting his problems. His admission made him the poster boy for mental distress in New Orleans and earned him a guest appearance on Oprah, where he was explicitly told not to mention this book (Oprah had not read it and did not want to endorse it - this lead to a great column: As Not Seen on Oprah).

Rose is still writing for the Times-Picayune, but like New Orleans, he continues to have some major issues. In the new foreword he tells of his divorce and an addiction to prescription pills. Clearly it's going to be a long road back.

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a love story, but it may take a while for you to realize this. It is not a date movie (unless you know your date well and they can handle torture, murder and a kid jumping into an open toilet). While this movie was shot in India with Indian actors, it did not come from Bollywood.

Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who has somehow made it onto the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" After the first day on the show he is doing so well, he is arrested on suspicion of cheating - there is no way a street kid (a slumdog) could know so many answers. To prove his innocence, he tells the harsh story of his life in the slum where he grew up . As the story progresses he reveals how he knows the answer to each of the game shows questions. The stories are harsh and extremely gritty. Along the way we find out he left behind a girl he loved when they had to escape a gang lord who was maiming the kids who worked for him so they could earn more money begging. We also learn that Jamal really has no interest in winning the money, but is hoping the girl he loves will see him on TV and they will be reunited. This is when we finally realize underneath this dark drama lies a love story. I won't tell you any more, but suffice to say you will be on the edge of your seat.

Bring Back the Public Restroom

The bus had to take a little detour today because 5th street was closed. As we drove up Oak St., I looked out the window and saw this guy grabbing at the front of his pants. Before I could look away I saw the second worst result I had going through my mind. He whipped it out and started peeing right on the curb behind a dumpster. I want to make it clear that even though there was a dumpster, people were still walking on the street right beside him and you could clearly see what he was up to. I was so grossed out that I wanted to get off the bus and call the cops on this guys, but then I thought about it for a second. What choices did this guy have?

He didn't look too bad, but he may be homeless and have no place to go. Even if you are not homeless, have you ever tried to find a bathroom in a big city? Everywhere you go the signs say, "Restrooms for Customers Only." It's hard to find a place to go and if you do, the place is usually so gross you'd rather get a urinary tract infection from holding it than go in there.

What ever happened to the old fashioned public toilet? When I was a kid, I went to visit my family in Scotland they had them all over the place. I know in these lean times it would be a hard sell to get people to pony up tax money to install more public toilets, but it's got to be better than seeing people pee on public streets.

Rabbit Comes to His Final Rest

John Updike died yesterday of cancer at the age of 76. I think most people would agree, along with Mailer and Bellow, he was a titan of 20th century American literature. I first got to know him through the Rabbit series of books: "Rabbit, Run,” 1960; “Rabbit Redux,” 1971; “Rabbit Is Rich,” 1981; and “Rabbit at Rest,” 1990. They chronicled the life Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom from high school basketball star to car salesman, householder, husband and father. Each book was a very real reflection of the times. The first book saw Harry growing up in the 50's and coming of age in a more innocent time. In "Redux" he starts a family and works at a job he hates while the counter culture and Vietnam war rage around him. In "Rich," we see him hit middle age at a time of excess and the wall street mentality "greed is good." And finally in "Rest" Harry faces his decline. Luckily I did not have to wait ten years for each book to come out. By the time I found the series we were already in the mid-80's and I had a short wait to close out the story.

What I appreciate about these books is how real his writing was and how perfectly he captured a simple life and put it in the sweeping context of its time. This is of course a well imitated storyline now, but Updike was an original. My love of these books was hard to reconcile with some of his other writing. I usually found it very hard to get through his criticism and reviews in the New Yorker. In fact I often avoided reading him so as not to turn me off the book he was reviewing. I only ever saw one interview with him, and I found him thoroughly engaging. He was a great man and he will be missed.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

By now we all know that this is the biggest movie of 2008. With 13 Academy Award nominations, including best picture and best director it is by far the most nominated film. The first two times we went to see this movie it was sold out (third time lucky I guess) and the theater was still full at the show we went to, despite the movie being out for months.

