GRIMTERTAINMENT

When Drew and I handed our tickets for United 93 to the multiplex usher, it seemed a little weird when she perkily said, "Enjoy the show!" Like we were going to see The Little Mermaid , not a devastating acccount of 9/11. Of course the gut-wrenching film proved to be anything but enjoyable, and Drew and I sobbed in the rear row of the theater when the final credits rolled. The filmmaking is excellent and the images of captives uniting to fight their oppressors are extremely powerful. But by all means stay away if you look to movies exclusively for escapism.

Our entertainment outing on Friday night also proved to be disturbing. We saw Artists Repertory Theatre's production of Stephen Sondheim's musical Assassins. From John Wilkes Booth to Squeaky Fromme, the show spotlights all the men and women who killed - or attempted to kill - a U.S. President. Generous doses of humor and upbeat music offset the heavy subject matter, but the frequent discharges of incredibly loud blank bullets made me feel unhinged for the rest of the evening.

Luckily Portland's been blessed with some incredible weather lately, and we took advantage of it today by taking a long, cramp-inducing walk through an old-growth forest. Very calming indeed.