Near the End

          Well, my loyal minions this term is near its end and you brave souls are the ones who have remained to this not so bitter end.It has been an interesting journey. We have traveled from where semantics lurks within the chambers of imagination and naming; through the realms of entertainment media and the lands of myth and legend and arrived, blazing a trail, in the lands of vampire mice and genetically engineered primates. And all of this gave rise to one of the greatest gifts of humanity, a child’s curiosity and open-minded laughter. I will continue this Blog without the welcome restraints of the academic community’s regulations, so I hope you will continue to visit. For now, I simply have two recommended readings.

1    

    1)BOOSTERS ;  http://viciouscoule.blogspot.com/

2)Rogues; 

by George R.R. Martin   

“I'm just trying to make a smudge on the collective unconscious”; Dave Letterman

Laughter is the best medicine

  

For a Chuckle Click the Link

                                                                                                 

                                                 https://youtu.be/RP4abiHdQpc

          Doernbecher Children's Hospital does wonders to keep kids healthy, alive and laughing.
          Recently they teamed up with Nike to develop a unique program that allows their patients the chance to support the hospital that supported them in their time of need. The program, "Doernbecher Freestyle"has raised over $11 million since it's inception in 2003.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/Photos-Nike-Doernbecher-designers-launch-collection-at-Portland-store-233179341.html?tab=gallery&c=y&img=6
          Every year the hospital staff nominate patients from Oregon and Washington  to design footwear and clothing for Nike. The kids get to travel to Nike, meet with designers, brainstorm ideas, tell their stories and help sketch out designs. And then they get to see these designs unveiled at the Doernbecher Freestyle auction before the footwear and apparel  are put on line and into stores to be sold.The money will go to support the children's hospital. This is just another way that the research at OHSU/ Doernbecher helps, not only the Portland community but folks all around the world.
 

http://blogs.britannica.com/2008/07/funny-science-why-do-we-laugh-and-can-it-really-help-healing/
http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/news_events/news/2015/06-24-ohsu-doernbecher-childre.cfm
http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/doernbecher/about-us/why-choose-doernbecher/index.cfm

Monkeys Shine

          We have explored two of the three topics required for English 115. And we touched on the third when examining the vampire mice of Stanford University.The research at Stanford using parabiosis (the anatomical joining of two individuals, especially artificially in physiological research) focused on cognitive regeneration and stem cells. Specifically they were interested in how younger blood would affect older stem cells and genetic makeup.
   I hope you've noticed that the common thread of this Blog assignment has been that it focuses on Portland Oregon;1) entertainment businesses,2) myth and legend and now 3) research and development.
   

          I want to be cloned. No, I need to be cloned.Then my clone shall be cryogenically frozen until such time the technology to download, my personality, my identity or dare I say, my soul is not only possible but normal. Why? Well, who doesn't want to live forever? Huh?... UH.... Right. You and me both.

         It’s a cool 60 degree Portland morning, August 13th, 2015... You're walking Sparky, your Dachshund/Ausie mix. He’s happy. You’re happy. Sparky believes HE takes YOU, for YOUR morning constitution, while he takes care of his all - important morning business. You stop three houses down from your place. Bob Johnson’s place; A 3500 square foot ranch-style, three bedroom two bath family home, with a Winnebago squeezed into a too small single vehicle carport on the right side of an overfull garage.You scratch your crouch, stretch, yawn and think to yourself, “Gee, last summer Bob sure did have the greatest Bar-B-Q.”  Sparky religiously pops a squat under Bob’s mailbox as he does every morning around 6AM. And every morning you think to yourself. “Dam, I should just leave it. That would teach him to borrow tools and not return them. But no…”Bob does Q a mean sturgeon burger after all”, you grumble, as you reach down with your blue bagged covered left hand and cradle Sparkies steaming hot log of delight freshly deposited beneath Bob’s American Confederate flag mailbox.  And then you hear it… The deafening time-stopping life-altering mind-blowing… SCEEEECH! Brakes! 

       The last thing you remember is seeing Sparky getting wedged up under the front bumper of a 1973 Ford Pinto and a license plate that reads Born to Breed.

       No white light, No Angels singing Hotel California, not even a glimpse of the Pearly Gates.

          Thank the lord you haven't used up all of your Genetic stem cells. Last month you made a fresh deposit and you should have enough to clone yourself for the next 500 years. Not to mention the cells you've preserved for Sparky, Smittens (your cat), your wife Bunny and your two lovely kids.

