While Joe Exotic’s retrial is happening today, Friday January 28th, in Oklahoma City, which I’ll be attending and reporting on, the latest Season 2 actually ended with the sad images and video clips of wildlife veteran and true tiger king, Tim Stark, from Indiana. That episode highlighted the seizure of his personal property and beloved …
Photo credit: Sean Dunn Athens, Georgia-based rapper, linguist, activist, parent, and politician Mariah Parker (they/them) aka Linqua Franqa has announced new album Bellringer due out April 22 on Ernest Jenning Record Co. Weaving a rich tapestry of hip-hop lyricism and neo-soul hooks, Parker uses music as a tool to communicate – and educate – across cultural boundaries, imbuing every song with a …
All Classical Portland is the recent winner of the 2021 Local That Works public media contest. The station’s new Recording Inclusivity Initiative, which won the competition, aims to highlight the importance of diversity and eliminate barriers for musicians and composers who’ve been marginalized in the past. Over 100 US entries were submitted to the contest (sponsored by public media …
The Beth Israel Synagogue hostage-taker was heard, during the crisis, saying on the livestream: “They let me in. I said ‘Is this a night shelter?’ and they let me in and they gave me a cup of tea so I do feel bad… I like the rabbi, he’s a good guy, I bonded with him, …
Hey Carrie Anne… What’s your game now, can anybody play? Topic of the evening: what up wit Carrie Anne Moss (CAM), the actress in The Matrix series??? Now, I’ve never been a Matrix fan – they’re just so overwrought (in fact, I pretty much swore off since the 1st one)- but I just stumbled on …
GW Zoo Manager John Reinke is best remembered for being the most level-headed among the literal circus of characters in Tiger King. Therefore, his perspective around the 2nd and 3rd seasons was essential. Once again, critics do not understand Tiger King’s appeal, slamming the new season with a 35 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. The public …
Rarely has a movie captured a time and place as “Saturday Night Fever” does. As a cultural artifact, “Fever” is remarkable. Bell bottoms, working-class Brooklyn and the brief reign of disco are all celebrated in the 1977 story of young Tony Manero, ruling New York dance floors at night while struggling on the city’s mean streets during the …
Here is one of my first woodblock carving prints. Wanted it to have “color lift”! Hope it brightens you up! One of my dearest friends, Elizabeth Lyssa Magnuson, described it in this way: “Beautiful work! I like the way that it starts in blue calming turning its way to greens and blues with the beginnings …
Pray for the Wildcats is so very good. This 1974 glory stomp through Baja features William Shatner, Robert Reed and Andy Griffith all playing against type, and they can’t even hold a candle to Angie Dickinson. I just watched the first half hour, seated in my parked Dodge Dart in the rain, staring at the …
OKLAHOMA – While many would like to focus on Tiger King’s Joe Exotic’s colorful personality, and some may choose to vilify him due to his most explosive moments, there was no denying that many lives were affected, animals and humans. Namely the loyal and earnest GW Zoo day-to-day manager John Reinke. John and I caught …
I heard a blurb on the NPR this morning that the classic Charlton Heston sci-fi movie Soylent Green was set in 2022. Surely Rimkus must have something to say about that? Well he DOES! People eating just isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s hard to get a uniform fat content (or ANY lean …
On Saturday evenings, when few humans are listening, NPR does radio theater. When driving at such times, I’ll listen. They recently covered Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. I was blown away by Ball and Arnaz and how determined they were to negotiate shrewdly with CBS (and tobacco company sponsors) to make their show the way …
Between 1851 and 1910, approximately 1.6 million Swedish people – 86% of whom were under 35 y/o, left the fatherland to establish themselves in the United States. Swedes established the Swedish Lutheran Mission Institute in Keokuk, Iowa, in 1873. A banker in Knoxville (near Galesburg, IL) persuaded the Institute to relocate and it was renamed …
Photo by Zachary Kyra-Derksen on Unsplash Portland is ranked among the top ten Best Places to Live in the US. “Keep Portland Weird,” the city’s unofficial tagline, is a testament to its easy going and friendly culture. One of the things that makes Portland the tenth best place to live in is the abundance of recreational spots that …
Seniors throughout Portland and the state of Oregon are in more need of community assistance and care than ever before. The American In-Care Association has made it clear that community is essential in alleviating loneliness in the elder members of society. Now that the festive season is approaching, initiatives throughout Portland are aiming to provide …
