Not that there isn’t already six million things going on this weekend, but you should make a decent effort to check out Brown, Grouper, and Ilyas Ahmed tonight at Valentine’s down on 232 SW Ankeny.

Listen to Grouper’s beautiful dream noise here and here.

Beat the heat, people: reminder that tonight at 9 pm, “4”, the fashion show featuring apparel from local boutiques Denwave, Yes, Una, and Souchi goes down. It’s free! See you there!

Heading out to the Clinton/Division St Fair? Don’t forget to stop by Motokitty/Modified (1117 SE Division—next to Betsy’s) for a slew of vendors peddling zines, vintage clothing, handmade dolls, jewelry, accessories, art, live music, and more…

Here’s a look from Modified screenprinting. Like Motokitty, their designs are by and for the Vespa crowd…

Pitchfork’s dropping all kinds of Portland news today. New Decemberists record and tour. New M Ward record.

Tonight at 8 pm the Artistery (with help from the always great Food Fight) is hosting a screening of Better off Dead as a benefit for the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary. Cover is two bucks. Check out Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary here.

Congrats to Nolita, local denim and apparel retailer, who are getting props from GQ and American Way magazines in the near future. GQ is naming them one of the Top 100 Men’s Stores in the country! Congratulations, Nolita, you done made us proud!!

(Yes, you do have to burst through a brick wall to get to the merch… duh.)

The great Ghosting is playing a house party called the Kitchen Sink’s Welcome Home, Stranger (5037 N Princeton). Also featuring Dat’r, Team Evil, Bark, Hide and Horn, the Online Romance, Hey Lover and more, the show is billed as a “one-night-only multidisciplinary arts event” where seven bands, two DJs, and 20 visual artists get together to fill a vacant St. Johns house with wall-to-wall art. There will be visual art, performance pieces, food (provided by Vegan Empire), short films, a dance party, and some fine, fine music blasting in the backyard. 3 pm.

Listen to Ghosting here.

The people have spoken, and apparently, they HATE Beyonce’s newest music video “Deja Vu.” In fact they hate it SO MUCH they have started an online petition to force Columbia records to reshoot the offending video. Why the public outcry? Here are the main gripes from the petition’s authors (and I swear I’m not making this up):

This video is an underwhelming representation of the talent and quality of previous music video projects of Ms. Knowles. The following problems have been pointed out by numerous fans on and offline:

A) There is no clear story or theme to the video
B) The dancing is erratic, confusing and alarming at times
C) The sexual themes and shots between Ms. Knowles and Mr. Sean Carter PKA Jay-Z, are alarming and show unacceptable interactions between the two
D) The fashion in this video, while haute-couture, is unbelievable and ridiculous
E) The editing, while professionally done, causes one to get dizzy and disoriented
F) The overall feel of the video leaves a sense of much to be desired
G) The video is very disappointing and is not a clear representation of any of the songs themes

We, the fans of one Beyonce’ Knowles, ask that an alternative video be shot featuring; more choreographed & less spontaneous dancing, clearer visual themes that relate to the lyrics of the song, less gyrating, less scenes of non-existant sexual chemistry between Mr. Carter and Ms. Knowles, less zooming and quick cut edits and a more stylized and clear direction for all other aspects of the video production.

Oh, is that all they want? For those ready to be similarly “alarmed,” here’s the video. Share your thoughts below.

Go rent this movie. Two ancient, powerful, wizard brothers, one good (Avatar), one evil (Blackwolf) battle while elves have funerals for horses, the bad guys tromp around in Nazi uniforms, and giant ticks exlode. All that and a disco soundtrack. Wizards. Wizards. Wizards.

Errol Morris, director of The Fog of War, Thin Blue Line, those Apple commercials, etc, really is a great interview. In this one, he talks about interviewing Ed Gein, the years he worked as a private eye, “a male stripper with a genius IQ who became a disgruntled contestant on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’,” and the roots of his underground classic, Vernon, Florida. At first, the film was called Nub City:

… the true story of a town where more than twenty people cut off their arms and legs after taking out insurance policies on themselves. Nub City was always a bad idea for a documentary. I realized this within a couple days. I got beaten severely by the son-in-law of a nubbie in Quincy, Florida. It was the only time anyone has ever beaten me up, thankfully. It became obvious that I was never going to be able to knock on the door of someone who’s committed some massive insurance fraud and stick a camera in their face and get them to talk. It’s never going to happen. The best you can expect is getting the shit kicked out of you. That project quickly morphed into Vernon, Florida, which is a movie I very much like, but has nothing to do with the Nub Club or with the nubbies or insurance fraud.

SS: Was there a preferred method people used to hack off their limbs?

EM: No, it was freestyle. [Laughs] For example, there was one African-American guy who cut his arm off with a band saw, but neglected to read his policy, which didn’t take effect until the following day.

Read the whole interview here. Watch clips from his films here and his commercials here.

After receiving numerous complaints, New Zealand has pulled a dirty, dirty, dirty Nissan commercial starring Kim Cattrall (as her Sex in the City alter-ego Samantha Jones). Though laced with overreaching innuendo, I find this commercial distubing for many reasons OTHER THAN OVERT SEXUALITY. Here’s one of the commericials in the series. Thoughts?

I’m pretty damn excited about this Halleluwah fest that’s happening Sept. 1-2 at Disjecta. So excited, in fact, that I recorded an entire podcast show dedicated to it. Go here to hear tracks from fest acts, get info on the non-musical entertainment, and share my stoke—which, it should be said, is as big as a bear. Also, here’s a video of festival act Dengue Fever…

Between Transformers, Miami Vice, The Dark Crystal 2, and now the motherfucking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, my twenties are starting to look a lot like my tweens.

