Time: 3:30 pm
Temp: 58 degrees F (feels like 57)
Conditions: Partly cloudy, wind 8 mph
Distance: 2.1 miles out, 2.1 miles back (4.2 miles total)
Working diagonally north and west into far north Portland now; only one more stop at St. Johns before heading south back towards home after a few more libraries.
Heading east briefly on Killingsworth Street, I passed Jefferson High School on the left, and the PCC Cascadia campus on the right, noting some bricks peeking through the pavement, a glimpse into an earlier version of historical Portland.
And it looks like yet another food cart pod is coming, although this one isn't quite up and running yet: only one "cart" operating, with some empty buildings waiting to be occupied by...what specialties?
Turning north on Interstate Avenue, I saw octopi and swales, pins and rails...
As I came to a busy intersection at Lombard, I thought: "Anyone who needs this much instruction probably shouldn't be crossing here."
On Lombard, I came across my version of Ulysses' Sirens..."Heavenly" donuts. Strike celestial choir: "Aaaahhhhh." Like that literary hero though, I resisted, and soon arrived at the modest-on-the-outside, expansive arched inside, Kenton Library, where I made my selections: The Antlers, Boards of Canada, and the subtly-named Massive Moth.
Since I was in the neighborhood, I ran a couple of blocks north before heading back, to visit my old friend (same age as me) Paul Bunyan, a 35 foot statue that iPhone pictures really can't do justice.
As I started back, I took one more "arty" shot, using the light of the setting sun for an angelic cast on our old wood chopper.
Crossing back over I-5, I enjoyed running around this spiral pedestrian overpass. Why build a simple structure when you can make something ornate like this? I like it.
Turning south down Albina Avenue, I cut through Peninsula Park, with lots of play structures and happy kids, and on the other side of the park, the best rose garden in Portland with its central fountain. Too bad it's a little early for the big bloomin' show...
To quote Arnold, "Ah'll be back" for that.
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LAST WEEK'S MUSIC
VNV Nation, Futureperfect (2004)
Gary Numanesque vocals, but colder and less human, cast a bit of a bleak gloom over the synthesized proceedings. (These guys are from London, but not surprisingly they've achieved biggest success in Germany.) This song is one of the more upbeat. There's something about mixing astronaut samples that really works for me in rock songs. My other favorites are this, and this. FYI, "VNV" stands for "Victory Not Vengeance." OK then.
VNV Nation, Of Faith, Power And Glory (2009)
Ah, this is what I like to do. Listen to a band in its early days, then check back a few years later and see how they've developed, or hopefully, grown. In this case, five years hasn't much changed the VNV Nation sound or approach. Same mechanistic singing, electronic beats and synths, and a majority of songs that delve into the dark side of humanity. Tellingly though, the song I chose for this blog as an example of this album is this, a real anthem of sorts:
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