Review — Page 3

Book Review [and Giveaway!]: Joyride – Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet

January 3, 2011 by Dave 5 Comments

Mia Birk has written a book about her travails and travels working to make bicycling an integral part of the transportation system and culture of American cities and towns: Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet.

In the book she relates personal stories and struggles of her several decades experience convincing first herself, then bureaucrats, planners, engineers, and the public at large (including her own family) that bicycling is not just kids stuff. The stories are inspirational; relating both tiny and big steps forward through the morass of politics and public opinion.

Portland is the setting for many of her stories, as Birk was the Bicycle Program Manager for the city from 1993-1999. Portland’s bicycle culture and infrastructure are now regarded as shining examples of what is possible in American cities. One wonders where we would be now if it weren’t for Mia Birk’s work. Any one interested in Portland’s bicycling history and culture will enjoy this book. Activists and bicyclists from anywhere will enjoy the inspirational stories and possibly learn a thing or two about promoting bicycling in their own cities.

See Mia Birk talk about her book at Powell’s Books (1005 W Burnside) on Tuesday, January 4 2011 at 7:30pm!

Giveaway!

For a chance to win a copy of Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet, share one thing you like about bicycling in the comments below. On Friday, January 7 2011 at noon I will draw the name of one commenter randomly and send them a copy of the book for free!

Best Portland Blogs You’re Not Reading #3: The Oregon Economics Blog

October 18, 2010 by Dave 2 Comments

This is the third edition of an occasional series of posts on the Best Portland Blogs You’re Not Reading.

Periodically I visit each of the blogs on my blogroll (which you’ll find just below the ads on the right). Many are popular and well trafficked, others are infrequently updated, but contain some gems. And then there are the ones that are almost always well written or entertaining, and routinely updated, but don’t get the traffic, I think, they deserve (I have some not so nefarious ways of determining this, e.g. open Sitemeter stats).

The Oregon Economics Blog

Wondering how to apply your college economics education to the mole problem in your backyard? The Oregon Economics Blog has you covered.

The blog, penned by Oregon State University economics professor Patrick Emerson, also comments on local, national, and international economic stories, reports, and issues. I’ve never taken a class in economics, but in his posts Emerson has a knack for explicating just enough of the economic theories pertinent to the subject matter on hand so that a layman like me can understand where he’s coming from.

I find myself disagreeing with many of his arguments, such as this one on Dudley and Tip Credits, but I get the impression he’s not making his argument because he’s a rich-pandering douchebag, but rather because he subscribes to a particular theory of economic order (sure a minimum wage is a “distortion” of markets, but it’s one of the very rare legally codified distortions that benefits the welfare of employees, rather than employers). I also vehemently disagree with his position on self-service gas, but my objection has nothing to do with economics. But I digress . . . Sometimes I lean towards agreeing with him, like this one arguing that maybe, just maybe, bicyclists in Portland could use a bit more regulation (I say this as a pedestrian, not a car driver): Bike-o-nomics: Of Social Norms, Externalities, Tipping Points and Bike City, USA.

Most of the posts are edifying and interesting, and the majority reflect on local issues, conditions, and discussions. If you’re interested in these sorts of things (and like to argue, but not in a trolly-way) go read The Oregon Economics Blog!

Oh yeah, the blog has the Twitter: @OregonEconomics!

And being an Oregonian, naturally Patrick also writes occasionally about beer, at Beeronomics (which has an accompanying Twitter account, @Beeronomics, too!).

A Mean Spirited Non-Foodies Food Guide in the Oregonian

October 15, 2010 by Dave 10 Comments

Contrarianism is the Willy Week’s métier, but The Oregonian has jumped into the fray with their Non-foodies Food Guide.

When they canned Roger Porter this past summer we learned that the Oregonian’s A & E editor, DeAnn Welker, envisioned something different for the paper’s coverage of local restaurants. Porter explains in an August conversation with Eater PDX:

“We are radically changing the way we cover dining and restaurants.” That changing direction means, as Welker told me in person, that The Oregonian intends its restaurant coverage to be aimed at ordinary people. It will henceforth meet the needs of readers who go to the places where most of the people go […] we had had some disagreement over the paper’s forthcoming increased attention to restaurants in the suburbs and to chains.

