Gustav’s Bier Stube
February 27, 2007
-
Location: All over Portland/Vancouver
-
Price to fill up two people (minus booze): $25
There are several Gustav’s around, but I prefer the original, ‘way up on Sandy Blvd. on the NE side of town, if you can get in (it’s crowded, but the line moves pretty fast).
This is NOT the place to go if you’re on a diet or vegetarian, and I have a tendency to put on a deerstalker and warble “a-huntin’ we will go” when I see the decor (early Bavarian hunting lodge). But Gustav’s is a great place for hofbrau fare (i.e., roasted and grilled meat of just about any description). It’s also got one of the most affordable happy hour menus in town.
Me, I go there for the red cabbage, which is delicious. Never tried their desserts, but from the looks of them they’ll clog whatever open artery you have left. And, for a change, this European restaurant won’t break your wallet.
2/26/07: The pizza madonna
February 24, 2007
In Houston, Pew Elementary School cafeteria workers cleaning pizza pans discovered a stain that resembled the Virgin Mary. They took the pan to a nearby home and soon hundreds of people were stopping by to pray to it, leave rosaries and candles and other offerings, and it’s become an overnight Texas sensation.
I gotta admit, the Madonna wasn’t the first association that popped into my mind when I saw it, but I guess that’s in the eye of the beholder.
Garage doors and national defense apparently don’t mix. Residents of Colorado Spring started calling garage door opener repairmen in droves once the Marines started jamming them. Turns out that garage door remotes and homeland security systems operate on the same frequencies, according to a story on CNN.
This isn’t new; these kinds of devices are allowed to operate on “security” frequencies as long as they can be easily overridden. Trouble is, nobody mentioned that to the buyers of garage door openers, they need to buy new, more expensive models if they want to open their garage doors and they’re plenty mad.
Wonder if the Colorado legislature will issue an official apology?
The state of Virginia officially apologized for slavery last week, and while they were at it also expressed regrets over confiscating Native American lands. Following on the heels of the diplomatically but sternly worded (and essentially toothless) rebuke to President Bush for US involvement in Iraq, it kinda makes me wonder if we’re headed for an era when legislatures avoid screwing up their chances at re-election by sticking to trite and powerless statements of opinion-by-committee.
I think I’d take this a bit more seriously if they backed this up where it hurt. How about paying back wages–with interest–to the descendants of every slave owned, sold, traded, abused or captured by a Virginian? Or tracking down displaced Native American tribes and returning their Virginia lands?
Till then, folks, cut the phony crocodile tears and get back to work.
Hostabowl
February 24, 2007
I love concept and creation. I hate production and refinement, and I’m probably ADD in the bargain, which means that while I’m really, really great at starting a creative project–and am likely to have 4 or 5 going at any given time–finishing them is another matter.
In business, I’ve had to develop discipline and project management skills that get me around that. It’s been a lot slower coming for my art, however, which is why Hostabowl is still a work in progress after something like nine months. Last week, however, I finally cast the bloody thing, and after five days in the kiln all that’s left is the coldworking. (ugh)
Hostabowl is part of a series I’m calling Emergents. The series combines human and vegetative forms with the idea, as I’ve said before, is that this is what might have happened if God hadn’t been so rushed to complete the whole bloody world in seven days, and if plants had had a say in human evolution.
It’s also a testbed to see how far you can combine pate de verre and kilnforming. The thing I’ve always loved about glass is the high degree of control I have over texture, translucency and transparency…but the differentiator is often the restriction of techniques you can perform on a single work. In this particular series I’m combining my first love–pate de verre–and sheetwork in the same piece, hoping to get a contrast between extreme transparency (the sheet) and the alabaster feel of pate de verre.
Been trying different mold mixes, looking for one that gives me lots of strength for multi-part molds with multiple firings yet crumbles easily once I’m done so I don’t wind up breaking the piece (or crying). I wound up using Ransom & Randolph’s R&R910, and although I sometimes have quibbles with its texture it’s performed like a champ.
I preslump the sheet glass into the mold, open-faced, to ensure accurate placement of the glass. Then, with the shaped sheet in the mold, I fill in with glass powder and frit tints (dry if possible, so there’s no chance of scum), invest and embed any precast components, then seal as necessary with additional investment and fire as a closed and weighted single mold.
Striking a balance between sturdy mold and mold that doesn’t overinsulate by being too thick has been tough. I think I’ve got it with this one, but I’ll want 5 or 10 more projects before I can say for certain. The folks on warmglass (especially Hugh “Glassburl” and the Rowe-Israelson twins) have been a big help.
