September 2000
Escape From Toronto III |
Restaurant: New Seoul Garden Yakiniku |
Crossings: Portland Taiko Concert |
Restaurant: Lamthong On Broadway |
A Japanese Wedding in Oregon |
Restaurant: Olive Stick Kushikatsu |
"NHL" in Town |
Amis Ambulatoires: Mazamas Alpine Club |
Ambulating For AIDS Care |
Thesis Thoughts |
Back On The Ice |
Restaurant: Kells Irish Pub |
Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1919-2000) |
Pathologists: Medicine's Packrats
- Pathologists: Medicine's Packrats
My medical specialty is in the news again, this time
because the public and press has no idea what pathologists
do or how they do it. Earlier this month, at a storage
facility in Dartmouth NS, workers found human organs in
a box belonging to Dr. Dick Van Velzen, an expert in
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ("crib death") who worked
as a pathologist at Isaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital
in Halifax NS from 1995 to 1998. Officials are considering
extraditing Dr. Van Velzen from the Netherlands, where he
currently practices. Under the Canadian criminal code,
the illegal storage of organs is defined as an indignity of
human remains and carries a penalty of up to five years in jail.
Dr. Van Velzen was at the center of a sensationalist media uproar
in Britain surrounding the retention of organs removed at the time
of autopsy at his previous hospital,
Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool UK.
Pathologists explained that this is routine practice.
Parents of the dead children claimed this had been done without
their knowledge or consent.
But before any autopsy can begin, the deceased's next-of-kin must
sign an autopsy consent form that includes the clause,
"tissues may be retained for diagnostic, teaching and research purposes".
If the family opposes the idea of tissue retention, they can modify
their consent accordingly, and only tissue required for diagnostic
purposes will be sampled. Exceptions to this are autopsies ordered
by the Coroner; no consent is required to do such forensic cases
and tissue can be kept indefinitely for use as evidence in court.
The tissue that pathologists archive is an important resource
for medical researchers. Usually the tissue is kept in a hospital
facility. It sounds like the tissue in the Dartmouth warehouse
was from Dr. Van Velzen's private consultation practice. Because
he has been moving, he had to find his own storage space -- not
something I recommend or condone, but I can see how it could happen.
Over in Britain, the Royal College of Pathologists is developing
a new autopsy consent form that is more clear on the subject of
tissue retention.
(30 Sept 2000)
- Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1919-2000)
When I told some people at work here in Portland that Pierre Trudeau
had passed way yesterday, one reply I got was, "Isn't he
the guy who writes Doonesbury?"
Canadians either adored or reviled their former prime minister;
few were indifferent. By the time Dorami-chan came to Canada
he had left the political stage, so the outpouring of tributes today
surprised her. As one of the Trudeau Generation, my concept of Canada
and personal outlook were shaped by his vision and policies
such as bilingualism and multiculturalism. My life is undoubtedly
richer as a result. I am proudly part of his legacy. Merci, M. Trudeau. Bonne nuit.
(29 Sept 2000)
- Eire-lunch
My more relaxed academic schedule this term means I can actually
go out occasionally during daylight hours these days. And having
Dorami-chan around means I can take advantage of 2-for-1 food
offers like the current one at the local
Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub. The pub is quiet during the day,
with none of the live music that is featured at night.
I saw from the memorabilia on the wall that this was a filming location
used for a scene in
The Temp,
a 1993 movie about a business executive (Timothy Hutton) whose
career is saved by the unconventional methods of an office temp
(Lara Flynn Boyle). Kells shepherd's pie and Cobb salad
were delicious, but the huge portions made it more like three meals.
I got a serious case of post-prandial drowsiness and didn't have
a very productive afternoon or evening. Shouldn't do this too often, methinks.
Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub, 112 SW 2nd Avenue, Portland OR 97204 (503) 227-4057
(28 Sept 2000)
- Back On The Ice
A new season of recreational hockey began for me tonight.
Team Red from last year
has reunited, added some players, and joined the Adult "B" league
at the just-opened Sherwood Ice Arena in Sherwood, a
southern suburb of Portland, where we are now
Gang Green, thanks to jerseys
supplied by our sponsor,
Northwest Skate Authority.
Most of us have some kind of connection to Canada or the American hockey hotbeds
of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Boston. You could tell who had spent
the summer in a hockey league and who had been golfing or doing
other things (two breakaways, but no goals for me!). Still, we had
enough to defeat Team White 6-3. I am wearing #9 again, just like
Paul Kariya!
Dorami-chan came to watch, and put some stair time
in on the bleachers when things got dull for her.
Although she became a hockey fan during her 14 years
in Canada, she still doesn't understand some of the rules.
