Scentzilla!

I am delighted to take part in the “From Russia with Love” cross-site review project for fragrances from Russian perfumery. To read the reviews of other participants, please visit Aromascope, Perfume Posse, and Perfume Smellin’ Things.

As some of you may know from reading earlier posts of mine, I have a distinctive connection to Russia. My ancestry is mostly German and Dutch. (Never tell a dutchman that he’s really “just German,” because you seriously don’t want to go there.) But much of my heritage is actually Volga Deutsche; As a matter of fact, one side of my family is composed of nothing but Germans from Russia. Catherine the Great was the first to open her Russian kingdom to recruit German citizens. She wanted them to settle and farm upon open lands in Ukraine, and the invitation was accepted over 100 years later by my own family. Most of them emigrated near Odessa to the village of Güldendorf, now known as Krasnoselka. I am not Russian or Ukrainian by blood, but those places are significant to me. I need to forewarn that this post is going to end on a bummer. So let’s start with the fun stuff instead - mostly perfume reviews from the Russian Novaya Zarya house. You can click on the individual fragrance names to find where to buy them in the US.

Green Vetiver: *Sniffs* green Froot Loops. With grass. Mmmm, who doesn’t want to wake up to a bowl full of that in the morning. Okay, so maybe there’s some lemon grass* note in there, but still!! I’ll pronounce it wearble, but once I thought of Froot Loops I couldn’t shake the idea, and it’s ruined for me. *Lemon grass was my guess upon smell, but as written this note is listed as verbena. Feh, whatever.

Carnation: Oh this might be a swoon-worthy charmer to many of you. If you wanted to love Floris’ iconic Malmaison, but just couldn’t come around to it because of the powder, then this is the carnation for you. Cloves and white floral goodness, with a dab of warm brown vanilla at the base. I would trade in Malmaison for it in a heartbeat. Lovely. Of all the Novaya Zaryas I tried, this is my hands down pick for a “must try.” From now on when anyone asks for a good every day carnation perfume, I’m going to start recommending this one. Worth discovering for the perfume-nut crowd at large.

Iris (Melody of Flowers collection): I do like this, but I’d never buy it. It’s a “perfumey” perfume. This clumsy stab at an iris bouquet smells quite like ozonic air to my nose, with sprigs of green leaf and a slight woodiness at the base. I’d cite it as the conventionally prettiest of the bunch I tried, but Iris reminds me too strongly of the old-fashioned perfumes my grandmother’s friends used to wear. I could never feel comfortable in it as a result, I’m afraid.

Arome Musque: Arome Musque vaguely reminds me of Henri Bendel’s Wild Fig. Sweet, with the vanillic smell of Fig Newton cookies, or possibly even Apple Newtons, this scent is not a standalone musk. Pleasant enough. It’s just not my bag, baby.

Muguet - Pleasant, but forgettable. It opens with what I can only describe as some nameless greenish note. It reminds me of a cheap white rose incarnation, rather than directly of eponymous lily of the valley. Then there’s something almost acidic to the whole quality of it. Inoffensive overall, but I’m lumping this into a “must miss” category.

Patchouli Magique: Remember how I once boiled CB I Hate Perfume’s Patchouli Empire down to “Chrismas and sex?” Patchouli Magique opens as “Christmas and heavy flirting.” It dries down into a rather nice “outdoor cafe in a park and casual flirting.” There’s something slightly circumspect about this classical-leaning take on patch, musk, and what I am guessing must be a vanillic note to soften the effect. I think if someone slapped a chi-chi niche brand name on it, and began charging a hundred bucks a bottle for it, all the perfume nuts would suddenly climb all over each other like silly lapdogs to get ahold of a sample of it. Pretty, and worth the trouble of sampling, though don’t expect the earth to go all shattery or anything.

Okay, ready for Captain Bring-down? Because here I am, and I have a story to tell.

