My PDX Fav Pic

Holly has a snack
Originally uploaded by hezcatt.

A few weekends ago Holly and I took a trip to Portland to check it out. We stayed with a Myspace friend of Holly's. No shit! He gave up his house for the weekend and then carted us around town. On Saturday, Holly and I took the train up to Washington Park and then decided to check out the zoo taht is at the top. Most of the animals were cozy in their caves so we spent a lot of time in the zoo aquarium. Here is Holly having a snack. Hahaha, I love this.

Is this like Texas or something?

Actually, I don't even think I mean Texas but couldn't think of a place that would project horror and humiliation. How about Suckville?

A few weeks ago Holly and I went out to the Rickshaw to see The Herms and Tartufi (who I really, really liked even tho they did a lot of instrumental jamming). This event was put on the by the SF Indie Fest film people so it made for an interesting and refreshing crowd. This part of the evening was fine.

Afterwards we decided we wanted a late night snack and not being able to find parking for Tommy's we headed out on Geary to go to the Video Cafe. While we were sitting there, three drunk-ish 20-something boys came in and sat diagonally across from us. Two were ridiculously dressed for the night, one in a wife beater and cowboy hat on a very cold night, and the other in some weird kind of "white rapper" ensemble reminiscent of the Beastie Boys (car racing jacket with penzoil patches, trucker hat turned to the side and sunglasses).

They immediately tried to engage Holly and I in conversation and because they were stupid we resisted, and because we resisted any type of advances, we were suddenly bitches worthy of being verbally abused. At first it was harmless bantering back and forth. Like, me asking if the guy had glaucoma because he had on sunglasses etc. But it was also clear to me that it was a little too aggressive and not really in good fun.

They kept taunting us and saying how angry I looked (huh? ya think?) and started in on these weird age related jibes after I commented on the one guys outfit by saying, "Oh I didn't know the Beastie Boys were in town." He responded by saying that he wasn't even born when the Beastie Boys were popular and who else did I like, Heart? The Pixies? Holly gave it right back to them and after it seemed like it was just pushing them more, I pleaded for her to not even make eye contact or speak to them. I just wanted my stupid grilled cheese and to eat it in peace.

I was so livid that Holly asked if I wanted to leave. I told her that if I got out of the booth to go I would punch that guy in the face. So we hunkered down, kept to ourselves and tried to focus on the movie. The boys continued to make comments not directly to us but definitely about us. The "cowboy" was obviously taking photos of Holly and I, which was irritating.

Finally they calmed down once their french fries came and then "Ad Rock" suddenly jumped up and left and apparently put on a show in the plate glass window on his way out. His friends stayed a bit eating the fries and then got up to leave. There were three guys and Ad Rock and Cowboy were the two most vocal. The third guy was non-descript and quiet and as they got up to leave he came over to our table. I thought he might apologize for his drunk friends but instead he leaned in to me and Holly and said, "If you weren't so old or married I would fuck the shit out of both of you."

I was speechless. I was aghast! I was pissed at my slow reaction time and not being able to grab my drink and throw it in his fucking face! What the hell? The kid ran out as Holly and I screamed at him. I watched the guy in the booth in front of us, who was with his girlfriend, kind of cheer us on in a "you get him!" kinda way. I was pissed at that guy, too, for not stepping in throughout any of this and I was pissed at the staff for letting them continue to jeer at us as if it was normal protocal for two girls to get harrassed and then scream obscenities at some guy in their diner. Cowboy clearly did not know what his friend had planned or done and stood at the front door in a "you want a piece of me" way as we told them to fuck off. I could hear the friend hissing, "C'mon let's get out of here, COME ON!"

Well, the good news is that they saved me from eating a 1,000 calorie grilled cheese. After that I wasn't hungry. I was so angry and sick. I half expected all three of them to be waiting outside for Holly and I. I don't think anything like this has ever happened to me. Highschool came close when all the jocks in thier clicques used to make fun of me in my punk/metal clothes and then, when one of them was alone and walking or driving past me, would whistle or "hey baby" me.

It just really sucked. In San Francisco of all places. In a city so fucking PC, a woman could be verbally abused by some asshole on a Saturday night out.

Whole Foods Space Ship

Whole Foods Space Ship
Originally uploaded by hezcatt.

Yesterday I went to Whole Foods in Palo Alto to feed my emotional insecurity. I needed bread and I needed bread fast! As I was standing in line at the register, I was staring off and up into space, and when I focused, I realized I was looking at the strangest picture ever.

Whole Foods is housed in what used to be a Ford Dealership in the 1950's, and is called the Paddleford Buidling, at the corner of Emerson and Homer. The picture I was looking at was a painting, showing the building as it was when it was first built, with lots of brand new Ford cars parked on the street. Above the building in the sky is, what can only be, spaceships.

I am competely confused by this picture. Why would the artist include spaceships? Aside from the obvious indication that it was showing the Ford dealership was modern and up to date and perhaps even "futuristic." What I don't get is, the UFOs used in the picture are typical "alien" spaceships, or at least what people in the 50's percieved as being alien. These aren't homeland UFO's!

Whenever I see something like this it reminds me of a short story I once read called The Gernsback Continum by William Gibson. What has stuck with me all these years is a phrase "the future that never happened." There are tons of ad campaigns from the 50's era depicting people doing futuristic things, driving futuristic vehicles and living in and with futuristic items. This is what people of the 50's thought the future would be like and here we are in the 2000's and none of it ever came true (or at least the design aspect of it).

It's just fascinating, really.