'Tis the season for naming the Word of the Year for the 12 months just concluded. Tweet? Unfriend? They're good ones. But what about here in Portlandia? We need to honor a word of our own.
In years past, we've had "linchpin," but surely by 2009, that one had run its course. Mentor? Groundtruthing? Crowdsourcing? Foreclosure? Patella? Loo? Thumper? Pie-off? Chavez? Pendergraph? Grimwad? Gridlock?
For the 5th year in a row, it's "sustainable". Outside of "the", and "and", you'll see no other word used more often in ANY city/county/state/metro document or speech. It's awesome* when it's used more than once in a sentence, too.
I'm for "sustainable" in this case. It is a word so heavily used, it almost has no meaning. Actually I vote "couplet". It still means something, as in good money slopped into the feed trough of the developer/planner "class" to receive dubious results.
I'm going to vote with native oregonian and mp97303 for "green", as in greenwashing.
Of course "green" has been around for awhile, but it seems like just recently it morphed into a term of parody, cynicism, and manipulation. Witness Wal-Mart trying to placate Sam Adams by claiming they'll use green construction methods to build a store in North Portland. (And yes I know Wal-Mart's been touting its supposed green cred for awhile now, but it seems particularly calculated in this case).
sustainability (a word for all seasons and no reasons)
YesWeCan (rhymes with 'Pakistan')
stimulus
TARP
H1N1
G3 G4
HD
no
deathpalin
teabagger
birther
ShutTheBeckUp
terrorwist
eCar
Wall-e
Up
anthropogenic
MJ
balloonboy
Tiger (woulds, coulds, and dids)
bailout
falseflag
healthscare
Mossad
Blago
AlFranken (Alf rankin'?)
Trillion (with a 'T')
CalIOU
Copenhagen
tweet
crikey (a word for all reasons when things ain't pleasin')
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (37)
Unemployed
Posted by Justin | January 7, 2010 6:01 AM
Soccer
Posted by LucsAdvo | January 7, 2010 6:23 AM
Just free form association here -
unemployed - sheeple - FAIL - stupid - screwed - reverse robinhood - pathetic - duped - bamboozled - sinkhole - quicksand
Just off the top of my head.
Posted by native oregonian | January 7, 2010 6:27 AM
Transparency
Posted by David E Gilmore | January 7, 2010 7:36 AM
HIT squad
Posted by portland native | January 7, 2010 7:55 AM
The one that made me cringe the most was "repurpose." As in, "We're going to take that money and repurpose it."
Posted by Bill McDonald | January 7, 2010 7:55 AM
the silly word "charette"
Posted by kathe w. | January 7, 2010 8:18 AM
FAIL
Posted by mk | January 7, 2010 8:32 AM
"Creepy."
Posted by ecohuman | January 7, 2010 8:41 AM
For the 5th year in a row, it's "sustainable". Outside of "the", and "and", you'll see no other word used more often in ANY city/county/state/metro document or speech. It's awesome* when it's used more than once in a sentence, too.
*awesome = ridiculous
Posted by Larry K | January 7, 2010 8:48 AM
Oh please, it's obviously
Creepy
A bystander when Mayor Creepy wrecked his truck,
"Hey dude, your fly is down and your pants are unbuttoned".
Posted by Ben | January 7, 2010 8:51 AM
pseudoweird
Posted by Bark Munster | January 7, 2010 8:53 AM
"underestimated"
"unexpectedly"
"could" as in "it could bring 10,000 jobs" or "tax revenues could soar"
Posted by got logic? | January 7, 2010 9:09 AM
Foreclosure?!
Posted by Tony | January 7, 2010 9:11 AM
I'm for "sustainable" in this case. It is a word so heavily used, it almost has no meaning. Actually I vote "couplet". It still means something, as in good money slopped into the feed trough of the developer/planner "class" to receive dubious results.
Posted by recovering conservative | January 7, 2010 9:22 AM
Another vote for "sustainable." Yes, it is meaningless and undefined and you can never go wrong saying it in this town.
Posted by dg | January 7, 2010 9:27 AM
Sustainable all the way. It's lost all meaning and is simply just an amorphous buzzword among planny types now.
Posted by Alex L | January 7, 2010 10:15 AM
Oh, the comments about sustainable (which I agree is now a meaningless word) made me think of THE WORD -
ready? wait for it ...
GREEN
Posted by native oregonian | January 7, 2010 10:24 AM
I'd vote: 1) Partnership 2)Sustainable 3) Green
Posted by lw | January 7, 2010 10:35 AM
Hipster
Posted by John Benton | January 7, 2010 10:37 AM
Paulsen
Posted by darrelplant | January 7, 2010 11:07 AM
BREEDLOVE
Posted by mk | January 7, 2010 11:13 AM
I vote for GREEN
Most of you think GREEN initiatives are meant to improve the environment.
Those of us in the know, and JackBog regulars, know that the only thing green about GREEN is the cash they put in their pockets.
Posted by mp97303 | January 7, 2010 11:18 AM
I'm going to vote with native oregonian and mp97303 for "green", as in greenwashing.
Of course "green" has been around for awhile, but it seems like just recently it morphed into a term of parody, cynicism, and manipulation. Witness Wal-Mart trying to placate Sam Adams by claiming they'll use green construction methods to build a store in North Portland. (And yes I know Wal-Mart's been touting its supposed green cred for awhile now, but it seems particularly calculated in this case).
Posted by Eric | January 7, 2010 11:48 AM
I'd like to change my vote..... green
Posted by David E Gilmore | January 7, 2010 12:35 PM
Patella
Posted by Al in SE PDX | January 7, 2010 1:10 PM
I ditto the votes for 'green' and 'sustainable'. I loathe those 2 words. Add 'bike' to list.
Posted by dm | January 7, 2010 1:17 PM
OK, couplet was lame. Sustainable it is.
Posted by recovering conservative | January 7, 2010 6:29 PM
'SETTLEMENT'
Posted by RANZ | January 7, 2010 6:29 PM
Biotech
Posted by Wendy | January 7, 2010 6:31 PM
"conflict of interest"
Posted by godfry | January 7, 2010 6:46 PM
Randyland
Posted by Tricia Knoll | January 7, 2010 7:31 PM
Anarchy.
Posted by john rettig | January 7, 2010 10:58 PM
sustainability (a word for all seasons and no reasons)
YesWeCan (rhymes with 'Pakistan')
stimulus
TARP
H1N1
G3 G4
HD
no
deathpalin
teabagger
birther
ShutTheBeckUp
terrorwist
eCar
Wall-e
Up
anthropogenic
MJ
balloonboy
Tiger (woulds, coulds, and dids)
bailout
falseflag
healthscare
Mossad
Blago
AlFranken (Alf rankin'?)
Trillion (with a 'T')
CalIOU
Copenhagen
tweet
crikey (a word for all reasons when things ain't pleasin')
Posted by Tenskwatawa | January 8, 2010 12:06 AM
Oh. Only connoting Portland? Breedlove.
Posted by Tenskwatawa | January 8, 2010 12:12 AM
Portland - keeping it (weird) "creepy". Cannot think of a better description of the city leadership vacuum.
Posted by genop | January 8, 2010 11:44 AM
"Shovel-ready" and "Sustainability."
Posted by NW Portlander | January 8, 2010 8:36 PM