Russian Forest: I am having an extremely difficult time with this scent. Dearest Marina has sent me samples of this fragrance before, and yet I could not bear to try it until now, and this only out of guilt to her. You see, the very mention of Russian forests conjurs up such negative connotations in my mind that the name alone makes me shiver with sadness. I think of those poor souls sent to suffer, and better yet die, by the Soviet government into forests under the most evil of pretenses. They were “enemies” of the “people” because of their German heritage. Yet, they were not really German at all, being separated from the motherland by countless years and successive generations of Russian and Ukrainian births. The sheer majority had never so much as touched German soil. As Stalin grew in power, German-Russians were packed up like cargo into train cars. Some were simply executed by the Soviet soldiers or the NKVD. If they were lucky they were exiled, with most of the women and younger children sent to fish and lumber in harsh Siberian conditions, many with little to keep them warm. Most German-Russians came from Ukrainian lands, and had not an inch of Siberian-appropriate clothing to take with them. Some people even lacked so much as shoes. They found even less to keep them fed. The retributions for eating even a speck from their small harvests of grown produce or fish came swiftly… and fatally. The food was to be shipped to the “Soviet patriots” only, primarily to keep up appearances to the Russian populace that all was going well with the Soviet’s Kollectiv system. Finding vermin or bugs to eat was a godsend. Some of the men who were left alive were busy trying not to die as slave laborers at Kolyma. Some men were exiled to work as forced labor inside mines in Kazakhistan, and were unable to look for their families until a long while after Stalin’s death. The one book that left the deepest impression on me is called The Dark Abyss of Exile : A Story of Survival by Ida Bender. Ms. Bender is not a professional author. But so little is understood of the diaspora of the Germans from Russia, that her plaintive tale stands as valuable testimony against the genocide that occured under the Soviet regime. Her literary witness stands in for my family in absentia. The only relative of mine that I know the exact cause of death for is my grandfather’s grandmother, my great-great grandmother. And even that I’m not certain of. This was simply the hearsay that happened to reach the States before all hope of contact was lost. Or maybe they just guessed. The story goes that one evening at supper she simply lowered her head on the table, who knows, maybe as if in weary thought, and died. Presumably she perished by starvation, under the Bolshevik leadership’s deliberately exacerbated famine (1920-1921.) From my various readings, I guess it was common during this period for the elders of the Germans, Poles, Armenians and Ukrainians to stop eating voluntarily, so that there would be more for the young people. But I did not know her, nor did my grandfather, and neither of us have her words. I have only read the direct testimony of Ida Bender. So when I hear “Russian Forest” I am left with a mental image from Ida’s stories, of trying to fish barefoot in icy rivers before a spring thaw. I am haunted by her story of what happened to a young woman she worked with, who was raped repeatedly by her Soviet-officiated boss and rewarded for her pain with meager and ruined food, while Ida and her young female friends labored as lumberjacks in Russian forests.

So, let me compartmentalize, and simply describe the smell of Russian Forest. I smell fresh ferns, soap, and what I’m guessing is supposed to be a weak cade note (woody phenolic, I suppose.) The fragrance mostly smells not of notes, but of a blurry image of an idealized Russian Forest in the mists such as the one pictured on the frontpage image at woodfromrussia.com. I think it would be a fine, though slightly dull choice for either or men or women. Just not me. Not me. I cannot manage to emotionally extract myself from the name.

Rather than show the bottles, I thought it might be more fun use some art by interesting Ukrainians and German-Russians. The image at top is titled perfekte Entsorgung (2005) by a German from Russia named Maria Tribus. You can find out more about Maria Tribus by clicking here, and you can see much more her work by clicking here. I actually recommend that you view the image I used in full size to appreciate the detail. She’s wonderfully talented. The second image is entitled Iris, Ukraine (1942) by Ukrainian artist and architect Vasyl Krychevsky. A summary of his life and work can be found by clicking here. The last image is the first one that popped into my head when thinking of Russian forests. It is by a German from Russia of the older generation who lived through the banishment and deplorable living conditions. His name is Andreas Prediger, and his painting above is one of several that are visual records of what happened. This particular one is called Sibirische Treidlerinnen (1941) which translates in English to ‘Siberian ??’ It’s okay, I don’t think we need know the title to understand the meaning. I really encourage you if you have time to look at the paintings on his site at www.andreas-prediger.de (pop-ups must be enabled.) Click on the text that reads “bilder-galerie.”

I’d like to welcome Scentzilla’s newest sponsor DRH Fine Gifts. DRH Fine Gifts carries a wide selection of great brands, including Creed, Prada, Givenchy, Comptoir Sud Pacifique, Chanel, Annick Goutal, and Calvin Klein. Special for Scenzilla readers, DRH Fine Gifts is offering a discount for 5% off any order of $40 or more: use coupon code “scentzilla.” The coupon expires on 7/31/06, so don’t tarry! I’d also like to point out that they are donating 2% of sales to help a man with MS get a much needed van (you can read about it directly here), so your purchase will also benefit someone who really needs help right now.

