This Week in the Mercury
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sports And Now For Something Completely Different, Or: Rambling, Unfocused Coverage of UFC 102
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Falling somewhere between boxing's sport and the commissioner controlled, TV entertainment of WWE, the UFC is a strange beast. It might seem an awkward fit in Portland's bohemian, art-first, hipster-laden interior circle (without fail, every time it's brought up my girlfriend can't help but mention how homo-erotic and clearly stupid it appears). But Saturday's fight, which brought in around $1.9 million, ranked in the top five gate takes in Rose Garden history. And at times it was well louder than any Blazer game I've ever attended—even ones with a buzzer-beater.
The reason the Big Show (UFC #102) finally made it's way to Grumptown is simple: a former Portlander, and legend of the sport, Randy Couture fought in the headlining bout. Couture's been around since the beginning. He's 46 (Fourty-Six) fucking years old.
Despite the match-up of future Hall of Famers Couture and Brazilian Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira (above), the pairing lacked fire—at least for the casual fan. The two respect one-another immensely. There was nothing personal, and no attempt to sell or hype the fight as anything other than what it was: a study in veteran technicality and skill. No grudge match here—at the press-conference Nogueira and Couture were smiling, and even deferential with one another.
The long evening—fights began around 4:30pm, although the Pay Per View show didn't go live until 7:00pm—featured a number of local fighters. All, except the 27-year-old Evan Dunham from Eugene, were whooped.
But let's just stop right there—if you care about this sort of thing you already know who won and lost. If you don't, the question is: how did it feel sitting ringside in a room full of some 17,000 people screaming at two guys try to knock each-other's teeth out?
Surprisingly enough, it landed softer than you might imagine.
News City Staffers Telling Public Tomorrow's Sit/Lie Meeting Is Closed
Posted by Matt Davis on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 4:42 PM
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz's staffers have told the organizer of a 340-strong Facebook group against the renewal of the sit/lie ordinance that tomorrow's meeting on a "sidewalk management strategy" in the Rose Room at 1pm is for "commissioners and stakeholders only."
Defense attorney Chris O'Connor, who organized the group, asked if he could attend the meeting.
"It doesn't look like it is open for the public," said 'Sara' from Fritz's office, leaving a voicemail for O'Connor. "It's mostly for the elected officials and the stakeholders."
O'Connor, like the Mercury, is yet to hear back from the mayor's office about attending the meeting.
"But I would encourage everyone to come down tomorrow to the meeting and find out if they are a stakeholder in this issue or not," says O'Connor.
The Mercury is also anxious to find out whether its three years of reporting on this issue make it a stakeholder.
"I'm just concerned about who they are defining as stakeholders," says O'Connor. "If they are going to invite these people for an update, I'm concerned that they are going to get the opinions they want to hear, or get the opinions from people they have no choice but to invite, because they have already been involved in the process."
The list of invitees includes Street Roots, Soapbox Under The Bridge, Sisters of the Road, and other homeless activists.
"It's not bad to invite these folks," says O'Connor. "But let's not just hear from the same old crowd, let's have a discussion, since the city has had its chance with its select, hand-picked committees in the past."
"If they really want to have a new discussion about this topic, then they need to be willing to hear from all people," O'Connor continues. "But they certainly aren't seeking any actual input from additional stakeholders."
"I guess you have to go to the secret meeting to find out what your elected officials really think about this issue," says O'Connor.
Books Indiespensable: Stitches
Posted by Alison Hallett on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 4:35 PM
Powell's has a subscription book club called Indiespensable which, for $40 per shipment, promises a signed first edition of a new book, hand-picked by Powell's employees, plus supplemental goodies like advance copies of other books, or basil-in-a-bag, or those handy little Scout Books, courtesy of Pinball Publishing, whose customizable covers have been popping up all over the place lately.
Their 13th volume ships on September 9, and it is, notably, the first graphic novel to be released by the series: David Small's Stitches. Small is a children's book author, best known (to my generation, at least) for Imogene's Antlers, and technically I suppose I should call Stitches his "graphic memoir," though I'm not sure how many more fancy ways of saying "comic book" I care to learn. The book is about Small's childhood; a childhood in which David's radiologist father treated his sinus infections with X-rays; in which, as a 14-year-old, he's admitted to the hospital for what he believes is a minor surgery, only to learn upon awakening that he's just undergone surgery for cancer and moreover, one of his vocal cords has been removed.