Sherwood Ice Arena, 20407 SW Borchers Drive, Sherwood OR 97140 (503) 625-5757
(27 Sept 2000)
- Thesis Thoughts
School is in session again at OHSU, but in Medical Informatics
this year the vast majority of the students aren't in Portland.
They are in the virtual classroom of the division's
distance learning program, which has mushroomed since starting
just nine months ago. Asynchronous learning is ideally suited to
the people who tend to be interested in medical informatics, since
they are usually already working full time.
Those of us students who are physically on-site continue to plug away.
My studies move into their final stage this term as I start thesis work.
I have put some sketchy beginnings of my Master's thesis on my
thesis page.
By putting my writing-in-progress on the Web, my thesis committee members
(busy people who are likely to be anywhere, but equally likely to have
a computer with them) will be able to see my latest work whenever
they want or can, not just at committee meetings. With the
message board feature, I am also hoping to get useful ongoing input
from my committee, other students and any interested person who visits the site.
(26 Sept 2000)
- Ambulating For AIDS Care
It was a fine, sunny day for Portland's AIDSwalk, an event to raise
funds for the Cascade AIDS Project's programs of HIV services
and prevention. The theme this year was "It's Not Over", a reference
to the fact that although advances have been made in anti-HIV therapy,
there is still no cure for AIDS, and the number of new cases is still
on the rise. Walkers filled the start/finish area in downtown Portland's
Pioneer Courtyard Square. Many were employees of the main corporate sponsor,
Portland General Electric, and called themselves the "Power Walkers",
but their pace was quite leisurely. Dorami-chan and I passed
most of them, and might have even overtaken the leader, but at the branch
point we decided to do 5K instead of 10K so that we could make it back
in time to see the after-walk entertainment:
-
Portland Taiko - I should stop seeing this
Japanese drumming group play so often before their kinetic performances
start to seem routine.
- Northwest Children's Ballet Folklorico - This group didn't
explain anything about itself or what it was doing. About
15 dancers ranging from 2 years old to possibly late twenties were
dressed in traditional (Mayan? Incan?) costumes and feathered
headdresses. They danced in a circle around an incense burner to
the rhythm of a drum pounded by one man who was off in a corner of the stage.
Occasionally the lead dancer would blow on a conch. Some would put their
feet in the incense smoke. The two-year-old looked lost, but cute.
-
Northwest Afrikan American Ballet - Defies the European
definition of ballet and presents traditional indigenous dances from
Senegal, Gambia, Mali, and Guinea. The inspiration for starting this group
was a young African American's trip to West Africa. Tremendous rhythm,
energy and athleticism. Their drummers actually become part of
the show, interacting with the dancers.
(23 Sept 2000)
- Amis Ambulatoires
Dorami-chan's feet are getting itchy, so we went to
the new member recruitment night of
Mazamas, a local non-profit climbing and hiking club,
to find out if their walking programs are to her liking. I was
interested to see that they also coordinate training and outings for
backcountry skiing
and nordic skiing.
The clubhouse is in the Nob Hill district of Portland,
in a historic building with an impressive doorway that
once was the film distribution house for Paramount Pictures.
The room was packed with men and women of all ages,
but everyone was friendly and welcoming, despite the heat and stuffiness.
(20 Sept 2000)
- "NHL" in Town
With its state-of-the-art
Rose Garden arena,
Portland always gets mentioned as a possible new home of any
National Hockey League
team that threatens to move, but nothing ever materializes.
A crowd of 8,124 Stumptowners thought they were finally getting
a taste of the big leagues last night, when the
San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild came to play
an exhibition match. But seeing an
action photo and reading the
game summary and
game report, it is apparent that what the fans saw were
two farm teams dressed up in the colours of their parent clubs.
Who were these guys? At least the NHL didn't have the audacity
to charge full price (tickets were $15 to $45, 1/2 to 1/3 of regular
season rates).
(20 Sept 2000)
- Kushiage: A Skewer Thing
It was with some trepidation that I returned to
Olive Stick Kushikatsu Restaurant in Northeast Portland this evening.
Not that I remembered the food last time as bad -- it was great -- and the price wasn't scary --
fairly reasonable, in fact. But it wasn't the most convenient location,
they didn't have a liquor licence, and we had been one of only two groups
of customers that January night, shortly after it had opened. If that
kept up, I was afraid we would lose the region's only
kushiage
restaurant. And, if it didn't go under, then the lack of business
would show in the food quality.
Well, I am happy to report that things appear to be on the upswing,
if only slightly. There has been a favorable
Citysearch review.