This is also a Bullseye glass casting, only my fourth cast with Bullseye instead of crystal, and I’m learning more about what to expect from a stiffer glass. I love the palette, so much more extensive than the many fewer colors I’ve had with crystal, and I’m learning to deal with the differences in luminosity.
Bullseye seems to work best in subtle layers of color with different intensities, and I’m also learning to “back” a field of color with a translucent white or “highlighter” color, even crystal clear, to bring out variations and obtain more of the fire you see with European lead crystal. My initial objections to Bullseye (and objections I’ve heard from many in the casting world, especially in Europe) were all around the differences in clarity and “inner fire,” but as long as I stop thinking of solid volumes of the same color and start working with graded layers, it’s fine. And the advantage, of course, is that learning to layer color within a casting increases my design vocabulary tremendously.
In this particular image, the bowl body is made of thin layers of overlapping BE Spring Green and (small amounts of) Chartreuse sheet. The PdV figures and rib veins are done in overlays of BE Violet Striker on a mix of opal NeoLav, VioletStriker, Gold Purple and Cobalt Blue powders into fine clear. The “hair” that flows from the figure’s head into the bowl body is a base of fine clear shading up to an OliveGreen and Spring Green tint. It’s overlain with Aventurine Green, then recoated with a thin layer of Spring Green opal. The layers aren’t obvious (mostly) but they give a great deal of depth.
Lots of coldwork needed and the above isn’t a great picture. Once the thing is finished and back from acid polishing I’ll post much better pictures. And this series is mutating from functional shapes to bas-relief work (and also to architectural–at some point I really AM going to cast that desk), which will give me a bit more control over variables.
Cheers–
–Cynthia
If it ain’t baroque…
February 24, 2007
Lately my musical tastes have run to hiphop and bossa nova (specifically to Joao Gilberto, whose voice is the aural equivalent of fine Belgian chocolate), but there’s an ancient, racial memory in my bones that loves the old stuff, and I don’t mean Buddy Holly. It turned last night’s classical baroque concert into nostalgic bliss.
Jan, my next door neighbor, popped in around 6pm with a ticket to the Portland Baroque Orchestra performance of Marian music (i.e., music written to the Virgin Mary). And so–unexpectedly–I headed downtown to the old Portland Baptist Church, slipped into a rose velvet pew in the balcony and had the time of my life. (Thank you, Jan)
This being glassland, black tie means “wear the jeans without the holes,” and the orchestra sported everything from tails to black sweatpants. Of course, what they were wearing wasn’t nearly as important as what they were playing, and since they played my one of my favorites–Scarlatti–well, I was in heaven.
Portland Baptist is a lovely, intimate setting for baroque, with nice acoustics, a lot of acanthus carvings in the plaster and wonderfully decorated organ pipes. PBO director Monica Huggett–a renowned violinist and concertmaster in her own right–fit the music to the setting well (and incidentally had a lot of fun with the violin solo in Vivaldi’s Concerto in C Major).
Their regular mezzo, Angela Niederloh, did a wonderful job but was probably overshadowed by the guest for the evening, contratenor Matthew White. A contratenor–they called it countertenor last night–is a unique beast outside of baroque music but becoming more popular since the use of castrati is kinda frowned on these days. Put simply, he’s a male alto, sometimes a falsetto. White’s voice was a tad light on power (which Niederloh more than made up for) but absolutely gorgeous.
They did one of my favorites in duet–Scarlatti’s Salve Regina–and I was very sorry when it ended. I gotta admit, though, that the audience was probably my favorite part of the evening. Baroque music lovers are an odd lot–this one had an average age of well, far more than 60, and a total lack of affectation or snobbishness.
That’s one of the things I like about “vertical” audiences. Nobody’s looking to show off their money or “cultchah,” or dragged here by a determined spouse. They’re simply here to enjoy, and I think are much nicer people as a result.
PBO is composed of violins, violas, violoncello, contrabass and a harpsichord, pretty much the usual, but they’ve also included an archlute player whose instrument is taller than the musician. (you can see him in the left third of this picture, which I snapped with my Treo during the performance) It’s an interesting contrast to modern instruments (and modern technology, for that matter).
