I must admit, I had assumed Portland would be the last place on earth for a Christmas-related terror attempt: . Somali-born teen arrested in car bomb plot Feds supplied dud in sting at downtown Portland, Ore., Christmas tree lighting ceremony PORTLAND, Ore. — A Somali-born teenager plotted to carry out a car bomb attack at …
. It’s 2AM and I’m in the middle of a modern day Currier and Ives print. The parking lot is enervated, electric. A dazed polyglot of satisfied Walmart shoppers recess the aluminum store with armloads of discounted clothing. Cut rate electronics drop at sunup. Cellular reception bars are firm and plenteous, the inky skies are …
. . I was saddened and dismayed last night to watch “Nightline,” one of the cherished news shows of my teenage years, and see how much it has changed. During a week of critical and frightening news coming out of Korea, when two nations with huge armies and powerful allies stand at the brink of …
Nils Lofgren is probably best known for his work with Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. There is no doubt he excelled in both roles, but he also has a fine legacy as a solo performer. Lofgren is widely regarded as one of the best rhythm guitarists in the history of …
. My journalism school, at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, is changing its name from The Medill School of Journalism to The Medill School of Journalism, Media and Marketing Communications. This development culminates several years of changes instituted by the new journalism dean, who has shifted the focus of the school from news writing and …
. I didn’t think it possible, but recently discovered a friend on Facebook who’d actually never seen the unforgettable “OK Go on Treadmills” video. As an actual treadmill owner, I can’t even walk by (notice I didn’t say walk ON) my treadmill without OK Go’s one-take masterpiece immediately coming to mind. And it’s not just …
Awwwwwww…. . .
Fellow Swede-Ams, it’s time to stop the madness! Santa Lucia day, the most sexist holiday in the global Scandinavian calendar, is fast approaching, December 13. Please stop the needless subjugation of Scandinavian women through, coffee, coffeebread, candles and white robes. Every year a new generation is scarred for life, sometimes physically if real candles are …
Here’s a classic Ambrosavage Thanksgiving cartoon, back in time to make you laugh: . .
Tenor and global heartthrob Josh Groban’s new record, “Illuminations” is produced by Rick Rubin and six of the songs are co-written by Dan Wilson, of Semisonic and Trip Shakespeare fame. Groban and Wilson collaborated on “Bells of New York City” (below). My only question is, why no cover of “Erotic City?” Semisonic always had rollicking …
West Coast residents never understand the brutal sarcasm making up the everyday humor vocabulary in Chicago. Only in Chicago could perky morning news hosts make bitter wisecracks about osteoporosis and then make fun of themselves when they miss the bridge implosion. Here in the eternally optimistic West, it’s the osteoporosis joke and the hosts’ general …
. OK; write an intro for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s live version of “Prove it All Night,” Phoenix, 1978 (above). Shoot, just listen to it and you can hear that Bruce plays a better intro than I could ever write. Not to mention that the man has done some really great inteviews …
. He wasn’t the greatest of all time, but he may have been the prettiest. Mark Knopfler’s solos, in Dire Straits and elsewhere, were/are always the most melodic, the clearest, the brightest, the kind you’d most like to take home to Mum. He had/has at least four personas, all of them entertaining: the mellifluous athleticist, …
. . The 1978 concert movie “The Last Waltz” was unusual for a couple of reasons. One, it was directed by Martin Scorsese and two, it was a farewell show for an enormously popular group that had all it’s original members living, no real drop in popularity, and no band members with outstanding warrants (no …
“In the Philippines, he’s an obsession…”, “a greater fighter than Muhammad Ali…” . . Pacquiao Defeats Margarito to Win 8th Title in 8th Weight Class .
. . Fifteen years after Cicely’s moose bid farewell and strode into the night, “Northern Exposure” remains one of the most original shows ever to grace the small screen. From 1990 to 1995, quirky characters in a remote Alaskan town wrestled with profound questions about identity, community and love. NX featured no cheap laughs and …
The story of Rahab is found in Joshua 2 and 6:22-25, click here for Joshua 2 or here for Joshua 6:22-25 or see below. I’d like to see women in the Old Testament (OT) portrayed as more valuable (there are exceptions), than just inventory in a man’s lineup of marriage options. How awful to be …
In 1977, the Jersey sound was getting hot. Some guy named Bruce Springsteen had put out a record called Born to Run in ’75 and while everyone waited for the next album (and then waited some more), the word was there were more bands out there in the “flats of Jersey”. The Sugar Miami Steve …
Like a Duracell 9volt battery to the tongue, Henry shows he’s always ready to confront and stimulate. If he had a third hand, it would be jostling what lies below his third arm. – Paul Johnson . . .
Here’s some thoughts. 1. As obvious as this sounds, write like crazy for your high school newspaper no matter how lame it might be. If it’s lame, become an editor and strive to write investigative stories about things above and beyond the call of scholastic journalism: teen life, abortion, bullying, gay and lesbian struggles, suicide, …
. Did you see the outrageous report regarding Chris Matthews and MSNBC’s election coverage by the usual suspects? This is beyond belief and simply crazy stuff: Goldberg echoed many of those complaints in his appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor.” “They broke the cardinal rule of journalism: You don’t have partisans covering hard news events, and …
. A bombastic, guttural onslaught. Keith Moon appears as a mischievous child with a hand grenade, moving me to the commode when coffee and cigarettes have failed. Wipe this. – Paul Johnson . .
Here’s one for the iPod, Fireflies, a slightly less well known Fleetwood Mac song, one never captured in the studio. This version was recorded during a tour sound check and thrown into the mix on the long-forgotten Live (1980) album, a collection which, by the standards of the time and of live albums, was fairly …
A million souls have viewed these Jakarta college students and their a capella version of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.” This is just another fact to convince you that the world you remember is gone. You’re just a lurker in the new one.
. Never say ugly. The always beautiful Ducklings of the University of Oregon are now the consensus No. 1 football team in the only country that plays football without a round ball. As of Halloween 2010, for the first time ever, the Ducks were on top of every poll– Harris, coaches and Associated Press– and, …
. . Not sure if this has been done elsewhere, or if there would be any interest, but I’ve always had a soft spot for great lyrical couplets. Elvis Costello is pretty much the master (and Dylan, of course) but it might be interesting to see a link where posters could put up their own …
. . Today’s New York Times has a fantastic article about a city in Northern Vietnam rightly becoming popular with tourists from all over the world: . In Northern Vietnam, a Region of Beauty and Ethnic Traditions MY first glimpse of the place that some call Vietnam’s Shangri-La came on a brisk spring afternoon as …
. . Portland has a new television Station and it’s number 36. Better Life Broadcasting Network, a 3ABN affiliate, has begun broadcasting free over the air on KEVE, digital channel 36-1. Viewing KEVE may require redoing the channel scan feature on your digital television or converter box. Programming is free and an antenna is all …
East Portland blog loves the Beastie Boys as they are one of only two musical phenomena from back in the day which still send promotional emails. Here’s their latest. Read and learn, Philistines: BEASTIE BOYS HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE PART 2 TRACK LISTING REVISED, REPLACED ENTIRELY WITH SONGS ORIGINALLY RECORDED FOR HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE PART 1 …