In case you have been living in a small cave for the past few years, the 2010 Winter Olympics, hosted in Vancouver, British Columbia (that’s in Canada!) begin Friday, February 12. Though I don’t follow professional sports, I have always been a huge fan of the Olympics in general, and the Winter Olympics in particular. I even took figure skating lessons when I was young, though being a 5’8”, 135 pound 12 year old effectively ended any dreams I had of Olympic glory.

With Portland’s proximity to Vancouver, BC, it is only natural that Olympics fever should begin to infect the city. At Portland International Airport, Alaska Airlines employees sported stick-on soul patches, in honor of local Olympian Apollo Anton Ohno’s signature facial hair.

To celebrate the Opening Ceremonies, Oregon Sports Authority and KGW are hosting a free public viewing event at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Friday, February 12. There will be two giant LCD screens, and they will show local Olympic programming beginning at 5pm. The official NBC broadcast of the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony begins at 9pm. The event also includes interviews with Oregon Olympians, warm drinks and a hockey goal-scoring challenge. What a perfect way to celebrate the Opening Ceremonies with fellow Olympics-loving Portlanders.

In conjunction with this event, you can also visit Winter Celebration at the Square for your chance to win a trip for two to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, including men’s cross-country skiing and the Closing Ceremonies! Entries must be submitted by February 11, 2010, so enter soon!

(Editor’s Note: Travel Geek is another brand-new author here at OurPDX. Please welcome her!)

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LOST – The Final Season | PDX.FM As LOST fans already know, the season premiere starts at 9 pm this evening. But instead of huddling around your own little television in your own little hovel, why not go out, drink beer, eat tots and have a communal viewing experience at the Bagdad Theater? (If I were a LOST fan, I'd be there…)

As ever, this is yet another labor of love presented by Cort & Fatboy (with an assist from PDX.fm and the man who loooooovves to see his name in print on OurPDX, RobertWagner/@pdxsucks. Oh, and the Merc’s also on board here…). Admission is free, of course — which means no one gets a cut of anything, so you may want to share your tots with Cort and/or Fatboy — but you must be 21 or over to attend.

Can't make it tonight? The entire final season of LOST will be presented live at the Bagdad.

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Ever miss the good ol’ days when you’d spend Saturday night down at the watering hole, getting hammered and belligerent to the point where you had to clean the floor with everyone in the bar? Okay, me neither. I made it a point to get out before closing time, because that’s when the real action begins.

If you’d like to vicariously experience all the fun and frolic of hanging out in a rowdy bar with obnoxious hooligans, check out Cort and Fatboy’s Midnight Movie, Road House. You can bring a date: It’s got Patrick Swayze in it!

I like how at the bottom of the poster it says “Be nice.” If not? Swayze will come back from the grave and kick your ass.

He has Ghost powers, you know.

ROAD HOUSE
Bagdad Theater
Friday, February 5th
37th & SE Hawthorne
Doors at 10 PM
Movie at 11 PM

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Hi there, OurPDX readers and fellow Fanadus!  This is morganpdx!  CamiKaos and I are back again, fresh from the Broadway production of Xanadu.  Remember our last blog post, where we announced the winner of our little Xanadu ticket giveaway?  Yeah, we’re gonna do it like that again.  Two OurPDX bloggers.  One blog post.  More fun than a bucket full of glitter!  Or a stage full of disco balls!  (Yeah, you’d get that if you saw the play last night.  What, you didn’t see it?  What are you waiting for?!)

morganpdx: What a night!  We seem to have survived our Xanadu adventures with only a mild hangover and…well, I don’t think I did anything too embarrassing, did I?  Cami?

