Skip to main content
Film critic
was in town last Friday, Feb. 16, to give "thumbs up" to the three Portland-lensed finalists in Tropicana's
. The contest, sponsored by the orange-juice titan, asked local filmmakers to offer up their take on Portland mornings. At a breakfast press conference at Hotel deLuxe Roeper presented the three finalists, commenting that as a native Chicago resident,
(
),
(
) and
(
) helped him get a better understanding of the City of Roses. There was enough
to convey what life in Portland is like. The finalists, having already won $2,000 each, are now vying for a $10,000 grand prize.
LOVE POTION NO. 9 House Spirits (Medoyeff Vodka, Aviation Gin) has been recruited by the Oregon Culinary Tourism Association to craft a rose vodka for this year's Rose Festival. The rosebud and petal-infused vodka is scheduled to hit shelves in late April, four weeks before the festival's centennial celebration. "We've done some experiments and we're happy," says distiller Lee Medoff. "A lot of rose vodkas taste perfumey. We're going to avoid that and make it subtle and balanced." Think of the liquid, which will be available for a limited time, as a date in a bottle—give your date roses and get 'em drunk at the same time.
VULGAR VODKA Elsewhere in the world of local liquor, Portland distillery New Deal Vodka was dealt a swift kick in the butt last week when the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau deemed New Deal's website (newdealdistillery.com) "vulgar, offensive, and in poor taste." Tom Burkleaux, founder of New Deal Vodka, quickly had the site changed in order to comply with TTB's standards. What was so offensive? The use of the words "shit," "damn" and the phrase "Bring the fucking joy." Apparently the TTB is not in favor of joy of the fucking variety. Burkleaux was not in favor of having his permit to distribute booze suspended, or even revoked, which is what prompted him to remove these words from his site. He even went so far as to airbrush the nipples off an image of sculptor Norman Taylor's local icon Kvinneakt on the site.
SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION (CELEBRITY VERSION) On Saturday, at downtown's Hotel Lucia, former WW staffer Kim Potter (and new ma to Charlie—congrats!) spotted Pammy Lee's ex, drummer Tommy Lee, with Supernova lead singer Lukas Rossi, quaffing cocktails and—get this—reading Willamette Week. Potter, who was taking a break from diaper duty, wasn't able to get a cell-phone shot of the toothy twosome, but assures Scoop that the two bachelors were deep in conversation over "Singled Out," last week's cover story/ode to singlehood. Hmmm...who knew Tommy Lee could read?
WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK ON WW'S LOCALCUT.COM Casey Jarman takes you on an epic, weeklong, five-part, 20,000-word interview journey with Portland singer-songwriter Pete Krebs. >> Things get strange, and possibly romantic, with Junior Private Detective leadwoman Emily Strange on a Jason Simms Valentine's Day ambush. >> Things get emotional at DH 13, when the Manholes make less music and more holes in the house wall. >> Nick Jaina finds himself trapped by gift shops and club sandwiches on the roadside of Interstate. >> Amy McCullough chats up EmBROWNLOWe on her solo work from Swallows and record label Love Harder's supportive community. Congrats are extended to Cootie Platoon for winning Band Name of the Week, and free MP3s abound.
WWeek 2015