If I were told Portlanders had more tattoos per capita than other cities, I would not be surprised. Tattoos have the ability to be both personal and public at the same time. They can be used to permanently mark significant events, an artistic vision, a current (or past) relationship, or other journeys in our lives on our bodies for either the whole world to see…or limited to a select few depending on the location.

For instance, there’s the hidden not-so-hidden tattoo I got at Sea Tramp a couple years ago. It’s relatively simple to understand to anyone who sees it, yet the meaning and its placement probably require a bit more explanation to get a sense of the “why.”

You probably have a story about your tattoo, or tattoos, as well. And now, the Portland Art Museum would like to see your ink. As part of their new exhibit, “Marking Portland: The Art of Tattoo,” the museum is asking those who were tattooed in Portland to submit photos via Flickr for possible inclusion in the exhibit.

The exhibit will be on public display through September 7, 2009.

Starting this month, the museum will offer free general admission on the fourth Friday of the month from 5-8PM. Also, if you have a Bank of America card (ATM, debit, credit), show your card on the first weekend of the month and you’ll get in for free. (The Portland Art Museum will be closed on July 4, but will be open on July 5.)

Related Posts

• April 8, 2009 — Capturing the “Essence of Portland” (3)
• February 28, 2009 — Love coffee and photos? You’ll love Encrusted! (1)
• February 24, 2009 — PDX in Your Pictures: Conspiracy (0)
• February 19, 2009 — PDX in Your Pictures: steel (0)
• February 17, 2009 — Announcing the OurPDX Photo Pool (0)

As I look around the city and see new construction stretching from bustling downtown to sleepy little neighborhoods I can’t help but wonder how each place is going to draw the attention of the masses.  Get a foothold.  Take a step forward and get noticed.  The responsible (and fashionable) way to do it is to go green, but as we see more and more of that the green buildings even start to fade into the city’s backdrop.

So what can a developer do to stand out right now?  To get their foot in the door of Portland’s heart?  To make a name for their building in our fair city?  Well, I guess they could let our fair city make a name for them.  It’s an interesting take on getting civic pride and involvement and it’s just what one building in SW Portland is doing.

The building at SW 12th and Washington wants PDX to Name That Building and they’re dangling some pretty tantalizing rewards in front of the person who comes up with the name that’s chosen.  Beth Forsman from the Metropolitan group writes in an email

…first place names the building and is the key guest for the opening party. Second place names the eco-roof and can host the first party there and the third names the film studio (which will be lit in neon) and, again, is able to host a viewing party there. All winners have their personal names featured on plaques, making them a permanent fixture in Portland’s architecture!

The contest starts tomorrow, July2 and winners will be announced on August 6 at a First Thursday party.  If you’re interested you can go to pdxnamethatbuilding.com (starting tomorrow) for more information. Name well Portlanders.

Related Posts

• June 22, 2009 — Parking Garage Nostalgia (2)
• June 15, 2009 — I’m adding Portland Parking Ambassador to my resume. (4)
• June 9, 2009 — Upsidasium (4)
• June 5, 2009 — Loo loo loo loo…. (1)
• May 21, 2009 — Red coach is OPEN (2)

On sunny days, I spend a lot of my lunch hours out in the South Park Blocks. The South Park Blocks will always be special to me because of the years I spent at PNCA, which at the time was housed within the walls of the Portland Art Museum. Those tree-lined blocks hold a lot of memories of a time when my life was dedicated solely to the purpose of drawing and painting. My life is a little different now.

Yesterday was one of those perfect Portland summer days, not a cloud in the sky and in the upper 70s. I headed out into the South Park Blocks for my afternoon ritual of park bench sitting and daydreaming, a ritual that is shared by quite a cross-section of the local population. Grey-hairs, street kids, office workers, tourists, homeless, and students on summer break – the sun brings them out in droves. But yesterday? Our daydreams had musical accompaniment.