Back in the day, as they say, you could not find a more hardcore Ninja Turtles fan than I. I rocked the halls of Crestview Elementary in a blue sweatshirt with all the Turtles on it, which matched my blue sweatpants that had Leonardo on them. I had a way-too-big white t-shirt that showed all of the Turtles busting through a brick wall. I had the VHS tapes of the movies and I memorized the novelizations and I had the action figures and I had almost all of the trading cards and I ate Turtle Pies at every opportunity, even though they were disgusting. Pretty much every sentence that I spoke had one of the following words in it: “Raphael,â€� “Michelangelo,â€� “Leonardo,â€� “Donatello,â€� “Shredder,â€� “Splinter,â€� “April O’Neil,â€� “cowabunga,â€� or “pizza.â€� Most sentences had “cowabungaâ€� in them at least once, usually twice, sometimes three times. (Chronologically, my Turtles obsession came after my Batman phase, but before my Jurassic Park phase.)

So maybe I’m being overly nostalgic, but I’m pretty sure this movie’s going to be awesome.

Think things are heating up in Portland? In the Middle East the shit is about to hit the fan…

And why does THIS not make me feel much better?

And while it may not be a conflict in the Middle East, Lindsay Lohan’s Blackberry got hacked… is Paris Hilton to blame? Somebody call Condi Rice… QUICK!

There’s…

The Herzog fest at Cinema 21 Fri-Sun
The Grand Prix at PIR Fri-Sun
Timbers take on Seattle tonight at PGE Park
Oneida at Towne Lounge tonight
Bill Maher at the Schnitz Sat night
There’s a Crave party on Sat
Pearl Jam’s at the Gorge Sat-Sun
Gun Show at the Expo Center Fri-Sun
Chris Isaak’s at the Zoo Sunday
Bandits vs. the Samurai Squadron at Whitsell Sunday night

And of course, there’s a ton of more happenings in this week’s paper. Have fun. Be cool.

For the third year in a row, Portland Radio Authority (PRA) is broadcasting all of PDX Pop Now!, the giant, free showcase of what happening in Portland’s pop music scene. Where in the past these broadcasts have been, shall we say, illegal, it’s all legit now, with PRA operating on the intranets (praradio.com), and re-broadcasting on KPSU’s wavelength—98.3 FM. And and and, tablesturned.com will make the recording downloadable, like pronto after the show. So the breakdown is that you have no excuse not to see what PDX Pop Now! sounds like this year. You have your choice of in-the-flesh, on the internet, on the radio, or in your i-pod. So there.

“Yes, we are on 82nd, but don’t be afraid!” says Tina, the new owner of the Red Room (at 2530 NE 82nd, between Brazee and Russell). “We are local musicians that want to make this place an awesome local rock/indie/punk/etc. venue and all around cool place to hang out!”

I haven’t checked it out myself, but I’m all for hanging out on 82nd—and word is they’ve got pool tables, pinball and a full bar. Anybody been there since the ownership changed?

I’ve also got the Florida Room, at 435 N Killingsworth, on my to-check-out list. Two words: Mint Juleps.

It’s not even 9 am. But it’s already 70 degrees. Damn.

Check out an ancient TV appearance from Halleluwah fest (Sept 1-2 at Disjecta) headliner Vashti Bunyan. Crazy.

Also, here’s a Deerhoof video for their song “Stuffed.”

Check out the entire lineup (and read an interview with founders Chantelle Hylton and Mike McGonigal) here.

Tonight Scream Club (pictured below) are playing the Paragon up on 815 N Killingsworth with Ohioan, and Cells. (This’ll be Cells’ last show with Mark Kaylor as a member.)

Go here to listen to Scream Club.

Following on from their last swipe at the Mercury, those over-zealous, illiterate wierdos at Portland’s Indymedia have just called our paper a “poo poo tunnel”. Apart from being VERY funny in an “at you” not “with you” sort of way, I’ve absolutely no idea what it means. Or DO I? Perhaps it’s referring to one of these:

You heard it here first—the Fresh Pot on N Mississippi is going to be the main location for a new Hollywood movie. The owner/manager in the film? Greg Kinnear. The valued customer who marvels over the latte art morning after morning? Morgan Freeman. Here’s what Fresh Pot GM Michael Brooks had to say about the whole thing:

It’s official… our cafe is the main location for a big Hollywood movie, “The Feast of Love,” starring Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear. Our Mississippi shop will be the coffeeshop owned by Greg Kinnear’s character and the movie itself will be set in Portland. When the actors arrive, we’ll take them to the Stumptown Roastery to see everything that goes on and then to the Annex for a cupping, followed by an evening session at the Fresh Pot on latte art. The production company (Lakeshore Entertainment) is interested in highlighting the NW coffee scene so hopefully folks around the country will get to see beautiful artisan style drinks instead of giant caffeinated slushies from the big green monster. We’ll be out of our space for about 2 weeks but we’ll have a cart and outdoor seating set up across the street so that we can still serve our customers. This is going to bring in a lot of money to the street and to the city and we’re pretty excited about showcasing our coffee scene on a national stage.

Way to go, Fresh Pot! You’ve done us proud.

Is it your dream to become a Blazer Dancer? Well, this weekend you can make your dream come true! Blazer Dancer Auditions will be held at Self Enhancement Inc. (located at 3920 N. Kerby Avenue) at 9am this Saturday, July 22nd. Be prepared with a one-minute solo routine to music (on CD) and a $10 registration fee. For more info, click here.

On a side note, I took a hip-hop dance class my first quarter at college and coach DeeDee Anderson (pictured bottom row, center) was my teacher. Back in the day, if you got me drunk and put on Beyonce’s Baby Boy, I could really bust a move.

Basic Rights Oregon and the Human Rights Campaign just announced their endorsement for governor: Democratic incumbent Ted Kulongoski.

A no-brainer, you say? Well, sure, if we’re just considering Kulongoski versus Republican Ron Saxton. But there’s another person in the race, someone who made the BRO endorsement something that observers were very curious about: State Senator Ben Westlund, who’s running as an independent.

Ok, yeah, Westlund is a former Republican, and even wrote an argument in favor of Measure 36 for the voters pamphlet. But he was also a sponsor and chief proponent of SB1000, the failed bill that would have combined nondiscrimination and civil unions for same-sex couples. His support for it riled up his GOP comrades, who threatened to put him through a primary against someone even further to the right. He responded by dropping his party and running for governor.

