Back in the glory days of CD’s, my older brother was part of this music appreciation group. There were around 10 members, all very cool and interesting people from different parts of the country. They met once a month and took turns being the organizer, a key person who selected a theme for the gathering. […]
Five and half years later, our rabbits still don’t trust us. That’s not likely to change. It’s after ten on a weeknight. Natalie is ready at the foot of the bed, towel in hand, syringe between her teeth. I’ve blocked off the head and right side of the bed using pieces of luggage, setting the […]
I’ll begin by reaching down my throat, pulling out my insides and scattering them in front of my audience. I’m not an expert on mental health, addiction or suicide. I’m a survivor. I’ll dip my pen in the blood of my beating heart and if vulnerability is being stripped of everything, this is the nightmare […]
TWB: Describe yourself in a personal ad. RA: Illustrator in a complicated relationship with his sketchbook. Often found staring quietly into tins of paint and at blank walls. Violent coffee addiction. Known to yawn like a wookie. TWB: How does an average day in the Life of Ryan, freelancer and artist extraordinaire, begin? RA: With […]
When I was a little kid, I thought that anyone over fifteen was basically a grown-up. Their bodies were already hairy and gnarled, just like school teachers, admin staff, and anyone else in a position of authority. Physical change seemed like the catalyst for all the mental and emotional changes that made the adult process […]
I hadn’t seen Jake and Wendy since our engagement party at the Gooney Bird. This is over a year ago now. A lot has happened since then. A honeymoon, a job change, a new house (our first non-apartment dwelling), another job change. Stuff happens quickly as you get older. That day is still clear in […]
Hagen Engler’s upcoming novel, ‘In The Maid’s Room’, is going to do two things for readers: make people laugh until their stomachs ache, and talk about race in a way that needs to happen. I’ll come back to this in a moment. For anyone outside South Africa, Hagen became the voice of a generation in about 1997, when […]
Most days, I don’t feel like an obvious foreigner in this country. Especially not in Portland. There’s no much about me that stands out here. I’m a thirty something white dude with a beard, glasses, and at least one dietary requirement. Aside from my accent, I’m pretty much a carbon copy of every other cis […]
1. The Abierto Agua is a “Five Star Luxury Hotel, of Spanish heritage,” according to Raphael Mulanovitch, its managing director. He told me this during my interview in his office, a smirk on his face and a glass of cognac in his hand. This is no lie. The hotel has everything you’d expect from a […]
Living in Portland has forced me to reevaluate how I measure the distance of things. For example, I drive from Oregon to Washington 5 days a week, where I work in a different state with different tax codes, regulations and laws. It’s only 22 kilometers, but the distance is significant. At the same time, surfing […]