Tribute to Otis

My friend Jeff is one of the biggest dog lovers I have ever met. In fact he has published three awesome dog books, the first of which featured our dogs Binkey and Bongo. A few weeks ago he lost his cherished dog Otis to cancer. As a tribute he got this awesome tattoo of Otis (the yellow circle by the right paw is a ball, it didn't come out very well on this picture).

If you want to read the saddest thing ever, check out his blog about the last days with Otis.

Knitting funny little hats

I have written about knitting on the bus before. If you are one of my three frequent readers, you know I think it's strange that women bring all that stuff on the bus and treat it like their living room. Today I learned that knitting on the bus is sweeping the country and that I am the one who doesn't get it. I used to think it was just old, Eastern European women who knited on the bus, but now, as you can see, young men are knitting colorful hats on the bus. Soon all the kids will be knitting their own iPhone cases and knitting needles will be the cool piercing tool. Clearly this is a growing trend we will have to keep an eye on.

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Barbed Wire Kisses

JAMC are hated by many. I understand that. If I paid good money for a concert and the band showed up and played for five minutes with their back turned to the crowd and left I would hate them too. Luckily I had heard about this before they came to Houston, so we were prepared for the worst, which ended up being 30 minutes of noise that was hard to decipher as any of the songs on the record. Which gets me to the point, they made great records. I chose Barbed Wire Kisses (a 1998 collection of B sides and outtakes), because "Sidewalking" is one of my all time favorite songs and you can't find it on any other record, but Automatic and Psycho Candy are great too. Be warned JAMC is not for everyone, but if you want to hear how controlled feedback spawned bands like My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr. then check these guys out.

Changing Buses

Today was fun. When I got on the bus, I saw this women passed out in her seat and thought she either had a long night or she was a junky on her way to the methadone clinic. At 39th street, (about half way to downtown for me) the bus driver decided to roust her. She did not respond very well. She could barely stand up and was having a hard time staying awake. He kept asking her if he should call the medical folks, but she was not talking very clearly. On the one hand I thought, yeah let's get her off the bus so we can get to work, but I was also thinking, is it right to leave someone who is basically incoherent sitting on a bus bench?

Luckily the bus driver did the right thing and called for medical help. Of course this meant we all had to empty off the bus and pile into the next one, which was pretty full. The lesson I learned is don't pass out on the bus, no one really wants to help you and if they do it'll take a long time and make people mad.

TCCFTCSOWGNOHPSANWH

A while back somebody from W+K noticed that Wayne Gretzky's name was spelt wrong on his parking space out at Nike. Now you may be asking, why does Wayne Gretzky have a parking space at Nike? Well, he doesn't really. All the reserved parking spaces at Nike have famous athletes names on them. So you can't say, oh Wade Boggs is probably not here today, so I'll just take his spot. You may be parking in the spot reserved for the employee of the month.

So, back to Wayne. Obviously he is a big star and Nike loves their athletes, so it is quite surprising that his name is spelt wrong. Since they are stamped in steel, you'd think they'd triple check before they make them. This misspelling amazes everyone who knows anything about Nike, these guys are really on top of things and they usually don't make mistakes. That is why W+K 12 made a little pin (pictured) to help right this wrong. They call themselves, The Concerned Committee For The Correct Spelling Of Wayne Gretzky’s Name On His Parking Space At Nike World Headquarters. The committee just got a very powerful new member today. I gave Phil Knight a pin and told him the story. He thought it was hilarious. I hope we didn't get anyone in trouble.

Best Meatball Sandwich in Portland

My lunch posse and fellow food critics, Jesse and Ryan (pictured) have been raving about the meatball sandwich at Hotlips Pizza for a couple of weeks now. They got in on the trail run and I guess it went so well Hotlips has made it a permanent feature on the menu. I have to agree with them that this is the best meatball sandwich I have tasted in Portland and possibly ever. The bread is perfect: soft and tasty but still manages to hold together with all that amazing sauce. The meatballs are meat and pork and they have the perfect amount of spice. The best news of all, the sandwich is big enough for a meal for only $6.

Hotlips is my favorite pizza place in Portland. They are a family-owned business that began making pizzas in 1984. In 2005 they added their own fresh fruit sodas. They now have five pizzerias in Portland. They are dedicated to sustainability and reducing their impact on the environment - you can read about how they are trying to reduce their food miles on their website - and their Pearl District location is in the very cool Eco Trust building.

Hotlips Pizza

NW 10th and Irving

503.595.2342

www.hotlipspizza.com

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Woody Allen's latest movie, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, has been out for a while, but I finally saw it this weekend. It is the story of two girlfriends, Vicky, played by Rebecca Hall and Cristina, played by Scarlett Johansson, on a summer holiday in Spain. They are polar opposites, Vicky is the stern, smart girl who is engaged to be married and working on her masters degree. Cristina is a free spirit, who hasn't exactly found her place in the world yet. Of course they both fall in love with the same painter, Juan Antonio, played by Javier Bardem. Here is where it gets interesting. Juan Antonio sleeps with both girls, but starts a relationship with Cristina. As this is getting off the ground, his psycho ex-wife Maria Elena, played by Academy Award winner Penélope Cruz, comes back in the picture. The rest of the movie explores the entangled relationships of all the main and a few minor characters as only Woody Allen can do.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is not as heavy as Allen movies of old, but you can still see his fingerprints all over it. It is fun and the cast is excellent. While I would have given the best supporting actress Oscar to Viola Davis in Doubt, Penélope Cruz is wonderful and brings the edge this movie needed.