Brian Libby
@brianlibby.bsky.social
Portland, Oregon architecture & arts journalist (Metropolis, Dwell, Oregon ArtsWatch, NY Times) • keen photographer and experimental filmmaker • fond of film noir, college football, cats, British panel shows, tennis, jazz, espresso, Columbo, democracy
Tree shadows on our garage door this afternoon…
February 11, 2026 at 5:53 AM
Tree shadows on our garage door this afternoon…
This is so cool! An archival photo from 1939 by the great Dorothea Lange, taken in my grandfather's hometown of Independence, Oregon the same year he graduated from high school.
February 10, 2026 at 6:23 PM
This is so cool! An archival photo from 1939 by the great Dorothea Lange, taken in my grandfather's hometown of Independence, Oregon the same year he graduated from high school.
I think I’ve read more novels by Murakami than any other writer except Ross Macdonald. His self-description here seems accurate: It’s not the prose but rather the juxtaposition of surreal yet mundane world-building. Glad he’s getting more respect. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/b...
Haruki Murakami Isn’t Afraid of the Dark
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:56 PM
I think I’ve read more novels by Murakami than any other writer except Ross Macdonald. His self-description here seems accurate: It’s not the prose but rather the juxtaposition of surreal yet mundane world-building. Glad he’s getting more respect. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/b...
I found in its entirety the Twin Peaks parody from Saturday Night Live in 1990, which I was in the audience for. I was a freshman in college, and along with a couple friends we waited all night in line for standby tickets in a Rockefeller Center hallway. www.dailymotion.com/video/x7o2ca
Twin Peaks parody by Saturday Night Live (1990)
Dailymotion video by Malmignatte
www.dailymotion.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:35 AM
I found in its entirety the Twin Peaks parody from Saturday Night Live in 1990, which I was in the audience for. I was a freshman in college, and along with a couple friends we waited all night in line for standby tickets in a Rockefeller Center hallway. www.dailymotion.com/video/x7o2ca
Reposted by Brian Libby
Despite spending the bulk of the past three weeks in deep, crazy snow Japan, I always make time to get out in my neighbourhood when it snows even a little. And this spot, Ebara Jinja, is one of the reasons. For the conjunction of snow and the early cherry blossoms: The Kawazu Zakura.
February 8, 2026 at 3:52 AM
Despite spending the bulk of the past three weeks in deep, crazy snow Japan, I always make time to get out in my neighbourhood when it snows even a little. And this spot, Ebara Jinja, is one of the reasons. For the conjunction of snow and the early cherry blossoms: The Kawazu Zakura.
Reposted by Brian Libby
Brian picked a perfect time to post this. In July, we thought it possible I had weeks to live. But yesterday I learned my cancer has shown a “marked” decrease, with resolution or near-resolution of many problem areas.
Thank you to modern science and Portland’s Compass Oncology. Onwards, mofos! 😉 ❤️
Thank you to modern science and Portland’s Compass Oncology. Onwards, mofos! 😉 ❤️
My new short film, “A Rupture in Time,” is about processing my wife’s metastatic cancer diagnosis: a river trip intercut with symbolic imagery (fire, tree blossoms turning to bare branches, a telephone pole being disassembled). Music is a 1972 free jazz recording by Khan Jamal. vimeo.com/1141749851
A Rupture in Time
Processing my wife's cancer diagnosis during a boat ride on the Willamette River. Music by Khan Jamal, courtesy Palm/Souffle Continu Records
vimeo.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Brian picked a perfect time to post this. In July, we thought it possible I had weeks to live. But yesterday I learned my cancer has shown a “marked” decrease, with resolution or near-resolution of many problem areas.
