Pacific Wonderblog | Pacific Wonderland

Diamonds and Gold

2011-10-31

OK, so I learned that there were diamonds in the sidewalk in New York City! But who can afford to fly there these days? If only there were diamonds, or, rubies, or emeralds in the sidewalk right here in Portland? Well... it turns out there is!! Who knew? As fate would have it the portland sidewalk loot is under the sidewalk, which sucks compared to it being on top like cupcake sprinkles Back East. I have a metal detector, the only problem is it's old and it takes like 12 D cell batteries. That's practically as much as the plane ticket. I think you can get a new detector from China for less than the batteries, so I'll be looking in to it. ...

May 20th is "Write On Photo Day"

2011-05-20

Columbus was an intrepid guy and all, but Eric the Red beat him to the New World by centuries. We could give the holiday to Eric, or just make the affair useful. I say "Write On Photo Day". Let's face it, we all have 5 or 10 old photo albums laying about - some of them even have pictures of family members - and how many of them can speak? Not enough!

I had this gang running from the law...holed up in a cabin outside Chicago. But then I read: "My old Sweetheart Orville" on the back.

I still think they were outlaws.

Whistling Through the Graveyard: 1869/1908

2011-02-20

Mark Twain and Fred Lockley wandered among the ghosts at Italy's ancient city Pompeii and Portland's Lone Fir Cemetary. Both put pen to paper. They were modern men in their times. Yet, somehow they are long gone, forever chased by the decades into eternity. 18691908 ...

Simplest Things

2011-02-16

"Do we discard the simplest things? At hand, and within reach? But should our reach grow short, how then would, should, we say: You were mine; what of us? "

- D.A. Houston

Skyscraper Times

2011-01-28

Old Magazines rule. But they were disposable. They were recycled during wartime, were fragile, and often stored in damp basements or stiflingly hot attics were their fate was sealed. So few survived in good condition, but against the odds, some of them did. Most people still scratch their heads at the sight of them as if to say, "What are they still doing here??" On the whole, periodicals have yet to get that antiquey/collectabley "importance" across the board like books, comic books, baseball cards, etc. They are kind of like LP records were for a long time - people wonder who would want these things. They were done and only serve as a tripping hazard or something to throw your back out with. With the exception of ...

Wintery Mix

2011-01-28

I never tire of waterfalls. if I were to create a hike it would probably have waterfalls and I'd ask for like, 10 waterfalls, and I'd like it to be pretty flat, only a few miles long. The trail needs to be well maintained. I don't want a lot of crowds either, but it does need to be close to the city. The drive out needs to be beautiful as well. And since you asked I wouldn't mind a nice old WPA lodge - like a mini Timberline with cool furniture and and snack bar. The fire need to be going whenever it's cold so I can dry off. All this should be free - maybe $3 parking or something. That'd be cool. ...

2011-01-23

Movin' Out

2011-01-23

I guess there are a lot of good reasons to move to Oregon. You might be running to the ocean, or away from the snow. Following the band, dropping out of the unemployment line, or a combination. The reasons are myriad; and they have always been. The reasons for the pioneers were too. Mostly different, really. Probably you weren't fleeing malaria in the "bottom lands", chasing land at $5 an acre, or fleeing slavery, like some of these souls. Perhaps most interesting though, are the similarites: "I was a poor homeless youth." In Their Own WordsMotivations to MigrateCompiled by Prof. Jim Tompkins ...

Effelneedle For Us

2010-12-30

I've always enjoyed the Space Needle. I even have the World's Fair decanter! Seattle is gorgeous, but even Marilyn Monroe wore diamonds. Every city need some bling; something that's just cool for it's own sake. That is actually does something is irrelevant. The Space Needle excels at being a Space Needle. I'm not sure what a space needle is for. I know you can ride to the top and have a ham and cheese omlet – but don't- have the omelet that is, trust me. The view is pretty good, stick with that, but it's not motivation enough for a building a full blown space needle. Building something real tall and spacy just works on it's own. If its over the top, well, of course it is – that's the idea. It's reaching for the stars. ...

A Whale of a Tale

2010-12-17

Here is one from the Pacific Wonderland archive.... I thought I had this photograph pegged and was going to drop some knowledge, however, after some more scrutiny I relized I didn't understand this photo at all. I knew of the U.S.S. Oregon - a famous battleship. Of which part of is in Portland's Waterfront Park. Figured this was that. What I didn't know is that there is no dibs on ship names, my first mistake. Thus, there is more than one "S.S. Oregon" (I also ignored the "U", or lack thereof). There were actually 7 S.S. Oregons! Most of which grimly went to Davy Jones. Speaking of "U's", 2 Oregons's could not overlook the "U". "U" boat's sunk them. Collisions took 2 others, one with "all hands". An S.S. Oregon built in 1962 was not ...

Morn the Monorail

2010-12-02

Here is a video put together by the crack video department here at Pacific Wonderland. This was the last of over 20 Louden Kiddie Monorails to grace the nations shopping malls and department stores. Hard to believe they all took a look at their trains and said, "Get it out of here". By the way, the Macy's "Monorail Memory Room" which houses the monorail today (not running of course) has only 2 of the 3 train cars seen in the video. So, where is the 3rd car? I wonder if they'd part with that one? It would make a heck of a treehouse!Here is a fine summation of the Louden Monorails:Louden Machinery Co Tour - Monorails ...

Great Grape

2010-10-13

>

Moby Grape at it's finest.

2010-09-17

Lost Lake Indeed

2010-09-17

OREGON PACIFIC WONDERLAND. You gotta love ALL CAPS. Plates are ubiquitous at thrift stores - not that I've been to all of them or anything - and really just old fashioned in not a good way. But this one seemed especially pure. I would have bought it anyway of course. I enjoy simple nuance of nomenclature. "Hey that's Lost Lake!". Yea Lost Lake, one of the most famous destinations in Oregon. So why don't they say it's Lost Lake on the plate? To me this is an example of a win/win. Either one get's to feel smart for "figuring it out", or the makers thought the awesomeness of Lost Lake need not be written. This principle can hilariously work just the opposite. As in my forlorn Blitz beer neon sign. I bought it from a guy in Vancouver USA who on ...

The Stuff of Pacific Wonderland

2010-09-17

Welcome to the Pacific Wonderland blog. Where I delve into what Pacific Wonderland is. Is this just a "what makes Oregon cool" from my perspective? Something like that to start. Furry and cuddly. But I'm hoping for a Sasquatch down the road.

Leave some pithy comments, agitate the beaker.