Me neither. But the street in front of work was blocked off and a ramp started to be assembled. Suddenly, there was a gaggle of skaters hanging out.
There was a bit of a confrontation over this camera, but the two parted smiling, so that worked out okay.
I left work as the ramp was still being assembled, but my co-worker said when she left it had been fully assembled and it was fun to watch them skate on it.
My first point of contact was during the Star Trek reboot. That movie was humming along quite nicely when suddenly here was this young guy doing the Chekov thing. His attempts at entering his authorization code (9-5-wictor-wictor-2) were so delightful I made a mental note to see just who this kid was.
I don’t think I ever checked. But he had a long resume already.
It wasn’t until last summer, when he started popping up in the movies I happened to be watching, that I was reminded of his existence. His acting revealed an intelligence that brought more than the usual to his parts. He was versatile, and could both carry a leading role and do the supporting thing while also stealing scenes. He was good looking (those curls!) but talent oozed out of him in a way that pointed to a long career, even after those curls thinned out and disappeared, as they were already beginning to do.
The great tragedy of an actor dead long before his time is that we won’t have an opportunity to see what he does next. We can check through his back catalog and see what we’ve missed, but after the things in post-production are released, that’s it. Someone else will be Chekov in the future, someone else will take those parts he would have been great in and he will be forgotten sooner than he should be.
Yelchin didn’t die because he was troubled, or accidentally overdosed, or had been drinking too much, or was driving too fast. His death was a dumb random happenstance and too bad. Because we will never see where he was going to go. We can only imagine.
Here are the three movies from last summer that turned my head. They show his versatility: a conflicted lover, an enthusiastic musician, a young guy really into a hot girl. All are good in their own way and all were made better by his presence.
The block which houses my bank is soon to be redeveloped. I saw the sign a few weeks ago. The new building will be the same old same old: mixed use with retail on the bottom, five floors of offices, five floors of apartments. We know the drill. You can see a photo here and also read about the building being the first high-rise in North America to be made of cross-laminated timber. More photos here. The second set of photos bug me because I can’t orient myself in space.
I was surprised to see how quickly they were starting. This is not where my bank is, but is the structure on the other end of the block. It was an antique store for several years, and of late it has been empty. It was one story, painted an unattractive color I suddenly can’t recall, and no one will miss this building. 
Here’s my bank. I asked the teller and she said they would be relocated during construction and then the plan is to come back to the same location.
From the corner.
I also can’t tell from the photo just how much of the block they are taking. So here’s the rest of the block face. I’m guessing the colorful building housing LexiDog will go.
I’m not sure if this building will survive or not. I’m hoping so. It’s got good lines.
It seems that corner will be very dark, what with the new 12-story building, the condo across the street with the red parts and the condo building across the other street that is yellow brick. That’s three tall building on one corner. We shall see, though.
That’s right! We now own an electric skillet! We can make pancakes for breakfast. We have very few jointly owned kitchen items. This, the microwave and the Magic Bullet. Every other kitchen item is mine. I consider it my dowry.
We got up early on Father’s Day and took a hike in the Gorge. It was a beautiful day for a hike. Plus, there were Father’s Day hikers to spot.
The plan was to start at Wahkeena Falls, hike up and across and come down by Multnomah Falls. It was a good plan.
Matt poses by some falls. There were a lot of falls.
Self-portrait with falls.
More falls.
Either J or C, or possibly both, had recently been here.
Sadly, my camera battery was near death and I didn’t have the spare with me, so pictures were rationed.
Matt wanted me to take this picture. I obliged.
Multnomah Falls.
There were a million people at Multnomah Falls. There were a million people celebrating Father’s Day. Here’s one family right here.
And here is a biker eating a cookie as big as his face.
It was a good hike and my legs were uniformly sore for the next few days.
A story of Alzheimer’s Disease and how the progression affects loved ones. It also had a lot to say about long-term relationships and how love changes over time. Julie Christie’s best actress acting nomination was well-deserved.
Cost: free via work-sponsored Netflix
Where watched: at home.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2007/away_from_her.html
I bought Vanity Fair from the newsstand (really from the rack at New Seasons) because Amy Schumer was on the front and because the issue was about sisters. I should probably just subscribe, as the subscription is so inexpensive, but I haven’t gotten around to it, plus I would really be committing to the long (long long) articles that are the usual Vanity Fair thing. And then there are the ads.
I don’t really read a lot of magazines with what I think of as magazine-type ads. You know. The impossibly thin and tall women who look nothing like nearly all the women I see and fit into clothing that nearly all the women I know will never wear. I don’t like what they are selling and I don’t like what they are saying and I don’t like that they are some sort of homogeneous ideal.
And this page sums things up. Who are you more likely to encounter: the sisters on the left, or the naked ladies on the right?
Other than the ads, it was a great issue. I spent several days contemplating one of Annie Leibovitz’s pictures of Amy Schumer. I couldn’t decide if it disturbed me or was kind of awesome. Matt had no such trouble making a judgement call. When I showed it to him, he took one look and said, “That’s awesome!” I finally decided if I had been thinking about it for three days it was kind of awesome.
In other news, I’m bummed I don’t have a sister.
I never found out what those terrified celebrities don’t do.
One of the downsides to digital is that I can’t spy very well on people’s reading materials. When I’m reading on my phone people can’t see I’m catching up with the Oregonian. And e-readers don’t have the title printed at the top of every page, like printed books do. But there are still times I can see what’s in someone’s hand. Like this young man.
Looking at the photo I notice he’s from De La Salle, (a Catholic High School that focuses on academics and work experience) which makes me wonder if it’s required reading, or he’s just interested.
(And sometimes when you are quickly taking the picture on the train, someone leans forward into the frame and glares.)
I’ve resisted this for some time, for reasons unknown to me. But it’s the last one I need to see to have seen all of Kelly Reichardt’s films* so I watched it and I loved it. It’s a quiet meditation about a friendship that was that just really isn’t anymore and it’s very well done.***
Cost: free from work-funded Netflix
Where watched: at home.
*At least until Certain Women comes out this year!**
**I’ve just checked and I haven’t seen all her films. I’m short a couple. One of which (Ode) doesn’t seem to be available.
***Plus you get to see Bagby Hot Springs.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2006/old_joy.html