The story of the movie is actually quite simple, it's the way that it is treated that makes it so interesting. In a nutshell, Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is born at the end of the first world war. While he is the size of a baby, he has all the physical attributes and ailments of a very old man. The movie follows his life as he gets younger, grows up and finally becomes a young child. I think most people would have a very hard time explaining why Benjamin keeps getting younger, but the story is set in New Orleans, so people are not as bothered by the super natural or they put it down to drinking too much.

This is a longish movie, but the good news is that once it gets going it doesn't feel long. The story is narrated by a woman attending her dying mother as hurricane Katrina bears down on New Orleans. She is reading from Button's diary, which at first seems like fiction, but reveals itself to be much more complicated as the story develops. This is a big and wonderfully shot movie, I can see why the Academy loves it, it is epic. If you have the chance, you should go see this movie on the big screen and if you don't get out to many movies, make sure you make this one, one of the ones you see.

Sam Adams is back at Work

It looks like Mayor Sam Adams has decided to come back to work and get down to the business of running the city. Below is the e-mail he sent out yesterday:

Dear Portlander,

Tomorrow, I go back to work as your mayor. I know I have made big
mistakes. I know I have let you down. And I ask for your forgiveness.
I believe I still have a very positive contribution to make -- to put
to work the 20 years of public service to the good of Portland. And as
I do this, I pledge to you I will work harder than I have ever worked
before to make sure Portland meets our challenges.

These are some of the toughest times we've ever faced. The worst
recession in 60 years, one of the highest national unemployment rates,
some of the toughest business landscape we've ever seen.
Now, rightfully, I know Portlanders are not going to rely on my words,
and will look to my ability to deliver results to them in the coming
months. Like working with my colleagues to prioritize city spending to
protect the most viable public services, like public safety. Like
implementing the half-a-billion dollar economic stimulus package that
puts Portlanders back to work at good-paying jobs. Like improving our
schools. Like making sure that as the green economy unfolds that
Portland is at its hub.

And as we do this work together, with the lessons that I've learned in
hand, I will work each and every day to restore your trust and faith
in me as a public servant. I want to thank everyone who has sent me
letters and texts and emails of support. I want to thank everyone who
has sent me questions and who have, rightfully, sent me criticisms. I
look forward to working with all of you to make sure that Portland
moves forward.

Thank-you,
Sam

Charles "Sonny" Liston was a bad man. In every sense of the word. He was intimidating and evil. He was also the boxing heavy weight champion of the world. He came up about as poor as you can be in America in the 1920's (although it is hard to say exactly how old he was as he did not know the date of his birth and recorded at least four different dates on boxing licenses - each making him 3 to 5 years younger). His parents were sharecroppers and he left Arkansas to lead a life of crime in St. Louis. Arrested for petty stick ups and basic stupidity, he spent eight years in jail where he began to box. After he got out of jail he was managed by a series of mobsters who helped keep him out of jail as he loved to drink and drive and attack women (even ones married to his friends). Throughout his career he was often denied a boxing license due to his connection to mob figures. The most shocking of allegations made in the book is that he threw both his fights against Cassius Clay earning his gangster friends over $2 million 1959 dollars.

Nick Tosches has also written biographies of Jerry Lee Lewis, Hellfire and Dean Martin, Dino. My guess is that if you met him in a bar he would spend the entire time talking about how great a writer he is and how he connected with these dark figures. I found his writing fake and intrusive. There were to many points where his style took away from the story and said, look how cool I am or wow did I just write that. I would say, Nick get over yourself. Sonny Liston was a bad guy, you don't need to make him a hero.

Should Sam Go?

