I have some creative friends who might agree most with the sad facts on remuneration for artists that is part of this story, but I think they’d also agree with the overall gist of this article. It’s not just the books, cafes, food in Portland that stimulate creative minds, but the general openness and tolerance. You can be whatever. Paris was a famous artists’ haven for the same reasons, except in its creative heyday it was also very affordable. And let’s not forget that what Paris also had in abundance was a world famous joie de vivre which it lost somewhat after WWII. Personally, I think about Paris-Portland comparisons all the time, especially when I hear of another creative luminary, like Todd Haynes, moving here to free themselves from the trap of well-scrutinized celebrity. And I detect signs we’re getting much better in the spirit for living. We’re more social. We just have to get to the point where more people love art more and make it possible for young artists to live, thrive and stay here.
Monthly Archive for June, 2008
I moved to Hawthorne just a few blocks away from the Daily Grind in March of 2007. One of the big advantages of the neighborhood was the ability to walk to everything: restaurants, Powells, groceries, bubble tea, coffee shops, and … an awesome health food store with a deli. I loved the vegan deli food, desserts, and the convenience of running out to pick up missing ingredients. Then, sigh, the Daily Grind closed. I was back to driving to New Seasons on Division to buy my health food.
We speculated about what might replace it, but we feared the worst. What if they put in yet another Starbucks? or Subway? or *shudder* McDonalds. Even worst, would they turn it into another condo building? Then yesterday, I got some amazing news.
New Seasons, another locally owned health food store, announced yesterday that they would be moving into the old Daily Grind location. Rejoice! I’ll have to wait until 2009, but then I will be able to walk to a great, local health food store with a deli. Awesome.
Every time I swing by Culinate, I find something mouthwatering or brain-stretching or just plain yummy. And that’s usually just me looking at the pictures. Then I start reading the brilliant prose and my mind is doing somersaults all over again.
Beautiful, exceptionally well written, and just downright interesting, Culinate is one of the best forward-thinking food blogs anywhere. Which is why it’s extra cool that it’s from Portland.
Next time you’re looking for a recipe, curious about food, or simply just looking for examples of beautiful preparation—be that food preparation or blog preparation—swing by Culinate, an awesome Portland blog.
Today I went to the Greenlight Greater Portland kick-off event and heard Richard Florida, author of Who’s Your City talk about what a great city Portland is. Given the livability factors (greatest number of microbreweries, library with the largest circulation per capita, greatest number of bookstores, forest, mountains, coast and desert within easy driving distance) that should be no surprise to anyone. But, he went on to talk about how important involvement in community is to people’s sense of well-being and how the high rate of community involvement in Portland is a huge factor in what makes Portland livable.
This is not news. Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone bet a steak dinner that the social isolation and decline in social capital was a national phenomena. He lost. Portland was the one exception.
But we cannot rest on our laurels. We all need to continue to participate in community and ensure that Portland continues to be the awesome place that we know and love. Here are some upcoming opportunities:
The City Club of Portland is a 93 year old organization that relies on volunteer research efforts to affect public policy. At their annual meeting on Friday, Steve Schell will be reflecting on City Club’s research in his talk “City Club Research: A Quiet Catalyst For Momentous Change.”
Another important effort is the Bureau of Planning’s update of the 1980 Comprehensive Plan and the 1988 Central City Plan. The Planning Bureau says:
The Portland Plan is an inclusive, citywide effort to guide the physical, economic, social, cultural and environmental development of Portland over the next 30 years. The plan will build on the work the community did through visionPDX, which captured and fleshed out our shared values of sustainability, equity and accessibility, and community connectedness and distinctiveness.
There are two upcoming opportunities to participate in The Portland Plan as part of the Community Summits on Saturday, June 14th.
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