May 4, 2012
Super Moon ~ May 5, 2012
Saturday, May 5th, 2012 is much more than Cinco de Mayo; it is the night of the SUPER MOON!!!
“What is a Super Moon?”, you ask. Well, it is the night of the full moon when the moon is nearest the earth and the brightest that it will be all year-long.
So be sure to head outside on Saturday night and look to the East – low on the horizon - at 8:24 pm PDT (11:24 pm EDT).
April 25, 2012
The Amazing Race Casting Call
Well Portlanders, this is your BIG CHANCE!!!!!
The Amazing Race is having an open casting call (tryouts, interviews, whatever you want to call it) here in the Portland area this Sunday in Beaverton.
Sunday, May 20 10am-3pm
Big Al’s Progress Ridge Town Square 14950 SW BARROWS RD. BEAVERTON, OREGON
www.ILoveBigAls.com www.koinlocal6.com For important information, rules, guidelines and FAQ’s, email amazingrace@koin.com.
http://www.theamazingracecasting.com/opencastingcalls
http://www.ilovebigals.com/promo-loader.aspx?link=promos/AmazingRace.html&sitename=beaverton
- Sunday, May 20, 2012 | 10am-3pm Doors open at 10; casting calls begin at 10:30
- Big Al’s @Progress Ridge TownSquare | 14950 SW Barrows Road, Beaverton, OR. Take 217 to West (215) Shoalls Ferry Road to Barrows Rd.
In February 2011, KOIN Local 6 held a Casting Call for The Amazing Race at Stanford’s Restaurant in Lake Oswego. We’re told it was a great event with more than 700 teams vying for a chance to appear in front of the CBS cameras! Because of the turnout, KOIN learned that in order to accommodate the huge turnout that The Amazing Race Casting Calls attract,they needed a bigger venue…
So, this year Big Al’s partnered with KOIN Local 6 to bring The Amazing Race Casting Call to Big Al’s! Most TV casting calls require hopefuls to stand in long lines for hours on end, sometimes camping out overnight on cold, hard sidewalks. NOT THIS ONE! No camping out or standing in line overnight is ecessary or actually even permitted!
Big Al’s will open their doors at 10am and every aspiring team will be issued a numbered ticket. Instead of standing in line, teams can hang out inside and enjoy all the fun & games Big Al’s has to offer! Beginning at 10:30am, we will begin calling numbers AT RANDOM. When teams hear their number announced over the public address system, they will claim their Amazing Invitation, report to the Staging area, and excitedly wait to be called for their audition. Once inside, KOIN Local 6 cameras will roll and teams will have ONE MINUTE to make a memorable impression to Amazing Race Casting Producers!
Visit The Amazing Race Casting Call with KOIN Local 6 FAQ page for more information. Or email our friends at KOIN Local 6 at AmazingRace@KOIN.com and they’ll send you everything you MUST have!
April 22, 2012
International Space Station Sightings
The following are the times that Portlanders can view the ISS.
The second column is the number of minutes the ISS will be visable; the third column is the maximum elevation; the fourth column is where you should look as it comes into view; the last column is where it will exit your view.
In other words, the first sighting will begin at 9:26pm; last 3 minutes; will be no higher than 53 degrees; will ‘pop’ into view at 33 degrees in the NW sky; will exit your view at 26 degrees E. It might be helpful to remember that 90 degrees would be straight up.
Have fun!!!
| Sun Apr 22/09:26 PM |
3 |
53 |
33 above NW | 26 above E |
| Sun Apr 22/11:01 PM |
< 1 |
13 |
11 above W | 13 above W |
| Mon Apr 23/08:32 PM |
2 |
24 |
24 above ENE | 10 above E |
| Mon Apr 23/10:05 PM |
2 |
49 |
18 above WNW | 49 above SW |
| Tue Apr 24/09:10 PM |
3 |
86 |
36 above WNW | 19 above ESE |
| Tue Apr 24/10:45 PM |
< 1 |
12 |
10 above WSW | 12 above WSW |
| Wed Apr 25/09:49 PM |
3 |
23 |
11 above W | 24 above SSW |
| Thu Apr 26/08:55 PM |
4 |
50 |
32 above W | 12 above SE |
| Fri Apr 27/09:35 PM |
3 |
14 |
10 above WSW | 10 above SSW |
| Sat Apr 28/08:41 PM |
4 |
26 |
20 above WSW | 11 above SSE |
March 20, 2012
First Day of Spring?
The calendar says it is the first day of Spring; but the weather outside is almost frightful!
It is freezing and raining and some plces in the city even had snow this morning!!
UGH!
March 16, 2012
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
May the road rise to meet you and may the wind be at your back,
May God’s face shine upon you and and May He hold you in the hollow of his hand.”