CamiKaos: You mean aside from going out in shimmering clothing covered in glitter and quietly squee-ing from your seat?  No.  Not really.

m: Hey.  I’m not the one who brought a canister of glittery powder stuff.  And I seem to recall that you were a bit overzealous with the glitter on the left side…

c: I brought the glitter to share in case for some reason I was the only one wearing sequins and big hoop earrings.  Oh and the necklace.  And the bracelets.  And the glitter….

m: And the jacket…it was pretty damn sparkly too.  And silver.  No I mean SIL. VER.  But we should probably talk about the show, and not the fact that we could probably be spotted from space.

c: Fine… you want to talk about the fact that the cast could probably be seen from space?

m: Yeah.  The cast actually out-glittered you.  YOU.  You and your silver sparkly flashy glittery big earring-y getup.  Seriously, I don’t want to give anything away, but at one point there were probably 30 disco balls on the stage.  AT THE SAME TIME.   But guess what, Cami?  I actually interviewed people!

c: YES!  YOU DID!  And do you know why you did that?  Because #morganisasocialite…  or because aside from the whole “watching the show” part, that’s why we were there.

m: I don’t know why you’d think that.

c: Why I think you’re a socialite?  Or why I thought that’s why we were there?  You kind of walked around shoving a voice recorder in peoples’ faces while I thought about my shiny jacket…  that’s why I think that.  I mean the only people I talked to before the show were @dieselboi and @Anna_V.

m: I can see your point.  I didn’t think I was shoving my voice recorder though; more like gently placing it close enough to capture their precious impressions.  So what where people thinking before they stepped into the fantabulous world of Greek gods and demigods, roller skates, bad 80’s fashion and true love?  Well, we, or at least I, interviewed some people.  There were lots of season ticket holders, some of whom had seen the movie ages ago and didn’t remember it (which is probably why they were there) and some of whom hadn’t (ignorance is bliss?)  One young theatre-goer named Lizzy, when I asked her what she thought it would be like, said “Um…it’s in a roller disco?  And there’s gonna be some legwarmers.”

c: Yeah… Lizzy was particularly insightful… I have to say though aside from one other Fanadu that you spoke with I don’t think a lot of people knew what to expect outside of disco balls and roller skates.  What I want to know is what you thought of the production.  I mean I was sitting there so I know you giggled and sighed and made faces…  You got some post show reactions as well, didn’t you?

m: Well, since Robin and Dave (@mizd and @chefchopper) were sitting right next to us, I asked them what they thought.  Robin said it was “Xandalicious!”  And Dave said  he was “Xanadoomed”.  I expect because since he liked this, Robin is going to drag him to all sorts of musicals now. 

Some of the other audience comments:

“Great, ton of fun, very exciting!”

“Exceeded my expectations”

“We want to rent the movie now!”

“I didn’t expect to be sitting on stage – it was fun!”

“I like the show better than the movie.  I loved the show!”

c: How many of those people did you offer to loan your copy of the dvd to?

m: Not all of them.  Only the ones who didn’t own it already.

c: I think that WAS all of them.  But now… the big question: How did it measure up for you?

m: Oh I see how it is.  Putting me on the spot, are you?  I thought the play was hilarious.  There were definitely a lot of inside jokes that would make sense to someone who’s a fan of the movie.  One that I’m sure a lot of people have heard about is the super-contrived Australian accent that Clio/Kira — the fated muse — used to “disguise” herself from the mortals.  And of course the 80’s references were super funny, and they certainly took advantage of the generation gap between Sonny and Danny.  The only criticism I’d have is that the sound quality at the Keller seemed to be a bit off, as it was hard to distinguish what the cast was saying at times.

c: I don’t think they really had the levels worked out…  But the show?  It was a 90 minute giggle fest.  It was made to be silly.  And MAN, can a disco ball light up a room or what?  Wait… not that I like disco. I mean it seriously was really bright.  I think I was temporarily blinded in my left eye.

m: Probably from all the over glittering you did on the left side.

c: I was trying to blend in.  You know… not draw attention to myself.  Be at one with the show.  I don’t know about these things…  I went because you made me.

m: It’s true.  I did make you.  And soon I will make you watch the movie too, just so you can get the Full Xanadu Experience™.

c: I thought you said I didn’t have to watch the movie.  We wrote a post the other day… I’m sure there is something in there about me not having to watch it.

m: I only said you wouldn’t have to watch it before the show.  I said nothing about afterward.

c: And by afterward you mean…?   That’s anytime later, right?  Like next year for your birthday?  That’s still after.  I don’t have to watch it now, do I?  Shouldn’t you wait to watch it until after you’ve seen the stage production again?

m: Oh, I have a feeling it will be MUCH sooner than that.  But we did have a great time after the show too, didn’t we?  There were more interviews!  And more martinis!

c: Yes there were both of those things.  With friends, and fans and you even had a chance to reconnect with Annie Golden!  I can’t believe I’m telling you this, and you better not repeat it to anyone…. But Ihadagoodtimelastnight…

m: It’s ok.  I won’t tell anyone.

