Categories
Music

Skinny Puppy – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, Oregon

2 things:

  1. Crossed “see a band on a ‘no more tours’ tour before I die, and make it a good one,” off of the bucket list.
  2. I believe in aliens now.
Categories
Random

Cathedral Park (St. Johns)

What better way to celebrate the first glimpse of sunshine 2023 has to offer than a trip to Cathedral Park near St. Johns – one of my favorite scenic spots (remaining) in the Portland metro area? It might be the “7th most dangerous neighborhood” in the city, but I love it anyway.

Categories
Music

Mastodon – Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum – Portland, Oregon

Categories
Video Games

Capcom Used to Be Pretty Cool

I like the Monster Hunter and Resident Evil remakes as much as the next person, but having finally gotten around to trying Asura’s Wrath today, I can honestly say that Capcom has mostly lost its imagination. There aren’t enough games that take any sort of risks in 2023. It makes me miss the good ol’ days of Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Breath of Fire, and many more.

Then again, I’ve owned Asura’s Wrath for about 8 years and never once did I load it up before today, so who knows what other great games are sitting in my collection, waiting to be “discovered.”

Categories
Urban Decay

Mississippi Ave Woes

Ok, so it’s not actually on Mississippi Avenue, but it’s close enough. This will be a shooting gallery soon, if it isn’t one already.

Categories
Urban Decay

Out With the Old and in With the Hole in the Ground?

I’m not sure what this apartment complex did to warrant a complete leveling but nonetheless, it’s getting one anyway. What I find so amusing about this is that Portland’s tax-paying renter population has actually declined over the past couple of years. Unless this is eventually going to be some kind of low-income housing, I’m not sure who the intended residents will be.

Categories
Urban Decay

La Carreta: Mexican Restaurant Turned SE Portland Homeless Huffing Station

One of the few Portland restaurants popular enough to enjoy its very own Wikipedia page, La Carreta on Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard in Portland closed at some point during the pandemic. Whether or not you liked La Carreta is up to you; what’s more interesting is how quickly it went from open for business to closed to scene from an as yet unannounced Mad Max film.

La Carreta in 2021 – from their Wikipedia page
La Carreta today – photo by yours truly
The patio really IS now open, just not in the way you’re thinking.
Around back there is plenty of parking for your stolen vehicle, van, or tent, along with hundreds of pre-huffed cans of everything from paint to whipping cream. But shake them anyway, you never know when you might get lucky.

Categories
Random

Octopi!

My ridiculously talented daughter draws ridiculously cool stuff while we watch ridiculously stupid TV shows – 1883 in this case. I’m not sure where she gets it.

Categories
Retail

The Slow, Sad Decline of Clackamas Town Center Mall

Built way back in 1981, Clackamas Town Center has long been the one Portland-area shopping mall that I expected to survive the Great American Retail Collapse. Alas, it’s starting to appear as though I was wrong.

Categories
Video Games

Playing a quick game of Out Run by Sega

Playing the Arcade 1up version of Sega’s Out Run….rather poorly.