A Mural For the Community

A mural is taking shape in our community. For some time a group of mural activists have been looking for a spot to place a mural. They finally landed a spot on the side of the YMCA building on Cottage and Court Streets.

A few months ago Lynn Takata, an artist who works with community participatory art, started working to create a program that would eventually end in a mosaic mural on the side of the Y. There have already been lots of community workshops and there are more opportunities for everyone in the community to get involved.

Lynn was at our neighborhood meeting last night and showed us some of the rough drafts for the mural. It looks like its going to be very beautiful. So far it looks like it will include trees and a river with lots of detail worked into them so that it is interesting to look at close up as well as from the street.

Here is the website for the project if you would like to get involved.

They are also still looking for donations to help complete the project and will soon have a Paypal button on their site. Until then, you can make donations to the project through the YMCA. Just make sure your donation is designated for the peace mural.

Keizer on the Mind

Okay, so I know its not exactly Salem, but Keizer has been on my mind lately. I grew up there and my parents still live there, so I sort of get the scoop on Keizer periodically. Plus, I have great Twitter friends like @jugbo and @cljungling who keep me updated on life in the little city to our north.

So, here's my concern. Apparently, Keizer city council has approved a site near the I-5 exchange to be a "big box" store. Basically, a Wal-mart, although they won't admit to it. Residents have apparently checked with all the other big box stores who give an emphatic "No." Only Wal-mart gives a non-commital, "No comment."

The citizens apparently came out in force against this at the city council meeting and yet this proposal still passed the council. Not good.

I think the good citizens of Keizer need to rise up and make a loud noise about this. Egyptian style. Get mad. Write letters. Protest at city hall. Walk the streets with signs. Do whatever it takes.

You think this is a Keizer problem? Well, it is. But what happens in Keizer doesn't stay in Keizer. It spills over into Salem. And vice versa, of course. Which is why we need to look out for each other.

So, go Keizerites! Take back your city!

Football and Philosophy

I have a confession to make...I love watching football.

I know that doesn't sound all that crazy as a confession, especially on SuperBowl Sunday, but hey, I've been kind of in the closet about this for quite awhile. I don't come from a family of football lovers, my friends don't generally watch a lot of football, I don't get invited to big football parties, and I rarely go to games.

But, secretly, deep, deep down somewhere in my soul, watching football makes me happy.

I love the tension and the energy and the crowds and the excitement. I love it when a great team comes together and everything just seems to flow like magic. I love the sweat and the pain and the hot hotties wearing tight pants!

But most of all, I love the passion these men bring to the game. They throw themselves into the game so completely. Their bodies fly into a pileup, they jump to catch a pass, they wrestle their way into the end zone for a touchdown. It's like sometimes they forget they are mortal and push their bodies past what seems humanly possible.

I only wish I could throw myself into something as passionately as they play the game.

Okay, so that might sound a little bit deep for football. But there you go. It's Superblog Sunday in Salem, Oregon, and I thought it was the perfect time to come out of the closet as a football lover.

So, now you know. Don't tell anybody, though, okay?

Welcome to the Future, Salem!

I went to a meeting with some folks from the city last week and heard a presentation from a group University of Oregon communications students. The presentation focused on how to keep neighborhood associations active and relevent in this modern era of technology. I thought it was good information with some good ideas.

Although it would have been nice if the people making the presentation had actually been to a neighborhood meeting, like, ever.

Anyway, the interesting point was that most of the people in the room are in what we'll call the "older generation" and pretty resistant to the ideas in many ways. And yet, we ended up spending the entire 1 1/2 hour meeting talking almost exclusively about this subject and how to make it work, concerns they had, some successes, and creating a smaller group to plan and discuss it. The city even sounds like they will get involved in figuring out how to use social media to communicate with citizens better.

As a blogger, a citizen, and a social media junkie I am very excited about the prospects! What do you think? How could neighborhood associations or the City of Salem use social media to get your attention?

City Politics

Yes, even small little cities like Salem have city politics.

Of course they do. Every group of people gathered together to form any kind of organization finds that there are dynamics between people and groups that create what we consider "politics". Who's in charge of what? Who holds power in this or that area? Who is in the "in" crowd? Who has the ear of the decision makers? Heck, even families have political dynamics.

Well, there's a new mayor in Salem. Anna Peterson was sworn in as the mayor earlier this month. So that means its time for people to vie for her attention. We also have new city councilors, the other decision makers people like to try to influence. It will be interesting to see how everything turns out.

All I really want out of this whole thing is some twinkle lights downtown. Now I wonder who the decision maker is on that?