Reading Stitches, I experienced the same dazed sense of awe as I did while reading David Mazzucchelli's brilliant Asterios Polyp—even though in many the ways the books couldn't be more different (Stiches is quiet and emotional where Asterios Polyp is cerebral and wordy). A full review of Stitches will be running in the paper soon, but if you've got your eye on the book, I think it'd be worth signing up to snag the fancy autographed first-edition Powell's version—it's only $15 more than the list price. I'm not generally one to care what shape my books are in, but Stitches is going on the one shelf that my cat hasn't figured out how to knock books off of, and anyone who wants to read it will be washing their hands first.
Music Win Tickets to Soulsavers!
Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 4:07 PM
- Steve Gullick
Soulsavers are the dual production team of Rich Machin and Ian Glover and have blah, blah, blah... MARK FREAKIN' LANEGAN!!!!! Yes, it's true, Soulsavers are touring with the brooding mass of sad/drunken awesomeness that is Mark Lanegan—you might know him from Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age, The Gutter Twins, and my dreams—and we want to give you a pair of tickets to witness it all.
Head on over to End Hits for your chance to win...
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Homo / Film First Details on the 2009 Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.
Posted by Erik Henriksen on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 3:37 PM
The fest's official site doesn't have a full listing of this year's films yet, but Mercury HQ just got some details about the latest incarnation of the annual Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (PLGFF).
Full press release-y goodness after the jump, including dates, ticket prices, and highlights. Expect a full rundown of all of PLGFF's films on September 7.
Gossip Did Mac-O Give Ejaco to Wacko Jacko?
Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 3:24 PM
All I can say is one thing: THANK YOU GOD FOR THE BRITISH PRESS! From Blogtown Hot Tipper Ben comes this hilarious story from The Sun, which posits that Home Alone's Macaulay Culkin is the actual father of Michael Jackson's son Blanket!
Fevered speculation gripped the US after repeated claims that a "well-known Hollywood actor" donated the sperm for Blanket.Now sources close to Jackson say the Thriller star asked Culkin for the donation to help him complete his "perfect" family.
The source added: "This isn't just chitter-chatter, even Culkin suspects he's Blanket's father."
Not just chitter-chatter, huh? Well, I also heard some "not just chitter-chatter" that Culkin's sperm sacks are actually bone dry, and the REAL father of Blanket is really Alfonso Ribeiro!
Which theory makes more sense to you?
Mercury Today's Burning Question Burning Up Questionland!
Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 2:11 PM
Is Robert De Niro a great actor or just good at playing the same person over and over (and over)?
Are you talkin' to HIM? Are you talkin' to HIM? Then who the hell else are you talkin' to? You talkin' to HIM? Well, he's the only one here. Who do you think you're talking to? Oh yeah? Huh? Okay. Questionland.
Comic Books / Film Marvel, Disney, and the Tears of Ahmet Zappa.
Posted by Erik Henriksen on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 2:03 PM
- Photoshoppery by Monet Molina.
So I woke up this morning thinking that the best idea anyone would have all day would be mine—that of a TV show called 2.5 Males. But it turns out some fancy business-types had me beat in the awesome idea department: As Steve mentioned this a.m., Marvel's been bought by Disney for four billion dollars, a figure slightly less than I expect my 2.5 Males spec script to fetch.
"This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four, and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company. "Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.""We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Iger said.
I don't even know what a "value creation" or an "Ike Perlmutter" is (though I do know a thing or two about "long-term growth," ladies), but I know what this whole Disney/Marvel thing means: LOTS OF MONEY. Well, for Disney, at least. Maybe not so much for Boom! Studios. Or Universal Studios. Or Ahmet Zappa. But otherwise? Yes! LOTS OF MONEY.
