Portland's close-up hits the big screens today. "Feast of Love," the Greg Kinnear-Morgan Freeman movie that took over parts of NoPo last summer opens nationwide today.
It's no wonder so many people in the Bay Area are moving to Oregon. According to the new movie "Feast of Love," great housing deals abound in Portland, the fortune-tellers give partial refunds and pretty much everyone gets naked - frequently having sex on the 50-yard line of the local university's football field.
It's not just the "lifestyle" either, according to the paper, "Everyone in 'Feast of Love' looks hot, but no one is more alluring than the city of Portland, which should benefit from rising property rates if this film does any kind of box office."
Oh, and they like the movie, too. Over at Rotten Tomatoes, "Feast of Love" gets generally positive reviews.
"Feast" isn't the only movie with an Oregon tie hitting theaters today. Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" shot some scenes out in Astoria last summer. The New York Times likes this one better than "Feast of Love," so you have your pick of flicks.
The feast of films will continue into the future, too. Next up - Jennifer Aniston's latest, set to begin shooting in Madras.
The Times declares Portland a "dining destination"
The New York Times' love affair with the Rose City continues with a glowing piece this morning on Portland's "golden age" of food and drink.
At first it was a sort of underground stop for food and wine lovers who had heard word of small, fascinating restaurants run by young, talented chefs serving a bounty of local produce. It's underground no more. Portland has emerged from its chrysalis as a full-fledged dining destination. (Link)
The AP/Oregonian story about lesson plans from Mexico finding a home in Oregon classrooms has bloggers on the right fired up!
Link-o-rama:
Free Republic commenter: "Whenever Oregon does something crazy, it only attracts more crazies to Oregon."
New Sisyphus: "I'd love to fight this, but after a while one gets the unsettling feeling that one would be bounding into battle without a cause, that one would turn around only to find no one at one's back."
Born Again Redneck ties the curriculum story to the Jackson County teacher who wants to bring a gun into the classroom.
Pytheas online: "Stories like this for Oregon demonstrate how bad the situation is becoming - and highlights the need to bring a complete halt to all immigration, both legal and illegal. Now."
AmerPundit: "This is a fricken belated April Fools Day joke, right?"
LibNot: "I can understand helping out students who are from another country. What I cannot understand is having a whole curriculum for them, creating more strain on an already strained education system."
Moonbattery: "Even American history will be taught from the Mexican government's point of view -- though it couldn't possibly be any worse than the anti-American bilge other students are probably learning."
Narbosa: "Now American school system and the taxpayers who fund it now support the Mexican educational system in a warped version of distance learning."
Needless to say, there's a whole lot more being written on this, and seemingly none of it is coming from lefty bloggers! What gives? Did Oregon's defenders of diversity and multi-cultural education fall asleep at the wheel today?
If I missed a great link (or any link from the left, for that matter), by all means toss it in below.
Update 5:42 pm:
While we welcome all the out-of-towners visiting us today, this is not a forum for swearing, threats of violence, or racial slurs. I'm sorry to do this, but comments will be moderated until you all learn to comment like the civilized people you think you are. So don't be alarmed if you don't see your comment appear right away -- I'll get them up as fast as I can tonight.
Update 5:45 pm:
Sorry to do this, but because a different out-of-control thread, comments on the blog will be moderated tonight. I appreciate all of you for keeping your comments respectful. Please keep the discussion going...I'll post comments as quickly as I can tonight, but don't be alarmed if you don't see it appear right away.
Original entry:
Steve at More Hockey, Less War points out a blistering open letter sent by Jefferson High PTSA member Lynn Schore to new principal Cynthia Harris.
Portland Public Schools seems to have it in for Jefferson. If it's not the revolving door of incompetent, offensive principals, or the slashing of elective offerings, or the grant-funded experiments with gender-segregated academies, it's the blatant tokenism that's turned it into a "black" school. (I put quotes on "black" because the black community is offended by this bullshit, too, judging by their response to Lynn's ordeal Saturday.) (Link)
But the real firebomb is Schore's letter, in which she describes an Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs meeting at which Harris refused to answer Schore's question, in part because Schore wasn't African American:
Your refusal to answer my question on the basis of my race is discriminatory. Your statement that "Black kids are different" is also improper under PPS's non-discrimination policy. When you repeatedly categorize "Black and Brown students" as if they behave in ways different from other PPS students, you are stereotyping students based on their race, and that is discriminatory. (Link)
Schore goes on to say Harris is shutting down parent and community involvement at Jefferson, and that "many parents and students of all ethnicities do not feel welcome there."
