This is Portland, we do what we like. This is Portland, we do what we like.

Good news, y'all! According to some guy named Nick Shirley on Youtube, ANTIFA has taken complete control of Portland. I guess that means we're completely liberated from the forces of fascist oppression! That's pretty exciting. I mean this is even better than that time us transgender people attacked and dethroned God. You'd think that dethroning God would be a really big deal, but it turns out that God doesn't really do much himself. A lot of people do a lot of things in God's NAME, but it turns out they do that stuff whether or not the God they worship is actually in power. Like, dethroning God doesn't mean that the entirety of Christendom now worships trans people. Which is totally fine, to be clear. I've run across people who want to "worship" me and mostly it's gross and creepy and they're really into my dick. I don't really get that. For one, I've never really been that into my dick, myself. Not only that, back when I went to church, we didn't do any of that kind of stuff. We just, uh... ate his body and drank his blood...

OK a lot of things are starting to make more sense now. In retrospect, I guess attacking and dethroning God was a really fucking stupid idea.

Taking control of Portland, Oregon seem like a lot better bet. I don't know why I'm hearing about it from this guy who's really upset about it and thinks it's a bad thing, though. I admit I don't follow politics really closely, but I haven't heard anything about this from any of my many anti-fascist friends. We've mostly been hanging out online talking about the 1991 TV series "Fishing with John". I mean, that's cool, I guess whatever "ANTIFA" group took control of Portland didn't need our help! God, I didn't realize that they would defeat the President and armed forces of the most powerful nation in the world so easily. If I'd known it was that easy to overthrow the power of an autocratically run United States government, I might have done more than just say "Hey, this stuff the President is doing is super, super not OK."

Well, I guess it doesn't matter much now. Now that Nick Shirley has broken the news, though, I guess the best thing to do is to, you know, talk with some other locals about it. There's really no point in listening to anything more Nick Shirley has to say about it, given that he's not the one running Portland. I guess we are? So, like, what do we do now? Is there a party? Or do we just go on with our lives as usual? Maybe that's all we do. I mean it's not like the federal government was really doing anything to help or support us in the first place. Is Tina Kotek ANTIFA? Is flying the flag at half-mast for CK an ANTIFA thing? If it is, I have to admit I'm disappointed. I thought ANTIFA might be more, you know, woke.

Oh well. It's still a huge relief. I was worried that those armed federal troops the President was sending to Portland might, like, shoot us, or something. It's good to know that's off the table. Thanks for the good news, Nick!

just looked at one of his videos... dude seems like an asshole

(Up for Church of Film at Clinton Street tomorrow night if you and/or others still want to go!)

The Portland part of my feed is all the woman to takes videos of her Korean mom trying new restaurants and cuisines all over the city and various influencers going for hikes in the area.

(Up for Church of Film at Clinton Street tomorrow night if you and/or others still want to go!)

― the way out of (Eazy)

yes, i'm definitely up for it! i just hate going out by myself, if someone else is gonna be there, i'll be there :)

update from the frontlines of portland's radical resistance: we are now talking about going back in time to prevent "we built this city" by starship from being recorded. i'm strongly against it. i'm saying "look, come on, you can't do that, JASUN MARTZ worked on that thing! He did the late 1970s Mellotron symphonic work 'The Pillory', featuring one of Ruth Underwood's only recorded performances with someone other than Frank Zappa!"

"ok," one of the other resistance leaders suggests, "how about we just destroy the masters?"

"i like that," i say. "no gods, no kings, no masters. but look. let's not be hasty on this. what if we accidentally make it a legendary lost track like steely dan's 'the second arrangement'?"

people talk a lot of shit about "the left destroying itself", and ok, sometimes that happens, but mostly we get sidetracked by discussions about steely dan. or maybe it's just me that does that. i don't know. i've never been to any leftist gatherings where i wasn't there.

ok, sometimes that happens, but mostly we get sidetracked by discussions about steely dan

There's your one battle after another.

y'all we're taking emergency measures here

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2025/10/emergency-world-naked-bike-ride-planned-in-portland.html

Trump says the troops have landed and to restore peace to that absolute leftist hellhole

However, Portland’s NBC News affiliate KGW reported 90 minutes after Trump’s social media post that no members of the guard were yet in place around the Ice field office where dozens of protesters have demonstrated against immigration sweeps since June.

'dozens of protesters' sounds pretty bad, hope you guys are okay up there

4 arrests today I heard, seems pretty chill so far

Church of Film was pretty amazing! Been hearing about its weekly screenings but had never made it: this one was all experimental shorts from the 60s/70s/80s, from France, Spain, and the UK, including the very trippy The Black Tower.

Upright is ceasing production at the end of the year. Very fond memories of them in that weird basement location just north of MODA. Had all the feels of a "real-knowers" spot, but always very welcoming.

Haven't been there, will try their beer before year-end!

Got chicken biryani tonight from my usual spot, Shera at the Farmhouse carts (35th & Division).

nice, i'm only usually there for the breakfast sandwiches, those muffins are SO GOOD

Kate are those the carts we went to?

nah we went to different carts, i think the carts we went to were on belmont. i don't know which ones, all i remember is that cokeia's kitchen was there but i think she's move again and is now at the heist? maybe? i like the heist.

i used to go to carts on foster all the time, it was great, then they kicked everybody out to, i don't know, do something. well, whatever they were trying to do didn't work out, so they turned it into a cart pod again, except now the cart selection comparatively sucks and there's hardly any vegan stuff. stupid landlords. the panzerotti place at the old carts on foster was to DIE for.

hopefully we can all agree that this represents a good praxis of resistance?

