The Addendum "I tried to write shorter ~Mark Twain
route99west.com/addendum
is an occasional journal of Oregon, from arts and books to public policy & transportation.
All content © 2006- by Alexander B. Craghead, except where otherwise noted.
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Book Reviews
Review: Approaching Nowhere
Housekeeping Note
Review: The Call of Trains: Railroad Photographs b...
Review: Here There Nowhere
The Ephemeral 'Net
Meet the G9
Portland Streetcar Obamamania
Bachelor's Special #1: Instant Noodles Review
Week in Review... in review.
Week in Review, Vol. XI
January 2005
July 2005
January 2006
February 2006
August 2006
September 2006
November 2006
January 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
Other Notable Blogs
Cafe Unknown
Travel, History and Portland Oregon by Dan Haneckow
Jack Bog's Blog
By Jack Bogdanski of Portland, Oregon. (Like he needs any other introduction by now? -- A.B.C.)
For Portlanders Only
"Why buy a mattress anywhere else?"
Good Stuff NW
Featuring stuff that is good in the NW
LOST Magazine
LOST Magazine is an online monthly magazine that combines elements of many other literary, online, and national magazines with a singular mission--to reclaim in writing lost people, places, and things.
Mapes on Politics
Way West of the Beltway
Outside Is America
A journal about photography, roadtrips, trains and life, with occasional detours into movies, baseball, music, family and more.
The Photographers' Railroad Page
Good photos usually have good stories to go with them.... The goal of The Photographers' Railroad Page is to provide an outlet for top quality photographs and their story.
Portland Food & Drink
Throwing Ourselves on the Grenade of Bad Food to Save You
Portland Transport Blog
A Conversation About Access & Mobility in the Portland/Vancouver Region
PowellsBooks.Blog
Authors, readers, critics, media -- and booksellers
RailPixCritic
One person's musings on railroad photography, focusing on discussions of specific images or groups of same
Rambling West
The musings of a farmer with a typewriter and camera
Stumptown Confidential
Documenting Portland, Oregon architecture, history, and culture through photos, postcards, and words.
The Unauthorized Observer
Observations on faith, photography, trains, baseball, the city where I live (Fullerton, Calif.), anything that I find funny (a lot of things) or irritating (some things) and various incidents involving friends and family.
Under the Weather
...the open road, fatherhood, family life, music, railroads, photography, popular and unpopular culture, sex, violence, religion, the oppression of consumerism and capitalism and the general bullshit that makes up modern life.
Urban Planning Overlord
A blog to counter the myths, lies, and demagoguery others use against sound city planning to further their own ends, fair and foul - but also to urge the profession itself to pull back from the occasional wretched PC exces.
VanPortlander
Living in Vancouver; working in Portland. I have some thoughts.
Whiskey, Texas
...life and experiences in Texas and the Southwest. Recurring themes: Photography, railroads, fading ads / ghost signs, fallen-flag railroad logos, boxcars, bicycling, Texas music, pop culture, sports, road trips, literature, kids and family.
World Scott
The Travel Writing and Photography of Scott Lothes
Blegs & Bargains
Amazon Book Wishlist
B&H Wishlist
My eBay Listings
Powell's Books Wishlist
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Housekeeping Note
A quick thanks for a shout-out from RailPixCritic, a blog on railroad photography I had not yet encountered. I've added them to the links list to the left. He's got some interesting posts, I encourage anyone interested in railroad or transportation photography to check them out. Labels: Blogging, Photography, Railroads, Transportation
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Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Week in Review... in review.
Since December, I've pumped out 11 weeks of Week In Review, but I just don't think I can put out a 12th. Labels: Blogging, Book Reviews, Food, Site News, Week in Review
I've learned a few things. First off, it's still too blog-centric. When I began The Addendum it was meant to be just that, an addendum for things that didn't have place in the regular route99west web site, but which were still begging for an outlet. Casual efforts, off-topic items, rants and raves, and the like. WIR was an attempt to introduce some regularity to the mix.
