Sitting in the “Alice in Wonderland Garden” at The Pied Cow sipping my Mexican mocha, I was sure I had fallen into an alternate universe because the clientele in attendance were quite different from their usual customers.
Punk-dyed hair. Patchwork pants. Dreads. Body jewelry. Anarchy T-shirts. June Cleaver dresses. Leather jackets. Cat’s eye glasses. Students in the corner debating politics. Artists discussing their work. A hipster couple obviously on their first date.
These are the people you usually see at the Pied Cow.
It must have been “Escape From the Suburbs” Night. Or Paris Hilton wannabe night. A table of giggling bleached blonde women (same shade!) took so many pictures there was a strobe light effect in the garden. Done up in pastels (it’s after Labor Day, fools!) they looked completely out of place for a Friday night in Belmont. It was like watching a train crash as they puzzled over the menus.
“What’s that drink?”
“Oh, just think of it as a frappuccino with more foam.”
“Ooooooh… you can get bongs here. Is this place really legal?”
“There’s beer! Wait a minute, they don’t have Coors Light listed.”
Their mirth and merriment echoed into all areas of the garden.
As we got up to pay our check, we encountered two girls who must have pored over every frame of The Simple Life to get their “slutwear” look. They were giggling and flouncing around like they owned the place.
I didn’t expect a stage show with my coffee, and I really hope this isn’t the way The Pied Cow is going. It’s always been a great place to converse and relax with a few friends, and people usually keep to themselves.
Putting together my tiki-themed bathroom has been a lot of fun. I’m picky about the tackiness level of the stuff that goes in there, so it’s taking a while to decorate.
A plain wrought-iron-esque towel stand has been in my bathroom for the last few years, and while it is functional, and my friends agree that it never quite fit my style.
Time for a makeover!!!
8 oz. of raffia, an armful of tropical-looking silk flower stems, and a roll of floral wire later, I got to work. Several strands of raffia were picked up, then knotted around the wire perimeter in grass skirt style. Once the raffia was all the way around and thick enough to cover the stand, I began weaving the flowers in with floral wire. Alternating the three flower colors made a nice effect.
I don’t think anything else needs a grass skirt, although since that was so easy I’ve come up with more ideas to tiki-fy the bathroom. I want to make a custom cover for the lightswitch, cover the plain white clock near my sink in bamboo, and pick up more Trader Dick’s mugs and tropical drink glasses. A nice framed vintage hula girl print would be great, too. I just haven’t found the right one, yet. Fortunately there’s a dealer in the nearby antique mall that deals strictly in Hawaiian kitcsh, and I usually stop by to see what’s new when I take my Saturday morning neighborhood walks.
Wow! What a great idea for a fundraiser! I’m a huge fan of the Iron Chef shows, and this is a great way to apply the ingenuity of the concept. SCRAP (School and Community Re-use Action Project) is a terrific community resource for teachers and artists, and this is a fun way to support them. They were a huge help when I organized my craft supply swap last year, and all leftover materials from the swap went to benefit them.
Iron Artist 2004
Disjecta Art Space, 116 N. Russell (just off MLK) Saturday, September 25, 2004. 3:30 PM to 10 PM.
A timed “sculpt-off” contest that is part “Iron Chef” and part “Junkyard Wars”. Come witness some of Portland’s most talented artists work in teams to create sculptures made from found objects.
The event will feature celebrity judges–including: Phil Busse (Portland Mercury), Daria O’Neall (105.1 FM), Nan Curtis (Director/Curator Feldman Gallery/Project Space), Richard Speer (Willamette Week), and Darcelle (Performer, Club Owner Darcelle XV).
Live music–including: March Fourth, The Divided, Trash Mountain Boys, and DJ Sati. As well as minstrels, cheerleaders, madness, and mayhem.
Food and Drink–including: Light snacks, Tea Pony, and water will be complimentary; dinner items from Russell Street BBQ (including vegetarian items) and beer and wine also available for purchase.
This is a not-to-be missed event that is sure to please everyone! All ages welcome. Tickets will be sold in advance and at the door–suggested donation $5-$20. All proceeds benefit SCRAP.
Look down at a busy intersection in a trendy neighborhood, and you’re likely to see a chalk-written advertisement for Jobdango, an Oregon jobs website that claims “Local Jobs! Local People!” and encourages you to “Tell Your Friends!”
Tell your friends about what?
11 points out of 10 for creative marketing, but 3 points out of 10 for content. For the people they appear to be marketing to (college-educated 20 and 30-somethings living in popular city neighborhoods) they don’t have nearly enough jobs geared to support the lifestyle of an educated 20 or 30-something living in a popular city neighborhood. Yes, the job market is down right now, but comparatively they have very few listings. How can someone “Find the perfect career” if there aren’t any to choose from? If half of all very basic searches return with “No current job postings were found based on your search criteria” there is an inventory problem.
If you build it, they will probably show up — but there had better be interesting, compelling, and useful content to keep them coming back.
Cardinal rule #1:
For websites that depend on repeat visitors
Don’t promote the thing until you have something worth promoting
When I was working for a then newly-launched local culture site, one of my co-workers went down to Pioneer Courthouse Square with a stack of $1 bills stapled to little sheets of paper promoting the not-yet-polished and desperately-lacking-content new site. (Have you ever tried just giving money away to people? They get awfully suspicious and often won’t accept it.) Site traffic shot up for 36 hours then went lower than it was originally… and stayed there. Even buying ad space on the side of the MAX trains didn’t help much, because there was nothing compelling at the time to keep people interested and coming back.
