Yes I've been hibernating. Haven't posted in ages. Way overcommitted this summer. Looking forward to fall when I can reprioritize my life. The truth is I don't have too much to report. Too tired, too hot, whatever. Thought I'd point to two of my current favorite blogs:
- Bitch Magazine recently launched their new website which looks amazing. Full disclosure, I am on the board so this is surely a biased review. But they've been doing such a great job with their blogs! They're keeping it real: interesting, thought-provoking, diverse. Stay tuned for more info on our 2nd annual [sm]art benefit featuring the legendary Judy Chicago and loads of other local and national art people.
- Angry Asian Man is always at the top of my list for excellent blogs. He's a voracious, cutting surveyor/analyzer of all things Asian.
On a slightly different, but still opinionated note - I recently started contributing to the My Turn column at The Asian Reporter. Check me out if you interested in seeing other stuff I've been up to...
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Two, count 'em two benefits!!
In case I didn't get to spam you...
Two benefits I'm working on are coming up (in the same week, yikes) and I would love to see you there!
Benefit for Bitch Magazine
The Bitch Pub Quiz, Thursday June 5
Support what you love; come to Bitch's first ever fundraising Pub Quiz! It'll be a trivia-licious evening of questions, answers, games, music, and more! Quizmistress Toni Tabora-Roberts (yes, that's me!) will test your knowledge of women and pop culture with everything from general-interest questions to name-that-tune brainteasers. You'll expand your knowledge, get the chance to win some great prizes, and support the work of your favorite local feminist magazine. $5-$20 (sliding scale) per person to play--up to 6 people per team. Bring your friends, your competitors and some dough. For more information check out bitchmagazine.org or call 503-282-5699. Thursday, June 5, 6 p.m., Vita Cafe, 3024 NE Alberta, Portland.
Benefit for KBOO
Pink Martini Fundfest 2008 June 3-6 at the Crystal Ballroom
KBOO is one of the lucky beneficiaries of this year's Pink Martini FundFest! Each year Pink Martini does a series of concerts to benefit four local non-profits. If you are interested, or if you'd like to tell other potentially interested folks about this great opportunity to support KBOO, let us know. The goal for this event is to raise $80,000 total or $20,000 for each of the four non-profits and 100% of the net proceeds go directly to the organizations.
In addition to the main concerts, there is a very special Patron Reception happening on Friday June 6 from 6-8pm at Lola's Room. Pink Martini's band leader Thomas Lauderdale will play Gershwin's Rhapsody while folks mix and mingle with the band. Tickets are $100, $55 of which is tax-deductible. Patron ticket includes a ticket to the main concert at 8pm and is available directly through KBOO or Ticketmaster.
Of course, you can also support us by attending one of the main concerts. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Those tickets are available through the Crystal Ballroom box office or through Ticketmaster.
More details about this event are available at kboo.fm.
Two benefits I'm working on are coming up (in the same week, yikes) and I would love to see you there!
Benefit for Bitch Magazine
The Bitch Pub Quiz, Thursday June 5
Support what you love; come to Bitch's first ever fundraising Pub Quiz! It'll be a trivia-licious evening of questions, answers, games, music, and more! Quizmistress Toni Tabora-Roberts (yes, that's me!) will test your knowledge of women and pop culture with everything from general-interest questions to name-that-tune brainteasers. You'll expand your knowledge, get the chance to win some great prizes, and support the work of your favorite local feminist magazine. $5-$20 (sliding scale) per person to play--up to 6 people per team. Bring your friends, your competitors and some dough. For more information check out bitchmagazine.org or call 503-282-5699. Thursday, June 5, 6 p.m., Vita Cafe, 3024 NE Alberta, Portland.
