random friday!

HAHAHA HELLO FROM THE ENDS OF THE EARTH WE ACCIDENTALLY DROPPED OFF OF WHOOPS.

Totally unintentionally. One of the catalysts for posting has been my bento pics, but my work computer has suddenly developed some bizarro error thing that's been preventing me from posting pics. So even though I write my posts the night before, I haven't been able to get my pictures uploaded when I'm at work, and haven't been able to figure out what the hell the issue is, and apparently those two things were insurmountable obstacles or something.

But! I cannot continue having bento pics stack up or I will just never get caught up (hahahahaha hello every house project update since approximately forever). And in the interest of getting caught up, I also have a ridiculous number of saved tabs in my browser that's becoming a serious impediment to being totally unproductive on the internet. Which means: Random Friday! Haven't done one of these in awhile.

Love Story, Twitter Style -- "Actor and comedian John Fugelsang shares the remarkable story of how his parents...a monk and a nun...met, fell in love, and went on to raise a family. Told in Tweets and photos."

Hobbes and Bacon -- A comic imagining of Calvin and Hobbes, in which Calvin has grown up, married the much-hate Susie, had a daughter, named her Bacon, and introduced her to his beloved Hobbes. Hijinks (and nostalgic tears) ensue.

Fan letter to a weatherman -- A child writes a letter to his favorite meteorologist, and proceeds to win the internet. "More awesome than a monkey wearing a tuxedo made out of bacon." Took the words out of my mouth, kid.

6 Things Rich People Need to Stop Saying -- Seriously. Have these people never heard of the French Revolution?

Educating Tomorrow's Culinarians -- Lovely little article in a local foodie publication about OCI (where Sal teaches), their philosophy, and their commitment to their students and the community.

via Nichelle Nichols' tweet...that's right, Uhura has a Twitter account because she is a total bamfI know I already reblogged this on Tumblr but whatever, its inherent awesomeness requires posting everywhere, all the time. YOU GUYS THIS IS A THING THAT HAPPENED AND EXISTS IN THE UNIVERSE. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES was visited by UHURA OF THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE and they stood in the Oval Office talking about Thomas Jefferson and Captain Kirk and and then they posed for the cameras and gave the Vulcan hand signal and that will never ever ever stop being ridiculously adorable. President Obama is our Nerd-in-Chief, amirite?

3/20/12 lunch, pink Natural Lunch:

• herb roasted turkey breast
• roasted smashed parsnips
• roasted brussel sprouts tossed in balsamic vinegar
• Pink Lady apple slices

3/22/12 lunch, lunchbots duo:

• herb roasted turkey breast, red leaf lettuce, dill Havarti in sun-dried tomato wraps
• broccoli
• baby carrots
• dried cherries
• sunflower seeds

 

3/26/12 lunch, Ms. Bento:

• creamy vegetable soup made by Chef Salvatore (potatoes, carrots, broccoli, string beans, onions, garlic, parsley, Jerusalem artichokes, thyme)
• turkey breast and dill Havarti in sun-dried tomato wraps
• raw pumpkin seeds
• kiwi halves
• almonds and dark chocolate covered raisins

honor guard

Earlier this morning, I happened to glance out the window and noticed a long stream of police cars with lights flashing on the St. Johns Bridge. So many, filling up the eastbound lane. I went out to the porch to see what was going on, hearing helicopters overhead and had a moment of dread -- don't let it be a jumper, I whispered to the universe. There's been enough sadness and death this week.

I saw that the line of emergency lights spanned the bridge, across the river and down Bridge Avenue leading up to the bridge, and further down Hwy 30 SB. And then I remembered that Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter's memorial is today.

The little town of Rainier, Oregon is located just a little way up Hwy 30 from us, about 40 miles. You pass through it if you're headed to Astoria or are taking the Lewis & Clark Bridge across the Columbia to Longview.

Their police chief, Chief Ralph Painter, was shot and killed last week trying to disarm a violent man in a store. By all accounts he was a good and decent man and well-loved in a small, close-knit town. He had seven children and twelve grandchildren. He was a drummer and long-distance runner. He was thinking about retiring to teach new police cadets.

Law enforcement and emergency services personnel from all over the country and even Canada planned to come to his memorial service. The town quickly realized that there would be far too many people for their little town to accomodate, and the service was moved to the Chiles Center at the University of Portland, just a few miles from our house here in North Portland.

The processional included hundreds of police cars and motorcycles, fire trucks, and ambulances. Our postman came up the steps as I was on the porch and we watched together in silence. He wondered quietly if every police car and fire truck in the state was slowly making its way across the St. Johns Bridge. It sure looked like it.

Mark Twain supposedly said, "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." It's advice I think about often, and try to remember when I get caught up in my own pettiness. I fail more often than I succeed, but it's still advice I think is worth heeding. It seems Chief Ralph Painter thought so, too.

Random Friday

A random bunch of links, two of which I'm stealing from my writing blog because they're too awesome not to spread far and wide. And then more stuff. Because I'm cool like that.

• April Henry posted earlier this week about a really fun and fascinating project called The Novel Live! in which 36 NW authors take turns writing an entire novel in six days, a kind of marathon-relay-writing adventure. It's wrapping up tomorrow, but you can still catch the live stream of the project in action. Like, actually watch the writer in action AND simultaneously see the words s/he is writing appear on the screen AND chat with the writer to offer suggestions, comments, etc. (LIVING IN THE FUTURE OMG STILL THE BESTEST). This has to be one of the cleverest things I've seen in awhile, and it's a fundraiser for a good cause, as well.
• The God of Cake, from one of my favorite blogs, Hyperbole and a Half. Just...go, click and read it. I promise, you will love me for making you.
• This updated map of online communities from xkcd, which has been sitting in my saved tabs for like, a week or however long it's been since he posted it. I spent a good 30 minutes poring over it at full size, giggling at all the in jokes. In other news, I spend WAY too much time on Teh Internets. It's also edifying (and kind of depressing) to compare it with the first one from 2007. lol, MySpace.
• From @katrinawheeler via Twitter, a nice little article about local/regional non-foodie restaurants and chains that are actually pretty good. (They don't mention Burgerville, I'm assuming because it's a given.) Some of these were a surprise that they're Oregon-based, as well as how many of them make their food on-site using fresh ingredients. Also a surprise: the connection between The Old Spaghetti Factory and a couple of the hottest restaurants in town. (Sal worked at Fenouil before he started teaching at OCI, btw.) And who knew Shari's was a leader in regional sourcing??