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Paranorman and The Missing Dog

Paranorman and The Missing Dog

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[Updated on 5-3-2013 after contact with Potato’s owner – see the comments section below]
I was watching Laika’s new movie Paranorman when I got a surprise.

Laika studios is based in Portland and the office is only 3 blocks from my house in our quiet little neighborhood.  I got about 10 minutes into the movie when our young protagonist Norman is walking down the street and passes a seemingly innocuous little sign:

You’ll notice poor Potato is missing.  And a $5000 reward. But would you be shocked if I told you this sign was hanging in our neighborhood about a year or two back:

[5-3-2013 update]  Actual owner of Potato saw this posting and said that poor Potato just went missing and has yet to be found.  It was not contractors, etc but I include that original posting here since that’s what I first heard.  If you’ve seen her, do drop him a note or post here.

[This original information was disproven by owner – more proof that even in a tight neighborhood you shouldn’t listen to what every ‘neighbor of’ or ‘friend of’ has said.]  Even more strange is the fact that I recently ran into folks in our neighborhood (who also owned a cute bulldog) that were friends with the owners of poor missing Potato and told the strange tale.  It seems that some contractors were working at the owner’s house over several days.  The day they finished, Potato went missing.  The owners plastered the neighborhood with signs and a $1000 reward.  Then $5000. 

The owners grew to suspected the contractors whose stories didn’t quite jive when asked about the last day of their work.  (Something similar happened to another house in our hood in which a house was ‘accidentally’ left unlocked on the last day the contractors were there. Right after the contractors left it was completely stripped in under 2 hours – even though it had set for weeks untouched.  Convenient huh?).  Apparently when the $5000 reward came out one of the contractors claimed that they came to work and Potato had fallen into the pool and died.  The contractors buried Potato ‘somewhere else’ to cover up the accidental death.  The owners were never convinced, and Potato never found.  The owners are convinced he was stolen by the contractors.  (Something I tend to agree with after a friend’s pug was stolen and only recovered when the family who took him was caught at a Petsmart when they ran the ID chip in him and it didn’t match.  The people weren’t even remorseful about it at all.  They were angry at the Petsmart guys and tried to forcibly take him back.)

If you have information about Potato, please post it here and the original owner should see it.

Snowstorm 2011!!! OMG were going to die!!! = 1.5 inches

Snowstorm 2011!!! OMG were going to die!!! = 1.5 inches

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It started with predictions of Snow-pocalypse.  Portland was going to get creamed with snow – mountains of it.  Multiple days of snow and ice that would result in stranded people, folks without heat or power, etc.  Newcasters went on and on and on about how terrible it was going to be.  4-6 inches overnight with another solid 24 hours of more snow.  Then it was 2-4 inches, then day before it was 1-2 inches.  Then the night began, and the snow that was supposed to start at 3pm was still unseen as I walked home from a night of free-play at Ground Kontrol around 9pm. Queue sleep and wake the next morning:

 
So, we did actually get snow on Thursday morning, and untouched side streets that the sun wasn’t shining on were slippery, but by 10am it was all melted anywhere you went.  Still, the local news crews were out doing hard-hitting, on the scene reporting in the 1.5″ official of snow laying around on the streets despite the fact there was a palpable air of desperation in their tone as they tried to play up what was clearly no snow-pocalypse.  And the snow that was supposed to fall all day and night of Thursday?  Well, it’s sunny right now on Friday and there was absolutely no snow yesterday or overnight.  None.

Don’t get me wrong, up in the mountain passes and some of the local hills snow can turn the steep, unsalted/un-deiced streets into a real hazard you don’t want to drive on without studded tires.  And if you’d gotten ALL the normal drivers out on these roads, it probably would have been a never-ending string of pileups due to drivers unaccustomed to driving in snow (I saw 2 cars off the road on a 1/2 mile stretch of icy pavement due to folks still driving like they are on dry pavement).

