Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Three Beautiful Things 09/21/10: Deke Gets Her Comfort Food On, Woodburn Starbucks, "The Wire" and "The Shield"

1. The Deke took over the electric frying pan tonight and whipped up what, to her, is an epitome of comfort food: pork steaks drowning in a mushroom gravy, made sturdy by a can of cream of mushroom soup. We ladled the gravy over a grain no one seems to know the name of and rounded out this pinnacle of comfort food with green beans and corn (some of you might recognize a DD song title here).

2. The Starbucks in Woodburn wins my designation as Oregon's most perfectly located coffee shop. When I drive to Portland, as I did today, this shop, just off the freeway and just south of the Company Stores Mall, is placed perfectly for a well-timed refreshment after dealing with six or seven big trucks per mile on I-5. Today I had a black iced tea and lemonade and it gave me just the refreshment and morale boost I needed to feel clear-minded as I headed on to the airport.

3. I watched nearly three episodes of season 1 of "The Wire" this evening. Over the years, I've told both students and friends how much I enjoy "The Shield". Nine out of ten respond, "You've got to see "The Wire"! It's soooooooooooooo much better!" Having watched these episodes of "The 'Wire", I don't think there's a comparison to be made. They embody completely different approaches to police work and drama. They are so vastly different from each other, operating on such different planes, that I would never say which is better. They are both, in their own ways, compelling and I don't see any way to meaningfully compare them.

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