End Petlessness

This is my favorite billboard advertisement campaign in Portland. The city prides itself on being pet friendly and others agree. Forbes and Dog Fancy magazines have named it the most dog friendly city in the US. And, not to leave our other favorite pet out, it has been named the 4th most cat friendly city in the country. And it ranks 1st among all American cities in the number of dog parks per capita population. These and more factoids can be found at Oregon Veterinary Association.

This is the fourth reincarnation of the 24 Hour Church of Elvis which opened recently in Northwest Portland. It is open 24 hours, but is not a church and has little to do with Elvis. What it has is a very strange collection of objects and coin operated machines. To learn more (and to browse in the store), go to 24 hour church of Elvis.

2010 No Pants Subway Ride

Yes, you are correct-this image has nothing to do with the Pants Off event. Since I am unable to photograph that, I am adding this abstract to keep to my commitment to post a photo a day. I will post more of these periodically and explain their surprising locations.

This intrepid photographer is ailing a bit today, or I would be covering this event with my camera.

"A stunt like this doesn't need explaining in a city that also harbors mass pillow fights and Santa-packed drinking binges. Chaos and joy-spreading public scenes are practically a citywide pastime". (Kelly Clarke, Oregonian).

To participate, you go to a designated MAX stop (for you non-Portlanders, this is the city subway system) and ride the train without your pants. The good (or bad) news, depending on your perspective, is that this event is global. For a report on No Pants 2010 Subway Ride events elsewhere, go to www.improveverywhere.com. 

This mural adorns the top of a downtown Mexican restaurant. Makes me wonder if the food can possibly be as dramatic as the art!

I have always been fascinated by street art, especially murals. This is a favorite of the ones I have seen so far in Portland. I will bring you more periodically as I discover them. Whenever I visit a city, at home or abroad, one of the things I always look to photograph are the varieties of street art (stencils, posters, murals, graffiti). By far the most elaborate and best I've seen (and loved photographing) are in Barcelona. So should you find yourself in that great city, do look for these works of art in addition to enjoying the sublime works by Gaudi.

Goodbye to the season

As we celebrate the new year and decade, we say goodbye to the 2009 city Christmas tree, shown here being dismantled in downtown Pioneer Square.

Zoo Bomb

An update for my recent post on the bikes adorning the street sign. I have learned that these are most probably part of Portland's "Zoo Bomb" bike event. Every Sunday people gather at the Oregon Zoo in the city's west hills, some wearing costumes, where they proceed to "bomb" down the hills. This event has occurred weekly for 10 years. Mini bikes and unusual bikes are encouraged. Those without bikes can borrow one from these collections of bikes at different points in the city.