The first time I went out with my best friend and his new (at the time – now 6 years strong) boyfriend during Pride week – we simply went bar hopping and dancing over on ‘Vaseline Alley’ with some other friends that were in town for the weekend’s festivities. There were so many people packed into that club – that my usually mild claustrophobia kicked in and I had to get outside simply to breathe. Our fine city certainly knows how to celebrate! But I’ve never been able to make it to the parade – and this year I think that I can – so I’m stoked! I guess that might make up for not getting to go to the sold out Indigo Girls show at the Aladdin on Saturday.

Portland Pride is growing every year – this year’s Pride 2007 Festival runs in Waterfront park Sat and Sunday from noon to 10 pm with dozens of acts on 2 different stages. There have already been numerous parties, events, smaller parades and of course Darcelle – but there’s still more running through the weekend with the finale of the event on Sunday – Portland’s own Storm Large and the Balls and NYC’s God-Des & She.

Checkout today’s Mercury for a complete guide of events.

The sultry, sexy, singing kind of Storm not the cold, wet, windy one.

Mark your calendars Storm Large and the Balls will be on the next live taping of Live Wire at the Aladdin Theater on December 14!

I was lucky enough to be in the last Live Wire show when Storm and the Balls performed. It was incredible. You can hear Storm’s amazing performance for yourself at the Live Wire website.

Anyhow, I just thought I would give everyone a heads up.

I would have, you see – just so I could see Storm Large on the big stage with the “big dawgs” (yes, my tongue’s planted firmly in my, um, cheek on that one…). But since she’s just been axed from the Supernova tour (along with Magni and the House Band) – well, I can save that forty bucks towards seeing her locally instead.

The Oregonian update speculates that it was for ‘financial reasons’, while Storm had this to say on her site:

Dave Navarro called me to get the scoop, even HE didn’t know what the heck was going on . (Note to self: Don’t sleep with Dave Navarro, he isn’t in the loop … )

Oh, and – don’t even bother trying to get tickets for the Storm and the Balls show tomorrow at Cafe Wonder; they’re sold out…(am I going? Uh, no – I missed the announcement & missed my chance because I’m lame, lame, lame lately…)

While I’m sure a bunch of people are watching already, if you’re not, it’s time to start. Come on, people, you watched a crappy show like Rockstar: Supernova just for the Storm Large action, right? Katee’s just as hot and just as talented– while I don’t know if she can carry a tune, she sure knows how to kick some toaster ass and look good doing it. So flip the channel to Sci-Fi (I know it’s scary over there in nerd-land, but we don’t bite, we just might smell a little ripe) and prepare to be surprised by how good this show is. Don’t let the spaceships fool you.

And while there doesn’t appear to be a Portland Frak Party that you can attend, I’m sure one of your friends is secretly a fan of the show and will watch it with you.

This entry paid for by the New Capricans for the Re-election of Roslin coalition.

Don’t show up early – it’s press and invite only from 6-8 – but there will be no more interviewing, cameras, etc. after 8. The lady says she wants time with her fans – and “that’s that.”

C’mon PDX – let’s welcome Storm back to town with style, shall we?

Looks like she’ll be touring with the house band – and the hardest thing she had to do while doing the whole RS: Supernova thing? “Wearing high heels.” (The second hardest thing had to be coaxing the tight-assed Ellen audience to sing along to “We Are the Champions”…)

And why so much? Well, considering Portland is pretty much a one-horse town in terms of pro sports franchises, and that horse is trying to lay low for a month or so, there’s still a lot happening on the Portland sports scene that we can discuss, as it were, in passing.

AFTER THE JUMP:
> No more “Primetime with Ian and Big Suke”
> Joey! Joey!
> Where will the Ducks and Beavers end up?
> Rose City Rollers getting ready to close out a successful first season
> Obligatory Storm Large reference

No more “Primetime with Ian and Big Suke”
As reported by John Canzano on his blog today, Ian Furness of 1080 The Fan’s drive-time afternoon show, “Primetime with Ian and Big Suke,” is moving on to greener pastures as he returns to his old stomping grounds, the Emerald City.

Ian’s time in Portland has been interesting. He came to the Fan about four and a half years ago to sidekick with John Lund on the afternoon drive-time show. Eventually Lund moved on to Detroit, and Ian took over the reigns, to be joined by Marc Amazon and, eventually, Jason Scukanek. I’m not the hugest Furness fan; alot of the stances he takes on various issues (for instance, all things Zach Randolph — Furness was the last guy to hop off the Randolph bandwagon, and spent far too long being a Randolph apologist), but he did indeed more or less single-handedly (in my opinion) push The Fan from being a “let’s talk about the news” sports station to “let’s break the news, then discuss” station. I’m betting he’ll be hard to replace, though (if Canzano’s right) Isaac Ropp, an Ian disciple who’s oft-touted by Ian as the best producer in sports radio history, will be a good start. If nothing else, it’ll be nice having a more educated take on baseball-related issues, especially as Portland continues, slowly, to inch towards becoming an MLB town.