I’ve seen this guy and his xylophone before, but unfortunately I’ve been too rushed to really stop and take more than a brief listen. How sad is that, really? That I didn’t have time to appreciate an impromptu musical performance staged in the very park that I used to sketch in? And I have no memory of what was so important at the time that it kept me from enjoying the moment. My former self would have stopped.

But yesterday I had my entire lunch break ahead of me, no rushes or worries. I took my spot on a nearby bench and fully indulged all of my senses. Xylophone music is so soothing and hypnotic and there is this certain way that music sounds when heard through sunlight. I watched as others stopped and listened for a while. I watched those tall trees sway as the breeze moved through them. I studied the kaleidoscope of patterns created by the shadows and sunbeams. I felt a moment of pure joy in a day mostly filled with office tasks.

There has been a lot of worrisome cyber-ink lately dedicated to the survival of the arts in Portland, especially over on the Portland Arts Watch blog. Economic times are tough and artists are hardly immune from the impact. Some would argue that in hard financial times, art is expendable. I both agree and disagree with that sentiment.

But I also know a secret. As tough as the economic times are, artists are tougher. Making art is, in many ways, taking nothing and turning it into something. All you really need to create a masterpiece is a pencil and some paper. Did you know that Toulouse Lautrec made hundreds of paintings on cardboard? He was hardly deterred by not having the money for finely stretched canvases and his cardboard paintings now hang in the world’s finest museums. Those artists who are driven to express themselves will always find a way to do it. Like the guy and his xylophone.

This notion was reinforced again for me today when I saw this simple child’s drawing sketched into the bricks in front of the Portland Art Museum.

It’s actually kind of a brilliant idea. If you want to get your work noticed but don’t have a significant portfolio – make some drawings on the sidewalk just outside of the city’s largest visual arts institution. Fantastic! I only wish I had thought of it first.

Artists are highly adaptable and can turn almost any environment into their canvass or stage. Chalk + sidewalk = art gallery. Park + xylophone = concert hall. The equation can be really that simple. The arts in Portland will survive. Our job is to take the time to notice and appreciate the art around us, and ideally open our wallets when we can.

I only had a dollar on me to throw into xylophone guy’s hat, but I can give him a little free publicity here to make up for it. I Googled him. Turns out, his name is Michael Charles Smith and what I’ve been calling a xylophone is actually a marimba. Check him out.

Related Posts

• May 11, 2009 — SLL: 100 Episodes, Vidoop & No Kind Of Rider (0)
• May 6, 2009 — Bob Log III and Willem Maker @ Doug Fir (2)
• April 7, 2009 — Four Portland Kid Bands Hold Benefit Concert (0)
• March 28, 2009 — Catching up with Greg Glover (4)
• March 20, 2009 — Spring is here: Farmer’s Market opens this weekend (2)

Photo taken by John Klicker & Julie Keefer, shared to da Vinci community via e-mail

My apologies if I’m sharing information out of turn, but I know that there’s been a flood of inbound traffic looking for memorial service information for Keith Goodman.

I received the following email tonight from the da Vinci middle school parent mailing list I’m now on sharing the official district statement about Goodman’s death, am presuming the ‘I’ in the statement below is from Superintendent Carole Smith (I’m told that this communication will also be up on the PPS site shortly.) I’m also sharing one of the two photos shown here from that list (am still nailing down proper photo credits for same.)

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of beloved dance teacher Keith V. Goodman, who worked extensively in the district, most recently at Buckman Elementary School. Keith lost consciousness immediately following a performance outside the Beaverton library Saturday afternoon June 27 and died soon after. He was 54.

Keith was a celebrated figure in the Portland arts community and beyond but to many Portland Public Schools students, he was the man who opened the world of dance to them. He was especially known for inspiring boys.

“He was really quite masterful at taking shuffling, I-don’t-want-to-do-it boys and helping them become more comfortable and confident with their bodies and their movement,” said Tom Breuckman, director of student services and a friend of Keith’s.

