Music legend Etta James died today at the age of 73. The legacy she left behind in music is timeless and beautiful. But the memory she left with me is one of the highlights of my career.
You know what's great? Our Music Residency Series at Al's Den. I'm not just saying this because it's my job to photograph them -- I have seen some of my favorite acoustic, live music in Portland there (and it's only been open since May ‘11). I knew this tiny room had a hold on me during the Crystal Hotel's opening when Lewi Longmire, Evan Way, and Mike Midlow started singing Neil Young covers -- swoon.
The art of brewing is over 6,000 years old! And only gettin’ better… “A hangover is the wrath of grapes.” – Anonymous According to Norse legend, wine is for gods, beer is for mortals, and mead is for the dead. Glass of pinot, anyone? In Ancient Rome, eating fried canaries was just the thing to banish a hangover. Feeling a bit rough after a night out? Some say bananas, loaded with magnesium, will help. The art of brewing is over 6,000 years old! And only gettin’ better… The mosaics in the Grand Lodge basement were inspired by the work of Spanish artist Antonio Gaudi. Legend has it that St. Bridget, who worked with lepers in Belgium around 500, answered their pleas to turn her bathwater into beer. Cool trick. Oregon’s brewing companies employ more than 4,700. St. Arnold, the patron saint of brewers, had a tankard of ale that never ran dry. What is “the hair of the dog”? It likely originated from a time when the best medicine for preventing infection was alcohol. The drinking kind. The Barley Mill in Portland was the first pub opened by Mike and Brian McMenamin together.