I have discovered I don't like regularity.
Once you start going down the "true" blog road, it becomes a kind of obligation. "What will I write about now?" That kind of thing. It can quickly become a contest to see who can write about something soonest, and with as many blogs as there are our there, why bother? You'll never be first.
Nor will you be original. The vast majority of blogs -- including my own WIR posts -- are basically responses to the work of others, most often the old media. It's all too much a mix of incestuousness and parasitic journalism.
Not everyone is like this though. More recently, I have been inspired by KAB's Good Stuff NW (who recently celebrated her 400th post by-the-way, congratulations!) to do some food writing. This is a topic I've wanted to get into for some time, but I just never quite got an idea of where I could begin.
Now, however, I do: the plight of the bachelor chef. I'm working on a few original content posts (wow, what a novel idea on the Blogosphere!) including solutions from the gourmet (cook it yourself in under 30 minutes with no canned, frozen, or packaged ingredients) to the not-so-gourmet (cup-o-noodles reviews, anyone?). And more importantly, I'm having fun writing them!
Now this is what the Addendum was for.
So, changes are coming to the blog. No more WIR. Instead? Less frequent but more original content, and maybe even a bit of firsthand journalism. One feature that's not going away are the book reviews, probably one of the more enjoyable features I write for The Addendum. In fact, I may have some news about those in the near future. And I'll still have thoughts and observations about journalism, local current events, government, and transportation topics too when appropriate.
But right now, can I just say, I can't wait until strawberry season?
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Thursday, January 31, 2008
Blogroll Additions
Just a brief note that I've added three more links to the blogroll. Labels: Blogging, Food, Public Policy, Site News
First up, freelance writer Kathleen Bauer's Good Stuff NW, a real gem of foodie goodness. I get hungry anytime I read it.
Next up is Mapes on Politics, the blog written by Jeff Mapes for the Oregonian. In a world of often useless political e-ramblings, Jeff brings a welcome adult note to the field.
Lastly, another foodie blog, Portland Food & Drink. Their slogan -- "Throwing ourselves on the grenade of bad food to save you" -- probably says it best. Gossipy, frank, and intelligent, it's like happy hour with food world insiders.
I'm really picky about adding blogs to the blogroll, so I'm highly recommending these.
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Thursday, January 17, 2008
Week in Review, Vol. VI
Okay, what is this? Is the Willamette Week taking a page from the Onion? If so, can't hurt. Labels: Blogging, Civics, History, Media, Photography, Portland, Portland History, Public Policy, Site News, Transportation, Week in Review
While you're there, check out this acerbic piece by Corey Pein. I don't think I've read as entertaining of a summing-up of the Portland political landscape in a while. Informative while hilarious; well done.
And while we're on Portland subjects, just a brief note that quid pro quo is alive and well.
Tuesday, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission released their report to Congress containing recommendations on future surface transportation policy."The Commission is working to examine not only the condition and future needs of the nation's surface transportation system, but also short and long-term alternatives to replace or supplement the fuel tax as the principal revenue source to support the Highway Trust Fund over the next 30 years."
Since the report was released only two days ago, I have yet to open it much less digest it. Regarding the production of the report, a source of mine wrote:"...all work was done by or for US-DOT directly. I reported to Susan Binder, executive director of the Commission and deputy secretary of USDOT. She reports to Mary Peters, [Secretary] of US-DOT who reports to George W. Bush who probably doesn’t know or care what we are doing. But I am in the fourth layer down from The Top. This is the highest I have ever been or am ever likely to be."
It will be interesting to see what exactly the report -- called for in 2005's transportation funding bill -- consists of, much less recommends. Apparently one of the recommendations is a $0.40 hike in the Federal gas tax, something that Portland Transport reports isn't going down well with the administration. I'll take a look at the report later this week, and will likely have some thoughts.
