So it’s time again for my annual DCI post - this year we are lucky enough to have both the Blue Devils - the 2007 champs - and Phantom Regiment who brought in 4th place last year. Our own Oregon Crusaders will of course be there, and this year it’s the only show in Oregon and Washington.

Words cannot explain… just watch…

P.S. none of that footage is sped up. They really move that fast.

Tuesday - July 8
Hillsboro Stadium
8pm

So I’ve been staying at a friend’s place whilst I find a) a job and b) a place to call my own (our own… I’m willing to share with the boyo, I suppose…)

It’s a nice little neighborhood that’s generally quiet, or so I have to assume.

How do I put this?

So I lived in the city of Long Beach in California right on Ocean Blvd. (so chosen for being right at the end of the route of the pride parade) Since we were right on a major street in downtown LB, it never surprised me when the drunks passed by at 3 in the morning, or the random screamer came by letting all the world know exactly what was on his or her mind… nor if there were fights right below the window. It was, of course, the LBC (just ask Snoop!).

That sort of thing here where I’m staying, however, seems out of place. Not so much because it happens on the street here in this seemingly quiet little area, but because it’s all coming from certain someones in this very building. So, while the rest of the street is nice and quiet… there have been things going on here… in this building, putting it out of sorts with the rest of the street… not to mention scaring the hell out of us!

I was reminded of a post that dieselboy posted about incidents on the MAX. There’s all sorts of shenanigans coming from certain someones in this building and it’s pretty obvious that things could go wrong at any minute… and yet none of the neighbors call the police, ask if my friend is ok in her unit, or say one damn thing to the authorities/landlord/anyone. Are they just waiting for things to go too far? What needs to happen before someone gets involved? Could it be that people are so used to their peace and quiet that, unless their peace is specifically interrupted, they don’t want to interfere in case it shatters their own little bubble?

I guess… I guess this was the sort of thing I expected living in the LBC, but never expected here in Portland. Well, at least not in this neighborhood.

I sat here for awhile trying to figure out the best title for this post. Alas, there it is. I have decided to leave Portland Metblogs and try something new. I want to thank Metroblogging for the opportunity to write here over the years. I especially want to thank all the readers and commenters who have come and gone leaving behind amazing discussions. YOU are why I wrote. Now off to another adventure. Take care. Be well. Live long and prosper. So say we all. Best of luck. Godspeed. Keep on Keepin’ on. Just deal.

Your Portland blogger,

Dieselboi (aka Brett)

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Originally uploaded by dieselboi

So it turns out the Rose City had a hand in the progression and eventual failure of the Yahoo/Microsoft merger. An article in today’s Wall Street Journal, among other sources, reports executives from the two companies met here on April 15th at a Portland law firm:

As a result, Microsoft executives were surprised when Mr. Ballmer on April 5 letter sent a letter to Yahoo directors threatening a hostile approach if they didn’t reach a friendly deal by April 26. That spurred Yahoo executives and an entourage of bankers and advisers from both sides to meet with Microsoft on April 15 at a Portland, Ore., law firm. A presentation from Yahoo included a slide that said Microsoft’s offer “significantly undervalues” Yahoo.

Late into the meeting Mr. Ballmer addressed the elephant in the room: “Where are we on price?” he asked Mr. Yang, according to two people who were present. Responding to Mr. Ballmer’s question, Mr. Yang repeated that the original offer of $31 a share “substantially” undervalued the Internet company. Mr. Ballmer again asked for a firm price, and Mr. Yang said he didn’t have a number.

They also reportedly met about “social issues,” such as management and perhaps corporate cultures. I find it interesting the two giants chose to meet in Portland for this meeting. Apart from the law firm, Portland seems to be a good middle ground for the two of them to have traveled to. Wonder if they got a chance to enjoy Stumptown Coffee or Voodoo Doughnuts while here? Anybody know what that law firm is?

POST UPDATED 10:48 AM with more links and info.

Unless you’re living a completely media-free life, off the land and the grid, you’re well aware of our current economic state. These are recession times indeed, and we’re all feeling it in the pocketbook. (I’m not too upset about the high price of gas, but that’s for another post). Anyway, the one beautiful thing that comes out of penny pinching is resourcefulness. Finding cheap or free entertainment becomes a skill. Of course, in this city there are many options so it’s less of a challenge. But just in case you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities, allow me to make a recommendation. Every Friday night is poetry slam night at Po’Shines in the Kenton neighborhood. It’s a free event though Po’Shines is an excellent soul food joint so go with enough change for at least a bowl of red beans and rice. You’ll get a free piece of cornbread on top of it, not bad right? The poetry isn’t always slammin’ but it’s a community effort and I believe that participating in the community- in whatever form- is critical at this juncture in our collective history. So Po’Shines ya’ll! 8129 N Denver, right off of the yellow line.

Greetings Portlanders and wish-you-were Portlanders (I know you’re out there, I was once one of you.)

My name is Derrick and I’m new here. I’m an east coast transplant on year 3 in PDX. That’s out of the way now, good.

I like beer, wine, food and the occasional spirit and will probably write about those things a good deal. I also dig sports and faux sports (I’m looking at you, ultimate fribsee). I have some interest in civics and development and I’m intrigued by the sweeping impact of the sustainability/green trend. I profess expertise in none of these things.

