Someone explains sex. Finally!

This is what middle school would have been like if my WASPy school district hadn't made us take sex ed from our clearly incompetent gym teacher. Thankfully this lady explains way more about sex than I could ever want know, and all within ten minutes!

Favorite quote: "Now her mind ain't no good because the penis done ejaculated all in her brain."

Lady Sovereign-Concert review pics

Earlier this week our very own Jason Chastain ventured out to the Doug Fir where he witnessed the glory of a Lady Sov who was "about as drunk as [he] was." In addition to shouting along with the diminutive MC and consuming a large amount of mixed drinks, Chastain was able to snap the following lo-res-tastic shots.

Enjoy!

Lego architecture series!! Eeee!!

In addition to my various longstanding gripes with adulthood (water bills, responsibility, general malaise) I have also recently added "not being able to play with legos all the time."

However, the folks at Lego have apparently been reading my fucking mind again as they have recently announced the "Lego Architecture Series" that seems squarely marketed at kick-ass adults such as myself who still want to play with blocks but wish to do so under a flimsy veneer of "culture."

The price range on these puppies is all over the place ($299 for the Taj Mahal, $19.99 for the Space Needle) but with a nerd-gasmic set of designs in the works this could easily be my go-to distraction/reason why I can't pay my heating bills over the next year.

If the following photos don't make you really really excited I probably don't want to know you:

So...Frank Black lives in Portland

...and apparently hangs out with a bunch of way-too-cool kids. Here they are playing "Where Is My Mind?" at Berbati's while you were off doing some stupid shite that's not nearly as cool as watching Frank Black light things up at freaking Berbati's, for god's sakes.

Portland School of Rock Pixies show w/ Frank Black from mark lewman on Vimeo.

Many thanks Pampelmoose!

AWESOME interview with Charles Napier

Man, when the AV Club gets it right they are hard to fault. In this interview with veteran character actor Charles Napier there are enough interesting tidbits to fill several bestsellers.

From being pulled off the streets (literally, he was a wino) to being signed by Alfred Hitchcock within 24 hours, from fighting in WWII to talking with Russ Meyer about how Ernest Hemingway bought him his first whore this is just an amazing interview. Enough Hollywood lore to satisfy the die hards and casual fans.

Seriously: Check. It. Out.

Alice in a really effed-up website

Is too much time spent in the library cutting into your recreational drug use?

Problem solved with what I can only describe as an instant, mini-acid trip.

NPR to stream live Dan Deacon show

If you missed Dan Deacon's recent (and decidedly kickass) Portland performance then all is not lost. NPR has got your back (hasn't it always?) with a live broadcast of Deacon's Washington D.C. show this Sunday.

It's going to start streaming at about 10 p.m. eastern which means you'll have to be up in the wee hours of the morning to catch it over here, but if ever there was an artist capable of waking you the fuck up it's the electronic monster mash of Deacon's live band.

Full detail here.

Giant shark eats Golden Gate Bridge

This may be the penultimate edition to the canon of "films about two giant things fighting each other."

I don't know, maybe Godzilla vs. Biollante still has the upper hand. Maybe.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Best new showcase

As many have surely noticed, the Willy's "Best New Band" issue came forth this week and though this year's choices have resulted in some contentious words from certain Vanguard staffers we can at least all agree that free shows are a good thing. And the Willamette Week has provided us with just that.

This Saturday Berbati's will host BNB winner Explode Into Colors as well as Nurses and local riddilin junkies White Fang in a celebration of their best-new-band-ness.

I'd recommend showing up before the official start time of 9 p.m. as this one is likely going to be packed to the gils.

Berbati's Pan, May 9, 9 p.m., FREE, 21+

Jim Henson: Commercials and Experiments

by Jeff W Guay

I can hardly think of a director's body of work worth revisiting quite as much as Jim Henson's. The craft, creativity and sheer entertainment value of a his early commercials and experimental films, showing this weekend at the Northwest Film Center, at once reinforce the charm and skill of his puppetry, but also illuminate his ability as a filmmaker of other strengths. The program begins with black and white commercials, starring early versions of favorites such as Kermit and Rowlf, for everything from bygone domestic products to homeowners insurance. There's an innocence and transparency to these 1950's advertisements, and Henson's comic timing and farcical nature make these commercials feel more like sketch comedy than the manipulative advertising we're more used to these days.

“Do you drink Wilkin's coffee?” a tadpole, perhaps an early inception of Kermit, asks a chubby, gruff-voiced monster while pointing a cannon in his face. “No!” replies the monster, and the tadpole blows him away, then points the cannon at the camera. “Do you drink Wilkin's coffee?”

The commercials are sure to be the audience pleasers of the program, but Henson's experimental, non-puppet short films are worth seeing as well. “Time Piece,” a 1965 short stars Henson as a sex-obsessed hospital patient, in the throws of a psychedelic identity crisis between caveman and proper dinner guest. The editing is meticulous, with everything from Henson's footsteps to the flow of inner-city traffic moving to the beat of its jazz soundtrack.

The program in its entirety gives us a chance to absorb Henson's technical wizardry, and to appreciate his knack for comedy in pieces that are not particularly intended for children. The commercials are perhaps some of the best of their day if not of their century, and rare interviews with Henson and the opportunity to see “Time Piece” in it's entirety are all wonderful reasons to catch this screening.

MUPPETS, MUSIC & MAGIC: JIM HENSON'S LEGACY
COMMERCIALS AND EXPERIMENTS

Sunday, May 3rd
4PM
Whitsell Auditorium