Like a furry rodent reluctantly yanked out of its comfy hole and into a freezing cold February morne in front of 15,000 screaming fans, here's this week's round-up of random links:
Back east, Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow this morning. Meanwhile, the West Coast still doesn't have a weather-predicting animal holiday to call its own. I stand by argument from last year. Phil's predictions can't possibly cover the entire country so we need one of these critters out here. We could hold our own Groundhog Day here in Portland, if Seattle or San Francisco won't bite. We wouldn't even need a groundhog. The "host" could be anything- animal, vegetable or mineral. Why not a Beaver Day? That would look great on t-shirts, the Hooter crowd would love it and it would tie into the state's ideology. Everybody wins.
I think I'd rather watch the Puppy Bowl instead of the lame Cirque du Soleil halftime show the NFL has cooked up this year.
KISN AM is officially dead and gone. Earlier this week, the owners pulled the plug on its website and sold it off to a company in Salem. It's been replaced by yet another conservative talk station. No more "great times, great oldies." Bleech.
Here's a story from the Portland Tribune about those Mooninite signs here in Portland and a link to yesterday's news conference with the culprits in Boston. These guys are my new favorite hippies, replacing Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg.
Also from the Tribune, a great feature on the sale of the block that houses the Virginia Cafe. It's chock full of tidbits about the bar's past, including one about a former owner that would go on to start the Spaghetti Factory empire. I also recommend this interview covering Portland's street "kids" from last week.