You heard it right here folks!  Cami LIKED IT.  And she doesn’t like disco, hasn’t seen Xanadu, and truth be told, she is not a big fan of crowds.  Shhhh, you didn’t hear that from me.

c: You’re a good friend Morgan.  I appreciate you keeping that between you and I.  And in exchange… I won’t show anyone that photo I have of you in my basement.  With that thing.  You know the one.  Maybe I’ll just burn it.

m: Yes, I think you should burn it.  Didn’t you tell me you already had?  I could have sworn you said you would.

c: Well, to be fair it’s a digital image.  If I burned it, that would mean I put it on a CD or something for safe keeping… you know.  In case you ever went back on your word.

m: Crap.

c: On that note, shall we let these lovely ladies and gentlemen have their days back… I mean they already know we think Xanadu is worth going to see, what else is there?

m: Just this:  GO SEE IT!

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Did you know that Portland Metro area contributes 1/5th of the total share of agriculture production value for the entire state? I certainly didn’t. So it stands to reason that any adjustments to the urban growth boundary not only has an impact on our region’s livability, but the entire state’s diet, no?

Yes, that’s just one fact that ought to inform urban planning discussions. But don’t look to me for the details — instead, see what Cooking Up a Story has to say. As ever, Rebecca & Fred Gerendasy & their team have extensive background information, along with the video we show below in their post.

The CUpS people sat down with Jim Johnson, land use planner for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, to discuss the Reserves Process, how the land use laws in Oregon came into being, and what they are designed to accomplish.

Johnson shared the 1/5th factoid above with CUpS, and also told them that this area contains some of the best agricultural soils in the nation. Yes, the nation.

So doesn’t it make sense for those who value locally-grown produce, for starters, to pay close attention to anything that would change existing boundaries? Well, there’s a meeting today you should know about.

Urban and rural reserves meeting

You are invited to an open house and Metro Council hearing to share your views about urban and rural reserves. The open house is from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and will be held in the Sharron Kelly room (room 200). The Metro Council hearing begins at 6 p.m. and will be in the Chinook room (room 180). You will have 3 minutes to state your points.

Details:

Monday, Jan 11
Starts at 4:30 pm
Multnomah County East Building
600 NE 8th Ave.
Gresham, OR

Our thanks to Rebecca from Cooking Up a Story for tipping us off to this important issue!

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STOP!  Before you read any further you should know that this particular post?  Is not written by only one OurPDX author… but 2.  That’s right, TWO of us.  You can see that morganpdx is the one posting this…  but did you know that I, CamiKaos, am actually typing this intro? (m: This is so cool!! This is like…OurPDX history in the making! I’m so excited! c: Quiet Morgan. Let me finish the intro will you? m: Oh right. Sorry. Go ahead.)  You should know that, otherwise the following post will make less sense. Here we go…let’s pick the winner of the Xanadu tix!

m: Hey Cami!

c: Hi Morgan!!!

m: We have a very important thing to do today, don’t we? The fate of 8 people’s next Tuesday night is riding on our actions. I’m trying not to let this power go to my head.

c: I don’t think either of us can actually be trusted with this power.

m: Truer words were never spoken.  People don’t realize what loose cannons we are!

c: I know, right?  So how should we do it?  I could put all the names in a bag and draw one out at random.  And try not to randomly pick the name of someone I really really like?

m: Seriously?  I don’t know, Cami.  I think we may need to find someone a bit more impartial for this.

c: Does your dog know anyone on twitter?

m: Jessie?  Hmm.  She does know people on twitter, but not any of the people in this contest.  I mean, if @jarvitron’s name were in the bag we would have trouble.  But I think he’s still scarred from my Xanadu birthday party in November, so he didn’t enter.

c: Do you think she’d be willing to come over to my house and paw through this bag of names I made?

m: She’d be all over that!  We’ll…um…wait.  Paws aren’t very good at picking a single name out of a little bag.  That whole “no thumbs” thing is just such a drag.