I’ve been seeing the TV ad (above) with Matt Damon hawking Crypto currencies recently; the angle of the ad is that participating in cryptocurrency speculation is the (almost literal, per the ad) equivalent of the greatest adventures of discovery the world has ever known. Huzzah! So what does Average Joe Investor make of this? Is …
Voodoo Doughnut, Portland’s famous purveyor of zany confections, was offering a green and gold sprinkle doughnut in honor of the Timbers hosting the MLS Cup Saturday. I should talk about the final, in which the Timbers fell to New York City FC in a penalty shootout … but doughnuts just seem more interesting. Sour grapes …
WASHINGTON, DC – On December 7, Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) hosted a Congressional Briefing with actress Edie Falco of “Sopranos” and Nurse Jackie fame and PETA neuroscientists (Science Advancement & Outreach) Dr. Katherine Roe and Dr. Emily Trunnell. I also interviewed Roe and Trunnell separately. Currently, there are no cures or adequate treatments for diseases …
So I was in Tacoma on a soggy, dreary December Saturday afternoon (btw, few stories end well with this beginning), and I happened across the old Brown & Haley candy factory and their cute, less dreary, octagonal sales kiosk outside on the corner. I’ve always known of and enjoyed their mainstay product, the Almond Roca; …
Winter 2021-2022 is expected to be one of the most expensive ever for homeowners, according to Yahoo! News. Experts are predicting that Oregonians will have a wetter and snowier winter than they’ve had in a while. This type of weather is costly for homeowners in many ways, including higher energy bills and costly repairs. It therefore pays …
ABBA today release their first Christmas single ‘Little Things’, out now with proceeds going to Unicef to help support the Global Child Protection Fund. Taken from ABBA’s album Voyage (Capitol), ‘Little Things’ is a reflection on the joy of Christmas morning and family time around this special time of year. Agnetha, Björn, Benny & Anni-Frid say: “We think it is impossible to eradicate …
Temptation gnaws on your mind like a dog returning to an old bone. One moment you’re distracted and the next there’s that bone again…tickling your brain, telling you lies, perhaps drawing you into danger. Quality temptation is relentless. It’s so good you may as well get on with it so life can move ahead. A …
Not too long ago I wrote about North Park College’s 1985, senior-laden men’s basketball team’s journey to the school’s FOURTH national championship. Coach Bosko led that team in his first year after working as the top assistant coach for many years. Preparing for the 1985-86 season, Bosko now faced fielding his first recruiting class as …
In March 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea and the city of Sevastopol – a violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine – in order to have access to the Black Sea. The USA and Europe did nothing to stop the invasion. The former was still mired in Iraq and Afghanistan and Ukraine did not have …
Several friends have told me they love the drinks I make on my Instagram page (@architecture_of_the_cocktail) but would like to hear my take on how to set up a home bar. As we head into the holidays, many of us entertaining for the first time in a year and a half, so I have broken down my thoughts …
This is the first in a series of posts introducing my favorite herbs, their traditional uses and the stories surrounding them that have been passed down through the ages ~ often morphed and embellished along the way. The working heading is “I’d Like to Introduce You to My Friend Herb!” Today I would like to …
On the blustery, rainy Sunday night of November 14 I ventured out to see a new ska band from So. Cal called The Undisputed World Champions. The show was at a club near downtown Seattle called Lo-Fi Performance Gallery, a cozy little hole in the wall. While The Undisputed World Champions’ main focus is ska, …
Greg Story, Master Trainer at Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo, recently interviewed first time author Darren McKellin. The interview is engaging and gives the listener a first hand look into life and business in Japan through the eyes of an American who first moved to Japan 30 years ago. McKellin recently published the successful business text, Mind Over …
Lyn says, “I’m so excited for my first Christmas themed release. The first song of the bundle is called ‘Messed Up On Christmas,’ and it’s a little sad girl song about feeling lonely around the holiday season. I feel like a lot of people can relate to wanting to spend Christmas with someone special, but not …
If you and your family have just arrived in Portland, congratulations and welcome to your new neighborhood. It’s the fastest-growing city in Oregon, with around 30,000 new arrivals each year, so the locals are used to greeting new faces, and you’ll find them to be a friendly and welcoming bunch. At least, most are welcoming, but more on …