Keith taught dance at Jefferson High School from 1986 to 1993 and at Mt. Tabor Middle School for the 1993-94 school year. He returned to the district in 1997 and taught at Buckman until his untimely death.

Keith had just finished performing at the Beaverton Farmer’s Market Saturday with four students – two from da Vinci Middle School, one from Mt. Tabor Middle School and one former Buckman student – when he suffered an apparent heart attack on stage. Many students from Buckman and other schools were in the audience after completion of a week-long dance camp with Keith.

…

(photo of part of the memorial tribute assembled at Buckman Elementary school)

On Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a memorial service for the PPS community to remember Keith will be held in the Buckman cafeteria. (More information about the Buckman gathering here, although it should be noted that it’s primarily for the Buckman community, as you’ll see. I have more photos I’ve taken of the memorial tribute crafted by Buckman kids and families on the Buckman site.)

Information about a Portland-wide memorial service Thursday at Gerding Theater and a fund to further Keith’s legacy can be found on the Dance Gatherer Web site, the dance company Keith formed and directed.

Keith is survived by his partner, Bill Flood, daughter Anahelena of Portland and his mother and brother in Atlanta.

Finally, for those on Facebook, join the group “In loving memory of Keith V. Goodman” to share your stories and photos.

Related Posts

• June 28, 2009 — The Losses that are Closer to Home (0)
• December 17, 2008 — OurPDX Shared Links (0)

Attention space cadets!

Been hearing Darth Vader’s deep breathing every time you answer the phone? Get an image of Luke Skywalker every time someone offers to lend you a hand? Then I’ve got the movie for you:

On July 3rd, KUFO’s Cort and Fatboy are bringing Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back to the big screen for the first time since 1997 with the latest in their monthly series of Midnight Movies at the Bagdad Theater. The screening is a charity benefit with all proceeds going to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Along with the exclusive presentation of what is widely regarded as the greatest movie of the Star Wars saga, members of the 501st Legion Cloud City Garrison Star Wars costuming club will be on hand to take pictures and interact with the fans. Tickets are $5 and can only be purchased after 9pm on the day of the show at the Bagdad Box Office. 21 and Over only.

Confession: I haven’t seen The Empire Strikes Back. Not even on TV. I’ve seen all the “new” films, and the original Star Wars many times. I still feel a bit ripped off, because back in 1978 or so I was suckered into seeing the original Star Wars because “once it leaves the theaters, YOU WILL NEVER SEE IT AGAIN!” (Kind of like Kiss’s everlasting farewell tour, I guess.) I was proud of my teenage boycott of things overly commercial/mass appeal. Disco was popular, for god’s sake. My fellow man can be a bit shallow in the grey matter department, but I had to see for myself. I was impressed. My favorite scene was where Luke was in the desert with two suns beating down. I’ve always been a sucker for a beautiful sunset.

I kept falling asleep during the second film, and never bothered with TESB. But now I have that chance. I’m guessing there’ll be no sleeping at this showing.

Then again, if they’d served beer at the Westgate back in the day, I might have been able to stay awake…

Thanks to the internet for the picture of Yoda getting, ahem, centered…

Related Posts

• February 5, 2009 — Douchebaggery in the First Degree (5)
• December 9, 2008 — Radio Waves (3)
• June 22, 2009 — Star Wars Lego display @ Sunlan Lighting (0)
• April 27, 2009 — March of the… Lebowskis? (0)
• February 12, 2009 — Solomon by Proxy (3)

Here’s what we’ve found as we’ve traveled the local PDX web (complete with our comments) for June 29th:

• Coping with deployment: A wife’s tale | KATU.com

  Sarah Gilbert writes a moving guest contribution about planning for her husband’s eventual deployment to Iraq - “I don't know whether it was minutes or hours or even a day: the time it took me to understand that my husband, Jonathan, was really being deployed.

  "July 17," he'd said.

  That was in May, and that day he thought he was going to Afghanistan. At first I almost laughed; he'd threatened to go when we had argued about disciplining our boys, or when I complained about overdue bills or our lagging mortgage payment. This was his logic: He could leave the child rearing to me, and I'd have his twice-monthly paycheck as solace.”

