Oliver Moss

Finland takes bronze in men's hockey.

Damn, they came so close to taking out Canada and getting silver. Ah, well. Still, we've got squids taking home bronze and they were key players on their teams. Kaapo Kakko scored again.

(Kakko should be one of the Kraken's top scorers, but he was out most of the season with an injury and seemed to have the yips once he got back, was slow to get his groove back. This sidequest may have helped him a bit.)

I didn't watch the game, because I was at a write-in at Steeplejack.

Just in case you had any doubt that beer is a religion in Portland:


Damn, I need to go there with my real camera.

I considered catching the finals tomorrow, more to see the medal ceremony than the game, but the Fins already have their medals? They didn't wait and do them all at once like with the women's game?

Still sad that Finland didn't manage to take out Canada, despite that early lead. Still, some squids got bronze and overall squids had very good showings on their teams. Anyway, here's hoping Canada deletes USA tomorrow. I'm not really attached to Canada or any of their players, I just want USA's first line humiliated if possible. I can dream!

Due to a shift in strategy Babylon 5 has been pulled from youtube

So much for going through it Dracula Daily style.

* I am hoping to watch the Olympics Women's Hockey Gold Medal game tomorrow. Sports Bra is opening early.

* Finns made it to the next round! They have a decent chance at a medal.

* Sweden starting Markstrom again. They've got both of the Wild goalies, an amazing tendie duo, but every time I look at a game it's Markstrom. And right now Markstrom has only let in 1 of 31, so maybe it's the right call.

I'd hoped to catch the Wild goalies, but they only played Gus in some early round games and Wall not at all. (Technically, they are not out yet, but they are playing the US rn so...)

Actually, the game is surprisingly close, so this is now a liveblog. ( Read more... )

Last night someone posted that Kraken hoodies were being clearanced at a Marshalls in Portland for 6 bucks. Nice ones, official team merch, etc. Not a style I'd have bought at full price, but as someone who badly needs a wardrobe refresh, I decided to check it out. Got there, and some were 3 bucks. Also, some sweatshirts that I'd seen on the team store for around 90 bucks were going for 10. There was one I recognized because I'd really wanted that design.

The problem? The store had run out of bags two weeks ago. They didn't mention this until after I'd checked out. I'd brought a shoulder bag, thinking I'd snag like 2 or 3 of the six buck hoodies, but I wound up buying more. The lady said I could take the basket out to my car, but I don't drive. I'd taken Trimet across the city.

So, I walked out of the store with an armful of clothes with the tags still on, looking kinda like I'd robbed the place. In Portland, violent and many other types of crime are rare. But opportunistic crimes like running into a store, grabbing shit and then trying to 'act casual' is really common. And, taking Trimet back would mean looking sus as fuck going through areas where people do sell shoplifted goods, mostly sneakers and Blazers merch.

I am not street smart and I don't have an in with the local criminal element. I do have a hobby that involves walking the entire city on repeat. Also, I used to run events near places like Lloyd Center Park, and have had frank talks with cops about what crime happens in that park. Honestly, I do not think it's a big secret that people pass off shoplifted shit in Lloyd Center Park and in front of the Moda Center. I've seen people get on the light rail with armfuls of stuff and ask if anyone is buying. Seriously, I looked so incredibly sus, if trimet had safety officers on the train or if police where spot checking the stops...

But good for me that didn't! I should not have done that, though. I should have made Marshalls hold the items and found a store willing to sell me some bags. That was dumb. I just didn't think about where I'd be transferring between lines or where I'd be walking through until I was on the damn bus.

Anyway, I have put a huge dent in my wardrobe issues. One big problem was warm/long sleeve stuff that actually fits me and looks like it fits me. That is solved at least. Also, if the Kraken do any more official events in Portland, I can go and blend a bit better.

I finally saw this because Amazon gave me a random coupon for digital content. Not sure why, but there it was. I'd wanted to see this because I was intrigued by how it was an indie project with youtube based marketing. Also, recently I saw it mentioned a lot in comparison to Iron Lung because they are both indie film projects by youtubers.

( But, did I like it? )

I am possibly done with PDXWLF. I ventured out to a specific spot tonight because I recognized the address and was confident they'd deliver. I'll do a photo post... actually right now:





The CD clad house. Yeah, I know this intersection. I know it would be worth the trip.