Thank you to modern science and Portland’s Compass Oncology. Onwards, mofos! 😉 ❤️
Thank you to modern science and Portland’s Compass Oncology. Onwards, mofos! 😉 ❤️
My new short film, “A Rupture in Time,” is about processing my wife’s metastatic cancer diagnosis: a river trip intercut with symbolic imagery (fire, tree blossoms turning to bare branches, a telephone pole being disassembled). Music is a 1972 free jazz recording by Khan Jamal. vimeo.com/1141749851
A Rupture in Time
Processing my wife's cancer diagnosis during a boat ride on the Willamette River. Music by Khan Jamal, courtesy Palm/Souffle Continu Records
vimeo.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:40 PM
My new short film, “A Rupture in Time,” is about processing my wife’s metastatic cancer diagnosis: a river trip intercut with symbolic imagery (fire, tree blossoms turning to bare branches, a telephone pole being disassembled). Music is a 1972 free jazz recording by Khan Jamal. vimeo.com/1141749851
It's Charlotte Rampling's birthday, which reminds me of a 2002 interview I was fortunate to do with her. It was only over the phone, but I couldn't believe my luck. I remember her pausing to receive a Fedex package at her door, and talking to the guy in French. www.salon.com/2002/01/24/r...
Charlotte Rampling - Salon.com
She may be the dark-horse candidate for best actress at the Oscars, but a career full of risky, textured roles has meant eschewing Hollywood's trappings.
www.salon.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:40 PM
It's Charlotte Rampling's birthday, which reminds me of a 2002 interview I was fortunate to do with her. It was only over the phone, but I couldn't believe my luck. I remember her pausing to receive a Fedex package at her door, and talking to the guy in French. www.salon.com/2002/01/24/r...
I am excited to have acquired a wonderful collage by Portland artist Eva Lake. Part of her 2025 Gestures series, it combines a 1938 photo of Japanese Ikebana with a shot of swinging-sixties English fashion model Penelope Tree's hand.
February 5, 2026 at 5:59 PM
I am excited to have acquired a wonderful collage by Portland artist Eva Lake. Part of her 2025 Gestures series, it combines a 1938 photo of Japanese Ikebana with a shot of swinging-sixties English fashion model Penelope Tree's hand.
Ordering girl scout cookies this week has me recalling David Letterman’s top 10 least popular Pepperidge Farm cookies, most of which I could still recite to @valarie.bsky.social this evening, 35 years later.
February 5, 2026 at 5:51 AM
Ordering girl scout cookies this week has me recalling David Letterman’s top 10 least popular Pepperidge Farm cookies, most of which I could still recite to @valarie.bsky.social this evening, 35 years later.
It’s been fun rewatching The Maltese Falcon over dinner the past couple nights. Must be my third or fourth go round. Not a perfect film: The Sam Spade/Brigid O'Shaughnessy relationship is a head-scratcher. But Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre are ceaselessly good company.
February 3, 2026 at 2:47 AM
It’s been fun rewatching The Maltese Falcon over dinner the past couple nights. Must be my third or fourth go round. Not a perfect film: The Sam Spade/Brigid O'Shaughnessy relationship is a head-scratcher. But Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre are ceaselessly good company.
Going through a batch of 2007 photos taken in Chicago that I have not seen in many years. How did I forget about these?
February 2, 2026 at 5:06 AM
Going through a batch of 2007 photos taken in Chicago that I have not seen in many years. How did I forget about these?
Enjoyed the 1953 Swedish film Hidden in the Fog, via Criterion Channel’s Nordic Noir series. It has a mesmerizing beginning, as a wife walks down a flight of stairs in darkness and shoots her husband before he says a word. Eventually it becomes more like an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit.
January 31, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Enjoyed the 1953 Swedish film Hidden in the Fog, via Criterion Channel’s Nordic Noir series. It has a mesmerizing beginning, as a wife walks down a flight of stairs in darkness and shoots her husband before he says a word. Eventually it becomes more like an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit.
Reposted by Brian Libby
It's near-white out conditions in Chicago as the snow comes down, and tonight's anti-ICE/CBP rally is wrapping up in front of city hall.
But not before the crowd bounces and chants, "I believe that we will win!"
But not before the crowd bounces and chants, "I believe that we will win!"
January 31, 2026 at 12:41 AM
It's near-white out conditions in Chicago as the snow comes down, and tonight's anti-ICE/CBP rally is wrapping up in front of city hall.
But not before the crowd bounces and chants, "I believe that we will win!"
