WE’RE ON TELEVISION (KIND OF)!:
Two of Portland’s national TV shows are finding local talent in the
obvious place: the pages of this august publication. On Friday, Grimm
(which is performing so well that NBC is moving it to a prime Thursday
slot) showcased a vintage Olan Mills family portrait—of a Blutbaden
family—that wasn’t vintage at all. It was actually designed by Robbie Augspurger, of the Wolf Choir art collective, who runs B-Movie Bingo and recently created a Twilight bingo board for WW. >> Meanwhile, IFC, preparing for the Jan. 6 premiere of Portlandia, has contracted WW freelancer Matthew P. Singer
to write a blog at ifc.com called “Made in Portlandia,” where he pays
tribute to “those who dare to live absurdly, in the most absurd place on
earth.” He also has to go by Matt P. Singer, because apparently there’s
another Matthew Singer out there stealing his absurd thunder.
TREK 3-D: Wanna take your Star Trek LARP-ing to the next level? Portland’s 5th Wall Gaming won’t do that exactly (*cough* intellectual property *cough*)
but they do have a new game set on the familiar bridge of a famous
starship. Crews of six wannabe galactic warriors take on 30-minute
missions, working together to shoot down alien ships. “The software
allows for one station of helm, weapons, engineering, science and
scommunications,” explains 5th Wall’s Joseph Bullock-Palser. “Each one
has its own computer with its own screen.” On Saturday, Dec. 17, 5th
Wall will be hosting a day of starship simulation at Guardian Games (303 SE 3rd Ave). Five bucks gets you training and a 30 minute mission.
DEEP DARK WOODS: The Sellwood neighborhood’s coolest nightlife spot and one of Portland’s best-sounding clubs, The Woods,
will shut down in late January, sources close to the business say. The
funeral home-turned-venue, which opened in summer of 2009, has struggled
to stay afloat in recent months and dropped its primary booker a month
ago. The club’s management could not be reached for comment as of WW’s press deadline.
BOOM AND BUST ON BELMONT: According to OLCC records, Belmont record shop and bar Hall of Records
will soon close. The space will be filled early in 2012 by Jehnee
Rains’ Suzette Creperie, which currently operates out of a trailer on
Northeast Alberta Street. >> Also coming soon to Belmont is Hokusei, a sushi restaurant opening next to Slappy Cakes at 4246 SE Belmont St.
OLD SPICE GUY SHILLS LOCAL: Old Spice has a thing where their mascot does little holiday-themed YouTube ads for local businesses. Portland’s PBJ’s
(Northwest 23rd Avenue and Kearney Street) just got
some love and it’s at least as funny as every other thing that Old Spice
guy has done. See it:
MATTHEW P. SINGER - IMAGE: Ben Baumeister