c: You know who has thumbs?  My kid.  And I don’t think she actually knows any of the people who entered the contest.  I mean if you or @verso or @turoczy had been in the running it might be an issue… but I think we could trust her.

m: That is a BRILLIANT idea.  Just…brilliant.  I knew I hung around with you for a reason.  Alright!  Let’s put the names in the bag.  You have a bag?  Right?

c: I have it right here.  With the names of all 8 eligible finalists in it. I actually made the slips of paper out of the top of the bag to be all eco-friendly and shit.

m: Way to be a role model for the community, Cami.

c: Yeah.  I’m good like that.

You don’t really need to hear the whole conversation where I explained to my 7 year old that we needed someone more impartial and um… ethical than morganpdx and I.  You also probably don’t need to know that I had to bribe her with a mystery bag of some gummy candy…  but the end result was that she was happy to help us out…

K swished her hand around the little paper bag and pulled out a slip of paper which she handed to me with a great sense of purpose as she asked “What’s this thing for anyway?”

To which Morgan yelled over the phone “It’s for Xanadu tickets K!!  XANADU!” and then K shrugged, rolled her eyes and walked away.

m: Ok.  I’m ready.  This is so exciting!  Initiate Xanadu Winner Selection by 7 Year Old…Now.

c: I know who won!  I have the slip of paper right here in my hand.  I don’t even know this person.  Way to be impartial, kid!

m: OMG WHO IS IT?  WHO WON?

c: And the winner is……

m: Uhm.  Well.  That’s kinda hard to read, Cami.  And I have 20/20  vision.  I know, I was just at the eye doctor yesterday.

c: Oh.  Really?

m: Yeah.  I mean…I see a b in there, and an @ symbol, but…it’s kinda hard to make out the rest.  Can you read it?  You know, in your out-loud voice?

c: Fine.  Whatever.  Sure.  it’s @blabbey.

m: CONGRATS, @BLABBEY!!!!!!  I wonder if she’ll want an autographed picture of us.

c: Why would she want that?  We’re kind of jerks.

m: Yeah, but people like jerks.  I mean, that’s what that “women who love too much” book was about, right?

c: You read?

m: Who, me? Read?  No.  I don’t read.  Reading is for losers.  And jerks.

c: Should we really be saying that in front of the R-E-A-D-E-R-S?

m: Oops.  Yeah so anyway, we’re going to see Xanadu Tuesday night, right?  OMG how FUN WILL THAT BE?!

c: I’m still a little scared Morgan…  I know you’re a big Fanadu, but this will totally be my first time.

m: It’s okay. I won’t even make you watch the movie beforehand.  Plus we’ll go have a martini first.

c: Okay.  It’s settled.  We’ll be there.  Will you guys?

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CAUTION: I’m about to press the nostalgia button.

Portlanders ‘of a certain age’ grew up with an early morning institution, The Ramblin Rod Show. Weekday mornings from 7:30-8:30 were set aside for the most important thing in life, cartoons!

This was not just any cartoon show. Rod would have a passel of local kids come into the studios for taping the afternoon before, and everyone would get on TV during the Smile Contest. He would also single out the birthday guests for celebratory humiliation.

The cartoons were the best on the air. (With the possible exception of Saturday morning’s Looney Tunes hour.) Popeye was always in heavy rotation, and Bugs, Daffy, Elmer and the rest of the gang were there too. Ramblin Rod was a cartoon connoisseur.

I bring this up because Cort and Fatboy’s Midnight Movie is The Iron Giant, and Fatboy always puts together a spectacular previews/short subject reel. I hear rumors that there will be a showing of a very special Ramblin Rod episode tonight at the Bagdad Theater. If I hear correctly, this will be a Ramblin Rod episode for the ages. Fatty always outdoes himself on these mini-features.

So bust out the buttons, mix some whiskey into your Pop Shoppe soda and hop a bus down to The Bagdad. Doors at 10 PM, film fun starts at 11 PM. Cartoons and beer, and grown up kids aplenty. And by the time it’s over, it will be Saturday morning. What better time to indulge in cartoons?

