Things I Love About Portland

The Weather Machine is only a block from where I work & when I am lucky enough to be able to go home at noon, I get to see & hear it while waiting for the MAX train.

The Weather Machine is a 33 foot tall metal column topped with a large silver orb. At noon each day, the following day's weather is announced with a fanfare of trumpets, flashing lights, & a spray of mist. The orb opens to reveal one of the following: a golden leaf sun, for a clear day; a silver great blue heron, to forecast a drizzly, overcast day; an open-mouthed copper dragon, when storms are forecast. Light bulbs on the side of the machine are reminiscent of a mercury thermometer & light up progressively as the temperature increases.

New Music- Vintage Trouble

Live-wired, straight-shooting, dirty-mouthed, pelvis-pushing juke music. Vintage Trouble are from LA & record in a studio in Venice Beach. Despite playing a style of music firmly rooted in the past, & at this point let’s face it what music isn’t, it feeels almost cutting edge to see the quartet actually enjoying their craft instead of looking like they’d rather hide or burst in to tears, a new band that doesn't pretend their music is impossible to categorize because it’s like nothing else before it or since.

Born On This Day- April 1st... Rachel Anne Maddow

"I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican Party platform."

We are rather new to watching MSNBC, which really is the Liberal’s equivalent of Fox News. It is rather odd to view a network that simply reaffirms what you believe in. I am rather inclined to go with getting misinformation from the other side, if just to work myself into outrage at the faulty reasoning & lies. Before seeing her show on MSNBC, & was acquainted with Rachel Maddow from clips on the Internet & in interviews. I was always impressed & she is just like I want my lesbians- boyish, wonky, witty & wise.

The Rachel Maddow Show debuted in September 2008 & was the most successful show launch in MSNBC history, immediately boosting ratings in its time period. It was named one of the top shows of the aughts by the Washington Post in 2009.  Maddow was also named Breakout Star of 2008 by The Washington Post, The LA Times named her to the Best of Television  2008.

The Rachel Maddow Show has been nominated by the Television Critics Association for Outstanding Achievement in News & Information & received a GLAAD award in 2010.  Maddow was honored by the Interfaith Alliance with the 2010 Walter Cronkite Faith & Freedom award & her MSNBC documentary The Assassination of Dr. Tiller won a Gracie award in 2011.

She first gained national prominence as a host on Air America Radio, where she worked from its inception in 2004. Prior to joining AAR, she worked in radio in Massachusetts.

Maddow received her BA in public policy from Stanford University. She earned her doctorate in political science at Oxford University, which she attended on a Rhodes Scholarship, the first openly gay Rhodes recipient.  She lives in NYC & Massachusetts with her partner of 13 years, talented artist- Susan Mikula.Their first date was at a National Rifle Association "Ladies' Day on the Range" event. Even with same sex marriage legal in NY & Massachusetts, the couple have no plans to marry. Maddow turns 39 years old today.