Welcome Home, Newcomers

 Posted by  New World, New Life  No Responses »
Jun 292015
 
Welcome Home, Newcomers

Last July, when I returned from 13 months of traveling to Portland, Oregon, I found my adopted home town a different place than I had left. The place was overrun with newcomers clogging surface roads with traffic and filling vacancies in condominium buildings that had sprouted like mushrooms in desirable areas. The neighborhood bar, aptly called The Standard, I enjoyed for its divey, black-clad vibe now also saw pastel polo shirts and bachelorette parties crowding the tables. The list goes on. Change, of course, is a natural facet of […] Continue reading >

The Twin Peaks Project: The Strange and Twisted Dream of Twin Peaks Nostalgia

 Posted by  Memories of Now  3 Responses »
Oct 212014
 
The Twin Peaks Project: The Strange and Twisted Dream of Twin Peaks Nostalgia

This blog post is part of a series of essays by writers and other artists about the influence of Twin Peaks on their work. Writer Shya Scanlon is collecting the essays in the Twin Peaks Project. *** Nostalgia is the immigrant’s permanent condition. Faced with the uncertainty of the unfamiliar present, not to mention the unknowable future, he turns to what he knows: his own past. Perhaps it was just a natural extension of the nostalgic condition when a couple of years ago I set out to write a […] Continue reading >

Ashia & The Bison Rouge Records an Album

 Posted by  Immigrant Songs, We Are Here  No Responses »
Jun 212012
 

For one more day you can support the effort of Portland’s and Poland’s own Ashia Grzesik to raise money for the recording of her debut album with Ashia & The Bison Rouge. The project’s “meat and potatoes” in Ashia’s own words (edited for length/clarity by American Robotnik; details are at Kickstarter): As a child of Polish immigrants growing up on the West Coast of the United States, I was raised in two cultures, and my music and art is an extension of that upbringing. This will be an album of […] Continue reading >

Upcoming Central European Events in Portland, Oregon

 Posted by  We Are Here  No Responses »
Jun 012012
 
Upcoming Central European Events in Portland, Oregon

Music Kafana Klub When: Tuesday, June 5, 8-10 p.m. Where: Al Forno Ferruzza Pizzeria What: Kafana Klub’s monthly performance of Balkan music (Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Bosnian, etc.) How much: $3 suggested donation 3 Leg Torso with Klezmocracy and Krebsic Orkestar When: Saturday, June 9, 2012 at 8 p.m. Where: Dante’s What: “3 Leg Torso goes all out for a wild evening sharing the stage with Klezmocracy and the Krebsic Orkestar. This is a show you’ll need to prepare for and do your warm ups. Hai-yah!” (courtesy of 3 Leg […] Continue reading >