While researching obscure Cuban cocktails I located (via this article) a cool little publication called Lost."LOST Magazine is an online monthly magazine that combines elements of many other literary, online, and national magazines with a singular mission--to reclaim in writing lost people, places, and things."
For lovers of history, nostalgia junkies, as well as obsessive collectors of obscure trivia, it's a really cool site. Lost is a welcome addition to our blogroll. Check it out.
Speaking of lost things and blogrolls, I stumbled onto this cool site this week. Sleek design, neat concept, great content, luscious photos. Sadly, it's not updated anymore. As a former boss of mine used to say, "drat".
All the blog overload has lead me to try out an RSS reader. No Safari has one built in, but all the geeky types are using standalone RSS Readers. With an overload of blogs to keep up with, I thought, hey, why not try this out? So lately I've been trying a few, and I've found my favorite so far, an app called Vienna. It's sleek, so far it doesn't hiccup too much, and on an added note I can view web pages directly in it rather than opening a browser. (It uses the Safari architecture to power a simple browser function).
While we're discussing blogs, here's one more "best images of 2007" post, this one on Elrond Lawrence's Outside is America. Nice stuff, El.
Keep Portland Weird may be an understatement on this one: it was No Pants on MAX Day on Saturday.
What's worse? Hockley has photos. Click if you dare.
How about a blast from the past to clean those images off the insides of your eyelids? Stumptown Confidential has Portland circa 1964, and Dan Haneckow has a farewell to Nick's Famous Coney Island.
Nick's reminds me a bit of the pictures of the original Camp Washington Chili in Cincinatti. Camp Washington modernized in the last decade or so; Nick's stayed blessedly old school and blessedly Portland.
Alas, no more. Wonder if it will be condos, or apartments?
More Portland news: Friday the city will be putting on a press event celebrating the 50th anniversary of... parking enforcement?"(PORTLAND, OR) -- The City of Portland Office of Transportation's Parking Enforcement Division will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Friday, January 18, 2008. The media are invited to attend this special event that includes an entertaining slide show presentation on the history of parking enforcement in Portland."
What next? Can we have a 100th anniversary of indoor plumbing event?
Rolling Stone brings us this story about the decline in audio recording quality.
I'm from the mp3 generation and love their flexibility and portability. That said, vinyl is way better than anything you can hear these days. Once more its a case of modern digital technology replacing a superior analog one. Mass production always has more upsides than downsides, but it's always a loss in quality too.
A few additions to the blogroll this week:For Portlanders Only;
Good stuff all.
Elrond Lawrence's Outside Is America;
Kevin Scanlon's The Photographers' Railroad Page;
Martin Burwash's Rambling West;
Dave Styffe's The Unauthorized Observer;
Scott Lothes' World Scott.
I'm confused. Is this a promotion for a new form of mass transit, or a statement in favor of private automobile commuting?
Last up, a bit of sound advice from the Powell's blog. I may be following it myself more in the future.
Until later, folks.
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Friday, January 11, 2008
Books & Powells -- An Update
Reader Slammin' Sam posted in the comments that my Powell's rant was unnecessary, pointing out that the Powell's wishlist function can indeed be made public. Labels: Blogging, Book Reviews, Books, New Books, Portland, Used Books
Remind me not to listen to certain Powell's employees when it comes to technical questions. You know who you are! (And I'll see you at lunch Monday no doubt).
So now, viola, the Addendum has a Powell's Wishlist now.
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Thursday, January 10, 2008
Week in Review, Vol. V
Reason has an interesting review up of Andrew Keen's Cult of the Amateur. An interesting topic, and I'm not sure I wholly agree with Keen, but I am sympathetic to many points he makes. Labels: Blogging, Book Reviews, Books, Civics, Media, Photography, Portland, Public Policy, Railroads, Transportation, Week in Review
And yes, I'm aware of the hypocrisy of saying that on a blog.
