Brian Libby

Totally. I love that Lake George you can turn not only upside-down and it’s still a great landscape picture, but also even perpendicular it’s interesting: sort of anatomical.

But once I went looking, it turned out there are multiple paintings in this series, and the second one I found, “Lake George” (formerly “Reflection Seascape”) is simpler and perhaps even better as a result.

This was fun. After a half-hour of perusing art from 1922, I decided my favorite is Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Lake George Reflection.” I like how it straddles abstraction and representation, how it responds to the Hudson River School, and that it’s just meditative to look at.

What a fun time today touring the Multnomah County Library Operations Center, including its conveyor-belt sorting system and a warehouse with over 400,000 books (for an upcoming Portland Monthly magazine story).

Three photos I took of Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall under construction in 2003. RIP.

I'm always pleased to encounter another Roland Kirk fan!

YouTube video by Brother John Roland Kirk - I Say A Little Prayer

I had just been thinking to myself, "Am I ever not tired?" Then Roland Kirk's cover of Bacharach's "I Say A Little Prayer" came on my headphones. I bought this record probably 25 years ago and still am energized and delighted by it every time. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6-y....

I remember that hat! They had just earned a split in Detroit with three straight games in Portland coming up. It was such an elated optimistic feeling. Too bad they never won another game in that series. They were all close, but the Pistons knew how to finish, those Laimbeering bastards.

I appreciate the inclusion of Twilight Samurai. I had kind of forgotten about that movie, and I never hear it discussed, but when I saw it at a film festival back in I think 2002, it was a delight.

At This Portland Hotel, Wellness Is the Ultimate Sustainability - Metropolis Designed by LEVER Architecture for developer-builder Solterra, the Cascada Hotel and Spa embraces low-carbon, health-centric luxury.

My new Metropolis story about Portland's Cascada hotel and spa. Perhaps my favorite moment of 2025 was relaxing in the soaking pools at this place. metropolismag.com/projects/cas...

The New Portland Art Museum’s Rothko Pavilion Favors Connection - Metropolis The glass-ensconced Rothko Pavilion expansion acts as a transparent crossroads between the museum’s two historic buildings.

My new Metropolis magazine feature on the Portland Art Museum's Rothko Pavilion, which I describe as a kind of anti-Bilbao. metropolismag.com/projects/new...

This might not seem funny to anyone else, but I have been crying with laughter for 24 hours at this Iron Chef competitor freaking out.

Thanks for sharing! I look forward to listening to this.

Such a great podcast. I’ve read numerous books featured on this and its sister podcast, Locklisted, but it’s more than that. The hosts are very good company, and conjure conversations and a community I feel like I’m part of. Backlisted is superb even when I’m relatively uninterested in the book.

Oh wow!

Haven’t seen Pickup on South Street in years but it’s such a cracking good one, as are nearly all Sam Fuller’s films. Have you seen Shock Corridor and The Steel Helmet? Deadline at Dawn blew me away a few weeks ago.

Rock: Fugazi (perhaps my favorite), Chuck Berry (first concert), McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel, American Music Club (3 times), Sonic Youth. Honorable mention: Tom Waits, Rush.

Jazz: Branford Marsalis (3 times), Ron Carter, Vijay Iyer, Sonny Sharrock, Lionel Hampton, Art Farmer.

Cheers @wmstevenhumphrey.bsky.social! Great stuff.

Wm. Steven Humphrey's Adventures in Newspapering [What follows is one of the many merry articles in the Mercury's Winter Guide 2025. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you're feeling generous this holiday seas...

“I will never forget (or forgive) the havoc these wealthy, self-centered ‘leaders’ manufactured and then unleashed on our city. I mean, c’mon… where do you think Trump got the idea to label Portland a ‘burning hell hole’?” www.portlandmercury.com/opinion/2025...

YouTube video by Crescendo Waves Philip Glass - Melody for Saxophone No. 12

I adore this Philip Glass composition for solo baritone saxophone. I heard it performed live here in Portland a few years ago at a Third Angle New Music show, and have revisited it ever since. It could almost be a cartoon score, yet ultimately it's deeper. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhvh...

YouTube video by Björk - Topic I Miss You (Dobie Rub Part One) (Sunshine Mix)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9pu...

I've often thought that Charlie Brown TV specials are why I became a jazz fan. (Obviously I'm only one of millions.) It's so fun diving into the more instrumentally rich Thanksgiving special's soundtrack. Vince Guaraldi on electronic piano, and sharing personnel with Herbie Hancock? Yes please.

YouTube video by Oregon Public Broadcasting Journey through the Columbia River Gorge on a barge in 4K 60fps — OPB’s Slow TV

Oregon Public Broadcasting has a new YouTube series called Slow TV, and if you need me this morning, I’ll be on a Columbia River barge. youtu.be/3oeub6lgDmo?...

To recap:
•Universal healthcare would save 68,000 lives & $450B annually
•Every $1 spent on SNAP results in $1.80 boost to local economies & small businesses
•The child tax credit decreased child poverty to a historic low of 5.2%, abolishing it increased it by 45%

1/2

Well, $$$ is something they have thanks to Phil Knight. I agree it's a little slice of land with a lot of demo. But I think there's a lot of symbolic power in reclaiming that land, and it's part of a broader waterfront plan they have.

Of all things, this painting reminds me that I would like to start meditating again, and represents what I like about meditation: the epiphany that staying motionless, yet aware of everything happening nearby or in my mind, is at once soothing and quietly compelling.

I keep thinking about a Cezanne painting I saw for the first time last night: "The Robbers and the Donkey." There is some kind of violent scuffle happening in one corner, and one or two people are active in other parts of the picture. But this motionless animal in the middle is the focal point.

*heart not hear

1803 Fund acquires Portland grain silos in $70 million investment for Black community The Phil Knight-backed organization expects to generate hundreds of jobs and nearly $700 million in economic impact through redevelopment of historic Albina properties.

Huge news. It's so great how Albina Vision and the 1803 Fund are transforming and re-birthing what was once and may again be the hear of Portland's Black community. www.oregonlive.com/realestate/2...