2013.3.23. The Whipping Man @ Portland Center Stage

2013/3/23. A beautiful sunny Saturday. The Whipping Man is a drama about freedom, history, family. It's surprising that Matthew Lopez, a Florida gay man in his 20s, the son of a Puerto Rican father and a Polish-Russian mother, wrote this new compelling play about a Jewish Confederate soldier and two former slaves raised as Jews who, in the charred wreck of a Virginia home after the Civil War, celebrate Passover together.

Excellent stage set by Tony Cisek. Powerful performance by the 3 actors. Gavin Gregory as Simon, speaks a bit too fast, but he sings very well. Carter Hudson as Caleb was so realistic playing someone with an injured leg. Christopher Livingston as John, is equally good. I shall be coming back for more of their performances.

Gerding theatre at the 1891 Armory is a wonderful place, combining old and new tastefully. On this sunny afternoon, the lobby is airy and full of light. The award winning rehabilitation of the Romanesque Revival building by GBD Architects achieved a LEED platium status.

Tip: Portland Center Stage offers $20 rush ticket to all performances.

2013/3/16-18. Visit uncle in New York

3/16 Saturday. We arrived tired at La Guardia ~11am. Had lunch with my uncle, aunt, and one cousin, within walking distance from where we stayed. But they insisted on driving. Might as well. The snow was getting heavier. After a nap, time for dinner. A different restaurant with the whole family in the same neighborhood. Chinese food cannot be more convenient, except for in China. I took off earlier for Manhattan.

8 pm, Avery Fischer Hall, Bach's Mass in B minor.

Alan Gibert, conductor 
Dorothea Roschmann, soprano
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo soprano
Steve Davislim, tenor
Eric Owens, bass baritone
New York Choral Artists

The choir is quite impressive. Bach made fugue like arrangements for the voices. Must be difficult to coordinate. I don't quite care for the solo, nor the instrumental part. Mostly strings, sound old and lack of color. I dozed off a couple of times. Gilbert conducted with big motion. Seems common these days: conductors want the audience to see them?

Avery Fisher Hall is one of the 3 lofty glassy modern buildings in Lincoln Center. At night, lights dancing off the fountain in the central plaza. By now, the snow has stopped. All these well dressed people pouring out of all 3 buildings, chattering in the air, bustling Broadway. Very lively. It's hard not to love New York.

3/17 Sunday. Sunny. Chilly. Dad wanted to visit the Metropolitan Museum (now $25 admission!). He goes there every time he's in New York. So, after a late breakfast at a randomly picked hole in the wall on Main Street (excellent soy drink), we headed to town.

Last day of Matisse, a temporary exhibition at the Met. Very nice arrangements, showing quite a few works by their progress. However, we didn't linger long here. Matisse isn't my favorite artist.

Another temporary exhibition Impressionism Fashion is more to my taste.

Sau-Wing Lam 林寿荣 Collection of Rare Italian Stringed Instruments lead me to Met's large (5000+ pieces) musical instrument collection. vielle à roue, cecilium, melophone, sita, sarinda, mayuri, vina, tar ... Some look really bizarre. Too bad that you can not hear their sound. In this photo, Lam's daughter is posing in front of some Guarneri's Baltic and Stradivari's Bavarian and Scotland University. Met also planned two concerts in April and May using these violins and lectures about violin making and collecting.

The temple of Dendur area, the Tiffany courtyard are two of my favorite areas to rest between galleries. The 700 year old Buddha of Medicine wall painting is quite impressive. The works by Florine Stettheimer is funny. Lots of tourists today. I didn't see any St Patrick's Day parade. Maybe was yesterday?

Another big dinner, this time with uncle's family and some relative of my aunt's. Afterwards, aunt took me to a big grocery store, and I bought some Chinese veggie and dry food.

3/18 cloudy - snow. Breakfast at the same hole in the wall. I bought some more junk: a pair of slippers for $3, 2 pairs of sunglasses for $2/each. Time for food again. Lunch with a former colleague of dad's and his wife. They have reached 80 already, just came back from a trip to SE Asia. Good to see them both healthy and happy.