But the technology was there. PBO sold (and autographed) CDs after the event, and apparently are making use of other forms of technology as well. Two fellows behind me were discussing some new orchestrations under rehearsal, and one expressed disappointment at missing the latest session. “Oh don’t worry,” replied his partner, “We’ve uploaded it to YouTube. You won’t miss a thing.”
2/22/07: Goo-Goo-Google-y Eyes on Office
February 22, 2007
Hosted services are heating up (again). Google’s updating its hosted productivity suite, Google Apps, to include a new Premier edition. It’s coming at an interesting time, just as Microsoft Vista and the new Microsoft Office suite start blowing the doors off IT refresh plans.
So…upgrade your Office suite with better productivity tools but imperfect unified comms for $100-400 per seat (depending on volume and how well your corporate purchasing folks negotiate), or go to Google Apps for $50-100 per seat and get a tad more unified comms but productivity apps. (Or spend about $40/month on OfficeLive and get somewhere in between).
Drivers ed
February 20, 2007
When I turned 18 in California, my friends and I knew you were what you drove. The first question out of a girl’s mouth was liable to be “where’s your car?” when interviewing prospective dates. Given California’s non-existent dress code it was the most reliable dateworthiness indicator we had. (and yeah, we were shallow, callow youth)
Old Beemers and Volvo station wagons were driven by eccentrics who might be serial killers or elementary school teachers, yuppies drove new Beemers, doctors (and doctors’ sons) drove Mercedes, guys who were cheating on their wives drove convertibles, and old fogeys drove Cadillacs.
2/8/07: TrimSpa, Baby
February 9, 2007
In the “real news is always weirder than fiction” department:
Poor Anna Nicole Smith, hitched to a not-even-well-preserved geezer, done out of millions of bucks, suffering from the loss of her son to drugs and an undiscovered heart defect and the center of a paternity suit from two fathers who (for a change) want the baby, has died.
She takes with her the fortunes of TrimSpa, which used Smith’s built-in before and after show to sell dubious diet pills. Under investigation for fraud and with sales lagging, TrimSpa’s at least done the decent thing: they’ve taken their website down in favor of a brief obit for Smith.
After more than 350 years of getting out that ol’ first edition, Sweden’s Mail and Domestic Tidings, i.e., Post-och Inrikes Tidningar, became a cyber-only publication today. Claimed as the oldest continuously running newspaper in the world, it’s been around since 1645. Online-only usually signals a drastic (downward) change in fortunes for print publications, which is too bad.
I once hosted a dinner party at Fem Sma Hus, which I think is the oldest restaurant in Sweden, right outside the palace grounds in Stockholm. Wonder if the POIT’s restaurant critic reviewed the opening in 1651? (BTW, it’s a nice place for dinner, even if the ceilings are only 6 feet tall or thereabouts.)
Pollster Zogby International just released a survey showing that Arabs dislike US President George Bush. What a surprise. Next they’ll be telling us that children dislike dentistry without anesthesia. What a shocker THAT will be.
NASA’s trying to figure out how, after years of PR campaigns testifying to the unparalleled brilliance and stability of its best and brightest, i.e., astronauts, one of its astronauts not only jumped off the deep end, but apparently jumped off with jet engines flying and a loud Bronx cheer.
Captain Lisa M. Nowak, with a string of commendations, a bright happy smile on her official bio, working as one of those unflappable Mission Controllers, apparently snapped and went after her boyfriend William A. Oefelein’s lover. The details are all over the press, especially the nifty ones about wearing a diaper through the long drive to find the lady, so ’nuff said about that.
“No more iPODS!” screamed NY state senator Carl Kruger, as he proposed fining New York City pedestrians $100 for being caught using iPod or related MP3 devices, Blackberries and other such gadgets on city streets.
Kruger says he’s introducing the legislation in memory of two Brooklynites who were killed in separate traffic incidents involving MP3 players. No word yet on whether he also wants to ban eating hotdogs and hailing cabs, which probably result in more traffic deaths.
5 minute bow to digital ethnography
February 8, 2007
Just saw a five-minute video summation of Web 2.0 on YouTube. It’s one of the nicest “short history of the Web world” pieces I’ve seen to date. The creator manages to make hypertext, XML, and social networking flow together and make perfect sense by using them to make his point.
The video’s by Professor Michael Wresch of Kansas State University, and a group of interested students and faculty there. He does a blog as well.
It’s a tad on the earnest side–you get the feeling this guy is a bit frustrated with trying to get his point across because he’s beating it to death–but it’s definitely worth a watch.
