onfocus

Corvallis has an extremely casual 4th of July parade that anyone can join. There are only a couple of floats, a few businesses, but mostly just people walking and riding bikes. It's not very long, and it's fun to see everyone. My favorite part of the parade today was a couple of kids playing the Star Spangled Banner on tubas as they walked by:

Corvallis has a great Farmers' Market and we try to go every Saturday. They block off 1st street by the river (view from above) and a few city blocks are filled with local vendors selling food.



Here's what walking through the farmer's market sounded like yesterday:



If you listen you can hear a guy playing a didgeridoo, kids screaming as they run through a fountain, a few guys playing jazz, dogs panting, and lots of snippets of conversations. The best reason to go to the Farmers' Market right now? Oregon Hood strawberries are in season. We made this fantastic strawberry shortcake with Hood berries from the market:



Best. Strawberries. Ever.

You're probably wondering what Chip Ross Park (view from above) sounds like in the afternoon. I can finally answer that for you.

Speaking of sounds, here's what my backyard sounds like around 5am.



Now that spring is here and I'm sleeping with the windows open I often wake up to this around 5. There's even one bird I call the alarm clock bird that I'd like to catch on tape sometime.

I'd like to talk with my fellow Corvallians for a minute. Everyone else gone? Good, ok.

We get so few new places to eat around here, that I thought I'd mention a couple of new options. I finally had a chance to eat at the new McMenamins on Monroe last night. It's a nice space, same good McMenamins food. The plumbing art on the wall is fun, but I'm not sure about the giant, giant TV screen. I suppose it'd be good for watching OSU games, but it seems a little out of place when you're there for dinner.

Be sure to check out Thanh-Hien, the new Vietnamese place by Winco. (It replaced TCBY.) I've been there a couple times for lunch, and it's been surprisingly great both times. They've done a nice job redecorating the place. Food places don't last long over there, so try it while you can. I hope they do well.

Did you know that OSU has a nuclear reactor? Neither did I. Somehow they forget to mention that on those safest places to live surveys.

If you don't already subscribe to Paul Turner's email list (he runs the Avalon and Darkside), go subscribe now! His movie synopses are worth the price of admission alone, and sometimes commentary about Corvallis and his experiences running the theaters creep into the emails. Here's part of his recent rant about the Whiteside hullabaloo:

At the risk of not being silly, I must tell you that the Whiteside is simply not financially viable as a movie theater...The memories of exploring one's heterosexuality on the Whiteside balcony while Indiana Jones dodges Nazis will not pay the bills, and will not excite investors to pay them, either. Frankly, I will be a wreck when they start whatever transformation takes place at the Whiteside...But how I feel about the old queen does not change the way business works. And that sucks.

I wish Paul Turner had a blog so I could link to the whole thing.

Hope your leaf pickup is going well. Let's have a good Civil War this Friday—Go Beavs!

I'm not a big sports fan, and to be honest I didn't watch a single Beavers baseball game this year until last night. But it's fun to see the hometown team succeed on the national stage: OSU wins College World Series. Go Beavs!

Update: The big news around here is that this mob-loving town of 50,000 didn't erupt into an orgy of violence after the win: No Riots After Win.

According to this MSNBC/Forbes article—Safety first: The best places to live in the U.S., "Every location in the country is exposed to one disaster or another..." But Corvallis, Oregon came in at #8 on the safest places list. A quake topped the list of dangers here, and there is a fault off the coast. Honolulu, Hawaii was at the top of the list. Of course now that Corvallis is on the safe list something is bound to happen. [via Chuggnutt]

It somehow makes sense that the high prophet of pastafarianism is from right here in Corvallis, Oregon: Corvallis man's parody is Internet 'monster'. You can read his original letter at his website.

The town of Corvallis, Oregon (where I'm currently a proud resident) was recently ranked the 7th best place to live in the United States by Men's Journal. Local Paper: Corvallis: We're Number 7! Men's Journal is often considered the foremost expert on livable cities. ;) Here's their teaser article with the top picks: 50 Best Places to Live. Oregon had a good showing with Bend listed as the Best Adventure Town, and both Portland and Ashland getting a nod.