Gossip Should Have No Friends

[December 24th, 2008]

SNOWPOCALYPSE: While you were snug at home on Sunday, others were braving Portland’s winter war zone in the name of music: All praise to Portland Baroque Orchestra and Cappella Romana. Every member of both groups—that’d be 47 total—made it to their 4 pm Sunday performance at First Baptist Church downtown. And that includes PBO’s longtime tympanist Mark Goodenberger, who left his westside home only to discover his car —with the music for that night’s performance inside—buried in four feet of “snow, ice and crap from a snowplow, ” according to Romana Executive Director Mark Powell. Although it took an hour for Goodenberger to dig himself out, he made it to the performance, along with 235 audience members—about a third of the number of tickets sold for the event. “Fortunately, the timpani doesn’t play much in the Messiah, ” Powell says. “Just in important places.”

PLOWOCALYPSE: Don’t curse the snowplow operators, folks. They’re doing their best. One City of Portland employee behind the wheel told Scoop on Sunday that he’d worked 12-hour shifts all week, with only one day off, clearing roads in Southwest Portland and beyond. And it was the first time he’d ever driven a plow. There are 52 snowplows on the road right now, each plowing about 25 miles of street, according to the city’s Office of Transportation. “I’m a bridge crane operator, ” Scoop’s snow buddy confessed. “The hard part is telling where the curb is.”

BOSTON CREMEPOCALYPSE: Tres Shannon of Voodoo Doughnut thinks Boston doesn’t deserve to have a “Boston Creme” pie or doughnut named for it. And he’s doing something about it. Due to Shannon’s persistence, Mayor Tom Potter will proclaim Voodoo’s Portland Creme the official doughnut of Portland at a 9:30 am public ceremony at City Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 24. It’ll be one of his final acts as mayor. “Portland has a vision, whereas Boston does not!” says Shannon, explaining the two “eyeballs” the Portland Creme sports atop its doughnut round.

BARPOCALYPSE: Last Friday brought news that Sabin beer and wine shop La Bodega is calling it quits. But wait—don’t blame this closure solely on the recession. According to co-owner Jonathan Leroy Jenkins, there’ve been “big changes” afoot. “Our license and our lease are running out, and we decided to move on. Both of us...are eager to move in a new direction,” Jenkins wrote Bodega supporters. “I hear that there are fun things to do at night; books to read, etc. I intend to see what that’s all about.”

DUELING MOVIEPOCALYPSE: In recent years, the Portland filmmaking world has observed the courtesy of only producing one critically adored movie each year. This year, that truce has been shattered by the dueling achievements of Gus Van Sant’s Milk and Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy. First the Toronto Film Critics Association on Tuesday named Wendy and Lucy its best picture of 2008 and handed Williams best-actress honors. The Screen Actors Guild shot back in Milk’s favor, nominating Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and the ensemble cast for top awards. And when the American Film Institute announced its Top 10 movies, both Wendy and Milk made the cut. Clearly, this town isn’t big enough for both these movies.