• Art Scatter | A Portland-centric arts and culture blog

  I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know my neighbor (and former writer/editor at The O) Bob Hicks had started a PDX arts & culture blog (sadly, it took Keith Goodman's passing to make me aware of the site.) He's also pulled in O contributor Martha Ullman West to add dance coverage as well.

  Adding it to the RSS reader as we speak…!

• Dear Portland Radio, Please Pull Your Head Out of Your Butt | Portland Sucks

  Sure, the radio industry's going to to hell in a hand basket. But Portland Sucks has more: "What’s worse? The very same egocentric behavior that had almost the entire radio industry ignoring the obvious change in the air seems to have permeated its personalities too. In the past two months I’ve been in contact with three different ex-radio personalities – big names around these parts – and have offered to work with them to demonstrate the power and potential of internet broadcasting. After all, while traditional radio’s numbers are quickly heading toward zero, the opposite is true of podcasts and streaming programming." All true — but what was the reaction he got? Click through to read the (shocking!) results…

Related Posts

• September 4, 2008 — OurPDX shared bookmarks (0)

Now that Fort Vancouver is not having a firework display this year,
where can a family go see the best firework display this Saturday?

Thanks

-PW, Portland

Hey PW. Great question. The fourth IS upon us, isn’t it? Personally, me and Missus PDX Advice Guy are planning on heading on up to Long Beach in order to enjoy the splendor of a day at the beach. I know, I know, I should be hitting something Portland-related. However, the wife does like the beach and, well, she IS the wife. Anywho, enough about us and my plans to get REAL fireworks.. let’s see what’s around Portland:

The first Fourth I spent here was hanging out on the Hawthorne Bridge and watching the fireworks at Tom McCall park while also taking in the Waterfront Blues Festival. I have to admit that I do love me some great blues music, so the opportunity to hang out and take in some tunes while the fireworks got started was amazing. I only wished I’d have had a boat so I could have been on the water. The fireworks are free, of course, you just have to park somewhere within your own sense of walking distance in order to get a good spot either on the bridge, or near the shore. Entrance to the Blues Festival (should you decide to take in some music beforehand) is a $10 donation and two cans of food. It benefits a great cause and, again, it’s the blues.

Another big draw is Oaks Park. What I like best is that fireworks kick off at 9:55, but bracelets for rides expire at midnight. Seriously, how cool is it to be able to ride rides while fireworks are going off? The best part is that admission is a paltry $4 for adults (that would be 16 and older) while the young’uns (15 and under) are a wallet-busting $2.50. The PDX Advice Family is 2 adults and 2 kiddos strong, so admission would be $13. THIRTEEN, people. You want cheap? This is it. Comcast is also sponsoring live entertainment throughout the day. So get there early (gates open at 10) and keep plenty of sunscreen and umbrellas handy. This is a sure-fire winner, especially if you’ve got kids around 11 - 13.

For the more sporty-inclined, the Portland Beavers are taking on the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at PGE Park. Fireworks are set to start after the Beavs finish handing Colorado Springs a loss while they try to climb out of last place in their division. Much like Oaks Park, admission runs anywhere from $8 to $14.50, unless you feel like ponying up $35 in order to get into the exclusive Left Field lounge where you can enjoy being near the Beavs dugout and also a nice summer-food buffet. Regular tickets are available at TicketMaster. The special $35 tickets can be had by calling the Beavers’ ticket office at 503-553-5555.

Lastly, I’m gonna take you juuuuuuuuuuuust a bit outside of Portland. While The Wife loves Long Beach, I have to confess a love for Seaside. Accordingly, I can also suggest the Seaside Chamber of Commerce 4th of July event. While Seaside is a bit of a drive (and yes, not Portland), you really can’t quite beat spending a day at the beach and enjoying great fireworks and some of the best simple snack food around. There’s no cost, of course (which is ALWAYS a plus, especially in this current economy), but the beach DOES fill up quickly, so get there early to stake out your spot and kick back and just enjoy your long weekend (if you happen to get one).