Benefit for KBOO
Pink Martini Fundfest 2008 June 3-6 at the Crystal Ballroom
KBOO is one of the lucky beneficiaries of this year's Pink Martini FundFest! Each year Pink Martini does a series of concerts to benefit four local non-profits. If you are interested, or if you'd like to tell other potentially interested folks about this great opportunity to support KBOO, let us know. The goal for this event is to raise $80,000 total or $20,000 for each of the four non-profits and 100% of the net proceeds go directly to the organizations.
In addition to the main concerts, there is a very special Patron Reception happening on Friday June 6 from 6-8pm at Lola's Room. Pink Martini's band leader Thomas Lauderdale will play Gershwin's Rhapsody while folks mix and mingle with the band. Tickets are $100, $55 of which is tax-deductible. Patron ticket includes a ticket to the main concert at 8pm and is available directly through KBOO or Ticketmaster.
Of course, you can also support us by attending one of the main concerts. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Those tickets are available through the Crystal Ballroom box office or through Ticketmaster.
More details about this event are available at kboo.fm.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Clowns Without Borders rocks!
Our friends jesikah and Thom were in town this weekend and fortunately they were very enthusiastic about joining us for the annual Clowns Without Borders benefit show at daVinci Arts Middle School.
Our good friend Sarah (who just finished her fabulous Nomadic Theatre show Running Into Walls which I wrote about in my previous post) was one of the main organizers and it was a truly wonderful show.
I remember last year's being a smidge too long (okay, a lot too long). This year most of the acts got the clue and brought some really fun, clever performances. In my humble opinion I would say that most of the acts took some great leaps and bounds in evolving their work over the past year. Notables for me were Nomadic, Nanda (an energetic, amazing acro-performance troupe), and another act (can't recall their names!), a duo who did clown, juggling and some funny stuff with a bowling ball, some of it in lovely pink tutus.
Our good friend Sarah (who just finished her fabulous Nomadic Theatre show Running Into Walls which I wrote about in my previous post) was one of the main organizers and it was a truly wonderful show.
I remember last year's being a smidge too long (okay, a lot too long). This year most of the acts got the clue and brought some really fun, clever performances. In my humble opinion I would say that most of the acts took some great leaps and bounds in evolving their work over the past year. Notables for me were Nomadic, Nanda (an energetic, amazing acro-performance troupe), and another act (can't recall their names!), a duo who did clown, juggling and some funny stuff with a bowling ball, some of it in lovely pink tutus.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Something so RIGHT, and one RWONG
This week I'm writing to recommend two FABULOUS shows. The first is a wonderful, imaginative, hilarious, poignant clown show featuring my good friend Sarah in her company Nomadic Theatre Co. The show is called Running Into Walls. If you've never seen a clown show (and I'm NOT talking Ringling Brothers) this is a great introduction into that delightful world. The story follows two very close clown friends as they take a strange journey to confront mortality. Wonderful physical comedy, engaging performances, touching story. Plus, you'll find out the origins of the word "muffin" and what the word "Himalaya" means. The show runs through April 27 at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 SE Belmont, Portland.
Next is Roberta Wong's art exhibit at IFCC gallery in North Portland. If you've never been there it's a pretty darn cool space. She's showing some of her installation work from the past 2 decades and it's all still extremely relevant stuff exploring race, gender, history and identity. I wrote about Roberta's show in The Asian Reporter so check out my story. The exhibit runs through April 26.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Movie quotes meme, inspired by hambox
Okay I admit I first had to figure out what a meme was. Wiktionary defines it as:
Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods and terms such as race, culture, and ethnicity.
A cultural virus of sorts. So, here's my movie quotes meme, inspired by my friend hambox who go it from spark and foam who got it from Life in Scribbletown and so on...
The rules:
Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods and terms such as race, culture, and ethnicity.
A cultural virus of sorts. So, here's my movie quotes meme, inspired by my friend hambox who go it from spark and foam who got it from Life in Scribbletown and so on...
The rules:
- Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
- Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
- Post them on your blog for everyone to guess in the comments.
- Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
- GUESSERS: NO Googling/using IMDB search functions. I mean, you can cheat if you want, but all that would do is make you win. Where's the fun in that?
- One movie guess per human allowed in the comments, but email me with additional guesses, if you like.
"Oh, you think you're hot shit 'cause you get to sit over there and play Pictionary, well guess what? My five year old daughter could do that and let me tell you, she's not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed."Rico's good he got 2 of the quotes. I'll credit him for both cuz he's my bro. This one's Juno ."Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place."Rico's done it again. Breakfast Club, baby.- "My embarrassing admission is I really like that you're nice, right now."
- "I've been trying to write her a poem, but I can't seem to finish it. What rhymes with 'glass'?"
"Great pate, mom, but I gotta motor if I wanna be ready for that party tonight."Nice get Ms Polly! Great line from Heathers- "Oh, I just think I'm gonna barf... Well, that passed. Now I'm hungry again."
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."That's Princess Bride of course. Ms. Becky was quick on that draw.A: "Would you like another schnitzengruben?" B: "No, thank you. Fifteen is my limit on schnitzengruben."Thanks for playing FreshHell! Blazing Saddles is correct.- "I don't care what you believe in, just believe in it."
- A: "Is life always this hard, or is it just when you're a kid?" B: "Always like this."
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Snow and Sangre
Last week I had the pleasure of snowboarding for the first time in two years. I'm volunteering with Matt's org Chill. Funded in large part by Burton Snowboards, Chill brings Portland teens up to Mt. Hood to teach them life lessons, such as persistence and responsibility, in the guise of snowboarding. Matt's working with a bunch of different amazing Portland agencies dedicated to youth empowerment, including Metropolitan Family Services, New Avenues for Youth, El Programa Hispano, IRCO, Open Meadow and a bunch of other schools and organizations.
So, last Friday I drove up to Timberline early with a bunch of the other volunteers - Rico, Scott and Daley. It was a gorgeous and warm-ish day. We had time for a bunch of awesome runs, then Scott, Daley and I decided to take one of the long trails (2+ miles) directly to Government Camp (sort of illegal and out of bounds, but very cool!) where we were to meet up with the busload of kids to help them gear up (Burton provides snowboards, boots, jackets etc for all the kids and their chaperones) for the day. Once we got everyone geared up we hit the mountain. After a day of riding I was pretty whipped, but it was energizing for me to hang with some of the kids. I was drawn to the kids who were having a harder time because I wanted to help keep their spirits up and not let them give up when they got frustrated. Plus it's just a pleasure to connect one-on-one with these teenagers, as I don't necessarily have many other opportunities to hang with teens. I'm back with them tomorrow and I can't wait!
Last night a bunch of us went to see our friend Jaime in a show at Milagro Theatre called Bodas de Sangre or Blood Wedding written by the famed Federico Garcia Lorca. As you might gather from the title, there was certainly some drama and intensity to the piece. Themes running through included death, birth, destiny, history, love and lust. In general, I thought the Olga Sanchez (the show's Director, and also Milagro's Artistic Director) did a fine job putting this together. The staging was inventive and poetic. Better known as a poet, Lorca's words are evocative and brimming with symbolism. A highlight for me was just post-intermission. The angry wedding crowd is in the midst of searching for the runaway bride and her lover. It reminded me of a Greek chorus with the Moon spouting incantations and Death lording over with foreboding. The staging was simple, elegant and dreamy. I believe this was the first play I've watched in another language with supertitles. Very much list viewing a foreign film with subtitles. Effective enough, but sometimes I missed some of the action and other times my timing in reading was off. All in all, though it was a lovely experience and I look forward to checking out more bilingual shows at the Milagro.
