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
Reposted by Brian Libby
To recap:
•Universal healthcare would save 68,000 lives & $450B annually
•Every $1 spent on SNAP results in $1.80 boost to local economies & small businesses
•The child tax credit decreased child poverty to a historic low of 5.2%, abolishing it increased it by 45%
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•Universal healthcare would save 68,000 lives & $450B annually
•Every $1 spent on SNAP results in $1.80 boost to local economies & small businesses
•The child tax credit decreased child poverty to a historic low of 5.2%, abolishing it increased it by 45%
1/2
November 25, 2025 at 3:16 AM
To recap:
•Universal healthcare would save 68,000 lives & $450B annually
•Every $1 spent on SNAP results in $1.80 boost to local economies & small businesses
•The child tax credit decreased child poverty to a historic low of 5.2%, abolishing it increased it by 45%
1/2
•Universal healthcare would save 68,000 lives & $450B annually
•Every $1 spent on SNAP results in $1.80 boost to local economies & small businesses
•The child tax credit decreased child poverty to a historic low of 5.2%, abolishing it increased it by 45%
1/2
I keep thinking about a Cezanne painting I saw for the first time last night: "The Robbers and the Donkey." There is some kind of violent scuffle happening in one corner, and one or two people are active in other parts of the picture. But this motionless animal in the middle is the focal point.
November 21, 2025 at 7:33 PM
I keep thinking about a Cezanne painting I saw for the first time last night: "The Robbers and the Donkey." There is some kind of violent scuffle happening in one corner, and one or two people are active in other parts of the picture. But this motionless animal in the middle is the focal point.
Huge news. It's so great how Albina Vision and the 1803 Fund are transforming and re-birthing what was once and may again be the hear of Portland's Black community. www.oregonlive.com/realestate/2...
1803 Fund acquires Portland grain silos in $70 million investment for Black community
The Phil Knight-backed organization expects to generate hundreds of jobs and nearly $700 million in economic impact through redevelopment of historic Albina properties.
www.oregonlive.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Huge news. It's so great how Albina Vision and the 1803 Fund are transforming and re-birthing what was once and may again be the hear of Portland's Black community. www.oregonlive.com/realestate/2...
I'm still thinking about the fantastic 1946 film Deadline at Dawn. Though based on a novel by noir icon Cornell Woolrich centered around a murder and unfolding in one NYC night, in some ways it's unlike a noir. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, it's a film about empathy and integrity.
November 20, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I'm still thinking about the fantastic 1946 film Deadline at Dawn. Though based on a novel by noir icon Cornell Woolrich centered around a murder and unfolding in one NYC night, in some ways it's unlike a noir. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, it's a film about empathy and integrity.
Gresham's new East County Library is incredible! It's no branch library, but a flagship like Central Library downtown. It's credited to Portland's Holst Architecture, but the design came equally (or more) from Ghanaian-Brit starchitect David Adjaye (who was dropped before construction). WOW.
November 19, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Gresham's new East County Library is incredible! It's no branch library, but a flagship like Central Library downtown. It's credited to Portland's Holst Architecture, but the design came equally (or more) from Ghanaian-Brit starchitect David Adjaye (who was dropped before construction). WOW.
Holy shit, this film is incredible! It's just trains in the snow, and yet there is such a wonderfully propulsive soundtrack and such dynamic, even experimental editing that I'm actually in awe. Never even heard of Geoffrey Jones, but this is virtuoso stuff. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl4p...
Snow (1963) - Geoffrey Jones | BFI National Archive
YouTube video by BFI
www.youtube.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Holy shit, this film is incredible! It's just trains in the snow, and yet there is such a wonderfully propulsive soundtrack and such dynamic, even experimental editing that I'm actually in awe. Never even heard of Geoffrey Jones, but this is virtuoso stuff. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl4p...
Great to see a brilliant Pietro Belluschi modernist design take on new post-ecclesiastical life as an arts venue. www.oregonlive.com/realestate/2...
Nation’s oldest youth orchestra buys landmark Portland church
Central Lutheran Church members found a new steward for their architecturally significant building.
www.oregonlive.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Great to see a brilliant Pietro Belluschi modernist design take on new post-ecclesiastical life as an arts venue. www.oregonlive.com/realestate/2...
Four more shots from this past weekend's trip to coastal Waldport, Oregon.
November 18, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Four more shots from this past weekend's trip to coastal Waldport, Oregon.
Whenever I spend a weekend at the coast with my group of old pals (in this case at Waldport, Oregon), I seem to collect pictures of them walking ahead, while I fall behind taking photos and videos.
November 18, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Whenever I spend a weekend at the coast with my group of old pals (in this case at Waldport, Oregon), I seem to collect pictures of them walking ahead, while I fall behind taking photos and videos.
Even though I haven't read that much Ursula Le Guin (which hopefully will soon change), I'm looking forward to checking out this exhibit at Oregon Contemporary. www.orartswatch.org/a-larger-rea...