Just click on the above hyperlink, or the ad to your right in the sidebar to visit DRH Fine Gifts.

Please visit Scentzilla’s lovely sponsor for the month, Fragrances & More. Fragrances & More carries lines such as Bond No. 9, Kai, Monyette Paris, Agraria, and so many others. Special for Scentzilla readers, Fragrances & More is offering the coupon code “scentzilla” which will get you 10% off any order of $50 or more! They also offer free shipping and gift wrapping on orders over $75. Please visit by clicking the above hyperlink, or on the sidebar ad at right.

“If you want your man to drown in your lust, you must, you must, increase your bust.” So says the song I sang along with all the other girls, while listening to Lords of Acid play way too loudly when I was a teenager.

The human body is a moveable feast, but one that is meant to be celebrated for any occasion, and as often as possible. The beauty industry capitalizes all too well on this notion by attempting to manipulate folks into thinking there’s a correct size for the feast.

Having no better excuse than a sample on hand, I tried out Pout Bustier, a “bust enhancing cream.” I was thinking I’d show before and after pictures of myself, until I realized that would bring in some traffic I just don’t want. Plus, there’s the creepy email factor. And I’m sick of creepy emails. (Hey creeps, I really look like Bthulhu* in real life. It’s true!) Instead, let’s go with a photo commentary, if that’s all right with you?

Some ladies have these firm little fruits:

Others possess equally juicy but plumper gifts:

Still others, like myself, are cursed with these:

In the produce market of life, we find a variety of selections, and there is room for everything.

But the job of the beauty industry is to convince us all that attraction is a sport. They connive to fool every woman into thinking she looks like this,


and brainwash us all into thinking that only with these can a woman hope to be attractive:

Good grief. None of us needs that sort of grief. This sort of thinking is not anywhere near the neighborhood of realistic. Sure, it circles the block a few times, but it never arrives at the actual location.

When a guy is truly attracted to you, I have it on good authority from those in the know (focus group of one: my husband) that no matter the size of your endowment, all he’s gonna see are these:

Okay, so I will concede one thing: there are some men who are not terribly interested in your cookies, and are only out to try to ring your Taco Bell. Those sorts of men can be fun enough when you’re young and stupidish. Of course as you get a little older and stupidish, you eventually realize those are also the men who are the least good at… uh, ringing.

So what does Pout Bustier do, really? Well, it’s got a nice dose of glycerin to moisturize the skin. The texture is thick but easy to spread out. It smells lovely though not terribly compelling, a sort of tart rosy scent with ylang ylang and geranium. It would layer well with a number of perfumes. And it has shimmer, wee little micro-specks of mica that are subtle but not ignorable. The shimmer sticks well, and mostly remains on the skin to which it was first applied. (It has been tested. Let us leave it at that.) In effect, it adds a little extra sumthin’-sumthin’ to catch the eye, so that the right guys will see this:

On a seperate note, I finally got around to also joining the Coutorture community. Please stop by there and visit all the great sites affiliated with them!

*An explaination of whence comes Bthulhu.

I’ll leave it to you to decide what to make of this pictorial review.

(Once again, I apologize for a crummy photoshopping job.)

GAH! Between writing the last review, and reading all your comments, I was damn near a nervous cilantro breakdown. Snacky-snacky! Alas, there was no workable cilantro to be found, it all looked so lifeless. In fact, you might even say it appeared to be in a vegetative state. Oh that was terrible. And yet I typed it anyhow. Sigh. Please note that this entire post is composed by a sleep-deprived mind. Both the husband and one of the twins has a dual ear infection slash strep throat infection, and administering to their care has rendered me so tired that I can’t sleep. (PS. Why does a full grown adult husband require more attentiveness than a seven year old? That makes no sense!) Soon the giggles phase will kick in. That’s how it goes. Some people get so tired they just pass out. Me? I get the freaking giggles. But first there is the stupor of not sleeping for more than a couple hours in a row.

Anyhow.

Instead of buying cilantro, I picked up some fresh delicious basil. The basil was calling to me, like a siren song. There’s no use in trying to satisfy a basil craving with the dried stuff. Dried basil loses all of the charm. Basil is a member of the large mint family, and indeed, fresh basil smells reminscent of mint with a hint of black pepper.