It’s no secret among political watchers that Westlund carried the ball on SB1000, while team captain Kulongoski sat on the sidelines. It led to a number of questions: Would/could BRO endorse Westlund just because of his work on SB1000, despite the fact that his other political stances would most likely make BRO’s allies (unions, pro-choice groups, environmentalists) bristle? Or would they endorse Kulongoski, as a staunch Democrat, even though he wasn’t exactly jumping for joy over Multnomah County’s same-sex marriage licenses and screwed the pooch on civil unions?

We now know the answer. Read BRO’s announcement after the jump.

A Message from Basic Rights Oregon & the Human Rights Campaign: Reelect Governor Ted Kulongoski

Dear Friends:

Basic Rights Oregon and the Human Rights Campaign wholeheartedly support and urge you to reelect Ted Kulongoski for Oregon Governor in the upcoming November election.

As GLBT Oregonians, we have been fortunate to live in a state where our Governor has continuously supported our community. Governor Kulongoski has done more to stake out a public position in favor of GLBT equality than any other Governor in the country and he has ensured that we have a voice at the table.

From the beginning of his career and every step along the way, Governor Kulongoski never forgot about the GLBT community and worked to represent all constituents in the state. He has advocated for equality and stood toe-to-toe against those who attacked us.

Here are just a few examples:

*As a first-term legislator in the 1970s, Governor Kulongoski introduced one of Oregon's first anti-discrimination bills.

*He has consistently and publicly opposed and campaigned against anti-GLBT ballot measures, including 2004's Measure 36.

*As Attorney General, he directed his staff to draft an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court on Oregon's behalf, arguing that Colorado's anti-GLBT Amendment 2 was unconstitutional -- a brief that was widely considered to have a significant impact in getting the measure thrown out.

*In his first term as Governor, he introduced anti-discrimination legislation, and requested the landmark Senate Bill 1000, which passed the Senate in 2005 and would have created civil unions for same-sex couples and banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

*Following the 2005 session the Governor formed the Governor's Task Force on Equality to continue to move the issue of relationship rights and anti-discrimination forward between legislative sessions.

*And, most recently, the Governor has appointed a senior staff-member as an official liaison to the GLBT community – and for that reason alone, he has earned our vote.

Those are just a few examples of the work that Governor Kulongoski has conducted in support of our community. He is the ONLY candidate in this year's race for Governor with a more than 30-year pro-equality record.

But there is another clear reason to reelect Governor Kulongoski. The stakes in this election could not be higher for the future of equality in Oregon. During the last legislative session, Oregon made history by passing a historic civil unions and anti-discrimination bill in the Oregon Senate, only to see it die in the Oregon House.

In 2007, we WILL pass the bill in both the House and the Senate, but without a pro-equality Governor in office to sign the legislation, the discrimination against us will continue to stand.

Governor Kulongoski's Republican opponent, Ron Saxton, has vowed to veto any pro-equality legislation, including a civil union or antidiscrimination bill.

It is clear that a vote for any candidate other than Ted Kulongoski would ensure a Saxton victory which would be a tragic setback for our community and we cannot allow that to happen.

That's why we are urging you to not only to cast your vote for Ted Kulongoski in November, but to get involved as well. Your support for pro-equality candidates will ensure that we elect legislators that will represent all residents in Oregon fairly and equally.

Remember that it is up to all of us to stop the extremist who continue to attack our community. We need to come together this election season to defeat the politics of hate and send a clear message to future candidates that GLBT Americans will not be used as punching bags for their political gain.

Thank you for your continued support.

Regards,

Frank Dixon
Interim Executive Director
Basic Rights Oregon

Joe Solmonese
President
Human Rights Campaign

As you'll notice, BRO/HRC doesn't mention their erstwhile ally Westlund even once in the release. This line, though, is obviously directed at Westlund's campaign: "It is clear that a vote for any candidate other than Ted Kulongoski would ensure a Saxton victory which would be a tragic setback for our community and we cannot allow that to happen."

It seems unlikely that Westlund will get the "green light" from BRO, a signal that's short of an endorsement but lets voters know where candidates stand on equality. Their refusal to green light Multnomah County Chair candidate Ted Wheeler (who stomped Diane Linn) set up a bitter fight that is still raging in some circles.

Speaking of, word has it that Alisa Simmons--who was Linn's campaign manager, a BRO board member, and the chair of BRO's endorsement/political action committee--has gone to work for Westlund's campaign. Perhaps not surprisingly, Simmons is no longer listed on BRO's board of directors page.

Ummm… What the HELL is going on here?? This ad from the current Willamette Week is most disturbing thing I’ve seen come out of that paper in ages… including “Bulby”! So seriously… somebody tell me… WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING??

The NY Times is reporting that scientists are planning to rebuild the Neanderthal genome.

From the Times Article:

If the Neanderthal genome were fully recovered, it might in principle be possible to bring the species back from extinction by inserting the Neanderthal genome into a human egg and having volunteers bear Neanderthal infants. There would, however, be great technical and ethical barriers to any such venture.

I can’t wait. I’m kind of thinking it’s not going to make a big difference, sociologically.

I just posted another episode of my music podcast, Best Show/Worst Show. It’s here. This week I’m spinning songs by Harry and the Potters and locals Alan Singley + Pants Machine (pictured below) and Bark, Hide and Horn. Like our Up and Comings these are all bands that have shows this week with a lil’ info about each one.

Tomorrow (Friday, July 21) I’ll be doing a special edition show where I’m gonna talk about Halleluwah festival happening Sept 1-2 at Disjecta.

Silly me. For a moment there I thought we were heading into a dry spell of fashion shows, with not much on the horizon after this Saturday’s must-see event, “4”, at the 811 E Burnside building, unless you can drive out to Lafayette, or if you count the precious, but formative showings from the first set of campers at Fashion Design Camp, there isn’t much on the runway horizon between here and this year’s Collections and Portland Fashion Week. And then this came in:

PORTLAND, OR - July 27, 2006 - Ohm Night Club, in collaboration with local clothing stores Local35 and Lit, presents “Fall For Fashion,â€� a benefit for the Oregon Humane Society. This 21 & over event will showcase local to international designers and will feature live music and performances by local fire artists. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show will start at 9.

