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Comments Posted By Betsy Richter
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Of Terror, Children, and Basketball
Thank you. You captured many of my own emotions as well.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On June 12, 2010 @ 10:23 pm
But but but but….@shoshido, is that really *new*? Or has that been part of the conversation –> over there? And the easiest way to get rid of it is to stop watching it.
It’s certainly what I’ve heard from the people in my office, or the people at my daughter’s school. But the shows manage to persist, even though *no one* admits to watching them. How can that be?
And again – even if it’s *new* – what value does it add if you’re trying to find Kyron right now?
» Posted By Betsy Richter On June 10, 2010 @ 2:41 pm
A Love of Portland and the Arts
Hooray!
Welcome, Sabrina – we’re so so so glad to have you here…
» Posted By Betsy Richter On May 14, 2010 @ 2:09 pm
Let’s Put This Hiatus on Hiatus
Damn, I wasn’t 1st after all!
Some, but not all – if you see them in the sidebar over to the —-> right, they’ll be contributing.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On May 12, 2010 @ 2:40 pm
Let me be the first to thank you for coming to the site’s rescue. I know you’ll do a phenomenal job, and I’m ready to help you in whatever way I can.
Up to and including buying you copious amounts of beer!
» Posted By Betsy Richter On May 12, 2010 @ 2:39 pm
“I Thought Of That While Riding My Bike”*
Or use them for yard sale signs or lemonade stand signs! (We’ve definitely done the latter…)
» Posted By Betsy Richter On February 23, 2010 @ 7:15 am
African-American Man Stopped by Portland Police, Lives
Facts about reality, I’m betting a) you’re not a local and b) you’re here to beat your own drum about what it is that *you* think the problem is here in PDX.
Fact: an unarmed emotionally distraught man contemplating suicide was shot in the back of the head by a Portland police officer while he had both hands up & on the back of his head.
Fact: many people here in PDX believe that the situation would have been handled differently had the victim been white instead of black.
And since the rest of your “facts” aren’t germane and/or add nothing to the conversation, I’m going to let them stand, but restrict you from adding further comments.
Sorry, folks – I ended up turning comments off. Feel free to contact me if you have an issue with it.» Posted By Betsy Richter On February 17, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
Yes, we understand that people often kill other people. We know that it may, in fact, be possible that people of a certain color kill other people of a certain color.
But we also have a certain expectation that unarmed citizens will not be killed and/or assaulted by police officers, don’t we? The very people who get paid to protect us – right?
And some of us raise an eyebrow when it seems to happen in a disproportionate way. Or they respond with satire, as in this case.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On February 17, 2010 @ 8:58 am
Looking For Tales of Portland Parking Woes
Thanks for your feedback, all! I know that Dieselboi doesn’t routinely drive downtown – do you? But I’m curious, Brewcaster – do you also regularly commute by car downtown, or are you traveling via bike?
And for those who work/park downtown – does your company provide parking, or help subsidize your own paid parking?
I’m asking because I’m getting a bunch of feedback from people who do business downtown, but who don’t work downtown and/or have a regular parking solution (paid monthly parking). And their perceptions are markedly different. Just trying to parse the feedback…!
» Posted By Betsy Richter On January 25, 2010 @ 7:48 am
Actually, Brian – you’re making several points for me already & it’s in line with what looks like it’ll be my central theory: people are avoiding downtown Portland due to what appears to be predatory parking enforcement practices by the city of Portland.
And when they have to go downtown, they do what you’re doing: park in structures, take a cab, or use mass transit. But the numbers don’t suggest that mass transit uses go up when parking restrictions go up, do they? No they do not…
» Posted By Betsy Richter On January 24, 2010 @ 12:08 pm
From Our Mailbox: Gardeners Go Road-Trippin..!
From what I understand, the show rotates between Portland & Seattle; this year, it’s Seattle’s turn…
» Posted By Betsy Richter On January 16, 2010 @ 9:04 pm
…but that presumes that you have a safe (read: hands-free) way of calling 911 almost immediately, of course.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On January 14, 2010 @ 8:56 am
A Statement Left Out of the Voter’s Pamphlet…???
