Archives for January 2012

The Cort and Fatboy Midnight Movie: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (6-January-2012)

January 3, 2012 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Cort and Fatboy‘s first Midnight Movie screening of 2012 is perhaps the most successful family move ever made: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial:

This is probably the height of Spielberg’s powers as master-manipulator, plucker of heartstrings, and jerker of tears. And whether the FBI agents are toting shotguns or packing walkie-talkies (really, who sends a vanload of shotgun toting FBI agents after a bunch of prepubescents on BMX bikes?) the journey that Eliot and E.T. go on still packs its punch, because the modern fairytale Spielberg and writer Melissa Matheson cooked up is pure magic. How else could you explain the whole world falling in love with a bug-eyed space-booger? Hell, you’re probably humming the theme to yourself just reading about it.

Visit CortAndFatboy.com for more information, podcasts, and film commentaries on this and previous midnight movies.

The doors open at the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne) at 10pm, and the film begins at 11pm. Admission is only $3 (at the door or online), and you have to be 21 or over.

Oregon History Blogged (3-January-2012)

January 3, 2012 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The Wil / Wal Controversy at Cafe Unknown – Willamette won out, but there was a time when Wallamet was a contender. Early Oregonians had strong feelings about the controversy, and often used the debate as a proxy for political arguments.
Reed College Group Scans Poetry Under Light of Moon In Demonstration Against Arresting of Fellow Student at pdx tales – seems in 1947 the Portland Police arrested Reedie Tom Kelly for reading Shelley by moonlight. Bonus: The Oregonian editorial on the matter.
2011 in Review – and in Rhyme at Portland Preservation – Yup, a roundup of 2011 historical preservation stories.
Whiskey and Gin. Oh, and Vodka at Oregon Rediviva – Vodka was #1 in Oregon in 2011. In 1935? Oregonians prefer corn liquor. I the first seven months of 1935, a mere five gallons of Vodka had been sold in the state!
Blitz Brewery Blows Its Top at Dead Memories Portland

– On occasion, when days were warm, “Mt. St. Henry’s” would blow its top, showering those below with beery goodness.

Free Admission at Lan Su Chinese Garden (January 2-9, 2012)

January 2, 2012 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Portland’s Lan Su Chinese Garden (NW 3rd and Everett) is offering free admission for eight days from Monday, January 2 through Monday, January 9, 2011.

Just a reminder that Lan Su will be closing at 4pm on New Year’s Eve and closed all day Sunday for New Years. We’ll re-open for our Eight Great Days of free admission beginning Jan. 2 at 10am through Jan. 9. Hope to see you here!

Regular adult admission is $8.50, so this is a great deal! Heather and I visited the garden with our friend Kate during spring a couple years ago. Visiting in winter should be an interesting experience. We may have to take advantage of the tea house this time.

On This Day in Portland and Oregon History: January

January 1, 2012 by Dave Knows 1 Comment

Sometime in 2010 I realized that with my Multnomah County library card I had access to The Oregonian Historical Archive, among other research databases and sites. That realization gave me the bright idea to write a “Day in History” post for every day in 2011. I started innocently enough on January 1st. Ends up writing the pieces was the easy part – for most posts I didn’t delve into the topic too deeply. But the project ended up to be much more of a time sink than I had anticipated. Some days it was easy to find a historical event to write about, other days it took me literally hours to find something. But thanks to my obsessive compulsive tendencies I completed the task, with my final post on December 31, 2011.

Below is a list of the January historical events I found, assembled here in one place for your edification and amusement.

January 1, 1916: Oregon Goes Dry
January 2, 1895: Bull Run Water Comes to Portland
January 3, 1916: Robbery in Seattle Followed by Flight to Portland
January 4, 1905: Bend Becomes a City
January 5, 1846: No More Sharing Oregon With Britain
January 6, 1994: Tonya Harding’s Gang of Bumbling Criminals Attacks!
January 7, 1806: Sacagawea Scouts Locations for The Goonies
January 8, 1961: Memorial Coliseum Dedicated
January 9, 1950: Three Snow Storms
January 10, 1969: The Old Spaghetti Factory Opens
January 11, 1854: Behemoth Wasco County Created
January 12, 1920: Oregon Ratifies the 19th Amendment
January 13, 1855: Corvallis Controversially Christened Capital
January 14, 1969: TriMet is Born
January 15, 1888: Portland’s Deep Freeze
January 16, 1905: Second Morrison Bridge Opens to the Public
January 17, 1914: Ride the Red Electrics
January 18, 1854: She Flies With Her Own Wings
January 19, 1909: Oregon Republicans Elect Democrat to Senate
January 20, 1983: Poison Idea Records Debut Album
January 21, 2011: Portlandia Premieres
January 22, 1974: Nike Bags the Swoosh
January 23, 1975: Portland Awarded an NASL Franchise
January 24, 1917: Trolley Crosses Columbia on Rails for First Time
January 25, 2006: SP&S 700 Declared a Historic Place
January 26, 1700: The Great Cascadia Earthquake
January 27, 2007: Portland Aerial Tram Opens to the Public
January 28, 1944: Portland’s Final Liberty Ship Launches
January 29, 1904: H.D. Egbert Hanged For Double Murder
January 30, 1855: By Act of Congress, George Washington Bush Keeps his Land
January 31, 1960: Ten Oregonian and Oregon Journal News Trucks Dynamited

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