Lit will show designs by Genetic Denim, Suburban Riot, Z-Brand, Orthodoxe, Gsus, Covet, and Ed Hardy. Local35 will exhibit designs by WESC, RVCA, Monsieur T, URAM, Odyn, J Lindeberg, Kasil, Corpus, Jfold, Kimberly Baker, and Grn Apple Tree.

So there. Whew, that was a close one. Here’s an intriguing show from Ed Hardy to whet yr whistle:

Frequent readers of I Love Television already know I’m ga-ga for the FX sitcom, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Thursdays, 10 pm)—about four of the most amoral pals you’ll ever see on TV. Check out this funny clip from last season when one of the guys figures out a new way to get laid: Lying to girls at anti-abortion rallies!
P.S. “Is that Taylor Townsend from The O.C.?” Oh hell yeah, it is!

The end is nigh!
The evil powers that be are now using my favorite Magnetic Fields song (“Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long”) on a dog food commercial.
Repent everyone.

Fucking Joel Siegel. Dude walked out of a press screening for Clerks II. According to the always-reliable Page Six of the New York Post tabloid:

“Time to go!” roared Siegel to his fellow critics. “First movie I’ve walked out of in 30 [bleeping] years!” His tirade came 40 minutes into the long-awaited Weinstein Company sequel to Smith’s 1994 cult classic about two foul-mouthed Long Island convenience store clerks who razz customers and goof off.

In the scene that sent Siegel to the exit, the characters graphically discuss hiring a woman to perform sexual favors on a donkey. Siegel told Page Six: “It was so foul and mean and repulsive. I finally realized I could not say anything positive… I wasn’t ready for this kind of smut… I hope he doesn’t make any more movies.”

Are you fucking kidding me, Siegel? You walk out of a movie because you “could not say anything positiveâ€�? Read your job description: You’re paid to watch movies whether you like them or not, not to sit there and make puns, then put on a big show when you decide to walk out. (On a side note, what business does a film critic have walking out of any movie? And on another side note, why are all the famous film critics—Joel Siegel, Leonard Maltin, Michael Medved—such douchebags?)

But the better part of this story is Smith’s response.

(Smith's pretty proud of getting Siegel to walk out, as one might guess from the last paragraph of the Clerks II feature I wrote this week.) From Smith's blog:

You'd imagine this would bother me, and yet, I'm as delighted by this news as I was with the eight minute standing ovation "Clerks II� received in Cannes.

I mean, it's Joel Siegel, for Christ's sake. As Paul Thomas Anderson once said of the man, getting a bad review from Siegel is like a badge of honor. This is the guy who stole his mustachioed critic shtick from Gene Shalit years ago, and still refuses to give it back. This is a guy who seemingly prides himself on being "punny� - that is, he likes to add his own nyuk-nyuk wordplay into the reviews he writes/gives.

For "Pirates 2", he made us all titter with "Yo, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Fun�. For Pixar's lastest, he made us squeal with delight when he wrote "Wheelie Good Time for `Cars'�. Can you believe he somehow not only made us laugh, but also think, when he challenged our perception with "X-Men' Fails to X-cite�?

But Smith's (more valid) point is just what a lame maneuver it is to walk out and make a huff like Siegel did:

You never... NEVER disrupt a movie, simply because you don't like it.

Cardinal rule of movie-going: shut your fucking mouth while the movie's playing. They even ask you to do so in the pre-show run-up to every flick (�Cell phones and pagers off, no talking during the show�). This guy went beyond talking, even; he was making a spectacle of himself as he left. I've now spoken to three folks in attendance last night, and all have said that Siegel WANTED everyone to know how disgusted he was, and that he was leaving. If you want to share your displeasure with everyone, that's fine, dude; just do it AFTER the movie, not during. Some folks were enjoying themselves. I don't come down to your job and slap the taste out of your mouth for coming up with a line like "`Shark Tale' Is a Halibut Good Time�; so don't fuck with my stuff WHILE IT'S STILL SCREENING.

I'd recommend reading Smith's whole blog post, 'cause it's pretty funny, and it points out something pretty important—once you get past all the dick and fart jokes, Clerks II is actually a really sweet, good-hearted, even feel-good film. I mean, it has a goddamn Bollywood-inspired musical number set to a Jackson Five song! What the fuck is wrong with film criticism these days?

SIGH. If you’re like me, you’ve got “curse fatigue” over Bush’s slip of the tongue, reported by the Mercury here and here.

Rest assured vulgarity isn’t Bush’s only diplomatic tactic. While the Middle East continued to descend into fiery conflict, Bush took time out at the recent G8 summit to issue an unwelcome backrub to Germany’s Chancellor Merkel:

And, SIGH, obsess about “Slicing the Pig”:

Is Bush trying to make us laugh so we won’t notice we’re circling the drain? Ugh.

BikePortland.org has Adams’ open letter:

To: The Public of the City of Portland From: Commissioner Sam Adams Re: Inflammatory Radio Comments

July 17, 2006

An open Letter to City of Portland:

It has been brought to my attention by several concerned members of the community that the 95.5 radio broadcast of “The Playhouseâ€� on July 13, 2006 and July 16, 2006 included a number of inflammatory statements that could negatively impact the safety of Portland. These statements may have included sentiments that news of people dying is funny. It is not. The discussion included statements to the effect of:

“When I hear on TV that a cyclist has been hit and killed by a car, I laugh; I think it’s funny,â€�

“If you are a cyclist you should know I exist, that I don’t care about you. That I don’t care about your life.â€�

Upon first becoming the Commissioner of Transportation, I set traffic safety as my number-one priority. I believe that one death on our roads is one death too many, and in Portland, we have 10% more traffic fatalities each year than murders. Last year in America (I note that the show in question is broadcast in 12 markets), 43,200 people died in traffic crashes. This was more than any year since 1990. If the USA had shared the same success in reducing fatality rates as Australia, England, and Canada, we would have had 20,000 fewer dead people last year.

