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Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday

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Today is Holy Thursday – the start of the Holy Triduum.

The Easter Triduum lasts from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. The liturgy that starts Thursday goes for 3 days as one continual motion. In the holy land, Christians will often walk and go to the places where Christ himself went during the next 72 hours and re-enact the events that occurred there. The single celebration of the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil.

Tonight we celebrate the first mass which feeds us and the washing of feet that instituted our Christian ministry to serve the least of all.

Let us not betray our calling to be the salt of the earth – even if it costs us our lives. In the west, this might not mean our physical lives – but the comfortable trappings we use to isolate ourselves from those in need.

Then we too will celebrate the resurrection with joy – a brother of Christ who gave up everything for love of us.

Amazing Ford car crib

Amazing Ford car crib

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Putting the baby in a car and going for a drive has long been known to put even the most restless child to sleep. So, Ford made a crib that you connect to a smartphone app and can then record/playback journeys you take. It reproduces sounds, passing lights, and the very motion of the journey.  So now, your child can take your commute home each day with you.

Bonus points for the Castilian Spanish.

Hike the Upper Salmonberry River Trail

Hike the Upper Salmonberry River Trail

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Hike through unique, abandoned train track scenery, tunnels, and trestles just outside of Timber, Oregon. The trailhead GPS Grid Coordinates are 45°42′16.26″N 123°24′40.58″W.

To get to the trailhead (Located in the Tillamook State Forest) from Portland Oregon, take US 26 west for 36 miles to the Timber Junction and then turn left onto Timber Road. Drive 3 miles to the town of Timber and turn right onto Cochran Road. The pavement will end in a half mile. You’ll pass Reeher’s Camp at 5.5 miles; stay left just after that, then go right at a junction at 6.6 miles. At 9.6 miles, go left onto another unsigned road, then at 9.7 take the far-left road at a three-way intersection. Park at 0.1 mile ahead, just before the road crosses the train tracks. There are no facilities on site and there is no trailhead fee required.

More details here.

Party like the Great Gatsby

Party like the Great Gatsby

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Back again here in downtown Portland!

Ron Bearden presents: The Roaring 20s – Great Gatsby Dance Party!

You are invited to step back into the roaring 20’s and celebrate in the lifestyle of the Great Gatsby and the end of prohibition. For your dancing and romancing pleasure The Midnight Serenaders will be performing an amazing and fun show guaranteed to keep all you sexy flappers and zuit suit daddy’s on the dance floor. We will also have a special vintage drink selection including champagne cocktail Singles……..Couples……….. Come and enjoy a fun evening and meet your sweetheart at the Dance!!!

 

The beautiful Adrianna Hill Ballroom is one of Portland’s best keep secrets. Built in 1901 this storybook setting has been fully restored with a suspended “U” shaped balcony, cathedral styling 55 foot stage and spacious vaulted ceilings.

Dress to Impress – Putting on the Ritz Here is your chance to slip on some swanky outfit and strut your stuff. Gangster, flapper or glamorous, zuit suit, tuxedo………. Or just cocktail attire is also fine and take in the show. We will have a fashion stroll and prizes for the best dressed.

Dancing and music All Night Long!!!!!

$10.00 advance tickets available at Tickettomato.com
https://www.tickettomato.com/event/4600

No country for Old Men

No country for Old Men

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Sailing to Byzantium
W. B. Yeats, 1865 – 1939

That is no country for old men. The young
In one another’s arms, birds in the trees
—Those dying generations—at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.

An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.

O sages standing in God’s holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.

Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
Syrian Lingerie

Syrian Lingerie

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I’m on vacation and decided to spent some time catching up on my travel magazines. I saw an interesting piece on traveling in Syria – and learned something new – “The most outrageous and exuberant lingerie in the world comes from a place you’d probably never expect: Syria”. And when they say outrageous, they really mean it.

Since it’s slightly not safe for work, I’ll include a link to an Amazon book on it. Or Google ‘Syrian Lingerie’ which has some page samples when you’re in an appropriate location.

Inamo – a unique London dining experience

Inamo – a unique London dining experience

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My brother and I went to London a few years back, and I realized I never really wrote about many of the cool things we saw and did there.

One of the cool things we did was going to a unique Japanese-style restaurant called Inamo. The food was very good, but the most memorable part was the dining experience itself.

After you are seated, your whole dining table becomes interactive. There are no waiters, just food delivery folks. Instead, you order everything from the tabletop itself.

The table is projection mapped and controlled by a small touchpad in the surface of the table. You can select different tabletop decorations instantly. Even more interesting is that while you browse the menu, the items you select appear on your plate so you have a great idea of what you’re ordering. You select everything you want and submit your order.

While you wait, you can play simple games against others at your table. You can also get live feeds of the kitchen and browse drink menus etc.

Soon enough, like magic, your food is delivered by a runner. Did you run out of a drink or want another side? Just order it from the tabletop. It was awesome because you could order drinks and refills without having to wait until you run out of your current one.

When you want to leave, the bill is instantly ready for you. You can even order a cab from the tabletop and wait at your table until it arrives.

Overall, I loved the experience. It was novel, fun, and much more efficient (IMHO). I’d do it again in a heartbeat, and it’s highly likely I will since I keep getting emails from them about their latest deals. 🙂