2013.3.9. Multnomah - Devil's Rest loop

March 9th. A beautiful sunny Saturday. 8 of us + a dog hiked Multnomah-Wahkeena loop with a spur to Devil's Rest. ~6 miles total, 2000' elevation gain.

Direction: I84 exit 31. Big parking lot. Walk under hwy to Multnomah Falls lodge - a historical hotel. There's also a visitor center and a big public restroom. 6 of us stopped at McMenamin for drinks afterwards, where I tried a Ruby (doesn't taste like beer at all). I preferred not have stopped. However, without a car, I'm at the mercy of my driver. Rebecca and Semeer from Intel took me back.

Zigzag up and down steep slopes. Going anti-clockwise. Wahkeena Falls at 0.6 mile, Lemmon's Viewpoint (overlooking Columbia River) at 1 mile, Fairy Falls at 1.3 miles, Wahkeena Spring at 1.7, Junction to Devil's Rest trail at ~2 mile. Too bad that we stopped at a flat spot for lunch and didn't find a good view here. Along the way there were glimpse of Silver Star through trees.
Coming down along Multnomah Creek is very scenic, especially between Ecola Falls and Weisendanger Falls, ~1.5 miles from the lodge. Lots of small cascades, mossy rocks, overhang rock. Then you hit the asphalt and crowd.
The lower half of this loop is paved, with hordes of people, some in flip flops. Serious traffic jam around Benson Bridge. Should be better on a weekday. But still worth the trip. A very good and short workout so close to the city.

2013.3.3. Eagle Creek to Twisted Falls

Sunday, more or less sunny with brief rain and hail. Eagle Creek trail. ~13 miles out and back (14 from the Fishery parking lot, 10 min before the trail head), unnoticeable elevation gain (~1300'). Lushly green and mossy, numerous waterfalls, steep narrow canyon, green rushing creek. Some times narrow trail above sheer drop. Beautiful scenery. Perfect for early season: a lot more water. Waterproof boots are essential. Literally, at times water falls on your head. Metlako Falls at ~1.5 miles, Punchbowl Falls at ~2 miles, Loowit Falls at ~3 miles, Skoonichuck Falls at ~4 miles, Wy'East Falls at ~ 5 miles, Tunnel Falls (when walking in the short tunnel, feel the vibration of the rock!) at ~6 miles, and Twisted Falls at ~6.5 miles. Now you are at the water level. Our lunch spot. It hailed for a few minutes. Rarely I enjoyed coming back as much as going in, seeing all these waterfalls again. Encountered maybe 50 people (4 backpackers, 5 runners), less than half made all the way to Twisted Falls. Not too bad for such a popular trail.

Direction: Hwy 84, exit 41 east bound only. To returning to Portland, drive further east to exit 44 and turn around at Cascade Locks (people on PCT cross Columbia River here). We stopped at Char Burger by the river for snacks, good view, quick food. Rebecca kindly offered me a ride home.

2013.3.2. MOMIX

March 2nd, Saturday matinee. White Bird presents Momix with their new show Botanica at Newmark Theatre - a midsize venue of 880 seats (3 steep levels, rectangular). Good choreography for groups, excellent costumes, not too difficult for individual dancers (10 total). Music is by playing recording over loudspeakers, not very good sound. No stage set, using light and projection to create an ambiance. Nice arrangement of programs, from winter to fall. Overall, entertaining for young and old.
Newmark is just one theater in Portland Center for the Performing Arts, which offers free public tours. Blue glass dome airy and light, red velvet seating (narrow) around the atrium overlooking all 3 floors, a funny looking chair in the main lobby is the magnet for kids.

I finally had time to enjoy a weekend since I moved to Oregon. Visited the Portland Art Museum before the show. Not bad. Some classic dated from 1500s and impressionists in the permanent collection. I especially liked the temporary exhibition titled In The Studio. The series The History of Printmaking by Warrington Colescott is a lot of fun. On my way out of the theatre, I saw people dancing to a live band playing at Director's Park. Quite a lively city. Maybe I'll like living here.

Additional note on 3/26. PCPA's box office charges service fees as much as online ticket sale.