[August 16th 9:59am] Trailer of the Week: Happy-Go-Lucky

bipolar \(')bi-'po-ler\ adj 1: Making this movie: and then making this movie: Happy-Go-Lucky is rated R and opens October 10 in the U.S. Image of writer-director Mike Leigh from the British Film...

[August 16th 9:58am] BEIJING STREET REPORT: The Man with the Metal Balls

Jason Simms continues his reporting on the games outside the Games in Beijing (read earlier dispatches and watch videos here, here and here): The mission of the English, baby Olympic team was to travel to Beijing and challenge those we met in...

[August 15th 5:13pm] BEIJING STREET REPORT: Simms Engages in Ping-Pong Diplomacy, Races Bike in Short-Shorts

Further emailed adventures of Jason Simms during his visit to Olympic-fevered Beijing for the website English, baby! (Read earlier dispatches here and here.) Attending actual events wasn't really a high priority for the English, baby! team in...

[August 14th 4:44pm] Dino-mite! Lil' Beijing Blinger Walks Away with Gold

OK, so we first featured this way back in WW's 2007 Gimme Guide. But after watching all the drama and over all weirdness coming out China right now, we thought now would be another good time to share this little Bejing blingy thing that...

[August 13th 3:24pm] You Could Make More Money Somewhere Else, But Then You Wouldn't Be Here

Poortland: It's not just a street in Amsterdam. It's a state of being.

Via Crosscut, "Seattle outpaces Portland in income growth":

The current issue of Marple's Pacific Northwest Letter ($) tallies up personal income figures for Northwest metro areas. One shocker is how low the figure is for Portland, a booming area that is still shy on high-paying jobs. Or, conversely, how affluent Seattle is.

To cut to the chase: 2007 personal income per capita in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area is $48,499, where the average wage (for 2006) was $62,246; in Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, the corresponding figures are $38,511 and $51,684. Editor Mike Parks properly calls attention to the wealth effects of Microsoft's 40,000 employees in the region and Boeing and aerospace adding 25,000 new jobs since the cyclical low four years ago. The Seattle area ranks 13th among the nation's 363 metro areas; the Portland area ranks 78th in income per capita.

[August 12th 4:03pm] Our Survey Says: Fritz-Lewis Council Race Enters Fast Money Round

It's been a while since we checked in on the only Portland City Council race that'll be on the November ballot. Granted, it's still summer, and nobody else has been paying attention, either. But the campaigns are using their public financing to...

[August 12th 11:34am] While All Of Portland Goes On Vacation, Seattle Mandates Fuel-Efficient Taxis

If Mayor-elect Sam "Plastic Bag Tax" Adams, Commissioner "Sustainable" Dan Saltzman or Randy "B-10" Leonard are looking for a new crusade, here's a suggestion: Green the taxi fleet. Yesterday, the Seattle City Council passed a rule requiring that...

[August 11th 2:27pm] UPDATE: PLGFF Announces a Few of its Upcoming Fest Films

PLGFF...no, I'm not clearing my throat. That' s the initials for the Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, which as I've reported before will be showing this film. Now comes word of a few of the other films that'll be showing up at the...

[August 9th 3:00pm] Trailer of the Week: Midnight Meat Train

Those who have had the fortune to see this preview as a coming attraction at Cinema 21 know that the announcement of the film's title—delivered with all the deadpan gravitas the narrator can muster— never fails to elicit a hearty audience...

[August 8th 6:35pm] MFNW Logo Hostage Crisis, Day 1(a): The Escalation

Shit just got real.* The latest hipsterrorist video shows the letter N meeting an untimely demise. (It is possible the letter committed suicide because of the profoundly annoying song playing in the background, but this is mere conjecture.) WW...

[August 8th 12:00pm] OLYMPIC CEREMONY UPDATE: Beijing Street Report from Jason Simms

Updated noon Friday, Aug. 8: Jason Simms sends an update after the Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing: Here's an opening ceremony update...before it even airs in the US! Earlier today, a lot of people mistook me for an athlete but that's...

[August 7th 5:30pm] “Best of the Best Sketch Fest” Hits Portland

This Friday and Saturday, Portland's string of  comedy festivals this year continues. "The 6th Annual Best of the Best Sketch Fest," organized by Blue Door Productions, has invited eight sketch comedy troupes from around the country to take the...

[August 7th 2:50pm] THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE: Heartless Heathers Take on Break Neck Betties for Roller Derby Title

There will be blood, and babes, and brutality. This Saturday, Aug. 9, the Heartless Heathers and Break Neck Betties will face off in the pinnacle of Portland roller-derby competition—the bout for the 2008 Rose City Rollers championship...

[August 7th 2:45pm] Gay & Muslim Update: A Jihad for Love Coming to Portland for PLGFF

Just heard word that a recent documentary I mentioned in my most recent WW cover story, about gay life in Muslim culture, titled A Jihad for Love, will appear at this year's Portland Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Although a final date has...

[August 2nd 3:21pm] Trailer of the Week: The Day the Earth Stood Still

Because you demanded it, another classic of cinema improved by computer-generated something-or-other and oh-so-sexy environmentalism. As spaceman Keanu makes clear at the confusing conclusion, if the Earth dies Jennifer Connelly dies, which stands...

[August 1st 11:10am] JUICY SUITS: Best Name-Changes

As part of our occasional series highlighting the best name-changes in Portland, we present this example filed yesterday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Eric Matthew Palmer of Northeast Portland officially changed his name to Spyder...

[July 31st 11:32am] Blogtag: Red Bull Flugtag Preview

It's been four years since Red Bull Flugtag took over Portland's Waterfront Park, attracting more than 50,000 people to watch teams of everyday people "fly" their homemade flying machines off a platform and take a 30-foot plunge into the...

[July 29th 12:00pm] JUICY SUITS: Crushed in the Mosh Pit

A girl from St. Helens is suing the owners of Columbia Meadows Ampitheater, claiming she was dropped on her head in a mosh pit. In a lawsuit filed July 24 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Rebecca Stanfield, who is identified as a minor...

[July 28th 3:45pm] Bonus Trailer of the Week: W.

On the set of 2006's Poseidon, Richard Dreyfuss told a reporter, "I'm retired, and if you offer me a lot of money I'm not retired." Dreyfuss then proceeded to toss his iced coffee in the reporter's face, following up with a punch in the chest. I...

[July 27th 5:50pm] Trailer of the Week: My Winnipeg

Rising Canadian auteur Guy Maddin takes us on another campy tour of his Freudian hockey rink, with trademark pre-war style in tow. In this "docu-fantasia," Maddin attempts a cinematic escape from the womb, with hometown Winnipeg playing itself and...