Despite the nod to ordinary people, I suspect the motivation for the the shift in coverage is actually that small restaurants and food carts don’t have large advertising budgets, so they won’t be buying Oregonian ads anytime soon. Where most of the people go includes larger restaurant chains, which have advertising budgets. So basically the O is going the tea party route, i.e. faux populism.

And if my supposition is correct, that explains why the businesses represented in the Non-foodies Food Guide are, with the exception of Sayler’s Old Country Kitchen, large corporate (though putatively local) chains: Dutch Bros. Coffee, Old Spaghetti Factory, Shari’s, and Taco Time. (And evidence is gathering that my suspicion is correct, because as I type this I see a leader board ad for The Old Spaghetti Factory atop the OregonLive.com webpage, and a Shari’s 99 cent Breakfast special coupon on the PDX BEST DEALS sidebar.)

The Non-Foodie Food Guide articles (I’ve found three on OregonLive.com) penned by Lee Williams drip with sarcasm and condescension. I understand the cynical decision (i.e. $$$) to editorialize on behalf of advertisers, but to insult readers? Not so much. But I suppose since there’s not much of a story there (we all know about these chains – we see them every day alongside the road and in advertising, and virtually all of us have patronized them before), snark is their last refuge.

Portland Polish Festival 2010

September 26, 2010 by Dave 2 Comments

The weekend I look forward too all year finally arrived, with bonus beautiful weather! But after tying one on Friday night at the Oaks Park Oktoberfest, I wasn’t sure how much enjoyment I could endure at my favorite Fall event, the Portland Polish Festival. But I had no need to worry – once again the experience lived up to my exalted expectations!

Heather and I had noted last year that the Polish Festival crowds start to thin around sunset, which also means the wait in the placki ziemniaczane (potato pancake) line becomes tolerable, and walking from point A to point B does not necessitate time consuming and frustrating navigation around multiple double-wide strollers and dawdling perambulators. Despite knowing this, however, we arrived around 5:30pm. We endured, however, with the help provided by a couple bottles of piwo.

With the help of said beer we perused the offerings of the fest.

In the vendor village we were tempted, but did not give in to, the Kiss Me I’m Polish wear. For one thing, neither of us are Polish. But when at the Polish Fest, we wish we were!

Because of the crowds, we decided the best course of action was to find a comfortable spot to establish a home base, and wait until sunset for things to open up a bit.

Fortunately we secured a couple seats at the back of the main tent with our friends Brent and Lesley.

We fueled up for the rest of the evening with potato pancakes.

From our vantage point we watched and listened to the Polka Beats perform during the polka contests.

The Polka Beats have played every year we’ve been going to the Polish Festival. They, needless to say, rock.

After the polka contests, they played until dark, at which point they moved into the Polish Hall building to play for the rest of the evening.

Next up on the outdoor stage were the headliners, Chervona!

Heather and I first heard Chervona play at last year’s Polish Festival. We were blown away, so to speak. This band is amazing. They play every Last Thursday at the Alberta Street Public House, and lots of other places. Follow them on Facebook!

We had a fantastic time. And we learned that bouncing up and down to Chervona while photographing yourself leads to blurry photos.

See you next year! The Portland Polish Festival in 2011 takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 24 and 25!

Oaks Park Oktoberfest 2010

September 25, 2010 by Dave 2 Comments

Last night after work Heather and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Oaks Park Oktoberfest. The festivities go on all weekend, but we have a date with the Polish Festival Saturday, and Sunday is catch up on blogging day.

The Main Festhalle is where most of the action – dancing and drinking – takes place.

And every year I have gone, the Polkatones have performed.

We had a few beers with our friends Andy, Adrian, and Tim.

Heather, as you can tell, was having a great time!

One of other reasons I love me some Oktoberfest is the accordions . . .

. . . and the lederhosen and dirndl-clad entertainers!

But mostly, I love the bier.

Alas, because we went on Friday, we missed the weiner dog races this year. But we’ll be back next year. Those doggies are cute! We’ll have to make due with Heather’s 2009 footage of the magical event.

Wiener Dog Races at Oktoberfest 2009 from Mile73 on Vimeo.

Aufiderzein until 2011!

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