But not before the crowd bounces and chants, "I believe that we will win!"
My latest @dwell.bsky.social article is about a young architect's home here in Portland that she designed and her father built, on a steep forested hillside no one had dared to try for decades. www.dwell.com/article/budg...
Budget Breakdown: A Designer Builds Her First House for $659K—on a Fully Forested Portland Hillside
Zoé Stone and her father navigate tricky terrain as they create a serene home with charred wood siding, cantilevered decks, and custom built-ins and furniture.
www.dwell.com
January 30, 2026 at 5:14 PM
My latest @dwell.bsky.social article is about a young architect's home here in Portland that she designed and her father built, on a steep forested hillside no one had dared to try for decades. www.dwell.com/article/budg...
Tokyo's Shinjuku district, 2006. This is another photo I didn't pay too much attention to when I originally took it. But Shinjuku is such an incredibly dense cluster of bars, eateries and shops. Plus I love all the oranges and reds in this pic.
January 30, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Tokyo's Shinjuku district, 2006. This is another photo I didn't pay too much attention to when I originally took it. But Shinjuku is such an incredibly dense cluster of bars, eateries and shops. Plus I love all the oranges and reds in this pic.
Going through my photo archives the past several days, my favorite moments are not revisiting favorites, but when I see with fresh eyes a shot I'd never much paid attention to before. This one was taken in Kyoto in 2006.
January 29, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Going through my photo archives the past several days, my favorite moments are not revisiting favorites, but when I see with fresh eyes a shot I'd never much paid attention to before. This one was taken in Kyoto in 2006.
I don't think I've ever posted images of a car here before, but the other day I came across a make & model I'd never heard of, the Iso Grifo, manufactured in Italy in the 1960s, and I have kept the browser tab open ever since, just so I can look at it.
January 28, 2026 at 5:38 PM
I don't think I've ever posted images of a car here before, but the other day I came across a make & model I'd never heard of, the Iso Grifo, manufactured in Italy in the 1960s, and I have kept the browser tab open ever since, just so I can look at it.
Reposted by Brian Libby
The funeral director scene is the one I was thinking of. Just delightful.
Scotti, as you probably already know, was in several Columbo episodes, and always an enjoyable scene-stealer. I'm guessing the episode you're referencing might be Candidate for Crime, when he played a tailor, or Swan Song, when he played a funeral director — both rather extended appearances.
January 26, 2026 at 9:06 PM
The funeral director scene is the one I was thinking of. Just delightful.
Perusing photos from a memorable afternoon I spent in 2005 watching Portland bands Sleater-Kinney, The Shins, The Decemberists, The Thermals, Quasi and Lifesavas record live at an abandoned house, for a film series called “Burn to Shine.”
January 26, 2026 at 4:45 AM
Perusing photos from a memorable afternoon I spent in 2005 watching Portland bands Sleater-Kinney, The Shins, The Decemberists, The Thermals, Quasi and Lifesavas record live at an abandoned house, for a film series called “Burn to Shine.”
Reposted by Brian Libby
Everything is awful but the creativity behind some of these handmade posters gives me a glimmer of hope in humanity.
January 25, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Everything is awful but the creativity behind some of these handmade posters gives me a glimmer of hope in humanity.
I played Thundercat’s 2013 album Apocalypse for the first time in a while, intending to read a book as I listened. It’s what I do most nights. But there was no way. This record is so good it demands and deserves my full attention.
January 22, 2026 at 4:40 AM
I played Thundercat’s 2013 album Apocalypse for the first time in a while, intending to read a book as I listened. It’s what I do most nights. But there was no way. This record is so good it demands and deserves my full attention.
Reposted by Brian Libby
are they not monsters?
January 22, 2026 at 12:08 AM
are they not monsters?
A particularly relevant literary figure these days for all of us marooned between Canada and Mexico.
Charles-Antoine Coypel, Don Quixote Led by Folly, oil on canvas, 1714-1734 (Musée national du château de Compiègne)
January 21, 2026 at 5:08 PM
A particularly relevant literary figure these days for all of us marooned between Canada and Mexico.