January 1, 2026: Looking Down -
The Buffalo Pothole Bandit came to Portland this year, and transformed some of our potholes. These two works of art are in my neighborhood, and I like them very much. There’s a map on the Bandit’s Facebook page of their other works around Portland (and around the country – most of their work is on the East coast). If I am filled with ambition someday, I may go on a ramble around town to find more of them. Today is not that day, though. Today the Alarmist Weather app predicts sleet, and though I don’t set much store by their predictions, I’m pretending to believe this one, so I can sit in front of the fire. Happy New Year! Also in my neighborhood, there is an installation depicting some terrible tragedy involving plastic miniatures. As with much installation art, no photos can deliver the impact of walking the whole route, which includes maybe 60 or 70 figures. Still, I’ll give you a few tastes. It might depict a Ghosts-vs-Animals tale, or an Ghosts-of-Animals tale. Or maybe I’m not th...