jbills

It’s Summer, take that Top Down

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And I’m not talking about a convertible here, although I’m a big fan of those little Italian jobs they call Spiders.  Nope, for this one, it’s time to throw a little attention over to the NW Film Center and a small problem.  Well, a “small” problem that’s become a big problem.

Top Down – know it?  It’s fantastic.

Safe to say most of us VFX’ers are film fanatics.  For the self-professed “filmies,” NW Film Center runs screenings each summer (once the weather rolls around to “guaranteed sun”) on the rooftop parking deck of the Hotel Deluxe, which in and of itself will make you feel like you stepped into a 1950’s Hollywood film set (and we all love it’s magnetic Driftwood bar).  But let’s not sugar coat this – we’re not exactly talking Hollywood glamour today.  Never mind our Hollywood district, this is Portland after all.  This is throw-a-blanket-down and rough-it-under-the-setting-sun type fun.

The programming of Top Down is 2nd to none and I’m not afraid to dish kudos to whoever is behind it.  I’ve caught everything from a Johnny Cash kidnapping joint to lost Jackie Chan kung fu flicks to b-movie horror films at Top Down.  Even the occasional cult 80’s films seem impeccably timed, in that “haven’t seen that one in forever, let’s go!” sort of way.  Doesn’t hurt that there’s always great food and beer on tap, and a band kicks the night off.  Tossing down your jacket and staking out your chairs and then heading up top to grab a beer, check the band, and just take in the view makes this something special.

Top Down has been slowly but surely gaining momentum all these years and now it’s time to get serious.  We know it, they know it, everyone knows it.  Top Down needs a new screen.

With your help, they’ll make the jump to a 20′ screen (up from the old 12 footer).

Toss a little something their way, won’t you?  They like the kind that folds, but’ll take the kind that jingles.  And you were going to hit it this summer anyway, right?  Why not pay it forward?  (Ok, cheesy movie reference but c’mon, after all, it did feature the St John’s bridge and at least Haley Osment has kept it mostly together, the one mugshot aside)

In the name of all that doesn’t suck, support the Top Down cause over on Kickstarter.

It’s Lunch time in Portland

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Hear the whistle blow?  It’s Christmas lunch time in Hollis, Queens Portland, ya’ll.  I can feel it – this could be a whopper (no pun intended) of a post.

Let’s take a second to appreciate not the usual world class video & film projects, but instead let’s talk about something equally as important.  World class lunch.  Woo ha!

Something I remember vividly about the first time I ever visited Portland (circa 2006) was how incredibly good the food was.  And how accessible.  And how cheap.  Lunchtime in Portland is pretty rad, you have to admit.  We’ve got it good.

Rarely does the combination exist where most any craving can be (more or less) satisfied within walking distance, but my recent job switch has me working down in NW Portland again, and I’m constantly impressed with how rightly Portland does up lunch.  With gusto!

I think it’s something you appreciate more with some perspective.  I can only speak for myself here, but I completely took a good lunch for granted during my NYC days.  C’mon – in that town, anything and everything you could ever want is just a few steps out your door.  Simple economics – endless amounts of busy, hungry people requiring food of all sorts brings the most amazing concentration of restaurants ever assembled, with the high volume comes low prices as they compete for our lunch dolla$.  When genuinely incredible food only sets you back $5 or $10, it makes it reeeaaal easy to head out daily.  Which for some of us represents one of the keys to sanity (can I trademark that?).  Step out, get some fresh air, stretch those legs.  Catch up with coworkers.  Try something different, keep things interesting.  Unplug from the grind for half a sec.  A shred of normalcy in this crazy biz we’re in.  Play a little credit card roulette and then deduct the whole thing and write it off as “networking.”

It’s not all puppy dogs and ice cream out there.  The flip side of the coin hit me when I moved to New Zealand, and the film studio was – as many film studios are – out in the middle of nowhere.  “The wop wops” as the kiwi’s called it.  Where real estate isn’t prime city prices – you know the drill, usually out by an airport (what’s up with airports and cheap real estate, anyway?).  Now, I’m talking earrrrllly Weta days here.  Before the Park Road Post Cafe was installed on-campus.  Before Lucas decided he wanted to be livin’ La Boca Loca.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I had my share of Elements Cafe, Maranui Surf Club, Sinbad Kebabs, Chocolate Fish this and Aranya Thai that, and boy just the mention of those spots brings a rush of memories.  But it was a far cry from the lunch situation in NYC.  Ok, ya know, I’m probably being too harsh.  Full disclosure – on the subject of food, Wellington can hang with anywhere I’ve been for the most part (fact – the most cafes and restaurants per capita in the world) but it was the whole have-to-hop-in-a-car thing that was the real buzz kill out there.  This is not a problem here in P-Town.  Worst case, you have to hop on your beater bike that you keep at the office.

Now, you want to talk “lunch challenged,” imagine yourself magically whisked away to…  mystical Albuquerque, NM.  Why did the tribal music and the naked indian from Wayne’s World come rushing to your head?  How, uh, cheeky!

I briefly “did some time” in the ABQ at the Sony office downtown when it existed, back on Alice in Wonderland, so it’s still relatively fresh in my head.  Actually, let’s not even go there.  Ya know, mom taught me – if you don’t have anything nice to say about a lunch scene, don’t say anything at all.  I don’t know, they had good pie!  When your tongue wasn’t scorched from red & green chiles (christmas!) or pickled from the Wine Margaritas.  My point is – I’ve seen it all, and since being removed from NYC, there was a gaping hole in my soul when lunch rolled around.  A little emptiness, a careless whimper, sometimes a growl.  I’m talking stomach gurgles here…    yanked outta the city that never sleeps – and never has a bad lunch – part of me wanted to just work through my lunch hour…   even to –  gasp (!) – bring my lunch from home.