All this I could forgive if it was an isolated instance.  But this seems to happen any time the hint of snow is predicted for our area.  So if there’s one take-away I’ve learned from Oregon weather forecasters in the last 10 years – it’s this: don’t believe them when they predict snow-pocolypses *days* in advance.  Check out weather.com yourself and watch the changing predictions there up to the day it’s supposed to happen.  Till then, don’t change any of your plans.

Portland’s Recent Bombing Attempt

Portland’s Recent Bombing Attempt

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Recently, Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a Somali-born, 19 year-old student from Oregon State University attempted to detonate what he believed was a vehicle bomb amidst the hundreds of spectators at the annual Portland tree-lighting event.  I was only 10 or so blocks away watching from the 30th floor of the Portland City Grill.  Turns out he wasn’t working with fellow confederates, but had unwittingly been snagged by undercover FBI agents.  He fell on their radar because his own father apparently wrote to the FBI and warned them about his son’s extremist viewpoints.  Mohamed tried to contact militants in other countries, but the FBI intercepted instead.  Following his lead, the FBI supplied him with a dummy van bomb which had 5 or 6 55 gallon drums of (what he thought) were explosives.  The van was parked on the tree-lighting block and he walked (past my building) and activated the dud via cel phone right in the middle of the event.  Obviously it didn’t go off and he was immediately arrested.  Many have already called up the very likely charge of entrapment; but that will likely have to be decided in the courts.

Unfortunately, the night after the bombing, a mosque that Mohamed sporadically attended was set on fire.  Arson is highly likely based on the early evidence.  Fortunately only the office area was damaged and police are now running extra patrols around other mosques in the area.  The mosque very quickly and publicly denounced Mohamed’s actions, and there has been no evidence any radical element is present there.  So far there is no evidence that Mohamed appears to have contacted or worked with anyone from the mosque on his plans.

Unfortunately, this has revealed a general anti-religious attitude here in Portland/Oregon that I’ve run into before from what seem very well educated, self-described as open-minded, and well meaning folks.   On OPB’s Think Out Loud radio show, a comment appeared on their live blog they read from while doing the show.   The following comment was made, and struck a chord because I have heard it at a number of times at dinner parties/etc:

Religious people of all faiths are the problem. They are the cause of hatred, violence, misinformation, and ignorance throughout the world. The rest of us are dragged along in the wake of their poor behavior, we are associated with them because of the country we live in and the politicians they elect. Muslims aren’t the problem, all religions are the problem.

A number of people responded, but I liked this one best:

I disagree with your argument – not least of which is because it’s a contradiction.  You say religions are the problem, but say Muslims are not.  Do you realize what makes a person a Muslim is their identification with a religion?  Why did you assume it was his religion when his own congregation condemns his actions and he didn’t appear to get support for his plan or ideas from them?  Do you support the people that tried to burn down his Mosque because religions are to blame even though there is no proof to their involvement?

Secondly, you indicate that religions are the the cause of these problem.  It’s far too simplistic and wrong to say religion is the the sole source of this kind of brutal hatred in the world. How about the purely political and ideological killings of rebel groups in Central and South America?  Or the purely monetary murders of drug cartels in Mexico? The atrocities of the Kamier Rouge and Pol Pot, or the wholesale rape and hacking off of limbs by African militia groups?  Somolian death squads?  None of these groups are based on religious principles/backgrounds.

I agree with croyfp – it’s extremism of ANY ideology: be it political, ideological, religious, monetary, or otherwise that causes folks to feel the need to destroy those that don’t believe in what they do.  In fact, I can see a bit of this kind of hatred and anger in your response that desires to destroy something you don’t feel is right in your eyes. A true desirer of the good seeks to take what is good, and correct what is bad via reasoned argument and dialog.  An extremist says it must all be destroyed.  So where do you find yourself in your statement?