March 10, 2012
N.E.D. The Band
N.E.D. stand for No Evidence of Disease. A place that Firefly will probably never achieve. It also is the name of a rocking ROCK BAND composed of talented Doctors! Not just any type of doctor, but Gynecological Oncologists! The type of doctor that manages patients with Ovarian Cancer. These six doctor/musicians come from all over the United States; in fact one of them practices with my doctor and I have spoken to him on occasion.
The band’s acronym N.E.D., which stands for No Evidence of Disease, introduces a deeper, more substantive influence on the band’s music, for each of the six band members are also practicing gynecological oncologists. As physicians, they treat diseases that affect some 90,000 women each year and that result in 30,000 deaths annually. Six Degrees, their newest album, simultaneously solidifies the band’s musicianship (Oregon Music News says N.E.D. would “certainly make it as musicians and songwriters full-time, if that was what they wanted”) while bringing them to the forefront of an awareness movement that is seeking to break through a wall of silence surrounding gynecologic cancer.
On a deeper level, Dancing with N.E.D. is fundamentally about the women who are diagnosed with gynecologic cancer and the life-altering effects of the disease, including the prospect of dying before having children or having to choose their life over having children. Of those fortunate enough to have children, many will die before having the opportunity to see them grow up. The documentary, set to be completed in November, 2011, depicts the heart-wrenching journeys of these women through sadness, anger, fear and hope, all the while having both their physical endurance and emotional courage tested to the limits.
In a final overlap between their music and fascinating backstory, N.E.D. is officially part a non-profit foundation in Portland, OR, called Marjie’s Fund, which is named after a Portland artist and musician who died of uterine cancer in 2007. The fund is committed to raising awareness about gynecologic cancers and providing monies for research in this area. All proceeds from the bands’ endeavors go directly to the fund.
Ultimately, the story of N.E.D. is the tale of the dual lives of six individuals who seek to bring well-being and hope to their patients while collectively writing music that expresses the toughest challenges universally faced by everyone. Fortunately, for patients and fans alike, it is a dual-role N.E.D. pulls off exceptionally well.
N.E.D. returns to Portland, OR, on Saturday, March 10 for what promises to be a great follow-up to their rousing performance at the Aladdin Theater last year. Once again, the band will be playing at the Aladdin. Doors open at 7:00pm, with the show kicking off at 8:00pm. Advance tickets are available now for $25 through Ticketmaster. Day of show tickets are $28.
February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine’s Day!
February 8, 2012
Ignite Portland 10
Ignite Portland 10 kicks off tomorrow night –Thursday — Feb 9, 2012 at the Bagdad Theatre on Hawthorn and 37th at 7:00 pm. Door open at 5:45pm.
February 2, 2012
Ignite Portland 10
Ignite Portland 10 is one week from today.
Ignite Portland 10 is upon us! On Thursday evening of February 9th we will be congregating at the Bagdad Theater for some great company and stellar talks. Admission is free, of course, and you won’t want to miss this one!
If this is your first IgnitePDX or even your tenth (whoo! double digits!), we’re sure you will still want some guidelines for how to make it a great night:
- Doors Open at 5:00 PM for those with OFB donations. We are partnering this year with the Oregon Food Bank to get some donations out to those in need. Bring a can or two and get in early!
- Doors Open at 5:45 PM for everyone else – as usual, No Ticket Needed. As of IP7, we’ve done away with the ticket system. Too complicated. Just come on down, and we’ll let people in until the Fire Marshall says we can’t anymore.
- Overflow next door at Back Stage. If you’d rather take in the proceedings in the Back Stage bar environment next door to the Bagdad, we’ll be showing the talks on the big projection screen there.
- Live Video Stream. As has become tradition, we’ll have a live video stream of the night’s proceedings. Come back here to IgnitePortland.com on the night of and you’ll see a stream where you can watch LIVE and hang out in the chat with the other cool kids who are watching. This is for our friends who couldn’t make it in person to the Bagdad, and for any Ignite PDX fans out of town.
- Please, No Seat Saving. We know you’re excited to watch the show with all your friends. And maybe they couldn’t make it down as early as you did. But it’s not fair for one person to squat on a whole bunch of seats with coats, etc. so their friends can saunter in late. Please don’t be a jerk about this. We’ll have ushers milling about to help you remember. We want everyone to have a fair chance at getting a good seat. It’s fine to hold a seat for yourself, so you can get up and order drinks/food, but if your friends come a little later, they’ll have to find their own seats. It’s only fair. Thanks for understanding.
- Keep the Beer/Food Lines Moving. One of the awesome things about the Badgad Theater is you can your favorite beverage with a slice of pizza, a burger, or some cajun tots in the lobby, and have ‘em bring it right to you inside the theater! Please do order as much food and drink as you’d like. Just try to keep the lines moving smoothly. Doors open at 5:00 PM, but the show doesn’t start until 7PM. The smart patrons will get themselves some food before the show at a nearby restaurant (hint hint).