I wonder how many times I’ve heard, “And now, let’s watch another Popeye cartoon!”…

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Hallo Internets. I’m having such a very busy week this week. I’ve been TRYING desperately to give away a free pair of tickets to Xanadu’s opening night at the Keller Auditorium! (Congratulations to @taradublinrocks, @blabbey, @ladygeek, @stevenguymcdade, and @divebarwife for getting the correct answer, and getting a shot at the free tickets on Saturday!)

For all my hard work, I got a prize!

Yes, yes, I did get a pair of tickets. @camikaos and I will put them to good use however, and blog our little hearts out to let you know how awesome a time it will be. It will almost be like you’re there with us! Almost. And then you’ll feel like you missed out on something amazing, and will go get your very own ticket. Because you don’t want to miss this much awesome. Seriously, people.

But that’s not the prize I’m referring to. No! I got to interview Annie Golden, who plays Calliope in the musical, to get a first hand feel for what the show is like. I know, right? How lucky am I?! So without further ado, here’s our conversation:

morganpdx: Ok, so first of all. Would you consider yourself a fan of the original movie? It’s become quite the cult hit these days. Did you watch it when it first came out?
Annie Golden: I actually didn’t watch it when it first came out, because I wasn’t a disco person, I was actually more of a ‘death to disco’ person. If you know anything about me I was discovered at CBGB’s. So I never really saw the movie when it came out. In preparation for the show – I was part of the original Broadway cast — we had a screening of it. I actually watched it recently, like at 4 o’clock in the morning, and it was just so hard to watch, it’s just…really not happening, whoever put it together. I felt that Olivia Newton John was beautiful, she always was, and Michael Beck…I remember when I did “Hair” in 1978, he had just finished “Warriors”.

mpdx: Yes, I heard that “Warriors” was a great entrance into movie acting for him, it was really well received.
AG: I know, so to do Xanadu next, it was like “What? What happened there?”

mpdx: ::laughs:: I saw a quote from Michael Beck that said “The Warriors opened a lot of doors in film for me, which Xanadu then closed.”
AG: Awww, oh boy. Well, the music is fantastic, so that’s the best.

mpdx: Right, right. How did you get involved with the Xanadu Broadway production?
AG: Well, I’m a Broadway actress, and a native New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn, so I got involved when they were putting together actress auditions and readings for the show. I was involved at the very beginning. Douglas Carter Beane wrote this screenplay, and it originally had 9 muses, and I was one of the 7th-8th-9th muses, which eventually got cut. I represented 80’s icons like Patti Smith and Tammy Faye Bakker in the original concept. There were so many configurations that we tried, but ultimately Douglas Carter Beane started to trim down the script, and Chris Ashley, our director, started to get a concept for it, and when they went to Broadway it was Jackie (Hoffman) and Mary (Testa) as Calliope and Melpomene. So then they asked me if I would pit sing so they could have my voice on all those rock songs, and if I would cover the two evil women. I was so happy to be asked along, and I had never understudied before, so I said you know what? If you’re ever gonna do it you should do it with people who love and respect you. So that’s what I did, and Xanadu continues to be such a good experience for me, because Jackie is doing Addams Family, so I’m out here doing the role that she created on Broadway.

mpdx: That’s awesome. It’s always great to do things with people who you really enjoy working with.
AG: Absolutely.

mpdx: I haven’t seen the play yet, but from what I hear you play one of the evil muses. Can you tell me a little more about that part?
AG: Yeah! The setup is that there is Father Zeus, who is the father of all the muses, and he has a favorite daughter, and her name is Clio (Cligh-oh). And as with all families, there’s gonna be jealousy, and there are two sisters who are very jealous because they’ve been passed over, named Calliope and Melpomene. They’re the two evil women. They start to put a wrench in the magical works of Xanadu, and a love story ensues, and they try to set Clio up, and basically keep trying to make trouble for her.

mpdx: Isn’t it true that there’s a prohibition against falling in love with mortals, and that’s what they try to do to Clio?
AG: Exactly! There’s a lot of forbidden things, and some of them are that you’re not allowed to create art, you’re not allowed to create music, and you’re not allowed to fall in love with a mortal.