Salem Neighborhoods

So, I had an interesting conversation with Nancy (one of the owners/managers?) at Super Pho in the new downtown location the other day. She mentioned that she has noticed what a close knit group the downtown people are.

Everyone seems to know each other, or at least know of each other, and people talk to each other a lot. The first time I went into the restaurant, for instance, I knew two of the other patrons. We talked about a third person who has an office down the street and had become a regular.

Personally, I love living downtown and it feels a lot like a small town in a lot of ways. I enjoy running into other people I know, chatting with people in downtown businesses, waving to acquaintances on the street. I'm sure its lack of anonymity isn't for everyone, but it makes it feel like home to me.

It's not something I think about a lot until someone mentions it, but it got me wondering. Are the other Salem neighborhoods like this? Is it unique to downtown? Do people from other Salem/Keizer neighborhoods feel the same about their little corner of the city? Tell me your thoughts on this.

Vote for Restaurant of the Year!

It's that time of year again. You, as a Salemite get to vote for the best restaurant of the year on eatsalem.com. If you aren't a regular reader of EatSalem and you didn't nominate a restaurant, remember to bookmark the site and nominate next year.

For this year, you'll just have to vote for the restaurants already nomited. Oh, and I'd love to see Salem's only tapas restaurant, Andaluz, win this year (hint, hint)! If you haven't already checked out their little morsels of deliciousness, go visit with a friend, and then vote for it!

A Little Blogging Break

Sorry folks, I've been on a bit of a holiday hiatus. Let me just explain what has been keeping me so busy.

The holidays!! Yeah, I know, they happen every year, but every time it seems to sneak up on me! This year I was even more surprised by my brother and his family showing up for the Christmas season from overseas. It was great fun to be able to spend some time with my nephews. Oh, and my brother and his wife, of course. :)

I also got a nasty cold and found out that my asthma is coming back. I haven't had an asthma episode since I was a teenager and suddenly it wants to come back and attack me every time I get sick. And that just completely drains me.

So, there you have it. For those of you who were wondering, yes, I'm still alive. And I'll get back to my regular blogging about Salem in no time I'm sure!

Venti's on Sunday Evening

I seem to be on a theme lately. What is open and when in the downtown area of Salem?

Well, Venti's is open on Sundays. Yesssss! I get really excited about this sometimes because there are so few options on Sundays downtown. What I really hope is that the word is getting out and that people will come down and patronize this excellent establishment.

I met a friend there last night for a little bite to eat at about 7:00 PM. There were 4 tables of 2-4 people upstairs and 5 or 6 people in the basement bar. It was a nice relaxing time. I had a cider and my friend tried a couple of different beers. Since it wasn't busy the bartender on duty, Nick, had time for suggestions and tastings of the beers and cider on tap. We also ordered food which was delicious, as usual.

If you've ever been to Venti's and thought it was just a little too crowded in that cozy basement bar, you should really try it on a Sunday. They are open from 4-10 Sundays and it's just right for a nice, relaxed Sunday evening meal. And there's always PLENTY of parking downtown on Sunday evenings!

Downtown Late at Night? Hope You're Not Hungry.

You know what's missing in downtown Salem? Well, okay, I know a lot of you will come up with a laundry list as soon as you read that question. But really. You know what is seriously missing? Late night food options. The only thing you can find downtown after about 10 PM is greasy bar food from the fryer.

Now, I have nothing against greasy bar food once in awhile, but sometimes I'd like some other options.

I was downtown with a friend last Friday night and we had a couple drinks and then decided we needed some food. We searched the streets and bars of Salem for someplace with a decent late night menu. Even a sandwich or nachos would have made us happy, but everywhere we went, they told us the kitchen was closed down except for the fryer.

Very frustrating indeed.

I know La Perla is sometimes open late, but by the time we thought of that it was just before closing. We also did not check The Brick, but perhaps someone knows if they have a decent late-night menu.

You know what we really need downtown? Late night food carts! I'd like a grilled cheese cart and a nacho cart, please. And perhaps a good BBQ cart would be nice as well.

How to Add a Picture



Pedestrian Bridge

This was for a little demo I did. I'll try to add the video walkthrough sometime soon.

Nightmare Factory at the Oregon School for the Deaf

Yep. I did it. Stood in line for an hour to scare myself silly at Salem's only haunted house. I couldn't actually believe how much longer the lines were this year than any previous year I've been.

Just in case you somehow missed the memo, Extreme Makeover Home Edition recently redid the Nightmare Factory and the boy's dorm at the Oregon School for the Deaf. They even brought Rob Zombie in to help make the place as scary as possible.

