I AM THE 2%

NW Dance Project's NEW NOW WOW! Performance, October 15, 2011

Last night my son, Christopher, and I attended the All-World-Premiere program NEW NOW WOW! at the Lincoln Performance Hall in Portland. Christopher is a piano accompanist for NW Dance Project. The program featured three talented international choreographers creating for NW Dance Project for the first time: Didy Veldman (Netherlands) - one of the hottest names in European dance; Noam Gagnon (Canada) - co-founder of the world-renowned The Holy Body Tattoo; and Pedro Dias (Portugal) - 2011 Pretty Creatives choreographic residency winner. While many local and national companies have reduced or even eliminated new creations for their upcoming seasons, NW Dance Project remains dedicated to fostering and maintaining an environment where visionary dance makers can work with complete artistic freedom and with exceptionally talented dancers to bring their ideas to fruition to the stage. A WOW! beginning for NW Dance Project's eight season!

Regal Cinema and Late Lunch at Nordstrom Cafe

I attended the 12:25pm showing of "The Hedgehog" at the movie theater in downtown Portland. Cast: Josiane Balasko, Garance Le Guillermic, Togo Igawa, Anne Brochet, Ariane Ascaride. The movie was even better than the novel "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery. Usually a novel is so much better.

Afterwards I went to Nordstom Cafe to have a late lunch. I like sitting at a table along the large window with a view of Pioneer Courthouse Square - Portland's living room. I have seen the view dozens of times. I thought that I would search for three things that I had not noticed before. I saw water flowing in the trough on top of a brick wall, two enormous umbrellas and a brass directional marker.

I purchased a small package of shortbread cookies at Starbucks for dessert. I took a couple photos of the Nordstom cafe window - a closeup and a far shot - before boarding the MAX train north.

Fox News does make stuff up!

I attended a book reading by Jenna Bush, the daughter of President George W. Bush, a few years ago at Chapman Hall during the Miami International Book Fair. When I returned to my South Beach hotel room, I turned on the television to hear the news. The newscaster said Jenna Bush had standing room only. Wow, what news station was that? I checked the televion station. Fox news. Why were they reporting there was standing room only for Jenna Bush? I was there. The huge auditorium was only half full if that. The next night there was standing room only - for Caroline Kennedy.

"Two and a Half Men"s Ashton Kutcher

I think that Ashton Kutcher is a horrible replacement for Charlie Sheen. True I did not watch the first episode of “Two and a Half Men,” but I did watch the second episode. I was not amused.

Evidently CBS is not amused but for a different reason.

CBS is reportedly unhappy with a marketing stunt Kutcher pulled in this week’s episode in which the actor promoted companies he has a personal interest in – and the network was not paid for the product placement.

Kutcher’s character Walden Schmidt – an Internet billionaire – is seen on his laptop, which is covered in stickers and decals for social media and tech sites, all companies Kutcher has financial stakes in, according to Variety.

“Two and Half Men” creator Chuck Lorre was okay with the promos, but apparently CBS was not. CBS says it will blur out the stickers for all repeat airings of the episode.

As for "Two and Half Men", with the natural end of the series so near it might have been better to have ended last year - to have made a couple of wrap up episodes to account for Charlie’s disappearance and then gone out with some dignity.

Bob's Red Mill Tour, Milwaukie, OR

My daughter, Kimberly, and I took a guided tour of Bob's Red Mill manufacturing facility. The guided tour is held Monday through Friday, and begins promptly at 10 am. However we did not arrive until 10:15 so we missed the film. The tour lasted about one hour. We saw how their products are made. We got a free sample at the end of the tour. The tour took place at their World Headquarters (not the Whole Grain Store), located at 13521 SE Pheasant Court, Milwaukie, OR 97222. (GPS Coordinates: Latitude:45.425858, Longitude -122.591902, N45° 25.5515', W122° 35.5141'). After the tour, we did not have time unfortunately to stop by their Whole Grain Store and Visitors Center, located just one mile west on Highway 224. We ate lunch at nearby Starbucks. Kimberly finished finding the rest of the caches for the North Clackamas Geocoin Challenge.

Mystery of the Steam and Sail Ship

On Wednesday afternoon, September 14, 2011, I rode the Washington State Ferry from the Seattle Waterfront to Bainbridge Island. I explored the charming village of Winslow. I stopped at a new shop called Salt & Sea vintage home at 230 winslow way east. Behind the counter was a large painting of a steam and sail ship steaming past a lighthouse.

According to Wikipedia, steam engines were developed and adapted in the late 18th century for use on ships, but did not become widely used until the early 19th century. Growth in their use was rapid on United States rivers, and seaworthy steamships gradually replaced sailing ships for commercial shipping through the latter 19th century. During that period even the largest of steamships had auxiliary sails. The French transatlantic steamer "La Touraine" was probably the last of her type to be equipped with sails, although she never used them.

Evidently you can tell the name of the shipping company by the markings on the stacks. I also photographed the name on the prow of the ship. Can you identify this steam and sail ship? If so, please contact me or leave a comment on the blog.