Alan does Portland

Day 1 of my dad's visit to Portland. I won Ms Pacman (They had a baby!); he won in shuffleboard:

My girl and her dog

Muscular

My friend Ed Muscle has been turning out some great 30-second video studies for his blog. Here is one:

First kiss

Various people talking about their first kiss, from age 5 to 19, from disgusting to sweat-provoking.


Describe your first kiss from Casey Parks on Vimeo.

Seeing Better

at Randi's bowling birthday bash:

A story of mine is running in the paper today. This kid is so amazing:


Most people want to be different from their parents -- more patient, less annoying -- but Noe Araujo wants more than that: He wants to become like the men who put his father in jail.

Araujo was 8 when his dad was arrested and eventually deported for selling methamphetamine. Now he's 18, dark-eyed and serious, and unlike most high school seniors, he knows exactly who he wants to be.

The Parkrose High School student has avoided nearly everything that teenagers usually do. He doesn't drink or party. He's never skipped class. In his free time, he is interning with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.

Yeah, he gets lonely, but he's been lonely his entire life. At least now, he hopes, he'll have something to show for it.

See the rest of the story on Oregonlive

Also, here's a video I made of him (I posted a draft earlier, but this is much better):


Noe from Casey Parks on Vimeo.

First person: Colin

Colin talks about playing the drums:


First person: Colin from Casey Parks on Vimeo.