Monthly Archives: July 2018

NYMysteries in Portland,Oregon July 22 – July 27 

At Cinema 21: Don’t Worry. He won’t Get Far On Foot. 

Cinema21 is an old fashioned movie house, small, only one screen, dark.  Director Gus Van Sant latest film tells the story of John Callahan, a man who struggled for decades with alcoholism even after he was paralyzed after a drunk driving accident at the age of 21. Eventually he found sobriety and recovery through humor. His irreverent cartoons made him a celebrity in his hometown of Portland, Ore.. Callahan is played in the film by Joaquin Phoenix. What fun to be in Portland and see a movie set in Portland. Here’s an example of his humor:

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Huber’s Cafe has been in operation since 1879. It’s famous for its Spanish coffee. The waiters perform like matadors, dealing with fire, rum, Kahlua and coffee. This is all in the interest of providing a customer with a cup of joe!

A waiter at Huber’s Cafe making Spanish coffee

 

 

 

Working on the Spanish coffee at Huber’s Cafe
Huber’s Cafe’s beautiful ceiling

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned a murder case at the  prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed while Kulchek was buying cigarettes? Escaping an attempted car bombing?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

Graphic Lessons: What do a teacher, a nine-year-old and an eighteen year old have in common? Murder. Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old, the only witness to the stabbing and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man..

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Mary Jo Robertiello

http://www.nymysteries.com

NYMysteries in Portland,Oregon –  July 15 – July 21

 

Sleep walking in Portland. a few days ago I went to a birthday party, had a great time, and drank a little too much beer and wine. Back at the Inn at Northrup Station I fell into a deep sleep. At 3 a. m. I found myself  in the Inn’s corridor. The click of the door’s lock had awakened me. I’d sleepwalked. With nothing on but a modest nightgown I went to the front desk, way down the corridor. The night clerk, a millennial with a goofy hairdo, behaved with aplomb. Is he used to older women arriving at his counter in nightgowns at three in the morning? He gave me a swipe card and I went back to my room.

This year’s Inn at the Northrup Station’s corridor carpet.
David Edward’s Longevity scroll at the Oregon Historical Society
The Inn at Northrup Station’s last year’s corridor carpet. Which do you prefer?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portland Museum’s Car Show. A Stout Scarab
The Portland Art Museum’s car show. The Aeromobile

 The sign at the Oregon Historical Society stated that Japanese calligraphy is an art form. Chinese characters are imported to Japan and still used today. I went to the Historical Society’s beautiful,  small exhibit.  David Edwards was represented by two scrolls, entitled longevity. He belongs to the Meito Shodo-Kai Calligraphy Association.(Shodo)

We went to the Portland Art Museum Car Show: The Shape of Speed, Streamlined Automobiles and Motorcycles 1930-1942. Nineteen cars, many one offs, were on display.  The 1936 Stout Scarab was $5000 in 1936 but didn’t attract buyers.  The Aeromobile speaks for itself.

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned a murder case at the  prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed while Kulchek was buying cigarettes? Escaping an attempted car bombing?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

Graphic Lessons: What do a teacher, a nine-year-old and an eighteen year old have in common? Murder. Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old, the only witness to the stabbing and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man..

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Mary Jo Robertiello

http://www.nymysteries.com

NYMysteries in Portland,Oregon July 8 – July 14

 

The Inn at Northrup Station
The Inn at Northrup Station
The Inn at Northrup Station

On my first day, dear friends and I met for a tradition that’s lasted about twenty years. We had evening dirty martinis at the Bensen. 

I’m staying at my favorite hotel in the whole world, The Inn at Northrup Station. Did Fred Flintone and Salvadore Dali design it? It’s filled with 1950s colors. Ever hear of chartreuse? Ever hear of pink? There are odd, endearing objects that might have fallen out of a surreal painting. 

I spent early Sunday morning at the Portland Japanese Garden It’s quiet and  in full bloom. The iridescent Koi, goldfish to you, light up the stream. Some live to seventy years old.

From the serene and elegant we went to The Shape of Speed, the bustling and elegant car show at the Portland Art Museum. It features 19 vintage cars from the 1930s and 1940s. The red Chrysler Thunderbolt is mine.

Happy Hour is a Portland tradition. We met at Bartini, a gorgeous bar for nibbles and, you guessed it, dirty martinis. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned a murder case at the  prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed while Kulchek was buying cigarettes? Escaping an attempted car bombing?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

Graphic Lessons: What do a teacher, a nine-year-old and an eighteen year old have in common? Murder. Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old, the only witness to the stabbing and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man..

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Mary Jo Robertiello

http://www.nymysteries.com