'Cause here's the thing: While nobody knows where the direct market for hard copies of comic books will be in a few years (I suspect the success or failure of Longbox is going to play a pretty big role in that), I think Marvel makes most of, or at least a huge chunk of, their cash not from comics but from merchandising—a tactic Disney's pretty familiar with. Likewise, Marvel's ability to get a ton of their properties on the big screen—not only through established movie studios, but also by becoming a movie studio themselves—dovetails nicely with Disney's methods of exploiting their franchises. If Disney can let Marvel do its own thing, as they've done with Pixar (and Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada seems to think they will), then this could be an incredibly lucrative arrangement that wouldn't stifle Marvel's creativity. And I challenge any geek on the planet not to get excited by this tidbit, via Comic Book Resources:
When asked if there was potential for cross-polination between Marvel and Pixar, Disney said that Pixar’s John Lasseter has met with key Marvel creative executives recently and the group got “pretty excited, very fast.”
Regardless of how it all ends up working out, in terms of comics and film—and toys, and theme parks, and t-shirts, and videogames, and god knows what else—I'll wager that we'll be seeing the repercussions of this for years to come.
More info: The Beat, The Hollywood Reporter, and The New York Times, and Bleeding Cool, which has collected some great Twitter reactions to the news, from Marvel editor Steve Wacker's "Deadpool is now called Alivepool" to Kevin Smith's "’nuff spent! Marvel, like their Distinguised Competition, is now owned by a corporate juggernaut."
Homo The Marky Mark Workout: It's Porntastic! POW!!
Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 2:01 PM
So for lunch I ate roughly 27 slices of pizza (28 if you count the one that fell on the floor and was wrested away from Olive the office pug). And now, not only do I need a workout, I need a Marky Mark workout! One that preferably is filled with mumbling, porny overtures, and a whole lot of POW!!! It's a good vibration, yo.
Flex o' the bicep to Jay!
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Build Out / Green Some LEED Buildings Fail to Remain "Green"
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 1:03 PM
Very interesting article in the New York Times today about LEED buildings falling short of green goals. One of the problems with LEED (though Slate spells out a few more) is that it just relates to how a new building is constructed and does not follow up with how the building actually functions day-to-day after snagging the silver, gold or platinum LEED seal.
The NYT writes: "The gap between design and construction, which LEED certifies, and how some buildings actually perform led the program last week to announce that it would begin collecting information about energy use from all the buildings it certifies."
This is all highly relevant to Portland because just last week neighbors and city commissioners were questioning whether the new Albert Apartment complex on N. Williams will actually be a green building. After learning that some of the bedrooms in the building would be interior rooms with no windows, Commissioner Amanda asked, "How would you meet LEED silver if you constantly have to have a light on in the bedroom?"
One of the experts in the NYT article must have seen straight into Fritz's heart! Look at this quote:
"Once a building opens, it may use more energy than was predicted by the design. And how a building is used — how many occupants it has, for example — affects its energy consumption. 'If the occupants don’t turn off the lights, the building doesn’t do as well as expected,' said Mark Frankel, technical director for the New Buildings Institute."
City Hall Mayor Invites Feedback On Sidewalk Management
Posted by Matt Davis on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 12:03 PM
The mayor's deputy chief of staff, Warren Jimenez, has been emailing stakeholders in the replacement to the sit/lie ordinance, asking them to attend a feedback session tomorrow at 1pm in the Rose Room at city hall. I'm hoping the Mercury can be there to report on the meeting but am waiting on a response from the mayor's office.
Mercury Are YOU the Next Mercury Intern??
Posted by Marjorie Skinner on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:59 AM
When the seasons start to change that means a need for some new scenery around the office. In other words, new interns! The Mercury is now officially seeking two-ish enthusiastic individuals to come learn the ropes of publishing in These Modern Times for the fall quarter. Qualified candidates will:
• Be capable of keeping to a schedule and showing up when you are supposed to despite the lack of monetary reward.
•Â Love and care about what is happening in the fair city of Portland, OR, particularly in regards to having fun and valuable cultural experiences. Examples: Film, bikes, theater, fashion, books, music, dancing, food.
• Be able to write.