The comparison she draws next:
If a Black parent went to a meeting at Lincoln High School and asked about the school policy regarding open campus, and the parent was told by the white Lincoln High School Principal that they were not allowed an answer because of the color of their skin, that Principal would be reprimanded, if not terminated. (Link)
And that brings us back to Steve's suggestion for how to fix the problems at Jefferson:
Instead of patronizing, business-oriented programs aimed at beleaguered black families, PPS should make Jefferson the best funded, most complete, most integrated high school in the district. Do that, and everything else will fall into place. (Link)
Have at it, folks -- is the district on the wrong track with Jefferson, or do Steve and Lynn have no right to complain? Would the district have any tolerance for a white principal who claimed "black kids are different?"
Anyway, even before this ugly episode, the accuser in this case never had a chance to be mayor. Against the guy he's attacking, he'd get beaten 2 to 1, and that's without this week's implosion. Unless he receives a last-minute reprieve in the form of some hard evidence of the sexual misconduct he's been sort-of-reporting, his political career now qualifies for a visit from the Death with Dignity people. (Link)
Bonus link with the least astute analysis that's not worth quoting: Victoria Taft.
Your turn, political junkies: Did Bob Ball just write off any chance he had of being mayor?
When we heard about the man who put a juvenile rattlesnake inside his mouth and nearly died, my first question was "how do we do this story without calling this guy a dumba**?"
Thankfully, he admitted as much to us, saying "it's actually kind of my own stupid fault."
"Kind of?" Alrighty then. Since I grew up in southern Arizona, at least he can answer a question I've always wondered: what's it like when a rattler bites your tongue?
"When your arm falls asleep and it's like a painful fall asleep, it's like that, but 10 times stronger and it was just my whole body." (Link, Video)
Lovely. I'll make sure to avoid that in the future.
Here's a bonus photo of Wilkinson that didn't make it into the story last night. He was in a medically-induced coma, and the swelling had gone somewhat from the terrifying blood-covered face we saw at first.
Alan at Blue Hole rips Oregonian columnist S. Renee Mitchell a new one over Mitchell's August 17th column and subsequent follow-up on Hillary Barnes, a former Starbucks manager.
15-second recap:
Mitchell goes into a Starbucks and sees a chalkboard drawing with an afro-headed barista next to the words "I lubs me some Breakfast Blend. It's the juice that gets me goin'."
Starbucks sees Mitchell's column and fires Barnes, who wrote the phrase on the chalkboard.
Mitchell meets Barnes in person and discovers she's not a racist, the afro-headed barista pictured on the chalkboard is white, and Hillary "didn't deserve what she ended up with" after all.
What Alan at Blue Hole is so upset about:
It seems the ex-manager has a lot more decency, kindness, and brains. The most appalling thing about Mitchell's latest column is what's not in it: an apology. (Link)
Alan suggests Mitchell give Barnes her job. He even digs up this photo of Barnes at her former Starbucks in North Carolina, where she worked with the YWCA to let kids perform poetry in the store:
Looking at the comments on Mitchell's latest blog entry, plenty of others agree that Mitchell owes Barnes an apology.
VanPortlander Aaron Hockley got caught up in yesterday's gas leak downtown. He was trying to head east on the red line, but the leak shut down the MAX downtown, making huge problems during the rush hour commute.
With fixed-rail transit such as light rail, you're screwed in situations such as these. Where buses can be easily diverted around a problem, light rail trains stack up, full of stuck passengers. The gas leak was notable, but light rail service disruptions are common... And the fix is usually a bus bridge. (Link)
My take: It comes down to flexibility vs. capacity. As an off-hour commuter who lives on the other side of the west hills, a MAX/bike commute is my only feasible non-car option for getting home at midnight. (I'm just not hard core enough to climb the west hills every night.) Unless Trimet ran buses as frequently as MAX at night, I'd be driving 5 days a week.
Your turn, straphangers: Should we "get past the sex appeal of light rail," as Hockley says, or are you a committed MAXer?
Viewers moved by the family's five-year investment in providing care and a home for the impaired deer "Snowball" and its offspring "Bucky", given they apparently could not have survived if left or set free in the wild.
We have received literally HUNDREDS of posts in our online survey. In our (unscientific) online poll, 99% of respondents want the deer to stay with the family.
The comments generally boil down into two types: The folks at ODFW are missing the point, following the letter of the law while being blind to the larger intent...which is a safe setting for wild animals that can no longer survive in the wild, an environment this family has clearly provided. Dozens posed the question - doesn't ODFW have some REALLY bad people they could be going after instead?
The most interesting argument, made by MANY posters, is that if these animals truly belong to "all Oregonians", it appears that the people of Oregon have spoken clearly - they want the Molalla family to keep these two.
The ODFW, having seized the pair, no longer has a "don't ask, don't tell" option, and now have placed themselves in the seemingly untenable position of enforcing a rule that almost no one wants enforced.
At this hour, both deer are being held by ODFW at a secret location, which for one Molalla family leaves Snowball in hell.
The NY Times has a profile of America's pioneers in "direct trade" coffee -- including, of course, Duane Sorenson, the owner of Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Just how dedicated is he to finding the world's best beans?
