DanielSonenberg.com

Greetings – I present you first with an aborted attempt at blogging from this past February 14:

A big day this Valentine's Day was indeed. Lots of comings and goings. Yes, the blizzard came - I was inside not noticing it for much of the day, but there was a school cancellation and a snow ban, and in between all that Al and I managed to have breakfast out, and then she went to work and between my other worldly obligations I whipped up a nice romantic meal (what else? spaghetti with white clam sauce and broccoli rabe, even Spock would swoon). But the big comings and goings are these: Whole Foods opened its doors in Portland today, and Al Franken left the Air America airwaves to run for Senate in Minnesota. I have a few thoughts about each of these. Whole Foods. I don’t think you big city dwellers can begin to understand the excitement (and in some minority precincts, the dismay) that the arrival of a big store like this carries with it. I – and Alex too – thought I was crazy, walking around counting down the days and all

That’s where I ran out of time or steam, or a combination thereof. Preparing for my Thursday seminar AND cooking up a big romantic dinner (Norah Jones tix were the big prize) took some doing, even with the benefit of a snow day.

Anyway, I’ll try again to say a couple of things about Wednesday’s momentous events, with the benefit now of some perspective.

Whole Foods. Yes – very exciting. Stores like this one are where Alex and I spend a good deal of our leisure time and disposable income. They moved in about a block away from Wild Oats, and some would see this as laying down the gauntlet. But the Oats actually started it, a few years before I got here, by moving into the same parking lot as the Whole Grocer – the locally owned shop that was ultimately bought out by Whole Foods. So my heart doesn’t bleed for Wild Oats. And also, Whole Foods has more or less confirmed the insanity of Wild Oats’ prices – not to mention their dishonesty (prices per half pound – as I’ve railed against elsewhere on this blog). If I had to throw the two stores head to had and compare, I’d note the following (I realize this may be of only local interest, but this is big news here - certainly the major event of the last week).

Produce
Whole Foods maybe a little bigger in this department, and their prices seem by and large to be more reasonable. (Many a time I’ve accidentally purchased something at Wild Oats – say a bag of celery for $6 – that I had to actually return in something of a rage after glancing at the ticker tape). Edge: Whole Foods

Bulk
Wild Oats certainly has a more inviting bulk section, although the prices – in keeping with their m.o. are higher. Whole Foods looks skimpy in this department, and it’s a shame because the store they bought out – the Whole Grocer – had such a wonderful bulk section. They even sold teff in bulk! They also had a great bulk loose tea section. That’s gone now. Edge: Wild Oats

Vegetarian Friendly
Both stores suck on this front. There’s a major anti-vegetarian backlash going on, at least for the past couple of years (ever glance at the NY Times Dining In/Dining Out section?) – and Portland, surprisingly, is particularly un-vegetarian friendly. Where else do you have a popular restaurant called “Duckfat” (I boycott them). Whole Foods has an absolutely enormous free range meat section, a huge chili and barbecue bar (3 kinds of chili, none vegetarian), and meat delicacies in all corners of the store. But is there any variety when it comes to Fake Bacon? (Morngingstar Farms makes the best – although it’s so toxic and chemically derived that I suppose if it won’t make you wretch you might as well eat the real stuff). A helpful worker actually had to go into the back of the store and dig out some tempeh strips from a box. Not what I was looking for. Because of Whole Foods' outright crassness in matters of the flesh, I give the Edge here to: Wild Oats.

Bakery
Wild Oats used to make these fabo macaroons, in plain and chocolate versions. But they have since gone the way of homemade gefilte fish (in this semitically challenged town). I still like their homemade bread though. The Whole Foods in Charlottesville, VA makes some of the best bread I’ve ever had in the States, lots featuring 100% whole grains. Not so at the new Whole Foods. The bakery is decent enough, but doesn’t really add much to the bakery discussion in town (Portland has good bakeries, but a shortage of serious whole grain bread). Edge: even.

Fish
The fish department at Whole Foods is triple the size of Wild Oats, and much more impressive looking. Prices are decent. I’d never go there while the Harbor Fish Market still has its doors open, but after 5:30pm, I’m glad to have this new option. Edge: Whole Foods

Café
Whole Foods has this whole Sushi-Bar/trattoria thing going on. Looks good, but basically amounts to just another expensive-ish restaurant in a town that’s got a glut. The Wild Oats café is more or less a place to grab stuff from the store and sit and eat it, complete with a microwave and generous fixings (including real maple syrup for your coffee). Edge: Even

Prepared Foods
Boy Whole Foods has a TON of prepared foods, both in salad bar and behind the counter format. In fact, I’d say the wealth of prepared food in Whole Foods accounts for the difference in size between the two stores. A lot of it is deeply pricey (are there really THAT many people in Portland who can afford to buy seared tuna at $24.99 a pound?), but it’s nice to have the options – despite my screed above about the abundance of meat products. Edge: Whole Foods

Overall Vibe
Since we spend a lot of time there, this sort of thing matters. Wild Oats definitely has a homier feel, while Whole Foods is going for the shock and awe approach. Wild Oats gives away a LOT more free samples of stuff – which rates pretty highly in my book. The Wild Oats parking lot is also more appropriately sized (bigger) and has those little depository spots for shopping carts. Edge: Wild Oats

Prices
Based on preliminary glances, Whole Foods kills in this department. Wild Oats will probably need to adjust their usurious policies if they plan to stay in business here long. Edge: Whole Foods

Overall Assessment: It’s nice to have another place to shop and some more options. But overall I’m struck by how little having Whole Foods really changes anything. I like seeing Wild Oats get their just desserts, and yet in a weird twist I’ll still probably continue to shop there for some stuff. And Whole Foods’ whole corporate M.O. will probably take a while in making itself plain. Of course, I wish I could support more local businesses. The obvious spot is Rosemont Bakery out on Brighton Avenue, and I do think that’s one of the best places in town – but it’s a bit of a haul, and alas I’m more of a creature of convenience than I generally care to admit. (There are very few places to buy produce in winter here). Edge: Even.

