“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).

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!

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=United_States&region=Oregon&city=Portland

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!!!

It is freezing and raining and some  plces in the city even had snow this morning!!

UGH!

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.”

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.

www.nedtheband.com

Then head to the Westfield Vancouver Shopping Center on Saturday, March 10, 2012.  Get there early!!!!! You can sleep next week!

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).

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!!!!

Well, the reporter did as well as Portland Firefly :

Reductive:

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!

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.

Oh my goodness, what shall I wear for my interview?!!!!

Check out how to catch all the action.

Whew!  Looks like we dodged the bullet on that one!

Mercedes Frog Dog by Pdxfirefly

When is a dog a frog?  On 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 26th!

Christmas is just two short months away!

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.