Honestly PW, there’s a lot going on. Yes, it’s sad that Fort Vancouver is cancelled, but that just means you get to explore all the other options around. Heck, you can even help honor my Oklahoma heritage by taking in a rodeo! Of course, you can also just grab up some fireworks and even make a small display at home with your family while having a cookout. Sometimes, there’s just no substitution for family time. No matter what you do PW (or any other PDX folks), just make sure you have a safe holiday. The good Lord gave you 10 fingers and 10 toes.. let’s keep it that way.

And now, dear OurPDX readers, I do my usual and turn it over to you all. Maybe you’ve got a somewhat secret spot that you like and want to share? Maybe you know of a massive display that absolutely MUST be seen to believe? Why not share it in the comments? I’m sure PW could use more suggestions and hey, if you put something cool out there that just makes things look that much better for you right? Absodamnlutely.

As always, I leave you with a recommendation of giving me a star-spangled follow on Twitter. And maybe you need a little advice for yourself? Why not send me an email and let’s see what I can figure out for you!

Be good!

Related Posts

• July 5, 2008 — At the Old Ballgame (0)
• June 23, 2008 — Is it that time already? (4)
• June 23, 2009 — What’s Your $$$ Situation? (3)
• June 21, 2009 — OurPDX shared links for June 21st (0)
• May 14, 2009 — PDX in Your Pictures: Oaks Park (1)

It’s the perfect weather for tiki drinks, isn’t it?

I wouldn’t have said that a year or so ago (I’ve developed a taste for drinks I’ve considered a bit more ‘grown up’ - bourbon, whiskey and the like.) But thanks to two other OurPDX authors, I have grown to appreciate all things tiki late in life!

Our own Cami Kaos mixes up a mean tiki drink, for starters (several other OurPDX authors can testify to this after last Friday’s SLL podcast, to be sure.) But did you know DJtv owns a tiki bar? Sssh….don’t tell anyone, but she does. And it’s become my new favorite secret hangout, in fact. Especially this Wednesday.

Why? Read on…

If you visit Thatch Tiki Bar on NE Broadway, you’ll see three huge statues lining the back of the bar. These statues — lovingly called Baby Eaters, specifically Marquesan in origin — are carved from Iron Wood. If you look at the three as a series, the first is sitting on the baby (just like in the picture above), the second is eating the baby, and the third statue (complete with swollen belly) has just finished eating the baby.

Thatch worked with Tiki Farm to create the first Thatch Marquesan Baby Eater mug (it’s taken more than a year to finish the project from beginning with clay to firing to glazing to shipping, believe it or not!) And you can get one of your very own (or at least drink from one) at the Mug Release party this Wednesday, starting at 4 pm.

Mugs are $20.00 to take home (filled with a special cocktail created just for the mug), $15.00 just to take home. If you’d rather rent than buy, you can enjoy that special cocktail in it for $8.00, then WILL hand that mug back — right? Right! (Let’s just say that after some light fingered tiki drinkers over the years that the mugs will be watched carefully! And if you have a coconut cup at home that you don’t quite remember where it came from, well — shame might just be in order here. Just sayin’…)

DJtv told me more about the statues themselves:

The Marquesan Baby Eaters have a fairly significant place in Portland Tiki history. They first lived at Steve Crane’s Kon Tiki in the Sheraton, which is now the Double Tree Lloyd Center. When Tiki fell out of favor and the Kon Tiki went by the wayside, their cook bought almost everything and started the venerable Jasmine Tree downtown, along with his lovely wife.

In early 2003, he had a stroke and his wife started running the bar full time. But when the streetcar project condemned their property to build the (never built) street car lines, she just couldn’t face moving everything again. The day that we asked if we could take the artifacts over, she teared up, and said ‘bless you for making sure this lives on.’ It’s why we still serve the Jasmine Coffee on our menu.