Exactly *when* have the people of Oregon *ever* held our legislature’s “feet to the fire”?
The fact that we’re one of the few states with a half-year biennial legislature and a creaky old tax structure bearing all of its weight on one increasingly aging leg demonstrates that we’re apathetic (or uninformed, or deliberately uninvolved) enough to maybe wave a match underneath a toe or two at best.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On January 10, 2010 @ 8:03 pm
Yep, I consider it quite the personal coup to land Zanger as one of our new authors. (I fully expected the polite ‘thanks, but no thanks…’ response when I asked him, frankly!)
» Posted By Betsy Richter On January 11, 2010 @ 9:09 am
I was stuck on a TriMet bus yesterday for 2 1/2 hours as it tried to travel down NE Broadway into downtown (we had tickets for Rain at Keller Auditorium; I wisely decided to bail on driving myself.)
The biggest problems I witnessed (and yes, I had plenty of time to observe) were many of the ones you stated already: inconsiderate, impatient drivers and/or drivers who didn’t have the sense to get out of the snow already. The numbers of delays I could attribute to drivers who could care less about ‘blocking the box’ were legion, for example.
But here’s another huge issue from my perspective: the unholy trinity of car/bus/light rail traffic on 5th and 6th Avenues (tenuous at best during good weather, in my opinion) completely broke down last night. I watched minivans parked on the right side where buses were trying to get in and out, cars who assumed that all was fair in love & war during snowy weather, or buses who went a little Rambo-style.
While I’m glad I wasn’t driving myself, I do wish I’d have turned a deaf ear to the kid who was so so so excited about Rain & wouldn’t hear about not going.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On December 30, 2009 @ 4:28 pm
Heard a confirmation (via Twitter, from Portland Food & Drink’s Food Dude) that he’d heard they’ll be closing January 3rd.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On December 28, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
(no longer) LIVE! It’s the 2nd Media Circus Extravaganza!
Google ads? I figured I’d just make people buy me my beverages while I’m blogging – it’s a much more immediate and direct return on my investment, no?
» Posted By Betsy Richter On December 13, 2009 @ 11:20 am
WMTM Redux: Founder Ron Buel Responds
Alex – thanks for showing some appreciation for the work Ron & the rest of the WMTM conference put in – since I’ve organized conferences myself, I know how it can sting when it feels like people are in ‘complain-only’ mode.
Tim – you speak for me as well. It’s not an either-or issue. I care deeply about democracy *and* I believe that digital tools will be SOP for whatever modern journalism evolves into, for example. While these two values may not live in harmony, they also don’t *have* to compete with each other, nor should they be perceived as such.
Finally, I’m still getting a kick out of being a hipster technology rabble-rouser, just because I use Twitter. (I’m *47* years old, damn it!) But I also don’t think you can use age as an excuse, either – the incubator group isn’t having their discussions in super-secret, and you don’t need an engraved invitation to participate. You just need to follow along via email – a technology that’s accessible to almost all, in this day and age.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On November 25, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
Drive to Downtown PDX? Not Any More…
Dieselboi, I’d be with you on that whole ‘overbooking’ thing, if it weren’t for the two millstones I have around my neck (otherwise known as my kids.)
When I’m on my own, I can manage my schedule much better. But when one kid has volleyball practice that overlaps with dinner that overlaps with a school event that overlaps with the kid emergency (insert more drivel here, blah, blah, blah), well — I’m soaking in the overbooked schedule already. The only way even half of that is possible is because I’m driving.
Now, having said that, I do what I can to encourage alternate means of transportation for the household. The teen has his transit pass thanks to Trimet/PPS initiative for all HS students, or, um, “carpools” with friends for evening activities. The kid walks home from school each day. And I’ll use MAX to head downtown if time permits.
But when it doesn’t? I’m going to go for what should be easiest/simplest in a day that’s already complicated enough as-is. That means I’m driving.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On November 18, 2009 @ 10:16 am
Thanks for all the comments!
The one element that those who advocate a car-free lifestyle downtown don’t address is this: time. And while I *try* to build in enough time to take mass transit downtown (instead of driving there), it’s just not always feasible.
