Dave Knows Portland

Archives for February 2010

March 6: Beavers and Timbers Host a Talent Show

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Timbers and BeaversThe Portland Beavers and Portland Timbers will be hosting Portland Has Talent on Saturday, March 6th (1pm to 6pm) at the Lloyd Center courtyard, outside Nordstrom’s.

The goal of the competition is to find some of the most unique and talented acts the Rose City has to offer. Possible performances include, but are not limited to: dance routines, vocal performances, acrobatics, juggling, magic tricks, junkyard percussion and other random talents. We encourage all types of “talents” to audition for a chance to be the next star of PGE Park, although acts should be appropriate for all ages.

Winners will get a chance to perform in PGE Park during Beavers and Timbers games this summer.

For more information and to register, visit the Beavers’ or Timbers’ promotion pages.

Watch The Waiting List on DVD

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The Waiting ListThe Waiting List, local filmmaker Mike Vogel‘s first feature film, is now available on DVD.

Mike goes for the hard sell:

For those of you either hit hard by the craptastic economy or who are hesitant to drop $10 on a movie you’ve never seen by a director you’ve never heard of, I do have a plan to livestream the entire movie in March for free on Ustream or some site like that. And eventually I hope to have it available in other ways besides fragile physical discs that are dying off as a medium.

But until then, please go buy a copy of The Waiting List for yourself. Or buy one as a baby shower gift for that first time parent. Or that stay-at-home dad. That working mom. That couple trying to get their kid into preschool. This movie was made for parents and now I hope it will be seen by parents.

Mike made the film for less than $1500 over three weekends at an elementary school where his brother teaches first grade. The story is based on an actual experience he had waiting overnight to get his daughter into a preschool, and it stars local actors Jayme S. Hall, Audrey Walker, Bryce Flint-Somerville, Amanda Englund, Teresa Decher, and Mercedes Rose.

The Portland premiere of The Waiting List took place last Thursday night at the Hollywood Theatre. Heather and I enjoyed the film immensely (and not just because she won a copy of said DVD during a post-screening raffle!). The film is a funny, sarcastic, profanity-laced, vodka-fueled tea party.

Order your own copy here!.

March 3: Ignite Portland 8

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Ignite PortlandIgnite Portland 8 takes place Wednesday, March 3rd at the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne).

Here are some highlights of the 20 talks you’ll see on Wednesday:

As always, admission is free (but please bring a non-perishable food for donation for 30 Hour Day!). The show starts at 7pm (doors open at 5:30).

February 26-27: Chowder Challenge and Seafoodpalooza

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Update: 2010 Chowder Challenge results here!

Old Lompoc Chowder Challenge logoLompoc Brewing has expanded the annual Chowder Challenge to two days, and are now calling it, fittingly, Seafoodpalooza!

The Fifth Quadrant (3901-B N Williams) is the place to be on Friday, February 26 if you like shrimp, andouille sausage, and beer (and who doesn’t!?). From 6pm until 9pm they are hosting an all you can eat Shrimp Boil. Cajun music is included in the $12 price, though the special beers on tap will cost you extra.

Then return on Saturday, February 27th for the Fourth Annual Chowder Challenge. With admission ($10), you get the opportunity to sample chowders (New England-style only!) prepared by a bunch of local chowder purveyors (EastBurn, EaT: An Oyster Bar, Fifth Quadrant, Green Dragon, Hopworks Urban Brewery, New Old Lompoc, Rogue, Salty’s, Saraveza and SuperDog) and then vote for your favorites. Contest categories include Most Authentic, Most Flavorful and Best with Beer. The People’s Choice Award winner, the contestant who garners the most votes, takes home the Chowder Cup.

The event takes place from 1pm to 3pm, and features a beer garden (natch!), live music, root beer for the kiddies, and even Joe the Balloon Guy!

My Portland Twitter Bubble

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Portland Twitter BubbleOn Twitter, I follow a couple hundred people, mostly other Portlanders (the only celebrities I follow are the important ones: Pee-wee Herman, Weird Al Yankovic, and Sarah Silverman). I’m fairly selective. If you have some connection to Portland, are creative or amusing, or if I know you in real life, I’ll probably follow you. If you spam, spout right wing talking points, or your twitterings are just generically irritating, I won’t.

Blogging takes up a lot of time, people! I listen to a few internet radio shows semi–regularly, but otherwise I don’t really listen to radio, or watch TV. I’ve been to two movies in the past two years (both of which I recommend: Religulous and The Waiting List).

So, really, next to good old fashioned web browsing, Twitter is my main source of information on pop culture, local news, and the modern world.

Due to my limited media exposure, my view of what is going on in Portland, and sometimes the world, is a bit skewed. I dare say I live in a Portland Twitter bubble. Below are 10 of these notions (which there’s a good chance you share if you follow a lot of the same Twitterers I do).

  1. Leverage is the only show on TV
  2. Local TV news personalities are actually real people. [Some of them are even smart and funny. Who’d a thunk?]
  3. PDX.FM is the only radio anyone in Portland actually listens too
  4. Portland has a lot of tech startups [though I don’t know anyone who actually works for any of them]
  5. Nevertheless, Portland’s economy appears to be based on restaurants [primarily food carts] , beer, and the dramatic arts
  6. Everyone writes for a blog [usually OurPDX] or produces a podcast [usually on PDX.FM]
  7. Comic Sans and Papyrus are pure evil
  8. You can ask the mayor of the city to fix potholes and he responds in the
    affirmative
  9. The Trailblazers and the Timbers have about the same following
  10. Unicorns walk among us

Anyone else have similar notions?

For all I know, some of these may actually be true . . .