So that this post has some use to you, let me pass along a few events I’m geeked about.

First, if you like beer and aren’t a complete and utter hermit, you probably know that Deschutes Brewery, the impeccable central Oregon brewery that’s a master of classic NW style ales, is opening a new public house in the Pearl (NW Davis and 11th). But what you may not know is that there’s an opportunity to get in the door before the masses. Oregon Trout and Deschutes are hosting a pre-opening extravaganza on April 26 from 7-10 p.m. $50 gets you in the door, two brews, food and entertainment. For more info, visit www.oregontrout.org/db/. Not having to drive to Bend to get public-house-only-small-batch-brews from one of the best breweries in the nation? … count me in.

Deschutes will have some competition in the Pearl on the weekend of May 2, as the annual Portland Independent Wine Festival will be running May 2-4 from 3 - 6 p.m., each day. This is a great chance to meet the winemakers at over 30 small craft wineries throughout Oregon and drink their splendid wine. There will also be classes and tastings. Check www.indiewinefestival.com for more info.

Speaking of independent wine makers, I’ve got one more event for you. Anne Amie Vineyards in Carleton will be hosting a tasting of estate pinot noirs from the Yahmill Carleton AVA on April 26. Sixteen wineries, many without there own tasting rooms, will be participating. I was at Anne Amie Saturday … bright, clean whites and some damn tasty pinots, to go with top notch service. $10 gets you in the door. check www.anneamie.com/news.

So, there’s a little about me and a few events to get you started. Now I want to know, what do YOU want to know about? Why do you come here? What do you want to read about? Events? Openings? Tech happenings? Music? Hit up the comments and give the new guy some initiative to go forth and gather.

Well, I guess my first post here will be neither fluffy nor too “journalism-y”, but more general notification type info.

First off, the BTA is looking for feedback from those of us who bike around town - not necessarily only for those who commute on their vélos, but anyone in the metro area who is interested in putting in a word regarding comfort on the ever-changing paths on which we ride. Important why? This will hopefully help with the planning of the future East-side streetcar lines and other community planning. Take the survey here.

Secondly, Powell’s is having a poetry contest! The challenge: write a poem (less than 20 lines) in some way about Portland. The reward: a chance to win 26 books (!!!) of poetry and an awesome rucksack. Caveat: by entering, your email will be placed on the Powell’s new poetry email list. You can find the details here on the Powell’s site. I’ve won enough stuff completely randomly by being one of the few to actually enter, and while I doubt that will be the state of this contest, you can’t get the goods without entering, people.

Thirdly, hi! I’m “clevergirl” and I’ll be writing here now. I moved to Portland last July, and while I’m still getting used to the city, I already have my favorite places to eat (Masu), drink beer (Tugboat, so far), and have fun (section 107, PGE Park). I’m sure I’ll be writing about things that may be new to me, but possibly not so new to the natives, so I beg forgiveness beforehand. More info can be found in my profile (eventually), and maybe I’ll see you guys at the Green Dragon next week.

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(Note: you must be registered to vote. If you’re not sure about the terms, you may want to read the post before voting.)

The media landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade, with ownership concentrating in fewer corporate hands, and with declining newspaper circulation and ad revenue. Eric Alterman eulogizes the late, great big city daily in a recent New Yorker.

Our home-town daily struggles to maintain relevance with a proxy Web site, and tragi-comedically cautious style which has seen them sit on important stories (see Packwood and Goldschmidt) to protect their powerful friends, even as they pursue Pulitzers for fluffy human interest reporting.

Meanwhile, blogs have sprung up like weeds in the fertile soil once covered by paid journalists, with citizen journalists pouring forth millions of column inches daily, completely free of the stodgy old constraints of artificial objectivity. Read more

 Do you have an opinion about Portland politics?  Have you had a wonderful or horrible meal somewhere in Portland?  Did you see some ironic or just plain cool graffiti somewhere in and around Portland?  Did you happen to see an urban chicken wandering down your sidewalk?  Are you a recent transplant who want to ask Portlanders why we do things the way we do?  Want to write about it?  Well, we here at Portland Metblogs would like to give you the opportunity to tell your Portland story here on the blog.  You can write pretty much anything, we only ask that your post be related to Portland and that you own your words.  Authors for Portland Metblogs come and go and everyone is appreciated.  We always enjoy having new and fresh voices join the fold.

If you are interested in writing for us, please email me directly at dieselboi@gmail.com and we’ll chat.

As you know dear reader, when we revamped the site a few weeks ago, Metblogs instituted a new policy requiring registering to comment.  That caused a lot of kvetching within Metblogs and across the Portland blogosphere.  We’re still moving on as it is something I personally as a captain have no control over.

That said, I don’t understand why people are so up in arms about registering to comment.  Over the past few weeks, I have seen comments elsewhere responding to one of our posts where someone rants about needing to register to comment.  It was on Oregonlive’s Reddit where one is required to register to comment.  What’s up with that?  In order to use Reddit, you must supply a valid email address.  What’s the difference there than here?  It seems there is a double standard.

All of you who are registerring phobic, use a thow away email address.  You can set one up on Google without giving anyone any information other than your IP which you can mask with TOR.  I miss your comments and the discussion it created here on Portland Metblogs.  If you have a strong opinion and don’t want to register to comment, you can email me your comment and I will post it for you - dieselboi at gmail dot com.