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Dream of the 90s: Alive in Portland
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23 Responses to Dream of the 90s: Alive in Portland
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‘Twilight’ put it on the map as cool place. Team Edward or Team Jason??….Edward.
hilarious angel –
your story just made me laugh out loud! and i thought only the english were that over-polite (no offense meant to our english readers — i loved living there. but i remember a comedian once commenting that the english are so polite, if you step on their foot *they* will apologize to *you*.)
I haven’t seen the show yet, but this video was pretty funny. I lived in Portland for 8 years. I loved certain aspects of the city (loved the cool misty climate for one, amongst other more intangible elements), but the things that this video, and apparently the show, are poking fun at were exactly what drove me crazy about Portland. The droves of “alternatives” who ironically, wouldn’t even talk to you if you didn’t have a bone through your nose (and I don’t just mean the younger hipsters), the way-too PC enlightened people and they’re holier than thou “lifestyles”, don’t even get me started on the Reedies. Most of the people I seemed to connect with were the native Oregonians, who came across as truly down-to-Earth people. I did feel a sense of freedom there, but it wasn’t coming from all those people who were “doing their own thing”.
Here’s a funny little story: waiting for an elevator with a crowd of people in a Portland building. The elevator finally arrives and the door opens. There were so many polite “After you”‘s and “No, after you”‘s that the elevator door closed without anyone getting on.
WY “The more people who come here the less likely that is to happen.”
Depends on the people.
“Hip is square and square is hip.”
Kalle Lassn
AdBusters
Bellingham is cool. It’s a border town, on the edge of it all.
huh. i just applied for a job there today.
i’m in a similar boat, not many places in middle north america i would choose either, but the area does seem …
at least i know my fuschia cruiser will blend.
Brendan,
It’s curious that you have lived in *all* three places that are tugging at me. Yes, I have two friends in Bellingham – one of whom I met through PW, the other is up there living out the life I would have if I were a) male, b) Pisces and c) pretty much constantly ithyphallic. Just as I am here living out the life he would have if he were a Cancerian woman who wanders around causing perfectly innocent people to crave (the making of) art.
Emphasis on ‘crave.’
Anyhoo, he has indicated that Bell’am is a good place to get some work done. And he was the first to invite me to WA when the Retreat workshop was still hot.
Sooo… the gods are deliberating now.
Mea culpa!
Yes, Eric, it is funny: all bow to the Sage of Kingston! I fell into the trap of semi-serious introspection about Portland, and missed the simple fun and humor of it. It was a long day of dealing with the teenagers at school…
And ‘Portlandia’ is a wonder sculpture too!
I spent a long weekend in Portland (OR) a couple years ago and loved it. I just drank in the lush wetness and green green green of it. And the city & its buildings/infrastructure didn’t seem as overbearing as some.
I also felt very protective toward it. I won’t be one of those (non-native) Californians chugging up there to stake a claim. I will visit again, though.
I thought the video was damn funny, though I admit to kind of a knee-jerk reaction to the hipster element at first. I live in San Francisco and am SO over the hipster scene. Good people-watching but annoying attitude among many of them. I wonder if I was as annoying when I was 23…;)
Okay how about this..
Supreme Court Mistakenly Used Belgium’s Constitution For Last 3 Rulings
January 20, 2011 | ISSUE 47•03
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it would have to review two weeks’ worth of procedure after determining it had mistakenly based its last three rulings on a copy of the Belgian constitution left in the justices’ chambers.
“When I presented my case on legal citizenship status under proposed changes to immigration law, I wondered why they said my argument was in direct opposition to the parliamentary rights of the Walloons,” said lawyer Hector Martinez, who argued before the court last week.
“In light of this information, I think their denying my case based on a precedent set by the Duke of Beaufort in 1782 is null and void.” Martinez has appealed his case, but is still awaiting confirmation of his audience with His Majesty Albert II.
I’m appalled by the lack of serious critique of the issues raised by this video.
Um, did anyone notice how fuckin’ funny it is?
I supported that infrastructure and way of life for 4 1/2 years, working in PDX and living across the river in Vancouver (senior), paying taxes to Oregon and getting nothing back…
I’m with Yeti though, it is a city that certainly goes far beyond this video (haven’t seen the series yet, probably won’t – no TV here). It is one thing to be an outside observer, another to be a real native, and have the land in your soul.
Mystes – You want to move to Bellingham? I’m a native son, 4th generation ‘Hamster! My family goes back over 100 years there, on both sides. A very different place that, one that has depths beyond the I-5 drivers by.
don’t worry yeti, i still love *my* portland — the first one.
but i have some old friends in portland junior i may visit sometime…
Portland is on my short list for the next move. That, Tucson or Bellingham if I have to stay in the States; Vauclause or Valencia otherwise.