Our new mayor lied about a sexual relationship he had with an 18 year old boy to get elected. During the campaign allegations were made that Sam Adams had sex with a young man he was mentoring in 2005. When they met the boy was 17, which is legally troublesome as the age of consent in Oregon is 18. Mr. Adams came out in the press and denied the relationship was sexual, it went away and he was elected mayor. Now that he has taken office the issue has come back and Adams admitted that, yes, he did have sex with the young man, but that they waited until after his 18th birthday.

I voted for Adams and I did a little work for the campaign to help get him elected. I also had lunch with him a few years back and after talking to him, I thought he was a smart guy who would be a great mayor some day (or even Governor). Unfortunately we are all in a very difficult position right now. As progressive Portlanders we want to be proud of our first openly gay mayor. I want to support him, but he lied. Not only did he lie, he also reinforced a terrible stereotype of the predatory older gay male trying to pervert young men (Adams was in his 40's when he had this relationship). I also have to wonder, did he lie about the young man being 18? We know Adams convinced him to lie about the relationship.

There have been calls from all the major papers and news outlets for Adams to resign, even the major GLBT paper has called for him to leave. Yesterday there was a huge demonstration by Sam supporters at City Hall on his behalf, so there are obviously plenty of folks who want him to stay. I have to say I want him to stay too, but if he gets through this, will he be an effective leader or will this incident render him untrustworthy and powerless?

Dash Rip Rock - Boiled Alive!

I went back and reread my first post in this series and I was reminded that part of the gig here was to turn people on to records that they may not have heard of before. So, to make sure I am not filling this blog up with the obvious, I offer you, Dash Rip Rock Boiled Alive! I first saw these guys live in Houston in 1988 (about four years after they got together in New Orleans) and they were great. DRR is a straight-ahead rock & roll band with a southern twist, that fit well into the indie rock scene of the time. The original trio consisted of vocalist/guitarist Bill Davis, bassist Ned "Hoaky" Hickel, and drummer Fred LeBlanc who left in 1989 to found Cowboy Mouth. Since then I think they have been through a couple drummers and several bass players. The last time I saw them live was in 2006 at a little bar in New Orleans where it was Davis' 43rd birthday. He came out in a gold body suit (ala Elvis) and played a great show featuring all the old favorites, they even had Fred LeBlanc sit in for a few songs.

Paying with Change

Today there was a girl who got on the bus and paid the fare entirely with small change. Paying the $2.25 fare with change is not unusual, however, this girl had an entire handful of coins and I could see at least 20 pennies. It took her a while to pour all the money in and when she was done she was 10 cents short. She was so sure she had counted right that she got down on her hands and knees and started looking around to see if any of the change had fallen on the ground - I would rather break open my wallet and put in another dollar bill than do this. After holding up the bus for almost a minute (a minute is a long time when you are sitting on the bus - in fact one bus minute is more like 10 real life minutes) the bus driver gave up and let her on the bus, which for 10 cents, he should have done 58 seconds earlier (or nine minutes and 40 seconds earlier in real life).

The National Head Start Association

Today was a fun day, we finally presented the new look we have been working on for the National Head Start Association for over two years. Many of you probably know that Head Start is an important government program that helps under served kids get the nutrition and early education they need so they can keep up when they start school. But I am sure you have never heard of the NHSA. We hadn't either and it took a while to figure out exactly what they do. In short, they are an organization that helps protect Head Start. So when the Bush administration tried to cut their funds, these are the guys who wrote letters to congress to protect it.

We worked with Ron Herndon who runs a local Head Start program here in Portland and is also on the board of the NHSA. He is an amazing guy who works tirelessly to protect and help kids through Head Start. He is a friend of Dan Wieden's and came to Dan to see if we could help with their communication. We started with their logo and did an entire revamp of all their communication including their website. Today we presented it to all their regional directors and they loved it. The website will be live in a couple of weeks, so check it out at nhsa.org and if you are inspired please make a donation or become a member.

