Portland

We're moving there.  

Just kidding.  But the Starks are moving there.  And lots of other cool folks already live there. And when you combine that with the fact that it has a flourishing art scene and is all around pretty cool, that puts Portland number 2 on the list of North American cities we'd like to live in, right after Bellingham.  It's too bad the educational system there sucks so much.

Last time I visited Portland I saw a bumper sticker that read, "Keep Portland Weird."  

And I saw this:

Anyways, I'm coming down to Portland this weekend because I have a short video piece showing in the Portland Documentary and Experimental Film festival.  I'll be watching a lot of film and viewing a lot of art, but other than that I'm looking for recommendations.  Any Portland essentials I should know about?  I will be visiting Powell's Books, of course, and maybe continuing my quest to eat in every McMenamins, but I'm trying to do everything free or cheap, so thrifty suggestions are much appreciated.

Any Portlanders (Portlandians? Portlish?) wanna eat a meal with me? I'm also looking for a place to stay. I'll even do some chores for my lodging if you like. I don't know where many of you Portland folk live in relation to downtown but I'm hoping to get around by bike if I can bring it on the train.

(Is this really tacky?--asking for a place to stay on my blog?? I'm not familiar with the etiquette surrounding online, out-of-town lodging requests.)

If you're interested in seeing the show or the film festival, check out the next post for more details.