I live in Portland, OR and I laughed my ass off when I watched this. In fact, last night I watched the entire episode–the painfully politically correct couple ordering organic chicken at the Gilt Club should not be missed (the server provides a pamphlet complete with chicken’s first name and the couple counters with, “Well, who were his friends? Who did he play with?”). And yes, I think Portlandia works because it does resemble real live characters I’ve met in my 3 years here. We do have circus classes, 20-somethings who manage to live on coffee shop wages, and you absolutely can’t swing a cat without hitting someone with a tattoo, or twenty. I love the alt community here–it’s sort of so mainstream it’s no longer alt. It’s just Portland. And the overarching vibe? I’d call it “live and let live with a smile.” People are really friendly here. People care about their community here. I’ve lived in other cities where being progressive and politically active and alt and community minded is cool (San Francisco for example) but never have I lived in a town that truly walks the walk. Obama LOVES to come here–you know why? We go crazy for him. I believe we had the biggest turnout of any town in the nation when he campaigned for President, plus, we bring our kids when we get politically active. But beyond all of this good stuff, what really stands out about Portland is the attitude. Never have I lived in a place that is so damn friendly. Seriously, people smile a lot here. I love a city where the grocery store cashiers remember your name and ask you how your day is–and now I do the same. As for nature… I won’t even go into the beauty that is Oregon–it’s too insane to describe. But there is a catch–it rains here. It really rains. It’s so damn gloomy for 6 months I’m downing vitamin D, catching colds left and right and cursing myself for choosing this bizarre city with no sun. Even my dog is depressed. (Oh, and you can’t live in Portland without a dog–look for a skit skewering us for that). And there are no jobs. None. Seriously, I think one of the reasons people are so damn friendly here is there’s this overwhelming sense that we’re all in this together–everyone is working 3 jobs, but at least one of those jobs has each person following their bliss. So enjoy Portlandia and you’re welcome to visit, but you probably wouldn’t want to live here
Sorry about the snarl…I do respect and enjoy the humor in this series. But it does merely scratch the surface and extract one aspect of Portland visible mostly to the hipster 20 something crowd and is completely confined to the human element of the city. The smaller of the two great rivers that are why there’s a city on this land is in the background of the video, sure, but there’s no recognition of her sacred waters. The city is far more than just the conceptual skin of the hipsters and far more than a human construct. We share space with crows, pigeons, great blue herons, raccoons, squirrels, sparrows, woodpeckers, deer, coyotes, countless insects and a wide variety of tree folk. As I was biking through the Oaks Bottom wetland yesterday and saw a building whose rectangles were covered with representations of the wild critters who live in the waters reflecting a mirage of the building I remembered this video and how it only pays attention to the surface elements of the preservation of neoteny and experimentation in this town, made a city with Sol in Aquarius. But what makes the air relatively clean and I think a big part of what keeps that vibe of experimentation alive here are the abundant woods and wetlands that give the ridiculous amount of rain that falls here something to do other than fill the rivers to flood stage as water runs off of pavement. There’s some of that, too, but there would be a lot more without all these trees. What I love about this land is far more than the people and the more people who live here with modern wasteful lifestyles the less of what makes this a beautiful place to live will survive. This is why advertisements (even jokes like this are a kind of ad transmitted through the media that makes Portland seem like a wet Burning Man and little else) about the land I love make my skin crawl. I want to see the Salmon return, I want to see deer and blue herons more often. The more people who come here the less likely that is to happen.
The Sabian symbol of my nadir in Capricorn is “A nature spirit dances in the iridescent mist of a waterfall”. My Jupiter and Venus are conjunct Portland’s sun in my 4th/5th house. This is my father’s homeland and 100 miles upstream on the river providing the background for this video was where my mom grew up and where I was born. More humans here only means fewer of the other non humans I know and love in this place. If you feel drawn here by all means come. But please leave your car. Bring a bike and and a backpack. Portland is a training ground for the medicine people of the future, not just a party pad for lazy hipsters.
I agree – that’s why I enjoyed this utube. There is something about Portland that it catches, tunes and plays for us.
I’ve been to and lived in many places as well and everywhere has been unique – and I agree – this vid-maker has captured some essence of Portland. A rare combination of slower life-style within an urban environment and a lesser impetus for materialism – ?
Yeti – as a Portlander; looking forward to your take.
xo
Yes I’ve been to Portland.
I’ve been to lots of other places and I’ve been to Portland. There was…something about it. This parody kind of scratches the surface of what I noticed.
Perhaps someone could fill me in…
I suppose Kingston today and LA in 1890 had some similarities….in population size perhaps….hahahaha! Fun post, Eric.
LOL! How great! Anyone (besides Yeti) been to Portland? Raise your hand, raise it high!
(No worries, Yeti, I have the utmost respect for Portland – and the 90s – but it is not on my radar as a place to live. So you are safe – from me, anyway
Well, this is a joke, not an ad…but speaking for Kingston, the 90s are alive here too — the 1890s.
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Oh noes…so it goes I guess. As a local I’d like to say that too many people in one place will just trash this place like everywhere else there’s a big city. Portland doesn’t need to be a bigger city. There’s too many people here as it is and our economy is one of the worst in the country. Abundant woods and wetlands thankfully not featured in this advertisement turing the land upon which I live into a commodity are what make this such a great place to live. Try restoring those kinds of things where you live rather than bringing your cars and trash to our city. We have enough thanks. You wouldn’t like it here anyway. It rains all the time.