Welcome to Chaos !!

Yesterday I HAD to see what the people and Rose City Antifa plus the Proud Boys planned rally would be all about. The last time this happened in Portland I was in Sweden but I wasn't going to miss it this time.
Members of the Proud Boys, a far-right neo-fascist organization, had arrived in Portland to get some attention. They are not welcome here. After looking a bit into what the Proud Boys stand for I understand why they are not welcome. They glorify violence, they believe that women are lazy and subservient to men, of course they are against feminism. Also they are anti semitic and against pretty much everyone that isn't white and heterosexual. I was hoping to be able to hear what the Proud Boys had to say but I didn't see much of them. There were a few clashes of people but the Proud Boys were pretty much missing in action, I got there too late I later found out. I did witness a few of them get transported out of downtown in a couple of buses and there were some loud arguing during that. And two guys drove up and down Naito Parkway in way too loud lifted up Ford trucks with the American flag hanging out, spewing dark fumes out of the exhaust. A display of LAME.
Antifa has received lots bad rap lately but I do not think they are as bad as people that listen to the news think that they are. I suspect that far right groups like the Proud Boys and others are responsible for way more violence (really BAD acts of violence) than antifa. Trump has mentioned that he is considering branding antifa a terrorist organization but if he goes through with that then the Proud Boys and similar groups should be branded terrorist organizations as well.
There was a LOT of law enforcement presence downtown, it was interesting to be there and witness it. People were chanting, "Whose town? Our Town", the energy was up. The public had been advised to stay away and don't get involved but the right to assemble is written in the Constitution and I believe in that right.
Majority of the people were friendly and respectful but ready to loudly stand their ground with the message that fascism is not welcome in Portland. Or in today's society. There were regular people like me there mixed with masked protesters that might had been members of antifa (I didn't ask). Young and old, women and men. All together.
I left after about two hours. I have read up about Rose City Antifa and what they stand for is something that I absolutely agree with. It is great that antifa (anti-fascists) are out there standing up against far right groups. I might join them.
rosecityantifa.org









That's right!











Two buses with a few of the Proud Boys in them.

I have to tell you about a sex toy massager robot (if I got the description right) called Osé that was developed by a team of women. The founder of Osé, Lora Haddock lives here in Oregon, actually in Bend where her company Lora DiCarlo is located. The Osé was presented at this year's CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas and won an innovation award which later was rescinded to my understanding.
www.dezeen.com/2019/01/09/lora-dicarlos-ose-robotic-sex-toy-gender-bias-ces/
HOWEVER.....the Osé "mimics all of the sensations of a human mouth, tongue and fingers for an experience that feels just like a real partner" so if that sounds interesting you can find out more about it at loradicarlo.com
It is nice that women are designing products meant for enhancing sexuality. It has been and still is a heavy male dominating world.The Osé will be available later in 2019. IF I try it (please send the Osé to Tatiana in Portland ) I will write a detailed review here.

I have been wanting to see Marilyn Manson live for years now and last night it finally happened! Me and thousand of others at the Moda Center in Portland screamed when he got on the stage. I was so excited!











I would definitely see him again. Love his music. And his voice.
And when Marilyn Manson was done it was time for Rob Zombie. And WOW what an amazing energy he had! I was super impressed. Interesting fact, he is a vegan. He stopped eating meat decades ago after watching slaughterhouse footage. My kind of person! That is basically what made me decide to become a vegetarian.



This Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie tour is called Twins Of Evil: Hell Never Dies. If you are interested in reading a good review of it, here is one that I found that pretty much sums it up.

https://cincymusic.com/blog/2019/07/review-rob-zombie-and-marilyn-manson-twins-of-evil-hell-never-dies-tour

I think I said "beautiful" several hundred times while visiting my beautiful Sweden. Stockholm is a breathtakingly gorgeous city.....it is difficult to capture its beauty in pictures. All the details of the majestic buildings. The colors. The old cobblestone streets of Gamla Stan. The church bells ringing in the hour. Even the subway is art is Sweden. The lion statues all over Stockholm. The green parks. Lake Mälaren surrounding Stockholm.....I can go on and on. I love Sweden. I celebrated Midsommar. Spent hours talking by a lake on Midsommarafton with my friend Marie. I walked so much and it felt amazing. I love walking. This statue is on Djurgården that me and Rose-Marie walked to from Stockholms Södra and all the way back again with several detours along the way. I took a trip with Carmen out to Utö, an island in the Stockholm archipelago. Mariatorget statue of Tor slaying the sea serpent Jörmungandr. Stockholm is where I grew up and Stockholm has my heart. ❤️ I am planning to go back next spring.

My absence here was due to me spending time in the land of fika and Abba - meaning Sweden. I went back home for a while. And it was GREAT to be there. And I am sitting here now, back in the US, missing everybody, everything and Stockholm..... I was definitely ready for fika everyday! What is fika? "A relaxing coffee and cake break. Fika is often translated as "a coffee and cake break", which is kind of correct, but really it is much more than that. Fika is a concept, a state of mind, an attitude and an important part of Swedish culture." I looooove Abba (of course)! One of my fave places for delicious fika is Vete-Katten. I like the original location on Kungsgatan in Stockholm. It's been there since 1928. Not bad. My absolute favorite is prinsesstårta. Pancakes at Plantshoppen in Ösmo. In Sweden the pancakes are not like the "Swedish" crepes you get at IHOP, those are misleading. We don't eat pancakes or crepes with lingonberries and butter in Sweden. Cringe. Yummy lattes daily. So many places for fika..... More about my trip tomorrow.

Mmmmmm rhubarb.....one of my favorite things to eat. So I decided to actually buy a few stalks of rhubarb and make something edible myself instead of going out to a cafe to get rhubarb pie. All I did was cut the rhubarb into small pieces, add sugar and vanilla beans......30 minutes in the oven, drizzle with heavy cream and then eat it all up. It was sweet and tarty and delicious. So easy that even a non cooking person like me could do it.



I am at the coast again. A pretty view from the balcony as this day came to an end. I am going to be up for a while, watch music videos and read.