We won't make you do anything degrading if it seems like you're not having fun. Promise. Interested parties should contact me (please put the word "intern" in the subject line) with an explanation of your motives, a resume, and writing samples. Okay, hit me.
Bikes City Installs First Cycletrack
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Portland takes another step toward becoming the Amsterdam of the West today, installing Portland's first cycletrack downtown. Adams promised to install one of these special bike lanes in his 100 Day Plan and today he's christening the stretch of SW Broadway near Portland State University that has cars parking on the outside of the bike lane, creating a buffer between cyclists and moving car traffic.
- The future! Parking on the outside, bikes on the inside.
These blocks of Broadway are a relatively easy place to install a cycletrack because no one can turn right along that whole stretch—all the intersecting roads are one-ways going left. Regardless, in the 10 minutes or so I stood photographing the cycletrack on Saturday, I saw not one, not two, but three cars pull into the bike lane and either park there or hang out for a while unloading people (including one in the photo above). The track could certainly use better signage to get Portlanders used to the idea.
Events / News All Star Panel Confirmed For Brewhaha On Wed
Posted by Matt Davis on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:37 AM
This Wednesday night's Brewhaha, in association with the Bus Project, promises to be one of the best yet. Over the last few months we've covered important issues like marriage equality, health care reform, and urban renewal. But for many Oregonians, of course, there is no issue more important right now than the state's record unemployment.
We're proud of the panel of speakers lined up for Wednesday night's forum, in which panelists will be attending a "job interview," where the audience will ultimately award just one panelist the job of "Oregon's Job Czar." High stakes, for big players:
-Steve Novick, Our Oregon
-Bruce Studer, would-be casino builder from Lake Oswego
-Lindsay Mico, small business owner with Demeter Design, an environmental consultancy
-Sam Adams, Mayor of Portland
-Midge Purcell, Urban League of Portland
-Brad Avakian, Oregon Labor Commissioner
We'll be asking our panelists what's wrong with Oregon's economy? And what would they do to fix it? As well as the standard interview questions...and word association. If you're out of work, we'll have resume expert Dawn Rasmussen on hand form Pathfinder Career Services to help you turn that thing into a golden ticket. Not to mention career folks from idealist.org who can help you get connected with ethical job opportunities:
The evening will be introduced by Christian Kaylor, workforce analyst for the Oregon Employment Department. The man has so many terrifying statistics, he'll...terrify you...straight to terror-ville. See you there. Bring questions!
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Music You Who is for the Kids
Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Attention breeders (and those who do not hate kids):
Unlike a certain horrible sugary chocolate dairy beverage with a similar name, You Who is actually good for kids. This new "monthly children’s variety rock show" curated by Chris Funk (Decemberists) and his partner Seann McKeel (former booker at Nocturnal) is a welcome relief from Raffi—and whatever Baby Loves Disco is—as it strives to entertain both 'lil kiddies and their parents during the cold winter months with a two-part performance. The youngsters will appreciate the opening "interactive dance parties with giant barn owls, magic, stories, skits, sing a longs, cartoons, artists, puppets," while their parents will enjoy special musical guests like the Decemberists, Quasi, and some very special performers that I am not at liberty to share here. Also, it should be noted that the bands will be performing normal sets, not kiddie songs. (Although the thought of Quasi's Sam Coomes singing "The Wheels on the Bus" is oddly appealing.)
You Who takes place at the Kennedy School every last Sunday of the month, but their kickoff show is a Saturday (October 24th) and here are the details:
JOIN US FOR OUR INAGURAL HALLOWEEN COSTUME BASH!!!! October’s show includes musical guests The Decemberists, stand up comedy by The Phantom Hillbilly, cartoons by Hooliganship/Cartoon Exprez, DJ stylings of Rev. Shines of The Lifesavas, skits and sing-a-longs by The Cardboard Songsters, and a beauty salon where kid’s are the stylists and then go on parade! Kids and parents are encouraged to dress up in their Halloween costumes. Show hosted by Eric Stern of The Vagabond Opera.
The shows are all-ages (of course), start at the ungodly/kid-friendly hour of 1pm, and will set you back $10 for adults, $5 for those 2-12, and free for those under two years of age. And just because they love to rub it in how fertile they are, adults not accompanied by a kid have to pay $15. Can someone let me borrow their kid for the day? I promise to probably return them in one piece.