Speaking of book reviews, there's been a lot of bally-hoo about their decline in recent memory. You know the drill, the usual "the Internet killed the radio star" schtick. There's definitely a bit of truth to it, although I wouldn't go shouting about the demise of the book just yet.
Still, I must admit that the concern inspired me to begin adding book reviews to the Addendum.
Of course, as a freelancer, book reviews can be a major pain. Getting review copies is difficult, and I just plain can't afford to buy every book I want to review. On the other hand, I'm a confirmed book-a-holic. End result? Most of my reviews will be of books going into my library anyway. This includes both new and out-of-print, used books, but hey, we live in the state that gave the world Powell's Books, so that's not that big of a problem now is it?
Naturally, if you'd like to help, you can always buy me a book to review. Heh.
While we're on the subject of book buying and wishlists and the like, a minor rant. Why can't Powell's have a wishlist function similar to Amazon, that would let others see what you are wanting to buy? It would be especially handy during the holidays, and I would far rather send prospective gift-buyers and friends to Powell's than to mega-monster Amazon.
It wouldn't hurt to let use have some simplified profiles too, for those of us who post reviews on their site.
And one more book-related item. I would be remiss not to add the PowellsBooks.Blog to the blogroll at left.
And then there's the Blogosphere! Yet more additions. Photographer & graphic designer Dave Styffe brings us The Unauthorized Observer; a very noir title for his SoCal photoblog. This is followed up by news that Elrond Lawrence has started another, titled Outside Is America.
Whew. Lothes returns, Carr and Kooistra surface, and then Burwash goes blogging. And now Lawrence and Styffe.
What is this? 1998 all over again?
The holidays are over at last, and many are still groaning under the weight of the feasting. it wasn't the vast Christmas repasts that hit me, though, so much as the culinary delights of Portland.
How about a little Cafe Cubano and Camarones Enchilada?
This is bad. I think I have a new addiction.
I almost feel sorry for the Portland Building. How overjoyed the city was when it was first built. A fine example of cutting edge, post-modern architecture, designed by rising-star architect Michael Graves. We were lucky, and it made Graves a real powerhouse, designing everything from major buildings to consumer goods for Target.
Time has not treated the building well, however, and it has become the building Portlanders love to hate. (Granted, it is a bit of a maintenance nightmare now).
Poor thing. Portland is one of those cities where nobody will ever stare at you, because you'll never manage to be the weirdest person on the block. In a way, the Portland Building fits in a city like that -- hell if anything it's too tame for a city like that.
Oh, don't get me wrong though; I don't like the building either.
Politics schmolitics. Eric Sten resigns and Sho Dozono files to run for mayor.
Plenty has been said elsewhere about these events. You can always go over to Bojack for the latest.
Sten's departure will leave a much larger hole in the council. Presuming that Adams is elected mayor, it means two spots are open, in addition to Randy running for his seat again. Sten's departure makes it far easier to change the majority make up of the council in one election sweep.
As for Sho? I'll say only this: Sho fills a vacuum. Before him, there was the potential for a serious contender to emerge. Sho seems like a nice guy, but Portland politics isn't about being nice. If I were Sam, I'd be really happy about all this.
Will the weather madness never end? Vancouver gets a tornado. They do happen in the region now and then.
As usual, the media are making a big fuss, giving us tornado survival advice now that the tornado is gone and after having given no warning.
I like Tigard Mayor Craig Dirksen. He's a nice guy, and he has the best of intentions. I often find myself defending him when people suggest he's too soft. For once though I must issue a minor rebuke. In his state of the city address, Craig says he has really only good news to tell you.
Then there's this story.
And while we're discussing transportation financing, Sam has a plan for Portland.
I'll have more to say about this later. For now, folks, I've got to run.