People desire to hurt others when they themselves have been hurt and not found understanding or healing; so they try to hurt others so that others have to feel the hurt and helplessness they themselves feel.  We won’t make a dent in extremists like this until they are allowed to be heard or at least given models to help guide them through their anger.

You can find the whole dialog and program here.  There were some pretty good comments.

Portland’s $600 million biking plan

Portland’s $600 million biking plan

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(this got stuck away in the ‘filed for later’ bin and I’m cleaning them out)

I’m not one that writes to reps often, but lately I sure have been.  Especially after Portland just passed a $600 million biking expansion plan in Portland.  Now I’m a fan of biking and exploring alternative transportation – but Oregon just forced a ballot measure vote on two new ‘Emergency’ tax increases to pay for basic services such as schools – both of which passed.  I have a really terrible time looking at people spending $600 million on these sorts of plans when basic services are in emergency mode.  But at any rate, there’s more to the story.

A few facts:
$600 million plan is a 20 year plan, and it is not actually funded yet.  It was just passed with funding to be figured out in the next 30-90 days.  The mayor is quoted as saying that his first thought on funding will be that once the big pipe project is finished, he’ll start diverting money from that project.  Problem is (as one writer pointed out), that money comes directly from water and sewage bills that were raised to nation-high levels to fund big pipe.  So, instead of dropping your taxes after big-pipe is fixed, your water bill would now start funding a bike project.

A few very notable and interesting quotes from sites:

“I propose that one way to help pay for these biking and pedestrian programs would be to license bikes with a yearly fee.  I think we could also increase public safety if the bikes also had to get a quick mechanical and safety check just like a car is required to pass.  It could also be used to ensure the rider has a proper helmet, lights for night riding, reflective gear, and other legally required safety equipment.  We have a lot of local bike shops in the area; and they could check out these bikes and issue these simple sticker permits that are attached to the bike like a yearly license plate sticker showing I’m up to date.  If the permits were numbered, it would also be a good way to track stolen bikes.  It would certainly help create and/or keep jobs at these local bike shops – especially in these tough times.”

(to the Portland Transportation commissioner) “Your choices as Transportation Commissioner openly, blatantly, and consistently discriminate against my use of TriMet’s bus system to get around.  As Transportation Commissioner, you have blamed buses for street conditions, when buses are but a small user of the road system.  You have openly, actively sought out regional transportation funds serving cities as diverse as Troutdale, Forest Grove and Sherwood to fund the Portland Streetcar – a development project that was somehow tied to transportation and thus raided money used to improve the bus system. And you demand TriMet pay $3 million a year to subsidize that system – that’s $3 million a year not going to regional transportation.

And then you have the gall to say we can’t afford another pet project. Remember: Portland extends from Raleigh Hills to Gresham. And it’s your job, as Mayor, to represent – and support – each one of those citizens. That means that guy living on S.E. 163rd Avenue is just as much a Portland resident as one downtown – and deserves an equal amount of investment (since you take an equal amount of taxes from them).

Now: Can we afford your bike plan – AND meet your promise to your constituents at the same time? Or are you playing favorites with your special interest groups again?”

Weed out your friends you stool pigeon!

Weed out your friends you stool pigeon!

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I find this an interesting concept on how local governments are starting to deal with deep budget cuts.  I wonder what other services could become on-line like this – and the bigger question of what government services *should* be delivered like this.  I found the recent app contest to be an interesting concept – and considered a few entry ideas myself.  Right now, there is already an iPhone app that allows you to report problems – but only for city-owned lands. However, it appears individual departments aren’t waiting for others to come up with ideas for them:

Last week, the City of Portland launched a pilot program that encourages neighbors to send in online complaints with photographs of overgrown grass and weeds on other people’s lawns.  Offending property owners could face fines of $216 a month.  The city requirement is that grass be less than 10 inches high.

