The Missing Picture (2013)

IMDB

The Missing Picture (2013): Depiction of life under Khmer Rouge using clay figurines. Jarring, haunting, but figures lessen the horror. C+

Portland's Pittock Mansion

From 2014 11 06 Pittock Mansion

Let's reach for comparisons. Scott lived in Pasadena, California. Now he lives in Portland, Oregon.

Pasadena has the Caltech Beavers. Oregon has the Portland State Beavers.

Pasadena, home of the New Year's Rose Parade, calls itself the City of Roses. Portland, which has held the Portland Rose Festival annually since 1907, also calls itself the City of Roses.

Pasadena has the Gamble House, a National Historic Landmark built in 1908 for David Gamble of the Procter & Gamble Company. And Portland has the Pittock Mansion, a National Historic Landmark built in 1914 for Henry Pittock, publisher of The Oregonian. Gamble House is high in the hills above the Rose Bowl. Pittock Mansion is high in the hills overlooking downtown Portland.

Eerie parallels, right? I knooooow. It's weird.

More photos of the Pittock Mansion after the jump.

Late Autumn in the Steger Garden (2014)

From Flowers

The chrysanthemums are at their peak.

From Flowers

The freeze took the elephant ears and wandering jew. (Can I still say that?)

Dallas Unveils World's Saddest Bike Sharing Program

From 2014 08 23 Chicago

"Dallas Unveils World's Saddest Bike Sharing Program." So says Eric Nicholson of the Dallas Observer. I don't have anything to add to his excellent Unfair Park blog piece on the deficiencies of Dallas's bike rental system available only in Fair Park. I just wanted to share my photo of Chicago's Divvy bikes. Ride on.

It turns out I do have something to add. After the jump.

Keep Portland Weird

From 2014 11 05 Portland

"Keep Portland Weird." Portland stole the slogan from Austin, but Portland wears it authentically, so it's all good.

There's Voodoo Doughnut in Old Town (the "crotch" of Portland), the place with the maple bacon doughnuts that keep people lining up out the door 24/7. Voodoo Doughnut's partner, Rogue Ales, once created a Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale. Weird.

There was the Guy Fawkes Day anti-corporate, anti-government, anti-whatever protest march in Chinatown. It reminded me of The Wild One: "Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?" "Whadda you got?"

There was the burrito maker at the food cart outside the Portland Building whose main interest in the November election was the Oregon referendum on legalizing marijuana. It passed.

There are the transit options -- light rail, streetcar, bike lanes, and ubiquitous Car2Go Smart cars. Oh wait, having transit options isn't weird, is it, unless you live in, say, north Texas, where TxDOT/NCTCOG/NTTA/... all conspire to build ever more freeways to cater to cars and sprawl. Whoa, keep the blood pressure under control. You're in Portland, remember. Chill. Bottom-line, Portland is very friendly to car-free tourists. Smile.

And Portland is just the right amount of weird.

More photos after the jump.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

IMDB

Grand Budapest Hotel (2014): Quirky. Eccentric hotelier, murder, inheritance battle, art theft, fascists. Lots of cameos. Works for me. B-

Gridiron Echoes (2014)

In celebration of another successful marching season, the Mighty Ram Band of Berkner High School put on their annual Gridiron Echoes concert in the school's newly renovated auditorium Tuesday night. And what a marching season it's been.

OTBR: Great Australian Bight

Latitude: S 32° 27.450
Longitude: E 123° 56.328

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

Tunnel of Love in All the Wrong Places

As reported by Steve Brown of The Dallas Morning News, the area around Dallas Love Field is about to boom. Reconstruction of the terminal is nearly complete. Southwest Airlines is adding non-stop flights to destinations all over the country. Developers have plans for new offices, apartments, hotels and retail. So, what is the City of Dallas considering in reaction to all the traffic that's expected? Build a tunnel. Like one in Richardson.

The details after the jump.

Autumn in the Arboretum (2014)

From 2014 10 30 Autumn at the Arboretum

More photos after the jump.