         As you wake in the ICU you look around dazed and confused and mumble

"Poor Thparkles, Ohhh….. Bunny is going to kill me."

        And then you remember the stem cell/cloning/genetic research you've been a part of for the last 35 years and all your worries about life and death fade away into the blissful afterglow of the anesthesia-induced cloning procedure that has just been completed at OHSU. It is now December 13th, 2050 and the genetic research of today has reached its predestined and perfected conclusion.

             Clone -”a cell, cell product, or organism that is genetically  identical to the unit or individual from which it was derived.”   

A healthy rhesus monkey, born at Dr. Mitalipov’s lab in Portland after the nucleus of the mother’s egg cell was removed and placed in the egg cell of another female that is healthy.

       The genetic research done here in Portland Oregon boarders on science fiction and we God fearing, morally upstanding citizens of the American experiment don’t quite know how to deal with it. Though I truly believe we Portlanders are secretly proud of the, what some say is clandestine and possibly nefarious, research taking place at OHSU (Oregon Health Science University) and the Beaverton primate research center (BPC).The man, whose name most Americans have never heard, Shoukhrat Mitalipov (American biologist) has kicked the proverbial scientific hornets’ nest with his ground-breaking, controversial stem cell, gene and cloning research at OHSU and BPC( The Primate Center is part of OHSU)
Click on link to watch monkeys at primate center.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGzvewAfys0


Please take some time to help shape the future and respond to this simple Yes or No three question survey...Just click on the link.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/V2YX3F7

Synthesis

 

           Weird! Are you weird? Is your family weird? Is your town weird? "Keep Portland Weird"...is the motto of Portland, Oregon, and the town delivers as advertised, in a good way. When Portlanders think of weird, they think of innovation, sustainability, profitability, and community; ways in which citizens may support their community as well as ways to attract and hold on to profitable community friendly businesses. Portland hosts a flourishing and comfortable atmosphere for its entertainment media industries. (Specifically, radio, television and film) 

         KPOJ AM 620 Radio ( owned by iHeart Media and affiliated with Fox Sports radio) is the station where fans can catch live broadcasts of football, baseball, and basketball in addition to nationally syndicated programming. the station covers Oregon State Beaver collegiate football, Hillsboro Hops professional baseball and  Portland Trailblazer professional basketball. Though many of the shows that air on 620 hale from other towns, programmers keep a weather eye and a strong foothold on the local sports scene. I for one appreciate the hometown touch that AM 620 brings to the Portland community as they move from a mid-sized city to a major player in the media market as witnessed by its designated rank of 23 in the Nielson Ranking system.

In addition to this high national ranking, Portland continues in its tradition of hosting successful television productions. Some are based in Portland and produced by Portland studios, some are based outside of the local area and take advantage of the media friendly atmosphere , and some are hybrids of both; All appreciate the economic incentives that Portland offers. Two of the better known productions are cult favorite "Leverage", which starred academy award winner Timothy Hutton and aired from 2008 to 2012, and the current spin off of the highly successful "Librarians” films, which recently filmed portions of season three at Portland State University. Both of these productions have made significant economic contributions to Portland and have helped to enhance the cities entertainment media social status. 

Laika LLC is the product of local resident and Portland State University alumni Travis Knight. Laika, founded in 2005 is a stop-motion animation studio that produces feature films and occupies an expansive production facility in Hillsboro, Oregon. they have produced such ground - breaking hits like Coraline and The Boxtrolls and are currently working on a feature due out in August of next year. Laika contributes to the local community in many ways. They assist local non-profits, have an environmental sustainability program, and by their mere existence supply employment opportunities and economic advantages for Portland residents.

Weird...Is Portland weird? I think so. They promote high quality entertainment, in an eco-friendly unobtrusive fashion. the companies that choose Portland do not do so so simply for the economic benefits, or the beautifully convenient scenic advantages, they do so also because of its unconventional forward-thinking population and the welcoming communities. And this is why Portlanders strive to....

The Legend of Bunko Kelly

          As you know, if you have been following SQUAT!SQUAT?SQUAT with the dedication and loyalty of which I believe you posses - And well you should .... then... you are aware that this Blog is a requirement for a college English course. One of the requirements for our Blog is to choose three topics, research them, and then post about them in a somewhat compelling manner.. It's now time to move on to topic number two - PDX(stands for Portland Oregon) Myth and Legend.We have introduced one Portland legend, the Green Man, which we will continue to investigate.

