Posted by anomalily
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:41:00 GMT
I was biking to the grocery co-op, waiting at a stoplight and I heard a woman standing at the bus stop next to me shout "3121 NW Lovejoy".
Initially I thought this might have been some sort of quadrant-based gang chant. But I noticed she was shouting across the street at another woman holding a clipboard.
Suddenly it dawned on me. "Are you registering to vote from across the street?"
"Yes. Only in Portland, huh?" She giggled and screamed her zip code over the noise of traffic.
What we will do for civic participation.
Posted in Portland | Tags onlyinportland, voting | no comments
Posted by anomalily
Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:22:00 GMT
I work with teens at the public library every Friday. Which I would say is when they're rowdiest- just after getting out of school, right as the weekend is starting. This is the most popular of the "Teen Lounge" times of all the public libraries in Portland, probably because many of the high school students in this neighborhood don't have computers at home so this is one of the few places they can use the internet without a teacher breathing down their neck.
Working at the teen lounge really gives me some hilarious glimpses into the current slang & trends of teenagers. Today it really was a sign of the times when one of the girls busted out laughing and said
"That was Youtube moment!"
Oh the times, they are a changin'
Tags quotes, teens | no comments
Posted by anomalily
Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:03:00 GMT
Living in a town full of people from somewhere else, I hear people echo "what ifs" and great notions about returning to their hometowns and leaving a city full of amazing things. People talk about what it would be like to start a bicycle co-op, an indie movie theatre, a farmer's market, or an art festival in their hometown.
In a place like Portland, San Francisco, or NYC there's already plenty of this going on- but back in your little hometown of Little City, USA, not much else might be happening.
But very few can get up the courage to leave the place that they're happiest. Perhaps most now call their adopted city their home, or we just can't imagine more paddling upstream in their hometown.
So- do you experience this guilt?
Do you have a dream for your hometown that you'd like to see or you'd like to do yourself?
Why does your hometown suck? What's great about it? Why did you leave?
Are you one of the brave few that goes back to their hometown?
Did you start a project in your hometown? Was it successful?
I'm looking for creative writing, art, photographs, interviews and other material related to the theme of "hometown guilt." Send submissions to
AnomaLily
c/o IPRC
917 SW Oak St, Ste 218
Portland, OR 97205
by October 20th.
Questions? Contact me in the comments or at anomalily AUGHT gmail DAUGHT com
Thanks!
Posted in Portland | Tags guilt, hometown, zines | no comments