Yikes.

Portland restored balance to my foodie universe.  I’m a big fan.  And it deserves a shout.  Game on.

This could turn into a series of posts, but let’s start off first and foremost with NW – since I have such a soft spot for NW Portland.  And by NW I mean “Nob Hill,” “The Alphabet District,” “Slabtown,” “the hood with all the street names from the Simpsons…”  whatever.  I lived, worked & breathed NW for my first 3 years here.  At one point, when Laika’s LJC building was in full swing and I lived on Everett, I was able to condense my life into about a 10 block radius from Couch down to Raleigh.  Let’s just say I got to know NW really well.  Trust me, best to divide this one up.  And conquer.

Lower NW – This is the south section and first part of the alphabet – Burnside through Kearney, roundabout 21st & 23rd and home to Hinge Digital.  The highlight reel would most definitely include:  (deep breath)  the fish tacos (and about everything else you could ever want) at Elephants, the patio and under $10 lunch menu @ Cha – go for the Gomez!  That would be the Gomez burrito, named affectionately after the unimitable Ramiro Gomez at Hinge Digital.  Down the street, the daily plate at Cafe Nell, the sushi rolls at SanSai (solid, but still out the door for $7 or so), the dive bar burgers at the Matador (the original Matador not the other one), mole at MuuMuu’s, and the gluten free turkey sandwich + hazelnut smoothie from Cafe Rio are all strong choices.  If it’s after 4pm, the burger and back patio at North45 are hard to beat.  Need a boost?  Coffeehouse NW.  Breakfast on the way into work?  Ken’s Bakery.  Bonus points:  word on the street is that Koi Fusion is opening a permanent location across from the Timber’s stadium where the flower shop was.  Score! (or maybe “Goal” is more appropriate?)

 

Koi Fusion’s korean taco bliss

 

Upper NW – Moving North, Lovejoy down to Thurman & Vaughn way – home to Kamp Grizzly, Sonic Media, Laika/House, Limbo Films (who for some reason I always want to confuse with Lyon Films out in SW) and others.  The Thurman strip is the goldmine here.  St Honore and it’s tasty french patries are great on an overcast day – and we get our fair share of those, don’t we?  Besaw‘s brings it down home – I get the breakfast burritos and then don’t eat the rest of the day.  Nic Marrison was a big Besaw’s guy, and also used to swear by the greasy spoon Joe’s Celler, which also quietly has some of the best Karoake in town (Thurs & Sun) and is heavily attended by both Benters and Laikans alike – although I’m not sure they know each other?  One of these days I’ll shove you all together like 7th grade boys and girls at a sock hop.  The “bento guy” with the little alcove cart down on Quimby b/w 22nd and 23rd is one of the best $5 lunches around.  Laughing Planet deserves to be in the rotation, as does the fabulous  New Old Lompoc, which will soon become the New New Old Lompoc as it’s reconstructed…  I’ll miss your “new old” back patio (but we await your triumphant return).  In the meantime we’ll have to get by with Lucky Lab I guess.  Laurelwood is missed in this regard also – that little house is where it all began for me.  Stepping Stone Cafe tucked down on quimby & 24th is underrated, as is the BBQ at Slabtown (what, you wanted dive bar pinball?  go to the other one).  The el cheapo @ Pepino‘s does the job. The Ratatouille Sandwich at Kenny & Zuke’s is great with a ginger beer, but get the whole not the half.  Cart land:  18th & Quimby – go for the Bi Bim Bop at the Korean BBQ Box!  Do not be afraid!   Coffee:  Vivace.  Breakfast on the way in?  St Honore except on days the Dragonfly has waffles.

 

Kenny and Zuke’s: serious sandwiches in a town that takes sandwiches seriously

 

Wow, a mouthful.  Literally.  Enough typing for this one, but there’s a lot more to say in the vein of lunch and I promise to lob more salivations in a future post.

Left out your spot?  Drop a note in the comments and give props where props are due!

No Facebook ’til Brooklyn

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…and I ain’t goin’ back to Brooklyn any time soon.

Ok, I’ll openly admit that when I was starting this thing up, the good folks at  3DPDX (Joe) and AEPDX (Chris) were mentoring and made one thing clear.   Get with the social media thing – “Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn” they both said.

Yep.  Got ya.  We have to all stay connected somehow, kind of what it’s all about with this group and who am I to say any one of the channels is better.

Well…    yeah…     except the Facebook thing.  Maybe I’m overthinking or being closed minded – but I know what I like and I’ve always been more of a Last Thursday guy as opposed to a First Thursday guy if you know what I’m sayin’.  So why force it?  Facebooking the VFX/PDX blasts just seems redundant when we have a perfectly fine page going here.

So yeah, the plan is to, rather than it being an all out media blitz every time we have a meeting, I’ll just fire off one email (plus the token reminder) to the email list and gtfo.  Done and done.  Time is valuable and I need to keep it low maintenance.

Let me know if you think I’m making a mistake and you want to see VFX/PDX light up your facebook feed as much as we light up your life.

Facebook, maybe we can talk later on when your stock isn’t tanking.

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