End Hits: The Boiler Room Bar is open at 1pm too, right? If you need me that's where I'll be during the puppet show.
News / Politics Sit/Lie: City Hall Phone-In Hour At Noon
Posted by Matt Davis on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:01 AM
After their success with last week's sidewalk picnics, the now 340-strong Facebook group that says "The Sit/Lie Ordinance is Unconstitutional. Really. Stop Trying to Fix it," is organizing a city hall phone in hour, starting at noon:
Take ten minutes during the noon hour on Monday and call your city commissioners. With over 300 people in this group if we all call hopefully we can let the city commissioners know all 300 reasons that they should not renew the Sit/lie ordinance. Be sure to THANK Commissioner Randy Leonard for his ongoing opposition to the Sit/Lie ordinance and POLITELY ENCOURAGE the other council members to follow Randy's lead and ask them to let the Sit/Lie ordinance die.Call and ask to speak to the commissioner at the following numbers:
Mayor Sam Adams - (503) 823-4120
Commissioner Randy Leonard - (503) 823-4682
Commissioner Dan Saltzman - (503) 823-4151
Commissioner Nick Fish - (503) 823-3589
Commissioner Amanda Fritz - (503) 823-3008Call each of them and let them know your name, phone number and mailing address and ask for a response from the commissioner. Be firm but polite.
The event already has 47 "confirmed guests."
Portland / Politics Health Care Protester Acts Civilly At Rally
Posted by Matt Davis on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Thanks, this guy, for restoring my faith in those opposed to health care reform.
From his tattoo and t-shirt, it seems he was a pretty fervent follower of Glenn Beck's website. Which means I disagree with his politics, just like 999 of the thousand other people gathered in Terry Schrunk plaza on Saturday for a rally pushing our congressmen and senators to "get it done" on health care. But he didn't shout to disrupt the speakers, or act like a second amendment maniac waving his gun around. And for that, I was grateful. It was a rare moment of civility in the increasingly idiotic health care "debate." Good on you, guy. You're a good guy.
Unfortunately, a few pro health care protesters seem to have lost their cool with him, after the rally. Todd Barnhart has more over at Blue Oregon. Shame. If you'd like to be a constructive part of the health care reform debate, you could do worse than follow Barnhart's advice:
Sign up at HCAN for daily news updates you can trust so you can know more about how you can help. Phone Senators Ron Wyden (503.326.7525), Jeff Merkley (503.326.3386) and your local Representative. Or write them a letter. They will pay attention to your calls and letters.
Food Getting Your Kid to Eat Well
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Your kids will eat fruits and vegetables and greens if they see you eating fruits and vegetables and greens. They'll learn to exercise self discipline if they see you exercise it. They'll learn to indulge without binging if they see you indulge without binging. They'll learn to enjoy all sorts of different foods in moderation—including treats—if they see you enjoying all sorts of different foods in moderation. And no soda in the house—none for the kids, none for you.
The end.
There are a lot of parents out there who say they don't want their kids to eating nothing but crap and drinking nothing but soda who refuse to cut back on their own crap and soda consumption. Hello? When mom and dad eat crap washed down with corn syrup their kids do the same. The real problem with children's eating habits in America are adult eating habits in America. You can't set limits for your kids if you refuse to set limits for yourself. My kid can have milk or water at meals—which means his dads can have milk or water at meals. If we sat there and drank Coke during dinner, he'd feel deprived and resentful for being made to drink water or milk. (Similarly, no TV on school nights means no TV for him and no TV for us.) And Joan is right and Andrew is wrong:
Joan Yamini, a mother of one in Austin, Tex., said it was important not to have unhealthy foods around the house, but Andrew Segal, a father of three in Glen Ridge, N.J., said that children who can’t find cookies, ice cream and similar snacks at home can always find them elsewhere—and probably will.
