16th Leg: North Portland to Kenton Library

Date of run: April 18, 2014
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.

_____

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:

15th Leg: Albina to North Portland

Date of run: April 11, 2014
Time: 3:00 pm
Temp: 66 degrees F (feels like 64)
Conditions: Mostly sunny, wind 5 mph
Distance: 1.9 miles out, 2.0 miles back (3.9 miles total)

Another nice short run, with the obligatory flower gardens spotted early on:





I soon headed west on Failing Street (named after Henry Failing, who was ironically quite successful in life). And I saw a lot of Failing things, including...

A Failing stop sign:



A Failing sidewalk:



A Failing church:



A Failing house:



A Failing bike repair business:



And some Failing graffiti:



But enough of this; it was time to get Going (north on Vancouver Ave), here comes Sumner!





Arriving at the North Portland branch, I admired the nice brick work and lamps of the outside, and inside old-school architectural features such as an ornate ceiling with large hanging lights.





Found two CDs of interest, as usual from the eye-catching cover artwork. This time, two albums by the same band, released five years apart. A chance to track growth by an artist over time.



Leaving the library, I headed east on Killingsworth and observed a cool tall sign (McMenamins), a coffee shop with a questionable name (not sure what's in those brownies on the counter), and a community center (which I think was the inpiration for both Portlandia's "feminist book shop" and the phrase "Put a bird on it").







Killingsworth is also home to at least one very old, defunct gas station (check that price per gallon!), as well as some political signs (though I think this should have read "Rainin' water bills!").





My favorite part of this run though? Easily this: a painting on the side of a house that took three pictures to capture (including a fourth for the signature). Creative and beautiful:









_____

LAST WEEK'S MUSIC

Little Dragon, Machine Dreams (2009)

"Icy electro-pop?" Not always. Especially on this song, which exudes depth and feeling. Not my "new favorite band" but I like it, a lot:




Wild Beasts, Smother (2011)

This band summary on Allmusic really lured me in: "Afrobeat and rockabilly infused '00s post-punk lent circus surrealism by Hayden Thorpe's rich falsetto and arcane lyrics." Unfortunately, I didn't find the music on this album anywhere near this description. And I'm afraid I fall on the latter side of "love/hate" regarding the falsetto style vocals, though the music is of high quality and well played: