Gap-Toothed Pride at Interesting PDX

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Land mines, Jack Russells and jazz were among the topics Portlanders geeked out about Thursday night at Interesting PDX.

The idea was simple: give people three minutes to talk about their passions in front of a supportive audience. Nineteen volunteers took the stage at Norse Hall last night, in the local premier of an event that's been held previously in cities like Sydney and Vancouver, B.C.

The delivery turned out to be sometimes bumpier, sometimes more delightful than the simple premise seemed to promise. Even more than a touching tale about poet Robert Duncan, or an OSU philosophy professor's take on concepts of justice, we enjoyed gap-toothed Noel Franus' ode to the dentally challenged.

Franus, a 38-year-old sound design consultant from Southeast Portland, started a website for gap-toothed folks in 1995 after his girlfriend (now wife) made fun of his maxillary central incisors on their second date. The site is still up, but Franus says he hasn't maintained it much since 1999.

We hope you enjoy Franus' three-plus minutes on stage as much as we did.