Heather is new to Portland, so I’ve taken it upon myself to inculcate in her an understanding of Portland’s all-around greatness. One of Portland’s greats is Gus Van Sant. I was shocked to learn not only that his films were not one of her reasons for moving here, but that she’d only seen [...]

Spring has finally arrived, and with it my favorite part of the year: Festival Season.
That’s what I call it anyway.
By late summer every weekend has beautiful weather and copious cultural and neighborhood festivals.
But things start slowly.
Lucky for us beer, as it so often does, saves the day:
Spring Beer and Wine Fest
This is the beer festival [...]

Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho is the film I recommend to all my Portland transplant friends. It provides a glimpse into the city almost two decades ago. The Pearl, for example, didn’t exist; Blitz-Weinhard’s malty steam suffused the area. The loading docks were loading docks by day, prostitute promenades by night. [...]

On Sunday, both the Daily News and The Times featured interviews with the king of the disaffected-youth-in-Portland movie: Gus Van Sant. His most recent contribution to the genre is Paranoid Park.
Gus Van Sant on filmmaking and ‘Paranoid Park’
Van Sant discusses his take on the Hollywood system, and how a low-budget helps him retain artistic [...]

Bailey’s Taproom is opening in August, according to the website. It’s in the old Lamthong spot.
I look forward to checking it out, as it’s a block from my office and I like beer and chocolate and cheese.
Oh, and I’ll buy a beer for the first person to tell me what the heck River [...]