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DTR Recommends Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside

September 2, 2010 3:01 pm

by Lauren Hudgins

I was walking around camp at Pickathon, heard Sallie Ford coming through the trees and went running for the stage. How fabulous! Sallie was one of the best voices I heard at the very talented music festival.

This bluesy rocksy group from Portland will be playing Thursday night of MFNW.

with-
Mbilly
Frank Turner
Justin Townes Earle

September 9, 2010
$15 or MFNW wristband
Berbati’s Pan
10 SW 3rd Avenue
corner of 3rd and Ankeny

Portland Least Manly City

June 25, 2010 4:58 pm

by Lauren Hudgins

The snack company COMBOS has ranked 50 major US cities in terms of manliness. Charlotte, NC, is the most manly while piddling Portland is quite the pansy and comes in last.

According to the study, Charlotte now has chief bragging rights on manliness thanks to its top 10 rankings in the sports, manly lifestyle, manly retail stores, manly occupations and salty snack sales categories.

Full article from Charlotte’s local news, NBTV.

Apparently all our neckbeards and perv mustaches don’t count for anything.

Turn in your ballot today!

May 18, 2010 11:05 am

by Lauren Hudgins

Today is election day! You can no longer mail in your ballot. You must drop it off at a drop site today! Try this search for ballot drop sites.

SOUTHEAST PORTLAND TOOL LIBRARY OPENS

April 28, 2010 1:45 am

by Lauren Hudgins

Southeast Portland do-it-yourselfers can borrow tools for free

SOUTHEAST PORTLAND – The Southeast Portland Tool Library (SEPTL) is a volunteer driven, tool library that will loan out tools starting this May 1st.

SEPTL volunteers will start lending tools on Saturday, May 1st from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to show off and orient members to the new space. The event is open to the public and is located at St. David of Wales Episcopal Church, 2800 SE Harrison St., Portland. For more information, visit our website at http://www.septl.org/

To borrow a tool, you must become a member. Membership is free. To qualify, you must be over 18 and be a resident of SE Portland within SE Uplift’s boundaries. The tool library is located at St. David of Wales Episcopal Church, at 2800 SE Harrison St. and will be open Saturdays from 9am-2pm. There will be a grand opening celebration on May 15.

The SEPTL is currently seeking volunteers to help with the upcoming events in May. The SEPTL also welcomes tool donations. Interested volunteers and tool donators should contact SEPTL by using our Contact form at http://www.septl.org/

Dropout Bike Club’s 5th Year Anniversary: Rides of Dropout

March 18, 2010 8:49 pm

by Lauren Hudgins

Come celebrate with a weekend of rides, bike events, performances, and surprises!

Friday:

Potluck at Col. Summers before the ride. 7pm

Dropout Club Ride

* Meet at 9pm
* Ride leaves at 10pm

Saturday, 3/20:

Mobile Events

*2pm Col Summers, ride to locations for

-> flag derby
-> tall bike egg/bean relay
-> Ladd Circle race
-> fire chicken
-> jousting
-> race riding different freak bikes (not your own!)
-> tallbike mount/dismount contest (w/ celebrity judges as in your moms)
-> BBQ at Col Summers then ride to party

Party ride meetup at 8pm at Col summers’ park.

Ride to party location with performances by:
The Sprockettes(Dance Team elite)
Total Recall!(crazed rock’n'roll)
Lung Collapser(sick metal 2 piece
Gaydolf Shitler(Organ jamz)
Start Fires(hip hop)
Hammercise(dance instructors)
Dance party with Sysfail, AZ the phonomancer, and DJ Analog.

Sunday, 3/21:

Dropout Sunday Slacker Ride

* Theme: Sunday of Slack
* Ride starts at Col. Summers at 2.
* Ending at Backyard BBQ.
* Close to Max if you want to go Zoobomb!!

dropoutbikeclub.blogspot.com

Make Calls to Help Haiti

January 15, 2010 3:11 pm

by Lauren Hudgins

Portland citizens have a lot of good will, but not a lot of money. I’ve been looking around to try to find ways of volunteering to alleviate the situation in Haiti without donating money.

Many people in the US are trying to contact family and friends in Haiti, but can’t afford to spend all day (time or money) calling. But we can help out by making calls for them.

Former Reed student Clare Payton is working at a calling center at the Haitian Enlightenment & Literacy Project (H.E.L.P.) in New York. Right now there are only two volunteers making calls and they are soon going home for the day. If we on the West Coast could continue to make calls as long as we can, it would be really helpful. Do you have some spare Skype credit to burn? Do you have T-Mobile? T-Mobile is offering calls to and from Haiti and you will not be charged for international long distance.

Join the Facebook group Haitian Response. You will see a list of people and phone numbers on the wall. Call the 509 numbers. On Skype select Haiti as the country and dial the number after 509. On a regular phone you will need to dial 011 + 509 + Phone Number.

If someone answers, find out: 1. Who picked up? 2: Where are they? 3. Is the target person alive? 4. Are any other family members dead or alive? 5. Tell them who on the list is trying to contact them.