Prediction: After all that, I think Wild Oats will close within a year.

Anyway, you heard it here first. Oh – I was going to say something or other about Al Franken, but since I’ve bored you all to tears by now, why don’t I wait until next post. (February break now, so hopefully I’ll up the frequency a touch).

It's that time again, the mother of all storms is on its way. But everybody's hedging their bets - between 8 and 30 inches, "wintry mix," "winter storm warning in effect, possible accumulation of one inch by 6am," "near white-out conditions." I feel like it's happened before, but I'll roll with it. Portland's already announced a snow ban for tomorrow night, which means Al and I have to drive our car down to a parking garage in town, and then go retrieve it at 6am Thursday - a ritual we've turned into a kind of family outing. Once upon a time it meant a hot chocolate at the Portland Public Market, but that grand edifice has bolted its doors and booted its tenants, so it will just be the swirling winds and the two of us, bundled like Michelin men. On nights like this one always wonders if it's worth staying up that extra hour to do that last bit of grading, or if it's best to roll the dice and see if mother nature grants an extension. Taking a look at that weather map, I see an absolute sea of snow coming our way - perched just south of Portland, creeping north and ready to envelop us in all that rich powdery fluffity. A whole one inch by 6AM, they're saying! Best ready my galoshes and soak me gruel. Something tells me tomorrow's gonna come, same as it always does, this time around.

Someone got their signals crossed and sent me the gripe. I'm not done yet people!! It's not yet time for me to slow down. Ah whatever. Sometimes you just gotta yield when the good lord throws down the railroad gate, you know? So Alex is out at some big rock show at Space Gallery (where she now works as Exhibition Director), and I'm here, feeling just a touch sorry for myself and doing odd jobs. I spent most of today designing a poster in In-Design, a program with which I'm not even the slightest bit acquainted. It used to be that you could just figure out most computer programs, you know? Like Micrrosoft Word, just turn it on and fiddle around, and mostly figure out whatever it was you needed to do. But these big old grafix programs - they're deadly. I understand why people take whole courses, build whole careers on them even. I ended up with something halfway decent, albeit a bit busy, and called it a night. Sort of. I've had this weird wanderlust lately. On the web. Do you ever have those phases where you just start googling people from your way past? Oh, all the time? You too? Well okay then. I don't do it too often, but I can lose massive chunks of time and even money to it when the bug strikes. About a week ago, after years of endless spamming and pestering I finally succumbed and paid the $20 to join Classmates.com - the gold version or whatever it is. In a moment of weakness they had convinced me that everyone from the class of 1988 but yours truly was enjoying the full swinging benefits of gold club membership. And you might ask - why do I care? Why do I care about all those people who never really gave me the time of the day back in the decade of big hair. But somehow I have this melancholy fondness for that time, and for those quasi-friends and acquaintances, and even annoyances and arch-nemeses. When I went to my 10th reunion (ee gads, 9 years ago!) I thought the joy of it would come from the schadenfreude aspect - seeing whose lives had really gone all trainwreck and such. But instead I found within myself a genuine warmth for these people with whom I had - let's face it - more or less learned to walk with. Why just today, I found myself on the website of my old high school, scrolling through the photo archives and marveling at how distant and black and white all my old teachers looked, teachers whose names are no longer on the roster, and how small and insignificant even my worst enemies appeared. So yeah like a sucker I joined Classmates to discover that with one or two exceptions, I was the only one. Posted a photo and everything, like a giant dork, and now my photo sits, in near-isolation, as if suspended from a building in the town square - a monument to the only dork in town who had nothing better to do. Ah well, in my dorkdom, my sickness, in the whole mess of it there is solace for me still. There's the jangling of keys, the slamming of the door, my dear partner in crime arriving with ice cream for the sickie. I must have earned it somehow.

Hi it's me - remember me? The guy who just took, what, 9 days off from this blog? I apologize, buttercup. (Only one or two other people in the world recognize that as a line from my opera.) This photo is of Bald Point on the Gulf of Mexico. The darkly clad figure in the distance is either Alex, or Arielle – the harpist who just gave a wonderful performance of my piece Whistlesparks down at the Florida State New Music Festival. It was a great several days, although it was bloody cold, and not what Alex and I had been hoping for when we envisioned a February trip from Maine to Florida. Ah well, the weather kept me off the beaches and in the concert halls, which I suppose is where I really belonged.

Anyway, it’s time to sign off and check out from vortex command central here. But always rest assured – I will be back. Why, my one-year blog-a-versary lies just around the bend! So why not drop me a comment or two and remind me that someone back on earth actually receives these blips and blops.