‘A Larger Reality: Ursula K. Le Guin’ honors the work and the life of the iconic novelist • Oregon ArtsWatch
An expansive exhibit at Oregon Contemporary, curated by the late, great Portland writer's son, opens up the speculative worlds she created and how she shaped them in words.
www.orartswatch.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Even though I haven't read that much Ursula Le Guin (which hopefully will soon change), I'm looking forward to checking out this exhibit at Oregon Contemporary. www.orartswatch.org/a-larger-rea...
What a treat today getting to see four Rothko paintings, and in a room my myself no less, after today’s press preview of the expanded Portland Art Museum and its newly opened Rothko Pavilion.
November 13, 2025 at 10:18 PM
What a treat today getting to see four Rothko paintings, and in a room my myself no less, after today’s press preview of the expanded Portland Art Museum and its newly opened Rothko Pavilion.
Excited to finally have my own copy of this long out-of-print 1974 album by former Monk saxophonist Charles Rouse, courtesy of iconic jazz label Strata-East. And it’s SO good!
November 11, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Excited to finally have my own copy of this long out-of-print 1974 album by former Monk saxophonist Charles Rouse, courtesy of iconic jazz label Strata-East. And it’s SO good!
I’m not even done watching the 1946 noir Deadline at Dawn yet, and I’m already kind of mesmerized, especially by Nicholas Musuraca’s cinematography and by Susan Hayward’s performance as a world-weary heroine coming to the aid of an innocent, would-be-wrongly-convicted seaman.
November 10, 2025 at 4:19 AM
I’m not even done watching the 1946 noir Deadline at Dawn yet, and I’m already kind of mesmerized, especially by Nicholas Musuraca’s cinematography and by Susan Hayward’s performance as a world-weary heroine coming to the aid of an innocent, would-be-wrongly-convicted seaman.
Why yes, the best part of my Sunday was reading a 20-year-old interview with Peter Falk about Columbo and Cassavetes. www.avclub.com/peter-falk-1...
Peter Falk
Peter Falk
www.avclub.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Why yes, the best part of my Sunday was reading a 20-year-old interview with Peter Falk about Columbo and Cassavetes. www.avclub.com/peter-falk-1...
Slightly mesmerized by a tow truck’s lights outside my house.
November 8, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Slightly mesmerized by a tow truck’s lights outside my house.
Saw the 1991 experimental film Papers by Yoshinao Satoh for the first time this evening and was blown away. It’s a montage made from thousands of Japanese newspaper pages, and the Steve Reich music is an ideal match. youtu.be/1cmlaTIvd7I?...
PAPERS 制作：Yoshinao Satoh
YouTube video by よしながき
youtu.be
November 3, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Saw the 1991 experimental film Papers by Yoshinao Satoh for the first time this evening and was blown away. It’s a montage made from thousands of Japanese newspaper pages, and the Steve Reich music is an ideal match. youtu.be/1cmlaTIvd7I?...
Such a brilliant film.
I Walked with a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur, 1943)
DoP: J. Roy Hunt
DoP: J. Roy Hunt
October 31, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Such a brilliant film.
I always say, autumn is my favorite two weeks of the year.
October 31, 2025 at 12:27 AM
I always say, autumn is my favorite two weeks of the year.
Saw this display on my walk and thought that in addition to Halloween, it also might work for July 4.
October 29, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Saw this display on my walk and thought that in addition to Halloween, it also might work for July 4.
This house in my neighborhood has more pumpkins on display than I've ever seen, and fake cobwebs, even as it's shrouded in protective plastic sheeting for some kind of repair. Or wait...is the plastic part of the Halloween decor? I don't even know anymore.
October 29, 2025 at 3:54 PM
This house in my neighborhood has more pumpkins on display than I've ever seen, and fake cobwebs, even as it's shrouded in protective plastic sheeting for some kind of repair. Or wait...is the plastic part of the Halloween decor? I don't even know anymore.
Nothing is better musically for helping me stagger through the last two hours of a story-deadline day than Art Blakey. Just total swing and swagger and chops. Even as the personnel around him changed in the fifties and sixties, one great record after another.
October 28, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Nothing is better musically for helping me stagger through the last two hours of a story-deadline day than Art Blakey. Just total swing and swagger and chops. Even as the personnel around him changed in the fifties and sixties, one great record after another.
Thinking about drummer Jack DeJohnette's death yesterday. He plays on many records I love, but I only recently discovered his solo work, which has a kind of serenity, even in a song like this from 1977's "Pictures," with nothing but drums for the first two minutes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RWR...
Picture 1
YouTube video by Jack DeJohnette - Topic
www.youtube.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Thinking about drummer Jack DeJohnette's death yesterday. He plays on many records I love, but I only recently discovered his solo work, which has a kind of serenity, even in a song like this from 1977's "Pictures," with nothing but drums for the first two minutes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RWR...