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Friday, January 4, 2008
Week in Review, Vol. IV
It's been long enough since my last Week-in-Review that maybe I should call this a "Three Weeks in Review". In that time, I managed to pick up some new (to me) books, so there should be some book reviews in the near future. Stay tuned. Labels: Automobiles, Blogging, Photography, Portland, Portland History, Railroads
Today's windy weather had some interesting effects. Check out this slideshow of trucks blown over on I-84 in eastern Oregon. All I can say is, wow.
Last time I mentioned the continuing plight of the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation. Over the course of my break, the Trib put up a story.
Here is a wonderful online photo gallery of the now gone Penn Station in New York City. Hat tip to Kelly Lynch for that.
Aaron Hockley points us to For Portlanders Only, a hilarious page of images & video about what makes Portland unique. I have to say that Les Scwhab's free beef campaign and Bob the Weather Cat scared some of my non-Oregonian friends. More amusing to me is the anti-tourism campaign:"Tom McCall, ex-governor of the great state of Oregon, cordially invites you to visit Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, California, Hawaii, or Afghanistan."
If nothing else explains the Oregon psyche, that does.
Though I suspect top honors for oddest-true-story is this coverage of the one-year anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. All I can say is, wow.
I've added two blogs to the blogroll on the left.
The first is the Portland history based site Stumptown Confidential. If your a history nut you should enjoy the image laden posty goodness there.
The second is Blair Kooistra's Under the Weather. Blair's blog has a bit of railfan photography, but it is much more than that and is quite well rounded. Fans of BoJack will probably like his non-railfan content.
Speaking of blogs, many of my fellow photographers seem to be getting active in the Blogosphere all the sudden. Scott Lothes has a new post, now brought to you from North America. Scott, here's hoping you have the time and inclination to keep this up. Meanwhile, Martin Burwash is trying his hand at photoblogging too; check out his homage to the railroad and Little Bighorn here.
The paper in Mac has a video story on the return of their galloping goose. (Warning, it took a while to load even on DSL. Slow connection...?) Good luck to them, but I kind of doubt that a stuffed-and-mounted, obscure piece of rail history is going to draw people off the highway to tour Willamina.
It is nice to see a piece of local history come home, however. It's by far preferable to the shotgun-approach many museums have towards old equipment. You know, the "get anything old while you can" approach that lacks any semblance of context.
On a marginally related note, I don't think I've ever seen a newspaper website before that has a department titled "Who's In Jail".
Lastly, Autoblog brings us this story about Steve McQueen's review of eight sports cars in 1966. As a friend of mine says, "all kinds of awesome".
'till next time.
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Friday, December 7, 2007
Feed Addition
Aaron over at VanPortlander wrote in this morning to ask if there are any RSS feeds. Labels: Blogging, Internet, Journalism, Media, Site News
I confess that The Addendum is a bit of a passive-aggressive blog. I have blogged before, sometimes quite intensely. Overall, though, I got tired of it. Aaron put up a post yesterday that outlined one of many reasons the blogging thing gets old. At some point it feels like a rat-race to be the first to post your opinion about whatever is going on, out there, out in the non-cyber world.
The entire route99west site, however, began its rebirth as an outlet for various artistic pursuits. I viewed (and continue to view) this site as an extended, web-based portfolio of my work. The Addendum grew into the project when I needed a place to put an occasional article or item that just didn't seem to merit the energy investment that a photo essay might. It's also a convenient place to plop some links to interesting stuff that is going on with others on the web.
My reaction against blogging continues. I know from previous experience I won't always have time for updating this page, so I'm trying not to get into the habit of posting to it on a crack-hyper squirrel pace. You'll probably see more Week in Review type posts.
So now, dear readers, you know my excuse for not having made site feeds available in the past. You can thank Aaron for prompting me to change that, however. You can find an atom-based feed here, and an RSS 2.0 feed here. I've also plunked links to both over at the left side of the page, under the heading "Feeds & Etc..."
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