You tend to eat what's in the house and not to miss what isn't. And, yeah, sometimes our kid will go find cookies and ice cream or crap elsewhere. But at least he had to go farther than his own kitchen to find those foods. Sometimes when he wants ice cream or cookies he has to—gasp!—get on his bike and ride to the store to get it. And, no, my kid isn't deprived, he doesn't have a complex, he isn't a budding anorexic.
News Good Morning, News!
Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 9:55 AM
The Walt Disney Corp. pays $4 billion to buy the entire Marvel comic company and all its characters. GOOFY WILL SMASH!!
10,000 families are evacuated as wildfires sweep through Southern California.
A baby is born with his heart outside his chest. HEY EMO BANDS! I GOT A TOPIC FOR YOUR NEXT SONG!!!
Singer Chris Brown still claims to love Rihanna, and cannot remember beating her. Then maybe he should ask Rihanna, who I bet remembers it pretty well.
Former president Bush's daughter Jenna will become a regular correspondent on the Today show. She'll be covering the "how my daddy was great at his job" beat.
A Tempe, Arizona preacher delivers a sermon entitled "Why I Hate Barack Obama," saying, "I am not going to pray for his good. I am going to pray that he dies and goes to hell." In related news… Hey, look everybody! Another religious wacko!
And finally, here's a Channel 9 News Update with Rod Wood along with special correspondent, "Fucking Bee that Stung Him."
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Sunday, August 30, 2009
Events / Games / Music Anamanaguchi Does Two Pre-PAX Shows At Ground Kontrol
Posted by Earnest "Nex" Cavalli on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 12:00 PM
There's, like, three solid reasons to attend the annual Penny Arcade Expo.
First, there's all the videogames. That one's a no-brainer.
Second, it's your best chance to find out if that hot Night Elf chick you've been flirting with all these months actually has lady parts.
Third, Anamanaguchi.
- Paris Graphics
- Anamanaguchi at PAX 2008
If you aren't making the trip up to Seattle on September 4th, that third reason is coming to you. More specifically, before heading up to PAX 2009, Anamanaguchi is playing two shows at Ground Kontrol.
Full details from the official press release:
Anamanaguchi are a band from NYC who make "loud, fast music with a hacked NES from 1985." They played at Penny Arcade Expo to thousands in 2008, and will be playing there again this year. This is their first full US tour, and their first Portland show, and we're really excited to have them!The genre of music Anamanaguchi are most often associated with is chiptune, which applies to a wide variety of music made with specially hacked old-school console hardware & software (usually an NES and/or Game Boy.) Anamanaguchi also use live guitars and drums to create a crazy punk-rock version of chiptune.
Operation Mission (Ray Rude from The Builders & The Butchers) and Plain Flavored (an 18-year-old high school kid named Adam Shackart) will open the show. Both are chiptune artists with very different styles — Operation Mission has more of a progressive sound, like 70s/80s sci-fi synth soundtracks. Plain Flavored is more hyperactive, like an old computer game running on modern hardware.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 4PM
Anamanaguchi
all-ages matinee
all-ages, $3 coverWEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 9PM
Anamanaguchi
with Operation Mission and Plain Flavored
21+, $5 cover
Want more info on the band without having to try to pronounce "Anamanaguchi?" Here's a link to the band's website and a sample from their performance at PAX 2008.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Games Dissidia: The Addendum
Posted by Earnest "Nex" Cavalli on Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 12:01 PM
... and the (Not So) Mini-Review gets even less Mini.
I had one more point I wanted to tell you about Dissidia: Final Fantasy that didn't quite fit with the actual review, hence more text. I'll try to keep it brief.
- Square Enix
- Look Ma! No Load Times!
When you first insert the Dissidia UMD and fire up your PSP the game shows you three options alongside the strains of Final Fantasy's classic "Here's a Save Point" theme song. The first two, New Game and Load Game, are pretty standard, but the third is an option that I hope starts popping up in all PSP games: Install Data.
Like most PlayStation 3 and all Xbox 360 games, Dissidia gives you the option of installing a big chunk of the UMD's data to the Memory Stick your handheld normally uses to store saved games and downloadable content. Three different install options are offered (224MB, 371MB and 542MB) each of which promises to reduce the load times in-game.