So, last Friday I drove up to Timberline early with a bunch of the other volunteers - Rico, Scott and Daley. It was a gorgeous and warm-ish day. We had time for a bunch of awesome runs, then Scott, Daley and I decided to take one of the long trails (2+ miles) directly to Government Camp (sort of illegal and out of bounds, but very cool!) where we were to meet up with the busload of kids to help them gear up (Burton provides snowboards, boots, jackets etc for all the kids and their chaperones) for the day. Once we got everyone geared up we hit the mountain. After a day of riding I was pretty whipped, but it was energizing for me to hang with some of the kids. I was drawn to the kids who were having a harder time because I wanted to help keep their spirits up and not let them give up when they got frustrated. Plus it's just a pleasure to connect one-on-one with these teenagers, as I don't necessarily have many other opportunities to hang with teens. I'm back with them tomorrow and I can't wait!
Last night a bunch of us went to see our friend Jaime in a show at Milagro Theatre called Bodas de Sangre or Blood Wedding written by the famed Federico Garcia Lorca. As you might gather from the title, there was certainly some drama and intensity to the piece. Themes running through included death, birth, destiny, history, love and lust. In general, I thought the Olga Sanchez (the show's Director, and also Milagro's Artistic Director) did a fine job putting this together. The staging was inventive and poetic. Better known as a poet, Lorca's words are evocative and brimming with symbolism. A highlight for me was just post-intermission. The angry wedding crowd is in the midst of searching for the runaway bride and her lover. It reminded me of a Greek chorus with the Moon spouting incantations and Death lording over with foreboding. The staging was simple, elegant and dreamy. I believe this was the first play I've watched in another language with supertitles. Very much list viewing a foreign film with subtitles. Effective enough, but sometimes I missed some of the action and other times my timing in reading was off. All in all, though it was a lovely experience and I look forward to checking out more bilingual shows at the Milagro.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Ruminations from Powell's Coffee Shop
Enjoying a 12oz chai at Powell's always hopping coffee shop/reading room. Not supposed to have more than 5 books, but i suck a couple of extra in. Figure, I'm pretty much set on buying almost all my items. It's always fun, and a bit daunting to peruse this institution. I always find it's good to have a game plan, i.e. a couple of key things you are looking for. This trip I was on the hunt for 3 things:
1) Birthday present for Matt. Wanted to find an fun, encouraging film book to support his pursuit of creative projects.
2) Information/reference books for my Pub Quiz Oregon quiz writing.
3) Zine(s). I'm a big fan of zines (however, as a dabbler, not deeply knowledgeable - just know what I like).
Here's what I ended up with:
1) Making Short Films by Jim Piper (coincidentally the name of our very nice previous landlord). It seems to have mixed reviews, but I like that it has pictures and seems somewhat The Conversations by Michael Ontaje. Looks very inspiring.
2) The reference books are my little secret...
3) A new local zine "Monster of Fun! a collection of Razorcake columns by Amy Adoyzie" which looks very promising. And hey she's APA which is always nice to support. Also picked up "time enough at last" by A.j. Michel out of Lansdowne, PA. I'm a list junkie and this one is subtitled: "A Reading Log 2007" including juicy documentation of A.j.'s reading habits over the past year.
1) Birthday present for Matt. Wanted to find an fun, encouraging film book to support his pursuit of creative projects.
2) Information/reference books for my Pub Quiz Oregon quiz writing.
3) Zine(s). I'm a big fan of zines (however, as a dabbler, not deeply knowledgeable - just know what I like).
Here's what I ended up with:
1) Making Short Films by Jim Piper (coincidentally the name of our very nice previous landlord). It seems to have mixed reviews, but I like that it has pictures and seems somewhat The Conversations by Michael Ontaje. Looks very inspiring.
2) The reference books are my little secret...
3) A new local zine "Monster of Fun! a collection of Razorcake columns by Amy Adoyzie" which looks very promising. And hey she's APA which is always nice to support. Also picked up "time enough at last" by A.j. Michel out of Lansdowne, PA. I'm a list junkie and this one is subtitled: "A Reading Log 2007" including juicy documentation of A.j.'s reading habits over the past year.
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