Eric Roberts had his moment in the sun as a serious and talented actor playing Paulie in the 1986 Oscar nominated film Pope of Greenwich Village. The Pope was a high watermark for the gritty, low-budget films about tough losers in New York first pioneered by Martin Scorsese's 1973s debut film Mean Streets. The style, persisted right through the 1990s in films like Laws of Gravity.   Eric Roberts's moving work in Pope reflected a period in American culture that was submersed in corruption, stagnation and self-defeating nihilism in the decades following Vietnam and the waning optimism of the Post-World-War period. Roberts role in Pope, conveyed a subtle interplay of self-pity and exaltation that characterized a bi-polar nation gestalt expressed adroitly in popular youth music genres that emerged during this period including punk rock, hip-hop and grunge.  Roberts, for his part, plays deftly and professionally the emotions of...oh screw it. Roll SHARKTOPUS!!!!

We are such Mods at SMV. We often pine for the bygone era of the 50s and 60s when space travel was just around the corner, and women knew their place... in the temple of technology and gizmos that was (was to be) the KITCH(en) OF THE FUTURE!!!

This morning at 9 a.m., Mayor Sam Adams is scheduled to announce the winners of the city's Main Street Program, at LadyBug Cafe in St Johns.  This is the first year of the city's program intended to help revitalize commercial streets.  Three of the five of neighborhood commercial districts that applied will be selected. Applicants are St Johns, NE Alberta, Hillsdale, 42nd Avenue and Multnomah Village. Of those applicants both Multnomah Village and Hillsdale are located in Portland's relatively affluent and suburban southwest hills.

In 2000, the US Census reported that St Johns had the poorest commercial census tracts in the city.  The area has seen significant investment and revitalization over the years. But unlike much of North and Northeast Portland, the area does not have investment tools like urban renewal to channel public dollars into local projects. 

The five neighborhoods that qualified for the program were required to raise $30,000 in matching funds. The St Johns Boosters committed approximately $12,000 to the project.  

If awarded, the Main Street program would, among other things, provide technical support and networking opportunities to help better market the district.

Photo teaser from PortlandBridges.com

PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU NEWS RELEASE
Portland Police Investigate Shooting

Posted: June 11, 2010 07:37 PM

Last night at approximately 1:00 a.m., Portland Police Officers responded to a vehicle accident in the area of the 8900 Block of E. Burnside Street. When they arrived, they found three people in a vehicle that had hit a pole and eventually crashed into a yard of a residence in the area. The driver, a 32-year-old male, had life threatening injuries and was transported to OHSU Hospital and died several hours later. One of the passengers was also transported to the hospital and is recovering from non-life threatening injuries.

At this time, investigators believe that the driver was shot just prior to the accident but are awaiting autopsy results. Homicide Detectives have been assigned to this case and an autopsy is scheduled to be performed later today. No arrests have been made in this incident and this is an ongoing investigation. The Gang Enforcement Team was also called to the scene to investigate any possible gang activity that might be tied to this case.

The identity of the victim will be released after family notification has been made.

North Portland’s most unique and eclectic summer event has to be No.Fest InterArts. This June 25 the free experimental art and music festival will fill the streets, stores, allies and sidewalks of downtown St. Johns for a two-day carnival of homegrown avant-garde acts. . Now in its third year, organizers have expanded the range of performances and added a second day in order to include 51 acts in 29 hours: 36 musical, 5 visual, 4 youth, 3 movement, and 3 spoken performances. 

The festival organizers, Sean Ongley, Jeffrey Helwig and Chad Ferguson, began with a simple idea: hold a free daylong music event in St. Johns. With only months to organize, the event grew to include 25 performances on four stages. The trio knew they had stumbled on something great and founded InterArts, a not-for-profit corporation, to represent the No.Fest project for the coming years. Three years later the event had almost doubled in size, attracting major sponsors such as KBOO community radio.

