Moving!

We've been looking for a new place to live for the past couple weeks (j's actually been scouring craigslist for much longer), and today we found it:

That's right! It looks like our new home will be a shipping container. It's going to be the first home that we've moved into that has its own web site and blog.

http://conexhouse.com/
http://conexhouse.blogspot.com/

... and that was featured in the City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development sponsored Build It Green home tour.

Despite its harsh exterior (j's dad, Peter, asked if we were moving into a dumpster) it's actually quite beautiful inside. Here are a few pics we took:




















































If you're wondering what to think, you can do what we do... ask Stephen Colbert. So Stephen, what do you think?

Pizzazz!

We're a little behind on blog posting - who knew unemployment could be so busy? But last weekend we saw a city-wide talent show called "Pizzazz!" It was pretty spectacular - 12 contestants, a great emcee, and sponsors like Rudy's Barbershop giving free haircuts in the back during the show.

Our two favorites were the most talent-showy. One was a beatboxer:



... the other juggled big silver rings:

Anatomy and physiology models

Here is the best learning tool that I have found yet:




























The art is by Jason Freeny http://web.mac.com/moistproduction/flash/index.html

kenetic sculpture quick addendum

Here's is such a fun little clip that I didn't want it to be left out. You can see the man powering his vehicle by bouncing up and down.




There were also lots of little Electric Vehicles all over the place at the event. We spotted a Kurrent (this was actually my first time seeing this car in real life, but i still didn't manage to snap a picture in time... here's what it looks like: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/12/15/the-kurrent-is-kute-but-will-it-konnect-with-konsumers/), a ZENN, a GEM, and even a home modified electric recumbent bike for two.

U.A.H.: Unemployment Art for the Home

We've had a pretty nice time working on things here and getting rid of even more wall space. Current UAH projects: wine bottle lamp, abstract painting. (The hummus doesn't count because we eat it.) The coldframe isn't exactly pure art but we'll post pictures once it's finished.

The Great Unexpected Kinetic Sculpture Festival

Or, Happy Graduation Trip: Part 2. (Part 1 below details our experience in Vancouver, BC yesterday for those looking for the hour by hour report.)

Last night on the way home from Vancouver, we made it through the US border and came to an unexpected choice. Continue down I-5 toward home, or head west toward the signs that say "Ferries?" At the last minute Oren chose To The Ferries and we veered right off the highway.

Turns out that the ferry terminal (to where? O pulled out the map while I drove ahead) is only 34 miles from the interstate but over an hour's drive. It seemed like a good idea as we passed the first town, then the second, then a cafe in the middle of what seemed like nowhere... and then, admitting that we had no idea when the ferries left, where they went, how much they cost, or whether there would be space for us, the idea of turning around and driving 5 hours home started to seem better and better. But the rain kept stopping for minutes at a time which I think encouraged us, and we arrived at the Keystone Ferry Terminal (not on our Rand McNally map of Washington state) at 7:25 pm, exactly 5 minutes before the ferry was slotted to cast off, and with space for exactly three cars without reservations, of which we were one. And a mere $13 for us and the trusty Civic to cross the spit! (I'm still not sure which body of water we crossed.)

A half hour later we landed in Port Townsend, WA (which in retrospect is probably like saying we landed in Newport, RI or some other well known vacation destination) but all we were hoping for was at least one motel and maybe a pizza place that served any kind of slices without animal on top. Instead we found ourselves on an adorable little Main Street that ran along the water, with "HOTELS" (big fancy, old-fashioned and vaguely Western lettering across the windows) and pizza joints, bead stores, antique shops, etc lining the road.

Oren hopped out and jumped through puddles into the first hotel to ask about prices for a last minute room. I watched through the rainy windshield as the woman behind the desk gestured with both arms - which Oren repeated - then she switched directions and pointed again. I saw her pull out a paper and point to the cover. More gesturing. Smiles, nods, laughs. Ten minutes later Oren came back out and jumped into the car. The hotel was too expensive for us, but we had happened to land in Port Townsend the night before the Annual Kinetic Sculpture Festival. But of course! The next day we walked around until noon, which was the Official Start of the Kinetic Skulpture Kickoff. (The thai place we ate at later that afternoon promised $1 off any meal with a 'k' in its name.) Promptly at noon, dozens of human-powered sculptures of various sizes headed down Main Street, preceded by a drum band and one of the Kinetic Kops on a reclining bicycle.
The Saturday component of the Festival had three parts.

One) Parade down Main Street.
Two) Pedal up the hill on one of the not-so-main streets. One at a time, on a visual (arms waving) cue from the Kinetic Kop, start down the hill, gaining as much speed as possible or as you feel is safe. On the next cue from the Kop (a huge cut-out, silver hand with SKOP! written on both sides), put on your brakes and hope they work. The audience will clap if they do - and you'll run over the Kop if they don't.
Three) Run your craft down a marina entrance into the water. Watch the crowd hold their collective breath if your sculpture doesn't look particularly float-worthy. Paddle/pedal around in some kind of circle, or alternatively, pedal as hard as you can but don't go anywhere, and let the kayakers come push you back in toward shore.

All in all, it was a brilliant way to spend a damp Saturday.

Happy Graduation Trip

Three days ago we headed off for a surprise trip that Oren had planned as a graduation present. Despite my pestering him with questions almost hourly, he managed to keep it a surprise until breakfast Thursday morning. "Get your passport - we're going to Canada!" If only he knew which drawer my passport was in, I could have been left wondering all the way up I-5. As it was, he let me know - we were heading to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the night.

So we took off - a brief shot up the highway toward Seattle under a cloudy sky. We stopped to eat at a charming just-off-the-highway place that agreed to make a vegetarian burrito even though there was no such option on the menu. A few hours later we crossed the border. A very buzzcutted guard in highly reflective glasses asked who we were, where we were going, and how we knew each other. "How long are you planning to stay?" he asked, hardly moving his head or his mouth. I told him it was just for the night. "Awfully short stay for such a long drive, isn't it?" Well, not everyone would do it. But it sounded fun to us.


Vancouver is beautiful. It's like an enormous Portland or a greener Seattle. Lots of tall apartment buildings, mist and mountains in the background, bike lanes, community gardens, islets and straits and bridges all over the place.

We checked into our little hotel, found the cheapest place we could leave the car overnight, and headed out to explore the city. As is usually the case, our plan was guided by maps of 'neighborhoods,' which always oddly seems so synonymous with 'stores.' We walked through the historic old city, Chinatown, the chicer (chicker?) hipster areas and down to the water. We exchanged some money, half expecting them to reject our dollars altogether. (On the contrary - it's still in our favor up there!)

The next morning we got up and headed out to Granville Island - a sweet little not-an-island-at-all (more of a spit) which still required crossing a bridge to get to - which is a nice collection of artists' shops, toy stores, theaters, industrial design school, and public market - Vancouver's version of Faneuil Hall or Pike Place. I was in heaven - and Oren was kindly willing to go along - so we spent a nice morning and part of the afternoon poking through fruit stalls, kitchen stores and artists' workshops.

The afternoon was rainy and gray as we walked the long way back through town to our car. Trenchfoot seemed a long way off, but when I took of my socks and shoes it looked like I'd been in a bath for hours!

We felt (that border guard was right) as though we had driven a long way up just to turn around and head home again, but the worsening rain made a hike on Stanley Island sound less than wonderful. And since the forecast was the same for the next day, we headed south. And neither of us anticipated what we would bump into on the way home!