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A. L. Venable

Try walking in his shoes

“jeff, meet angel

angel, meet jeff

talk amongst yourselves.”

That was how my friend, Jen, had introduced me to tattoo artist Jeff Johnson over e-mail. It was 2006 and I had recently relocated to Portland. At the time, I didn’t know Jeff from Joe Q. Tattoodude except that Jen had raved about his work, and I loved the design he helped create for her.

Coming soon to PDX: More Neighborhood Blogging

by A. L. Venable

With blogs such as this one, or our friends over at Neighborhood Notes, or even the sites managed by Willamette Week and Portland Mercury, will Portland readers be interested in giving another Portland-centric blog some love?

08.18.2009 See the rest → 2 comments

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

by A. L. Venable

In a few days, I will be in the land of Pitchfork Media, hot dogs with day-glo colored relish, and the extremely scary skydeck attached to the Sears Tower — Chicago — to attend the 2009 BlogHer Conference. Last month, I met up with a group of women at Posies Cafe to put faces to [...]

07.21.2009 See the rest → 1 comment

Getting a Sneak Peek: The Builders and The Butchers

by A. L. Venable

Tonight, Mississippi Studios was host to a sneak preview of the new The Builders and The Butchers video, “Golden and Green,” which is the first track off their new album, Salvation is a Deep Dark Well.
Directed by the fabulous Alicia J. Rose (and I should know…she’s taken photos of yours truly), the event brought [...]

07.13.2009 See the rest →

Show PAM your ink

by A. L. Venable

If I were told Portlanders had more tattoos per capita than other cities, I would not be surprised. Tattoos have the ability to be both personal and public at the same time. They can be used to permanently mark significant events, an artistic vision, a current (or past) relationship, or other journeys in our lives [...]

07.03.2009 See the rest →

This is for all the Fat Girls

by A. L. Venable

While there are national chain stores that carry sizes 14 and up – Torrid, Old Navy, Lane Bryant, Macy’s, etc. – A. L. Venable focused on some of the local options for plus-sized women out there. Also, these stores offer the opportunity to be a bit more creative with your wardrobe, whether you buy all of the pieces in one place, or use them to perk up that plain black skirt.

06.22.2009 See the rest → 5 comments

The Mad Dash

by A. L. Venable

It’s after 10PM and I’m heading home from dance class. I’m hungry, but don’t really feel like stopping at a restaurant for dinner. Fast food…pass.
After doing a mental scan of what’s in my fridge – next to nothing – I decided to make a stop at my neighborhood supermarket, the Safeway on NE MLK [...]

06.10.2009 See the rest → 2 comments

Have a Tasty Adventure This Weekend

by A. L. Venable

If Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of Summer, then what better way to continue the summer vibes than to have a BBQ? I don’t know about you, but after that lovely three-day holiday weekend filled with sunshine, BBQs, and spending time outdoors, I’m ready for another.
Fortunately, New Seasons Market has the same idea. [...]

05.26.2009 See the rest →

LEP Charter School Gets Three-Year Renewal

by A. L. Venable

Yesterday morning, a Portland Public School Board subcommittee voted to extend the charter of the Leadership & Entrepreneurship Public High School (LEP) for another three years. The full school board will make it official when they vote on June 8.
Previously, the Portland Public School Board voted 6-1 to close the three-year-old charter school at the [...]

05.21.2009 See the rest →

Time is Running Out: Submit your Ignite Portland 6 Proposal!

by A. L. Venable

So, you went to Ignite Portland 5, saw the presentations and thought, “Wow, those were great, I need to submit something for IP6!” When you realized the next Ignite wouldn’t occur until July, you thought, “Eh, I’ve got plenty of time to submit something. Time for more beer!”
Well, guess what? The deadline for submitting a [...]

05.06.2009 See the rest → 2 comments