About Oregon Expat
Sometimes the best view is from the outside, and an American expatriate living in Portugal is, in many ways, outside of both nations. The views can be spectacular. I’m also a science nerd, Mac dweeb, grammar geek, and science fiction author, so the posts in this blog tend to be eclectic.
Click the “About” tab if that wasn’t quite enough detail — or go to my official author website.
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Recent Posts
- Hope, an unfamiliar emotion
- Pompeii takeout and American assumption
- Far Enough
- I have an issue with Netflix’s “Away”
- Now, about *that* topic
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- Alsea Rising: The Seventh Star is in the wild
- Alsea Rising is out and #1!
- Coming soon: Alsea Rising
- On his terms
- Beyoncé: Homecoming
- UPRISING and balance
- The brain radio
- Alsea lovers: This is the one you’ve been waiting for
- The chicken church
Recent Comments
- Fletcher DeLancey on Porto’s most famous bookstore
- pablohaake on Porto’s most famous bookstore
- Alberto on Throwing flowers
- Rael on Portuguese idiom of the day: Lança perfume
- Rael on Portuguese idiom of the day: Lança perfume
- Fletcher DeLancey on Hope, an unfamiliar emotion
- Miriam English on Hope, an unfamiliar emotion
Categories
Category Archives: culture
Pompeii takeout and American assumption
Archaeologists have uncovered another fascinating glimpse into pre-eruption life in Pompeii — the recently excavated termopolium, or takeout counter. I’m agog at the brightly painted counter, still vivid after 2,000 years, and the fact that the physical design is so recognizable: … Continue reading
Beyoncé: Homecoming
I recently watched Beyoncé’s “Homecoming” and wow, what a cultural experience. I don’t listen to her music (only recognized two of the songs) because most of it is not my style, but I still enjoyed the heck out of … Continue reading
Long live the humanities
In an essay for the Chronicle of Higher Education, English professor Nina Handler laments the extinction of her species: Charles Smithson, a character in John Fowles’s 1969 novel, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, is a wealthy, idle gentleman who faces the … Continue reading
Posted in culture, life
12 Comments
A must read: “My Family’s Slave”
The ashes filled a black plastic box about the size of a toaster. It weighed three and a half pounds. I put it in a canvas tote bag and packed it in my suitcase this past July for the transpacific … Continue reading
Posted in culture, history, life
2 Comments
Raise your hand if you remember the modem dial-up tone
In this video from Wired, two sonic branding experts take us on a tour of the world’s most recognizable tones, chimes, and sound blends, and explain why they impact us the way they do. Sonic branding is designed to grab … Continue reading
Posted in culture
2 Comments
Walking at the UBC
On our second day in Vancouver, my wife wanted to visit the anthropology museum at the University of British Columbia. So we drove there, and I became increasingly enthralled as we passed along the outer edge of the campus. The … Continue reading
The one we didn’t see and the one we did: Jurassic World and Sense8
My wife and I recently saw the Jurassic World trailer in the cinema, and at its end we turned to each other and said, “Nope.” It was wall-to-wall character clichés. There was the stiff-necked, over-groomed, cold career woman; the brilliant … Continue reading
Posted in culture, video
2 Comments
Dotty
Winner of the Best Short Film at the Nantucket Film Festival, “Dotty” will make you laugh — and then it will break your heart. Vimeo link. Hat tip to Inge.
Posted in culture, life, video
3 Comments
Vertical dancing
Until now, I did not know of the existence of a sport called “vertical dancing” or “Bandaloop dancing.” But watching this video made me into a fan. Filmed during the Art + Soul Festival in Oakland, California, it shows two … Continue reading
Posted in culture, life, video
4 Comments
It’s Eurovision: time to learn your geography!
Last night was a big night in Europe: the annual festival of mediocre pop music, staged brilliantly and then judged almost entirely on a geopolitical basis, that we call Eurovision. Before I moved to Europe, my knowledge of Eurovision was … Continue reading
Posted in culture, Europe, event, video
5 Comments
Oregon Expat 