It is especially useful if you speak French, but if you don’t, it’s ok. If you can’t communicate with the recipient, or if the call cuts off before you can ask them questions, it’s ok. Just the fact that someone, anyone, answered that phone number is very valuable information. Most likely, you will get a variety of error messages or even recorded music playing at you. You may not find anyone, but what you are doing is important. If you do get an actual person on the phone, report the details on the Facebook group immediately.

Good luck, and thank you for your help.

An Introduction

January 3, 2010 7:11 pm

by Betty Ridge

Oh, hi!

Well, I suppose this is where I introduce myself. I’m Betty. You can find me at midwestern hip-hop shows high-fiving friends. I’ve been getting into pop more and more recently. Something that I will only admit a few drinks into an evening.

I dig theater. So much so that I went to school for it for 8 very long years. I used to act, but find myself more into directing and developing recently. Non-traditonal theater is intriguing to me as well.

I’m big into the internets, it’s been my crush since my teens. I’m more LOL cats and TFLN than 4chan. The local BBS of my youth, Top Gun, will always hold a special place in my heart.

I plan on mostly covering theater here. I may venture out to a local hip hop show or even film event every now and again probably even art shows. So if you’ve got something coming up that falls in these categories or similar to, hit me up and I’ll see about scheduling.

Overall, I live for the lulz, so enjoy this ‘very real attempt at a heartfelt rap’ or, how I came to quit worrying and love the tactical maneuvers in the local woods.

A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story.

December 3, 2009 1:46 am

by Brigid Marz

I will admit it, Christmas cheer makes me feel a little like punching babies. So when I accepted the assignment to review the seasonal hallmark, A Christmas Carol, I waited for my stomach to settle before saying yes.

Mead Hunter’s adaptation of the Dickens classic is hauntingly familiar.

A play with music, rather than a musical play, the Portland Center Stage production uses classic Christmas carols to set a nostalgic and timeless tone. With a cast of rather fine actors taking on song, the music is not as well realized as it might be. But the rich harmony and languid presentation adds just enough depth to the overplayed seasonal favorites to restore their lost beauty.

Director Rose Riordan’s realization of the script is intoxicatingly macabre, with enough ghostly overtones to soothe the savage spirit. Ted Roisum’s portrayal of Jacob Marley carries a Snape-ian twist, and the chains binding Marley’s ghost are impressive and darkly beautiful. It is a troubled, dark Christmas tale, and there are some stolen moments that are genuinely frightening.

The mood is supported in force by the compelling set design work of Dex Edwards, who has created a dark, claustrophobic, beautiful old town that just fills the gap between quaint and gothic.

Of course, the show pivots on the strong character performance of leading man Ebbe Roe Smith, whose rubber face conveys emotion with just enough depth to be approachable, enough passion to be engaging, and just enough energy to portray the caricature without losing the human face beneath it. Smith’s performance is committed and rich, playful and savage.

This story, worn and weary, finds life in the PCS performance. Dark and (fuck it) heartwarming, the Portland Center Stage production will actually kind of engage you.

Recommendation? Skip the silver screen this holiday season, and catch a few talented humans in motion.

Now through December 27th at Portland Center Stage.

BIKETOBEERFEST

September 18, 2009 1:39 pm

by Lauren Hudgins

Mike and I are pumped up and muddled down with MFNW. We’ll have several reviews coming out in the next few days.

Tonight, I’m drawn between insane Israeli garage rockers Monotonix or feeding my early high school emo nostalgia with Sunny Day Real Estate.

If you aren’t into the MFNW hype but would still like to have some music for yourself this weekend, head over to Hopworks on Powell for the BIKETOBEERFEST tomorrow, Sept. 19th. Events starts at noon and goes until 10pm.

It is, of course, free. They want you to buy beer and food.

March Fourth Marching Band * New Beer * Bike Competitions * 5 live bands * Goldsprints Roller Races * Sprockettes * BMX Trick Riders + Flatlanders *

http://hopworksbeer.com/bikes/

Sledgehammer Writing Contest

August 20, 2009 12:40 pm

by Lauren Hudgins

It’s kinda like the 48 Hour Film Project. But with writing, and a scavenger hunt.

Writers to your marks. Get set. Shatter!

(Your writer’s block, that is.)

For the second year running, the Sledgehammer Writing Contest innovatively incorporates a scavenger hunt with a team competition and a prize package worth thousands of dollars—oh, and did we mention there’s a 36-hour time limit?

Here’s how it works:

Teams of writers converge at noon on Saturday to receive their first writing prompt and scavenger hunt clues. From there they head out to several locations around the city to gather all four writing prompts, and then they have 36 hours to write the best fiction piece they can. Final submissions are due back in person by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.

The following week, competitors will read their stories at an unveiling, and the audience will vote on the top three. The top three from each city will win gift certificates to local businesses, be invited to read their work at Wordstock and other venues, and go into the running for the grand prize package worth thousands of dollars!

Portland: August 29-30
Seattle: September 19-20

Start and end locations TBA.