 However, Portland's Old town China Town is infamous throughout the universe for more than just the Green Man. There is also Myth and legend surrounding some hidden tunnels that lie beneath the city. The tunnels, referred to as "The Underground" or "The Shanghai Tunnels" have been hidden below the Portland streets for over 150 years. Scallywags, Ne'er-do - wells, Pirates and ruthless murdering Nefarians once used these tunnels to kidnap men, women children puppies, kittens and unsuspecting octogenarians for pleasure, profit and unspeakable debauchery. They would "Shanghai"( Kidnap) these innocents, herd them through the Underground, then sell them into slavery, to serve upon ships wandering  the open seas, or abroad where they would serve as concubines to  fulfill the twisted fantasies of scoundrels and gentlemen alike. Once Shanghaied from the ports of Portland they were  never to be seen again. They would be remembered only in the foggy dreams of drunken sailors and fantasies of dockyard prostitutes.One of the most dastardly villains to prowell the Portland waterfront in the late 1800s was Joseph "Bunko" Kelly -" King of the crimps" ( crimp = shanghai = kidnap)

He could and would Shanghai and sell anyone or anything. Most of the time his victims were  alive but, as legend tells, Kelly kidnapped and sold a couple of dead men without blinking an eye; And, he did this without conscience and for a tidy profit. It's said that he even once stole and sold a wooden cigar store Indian into servitude. He received Fifty dollars for the stiff.

      These are just two of the many legends and myths that lurk beneath the friendly underbelly of this "Weird" not so little community -  Portland , Oregon, If you dare to the tour the "Underground" or wander near the waters edge, be extremely careful for you never know what dangers lie above or below the seemingly harmless surfaces of Portland.

http://shanghaitunnels.info/
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shanghai
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kelly_(crimper)

AM RADIO STILL THRIVES

Hillsboro Oregon, located just outside of Portland is not only the home of Laika stop-motion production studios,

creators of the feature films Caroline, Paranorman, The Box Trolls and the much anticipated Kubo and the Two Strings,  but also home of the Hillsboro Hops minor league professional baseball team.

You can catch a Hops game 3 to 5days per week throughout the summer at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro or by tuning in to KPOJ, AM 620 Radio, where Rich Burke presides as radio announcer for the team. And if you are a true fan of Oregon sports, or sports in general, you can tune to AM 650 and  enjoy a Portland Trailblazer game or Oregon State football where Brian Wheeler hosts the Blazers and Mike Parker announces for the Beavers.

In addition KPOJ Airs a number of nationally syndicated sports shows.    

DUFORD, DEVLIN, KNIGHT

Green Man Update

I was riding our local transit train( Portland’s Tri-Met) and as it made its way through Old Town China Town I spotted two more of Dan Daniel Duford’s Green Man sculptures. They are located on Fifth Street.

   

           Daniel Duford

Also, this weekend I was fortunate enough to witness the filming of a fairly new T.V. series “The Librarians”; A Dean Devlin production. They were shooting at PSU campus. The owner and president of production company Electric Entertainment, Devlin filmed four seasons of the TNT Network series "Leverage" here in Portland. And is back in Oregon to film "The Librarians". 

 DEVLIN 

And I’ve come to the conclusion that before the term is over I need to meet Devlin, Duford and Travis Knight. President of local company, Laika; producers of stop motion animation features such as Caroline and Paranorman. 

                                                                KNIGHT 

 As a matter of fact I watched Paranorman this weekend and recommend it for the family,friends and kids of all ages. I suppose I will give the movie a Triple SQUAT on my new movie ranking scale of 0 to four SQUATS where 0 = what we do when we Squat and the ultimate QUAD SQUAT = God Father, Citizen Kane SQUATNESS.

Two other people I must meet to satisfy MY needs for this Blog, this term.

Rich Burk “Voice of the Hillsboro Hops (Portland’s minor league baseball team) He broadcasts on 650 AM radio, and Nancy Haigwood PhD (Director and senior scientist OHSU, including the primate research center.

Who would you like to meet and what would you ask? Please take the survey. YOUR ANSWERS COULD SAVE OUR GALAXY! Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XHSX6MC and respond to the two most important questions ever.

1)      https://www.google.com/search?q=images+of+Daniel+Duford&safe=off&espv=2&biw=944&bih=951&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CB0QsARqFQoTCO_NodiX6sYCFRaYiAodrQsHzA#imgrc=KDF16BRiIQ5ptM%3A

2)      http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/2014/06/leverage-producer-dean-devlin-on-what-it-would.html

3)      http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130311&content_id=42580084&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_t419&sid=t419

4)      http://www.ohsu.edu/vgti/haigwood.htm