It is in this light that I wish to express my extreme concern for the statements in your show that made light of the tragedy that visits families coping with the aftermath of traffic casualties. This past year alone has brought us here in Portland an unacceptable number of tragic pedestrian and bicycle fatalities – fatalities of mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives. While making light of these tragedies exhibits poor taste, the main concern I hold is that the broadcast may have actually encouraged people to behave in reckless and dangerous ways towards others. While I am a strong defender of freedom of speech, incitement to violence is not afforded the same protections as other types of speech.

Through our "I Share the Road� campaign, the City is working to combat road rage and promote safety and tolerance through education, engineering, and enforcement strategies that relate to motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. This effort is led by a coalition that includes the Oregon Truckers' Association, AAA of Oregon, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition, Trauma Nurses Talk Tough, Elders in Action, and others. We take increasing the civility on our streets seriously. As a coalition, we have pledged to challenge statements that trivialize or dehumanize the effects of road rage.

I have had a chance to listen to some edited versions of the broadcasts in question, and am shocked by some of the inappropriate commentary I have heard. However, since the Jamn 95.5 has taken the full versions of the broadcasts off of their website's public archives I have not had the opportunity to hear the entire unedited broadcasts. Because of this, I am calling on the 95.5 management to cooperate with community requests and provide a transcript, tape, or the podcast of the show to the public. This action would either alleviate community concern or help to foster a dialogue about appropriate action 95.5 could take to assist in efforts to improve the safety of our streets.

I hope to do what I can to help this seemingly unfortunate incident into a constructive event that may lead to something positive within our community. I look forward to continuing my work with transportation advocates of all sorts, as well as radio staff, in the case that I can be of additional assistance.

Thank you,

Sam Adams
Commissioner of Transportation
City of Portland

The City hall show is packed, and we’re waiting for the Minders to take the stage.

Here’s the Pseudosix, who were up first. They were accompanied by three hippie dancers, because this is Portland’s city hall.

In this week’s paper, I have a follow up to last week’s news feature (“Democracy for Sale”, in which the Mercury uncovered the fact that homeless people were being paid per signature—illegally—to circulate conservative initiative petitions). I’d link to this week’s news lead, as a way of explaining the update to follow, but for some reason it’s not up yet (even though Amy Jenniges’ story about radio shows and bike riders is—if that gives you any insight into the Mercury’s inner-office politics).

The core of the story is a contract we obtained anonymously between a company called Democracy Direct, which gathers signatures for conservative campaigns, and a subcontractor. Under the terms of the contract, DD would pay $35,000 for 40,000 valid signatures—in other words, they were paying another company on a per signature basis. No one I contacted at the state (the offices of the attorney general, the secretary of state, and the elections office) was able or willing to give a definitive answer on whether this payment scheme was a violation of election law.

Even election reform advocates like Tim Nesbitt, one of the measure’s originial sponsors, couldn’t give a straight answer—although Nesbitt said the scheme clearly violated the intent of Measure 26, which bans payment per signature.

This morning, though, he called with a less nuanced answer.

"If you read the text of the measure and the explanatory statement that was in the voter's pamphlet (when M26 passed in 2002), it's very clear that you can't exchange money for signatures. It turns them into commodities, which is what the measure was trying to stop," Nesbitt said. "I don't know that it's written into the law itself, but it definitely violates Measure 26."

Unfortunately, the state won't address the vaguery in the law unless someone files a complaint.

"What you've touched on is the difficulty the state faces," says attorney general spokesperson Stephanie Soden. "Voters passed a ballot measure without any details, and it's up to the state to fill them in. It gets dicey. That's the balancing act we have to take--the voters spoke, but how far should the government go in interpreting that law?"

"I think that if we saw some complaints filed that went all the way through the system, the state could find an answer," Soden continued. "But we're operating in a grey area."

Meanwhile, a slip up by the "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" state spending cap (Initiative Petition 6) campaign could cost it a number of signatures. In the verification process, elections officials found an unspecified number of sheets for Initiative Petition 39 (legislative term limits) mixed in with the TABOR sheets. By law, says elections officer John Lindback, workers can't simply shift those sheets into the TABOR stack, and instead have to toss them out.

Lindback wouldn't say if the number of sheets found were enough to disqualify the initiatives.

Enormous props to The Oregonian and Brian Smith for what is easily my favorite news story of the day.

You know that Pearl Jam is doing a sold-out show with Sleater-Kinney and David Cross tomorrow night, right? And you’ve probably heard that it’s a benefit for something or other. But did you know this:

Backstage, (Pearl Jam guitarist Mike) McCready sits in a chair, doubled over. His left arm is draped across his stomach. His right is held up in the air, waving. On his face there is an unmistakable look of anguish and suffering. And though McCready’s going through a re-enactment, he knows the lines all too well.

“It’s this horrible, nonstop pain,” McCready says. “You’re not ready for it when it starts. You don’t know when it’s going to end. It’s the worst feeling you can ever imagine. And it’s gross. It’s just a disgusting, gross disease. It can really mess up your life — I know.”

What the 40-year-old guitarist is referring to is IBD: inflammatory bowel disease.

Let the jokes commence. Long live rock and roll.

Cyclists have been wondering when city officials might step into the frey over Jammin’ 95.5 FM’s morning show—the Playhouse—and their alleged anti-bike comments.

It seems we’ve got an answer: City Commissioner Sam Adams is working on a letter—which the Mayor reportedly supports—and plans to get it to the station by Friday. The timing, city officials hope, will help cool everyone down before bikers and Playhouse listeners potentially face off at a Saturday Jammin 95 picnic event in NE Portland’s Grant Park.

As soon as we get a copy of the letter, we’ll post it.

Upper Playground is about to move into NW Portland, with a new store at 23 NW 5th. Based in San Francisco, they sell urban apparel from hats to shows to luggage to home furnishing at an international level. Personally, I think it looks pretty good on the model they found right here:

Also, check out a preview of some new shoes that’ll be part of their holiday collection:

Look for lots of fun events next weekend for their grand opening, with art (such as Sam Flores), music (like DJ Z-Trip), books (like the Jeremy Fish/Aesop Rock collab The Next Big Thing, and more.