Mr. Sorenson recently spent more than $100,000 for a batch of coffee beans that took top honors at this year’s Nicaraguan Cup of Excellence competition. The coffee, from Las Golondrinas, Marcio Benjamín Peralta Paguaga's farm in Nicaragua, sold for $47.06 a pound, just shy of $40 more than the winner earned last year. But for Mr. Sorenson, who said the unusual "mango, peach, cantaloupe and jasmine flower" flavors made it the finest Nicaraguan coffee he had ever tasted, it was worth it. (Link)
Read on for a look at how Sorenson's love of great coffee led him to ship 400 cargo bikes to Rwanda.
Updated -
Can't even get a fight about music cred started with our neighbors to the north. Seattlest tried to get readers to disagree with a new Slate article calling Portland an indie-rock mecca. And guess what? Seattle-ites agreed.
This all got started earlier today when Slate put up a glowing piece by local writer Taylor Clark explaining why Portland is home to so many world-class indie rock bands.
But before you start congratulating yourself on how cool P-town, check out this alarming bit:
What's more, the city may already be in danger of jumping the musical shark: There's been talk recently of bona fide rock stars relocating to town, like Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (recently spotted hunting real estate with his supermodel girlfriend and, according to scurrilous local gossip, driving a very un-Portland gold Hummer), and Gerard Way of the pop-goth group My Chemical Romance, who's been talking with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr about moving here. Marr, naturally, is another new Portland resident. (We're done listing the local rock heroes now, I promise.) (Link)
Clark's conclusion: Unlike Seattle in the '90s, which produced a definitive "sound," Portland's just a great place to live. If, by great place to live, you live mean affordable housing, or this observation from Clark - "You can venture into public dressed like a convicted sex offender or a homeless person, and no one looks at you askew."
We'll leave the fashion statements to someone else, but with all due respect to Slate, the big 8ski was ahead of the curve on this story. Back in mid-May, we brought you this report on Stumptown's music scene.
Sound off with your take in the comments section - and let us know if you see Flea looking to join Anthony Kiedis and his gold Hummer up here.
Portland Mayor Tom Potter announced Monday morning that he would not seek a second term, begging two questions: Who will replace him? And how will his term as Mayor be remembered?
As for who's next, the coming months will see plenty of political skirmishing, but think two words: Sam Adams.
Mayor Potter's legacy includes an ongoing committment to improve Portland's homeless problem, most recently with the hotly debated 24-hour City Hall restrooms and sit-lie ordinance.
Potter demonstrated a willingness to stand up to the Federal government when he disagreed with U.S. policies. He told the Joint Terrorism Task Force that they were not welcome in Portland, Oregon. More recently, he came out strongly against the immigration raid at the Fresh Del Monte plant in Portland.
Potter was rebuffed by voters in his push to change the city's government to a stronger-mayor format, and it's unclear how much of an impact that vote had on Potter's decision not to seek a second term.
Potter's greatest challenges involved the department he once ran as chief of Police. The beating death of James Chasse led the Mayor to call for better training for all officers responding to mental illness calls.
Potter also had to resolve the controversy over alleged inappropriate conduct by his Chief of Police, Derrick Foxworth. He will surely be remembered for selecting Rosie Sizer to succeed Foxworth as only the second female Portland Chief of Police.
Are you disappointed Potter is not running for re-election. Click here to cast your vote or check the results of our online poll.
Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama made his first visit to Portland over the week. The visit was a success for the campaign, which raised $400,000 from the appearance.
Among the interesting findings: Dem's trumped Republicans in terms of visitor traffic and time spent on their Web sites, according to new Nielsen//NetRatings data for July.
Republicans topped Dem's for online advertising spending. Repub spending on sponsored links grabbed more than double the impressions of the leading Democrats.
Sen. Barack Obama led both the Democrat and Republican packs when it came to traffic, with some 717,000 unique visitors to BarackObama.com last month. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards took second and third place with 437,000 and 348,000 uniques, respectively. But Hillary was tops for 'user engagement', with the average visitor to her web site spending over 8 minutes at HillaryClinton.com, edging Obama's 7:53 minutes. By comparison, the typical visitor to JohnEdwards.com spent just 3:43 on his site.
I'm sure armchair psychologists (and probably professional psychologists, for that matter) will have a field day figuring out why a self-proclaimed pedophile would go on TV and radio to make himself known to his new city.
Jack McClellan went on KEX's Mark & Dave drive-time show (audio here) and with TV cameras looking on, said the only thing that keeps him from molesting little girls is that it's illegal.
To call it a bizarre interview would be an understatement. Even stranger is his belief that Portland media would somehow keep him safe from police or anti-pedophile lawyers.
So, all you would-be Freuds, Jungs, and Skinners: here's your shot. Is McClellan simply a sociopath? Does he have a subconscious desire to get caught and/or attacked? Does he think by publicly proclaiming his pedophilia, he'll be less likely to break the law?
