- BEST BEST BEST: The popular Best American Series by Houghton Mifflin has a Portland twist this time around. The Best American Essays 2013, available in stores Oct. 8, is edited by Portland author Cheryl Strayed, who chose pieces by three other Portland authors for the collection. Taken together, they make Portland seem like a morbid place: Vanessa Veselka writes about her potential brush with serial murderer Robert Ben Rhoades, Kevin Sampsell pens a meditation on suicide, and the University of Portlandâs Brian Doyle writes a haunting piece about fleeting beauty. Strayedâs introduction centers on her obsession with her dead mother.
- âTRON ROAST: The folks behind the three Insomnia Coffee Co. locations in Beaverton, Hillsboro and Cannon Beach have started a new roastery called Dapper & Wise in Beaverton, under the tagline âBravely roasting coffee in the suburbs of Portland, OR.â According to owner Evan Aldrete, Beaverton is a great place to raise his kids, but ânobody takes you seriously on this side of town as far as coffee. People who live on this side of town drink crappy coffee. I donât know whether itâs by choice.â Dapper & Wise will offer multiple cups of single-origin and lighter espressos, in a rustic, Portland-style tasting room, projected to open in November. âWe try to stay one step behind Portland,â he says. âIf we were right on the forefront, itâd be culture shock.â
- GREEN IS THE NEW WHITE: The Oregonian has a new music critic. David Greenwald has been hired to replace Ryan White, who was a victim of the mass layoffs that occurred at the paper in May. A former Web editor for Billboard, the Los Angeles Timesâ defunct alt-weekly spinoff Brand X and Access Hollywood, the writer-photographer has contributed to a number of other publications, covering indie rock, craft beer and, for GQ, âThe Oral History of Menswear Blogging.â According to the bio on Greenwaldâs personal website, his tweets have been re-tweeted and marked favorite by the likes of Ryan Seacrest, Lena Dunham and Ryan Adams.
- A ROSE FOR CHARLIE: A little-known piece of trivia: Charlie Chaplinâs movie career started in Portland 100 years ago today, on Sept. 25, 1913. Chaplin was with the British vaudeville Fred Karno company and signed his first movie contract with Keystone Studios while touring through the Rose City. His salary was appropriate for a deal made in Portland: It was a one-year contract at $150 a week.
- @WWEEK.COM: Dispatches from last weekendâs Feast food festival and the Time-Based Art Festival, a review of the Nationalâs concert at Edgefield, a look back at the end of the Portland Radio Authority pirate station and a response to Viceâs critique of Portlandâs hip-hop scene.
WWeek 2015