The program for No.Fest 2010 starts off with an art walk on the last Friday of the month. At about 6 p.m. businesses throughout downtown St. Johns will function as makeshift galleries for viewing public art. Local merchants exhibiting art include The Parlour, Lady Bug Café, James John Café, Town Square, Proper Eats, Legong Gelato, and Salty Teacup.

“None of these are traditional galleries,” said Ongley who is pleased to have the galleries hosted by the local business community. Ongley stresses that one of the ideas behind NoFest is the breakdown traditional boundaries between high art and the average person. “It is another example of our desire to blend the arts with daily life.”

FROM VIDEO BLOGGER DAVE HUNTER

"Chervona recorded at The Edgefield's "Loading Dock" Stage. Over the last 3 years Chervona has played about 200 performances from Vancouver, BC to Los Angeles. Despite the weather, Edgefield patrons watched, listened and danced to Chervona's music- some calling Chervona the best Northwest Party Band"
- Dave Hunter

Usually we're pretty upbeat here at Saturday Morning Video. We try to keep it light and local. But we are big fans of Futbol and the biggest sporting event in the world, the World Cup, starts in two weeks.  South Africa hosting the games and in SMV's opinion SA is one of the more interesting and compelling of the world's emerging countries. Like Brazil, it's a powerful, wealthy multi-ethnic society on a continent that is struggling to emerge from poverty and dysfunction. The World Cup is a huge boost for the pride of SA.  They've earned it. But here are a few video blogs from two years ago that show how highly polarized and unsettling the political realities of SA can be.  The two video bloggers here are both very compelling and smart people. The first addresses a desire to have white South Africans into the 'big church' of the governments one party system.  The second video is a rather frightening, but seemingly well reasoned, rebuttal by a white South African who makes vast allegations against the government and culture of the majority, including a claim of deliberate ethnic cleansing of the white population and predictions that SA will descend into a Rwandaesque genocidal state.  Hmmm... Have a happy Saturday everyone and don't forget to tune in for the World Cup.

Earth Day celebration held April 24nd 2010 at Washington High School in Southeast Portland, sponsored by FOUND IN:

• Arts and Culture
• by David Hunter
• Videos

Last night, May 22nd, ego-maniacal publisher Cornelius Swart apparently won a major award thingy from the Society of Professional Journalists. Swart was awarded first place in the category of Best Online Coverage for this publication's 2009 stories on North Precinct.  The Sentinel competed in the category of non-daily newspaper with a circulation of 8,000 or more. This category includes publications like Oregon Business Magazine and the Willamette Week.

"I am gratified to see that years of ruthlessly pursuing my own self interest has finally paid off," said Swart in an acceptance speech that lasted approximately 6 hours and 41 minutes. "This is a tremendous honor.  I have no one to thank."

Typical of Swart's solipsistic blundering and general nincompoopery, he neglected to mention that he was only one member of an editorial team that covered the precinct. The team included Roger Anthony, Rebecca Robinson, Justin Dean, Rebbeca Bartleson, Jason Kaplan and William Crawford.

"I don't even know those people," said Swart defensively, when asked about his oversight.

From last Saturday's St Johns Bizarre. Video by Dave Hunter. Intro by Police Commissioner Sam Adams.

FROM THE OREGONIAN

Two days after police Chief Rosie Sizer blasted the mayor's proposed police budget, Mayor Sam Adams fired her and replaced her with Mike Reese, who recently served as East Precinct commander.

Adams also took control of the Portland Police Bureau from Commissioner Dan Saltzman. The mayor said he wants to take the Portland Police Bureau in "a new and different direction."

He said the relationship between the police and the city of Portland "is not what it should be."

Today's announcement follows a tumultuous week, with the mayor and the chief publicly quarreling over the bureau's budget on Monday followed the next day by an announcement that the city had agreed to pay James Chasse's family a record $1.6 million to settle their wrongful death suit against Portland police.

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