Dolce & Gabanna’s D&G Masculine is the first fragrance that came to mind when I culled my mental database for basil inflected scents. I interpret D&G Masculine as a kitchen scent. Tenacious lemon and bergamot predominate much of its life. However, as it enters its middle phase, a distinct fresh basil note begins to spread out into the citrus. Like the fresh herb, the basil conjured up here is slightly reminiscent of mint, and certainly a little peppery. The drydown reveals nice oak and teak base notes, which seem to wrap inside my head as the scent of wood cabinets and cutting boards. I think one element that may be off-putting to people is the muskiness of the scent. It’s a muskiness that causes one to immediately think of body odor. And by one, I mean me. But it’s not the B.O. of stale unwashed-ass. It’s a fresh, in the middle of doing yard work odor. I found D&G Masculine to be a suprisingly fine choice for summer. In fact, the fresh body odor musk seems to have a “fight fire with fire” effect in the heat. D&G Masculine does not seem to get particularly favorable reviews via the largely male community at Basenotes, so I wonder if perhaps this is one of those scents that fare better on feminine skin. There seems to be little appreciation for the basil note, which to my nose and on my skin is so wonderfully noticeable. I find it delectable. I can’t represent this fragarance as groundbreaking, but dude, I just like it.

I’m feeling a basil kick at the moment now, so here’s what I did with my basil. With the help of one of my seven year olds, the one who was well, we made Bruschetta al Pomodoro. This is an item that readily lends itself to help from kids in the kitchen.

Here’s how we made it:

First, I poured some slightly sweet balsamic vinegar into a bowl, and my son slowly poured olive oil into it while I was vigorously whisking. To this I added a bit of sea salt and black pepper to create a vinegarette. I chopped 4 or 5 (can’t remember) tomatoes (roma or medium-sized hot house preferred) and placed them in a mixing bowl. Next, the vinegarette got poured and mixed into the tomatoes. My son and I tore off the leaves from the basil I bought, ripping into pieces and mixing those into the tomato mixture.

You then add shredded cheese, if desired, to the tomato mix. We used mozzarella. Provalone tastes awfully good for bruschetta, as well. As you can see from the picture, my son was in charge of the cheese, which he added with gusto.

I bought a loaf of sourdough because it was on sale: that’s just how we hang at Cocina de Katie. You can use any bread that lends itself well to toasty crustiness. I toasted slices in the oven, though one can do so nicely on a grill as well. After toasting the bread, rub the slices down with peeled fresh garlic cloves.

Drain the tomato mixture of too much excess liquid, so that your bruschetta doesn’t go all soggy on you. Then dollop the tomatoey deliciousness onto the toasted bread as desired.

That’s it. You’re done. Time to eat.

For balsamic vinegar, I do recommend choosing one that has been aged. Balsamic vinegar thickens the longer it is aged before bottling, and a vinegar that is slightly viscous will taste better than one that is unaged and thin. I’d specifically cite O Balsamic Vinegar as a tasty and affordable choice.

The beauty of this simple dish is that the beauty of tomatoes and basil shine through without distractions. Shoot, now I ‘m hungry again…

I finally got around to posting a new message from Laurent Le Guernec and my reply back to him at Made by Blog. (I’ve been busy, and have been “busy” wasting my time worrying over what will become of Hollywood now that the Burt Reynolds Master Acting Class has been discontinued.) Laurent enquired after some of my favorite and not-so-favorite floral notes for the fragrance he and I are collaborating on, and you can read our correspondence by clicking here. Marina also received her first mod for her fragrance from Clement Gavarry, and you can also find their letters there as well, by clicking here.

I’d like to drop a reminder to visit Fragrances & More. Special for Scentzilla readers, Fragrances & More is offering the coupon code “scentzilla” which will get you 10% off any order of $50 or more! They also offer free shipping and gift wrapping on orders over $75. Please visit by clicking the above hyperlink, or on the sidebar ad at right.

I am a cilantro addict. Hardcore. Chew on the straight stuff. A hopeless case. When I buy cilantro, I wind up having to select two bunches: one for cooking, and one to account for how much I mindlessly munch on during preparations.

