This may be Welcome to Blog's last edition of "Random Links," a weekly post that appears here every Friday and assembles local news stories and, well, random links. A few readers have told me that it always "runs too long." Others have suggested that I break the post up into a series of smaller posts throughout the week rather than dumping them all together on Fridays. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments section below or fire off an email to me at welcometoblog@gmail.com. Thanks.
Now, random links...
The Local Story of the Week: last night, a group of "anarchist types" (or maybe they were "fratboy types," according to another report) butted heads with police over on NE Alberta during the district's monthly "Last Thursday" event. Apparently, the whole thing began with a fist fight. An officer that responded left a tazer on the ground and someone in the crowd made the not-so wise decision to pick it up. Then things got interesting. Click the links above for the rest of the story.
Hmmm...it's been, what, five years since the gubiment tried to push through a sales tax in Oregon? That must mean that it's time for Oregon lawmakers to try again. I guess we're in for another few months of ranting and raving before the idea is shot down for the tenth time (at least) in Oregon's history. The only way I can see taxpayers going for this is if the legislature were willing to get rid of the state income tax entirely. A mere reduction isn't going to cut it. How many times do we have to say "no thanks," people?
The Pearl District is apparently the sixth "most bloggiest" neighborhood in the country. Who knew that martini bars, condo towers and doggy day care centers were such good muses?
Once and forever hometown literary hero Chuck Palahniuk's next novel, Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey sounds like a Fight Club retread. "Motriarty" over at Ain't It Cool News says otherwise. It's due in bookstores on May 1st.
The bars featured in Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino's half of Grindhouse, are real, operating establishments in Austin (link one, link two). I figured they were movie sets. I doubt you'll find leggy disc jockeys or homicidal stuntmen smoking pot on the back porch at the Texas Chili Parlor though.
This link is for "Danimal." Only he gets to click on it. As for the rest of you, keep reading.
A blog post that consists of nothing more than dozens and dozens of "Scratch and Sniff" stickers from the '70s and '80s? Sure, why not.
Sure, the top hits at the box office are making major bank now but will anyone care about them in five to ten years? Probably not. Wild Hogs, your long-term future is about as bright as a mediocre high school quarterback that's been sleeping through math class.
The folks behind the Consumerist have clearly never had the misfortune of working in the customer service industry. Fortunately, they're good sports about letting those that do post rebuttals on their blog.
If you don't want people staring into your backyard as they ride the OHSU tram, this might not be the best way to discourage their wandering eyes. I can sympathize though. An unedited photo? Click here for that.
When I first saw the picture that accompanies this article, I thought the whole thing might be part of an incredibly cruel practical joke.