The Bureau of Development Services ran into deep financial problems last year when building permits and fees dried up because construction slowed amid the recession. The bureau responded to the reduction by slashing jobs (they laid off 18 people of their 34 – over half the staff) . One of the first casualties was the enforcement program for getting rid of neighborhood eyesores and hazards like dry grass, which can cause fires.

One consequence of complaining online is that the names of people who inform on their neighbors will become a matter of public record, so there’s no hope of remaining anonymous. (BDS says it won’t volunteer the name of the complainant to the bad neighbor, however.)

So, if you wanna rat out your neighbors, go here:
http://portlandonline.com/bds/gwcomplaints

Neighborhood cartoonist John Callahan dies

Neighborhood cartoonist John Callahan dies

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Just found out that John Callahan – the cartoonist of oft-irreverent fair – died July 24th. He lived in my neighborhood in NW Portland. I used to run into him a good bit in the video store, on the street, etc. Very intriguing character to talk to for sure.

Personally, he seemed a guy that fought with a lot of personal demons/suffering – but still attempted to always rise above them and constantly work on himself.  I salute him for never seeming to give up despite the tremendous difficulties he seemed to endure – difficulties that probably would have driven other men to give up on themselves and the idea of living as full a life as possible.

Ha! I’m finally in the majority!

Ha! I’m finally in the majority!

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Appears that I’m one of those guys that get more of my videos from the library than from Netflicks or Redbox.  Or as I prefer to call library videos – SnailFlicks

I actually prefer the library.  I can reserve piles of them online, when they come in to the branch just up the street they notify me via email when it’s in.   Multnomah county’s library system has a particularly amazing collection of DVD’s – just released movies, almost all major TV shows seasons, Anime, etc.  And it’s completely free.  They’ve even moved to online video download for some titles you can check out from home and watch on your own PC.

http://consumerist.com/2010/07/more-people-getting-dvds-from-library-than-from-netflix-or-redbox.html

McDonalds call-centers its drive-ups?

McDonalds call-centers its drive-ups?

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Due to a lot of my work with Project Offset, I’ve been flying a lot more lately.  I was late for catching a plane, but desperately needed to get some food in me.  I swung by a McDonalds and hit the drivethru.  I ordered a sausage sandwich, but when I go to the window, I realized they quoted me $2.50 or such and the board had read $1 something.  When I got to the pay window, and asked about it – and the guy said, “Yeah, sometimes those guys ring it up wrong”.  Huh?  Did you take my order?  No, he tells me that this McDonalds has its drive-up order taking boards hooked to call centers somewhere else some of the times – mostly in the mornings.

Long story short – the guy taking your order might be half-way around the country.  I don’t wonder if this was something that these call centers have turned to since the do-not-call list has really cut down their volume, but it’s an interesting development.

A night with Valentino

A night with Valentino

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A friend of a friend recently acquired a baby pug dog, and the mutual acquaintance is on dog watching duty for a few days.  So last night, I got to spend some quality time with a precocious little pug:

Who even has his own blog and has done a photo shoot.  He was immensely fun to play with, perchance for onry-ness, and good to take on a long walk.  If you want to practice for kids – get a dog, or do some dog sitting to appreciate the life-changing events that surround having extra little feet in the house.

Circus Artemis

Circus Artemis

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Attended an all-female circus on Friday night.  It was quite good.  The circus is actually put on by a school that teaches (believe any gender) folks how to do amazing acrobatic feats in a converted warehouse.   This particular show consisted only of women and girls who were of all skill levels.  Everything from musicians playing on stilts to amazingly acrobatic straps and trapeze.

Circus Artemis performers have trained with instructors from Cirque Du Soliel and the Ecole Nationale de Cirque in Montreal, taught at the renown San Francisco Circus Center, performed nationally and internationally – and keep Portland entertained while working locally with Do Jump! Extremely Physical Theater, A-WOL Dance Collective, The Nomadic Theater Company, Flamebuoyant Productions

www.a-woldance.org