News Some movies aren't screened for critics for a very good reason. Chris Stamm wandered into The Ruins, and escaped (barely) with this review: Somewhere around the shit-hitting-the-fan mark, one of the svelte wayfarers trapped on top of a Mayan ruin does some wishful thinking out loud: “Four Americans on vacation don't just disappear.” It's a throwaway line, a phatic blurt that serves ...   More

News Protesters calling attention to the human rights abuses in China in the South Park Blocks in the run up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic games today were met with an unexpected counter-protest. The Human Rights Torch Relay, a global grassroots campaign raising awareness of China's human rights abuses and persecution of Falun Gong, passed through Portland this afternoon. About 50 people came out to ...   More

News SUPER-SPOILER ALERT, Wednesday 8 pm: We know where the end of the Race is filming its finish in Portland! We hear the cops have the access road all blocked off. • If you don't want to know where TAR13 is filming, close this post now. • If you do want to know, click here. --------------- SPOILER ALERT: While fan forums were at first dismissive of the notion that The Amazing Race ...   More

News This afternoon, leaders of the homeless protesters outside of City Hall met with Mayor Tom Potter behind closed doors for a meeting they said was pre-planned and not addressing their concerns. "He already had a response to this meeting before the meeting took place," Arthur Rios, Sr. told a press conference outside of the Mayor's office. "He still feels that we are a public safety problem. ...   More

News WW spent the night with the homeless protesters outside of City Hall, waiting for a police sweep expected to occur early this morning. It has not — yet. Here I am! (not looking quite as fashionable as usual; photo taken by Chad Witt): The leaders of the homeless protesters—who have been demonstrating since April 25 for more permanent and affordable housing and the suspension ...   More

News After this morning's Hillary Clinton show at OHSU's children's hospital, her Oregon campaign steering committee chair, Josh Kardon, tried to make me feel guilty. "You can say whatever snide, cynical stuff you want about the Clinton campaign, but don't say it about this event," said Kardon, standing next to a large teddy bear, carefully placed for the occasion. Cynical? OK, on most days, I'd cop to ...   More

News In a May Day action event, advocates for the homeless are calling attention to the number of homeless people counted in the City of Portland's biannual street count. Today in the South Park Blocks, activists with nonprofit homeless services provider Sisters of the Road planted 1,438 white flags to symbolize the number of people counted by the City of Portland un-housed and living on the streets ...   More

News Let's take a deep breath, OK? The One True b!X writes that Mayor Tom Potter, previously accused of "Gestapo tactics" in dealing with the homeless protest outside City Hall, violated the Portland city charter today. Oh, gawd, do we really have to talk about the latest chapter in this endless and ineffectual protest? I can't take much more. Let's walk through the morning to see how we got to this ...   More

News On a Washington Post blog about the massive Barack Obama's rally yesterday at Waterfront Park, some folks are calling into question whether all of those Oregonians could really possibly exist. If you were there, you probably saw that big platform moving up and down behind the podium. It was for the press photographers. According to the Internet, however, they weren't really there—or you weren't. ...   More

News At 7 pm Wednesday, May 21, the Portland Ride of Silence will start in downtown at Northwest Park Avenue and Everett Street in the North Park Blocks and ends on North Mississippi Avenue between Russell Street and Interstate Avenue. Ride for Silence began in 2003 in Dallas, Texas, in response to the death of endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz, and has since reached over 100 cities worldwide. The primary ...   More