Gossip Should Have No Friends

[November 12th, 2008]

DID THAT JUST HAPPEN? Sunday’s 2008 Oregon Book Awards at the Portland Art Museum was a buttoned-up affair, with one spectacular exception. During the presentation of the Distinguished Writer Award to Barry Lopez, presenter Rick Bartow told the audience that he would honor Lopez the best way he knew how: with a song. Bartow then told a story about Vietnam and began singing loudly in an indeterminate Native American tongue, all the while dancing and joggling his right hand. After the song, Bartow wrapped an emotional Lopez in a Native American blanket, and the two embraced. Then, Lopez drew a wicked-looking bone knife out of his coat and displayed it for the audience. Lopez said the knife, which had been carved from 100-year-old walrus bone, was an Eskimo storyteller’s blade, intended to remind him of a writer’s moral obligation to his community.

A VOTE FOR SALAD: While the rest of Portland was consumed with Obamania last week, the latest queen of country music, Jessica Simpson,  sashayed her way into downtown PDX on election night. The on-again, off-again girlfriend of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo made a quick stop at KUPL-FM, where she talked about the fact she is a fan of “voting.” After the promotion, she went to Morton’s, The Steakhouse for dinner, where she settled into the bar area to watch the TV coverage once the election was called in favor of Obama. She was obviously intrigued by the proceedings but remained fairly neutral in expression. More importantly, her meal consisted of a salad of romaine lettuce with Thousand Island dressing and croutons (off-menu), and a single-cut filet mignon butterflied and well-done. She had mixed berries for dessert.

CAFE APOCALYPSE: Three more local restaurants that have fallen victim to the economic tsunami: The Elmer’s on Northeast 82nd Avenue has shut down, Milwaukie’s Hartwell’s Restaurant is no more, and the North Portland Sal’s Famous Italian Kitchen is no longer famous, though it looks like a new Thai restaurant will take its place. Meanwhile, the Sal’s at 33 NW 23rd Place will remain open. There is hope, though: A New Orleans small-plates joint named Tapalaya has opened in the Taqueria Nueve space, Mezza Middle Eastern Restaurant has opened at Southeast Woodstock Boulevard and 57th Avenue, and an Indian joint named Indish at 305 NW 21st Ave. has been getting rave reviews.

NICE PIPES: For his new album, Oaks, PDX ambient electronic soundscaper Ethan Rose sought inspiration from an unlikely source: the massive old Wurlitzer organ at the Oaks Park roller rink. “ My interest with this organ has been to bring its antiquated sounds into a modern context,” Rose says about the organ, which dates back to the 1920s and was originally housed at the Broadway Theater to accompany silent films. Oaks is set for release Jan. 27, 2009, on Holocene Music.