PSP owners know how annoying the often way-too-long load times are on the handheld's games and listening to the system pull data off of the UMD is like crushing gravel into your ear. I never attempted to play the game without installing data to the Memory Stick, but I can attest that after selecting the largest option and sitting through a one time 45-minute-long install, the game was almost completely devoid of load times, and I only rarely had to listen to the UMD shrieking as my PSP sucked data off of its delicate face.
A gold star for Square Enix and double bonus points for any developers who lift this idea in the future.
Bikes NE 122nd Claims Second Serious Bike Wreck This Week
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 10:46 AM
On the heels of a fatal bike-car hit and run on NE 122nd and Fremont Thursday morning, police responded to a second bike crash on NE 122nd last night.
The police report reads:
Friday afternoon at approximately 2:00 p.m., Portland Police Officers from East Precinct responded to the area of Northeast 122nd Avenue and Northeast Glisan Street on a call of a person hit by a car. When officers arrived on scene, they discovered the person hit by the vehicle was a bicyclist. The bicyclist was transported to a local area hospital with serious injuries. The Portland Police Bureau's Traffic Division Major Crash Team was called to the scene to assist in the investigation. Also called to the scene to assist with this investigation were detectives from the assault division.At this time we are able to release that there was some type of collision between the bicyclist and the motor vehicle. Detectives are in the processing of investigating whether this incident was an accident or whether it was an intentional act. The driver of the involved vehicle, a Kia Sportage, stayed at the scene of the incident. Detectives are currently speaking with the driver of the involved vehicle. Both the driver of the vehicle and the bicyclist are adult white males.
As of this morning, the cyclist is still in serious condition. The driver, Wayne Conrad Thompson, has been booked on one count of Assault in the First Degree.
Two serious bike wrecks on the same stretch of road in the same week is appalling—and proof that painting a bike lane down the side of a busy, car-clogged road doesn't automatically make it a safe place for cyclists. Especially when the bike lane has been unceremoniously narrowed in some places:
- Bike lane on NE 122nd near the scene of Thursday's crash.
We need to invest in more than just paint to keep bicycles safe on Portland's roads. Car drivers need to learn to go slower and act safer when bikes are in the mix and the city and state need to put more than one percent of their budgets into building and maintaining bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. The city spent only $2.7 million of its transportation budget on bike improvements over the past seven years (that's .07 percent of its total capital budget)—we can buy a lot of buckets of white paint for $2.7 million, but we will keep seeing accidents like these.
Let's hope this second cyclist pulls through in the hospital (and has health insurance).
Games (Not So) Mini-Review: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Posted by Earnest "Nex" Cavalli on Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 8:40 AM
Despite calling this a mini-review my look at the newly-released Dissidia: Final Fantasy runs a bit long. I don't quite spill over into novel territory, but after typing this whole thing I wondered where the last few hours of my life went.
- Square Enix
- Dissidia: Final Fantasy
To avoid death threats from Alison "Orphan Knife Fight" Hallett, Kiala "Furble Sodomy" Kazebee and all the other Blogtown writers who you'd wrongfully expect to be as polite as Swiss kittens, I pushed the whole thing past the jump.
Wondering how Square Enix's latest handheld thing turned out? Click the link.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Books Reading Rainbow Monster
Posted by Alison Hallett on Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 3:54 PM
I was just called a "monster" for noting that I'm not feeling particularly personally upset by the cancellation of Reading Rainbow. And then Courtney said, "But what about Geordi?" like five times. So here, have some nostalgia:
(Reminder: Trek in the Park at the Bagdad, Sunday at 8 pm, $6, followed by a screening of the new movie.)
Homo / Film Trailer for The Men Who Stare At Goats: It's Like a Beautiful Dream!
Posted by Erik Henriksen on Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 3:10 PM
I love three things in this world. ONLY THREE THINGS. They are:
1. George Clooney.
2. Boston.
3. Star Wars.
So you can imagine how I feel about the trailer for The Men Who Stare At Goats. BECAUSE HOLY SHIT. YouTube below; good quality here.
Post-script: I also probably like this trailer so much because I can't fucking stand goats. Unless they're fainting goats. Fainting goats, if you ask me, are A-OK.
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