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Ben Waterhouse

@beninoregon

Editor of Oregon Humanities magazine, occasional theater critic, plant enthusiast.

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07.10.2024
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Latest posts by Ben Waterhouse @beninoregon

Portland has no public rinks, though it has twice had a temporary outdoor rink in winter downtown. The project is entirely private.

06.03.2026 21:56 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

It would be wonderful to finally get that music venue.

06.03.2026 20:48 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

They bought Jantzen back in 2002, so I think they've had a presence here for a while. But this would be an expansion.

06.03.2026 20:47 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

They should be petitioning the city/Prosper to use public funds to buy the Galleria or another currently empty mall downtown to fill the niche Lloyd Center has for the past two years. There's nothing about the building itself that made this community thrive. It was just cheap rent+transit access.

06.03.2026 20:43 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Oregon Humanities to hold 'Beyond 250' events to examine the next 250 years of independence Between now and July 4, the Portland-based nonprofit Oregon Humanities is running a series of conversations across the state, with 16 topics inspired by the Declaration of Independence.

Between now and July 4, Portland-based nonprofit Oregon Humanities is organizing a series of conversations across the state, with 16 topics inspired by the Declaration of Independence.

www.klcc.org/arts-culture...

05.03.2026 18:25 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A cartoon from the 1950’s that’s more relevant than ever πŸ’”

04.03.2026 14:40 πŸ‘ 19871 πŸ” 8418 πŸ’¬ 347 πŸ“Œ 326

He had grown up in a country run by politicians who sent the pilots to man the bombers to kill the babies to make the world safe for children to grow up in.

05.03.2026 13:30 πŸ‘ 425 πŸ” 208 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 7

I don't think handles are unique on Bluesky. The actual username would presumably be @odot.oregon.gov.

04.03.2026 19:30 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

As an editor who receives dozens of AI-generated pitches every month, I would take a well-reported but unpolished draft over this obnoxious, over-wordy, error-riddled slop any day.

Also, have they figured out how to get the LLM to follow a style guide? Because they seem to be incapable.

04.03.2026 17:58 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It’s like our regional government woke up this week and decided it was jealous that the city and state were having all the fun with gossip and wild headlines

04.03.2026 05:03 πŸ‘ 32 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 0

In which @lizzyacker.bsky.social reads my mind.

03.03.2026 21:06 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks for your leadership on this, Senator!

03.03.2026 16:35 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Toad is buried under the covers in bed.

From "Spring"
In *Frog and Toad Are Friends*

Toad is buried under the covers in bed. From "Spring" In *Frog and Toad Are Friends*

Toad went back into the house. He got into bed and pulled the covers over his head again.

03.03.2026 05:37 πŸ‘ 640 πŸ” 194 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 30
Preview
I Am an American: The Photographic Legacy of Japanese American Incarceration When it comes to the mass incarceration of Japanese and Japanese Americans, I am, despite the redress and reparations, and the various, unfolding forms of remembrance and memorialization, entirely unc...

"I have always been frustrated by the word perseverance, as I have by its Japanese counterpart, gaman. Both are used within my own family, not only when talking about incarceration, but when talking about what it means to be Japanese."

(πŸ™πŸΌ @davidnaimon.bsky.social)

hyperallergic.com/i-am-an-amer...

02.03.2026 19:33 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

is everyone on glue

02.03.2026 20:22 πŸ‘ 4906 πŸ” 810 πŸ’¬ 196 πŸ“Œ 23

It doesn't have to be this way.

We belong to each other. All of the children belong to all of us. Our responsibility is to each other.

My heart breaks open over again every day with grief in service to breaking open to a better world. Let us build from grief toward love.

28.02.2026 19:17 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Eisenhower

02.03.2026 00:12 πŸ‘ 15607 πŸ” 5836 πŸ’¬ 375 πŸ“Œ 336
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feeling compelled to post this new yorker reject from years ago, for some reason

01.03.2026 20:02 πŸ‘ 1627 πŸ” 479 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 6

I'd love to see a bookstore open in the Three Kings building, which has been vacant as long as I've lived in Portland.

26.02.2026 23:22 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

There are at least a dozen bookstores on the west side, not counting Powell's.

26.02.2026 23:21 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

That's not really true. There are several bookstores downtown (Grand Gesture, Kinokuniya, Hi Books, Word Virus, The Vault) plus another five in NW (Passages, Daedalus, Bishop & Wilde, Bold Books, Chess Club).

26.02.2026 23:20 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I want to fully pedestrianize NE 41st between Sandy and Halsey.

26.02.2026 23:14 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Announcing the Humanities Action Fellowshipβ€”a new opportunity for Oregonians ages 18–25 interested in designing and leading public humanities projects in their communities!

Learn more, share, and apply!
oregonhumanities.org/programs/fel...

26.02.2026 17:54 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I think we deserve better than Lloyd's tiny, egg-shaped rink. If there's really so much demand, someone should build one in one of our empty big-box stores.

25.02.2026 22:27 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Please read this article to the end. Even before ICE got involved, this started because this *blind man who speaks no English and uses a curtain rod as a walking stick* got lost on a walk and some Karen called the police on him and they tasered and beat him bc he didn’t drop the rod. WTF

25.02.2026 20:41 πŸ‘ 15492 πŸ” 8146 πŸ’¬ 853 πŸ“Œ 543
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Oregon Senate passes bill to regulate ICE in hospitals β€’ Oregon Capital Chronicle Senate Bill 1570 aims to help hospital staff respond when federal law enforcement arrives on site and protect sensitive information.

Federal agents in Oregon have detained and shot immigrants in hospital parking lots, accessed confidential medical records from behind nurses’ desks and interfered in patient care, according to reports and hundreds of testimonies from health care workers.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/25/o...

25.02.2026 20:51 πŸ‘ 90 πŸ” 40 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 4

I think losing the union endorsement would only help Novick.

25.02.2026 18:30 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Oregon family hit with Trump’s latest deportation tactic: Targeting immigrants with minor court cases Child welfare officials and experts told ProPublica they are deeply concerned by the case, as well as several others like it that have been making their way through the courts and are now reaching a decisive point.

Should a McMinville dad be deported for leaving his toddlers alone at home for a half hour 15 years ago? The Trump administration says yes in a pending court case with sweeping implications for both the immigration and child welfare systems.

24.02.2026 21:09 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1
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23.02.2026 19:05 πŸ‘ 5580 πŸ” 1536 πŸ’¬ 43 πŸ“Œ 46

AI search is a guy who swears he saw the 4-hour version of Blade Runner and it was totally cool, then starts making up details about it because it's important to him that you believe him,

23.02.2026 15:37 πŸ‘ 124 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0