January 23, 2012
Chinese New Year
Tonight, Jan 23, 2012 is the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Midnight will usher in the Year of the Dragon; it is a celebration that lasts for 15 days culminating with the Lantern Festival. Maybe we should all go out for Chinese food!!!!
January 16, 2012
Reductive
Well, the reporter did as well as Portland Firefly :
Reductive:
| 1. | the act or process or an instance of reducing |
| 2. | the state or condition of being reduced |
| 3. | the amount by which something is reduced |
| 4. | a form of an original resulting from a reducing process, such as a copy on a smaller scale |
| 5. | a simplified form, such as an orchestral score arranged for piano |
| 6. | maths |
| a.the process of converting a fraction into its decimal form | |
| b.the process of dividing out the common factors in the numerator and denominator of a fraction; cancellation | |
December 29, 2011
Doggie Diary – Happy Dreams
Well, my cute little ball of fluff likes to sleep a lot. Usually when I am working at the computer, she will beg to sit on my lap and other times she just wants to curl up in her extra bed in the office and take a nap. When she naps, Mercedes tucks her head down so the light doesn’t bother her eyes!
So today, there she is napping away. I have heard her make little sounds and little barks and growls while sleeping so I know that she is dreaming. But today she did something I have never heard or seen. Picture this…. my little white ball of fluff is all curled up in her little bed sound asleep and there is no sound but the sound of her tail wagging as it hits the floor repeatedly! Then the wagging gets faster, then slows, then gets faster again! She is such a happy little doggie! She even has happy dreams!
December 27, 2011
Christmas Returns!
Ah, yes. The day after Christmas…. The day to return those presents that don’t fit…. I bought my son some shirts for christmas gifts; two of them didn’t fit and the clerk forgot to remove the security tag off of another one. So back to the store I had to go.
But not without planning!!! The night before I mapped out my route for the stores that I wanted to go to on Monday. I then checked their store hours on-line. Luckily for me, one store opened at 8:00 am and the other one opened at 9:00. They were about 20 minutes away from each other, both near different major shopping malls.
With my plan in mind I went to sleep ~ clothes all ready to jump into early the day after Christmas. My plan was to arrive at the first store as close to 8:00 am as I could possibly manage. I wasn’t going to be unrealistic –I just wanted to get in and get out before the crowds and traffic started.
I woke up a little before 8:00 am… plan still in place, I quickly dressed, applied minimal makeup (I wasn’t going to see anyone I knew, right?) and put my tea in a togo cup and grabbed some yogurt to eat in the car. At the first long light, I just enjoyed my yogurt and tea…. This is going well, I thought! With almost no traffic, I arrived at the first store about 8:25. Not bad. There was no one in the returns line. Yeah! I returned one coat and headed out the door.
Instead of backtracking the way I came, I headed out to get on the freeway from the other direction… and there was the other store I needed to go to! I was going to drive another 20 minutes to make the returns to that store because I didn’t realize that there was another one RIGHT HERE!
Returns made and other shirts purchased, out the door to head on home. And I even arrived home before the traffic started! I was tired… time for a time for a little nap before attending my dinner party.
December 19, 2011
TIE ONE ON Radio Interview
Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 20, 2011 I will be interviewed by radio talk show host Georgene Rice . You can hear the live interview (which is scheduled to begin) at 4:15 pm on 93.9 KPDQ FM / TRUE TALK 800 AM.
Oh my goodness, what shall I wear for my interview?!!!!
November 8, 2011
Asteroid Tuesday
The asteroid 2005 YU55, which is wider than an
aircraft carrier, will pose no threat when it makes a close pass by Earth.
Check out how to catch all the action.
Whew! Looks like we dodged the bullet on that one!
November 1, 2011
When is a Dog a Frog?
Mercedes Frog Dog by Pdxfirefly
When is a dog a frog? On Halloween!
October 31, 2011
Happy Halloween
Happy Halloween to all you ghosts and goblins out there! The sun will set about 5:00 pm so your little ones can go out trick-or-treating nice and early and still get to bed by 8:00 pm! (Yeah sure!) Hey! Don’t eat all their candy while they are sleeping!
October 26, 2011
Christmas is Coming!
Look at the date!
October 26th!
Christmas is just two short months away!
October 25, 2011
Ticket to the Ballet
When young, I took ballet lessons in Whittier at the Mona Frances School of Cecchetti Ballet (for many years). Mona Frances was a Ballerina of the highest caliber. At our little Whittier ballet school, she brought in George Balanchine and his New York ballerinas to teach us his new ballet “Graduation Ball’. Mr. Balanchine returned for the opening performance and he ran into my girlfriend and I while we were waiting in the green room at Whittier High School Auditorium for our entrance on stage. He said that we “looked too beautiful to be little school girls”. I guess we were just natural beauties and had never really worn much make up so the stage makeup really made us look very pretty… which was NOT what he wanted. So, back to the make-up room we went and put freckles on our faces and that pleased him. I have never forgotten that vis-a-vis encounter with that great ballet choreographer.
