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The hallowed pages of Willamette Week only have space for so many event listings each week, and each of those must come under narrow headlines like "music" or "movies." So every week (unless we forget or get bored) we're going to list the geeky events happening around P-town that may not otherwise make it into our print edition: gaming, trivia, tech events, grown adults wearing costumes—that sort of thing. And this is a fine, fine week to kick it off:
Tuesday, Jan. 17
PIE Demo Day
[TECH] PIE—Widen + Kennedy's start-up incubator—is graduating its first "class" and those fresh-faced young entrepreneurs will be doing a show and tell of their fledgling businesses at the Bagdad. Athletepath, Cloudability, DailyPath, MoPix, Revisu, Spotsi, Stayhound and Vendscreen will pitch their products (some of which sound pretty dubious, we have to say, but we'd be happy to be proven wrong) to the media, public and potential investors followed by a meet and greet session. Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 467-7521. 2 pm. Free, but you have to pre-register here.
OMSI Science Pub: Urban Landslides
[EDUTAINMENT] OMSI's pub night—where you get smarter whilst simultaneously killing brain cells—this week hosts PSU geology professor Scott Burns to talk about landslides in Portland: when they've happened, why they happen and what the hell you should do when they next happen. Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St.,224-0166. 7 pm. $5 suggested cover. 21+, minors admitted with an adult.
Wednesday, Jan. 18
William Gibson at Powell's
[BOOKS] The "father of cyberpunk," author William Gibson, honors Powell's with his presence. The man behind Neuromancer, Johnny Mnemonic and about five gazillion other books and short stories has a new collection of his non-fiction essays and articles, called Distrust That Particular Flavor (the NYT gives it a big thumbs up). Our prediction? This thing is going to be packed; get there early if you even want a seat, even earlier if you want to stake out a spot somewhere near the signing table. Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651. 7:30 pm. Free. All ages.
The Doubleclicks
[MUSIC] Nerdfolk. It's a thing. Of course it is. And in Portland, its preeminent proponents are the Doubleclicks, a sister duo that combines acoustic guitar, cello and some lovely vocal harmonies on songs about Dungeons and Dragons, Star Trek, Pride and Prejudice, superheroes and punctuation. Backspace, 15 NW 5th Ave., 248-290. 9 pm. $5. All ages.
Saturday, Jan. 21
Mythbusters: Behind the Myths Tour
[EDUTAINMENT] Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, on stage, blowing shit up—that's pretty much what we expect from this live tour of the wildly successful Discovery Channel TV show. Oh, there'll be some witty repartee and some actual science, but everyone's going for the explosions, and let's not pretend otherwise. Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., 248-4335. 4 pm and 8 pm. $45-$100. All ages.
Supercon!
[DRINKING AND DRESS-UPS] Portland's now-annual superhero bar crawl will be keeping the watering holes of Clinton/Division safe this year, and for the firs time, there's a theme: Mystery Men. No, not the 1999 film (or even the Flaming Carrot Comics), but the early Golden Age heroes—Blue Beetle, Green Mask and, er, Blackie the Mystery Boy. There will be trivia and a costume contest, and undoubtedly more Spandex stretched around beer bellies than you ever wanted to see in one room. The event starts at 39th St Sports Pub (Tom's), 3871 SE Division St. 3 pm. 21+. See the Facebook event for more details.
2012 West Coast Beard and Mustache Championships
[FESTIVAL] It's that time of year again, when the wooliest Sasquatch look-a-likes in the west gather to show off their 'mos and mutton chops. This year there will be a wedding, a photo booth, and a raffle, while judges include Voodoo Doughnut mogul Tres Shannon, Blitzen Trapper's Adrian Koch, Jebediah Aaker (a.k.a. that guy in underwear and a leather jacket in the Dream of the '90s clip) and local stripper Rocket. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside St., 225-0047, stumptownsbc.com. 3 pm. $9.50, kids under 6 free. All ages.
GameStorm Free Game Day
[GAMING] GameStorm, the big board/card/RPG gaming convention happening in the 'Couv in March, is holding one of its free game days in anticipation of the big event. Folks from Steve Jackson Games will be there, so that means Munchkin, as well as local dungeon masters running RPGs. Hilton Vancouver Washington, 301 W 6th St. gamestorm.org. 8 am-10 pm. Free.
The listing are written by WW, but we crib events shamelessly from the Geek Portland calendar. Go there for more events and information.
WWeek 2015