Joey! Joey!
Well, tonight was the season opener for Joey Harrington’s Miami Dolphins (Joey, for those of you who are new to the area or completely retarded, is the former U of O quarterback sensation who hit the NFL with a relative thud, being drafted in the top three by the Detroit Lions and then proceeding to be victimized by inept team management and coaching). I was anticipating this game all summer, as Harrington was finally traded to the Lions, then was pretty much guaranteed a start or two at the beginning of the season as Daunte Culpepper, recovering from a severe knee injury and subsequent surgery, was forecast to sit for at least the first four games of the season.

Well, Culpepper pushed himself back, in the most unlikely fashion, and ended up being ready to rock in the first game. Unfortunately for him, he rocked himself into a sub-50% completion rate and threw to interceptions, and no TD’s.

Does this bode well for Joey? Maybe. Culpepper is known for throwing for monstrous yardage, but also showed, without Randy Moss, that he could get frazzled and start making bad decisions. I was able to listen to the first two Miami drives of this game, and Culpepper was getting shut down early, which led to him taking some chances he shouldn’t have. If I were Joey, I’d be looking for a potential start in two to three weeks, if Daunte maintains his current bad mojo.

Where will the Ducks and Beavers end up?
Great question.

WIth the Ducks, we saw something Saturday we hardly ever see out of them: utterly destroying a PAC-10 opponent early in the season, as they routed Stanford 48-10 to show that they mean business this season.

The Beavers, on the other hand, have been found wanting, after first trying to get fired up beating a lackluster Easter Washington team, then getting trounced by a not-as-good-as-the-score-indicates Boise State squad tonight.

This, my friends, is (to me) a sign of what is to come. Oregon has come out of the blocks in a way that we haven’t seen since the beginning of the Mike Belotti era. Sure, they’ve only played one game, but it was against a Stanford squad that has low expectations for the year (at least, if they’re reviewing the Pac-10 Media Poll, which has them picked ninth) and thus has something to prove. And, though they appear lowly to some, other prognosticators have them finishing as high as seventh place in the league this season. And, in the past, where Oregon (heavily favored by most everyone to vie for first place in the conference) has come up against a team they’re expected to throttle, things tend to be close.

So, I’m hopeful.

The Beavers, however, are showing exactly why they are expected to finish in the lower half of the conference. Sure, Boise State is the best team in the WAC, but, uh, Boise State is the best team in the WAC. The WAC can’t carry the Pac-10’s jock, and being pushed around by this team in a game Oregon State was supposed to win (but, strangely, was expected by many to lose) is an embarassment.

I see Oregon finishing first or second in the league this year. I don’t think California will be able to escape the season without at least two more losses (to Oregon and to USC), and I don’t see Oregon losing more than two games this year. OSU, on the other hand, is probably going to lose to USC, Oregon, Washington State, Cal, and UCLA (at least), which should put them in 6th or 7th place in the conference. And, don’t be surprised if Washington beats them as well. Boy, wouldn’t that be embarassing?

Rose City Rollers season coming to a close.
Sure, it’s still 22 days away (per the helpful counter on their webpage), but the season finale is coming. Buy your tickets today. And tell Vominatrix Barely 21 I said hi.

Storm Large…
Will soon be storming home. Too bad, so sad. Truth is, I hate reality TV, and never saw her. I understand she performed at a Rose City Rollers event, though, so I guess she must be pretty cool. RIP another Portland shot at fame.

YOUR THOUGHTS ON ANY AND ALL OF THESE TOPICS ARE WELCOME!

“When I was really down, recently,” our own Storm ‘fesses, “the stress was getting to me…Dilana gave me a card to cheer me up and it said, “The most beautiful flowers had to grow through a lot of dirt before they became so beautiful.”

And then this doves-of-peace release.

“PS: All that drama last week with Dilana? Please know that she is an awesome lady and I love her. Dilana is a friend and I stand by her – she did nothing wrong. Let’s all get over it, and XO.”

One-two-three: a-w-w-w-w.

But that’s not all Storm has to say in this post.

Lots of family stuff, including loving and specific props to her siblings, as well as to her Dad- who held the growing Large family together while his wife-Storm’s Mom- was frequently in the hospital due to mental illness.

The other day, the thought came to me that many last names that perpetuate to this day were assigned hundreds of years ago as descriptive characteristics. Was your ancestor a baker, a mason, or shepherd? That’s how he- and through the generations the male line in your family- kept that name. Did your ancestor live at the edge of town? Townsend, or Townshend, like Pete.

Was one of your male ancestors well, Large? Height and other physical characteristics can be inherited, of course.

See where I am going with this?

Storm Large is, what, six feet, and is rather full-figured.

Storm Large, were your ancestors, well, Large?