There’s a wide gulf between good cilantro and the mostly awful stuff that infests many supermarkets. You can’t always tell by appearance. Hold the herb close to your face and inhale the cilantro. High quality cilantro should smell slightly of sliced green peppers, and a little spicy, too. It will taste that way as well. The bad stuff will smell pleasant enough, but the piquant element will not be very strong, and it will smell mostly of salad greens. These lower quality herbs taste vaguely of Irish Spring soap, in my opinion.The average person needs to buy less of the good stuff than of the poorer tasting selections, because if you sprinkle it on to your food while slightly twisting and crushing the leaves between your fingers, they release a much stronger tastebud-pleasing oil. If you are going to eat it immedietly, it can be chopped for an even stronger taste. And you can use more of the stems, too, since even the stems of good cilantro taste better than the leaves of lower quality stuff. Alas, when good cilantro is unavailable, I still eat whatever I can find. I am shameless in my addiction. Clearly.

Imagine my delight to discover a cilantro-themed candle. Paddywax’s Mango Cilantro candle is an addict’s dream come true. Ooooooh, smell the pretty-pretty cilantro. This note is so true. So… yummy! Frankly, the candle is dangerous for me. It makes me painfully hungry when I am not, and I want to tear the fridge door off the hinges seeking a snacky fix. But ay, is it ever a fantastic aroma.

The cilantro-ey goodness is underpinned solely by the other eponymous note, mango. I’m not a huge mango fan (I like salty things rather than sweet) but this is drool worthy. Rick Bayless, in his cookbook Mexico One Plate at a Time (p. 340), describes his favorite mango as, “slippery, slithery, almost melt-in-your-mouth, with little of the stringiness that plagues certain varieties. […] Imagine mango flavor enriched with ripe, ripe banana, sweet spices and egg yolks (odd as that may sound.)” This is the aroma of the mango he describes eating.

This candle’s almost enough to make me want to make a chunky mango and cilantro salsa, were I a bigger mango fan.

So along with a thumbs up for the Paddywax Mango Cilantro candle, I’m also recommending some summer reading. Pick up any of Rick Bayless’ books, though I’d especially recommend Mexico One Plate at a Time and Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-Class Cuisine. (Hyperlinks are to Powell’s Books: support independent bookstores, please!) His books read more like can’t-put-it-down non-fiction tales than they do as straight cookbooks. You will walk away from reading them feeling inspired by his passion for Mexican cuisine and culture. It’s downright impossible to not be sparked into creative thought by his words.

The Paddywax Mango Cilantro candle is available at Nooks & Niches, which is where the above photo of it was obtained.

“The advice of their elders to young men is very apt to be as unreal as a list of the hundred best books.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1897, in a speech in Boston.)

Here I am, about to write a list of my own best summer scent choices. I figure I may as well impart some useless (possibly unreal) advice from an elder (me) to young men. Never wear fragrance that appears to be inspired by clean windows. Listen boys, we all like to smell good, but I guarantee you that no one is looking for a guy with a streak-free shine. Well… maybe Tom Ford.

Without any further distractions,

here are some of my favorite scents for summer broken down into general categories:

Favorite Summer Floral:

Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but have you tried Compagnia Delle Indie’s Donna? It’s a lovely floral and marine bouquet! (It appears to be the cheapest via 1st Perfume, but is also available at Perfume Bay.)

Favorite Summer Citrus:

My favorite summer citrus choice for years has been a combination of the Earl Grey and Grapefruit oils from Escential Lotions & Oils in Portland. Their Earl Grey adds a bit of lime zest to the scent of Earl Grey tea. It is quite nice on it’s own, but with a touch of their Grapefruit, which has the pulpy smell of freshly split fruit, you’ve got a long lasting citrus scent that cuts through heat and humidity without turning sour. (Do USE caution with application if you have easily irritated skin, as citrus can cause photosenstivity issues in many people. Moreover, while I personally have never had problems using their Grapefruit on my skin, Escential warns against it.)

Favorite Summer Amber:

This one’s a toughie for me. I love ambery scents anyhow, so I have a ton I turn to whatever the season may be. The one I dig the most has to be i Profumi di Firenze’s Ambra del Nepal. It’s a crowd-pleaser.

Favorite Summer Green:

I am going to pick one that might sound counter-intuitive for summer, but Givenchy Very Irresistable for Men has a refreshing minty green herbal note that alleviates what could wear as an overly rich chocolatey center.