When: Wednesday, July 1st - starting at 4 pm
Where: Thatch Tiki Bar, 2733 NE Broadway
More Details: Facebook, Twitter

Related Posts

• June 28, 2009 — One Night in Sellwood (0)
• November 6, 2008 — OurPDX author/reader Meetup - Nov. 12 (5)

I’m not a foodie. My palate has all the refinement as that of a rhino. Or perhaps a giraffe. Like the one that thought my brother, about 4 at the time, would be a tasty treat.

But that doesn’t mean food isn’t an important part of my life. And as a transplanted New Yorker, there are foods that are iconic in my memory.

Yeah, I’m talkin’ hot dogs. From the cart, on the sidewalk, from a guy who’s gruff and cranky and a sweetheart underneath the rough NY exterior. It’s been ages since I had a honest to goodness New York hot dog.

And I’m not gonna get it from Chad, the Whipple Beef Cart guy. Because he sells Chicago hot dogs. But it’s SO CLOSE!

See, the quintessential New York street cart-style hot dog is a Hebrew National All-Beef Kosher Frank, boiled with your choice of condiments; preferably deli mustard and sauerkraut. And that’s exactly what the new Whipple Beef cart serves up. They specialize in the Chicago version however - poppyseed hot dog buns, with radioactive neon-green relish (really? that’s edible?) and these things called sport peppers (read: hot). They also serve Italian beef sandwiches, which I have yet to try. But the prices are great, and so is the service and the food. I mean, Hebrew Nationals!

Run by Chad, a guy who grew up outside Chicago, who left his job framing pictures for something a little more appetizing. I asked him why the switch to hot dog man? “I wanted to be outside, and I always liked the comfort of the Chicago lunchtime”, he answered. Look for Chad in the middle of Holladay Park right by Lloyd Center, just a few steps from the Lloyd Center MAX stop.

All I know, is that the quintessential New York hot dog cart he uses attracts displaced New Yorkers like fire attracts bugs. And this bug got burned, and is totally going back for more.

Related Posts

• April 16, 2009 — stop that cart! (1)
• March 28, 2009 — Paradise Found (2)
• September 5, 2008 — Ziba’s Pita’s - a new fave! (6)

Photo by Aaron Hockley - hockleyphoto.com

Another Strange Love Live first was marked on Friday night as we were joined by a good portion of the OurPDX authors to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of a great Portland site. There were too many of us for our studio so we improvised by moving the festivities upstairs and out of the dark. It’s amazing what happens when you pack that many of us into a room. Instead of telling you anything else I’m just going to tell you check out our episodes with Betsy, Dieselboi, Wizard Boots, Radio Gretchen, Metroknow, MorganPDX, PDX Advice Guy, Aaron Hockley, PAgent, mediaChick, Cosmic Charlie, and DJTV.

SLL Episode 111: OurPDX Network

Watch the Tech Edition

SLL Episode 112: Afterhours with OurPDX

Watch Afterhours

***

The SLL crew is taking next Friday night off.  There will be no live show but I’m sure Doc Normal will be streaming something fun for those of you who still insist on sitting in front of your computer that night.

We’ll be back to normal with guest Tyler Sticka Friday July 10th at 10 PM.  I hope you’ll join us!

****

If you want more info on that night check out Cosmic Charlie’s post!  And full disclosure, I also write for OurPDX.

***

You may notice the Dr. Tiki bump at the beginning of our episodes, I’d like to thank Rick Turoczy,  Igal Koshevoy and  Aaron Hockley,  for use of their photos!

Related Posts

• March 29, 2009 — SLL: Reid Beels: Man of Many Hats (0)
• May 17, 2009 — SLL: Once Upon a Storybook Site (0)
• April 19, 2009 — SLL: Introducing Weekly Access (4)
• April 12, 2009 — SLL: Gadget Time with Brian M. Westbrook (0)
• March 8, 2009 — SLL: Shizzow is Everywhere (0)