The first flight (of 3) to get to Copenhagen was from Medford to Portland. Most flights out of Medford afford a nice view of Table Rock, a formation created from some ancient lava flows 7 million years ago.

Here is downtown Portland, along the waterfront, as my plane was landing in Portland.

From Portland (one of my favorite airports) I got on a flight to Amsterdam (one of my least favorite airports). If you ever take a flight from Portland to Amsterdam (or London or someplace else in the vicinity), be sure to get a window seat on the left side of the plane.

Soon after takeoff we had this great view of Mt. Hood. Tomorrow, I’ll show you another reason (in summer at least) why a window view on this side of the plane is a good idea.

Posted on June 24th, 2011 under Oregon. Tags: aerial photography, mt. hood, portland. Comments: 1

Last night was the 15th Annual Ho’opa’a Hawaii Club of Southern Oregon University Luau. The hula dancers weren’t all from Hawaii. There were several students from Japan who participated (some in this photo). I’ll post some more photos from the luau, over the next few days, here.

Posted on May 1st, 2011 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: ashland oregon, people. Comments Off on Japanese Hula Dancers

…but not in Japan.

We do an annual Easter brunch and Easter egg hunt at a friend’s house in Ashland, Oregon. We missed last year’s festivities because we were in Japan. This year we were there, but it felt kind of like we were back in Japan since their house is surrounded by Japanese gardens.

Posted on April 24th, 2011 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: lanterns. Comments Off on Japanese garden…

Last night I went to the annual SOU International Show. Takumi, from Waseda University, performed a traditional Japanese fan dance. He wanted to perform a ping pong demonstration but couldn’t find anyone who could return any of the balls he hit.

Posted on April 22nd, 2011 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: people, waseda university. Comments Off on Japanese fan dance

So it turns out I have well over 100 decent images from the Amon Amarth gig in Portland. For those of you who couldn’t care less, you’ll be glad to know that this is my last post on the subject. Also, I won’t post them all. What you see here is all you are going to get. I’ll finish off this entry of few words and many photos with five more videos.

Johan Hegg bows to the crowd at the end of the evening.

It was fun to hear what Johan had to say between songs. He doesn’t talk as much as his fellow Swede, Mikael in Opeth. Last time I saw them was in Sweden so he spoke only in Swedish, and I couldn’t understand a word.

The sound wasn’t great (or should I say “wasn’t wonderful” since this was the Wonder Ballroom). It was good if you were in the middle in the back half of the Wonder Ballroom, but near the stage or along the sides the sound could only be called poor (at best). I tried various places, eventually settling on the back next to the mixing board for the most part. The sound board should either mix things better for the masses (mostly near the front), or the Wonder Ballroom should move the mixing board to the middle of the venue.

The picture above is of the boys in the band handing out guitar picks and drum sticks after the show. The guys I went with (a couple of future attorneys studying law at Willamette University and a guy I drove with from Southern Oregon) ended up with some of these goods. My ride companion dropped his pick and then had to wait for everyone to clear out to pick it up. Too funny, or at least I thought so. He didn’t.

I don’t remember if they got them from Johan Soderberg or Olavi Mikkonen. I think one of my law school friends (thanks for letting us stay at your place BTW) has picks from each now that he uses as his good luck charms while taking exams. May you pass the bar on your first attempt with pieces of Amon Amarth in your pockets.

Posted on April 21st, 2011 under Oregon. Tags: amon amarth, metal. Comments Off on An Evening With Amon Amarth