What pisses me off...........

[Wilbur Kookmeyer]

...The Willamette River.
-I sound dumb just pronouncing it properly.
-It is a constant reminder that I'm a long way from the ocean. Especially when I cycle over it on those rare glassy mornings.
-Cycling over it sucks.
-It is a BS 'division' of this city.
-It is filthy.
-I saw a SUPer on it the other day and it made me more mad than seeing one in the surf line-up.
-You can still get beaten up for walking over it holding the hand with someone of your own gender.
-F*ck that sh*t. Five against two and no one intervenes? Portland is a pretty gay town but obviously not gay enough.

I like the Willamette River.
I have been acused of sounding dumb many times for various reasons.
I don't cycle over it, however those grated bridges can be entertaining on a motorcycle.
I like the way it splits the city. I do not agree it is as devisive in the social way it is credited for. The idea that East-siders are less educated, less advanced, or not as 'wealthy' as the westies is bogus.
It is not as dirty as you would imagine. Not clean by a long shot, however not as dirty as it once was. With the curent water level it will soon be a lot cleaner.
I see SUP's on it all the time, along with Dragon boats, and rowing crews...and they all seem to thing THEY own the river.
You can still get beaten up all over the city for a wide variety of 'reasons'.
Would you feel the same way if it was 5 gay people beating up two straight people?

[Spent]

Would you feel the same way if it was 5 gay people beating up two straight people?

I think you already know the answer to that but we can dance anyway.

I would not. True. First of all, 5 against 2 is rarely justified and I'd like to think I would intervene no matter who was getting the beat down, if I was there. However, am I making more of a fuss b/c the couple is gay? Yes.

From what I've read and heard this was a 'hate crime.' I understand that term is problematic but the result is this attack wasn't neccesarily against those individuals it was against gays in general. Unfortunately, our society still cannot get its head around issues surrounding sexuality and GLBTQ people are still disporprtionately discriminated against, targetted, rejected by their familes, likely to end up on the streets, and all that goes along with it. So I do indeed feel like they need more advocacy at this time in history.

Where does that leave the straight white middle class male when we get beat down or need someone to speak up for us? I struggle with this also.

I really wish we all had an equal footing in this, but we don't. And it will continue to be messy and unfair to some of us until we do.

As for the Willamette River. I threw a bunch of plastic in it this morning to keep Lil Snowy Plover employed.

[Tex]

When I surf like a complete douche-kook...sans dropping in and general surf etiquette.

[Tatonka]

Stumptown sold out:
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-2722 ... ll_ww.html

[Doc]

Poison Oak

[fossilgrom]

Hate, anger and misunderstanding...mostly my own.

[Critter]

Tailgaters. Seriously, STAY AWAY from the @ss end of the vehicle in front.

[SooLoo]

My 6'4" epoxy in heavy offshores makes for a bad day

[Doc]

My 9'4" poly in shallow PC shore pound...
Made for a cautious one.

Doc

[Tatonka]

jinxed it...gone flat in da islands.

[Tatonka]

Not that it pisses me off, more that it freaked me out...but:
After an otherwise pretty good afternoon session I moved down to the next peak as it was closer to the channel where I wanted to paddle in and caught one last solid right. I stayed on it as long as possible and although I was headed away from the channel went straight in trying to minimize my paddle. I had surfed this spot a few times last summer and knew it was shallow but today I was there at low tide and before I knew it was in inches of water over the reef. I gently pulled off the wave and quickly found myself dry docked. No biggy been there many times before. I gingerly picked up my board and waited for the next surge to carry me off the reef. It came and I started to belly ride off the reef when my leash went tight and I realized it was snagged. Took a wave or two, couple of scrapes, gave a tug nothing. Took the leash off my ankle and swam/groveled into the swell to tug from a different angle, nothing. Took a couple more waves, few more scrapes, finally took the leash off my board and belly rode in. Lost a fin, a leash and a bit of skin.

[smithgrind]

Not feeling the stoke of an upcoming 2 week surfari in SA. I guess it will come when I get to PDX with my sh*t in tow...

[SooLoo]

Good one Smithers I don't feel any until the night before when I'm high and drunk and realize I haven't packed yet

[SooLoo]

Seeing nothing but bagels for the week surf reports

[Doc]

Bagels are tasty

Doc