Oregon Media Insiders

Look, we know you're busy. So here's the entire Olympics Opening Ceremony (which actually occurred this morning Beijing time) condensed into 30 seconds! (Or you can watch the whole thing tonight on NBC starting at 8 pm.)

Hold on... is that dude with the torch flying?? Aw, hell no!

Month after month, First Thursday can start to look the same. At the end of the night I always ask myself, "What do I remember? What stood out?"

Last night the thing that stood out for me was that Anna Solcaniova King and her husband Graylan King have taken over the former Rake location on the Everett Station Lofts block in Old Town. The new space is called Anka Gallery. This month Anna is showing her artwork and next month they'll be showing storyboard artist Chad Glass. I asked Graylan why they started the gallery and he said, "Portland is a great place for art and culture and we want to do everything we can to support that."

My first thought: The insular Portland art scene is gonna eat them alive!

But their sincerity is infectious and I got excited about what they're doing. Turns out Anna and Graylan are the people behind the new art website PDXARTscene.org, which is an ambitious attempt at lassoing Portland arts into one URL. Although I've only lived here three years, I'm jaded when it comes to new faces breaking out in a major way. People have tried before, people will try again, and it's a good thing they do.

Portland can use at least a few more art websites. PDXart.com started strong but fell asleep in May. PortlandArtFocus.com is okay for announcements, but feels like top-down propaganda and seems to be geared toward out-of-towners. Not enough people seem to know about the consistently interesting Artscatter.com while too many people know about the pretentious but informative Portlandart.net.

As far as I know there isn't a Portland based web portal that inclusively encompasses PDX art--the broad community--for the entire city. Is such a thing possible? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I commend anyone who attempts a go at bringing us together.

A Troop "Surge" Is Credited With Stemming Violence In Iraq, But Could A Similar Strategy Work In Afghanistan? A Top U.S. Military Commander Isn't Counting On It.  

Does A Candidate's Selection Of A Running Mate Improve His Standing In The Polls? In Other Words, Is There A "Veep Bounce"?  

I was on I-5 S last week--it was hazy and hot and somewhere between San Clemente and San Diego--when a friend and I started talking about this summer's big movies. Which means, of course, that The Dark Knight came up, and so did Wall-E, and so did my admittedly unoriginal observation that those two movies--two of the biggest of the year--are also two of the darkest films I've seen in a long time. Wall-E critiques American culture with pitch-black humor, while The Dark Knight revels in nihilism and says a few damning things about our fine nation.

My friend asked me if I thought the fact that these two movies are currently doing so well was because they've tapped into the zeitgeist--if it wasa case of them reflecting how Americans are currently feeling about themselves. And yeah, I think that might be the case, but only partially: Wall-E first started its preproduction phase over a decade ago, while The Dark Knight was in the works at least as early as 2006. In other words, the films reflect what people have been thinking about for the past few years--so while they might feel particularly relevant right this second, they also sum up the way things have generally been for a while now.

Starting tonight and going through Sunday, both films will play as part of a double feature at the 99W Drive-In. It's going to be a really amazing double feature, I think, for a whole bunch of reasons I'll go into after the jump. Also after the jump: Spoilers, obviously, which will not matter to 99 percent of the human race, since just about everybody has already seen these films at least once. But if you're one of the three people on the planet who, for whatever reason, have yet to see either The Dark Knight or Wall-E? You might want to avoid the clicking.

Pilots say their airline bosses, desperate to cut costs, are forcing them to fly uncomfortably low on fuel.

Look into the Future! 8pm on 8/8/2008 has already come and gone in Beijing, so the Olympic's opening ceremony is already over. But expect to see officials booting migrant laborers and some sweet dances celebrating national conformity.

Don't look over here! While all eyes are on the Olympics' fireworks, (including terrorists') Russia invades Georgia.

Or here! McCain returns $50,000 from a donor with federal defense contacts.

Concrete Change: Oregon starts to power highway lights with solar panels.

Concrete Problems: The pro-prison initiatives on the Oregon ballot would cost the state $1.3 billion to $2.2 billion.

Deputies say a man was shot in the arm during a property dispute in Vancouver and the incident was captured in a 911 call.

Hurricane Hernan forms off the Pacific coast of Mexico.

TIGARD — Some scientists are speculating that water pumped out of Wapato Lake in western Washington County contributed to the toxic blue-green algae bloom on the Tualatin River last month that prompted state health officials to shut down a lower stretch of the river for a two-week period. On ...

A former Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue employee was arrested Monday for reportedly stealing $8,372 from the fire district. Jennifer Kilmurray, 34, of Woodburn was recently indicted by a Washington County Grand Jury on 15 counts of attempted theft, misdemeanor theft, felony theft, fraudulent ...

Beaverton resident Dawn Beaudreau’s card creation is the only finalist from Oregon in the Hallmark YourPets card competition. Her card is now available in Hallmark stores nationwide and is part of an online competition for the No.1 card. Beaudreau’s card features a photo of her dog, ...

With only a week to prepare for the regional high school theater competition last winter, Michael Groth decided to try his hand at pantomime. So the first thing the 18-year-old Westview High School graduate did was find inspiring music, something that would lead him through his movements. He ...

Given That Matthew McConaughey's Personal Motto Is "Just Keep Living," Perhaps It's No Surprise That He Says The Birth Of His 1-month-Old Son Levi Alves McConaughey Has Not Totally Stopped The Way He Does That.  

Clay Aiken's companion gives birth to a baby Friday morning, according to TMZ.com.

If you're looking for someone to share a drink with you, Austin, Texas may be your best bet.

A town councilor gets more than he bargained for after purchasing a used police cruiser at an auction.

TIGARD — Some scientists are speculating that water pumped out of Wapato Lake in western Washington County contributed to the toxic blue-green algae bloom on the Tualatin River last month that prompted state health officials to shut down a lower stretch of the river for a two-week period. On ...

A former Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue employee was arrested Monday for reportedly stealing $8,372 from the fire district. Jennifer Kilmurray, 34, of Woodburn was recently indicted by a Washington County Grand Jury on 15 counts of attempted theft, misdemeanor theft, felony theft, fraudulent ...

Beaverton resident Dawn Beaudreau’s card creation is the only finalist from Oregon in the Hallmark YourPets card competition. Her card is now available in Hallmark stores nationwide and is part of an online competition for the No.1 card. Beaudreau’s card features a photo of her dog, ...