Inauguration Day

It has been a truly historical day. I don't know how many people were late to work on the west coast or how many took a long lunch on the east coast to watch the inauguration on TV, but I can tell you no one at our office was working. While it is amazing to see a black man being sworn into the office of the President, that fades away in about two minutes of hearing him speak. The change from the previous office holder is so stark it makes you sit and wonder if the last eight years really happened. Hearing the President talk about making sacrifices and addressing the hard decisions we have been avoiding for years was very refreshing. To hear the President talk about finding common ground as opposed to the former regime instilling fear and emphasising our differences gave me hope. I am already looking forward to reading this post a year from now to see how we are doing. I have no doubt there will be hard times ahead and that the economy will get worse before it gets better, but I think in the long run we are better positioned now than we have been in decades to effect major change. I haven't felt this good about America in years (which seems crazy given the news we read every day on Wall Street). My prediction is that politics will change, there will be more bi-partisan legislation. We will see the beginning of health care reform, we'll see a new immigration policy, there will be a jobs and infrastructure initiative that focuses on the green economy, and we'll be within six months of leaving Iraq. OK, there it is on "paper" let's see what happens.

Coraline

A few years back Phil Knight bought out Will Vinton studios, an animation house famous for their stop motion work - think California Raisin's commercial. They changed the name to Laika and started developing motion picture ideas. On February 6th, their first full length movie will be released. Based on a critically acclaimed book by Neil Gaiman, Coraline is the story of a young girl who "goes through the looking glass." After leaving her friends behind to move to a new town and being ignored by her parents, Coraline's boredom leads her to explore the old house she has moved into. She finds a secret door that at first seems to lead to nothing but a bricked up wall. When she returns to the door, she finds it is a portal the "other" world where everything is just like her real world, only better. Her "other" parents pay a lot of attention to her, make great food and seem perfect except they have buttons for eyes. When they suggest Coraline apply her own buttons, we start to understand that the "other" world is not as perfect as we first thought. What follows is a spine tingling adventure as Coraline has to escape the other world, rescue her parents and get back to the real world.

This movie has something for everyone. It's scary, exciting and in the end has a good message, so kids and parents will like it. It has amazing stop motion animation in 3D, so if you are into movie craft you will love it. Finally if you are a Neil Gaiman or Henry Selick fan (director of Nightmare before Christmas), this is the best work done on one of his books so far. But this is not just a movie review. Wieden+Kennedy has been involved in the marketing of this movie and it has been one of the funnest projects I have worked on in a long time. I also think it is some of the best work we have done in a long time. You can get a great overview of the movie and see a lot of the great work we did by visiting the website www.coraline.com. After the trailer runs, make sure you click on the "More" button and watch some of the behind the scenes stuff.

Frazier Chorus - Sue

Frazier Chorus was formed in Brighton, England by singer/keyboardist Tim Freeman, percussionist Michelle Allardyce, flutist Kate Holmes and clarinetist/programmer Chris Taplin. They got the name Frazier Chorus from an American baseball jacket Michelle found at a second hand store. In 1987 they put out their first single, "Sloppy Heart" on 4AD records, which I have said before is the coolest record label there ever was. Like most bands, these guys were all friends with similar musical tastes that decided to start a band. Unfortunately, like most bands, spending a lot more time together recording and performing strained the friendship. Michelle left the band soon after and it became the Tim Freeman show. They released two records that are still near and dear to me, because I knew all the band members before they got their record deal and one in particular is still very near and dear to me - my cousin Michelle Allardyce. Even though she didn't play on the second record Ray, I still like it and if you can find it, you should buy it along with Sue. Both records do that thing I love - cynical, dark lyrics combined with and upbeat poppy sound.