Apple: Better than TV
February 7, 2007
There are those who would argue that “better than TV” is faint praise, of course, but I meant it as a compliment, aimed at Apple and its ad agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day. (I think agency names are kinda like tree rings–you can tell how old they are by the number of layers)
More specifically, kudos to the guys that are doing the Apple ads. I’m awaiting these as eagerly as my favorite TV shows, and there’s virtually nothing I don’t like about them except that there aren’t enough of them. The latest, about Apple and Vista, Microsoft’s new operating system, is priceless.
And here’s why: Anybody with half a brain knows it’s a mashup of half-truths, misrepresentations and plain old exaggerations…but we love it anyway.
I bought a MacBook Pro prompted, in part, by the ads. When people can listen, disbelieve and buy anyway then, brother, you’ve got a powerful advertising tool. Take a quick scan at the messages Apple puts in those ads and you’ll see what I mean:
Macs are easier to use? Not if all you know is Windows. I could fill a book with cusswords uttered by Windozies trying to figure out where Apple stashed the uninstall command.
Macs have fewer viruses than Windows? Sure–there are a lot fewer Macs out there than Windows. As Macs increase marketshare, that happy circumstance will change, I promise.
Unlike Mac OSX, Microsoft Vista has so many security restrictions it’s almost impossible to use. Oh, I dunno–I’ve certainly typed my system password into Freddie Mac ninety ‘leven times when I’d rather be doing something else. Vista probably is a bit more restrictive, kinda like a moderate Republican vs. a moderate Democrat, but not unbearably so. (And still, I howled with laughter when I saw the ad)
Macs don’t break? Mine broke. (Although the excellent technical support I got from Apple fixed it a whole lot faster than I’ve ever gotten from a Wintel manufacturer. There is something to owning both OS and hardware.)
MacBook Pros have a magnetic power connector that keeps the notebook from being pulled off the desk if you trip over the cord? Yeah, but I watch where I put my feet and it isn’t a problem. On the other hand, that daggone magnetic connector has a habit of quietly detaching itself at inconvenient moments so that I run out my battery right when I need it.
That’s not to say I don’t think that Freddie. my MBP, isn’t an excellent, dependable beast that I’d buy again in a heartbeat. Or that I don’t like Microsoft Windows. For all the cussing I do about it, there’s a reason it’s the business OS of choice.
It’s just that Apple’s stretching the truth a bit, yet the ads are so good, I don’t care.
So congrats, Apple. Microsoft, if you want some help with your ads, just ask. 
Lights, camera…fractions?
February 5, 2007
Had lunch today with Mom and my cousins Anne and Jennifer, who are in town to help her (and my sister) with various interior design chores. Really fascinating women, lots of fun to be around.
They’ve got their own independent film company and they also do set design for other peoples’ movies. (Shameless plug: They’ve done an updated Pride and Prejudice to some very good reviews.) It’s kinda fun to watch their movies because–besides the obvious reasons, i.e., the movies are well-done and they’ve won a bunch of awards–they’re using my relatives as extras. Always nice to hear Aunt Mary Ruth in a voiceover!
They wanted to see my glass and talk glass, decorating and online marketing–three of my six favorite subjects. And I learned a lot.
I’ve produced videos for corporate demos and news, but that’s a far cry from the world of an independent filmmaker. Different production values, different profitabilities and ‘way different messaging. Mine is pure marketing in search of art; theirs is pure art in search of marketing. I got the feeling that, while artistically satisfying, for a long, long time the profit part of independent film-making is measured in fractions…of dollars.
We headed over to New Seasons for lunch (fabulous local grocery store with a wonderful deli). While we were waiting for our order I mentioned the book I’m writing, about the evolution of glass art, and that I thought there might be some documentary film fodder there.
Got chapter, book and verse on the documentary business. It (a) doesn’t make much money, (b) takes a long time to produce and even longer to get someone’s attention but the kind of subject I proposed might be interesting and (c) it doesn’t make much money.
In the middle of the discussion Anne turned to me and said, “You know, the subject of this documentary is YOU.”
Huh? Long Q&A followed, bottom line of which is that making this a very personal search would make a much better story than delivering a dry historical perspective on glass art evolution.
Kinda a “duh” moment, since I’m always telling clients exactly the same thing: make it personal (for the customer). But they gave me a lot of food for thought, and I likely will revise the outline and change a few things around. I think it’ll greatly improve the story.
And if some day it’s also a documentary, however impecunious, so much the better.