At rehearsals at the ballet school, Mr. Balanchine’s new York Troup wore very revealing short cropped tops (quite risque for the early 1960′s) and he chastised them in front of the ballet school dancers. I think he wanted to impress Miss Frances (as we always called her). She had red hair and always insisted that we dance to live music and there was always a pianist present at each class.
My pink toe shoes are from that time and there is a very unflattering photo of me in costume for Graduation Ball. Oh, and I have performed in the Nutcracker as well, so I am very familiar with the choreography and beautiful music! Also somewhere in my important papers you will find my Cecchitti Examination certificates. I worked very hard to achieve the different grade levels and each one took several years of training to even be eligible to take the hours long dancing exam.
October 2, 2011
The Hungry Hawk
As you know I love to go and watch the Swifts at Chapman School. The nightly show is a Portland exclusive and a special tradition! Every fall, I try to go at least once; and it is usually only once a year. But this year it is different. My PEO Chapter attended earlier in September however my family couldn’t come that night. So last night the family (and a few friends) went to see the spectacular air show by natures creatures.
There were a lot of birds early in September, but not as many as there were last night! Also the first time we went this year, we never saw one raptor (hawk) getting his dinner. But last night was a different story! It was more fun last night because there was more action.
The Vaux Swifts were just beginning to fly down the famous Chapman School chimney when the crowd saw the big black bird come swooping into the flock of Swifts. The crowd ‘oohed’ in unison as the flock scattered in the air. Disoriented, the hawk kept flying then disappeared. But only for a while. Soon he was back for another try. No luck this time either. And it actually looked as if the flock of tiny Swifts were chasing that big old black hawk away! They circled and dodged each other for many enchanting seconds. Then nothing and the crowd went back to watching the birds fly into the chimney.
And then I felt it…. at the same time I saw it … the Hawk was on a diving run and just a few feet right over my head! Zoom! I think I heard the rush of wind on his wings he was so close to us on this dive bomb run! Again it looked as if he missed.
Ah. But Mr. Hawk was still hungry and was not about to give up. The crowd was in for two or three more thrilling hunting passes. The flock scattering each time. Finally the hawk gave up (did he get his fill?) and the last of the little Swifts went into the chimney for their nightly rest. The crowd applauded in joy and appreciation and collected their picnic baskets, blankets and trash and headed home with smiles on their faces.
September 29, 2011
Coffee Day
Today is National Coffee Day. Several chains including 7-Eleven and Krispy Kreme are giving away free coffee today. Enjoy!!!
September 28, 2011
The Quarter under the Hedge
Early in the summer, one of my neighbors had a garage sale. Of course I attended and actually purchased several boxes of beautiful note cards since I write a lot of thank you nots. As we were leaving the sale , I noticed something shiny in the gravel next to the hedge. As I looked at it more carefully and intently, I realized that it was half of a shiny quarter ticking out of the gravel/dirt. Since my arms were full of my new purchases, I told the owner about the quarter. As she came over to look at it, I left assuming that she would pick it up. A few days later, I saw it again; I guess she didn’t pick it up. Now on my daily walks, I try to look for the quarter at least once a week. After several months, it is still there!!! It is sort of like a treasure hunt on my walk, just to look and see if it is still in its special spot!
September 23, 2011
Doggie Diary – Dog Sharing
Since I have been feeling well these last several weeks, I have tried to get a lot done. This often means going to stores and (since I am looking to change my living situation) and apartments/condos. It is difficult to get much done with doggie in tow. Two weeks ago I had a conversation with my neighbor where he indicated to me that they would love to adopt a little dog, but because his wife is blind ( and some other items) this particular shelter refused!!??? They are a wonderful retired couple and so I asked if they would like to have Mercedes for a few hours while I went to the store or other errands where she couldn’t ride along. They were really excited at the idea and so Mercedes has been at their house several time the last few weeks. It is a win/win/win situation as far as I am concerned! And all this came from a casual conversation between neighbors!
September 9, 2011
TIE ONE ON
Today it looks like the website for my first book, TIE ONE ON, A Head-Scarf Tying Guide for Chemotherapy Patients will go ‘live’. I am setting up my paypal acount and finishing up some of the corrections…. Wow, I’m slowly getting there!!!! Hooray! I’m really excited… wait until you see it. It is BE-e-a-u-u-ti-ful-l!! And the Video Trailer is really cool, too. Yes, I’ll be putting the link up when it goes live!