You heard right! According to Starpulse, former funny man Eddie Murphy is engaged to wed former Spice gal, Scary Spice (Mel B) in an intimate ceremony at LA’s Roosevelt Hotel. And not only have they known each other for just ONE MONTH, Eddie divorced his wife of 12 years in MAY.
WOW! For the love of god, somebody get these two an MTV reality show… STAT!

Quick reminder to stop by Løyly (2713 SE 21st) tomorrow evening, 6-9, for a drink and a peek at goods from Garnish Apparel, Servello Body & Skincare, Demimonde jewelry, and more…

(The “Sophia” top from Garnish)

I didn’t have cable growing up, but my grandpa used to send me Beta tapes of the Disney Channel so I could watch Kids Incorporated, which I was more than a little fanatical about. Maybe I’m the last one in the world to know this, but Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas used to be on it. She was the blonde, frizzy-haired Stacy Ferguson. This is her heart-breaking rendition of “Say You, Say Me,” while a clown stalks her in an alleyway.

Check out this insane-o list of others who also starred on the show:
Eric Balfour (1991)
Jennifer Love Hewitt (1989-1991)
Mario López (1984-1986)
Martika (1984-1986)

Well, well, well. After being nominated for an Emmy this year, guess which infamous and CENSORED South Park episode is back on the air TONIGHT? Yep, it’s the classic and heee-larious “Trapped in the Closet” episode in which Stan is declared the grand thetan of all Scientology, and through a series of events, Tom Cruise, John Travolta—and of course—R. Kelley end up trapped in Stan’s closet. It’s a truly delicious satire—especially if you roll your eyes at Scientologists as much as I do. So if you missed it before, be sure to tune in tonight at 10 pm on Comedy Central!

In a little less than three and a half hours, City Hall (1221 SW 4th) turns into an outdoor all-ages club. 5:30 pm. Free. All ages. Action kicks off with Pseudosix, followed up by the Minders, and Quasi. If you need a decent preview of what this show will be all about, check out this video of Quasi performing live with Elliott Smith.

ORIGINALLY POSTED 6 PM TUESDAY, JULY 18
Let’s just jump on into this one: Mike McGonigal (YETI Magazine) and Chantelle Hylton (Blackbird Presents) have announced that they’re curating what looks to be the greatest festival of all time. It’s called Halleluwah, it’s based around ’60s folk singer/comeback queen Vashti Bunyan (pictured below) and it goes down Sept 1-2 at Disjecta.

The lineup includes Deerhoof, Michael Hurley, Tara Jane O’Neil, Trumans Water, Arrington de Dionyso, Nice Nice, Grails, White Rainbow, Acre, Vashti Bunyan, Dengue Fever, Sir Richard Bishop, Jackie-O Motherfucker, the Watery Graves, Valet, Plants, Alela Diane, Whip, Ghosting, Rob Walmart, Tunnels, Ilyas Ahmed, and so many more. There will also be a swap meet, an art show, vendor booths with books, music, art, film, and records, along with food from local chefs and a commerative two LP fest compliation. (All details are after the interview.)

What’s Halleluwah all about?
MIKE MCGONIGAL: Halleluwah takes its name from the song by Can. Mostly, I think we just thought it sounded cool. I’ve put on some events in the past, and always wanted to do a full-blown festival more than anything. I am really, really psyched to be doing this thing with Chantelle.

There are a lot of great clubs in town and great bookers too, but Chantelle clearly has the most superlative record of any local booker, going back to the Medicine Hat and then Blackbird, which I used to visit when I lived in Seattle. Chantelle's the most artist-friendly booker (especially to local musicians), she's not into it for the spotlight, and she's just so obviously an awesome honest person who loves music and this is why she books shows.

CHANTELLE HYLTON: I approached Mike about doing a festival together because of his hugeness in supporting and creating what could be considered more "outsider" art, something that Portland has quietly and unflinchingly fueled and supported for decades. Portland's getting such huge international recognition these days for our creative output, and this festival celebrates a lot of the people who are at the forefront of a more pure and pre-commodified scene.

MCGONIGAL: We've both been to lots of these things and are just really trying to create this atmosphere where there's diversity to the music, and where there's thought put into every little aspect of the shit. Disjecta is a great organization and a huge, phenomenal space, so we're super psyched to have it there.

What can people expect from the fest?
MCGONIGAL: There will always be more awesome stuff happening than can be taken in at once. Much of the music is within a certain loose framework, but all of these artists push boundaries. They'd all be doing this whether anyone gave a shit about "freak folk" (which is like so '04) or not. There's also really loud weird psyche stuff, electronic music and dance music and music you have no idea what the fuck it is, really. YETI celebrates a wide variety of artists, so in addition to music we'll have a full-blown art show, and booths with books and clothes and 'zines and records.

HYLTON: All three floors of Disjecta (pictured below) will be packed full of art, music, film, created goods, people, ideas, good energy, and beautiful food made by some of Portland's most innovative chefs. It'll really be an incredible moment in Portland's artistic history, I think. Certainly good reason to stay in town over Labor Day weekend.

How'll this fest be different from others that are happening around the same time?
MCGONIGAL: I love that there are so many awesome music festivals happening this summer and fall. And they each have their own personality. There's nothing really defining or pigeonholing Halleluwah aside from that it's music we like a lot and that we think goes together nicely.

How'd you decide who got booked? Were you going for any kinda central theme or aesthetic? Maybe basing it all around Vashti? (pictured below)

HYLTON: Vashti's visit to Cascadia was the seed for the festival's growth —

MCGONIGAL: God bless her.

HYLTON: — but beyond that, it's basically me and Mike geeking out and putting together the kind of festival we'd be ecstatic to see. Halleluwah has as its forcefield art that isn't celebrated for what I consider the wrong reasons--trendiness, marketability, similarity to whatever seems to be making money at the time. All of these artists are super stoked to be a part because of their interest in and respect for the other artists involved. And because of that, the organic nature of the festival is really the fuel, too.