That’s why I often can’t make it for WordPress user group meetings that start at 6 pm, for example – if I leave office at 5 pm, drive home, do a quick check in with family, and *then* try to take mass transit, I’d get downtown at a leisurely 7 pm, most likely.
Where do you find your extra bucket of hours each day, ’cause I want some too!
» Posted By Betsy Richter On November 18, 2009 @ 8:04 am
Articles That Could Write Themselves: Vancouver Seeks Branding
I don’t understand what all the fuss is about anyway. Seven months of navel-gazing?
Legal meth? Pumping gas? Just call it VanTucky and call it good…
(hiding behind Kathleen. Or else drawing all the flack. You decide…)
» Posted By Betsy Richter On October 27, 2009 @ 7:40 am
(so glad you leapt at the bait there, Mr. Wagner…!)
I’ve spent the weekend in bed with the crud, with only my iPhone to keep me amused. Don’t much want to read (either actual paper books, the Kindle books on my iPhone, or feeds, blogposts, etc. etc.) So I’ve been listening to podcasts. Lots and lots of local podcasts, thanks to the little device that charges the phone while piping out audio through teeny speakers.
I’ve been a tech early adopter, haven’t listened to commercial radio in ages (have the iPod-enabled car stereo instead) – so why haven’t *I* been listening to more podcasts? Why wasn’t I (to get back to the subject at hand) listening to Cort & Fatboy on my own time/dime?
Dunno – but I’m making up for lost time now. If only it didn’t take a case of the crud to open my eyes/ears up here…!
» Posted By Betsy Richter On October 25, 2009 @ 1:53 pm
Um, Cort & Fatboy were already doing podcasts, and know what they’re doing there. IMHO, anyway.
Unfortunately, podcasts don’t (yet) pay the mortgage now – do they?
» Posted By Betsy Richter On October 25, 2009 @ 11:36 am
You WILL be missed — you know this, right? And we WILL be expecting you to show up at each and every one of our monthly reader gatherings, of course.
Speaking of….we’re long overdue for one. Look for your engraved invitation/set of golden handcuffs shortly…
» Posted By Betsy Richter On October 8, 2009 @ 1:55 pm
Welches Con Man *Still* on the Loose!
He started off his pitch to us with the very same opening line, right down to the “I’ve asked 20 people this…”
I’d bet he’s trying to appeal to our desire to know more than the average joe as a way of initially bonding/forging a connection with his intended victim.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On September 11, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
Dave Chappelle pays us a visit
My teen (a huge Chappelle fan, thanks to the Netflix access his mother so lovingly provides him) is really, really angry at all of “your Twitter friends, MoooooooOOOOM.”
Turns out what he first thought was cool is just another case of rabid fans putting too much pressure on delicate flower Dave. “Don’t you know that he walked away from his show and millions of dollars to get away from all of your crazy friends? He’ll NEVER come back to Portland again, Mom. And it’s your fault.”
(Or something like that, anyway. All I know is, well, it’s my fault…)
» Posted By Betsy Richter On July 15, 2009 @ 6:40 pm
I’ll also echo Savvy Plus on Hawthorne; have been going there for years.
» Posted By Betsy Richter On June 22, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
Very nicely done. (And I’m happy to save the weapon for a later date if needed…!)
» Posted By Betsy Richter On June 19, 2009 @ 12:38 pm
Five Ways You Can Be Part of Open Source Bridge This Week
Donnie, will send some thoughts via email — but on the whole, I thought it was well-done & didn’t at all disappoint, especially given the high expectations I had going into the presentation!
» Posted By Betsy Richter On June 19, 2009 @ 9:15 am
OurPDX shared links for June 13th
«« Back To Stats PageNot officially, but I will note this comment from LynnS on the welcome post (there are two sites now – this one, and the Oregon Media Forum):
I feel I must say that this is not an official successor to my site. There isn’t going to be an official successor; I’m letting the market sort it out. I wouldn’t say anything except for the similarities between the domain names, acronyms, and, uh, names. I wish everyone doing sites like this well.
Thanks,
LynnS”
former OMI, still Fairy Blogmother» Posted By Betsy Richter On June 14, 2009 @ 10:36 am