I went out early, thinking to grab a burrito and then meander/photowalk a mile to two towards it. Burrito, portable food, right? Yeah, the lady who made mine was maybe new and needed to wrap it in multiple layers of foil for it to hold together, and she blamed me for it being a mess because I didn't order rice in it. So, I basically wound up walking around eating a pile of food and soaked tortilla in a make-shift tin foil bowl. It was okay. (Honestly, I shouldn't have paid for for that mess, but there was only one place I could get food along my planned route. I just really need to stop relying on being able to grab food while out and about, it keeps going sideways.)

* I realized that the fictional hockey team name in this original fic would not work. Klickitat Cats is an amazing sounding name, a Portland reference and a cryptid reference. But the street/region name comes from a local tribe and no way would a Portland team would overlook that and use the name that way unless they were themselves Klickitat.

Poly-b-us would be an amazing pun name for a local team, but the amount of Portland brain rot you'd need to fully get it is too much. Like, a team would use the name but the layers would be lost on readers. (Could use it as a one-off background joke, though. Also, Oregon is the Beaver State so I'm surprised none of our IRL recc league teams haven't snagged Beaver Skate)

* Guess who walked 2.6 miles for a PDXWLF exhibit that turned out to not be there? Yup, that's our PDXWLF. I think I am going to hit one more location, one that I am hopeful for, and call it good for this year.

* Heated Rivalry related link - This is a really good breakdown as to how Shane and Ilya being in the same division effects them and the story.

Last night I went to the Electric Blocks and also branched out a bit along the east side. Still need to make a list of what else I want to hit before the festival is over.

I've also taken a bunch of video clips which are hard to post there, but here are people gathering for the illuminated bike ride

After I wound up at Wonderlove and had the first cider I'd had in a while, nice dry one. They've got screens with 3 separate Olympic feeds on it so there was skiing, skating and curling all playing at once.

Anyway, here is Cuddlebug:







( More pics )

I started with the main/downtown section of the festival and boy do I have regrets. There is a reason I usually mind the outskirts of the festival for interesting photos and experiences.

The Portland Winter Lights Festival is a 2 week thing with over 200 art installations and events. Last year they ranged from giant metal fire breathing dragon at the waterfront to 'store that happens to sell a few glow in the dark items is open late'. Also, last year I saw a drag king performance based on I Saw The TV Glow. It is a highly varied experience, and the website is deeply unhelpful. I can tell you already that some of the images this year are concept art and not actually was what done. There is cool stuff, but to find it you just need to keep hopping around hundreds of sites and hoping.

I've had a good time at the festival in the past. One year it happened during that extended snowstorm/power outage Portland had and I remember trudging through deep snow to see the fire powered light events, a truly surreal experience.

Anyway, the main downtown space can get crowded and people can get pushy. I don't have a sense of balance so people pushing me side to make a hole for their group is A Problem for me. Some lady wanted to push through a line I was in, rather than go around. I asked her to cut behind me instead of in front for a specific reason, and she had a expletive filled crash out at me.

I hopefully got at least 2 good pictures, but yeah, there is a reason I usually skip the main area. I am *hopefully* hitting the Electric Blocks and some east side stuff tonight, then I'll start sorting through lists to see what else I want to hit. The only exhibit up on St John's is... an art exhibit that's been there year round for years.

Also, damn, just like I need a dedicated Mike Bennett folder I need to start a PDXWLF folder.

* There is now an easter egg on google.com if you search for Heated Rivalry. Rachel's reaction.

* There is going to be a Baldur's Gate 3 TV show! *thinks about this for three seconds* Yeah, there was talk of this when the game was blowing up and everyone agreed it would be a bad idea. Also, it's a continuation so it will be based on one of probably hundreds of possible end-game states and this show will be based on one of the popular ones. And

spoiler title

Astarian is going to be either dead, evil or unable to travel. His non-evil ending is staying in the Underdark because he becomes vulnerable to the sun again. Rather than a game that is about exploring the choices you like, popular or not, it will be tied to what will sell the best. One of the appeals of games is not being tied to that. Even if you would choose to be a male Tav romancing Shadowheart, you are still choosing it not being fed it.