Hey, it’s that time of year again word nerds. Wordstock. If you’ve been, you know the delights of a few days devoted to books and writers. If you haven’t been before, pull yourself away from “Weeds,” Season 2 and get yourself over to the Convention Center.

This year it runs from Nov. 7-9 and still offers its bounty of activities, from the book fair, to readings and workshops, to something called the Night of Literary Feasts. Not exactly sure what that is but it sounds delicious.

And I would read the list of visiting authors for you, but the Internet isn’t big enough to support that size of post. Highlights in my, um, book include Andre Dubus III, Ehud Havazelet and local Lee Montgomery.

Check out the web site for the full meal deal.

Later,
Emily

I’ve seen that hat place. I have to go in there. I’ve always wanted one of those Sherlock Holmes hats. It’s about time those came back. And capes. People would remember their hotel valet if he was wearing a Sherlock Holmes hat and a cape.

Talking about interesting stores, I walked by one this weekend in N.W. that just blew my mind. It sells only one thing. I guess that’s not actually so weird. Baskin Robbins sells only ice cream. But they sell … salt. That’s it. Salt. Different kinds of salt.

Who knew there were different kinds of salt? I mean, are some less salty than others? And it wasn’t cheap either. I don’t know. Do people demand choices for their salts? People here are saying yes and that if I cooked I’d know. So to all you cooks, now you can finally have that specialty salt you’ve been waiting for.

Later,
Keith

Here’s another reason why our guests are so great. About a month ago we had gentlemen staying with us from Michigan. He wanted a hat. He was a hat-wearing sort of gentleman and his had been munched in the overhead compartment during his flight. Sad.

The only place I could think of was John Helmer on Broadway. Not buying a lot of fedoras myself, I keep a pretty short list of places that sell them. But I felt bad later that I had not been more helpful. I planned to apologize but I never had the chance to.

And then today I received a postcard from him thanking me for my help. He even remembered my name, the dear thing. He said he continues to receive compliments on his new hat. No, thank you, Mr. B. You made my day.

See ya,
Emily

It’s true, I’ve never actually been to a haunted house before. I’m not a-scared. I guess it’s just never really come up. I’ve always wondered if they’re actually scary. My friends tell me I’d be perfect because I can be a bit jumpy, but I’m cool under pressure.

So I did some research into the matter and I think I might have to try FrightTown. Mostly because it’s been around for a while I guess and it says it actually has three haunted houses in one. I’m thinking it’s like the spiciness scale at a Thai restaurant.

In case you’re also cool under pressure, FrightTown is at the Rose Quarter. I’m not sure how scary the Rose Quarter can be, but we’ll see. It runs until Nov. 1, going until 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends.

Later (if I survive),
Keith

I don’t have any invitations to a Halloween party yet. But I’ve been thinking about what I would go as this year if I do. Both the political season and the economic implosion offer some rare opportunities it seems to me.

In case I don’t end up finding my way to some ghoulish gala or other, I invite you to consider one of my ideas. All I ask is that you give me due credit, or in one case, Tina Fey.

1.    Sarah Palin – I have a feeling the streets are going to be full of Sarah Palins. I’ve not been so excited for Halloween since Wonder Woman aired on TV.
2.    A hockey mom – Just dress like a dog, but with lipstick.
3.    A Wall Street hobo – Just a dirty old suit and a briefcase full of IOUs.

Have fun,
Emily

I’d heard about Multnomah Village, but I’d always thought, “Village? Isn’t that just a little precious?” But I’m here to tell you it is precious, and I mean that in a good way, not a grandmother’s hard-candy dish way.

The place is adorable. It’s about 10 minutes south of the city proper, but you’d think you were at the coast or on some delightful movie set. The little one-street burg has a great bookstore (Annie Bloom’s), a couple of fine restaurants (O’Conner’s, Thai Herbs), some boutique shops and a couple of great drinking establishments (Journeys, Sip D’Vine).

We’d gone to Journeys for a wine tasting and I can’t wait to go back to that great little place with the stellar wine and beer selection and really warm owners. So there’s my recommendation for the week, people. And now I just learned they have a First Friday, too?!

See ya,
Emily

I’ve got to give a shout out to the owners of the Indian food cart on Yamhill (or Morrison, I can’t remember). That place is just downright spectacularly awesome. It’s my favorite lunch spot around the hotel. It’s the only thing there next to the parking lot. It’s even got some covered seating.

It’s all vegetarian and the portions are absolutely huge. Seriously. I can get two meals out of one order. And they’re only like $5, $7 if you add a mango lassi which I’d highly recommend. Especially on a hot day.

So just go out the door of the Hotel deLuxe, turn left, walk down the street and turn right on Yamhill (or Morrison). Walk over the freeway and just a couple blocks on you’ll see it sitting on the corner. Just an old trailer. But don’t be fooled, it’s the bomb.

Later,
Keith

You know what amazes me? Libraries. Seriously. I was thinking about this the other day when I was at the downtown branch. Think about it. You go to this place and you can just borrow any book or CD or DVD you want and walk right out with it.

And if they don’t have it you can just order it. I don’t know, I just think that’s pretty incredible that first, as a civilization, we do that and second that it works. Free books for anyone who wants to read them. That’s pretty incredible.

It’s a beautiful building too, the main one. I don’t know what kind of options you have if you’re from out of town but at least you can read them there. There’s also a lot of newspapers and magazines, and free Internet. Plus, it’s just down Taylor from Hotel deLuxe.

Later,
Keith

Its movie season again, everyone. After a short intermission as we catch our breath from the summer, we’re getting things off to a banging start. The first installment of the fall/winter lineup on Oct. 19 is Taylor Brodsky’s Hear and Now.

You might’ve heard of this one; it took the Audience Award at Sundance last year. It’s the story of the filmmakers’ parents. Deaf their entire lives, both decide at age 65 to try this risky ear surgery. The documentary follows “their journey from a world of silence to a brand new world of sound.”

For any newbies, our movie night takes place the third Sunday of each month. The Screening Room opens at 6 p.m. and the movie starts at 6:30. And you can order food or drinks from Gracie’s or the Driftwood. Just RSVP at 503.219.2093 to let us know to expect you.

See ya,
Emily

I’m not huge on Halloween. It’s OK, but not a big deal to me. Even when I was a kid I sort of did it because my friends did. It just seemed like too much work or something. I don’t know.

But I do still enjoy carving up pumpkins. I wonder if they’ll have that at the Open Studio deal, Emily… its great fun. I end up doing them for my friends as well. I think I also like that they don’t last forever. You make it, and then rots. Come on, rotting art is cool.

I’m told by some people here that Rasmussen Farms in Hood River is a good place to go for a fun-filled pumpkin picking time. There’s even something called Pumpkin Bowling out there which I like the sounds of.

Later,
Keith