A SUMMER GOSSIPIN,' FESTIVAL-GOIN', DRINKIN' KINDA COLUMN

[August 24th, 2005] DEPT. OF SHAMELESS NAME-DROPPING: Spotted about town this month was Ted Lange, best known for his role as Isaac on TV's long-running Love Boat. (Just admit it-you loved that cheesy show, too!) Scoop had the inside track on sightings, since Lange was in town to play a role in Uncle Tom's Apartment, a film about a carefree black man (A.J. Wone) who unexpectedly finds himself taking care of two white children. But don't expect a remake of Ice Cube's sappy Are We There Yet?, as the film is helmed by WW's own screen editor, the sharp-penned David Walker.

trading spaces: First Homowo, Portland's African drumming extravaganza, cut its two-day August fest back to a one-day storytelling session. Now the Bones and Brew Festival (Sept. 10-11) is shifting from the expanse of Waterfront Park into four Pearl District blocks, a move that'll mean a significantly smaller tab for the micro microbrew and microdistillery fest's organizers, Newport-based Rogue Ales. Maybe the Alberta Street Fair should have taken Rogue's lead: After seven years of community merriment, organizers are calling it quits-for 2005 at least-due to a lack of funding and volunteers.

RU AWAKENING: Drag-queen sensation RuPaul didn't spend his time in Portland holed up in the Benson Hotel's posh Presidential suite (home to Mariah Carey when she's in town). The entertainer reports on his blog, rupaul.com, that he was walking the streets (at the pre-diva hour of 6 am!) and buying used CDs (including Sheena Easton's No Sound But a Heart). And at his Old Town street performance on Saturday night, RuPaul was probably too busy to notice that one of the outside bars, hosted by C.C. Slaughters, was shut down by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which issued a violation for "having a visibly intoxicated manager on duty."