World’s Strangest

If Sitcom Time progressed like real time, Bart Simpson would be 30 today. On December 17, 1989, the Simpson family debuted their own show – a Christmas Special called “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” – to rave reviews. Prior to that, they had just appeared as small skits on The Tracey Ullman Show. To [...]

When you think of Christmas, you probably envision a row of cherry-faced carolers standing on your doorstep, holding candles and swaying to the soft, delicate notes of classic Christmas songs. But at certain points in history, some carols might have gotten those festive vocalists chased out of the neighborhood. 1. Elvis Presley’s “White Christmas” (1957) It seems [...]

It’s not all srs bsns at the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. The employees of the hospital put together this “Pink Glove Dance” to promote breast cancer awareness. Looks like a lot of fun! Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]

While I’d read that raising chickens had become more and more popular with youngsters in places like Portland, OR and Victor, ID, I was surprised to see this piece from GOOD, where photographer Todd Parsons found evidence of chickens making their way into the big city. From his essay: “In urban settings all across the country, [...]

Oregon journalist Paul Linnman was 23 years old in 1970 when KATU in Portland flew him to Florence to cover the removal of a beached whale. Officials had decided to get rid of the carcass by blowing it up with dynamite. Almost 40 years later, Linnmann looks back at that fateful day. “We’re hearing this noise [...]

Turkey Tracker is a bold experiment in social networking and turkey-smoking technology. Turkey Tracker combines a live video stream of a turkey smoking (at an undisclosed location, but I might as well tell you it’s in Portland, Oregon), a live Q&A session and other events throughout the day (see the Broadcast Schedule at the bottom [...]

In honor of today’s post on the Elliott Smith documentary Strange Parallel, here’s a collection of Elliot Smith playing some of his best songs. Smith died on October 21, 2003, at age 34. Read more about him at Wikipedia. “Waltz #2 (XO)” A beautiful performance of one of my favorite songs. “I’m so glad that my memory’s remote ’cause [...]

I’m a little shocked that I’ve gone so many years being an Elliott Smith fan, and living in Portland (where it is contractually obligated that you be an Elliott Smith fan), but had never heard of Strange Parallel, a 1998 30-minute documentary on Smith. Directed by Steve Hanft as a promotional film (never released commercially), [...]

“QUANTUM SHOT” #596Link – article by M. Christian and A. Abrams “Pipe Dreams” with Magnificent Sound: Quite Simply, The Blockbusters of Their Time Some of the most epic and magnificent music masterpieces were created to be played on a large pipe organ – made even better if listened inside soaring gothic cathedrals with pretty much perfect acoustics. [...]

You see them stalking the sidelines every time you flip on a game, but how well do you know where some of the game’s top coaches got their starts? Most coaches spend their entire lives coaching in some capacity, but a few of the all-time greats have gotten some interesting paychecks outside of football. Take [...]