What's going to be on the comp record?
MCGONIGAL: It's LP only (CD-Rs will be available for free with purchase of the LP for those unlucky few who are vinyl-impaired): Sir Richard Bishop, Deerhoof, (pictured below) Tara Jane O'Neil, Holysons, Romancing (debut release of Charlie from Panther's new band with his wife Maggie from Bangs), Truman's Water, Alela Diane, White Rainbow, and more--we just started gathering songs this week. It'll be inexpensive and lovely and hand-silkscreened and super awesome.

Will we get another fest next year?
MCGONIGAL: Hell yes!

HYLTON: HALLELUWAH!

Fest info:

September 1 and 2, 2006 Disjecta Interdisciplinary Arts Center

Blackbird and YETI Magazine proudly present:
HALLELUWAH: a festival of enthused arts
All-ages plus 21+ bar
$16 each day (advance), $2 Saturday swap meet, $28 two-day pass (advance)
$18 day of show

Music lineup:
FRIDAY
Deerhoof (San Francisco, CA)
Romancing
Michael Hurley (Astoria, OR)
Tara Jane O'Neil
Trumans Water
Arrington de Dionyso
Nice Nice
Grails
White Rainbow
Theo Angell (New York, NY)
Golden Bears
Acre (Olympia, WA)

SATURDAY
Vashti Bunyan (London, UK)
Dengue Fever (San Francisco, CA)
Sir Richard Bishop (Seattle, WA)
Jackie-O Motherfucker (pictured below)

The Watery Graves
Valet
Plants
Holysons
Katharina Tunicata (Seattle, WA)
Alela Diane
Whip
Ghosting
Rob Walmart
Tunnels
Ilyas Ahmed
Goatgirl (Seattle, WA)
Douglas Shepherd

"The brand-new YETI will be for sale here before anywhere else (more about that at the bottom of this damn long-ass press release). There will be a huge, awesome art show with works curated by Gretchen Vaudt (Albina Press) and Mike McGonigal (YETI). Among the artists included in the show will be: Kevin Arrow (Miami, FL); Julianna Bright (Portland, OR); Claudia Brown (Portland, OR) ; Mark Dwinell (Brooklyn, NY); E*Rock (Portland, OR); Alan Greenberg (Portland, OR); Liz Haley (Portland, OR); Josh Kermiet (Portland, OR); Robert McCormack (Brunswick, NJ); Jason Miles (Seattle, WA); Tara Jane O'Neill (Portland, OR) (pictured below); Lucy Raven (Brooklyn, NY); Gretchen Vaudt (Portland, OR)


In the basement level, a selection of music documentaries and videos will play almost constantly.

Top floor is the main stage. Second floor is the 2nd stage, and will also feature a selection of treats from some of Portland's young and creative masters of cuisine as well as records & good things for sale from lots of Portland creators.

Saturday afternoon will feature some matinee films a record and arts swap meet and lots of music (stay tuned for complete schedule).



Film:

Land Of Look Behind (1982)

Director Alan Greenberg in attendance

This documentary feature, made for $9200 (including kidnapping ransom paid to the crew's Castro-backed captors), is the finest and first non-fiction film to on the subject of Rastafarianism and reggae.
First-time director Alan Greenberg, a Werner Herzog protege, has invented an amalgam of dramatic and field technique with breathtaking results--in fact Herzog has called it the documentary film that has influenced him more than any other over the last 20 years, while it's one of Jim Jarmusch's three favorite films, ever. The images and characters are unforgettable, the reggae performances by Gregory
Issaacs and Lui Lepki genuinely hypnotic, and the original non-reggae scoring sublime.



The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack (2000)

Director Aiyana Elliott and co-writer Dick Dahl in attendance

What happens when your dad is a pioneering folksinger who lives up to his nickname perhaps more than you'd like? In this excellent "bio-documentary" Aiyana Elliott sets out to tell the story of her father from myriad perspectives, including her own.



Mouth Full of Sweat: The Chemical Imbalance Video Compilation (1990)

Video compiler Mike McGonigal in attendance

Rare showing of the two-hour VHS tape (Atavistic) that turned Kurt Cobain onto Daniel Johnston. Features rare footage and videos from Galaxie 500, Prong, Jad Fair, Missing Foundation, Elliott Sharp,
Millford Graves, Unsane, William Parker, Reverb Motherfuckers, Mudhoney, Cop Shoot Cop, Daniel Johnston (pictured below) and more.





What's in YETI FOUR

In the book:

Drew Daniel of Matmos essays on "How To Sing Along to 'Sweet Home Alabama.'" Dan Bejar of Destroyer is interviewed by his eight-year-old doppelganger. Rad investigative piece about bluesy streetcorner gospel-blues great Rev. Louis Overstreet. Super honest, confessional tour diary by Will Sheff, the Okkervil River guy. A short but sweet (and funny) chat with comedian/drummer Todd Barry. Meredith Brosnan goes off about the ABC No Rio open mic scene in NYC in the early '80s. Psychedelic painter Fred Tomaselli talks in-depth about his art, and his fanzine beginnings. Crime writer and historian Peter Doyle unearths never before seen archival crime scene photos from Australia, easily the best thing in the issue (not playing favorites, just saying). Lengthy archival interview from 1997 with the superb sci-fi author Octavia Butler, who passed away earlier this year. Fiction by Stacey Levine, Vanessa Veselka and Jana Martin. A timely interview by WFMU's Dave Mandl with Islam/anarchism scholar/near-mystic Hakim Bey. Rad articles about The Blow, Akron/Family (pictured below), and Souled American. Portland writer Kevin Sampsell interviews New York author Sam Lipsyte. Recent work by Jason Miles. Gorgeous full-page illos by the likes of Jesse LeDoux, Nicole Georges, Julianna Bright and Gregg Einhorn.