Trust me. If people come to your site and there is nothing there, it will take many times more effort to get them to come back and take a second look. If you blow the second look too, you’re toast.
And while I’m at it…
Cardinal rule #2:
For local-oriented commercial websites that would like to be FOUND and VIEWED
For the love of all things holy, set aside some of your budget for search-engine positioning and keywording.
For example, there’s a new building of condos going up in Belmont, brought to you by the same developers who brought us that monstrous hulk of glass and steel on Hawthorne. Do a search for “belmont condos portland” on Google and this site can’t be found on the first ten pages, much less the first. (And yes, I know as soon as this goes up everyone will be able to find the Belmont Street Lofts, albeit on a detour through my site. This sort of thing happens all the time because sites aren’t correctly positioned. To the developers: You’re welcome. You can send the check to… )
I’ve been condominium-hunting off and on over the last year, and when I’m driving through a neighborhood I’m not going to remember that the name of your property is “Northwestern Dreams of Hoity-Toitiness Estates” unless I stop in the middle of traffic, spend a few minutes rummaging through my purse, pissing off the drivers behind me, and writing down the name of the building and website. (Local drivers should be thankful this doesn’t happen very often.) When I get home, I’ll google for “Northwestern Street Condos” and expect to find a site to check out.
More often than not there’s nothing there.
Whether it’s a site you found with sidewalk chalk and paper signs at freeway exit ramps or a search for overvalued trendy real estate, there needs to be something there.
The audience is waiting and willing — who’s going to do something about serving their wants and needs?
[/rant]
On my walk this morning, I encountered a family living out of their car in the parking lot next to my building. Two kids were bundled up in the back seat sound asleep, and their dad was sitting on the passenger side with the door open. The sun was just coming up, and the glow from the cabin light gave the car an ethereal look. Dad had his head in his hands, fingers massaging his forehead and worrying his hair. As I passed, he looked up, but did not look me in the eye. His eyes had a look of utter defeat in them, and I felt horrifically guilty to be on my way to the hamster wheel at the gym while this man was so pre-occupied with how to take care of his family.
It did give me an idea, though.
I thought about the two guys running around the country attending fundraising dinners, spewing a lot of hot air, throwing insults at each other, and bickering over a piece of metal earned several wars ago. How counter-productive is that? I would love to see just a fraction of the money raised for campaigning be put to better use, or to give the candidates a closer look at the country they claim to represent.
Each candidate must spend 90 days out of the media spotlight in a fashion similar to the Witness Relocation Program. They can not be accompanied by anyone in their entourage. Instead, they will each be shadowed by an independent bodyguard and documentarian. The candidate will not be allowed to interact directly with the bodyguard or documentarian, and will not be allowed to reveal their true identity. For each assignment, the candidate will be provided with the proper clothing, resources, and finances.
Assignment 1 (30 days)
Work a middle-class job in Suburban America to support a wife and 2 children. Balance a real household budget! Figure out how to cope when the family’s only car is destroyed by a hit-and-run driver while parked on the street outside your home. Look at your options when your company announces that your position is one of hundreds that will be outsourced to India. Attend a job-fair with real Americans! Entertain offers of minimum-wage jobs that could never cover basic expenses!
Assignment 2 (30 days)
Live on the streets in Urban America! Stay in a bed in a local shelter. Make new friends in Dignity Village. Seek health care for a persistent cough and fever. Look for affordable housing and decent wages.
Assignment 3 (30 days)
All basic needs are covered, but the candidate is not allowed to spend a penny on themselves. Candidate is given a large sum of money with the instructions to distribute it in a way that provides the most social good according to their beliefs. Candidate is also required to work a minimum of 40 hours a week with the non-profit of their choice.
At the end of the 90 days, the documentarian will release a complete report of the candidate’s activities, and the candidate can return to traditional election circulation.
I’ve been waiting for the release of Pink Martini‘s second album for years, and it is nearly here! I received details of the arrival and the record release party this morning.
Finally! We are pleased to announce the second Pink Martini album “Hang on Little Tomato” will be released on October 19, 2004. That same night will be the Record Release concert in our hometown of Portland, Oregon at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets for the release concert GO ON SALE THIS SATURDAY, SEPT. 4 at 10AM. We wanted you to be the first to know about tickets going on sale for this special concert. We have invited some of our favorite friends to perform with us that night. Of course, the new album will be available at the release concert and is available in stores nationwide beginning on October 19. Please help us get the word out and tell all your friends that finally the new album is almost here. We really appreciate our fabulous fans who have supported the band by coming to concerts, sending us email and letting people around the world know about the music. Thank you so much! We hope to see you soon. – Your friends in Pink Martini
Here’s all the info about the Record Release Concert:
Pink Martini
Hang on Little Tomato
Record Release Concert
October 19, 2004
with special guests
Norman Leyden
Tadashi Nagai, Consul-General of Japan in Portland
The Lions of Batucada
and members of the Harvey Rosencrantz Orchestra
8pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Tickets $15-45, available at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the PCPA Box Office, charge-by-phone at (503)224-4400 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Subject to service charge and user fee. All ages welcome.
TICKETS GO ON SALE SATURDAY, SEPT. 4 AT 10AM!
The New Album
Hang on Little Tomato
In stores October 19, 2004
www.pinkmartini.com