Burn after Reading

If you know anything about me, you know I love the Coen brothers. So, it is a little surprising that I took so long to see their new movie Burn After Reading. Especially considering my favorite actor John Malkovich is in an amazing cast that also includes George Cloney, Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand. Unfortunately I can't say this is their best effort. What is this movie about? It's hard to say. The film opens with Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) being demoted from a mid level CIA position due to a drinking problem. Instead of standing for this injustice he quits and decides to write his memoirs. His wife (Tilda Swinton) wants a divorce so she copies all his financial info onto a CD, which also includes the beginnings of Cox's book. This CD is lost and recovered at Hardbodies Gym where two idiots (Brad Pitt and Francis McDormand) find it and think they can extort some money from Cox to get it back. This is were it gets out of hand as the layers of deceit and who is spying on who, get a little too convoluted. The CIA supervisor (J.K. Simmons) who is running the investigation seems to be as confused as the viewer, when he says, "What did we learn? Not to do this again. But I have no idea what we did."

The problem is that none of the characters are very interesting, you don't love or hate any of them too much, even though they are all bad people and at times can be funny. The problem is that this movie doesn't go anywhere. When it's over you really don't care.

Five Guys Hamburgers and Fries

We may just have found the best burger in Portland. A new chain has opened in Beaverton (and coming soon to West Lynn) called Five Guys Hamburgers and Fries. They started in 1986 in Arlington, VA and now have over 300 locations. This is the first fast food burger I have tasted that rivals In and Out Burger and that is saying a lot. Like In and Out it is a simple operation, they only offer burgers, hot dogs and fries. The regular hamburger is really a double and is a mouthful. If you are not as hungry they also offer the Little Hamburger. I got the cheeseburger with all the standard toppings except the grilled mushrooms (there are 15 toppings available, not including bacon) and it was amazing. You should also be forewarned that an order of fries is huge, you can easily share it with another person. If you are looking for something with a little flavor, go for the Cajun fries.

Five Guys Hamburgers and Fries

2606 Cedar Hills Blvd

Beaverton, OR 97005
503-430-8748

www.fiveguys.com

Michelle Shocked - Short Sharp Shocked

Born Michelle Johnston in Dallas, TX, in 1962, Michelle Shocked ran away from home at an early age and got into folk and blues music. When she came home her religious mom put her in a psychiatric hospital where she spent over a year. After the money ran out she took off to NY and then Amsterdam where she became an activist for squatters rights and an active feminist. Back in the US for the Kerville Music Fest, she was overheard while playing at a campfire. This lead to a record contract and her first release The Texas Campfire Tapes. While this is an interesting effort, her second release Short Sharp Shocked is a classic. This is where the singer songwriter folky meets punk rock attitude. "Anchorage" and "Memories of East Texas" are my two favorite songs. They make me miss Texas like no other song I have ever heard.

Rebuilding New Orleans

Here it is over three years since Katrina hit and we are finally seeing progress in New Orleans East. If you don't know New Orleans well, the east side is the area that had the most damage, most famously the lower ninth ward which was devastated. The upper ninth ward does not look as bad as the lower ninth, but that's not saying much. There seem to be more buildings starting in the upper ninth and more reconstruction. The largest project is Habitat for Humanity's Musician's Village. There are dozens of houses that are already built and many more in the works. The houses are modest but fit perfectly into the neighborhood. The shotgun style houses are all jacked up at least six feet to hopefully survive the next hurricane and are painted bright festive colors. The day we visited, there were several volunteers working on the houses and progress was grinding on.

The lower ninth ward is in much worse shape. There are few houses that look inhabited and there are miles of empty lots with just the foundation sitting there like a grave stone. The one bright spot is immediately as you come over the bridge, the Make It Right foundation (run by Brad Pitt) has built half a dozen amazing houses in the shotgun style. All the houses are at least one story off the ground. The designs are a modern take on the traditional house in that area and I have to say I would be happy to live in any one of them. They were commissioned by architects all around the world who entered a design contest. They have some very interesting specs and from what I understand they are very efficient, with up to 85% of the electricity needs being supplied by solar panels. The plan is to keep building them and I hope they do, they are the best thing I have seen in New Orleans for years.