blog.circusgeek – Page 86 – a personal blog with nerdy bits thrown in

Live Irish folk at the White Eagle

Post author By ryan
Post date August 26, 2006
4 Comments on Live Irish folk at the White Eagle

Last night Kelly and I ventured to McMenamins White Eagle Saloon. It's a nice spot, very much a McMenamins, but more relaxed and pleasant than say, Kennedy School, and certainly more enjoyable than Ringlers or the like. One key difference between this and other McMenamins establishments is that The White Eagle has live music (looking at their schedule, it seems every night of the week) and what brought us there last night was some live Irish folk music.

We arrived at about 7:30, walked in through the long building towards the stage and then out to the patio since the weather was so nice. We took a table just next to the door, so we could see and hear the music, and was promptly served by a very friendly and attentive server. We were happy to discover they served Nebraska Bitter, the best McMenamins beer in my opinion, even though it wasn't on their menu. Hooray! We had a very nice dinner (I had one of the specials, the 'Sgt. Pepper Salad'; sliced breaded chicken, pepperjack cheese, peppercorn ranch, and totally delicious), and reminisced about our honeymoon in Ireland while the music started.

The music, by Hanz Araki and band (sometimes known as "An Tua") was fantastic. It was lead by Hanz Araki (flutes, pennywhistles, low-whistles, shakuhachi, and vocals) who was joined by four other musicians; a guitarist, violinist, pianist, and percussionist. ist. ist. 🙂 There were songs I recognized from other traditional Irish folk albums Kelly and I own (bought while on our honeymoon) and it was a treat to hear while we chatted about where we were two years ago. Between sets Kelly purchased the An Tua album 6 of One, Five of the Other, which is also great. Very fun night out. Very groggy today. 🙂

General

Farmfest Report (finally)

Finally getting around to posting about the annual camping trip known as 'Farmfest' that was held at my friend Brendle's family property near Brownsville, OR.

The trip, like the last 3 years I've been there, was fantastic. This year Ghost Dog was invited along so I rode down with them on Friday, August 11th (Kelly had her first night of classes for her MBA program that night, so she couldn't go until Saturday). Arrived and had camp set up by 2 or 3pm, helped unload the kegs and get 'em on ice, and then jumped in the river. Such great swimming there on a hot summer day. Spent a couple hours out there climbing around the rocks and under small waterfalls. Afterwards, it was beer and bratwurst time. And after that? Well more beer of course! The late evening was spent on the rocks of the riverbed, around firebowls, chatting and drinking beers. Ghost Dog talked me into my first sip of scotch. I have one word for it. Ick. hehe.

Saturday was a big recovery day, waiting around until Kelly arrived (which wasn't until 2 or 3 in the afternoon), more swimming, more eating, and eventually more drinking. The highlight of this day was having friends deliver the surprise birthday art project to Brendle. He seemed both touched and embarrassed at having 50+ people standing around him in a circle. I would too! 🙂 After the gifting, there was one of two annual cork 'regattas'. This first one is just a plain wine or champaigne cork, everybody who participates puts a dollar into the pot to buy their cork, and the corks are run through the river in two heats (the first 6 from the first heat make it to the 2nd) and the winner takes the pot. The second, which is a modified cork regatta (where the rules are 3 corks, and anything you want to add to them such as wire, twigs, etc), was held on Sunday.

Saturday night was a blast, more sitting around the fire on the dry riverbed, more music, and lots more beer. Sunday we lounged around a bit, then packed up and sadly headed for home. It's a nice relaxing time and I usually look forward to it all summer, and look wistfully back on it for several months after.

Photos have been posted. Check it.

Entertainment General News

Way to go Craig!

While skimming the local weekly news zine Willamette Week just now, a friends name popped out at me. My friend Craig was mentioned there for one of his sites, humanclock.com, which was named as one of Time Magazine's "50 Coolest Websites" 2006. Way to go man!

Craig started Human Clock years ago when he and I worked together. He would carry this folding piece of cardboard and several sheets of 8.5" x 11" paper with hand-written digits on them everywhere he went. Armed with the clock elements, some tape, and his digital camera, he would wander around Portland photographing himself, his friends, or any random stranger willing, holding the cardboard 'clock' up. Since those humble beginnings he's received submissions from all over the world and the site has turned into quite the phenomenon.

I'm in it somewhere, I think, but so are thousands and thousands of others. It's an excellent site, and a great 'time suck' since you find yourself sitting there eagerly waiting for the next minute to pass to see the next photo. Enjoy!

Beer General

Siam Society

Kelly and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary this evening by having dinner at an upscale Thai food restaurant near where we live called the Siam Society. Despite some of the reviews on CirtySearch.com (presumably by folks that were either very picky or were there on an 'off night') we found both the service and the food were fantastic.

Make no mistake, it's not a cheap place, and in some ways it seems like it would be more at home in the Pearl District than NE Alberta, but it was well worth every dime. We sat outside on the secluded patio area since the weather was was so nice, and the atmosphere was perfect. Kelly ordered a raspberry martini drink and I had a Roots Red from Roots Organic Brewing. For an appetizer we had the spring rolls, which were to die for, and for the main course Kelly had Phad Thai (which she said was among the best she'd ever had) and I had their Thai fried rice dish with tiger prawns which was delicious… crisp green beans, slied carrots and cucumber, rice, egg, large prawns, and a delicious lime-based sauce. I highly recommend it.

Odd occurances throughout the evening: We started out at a great pub next door to Siam Society called Binks, where we ran into a friend Maria who we hadn't seen in years, and then while at Siam Society we bumped into my ex-employer having dinner with friends. Running into one of them would have been strange in and of itself, but both in one night? My head nearly exploded at the chances. 🙂

General

Power Outtage

OK, so I've been neglecting my blogging duties, and I have much to do (such as my beer review, and a post of last weekend's camping excursion) and will get on them soon, but had to write about a pretty big power outage in our neighborhood tonight. Nearly two hours ago there was a dimming, flicking, and then vanishing of all lights in the house. I stumbled around for a flashlight for a minute, then walked outside. The whole area was dark, so I walked around a bit and it seemed to effect a pretty large area. From what I could tell it covered dozens of blocks. I'm guessing there was a car accident somewhere in the area. If I find out more I will update this post. All I have to say is, hooray for electricity!