Scoop: Gossip Says Name the Bridge for Working Kirk.

By WW Culture Staff
  1. SLANTED AND DISENCHANTED: Portland dance-rock group the Slants’ four-year battle with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is moving to federal court. In 2009, the USPTO rejected the band’s attempt to trademark its name on the grounds that it is disparaging to Asians—despite the fact that band members are Asian-American themselves. “Thanks for being offended on my behalf,” the Slants’ bassist-manager, Simon Tam, told WW at the time. Following a second rejection in 2011, the band went to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which upheld the decision. The band plans to file another appeal in federal court, and claims to have lined up several civil rights groups to file amicus briefs on its behalf.
  1. BOY MEETS TYPHOON: Rider Strong, the actor best known for his role as Shawn Hunter on the so-painfully-’90s teen sitcom Boy Meets World, married actress Alexandra Barreto in Sandy, Ore., on Oct. 21, and he hired some local entertainment for the ceremony: Portland orchestral pop ensemble Typhoon. In an interview with E! Online, Strong said the group—“his favorite band”—offered via Twitter to perform. According to a source, the only other Boy Meets World cast member in attendance was Will Friedle, who played star Ben Savage’s dimwitted older brother on the show (the rest of the cast was in Los Angeles for Danielle “Topanga” Fishel’s wedding, which took place two days earlier), but that didn’t dissuade Strong from singing along to every song. In another very Portland move, Strong forged the wedding ring himself, which confirms our long-held theory: Shawn Hunter is the original Ron Swanson. 
  1. HEY, TEACHER: Oregon Ballet Theatre has chosen a new director for the company’s school: Anthony Jones, a Minneapolis native who currently teaches classical ballet in Dresden, Germany. Jones replaces Damara Bennett, who resigned in April, just a few months after former artistic director Christopher Stowell resigned. In addition to Jones’ pedigree in teaching and dance, which includes dancing with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle and serving as artistic director for the Long Island (N.Y.) Ballet Theatre, he worked for 10 years at the Frick Collection art museum in New York. Kevin Irving, OBT’s new artistic director, says Jones “brings a level of scholarship and knowledge that really does set him apart from the other candidates.”
  1. RE-’VISION: The last page of last week’s Restaurant Guide poked fun at the future of Southeast Division Street, which in recent years has been overrun by trendy restaurants and bars. To be clear: Beads at Dusti Creek, the Tropical Hut and  other businesses mentioned in the piece are not closing to be replaced by ridiculous parody restaurant concepts. WW regrets any confusion.

WWeek 2015

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