On the CD:

1.Katharina Tunicata 2.Radio Four (O.G.) 3.Destroyer 4.Bobby Birdman 5.Bright 6.Califone 7.Alela Diane 8.Dolphin Band 9.Michael Hurley & Tara Jane O'neil 10.Ghosting 11.Fauna Polly 12.Somos Marquis Homos 13.Gerhard Trede 14.Rob Walmart 15.The Blow 16.Destroyer 17.We March 18.Golden Bears 19.We/Or/Me 20.Okkervil River 21.Plants 22.Page France 23.Fly Ashtray 24.Souled American 25.Reverend E.W. Clayborn 26.Valet 27.Theo Angell 28.Unknown

“Hey, maybe instead of strapping explosives around your waist, what if you strapped CDs by, like, Céline Dion or Sarah MacLachlan?â€�

Now, I’m sure you all support local hometown hottie STORM LARGE in her battle to murderize the competition on the rock reality show ROCKSTAR: SUPERNOVA—but who can blame you for not wanting to sit through Tommy Lee’s inane banter and the rest of the crap singers? NOBODY. That’s why we’ll show you what you really want to see: Storm’s performance on last night’s episode. This is week three, and Storm is holding on strong—however, that idiot Tommy and his idiot bandmates did say last week that Storm’s style was “too Broadway.” What that translates to is that they’re afraid she would upstage the rest of the band—WHICH SHE OBVIOUSLY WOULD. Check out her performance of The Cars’ “Just What I Needed.”

There’s a piece on this issue in today’s forthcoming Mercury that liberally quotes 95.5 FM Playhouse’s PK, on his side of a story we blogged about earlier this week.

(Quick recap: PK and his morning crew allegedly bash cyclists and take calls from listeners with stories of ‘taking out’ bikers last Thursday. This is according to BikePortland.org, where a cyclist who’d heard the broadcast wrote in, and the site’s Jonathan Maus vetted and posted the account. PK responds on-air on Monday; bikers contemplate protests, file FCC complaints, call the station, and continue to demand that Thursday’s show be made available for listening. We’ll see how far the bikers’ action goes. I have a feeling they aren’t going to give up until they score some sort of a solid victory over the Playhouse host.)

Yesterday, I also spoke with Maus, offering him a chance to respond to PK’s criticism that Maus had posted the account and spearheaded complaints against the show, all without having heard the broadcast in question (a bit of a red herring as long as PK and his show isn’t releasing the tape, but I can see where he’s coming from). Jonathan had smart things to say, which I included in today’s story to the degree that our limited newsprint space allows.

Luckily, he posted a longer meditation on the same question to his site last night. It’s a good read:

[E]mployees and supporters of the show question our credibility because most of us have not heard the original broadcast. I also have a feeling that elected and community leaders are waiting for the orginal recording to surface before weighing in. I disagree. Even without hearing the original broadcast I think we have every right to move forward and continue to put civilized, non-violent pressure on the station, their advertisers, regulatory bodies, our elected officials, and so on.

I listened to the show on Monday (the comments were made the previous Thursday) and heard callers eager to share their experience of “taking outâ€� a cyclist. Of course the host quickly distanced himself from this, but to me that is all the proof I need that damage has been done.

Whether he admits it or not, the host’s comments desensitized his listeners and emboldened them to drive more aggressively around cyclists. This is simply unacceptable in Portland.

If you hate that fucking AWFUL “Dani California” video from the Red Hot Chili Peppers (wherein they dress up like famous rock acts throughout history), check out a far superior creation via Gnarls Barkley and their new video for “Smiley Faces.” Plus it’s narrated by Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell! AWESOME!

This week on The Rock Report, check out an interview with John Haughm from local black metal band Agalloch. Included in this podcast are two tracks from their amazing new album Against the Ashes. Click here to go listen and be swept away into a desolate, icy landscape of delicious DARKNESS!

I know, I know: Any excuse for a Bourdain post…it turns out Tony’s stuck in the Lebanon right now, trying to avoid being shot at! He was out there trying to make an episode of his TV show for the Travel Channel — now to be titled The shrapnel and shwarma episode…

About a month ago, this lady came into the Mercury’s office, complaining about the taxis from the airport. They’re expensive, you know — actually, she complained about a lot of other things, but I don’t want to drag all that up again: It’s too painful. My point is, CRAIG’S LIST HAS THE SOLUTION.

Ernst Choukula was born the third child to Estonian landowers in the late autumn of 1873. His parents, Ivan and Brushken Choukula, were well-established traders of Baltic grain who— by the early twentieth century—had established a monopolistic hold on the export markets of Lithuania, Latvia and southern Finland… The trend, initially known in the United States as “brekkfest” had first appeared in 1903, with Dominic Eggo’s invention of “wassled” or “waffled” bread, and really picked up steam throughout the teens and twenties, when eating in the morning was no longer deemed a sin by the Anglo-Catholic church… Ernst Chocula died in a Ukrainian cabin, penniless and alone, having descended into a type of brain-madness.

Is there anything that Wikipedia doesn’t know?

It’s just been announced that our basketball neighbors to the north have been sold. Meanwhile, our beloved Trailblazers still sit on the market, unsold, slowly draining bazillions of dollars from the deep pockets of owner Paul Allen. I guess that would explain those teeth.

There is a huge list of reasons why the Blazers have not found a new owner (money, bad arena contract, etc), but the real reason Seattle sold and we didn’t, is their mascot. Look at him! Nothing says Pacific Northwest pride then a slam-dunking Sasquatch. Or Teen Wolf. Meanwhile, our mascot is the pathetic Blaze: The Trail Cat.

He can barely dunk, isn’t hairy and rides a scooter around the arena due to general laziness. We get a new mascot, we get a new owner. Simple as that. So post your new mascot suggestions below. Oh, and the best mascot ever, without a guestion, it’s this guy.

Ha Ha! Ouch!

HEY YOU! Yes, you, with your crazy drug and LSD habits. LSD is for L-O-S-E-R-S! Don’t believe me? Then heed the wise words of Florrie Fisher from the 1970 PSA film, The Trip Back. Better go to the bathroom first—because you’re about to get the POOP scared out of you!!