Look, I'm no Portland newby; I've lived here a long time and have paid my dues and then some. But like many of you, I didn't grow up here, and only really found out about Portland because of reasons that can ultimately be traced back to Courtney Love.
That's one of the reasons that I love Mercury freelancer Joe Streckert's catalog of features on Portland and Oregon history—like our state's history of explosions!
In addition to these periodic publishings, Streckert (whose day job is as a Portland tour guide, appropriately) has been holding casual seminars at the Jack London Bar to continue the education of his audience, like tonight's focus on Portland TV personalities (which kicks off at 7:30). That is exactly the sort of shit I, and chances are you, missed out on by being born in a different state. He tells of "Clowns. Cowboys. A man with too many buttons. Buzz-cutted retailers. News anchors. An actual, real whale. Puppets." And... I've heard of the whale. Should it even be noted that you can relieve yourself of ignorance while hurting your brain with alcohol at the same time? It's all about balance.