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qkgtipcomtez5zvbq3dn42vy/bafkreig5xrk76chfwzyqo4calzts3da4lzlmgr7d2mkbtu4pnxzpg64x3e@jpeg

blah I was misled, that's not from PDX but rather Germany in 2007

I am still loving the frog & unicorn costumes being used in PDX

Things are still looking bad, apparently.

“Portland, Oregon, I mean, every time I look at that place, the place is burning down. There’s fires all over the place,” Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he made the same wildly false claim last month to justify his desire to deploy federal troops to the city.

“When a store owner, there’s very few of them left, but when a store owner rebuilds his store, they build it out of plywood. They don’t put up storefronts anymore. They just put wood up, because they know it’s going to be ripped down,” the president insisted, as his health secretary, FDA commissioner and Medicare administrator looked on but said nothing.

I love the frog costumes because they conceal faces but are also the opposite of Black Bloc-type outfits. It'll suck if Proud Boys show up disguised as frogs and wreak havoc, though.

I'm sorry to hear about the end of stores... I used to enjoy PDX for its stores, now it's just plywood

as his health secretary, FDA commissioner and Medicare administrator looked on but said nothing

what is there to say?

how about: "wtf is wrong with you, man?"

really shockingly weird series of feelings watching one battle after another at the hollywood theater a couple days ago amidst all of whatever this is

wow I bet

When a store owner, there’s very few of them left, but when a store owner rebuilds his store, they build it out of plywood.

Leaving them vulnerable to big bad wolves, among others.

I'll be in Portland early next week ... someone tell me where all the many different fires are so I can avoid them, please.

they're turning the frickin gays into frogs here, it's bad folks

On the plane flying back to Boston after an incredible boy’s trip weekend. Karaoke was, per usual, insane. Casa Diablo, per usual, sketch. Food, record shopping, all the good Portland shit. I’ll miss you Portland.

Sounds like you hit it all. Where was karaoke?

(I hit Send and then realized: probably The Alibi?)

IsPortlandBurning.com

come to my karaoke nights, pdx ilxors! (it's in the burbs no one is gonna go)

I went to see a friend host trivia at a strip-mall bar in Gresham, so you never know. Could be fun!

xp tell me more

i've hosted karaoke fri/sat (and now alternating wednesdays) at a sports bar in a famously uncool portland suburb for like 8 years now! could be a fun ilx outing sometime, honestly never thought about it til today. i'd rather not put the name of the bar on here but maybe we can figure a way to work it out sometime in the future

def down for a Saturday sometime

That sounds fun for sure - up for it as well.

I did karaoke at Voicebox (off of NW 21st) with some friends this summer and loved it. Private-room karaoke and just well run in every way, including charging per person, which was easier to sort out than standard a room rental.

Baby Ketten has the top catalog, from my experience, fwiw

did you guys ride your bikes around naked?

We went to Baby Ketten!

did you guys ride your bikes around naked?

It was way too cold!

voicebox is my friend's standard karaoke place... i don't do karaoke myself, i get pretty overwhelmed, but it seems nice for people who like that.

that said i'd show up for ilx karaoke, tho i mostly use public transit, so if it's not accessible that way i'd need a ride.

been down with a cold lately but once i'm over that would love to hang out with folks more!

hey any portlanders interested in a signal group chat? just tossing the idea out there, my friend groups are increasingly turning to signal chats as the internet dies (film at 11)

this saturday i'm hitting the clinton street theater's annual RHPS, they do it all the time mind you but they really go all-out for the halloween shows. i made it last year and my god RHPS at the clinton street theater reaches linear calculus levels of genderfuck

is "linear calculus" an actual mathematical thing, i failed calculus three times in a row and then changed my major

did you guys ride your bikes around naked?

It was way too cold!

portland does have an annual "worst day of the year" bike ride that generally happens in early February. it's not naked, though.

I live by Ladd's, and we've got the annual Ladd's 500 in the spring (500 laps around a circle, in fun outfits).

Anticipating Knife + Heart in 35mm tonight at the 5th Avenue Cinema (which I've followed closed - lots of good programming - but have never been to). Hadn't heard of K+H until this week, but a film-director friend says it was his favorite film of that year and I just found ILXor raves from then as well.

*followed closely

The Clinton Street Theater
Friends on the block lost a coworker to the kidnappers from ICE. There's a fund set up to try and get him back to his family:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-reunite-orlando-vazquez-with-family

Saw that on Dot's instagram (where he worked). Also read about some abductions around Alberta & 18th (from restaurants and food carts near there). Frightening to see things kicking in here, after a month where it seemed like they were mostly focused on protesters.

I live by Ladd's

Hah! I grew up up the hill from Ladd's, just off Harrison St. at 26th Ave. Looks just different enough, yet same enough, to feel uncanny to me on my very infrequent passes through the old neighborhood.

I starting visiting/living in Portland in '21, so the mazes of Ladd's were my kind of fun when everything indoors was shut down. Love the combo of lush quiet streets but then all the coffee/food/bar/movies/etc on all sides of it.

we had a cook at my joint deported a month or so back, we're doing what we can to help his wife/kids but it's obv so awful