Favorite Summer Leather:

I suppose it’s a bit premature for me to pick Lonestar Memories, since it’s only been in my hot little hands for a short time. (I will be wearing it all this summer though.) So, I will pick Knize Ten. This graceful and herbally leather fragrance is a classic, and while some complain it’s old-fashioned, I have to admit little understanding of what they’re talking about. It just smells good. To me, it’s timeless.

Favorite Summer Musk:

I rather like Galimard’s winning little musk, cedar, and apple combination in their Si Tu Savais… I personally believe it’s clear the fragrance was inspired by Dolce & Gabanna’s Light Blue. However, Light Blue seeks to axe-murder me by wielding a sharp metal blade of notes that slice right into my head. Si Tu Savias… on the other hand is brightly golden, and wears crisply without the aching migrane of having a weapon buried through my nose.

Favorite Summer Spices:

Fendi’s Theorema is a dry expression of orange and spicy woody goodness. Were it sweet I’d use it sparingly through the summer, but this perfume is sugar-free, and can be enjoyed with impunity.

Favorite Summer Gourmand:

Serge Luten’s Arabie. Dunno, it just works on me when it’s hot out. Your mileage may vary, as they say on the interwebs. Well, on the interwebs they say YMMV - it took me forever to figure out what that acronym meant. Arabie is briefly mentioned in this recent post.

Favorite Summer Scent Overall:

Cumming! Cumming! Cumming! A fragrance that is cooling, like a bit of Pacific Northwest winter brought back to me. Delightfully wet and grey on summer oven days that make rain seem like a far-fetched dream, Cumming was my favorite choice for summer last year, and it is again this year.

Favorite Summer Beach:

CB I Hate Perfumes’ At the Beach:1966 is so terribly fun, and should not be missed by those who like evocative or unique smells. Can’t go to the beach, but like to “Walter Mitty” yourself there when you’re stuck at work, boxed in traffic, or waiting in some excrably long queue? This is the fragrance for you.

Favorite Summer Wood:

I think this year, I’m going to pick two Hermes. One is the new Terre d’Hermes by perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, which is slowly proving to be better loved by women than men on the fragrance boards. The second is the lovely woody dream of Eau Des Merveilles by perfumers Ralf Schwieger and Nathalie Feisthauer. Eau Des Merveilles features ambery and peppery notes underscored by citrus top notes that smell more like zest than juice. The dry down melts me into a summer languor: it’s the smell of a hot cedar deck and an old Adriondack chair warmed both by the sun and the napping body of an accidental tanner.

Favorite Summer Fruit:

I’d have to say Bond No. 9’s Chinatown was one of the best things released last year. I guess technically it could be considered a gourmand, but it just doesn’t ever FEEL like one to me. I’ve never written a review of it, and won’t, because anything I could say seems pointless after reading the most well-written review of Chinatown I’ve read yet at Brain Trapped in Girl’s Body.

Please share some of your own summer favorites, whether or not they fit any of these categories!

For more listy goodness, please visit these other great sites:

Aromascope

Legerdenez

Perfume Critic

Perfume Posse

Perfume Smellin’ Things

The Scented Salamander

SmellyBlog

Victoria’s Own

All images contained in this post are either by my hand or by my camera. The bikini wearing monkey was drawn for reasons too silly to mention. Sorry for the distortion in some of the photos - I culled them from my Flickr account, and had to resize them via browser rather than manually. Top photo shows my son running out of frame in a mad dash to the sea at Rockaway Beach, OR. Second photo of the Columbia River Gorge taken from the top of Crown Point. Third photo is a sculpture of the Maid of Orleans. The gold leafed statue was created in 1924 by Emmanuel Fremiet, and dedicated to the soldiers of WWI. It stands in the Laurelhurst neighborhood in Portland, OR on NE 39th Street. Fourth photo of sandcastles taken I believe somewhere near Lincoln City, OR? I don’t remember anymore. Fifth photo is of a footbridge in Gresham, OR that leads from a park sidewalk to… nowhere in particular. Last photo is a picture of the monkey pile of bikes always stacked by the effing Zoo Bombers on the sidewalk across from Rocco’s Pizza in downtown Portland. The stack of bikes glinting colorfully in the sun is so beautiful to me, though. It may not be an official piece of public art, but that daily changing stack is one of the best.