I must say that it's pretty impressive. What I can't say is that it is any scarier than before. In fact, I thought it might be a little less scary.

Two reasons I can see for the less-than-scary vibe I got this year: there was too much light throughout much of the haunted house and there was a lot of technology that looked creepy, but wasn't particularly scary. The scariest part, as usual were the students who work the haunted house every year and creep up on you, follow you down corridors, and generally scare your socks off!

There were a lot of really great props and scenes set up throughout the place, but unfortunately, they were so well done and interesting that I was so busy admiring them I forgot to get scared. Hmmm. Maybe that's just a personal problem.

I really wish they would have had a little dimmer lighting in some spots because I think it would have made the mechanical stuff feel a little more real. And a little scarier. Which is the point of a haunted house, right?

Now, don't get me wrong, I would definitely recommend the Nightmare Factory to anyone who wants a great haunted house experience. I got scared, I screamed, my heart beat a little faster, and I clung to my friend's arm for moral support. It's just now that I'm not in it anymore that I can analyze the fear factor involved.

You should definitely go. If for nothing more than to support the students at the Oregon School for the Deaf.

Wine Tasting in the West Hills

Ah, wine, how I love thee!

For my sister's birthday last weekend she decided she'd like to go on a tour of our local wineries. We've both done some wine tours in Napa and Sonoma wine country down in California, but hadn't really done a nice winery tour around our own famed Willamette Valley wineries.

We did a little internet research ahead of time and found that the tasting rooms just west of Salem are MUCH more reasonably priced for tastings than the ones to the north towards Yamhill and Dundee. Most of the wine tastings we did were in the $5 range for a flight of 5-10 wines. The Yamhill county wineries tended to be somewhere around $10-$15 per flight.

We found about 5 tasting rooms we wanted to try out and mapped out our journey. We hired a friend to drive us and my sister packed a cooler of snacks, which turned out to be the most excellent idea EVER. We got pretty hungry along the way and there is no place to stop for a bite to eat once you are out there in wine country.  There are, however, many vineyards and wineries that provide picnic tables, so it worked out well.

We ended up going to Orchard Heights, Cubanisimo, Redhawk, and Stangeland. We really wanted to try Bethel Heights as well because we had heard lots of great stuff about it, but we didn't make it there before they closed. Each winery we visited was unique, but they were all great and had delicious wines, so its difficult for me to pick a favorite. Orchard Heights had some great wines, Cubanisimo had a beautiful tasting room, Redhawk had amazing views from the tasting room counter, and Stangeland was a friendly little spot with a great Rose wine (which I normally don't like).

There were so many other wineries that we didn't make it to, that we all decided we'd have to do it again sometime. I figure by the time we get through all the wineries in the area, they'll have wines from a new year and we'll have to start over and try them all again. Oh well! I think I can handle that just fine.

Culture Shock!

Have you seen zombies, goblins, and ghosts out and about in the streets of Salem lately? Well, don't worry. Salem hasn't been completely taken over by otherworldly creatures. It's just that some people are excited about Halloween. In fact, so excited that they have started a series of events called "The Thirteen Nights of Halloween."

Culture Shock is a local, grassroots organization that is behind things like Cherry City Derby Girls and Clockworks Cafe. And they are some of those people that get really excited about Halloween.

Personally, the event I'm looking forward to the most is the Friday night Ghost & Underground Tours at the Reed Opera House. Or should I say, UNDER the Reed Opera House. Oooooooohhh. Scary!

Culture Shock has been an integral part of the changes that are occurring the Salem lifestyle. They aren't the only ones looking to make Salem a cooler, more interesting place to live, but they have definitely made a huge contribution to a cooler culture in Salem.

The Torta Report - Part 3

Okay, folks, I think I found it! The best torta in Salem, Oregon. It is so delicious that I want to go back for dinner. Every night. Seriously.
I ordered the pastor (pork) torta and the flavor in the meat was amazing! So delicious and spicy. Also, the bread was perfectly toasted to a golden brown color. I believe that the ability to get the toast perfectly toasted and crispy might be one of the main keys to making great tortas.
Thanks to VegansNightmare for telling be about this delicious cart. It's called Ricky's Taqueria although it's difficult to see the name even when you're standing at the cart. It's parked on State St. Behind Knecht's Auto Parts which is behind the Walgreen's on State and Lancaster. It's a shiny silver truck and it's pretty visible from the street.
They also have tacos and some pretty delicious looking burritos, but I'll be hard pressed to order anything other than the torta after this first sampling!