Nantucket Reds in Cascadia

Just a quick little posting to say that my faith in Cascadians is restored... at least temporarily.  I donned my relatively new Nantucket Reds at the U2 concert at Qwest Field (Seattle) Saturday night and was met with compliment after compliment. Most kudos came from drunken rabble-rousers, but their words were positive, nonetheless.  Giant-sized grunge guys, middle-aged suburban women on a "Girls Night Out," and Vancouver Canucks fans down for the show all paid tribute to the "Reds." (Congrats to the Canucks who won Saturday's game of the Stanley Cup.)

U2's 360 screen from the floor of Qwest Field

a surreal experience

Since the Mrs. and I had general admission floor tickets (putting us on the crowded field), she appreciated my wearing them since she could see me a mile away - I easily stood out in a sea of blue jeans, baggy brown cargo shorts, and fully-tattooed legs.  There must be something about U2 which causes one to have an open mind because I really thought I would be jeered, not high-fived by my fellow Cascadians.

The pants are great, but you have to choose your venue wisely.  The U2 show was absolutely incredible, and they chose their venue wisely - a metropolitan Cascadian night. 70 degrees F, not a cloud in the sky... only stars and the dulcet tones of The Edge's guitar.

Dispatch from Whistler, British Columbia

I like Whistler, British Columbia, because of its staggering natural beauty and its heavy snow - you know, the kind of snow that stirs up images of mom's mashed potatoes or the seconds bin at a down pillow manufacturer.  But mainly, I like Whistler because I like Canadians, Aussies, Brits, and other members of the Commonwealth of Nations who descend on this master-planned town like tweakers to a methadone clinic.

crummy video of crummy snow from yours truly 

I don't like contrived Europa and contrived Europa Whistler is... on the surface. If you look under the stairwells of any Whistler establishment, you are sure to find cases of Europe-in-a-can.  Come on!  Trying that hard is not becoming. And if you lean too hard on the "stone walls," which adorn the sides of the many "pubs," "creperies," and "pastarias," you are sure to fall through, revealing the Wizard of Whistler. No, you're not in Kansas anymore, Toto, but you're not in the Old World, either.

The interiors of many of the eating establishments are adorned with "bolt-on art" and other fun and quirky mountain sport paraphernalia. (Did they ask to borrow a page out of the Applebees playbook? Egad!)

Needless to say, Gstaad this is not, but it doesn't have to be. On my last trip to Whistler, I actually met one of the guys who helped construct it back in the early 1960s. He said that back then there was no theme, no faux-stone walls, no bolt-on art. It was pure, rugged British Columbia and it was AWESOME.

Like I said before, "prep" is supposed to be authentic, not contrived. Cascadian prep should be no different. To expand on this concept, a world class ski area in a world class country should not be contrived.  It should be natural and effortless with a go-to-hell attitude.

Photographic examples of Whistler retailers trying too hard. In the last 6 or 7 times I've been to Whistler, these same Dale of Norway items have not moved one inch (I mean 2.54 centimeters).

And what's with the kits below?  Target audience being whom? You don't go to a resort to buy for the next season.  You buy for what you need right now.

BC Bud

"Chronic," "Skeech," "Sticky Icky," "Broccoli" - these, but a few of the names for that natural green drug, and all of which I learned from white collar professionals in the last few years. Some of these people smoke it; others do not; some lie about it; others do not. In any case, "pot" - I'll call it since that's what it was called when I first found out about it as a kid - seems to be growing in popularity and acceptance in upper middle-class, middle-aged, professional circles.

No longer fodder for the wannabe hippie, Bohemian, or tortured artist, pot seems to have crept into our everyday discourse.  On the golf course or on a ski lift, your attorney or broker just might give you the "Is this cool?" head nod, before sparking up. If you are "cool with it," you need not be afraid of being asked if you want some.  "Puff-Puff-Pass," now solely the domain of the aforementioned wannabe hippie or Bohemian due to its strong socialist overtones, does not play with your white collar friend. No, you are going to have to ask him. 

Here in the Pacific Northwest, "BC Bud" is supposed to be the fashizzle. They do hot house tomatoes well up there, why not weed? I'm amused by the fact that pot has terroir - like wine. Mexican Gold, Texas Tea, Colorado Cocktail, Maui Wauie - all of which denote the soil, water, and climate in which it was cultivated. Heck, I even think tasting notes are available for it.

My intent here is not to judge or disclose whether I use it or not, although I wouldn't want my daughter smoking it. My intent here is to help substantiate, through my own personal observations, that pot is an indulgence - no - rather, a relaxation tool for the classic prep* and quite possibly for the Cascadian prep, as well.  

* Click here for a fun little posting from the good people at Stuff WASPs Like on this very subject.
* Click here for an Admiral Cod posting, which lingers in the mind like the clouds over the Pacific Northwest, evoking thoughts of  Alex Garland's The Beach.

Major League Soccer in Cascadia, U.S.A.

  

The 2011 season is going to be fun!  For the first time in several years, these three teams and these three cities - Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver - will compete for best sports team in Cascadia. Football Soccer, in this instance, is the sport to be competed - one of a few chosen to be played and observed by the Cascadian prep.

Cascadians love soccer (or "the idea of soccer") because it harks back to their suburban youth and the happy days of picking grass and gazing, slack-jawed, at the adjacent soccer field in anticipation of the CapriSuns and Granola bars which awaited them. They (we, really) equally love the sport for what it was not - basketball, baseball, and American football. Soccer is also a versatile sport and Cascadians love versatility.  This sport, watched at the professional level, can become a cherished family outing and it also can be a sport that the guys and gals from the office get together to watch at the "Pub" - don't even utter the words "Sports Bar"!

Soccer is also filled with nuance and Cascadians love nuance.  Example, the group of players don't actually make up a "team." They make up a "club." "Club" is a far preferable choice of words to the Cascadian or classic prep because of the sense of belonging it conveys. And all we ever wanted was to just belong. [See tongue planted firmly in cheek.]



Qwest Field - Home of  Sounders FC (and that other team that has to wear helmets)