The location hasn't changed, however they now have
a liquor licence, and offer many different kinds of saké and saké
cocktails, as well as the usual beer and wine. We were the only ones
there for quite a while, but in the end four other groups of
customers came. The menu had changed (it does every month),
so we got salad for an appetizer (summer) instead of a teppanyaki
mini-steak (winter). There were some favorite skewers from last time
(still $1 each): eggplant and miso (soybean paste), ika
(squid) and shiso. But there were also many new tastes:
chicken with ume sauce, pork or beef with kimchee, beef with
garlic and basil. Dessert was either kakigouri (shave ice, definitely summer)
or baked peach with caramel sauce and ice cream -- don't knock it
until you've tried it -- delicious!
I hope that when it comes time to try their autumn menu, we'll
have to fight people for a seat!
Olive Stick Kushikatsu Restaurant, 150 NE 82nd Street,
Portland OR 97220, (503) 253-6481, olivestick@inetarena.com
(19 Sept 2000)
- A Japanese Wedding in Oregon
Some North Americans go all the way to Japan to get married (like ...?),
and some Japanese come here for their nuptials. Famous*
actor NAKAI Kiichi (38), wed YOSHITANI Mayuko (32) in a chapel at
Lewis and Clark College
in Portland this past weekend, an event that apparently was in the
headlines of all the celebrity gossip columns in Japan, but only made
the "Metro" section of The Oregonian, Portland's city newspaper.
Nakai and Yoshitani's ceremony fits with the Japanese trend to have
Christian-style chapel weddings (even if one is not Christian!),
and not necessarily in Japan.
Nipponia magazine reports that 53.1% of couples opt to get married
according to Western rites (1998 figures). It is significantly cheaper,
far less hassle, and, I think, more romantic to them.
Nakai is one of Japan's six "Oregon Goodwill Ambassadors"
appointed by the state's governor to promote ties between
Oregon and Japan. (Others include HIEDA Hisashi, president of the
Fuji Television Network, and IDEI Nobuyuki, president of Sony.)
This isn't Nakai's first time in Oregon. Ten years ago, he appeared
in a popular television series, Oregon kara no ai (From Oregon With Love)
Oregon could use some goodwill when it comes to its neighbours across
the Pacific. Portland is fighting a reputation as "Deport-land", which
has resulted from the high rate of refusal, search and confinement of
Asian visitors by local INS officers. In another (possibly related?)
development, Delta, the only airline providing direct flights to Japan
from Portland, recently announced that the routes will be discontinued.
* Famous in Japan, anyway. I wouldn't have known
about this if Dorami-chan hadn't told me about it.
(18 Sept 2000)
- Crossings: Portland Taiko Concert
This year's fall concert by local Asian American drumming group
Portland Taiko
was special for several reasons. Apart from their usual precise
and energetic performance, a new member has brought dance
into the presentation, adding an interesting visual element.
Bamboo Bridge, a new work, focused on misunderstandings
between Japanese Americans and Filipino Americans and the need for
these communities to improve communication to work toward their
common Asian American goals. The evening ended with the premiere of
Wind, Water and Wood, a composition by drum master
Kenny Endo commissioned as part of Continental Harmony,
a national Millennium Project of the American Composers Forum.
It was an orchestral piece with several movements, quite unlike
anything PT has done before. Very rich rhythmically, but not that
exciting to watch. This caps a big year for the group, which included
the recording and release of their first CD. What will be next?
My sister drove down from Seattle to see
the show along with members of the taiko group she belongs to,
Northwest Taiko.
Taiko groups on the West Coast certainly have the advantage of
being in close enough proximity to see and learn from each other's
performances.
We had a pre-show meal at
Lamthong On Broadway.
An attentive staff served us a superb dinner that we all had trouble finishing
for just $11 per person!
(It helped that we were the only diners at first on this Saturday evening
-- being downtown, this is a much busier place during the week.)
Lamthong On Broadway, 213 SW Broadway, Portland OR, (503) 223-4214
(09 Sept 2000)
- Meatfest, Korean Style
The recipe for Korean barbecue is simple and delicious --
spicy marinated meat, a hot grill, and lots of fixins.
At New Seoul Garden Yakiniku, waitresses in
traditional dress serve up good volume for the price,
but some of the side dishes were ... unusual. Hite (pronounced as in
how tall you are) beer from Seoul is one of those hot weather brews,
thin on taste, but great when ice cold.
When the sizzling stops, you can hear the
wailing strains of karaoke drifting over from the restaurant's lounge.
Jars of the whole spices used to flavour the food are on display just inside
the door.
New Seoul Garden Restaurant, 10860 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy, Beaverton OR (503) 526-8800
(07 Sept 2000)
- Escape From Toronto III
After 6000 km of driving, I am back in Portland.
(07 Sept 2000)
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