Dave Knows Portland

History Pub: Oregon’s Country Music Heritage (28-August-2012)

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Oregon's Country Music HeritageOregon’s Country Music Heritage: A Night of Rollicking History & Performance: is the topic of the latest History Pub at the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne), this Tuesday, August 28, 2012.

Country Music in Oregon has a long, deep fascinating history, much of which remains unknown to the general public. On what is the 70th anniversary of the first sojourn to Portland by the King of Country, Hank Williams, McMenamins, Oregon Historical Society and the Holy Names Heritage Center present historical presentations and musical performances celebrating the local country-western personalities, places and culture.

Peter Blecha, one of the Northwest’s best-known and most revered music historians and longtime curator of Seattle’s music museum, Experience Music Project, kicks off the evening with a discussion of Oregon’s country music heritage from the 1900s to the present. A panel discussion will follow, and the evening will be topped off with a musical performance by veterans of the great Heck Harper bands.

The show begins at 7 p.m., entrance is free, and this event is all ages.

Shanghaied in Portland!! Or: The Shanghai Tunnels Are Bullshit! (21-August-2012)

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Shanghaied in PortlandThe Stumptown Stories series, geared to everyone who loves this city we live in, takes place most Tuesdays at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder). Free to get in, but must be 21 or over – there’s a full bar!

This Tuesday night, August 21, 2012, Kick Ass Oregon History‘s inimitable resident historian, Doug Kenck-Crispin, will be debunking a banal Portland chestnut: Shanghaied in Portland!! (or: The Shanghai Tunnels Are Bullshit!).

As you have come to expect from this site, Kick Ass Oregon History delivers you the straight shit. In addition, we like to cover the exciting stories of Oregon’s past. So it was with a shit-ton of anticipation and frankly, excitement, that we began the researching and writing process to thoroughly cover our next topic… “Shanghaied in Portland!!” Which was a thing. And of course, we looked into these “Shanghai Tunnels…” which I really don’t think were a thing.

Prep yourself for Tuesday with the straight shit, Kick Ass Oregon History podcasts:

Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m.

Stumptown Stories: History of the Albina Neighborhood (14-August-2012)

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History of the Albina Neighborhood.The Stumptown Stories: Free Tuesday Lecture Series, geared to anyone who is curious about the world and community in which we live and loves to learn new things, takes place most Tuesdays at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder). Free to get in, but must be 21 or over – there’s a full bar!

This Tuesday, August 14, 2012 join Joe Streckert, a tour guide and researcher for Portland Walking Tours, as he presents The History of the Albina Neighborhood.

Streckert will focus particularly on the Vanport flood and the Providence developments, as well as the current controversies surrounding N Williams and other developments.

The presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. Always free. Always fascinating.

OMSI Science Pub: Death from the Skies! (1-August-2012)

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Death from the Skies!Death from the Skies!, presented by Dr. Phil Plait, a.k.a the Bad Astronomer, is the topic of a special OMSI Science Pub on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne):

Asteroid impacts! Cometary debris! Extinction level events! These are the ways the world might end, and these are the topics of “Death from the Skies!”, a scientifically based but fun look at giant impacts from cosmic objects. Phil Plait — astronomer, author, and blogger — talks about how these events have shaped our history, how they may do so again, and why Hollywood always seems to get them wrong. And lest you think it’s all doom and gloom, Plait goes into details on how we might prevent the next great impact from ruining our whole day.

Presenter Dr. Phil Plait earned his doctorate in astronomy at the University of Virginia, worked as a NASA contractor at the Goddard Space Flight Center, working with the Hubble Space Telescope.

This event begins at 7 p.m. but arrive early to secure your beer, grub, and a seat! Tickets for this special Science Pub are $20 – by tickets online or at McMenamins box offices.

Stumptown Stories: Egyptian Mythology (26-June-2012)

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Egyptian MythologyStumptown Stories, an event geared to everyone who loves this city we live in, takes place most Tuesdays at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder). Free to get in, but must be 21 or over – there’s a full bar!

The topic of the installment this Tuesday, June 26, 2012 is Egyptian Mythology:

[Tonight’s] free lecture welcomes back Dr Kate Bruner, an English teacher at Clark College with a Ph. D. in English from Auburn as she introduces us to the fascinating world of Egyptian Mythology. Kate is passionate about mythology and uncovering the connections between current taste and tradition and their roots in ancient civilizations. You will learn something new, guaranteed.

Doors open around 7 p.m. for this free event (21 and over only). Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m.