mpdx: That’s interesting. I studied greek mythology in school, and if memory serves that is actually pretty correct – the muses were allowed to inspire but not to create.
AG: Yeah, exactly. So, I think you’d be very impressed with how Douglas Carter Beane has adapted the movie into this silly, delightful, entertaining musical play! It’s very clever and he does use mythology – just when you think the mythology is written in stone, he’ll do something twisted with it. If you do know anything about Greek mythology, some of the things in the play are right on.

mpdx: That’s awesome. I think that would make the play that much more enjoyable, for me at least!
AG: Oh yeah! If you’re a Xanadu fan, you’re gonna just love this play.

mpdx: My next question is a little different. Portland is known for being a pretty social-media crazy town. We have blogs and Twitter and Facebook all over the place. What is your take on all that stuff?
AG: I don’t even have a computer, Morgan.

mpdx: ::laughs:: That pretty much answers that, doesn’t it?
AG: Doesn’t it? It certainly does!

I didn’t even have a cell phone until a couple of years ago! I’m one step behind in everything, I really am; and so the texting, and the twittering, I just don’t do it. In fact I visited with a friend of mine from Costa Mesa on my day off on Tuesday, and when she was driving me back to Santa Monica her husband asked her to investigate something, so she handed me her iPhone and asked me to google the answer. I had to hand her the phone back and say “honey I’m sorry I just don’t know how to do that.” If she’d had a different person sitting next to her she could’ve been multitasking!

mpdx: Well, I have a friend who still doesn’t have a cell phone, so you wouldn’t be totally out of place here.
AG: Wow…

mpdx: So the show itself. What is your favorite part about it?
AG: My favorite part about it, aside from the music, because we have some really strong singers – not everyone from Broadway can sing this kind of music – what I like about it aside from the music is the presentation of the piece. I also like the choreography, which is based on Martha Graham and Isadora Duncan, and was nominated for a Tony for Best Choreography which is just amazing. I love the costumes – they’re very diaphanous, very delicate and pretty. I love the makeup, it’s specialty makeup, very glittery and shiny, a lot of glitter and gems. It’s a very heavenly show, really very heavenly and otherworldly, with a rockin soundtrack!

mpdx: That’s awesome. I do love the soundtrack, that’s my favorite. The music is one of the things I like most about the movie.
AG: Yeah!

mpdx: Another question I have is Portland tends to get written up in the NY Times a lot, at least recently, so we’ve gotten a big head about how cool we are. Have you ever been to Portland before, and what are your impressions of it?
AG: I’ve never been! I can’t wait, I hear such wonderful things about it! All the kids on the tour, they – this is my first tour, like I said I’m a native New Yorker, so I’ve always worked on Broadway or off-Broadway, so I’ve never toured – so the kids on the cast who have toured before, they *all* love Portland, and they all talk about how they can’t wait to take me around. Actually, everywhere I’ve been on tour so far – Costa Mesa, I had friends come from LA, and then in Sacramento I had friends coming from San Francisco; Portland I don’t have anybody coming, but then in Seattle I have friends, and North Carolina I have friends, Pittsburgh…everywhere on the tour I have friends to come and see me, but not Portland, Oregon; I don’t know anybody there. So, I’m so looking forward to just…being on vacation, as it were.

mpdx: Right, well if you need any tips on where to go or things to do, let me know.
AG: Yeah, that would be great! So now, why are you a Fanadu?

mpdx: Oh heck…I grew up with this huge crush on Olivia Newton-John.
AG: Oh, well that says it all then!

mpdx: It does, really. I loved her music, and I really loved that 50’s style grand musical feel that it tried to bring back, with having Gene Kelly involved. My favorite scene is the one with him and Olivia Newton-John when they do that dance scene…
AG: Oh, “Whenever You’re Away From Me”?

mpdx: Yeah, I love that song, it’s my favorite scene in the movie.
AG: You’re gonna love it in the show! It’s like an MGM musical, that moment. You’re gonna be so excited! Xanadu the musical will not let you down.

That’s pretty much it. Interviewing Annie was an absolute pleasure, and as she put it when I told her I was somewhat new to interviewing, “Don’t worry, I’m an old pro.”

Thanks so much to Ms. Annie Golden, and the whole cast of Xanadu for bringing some sparkly glitz and flashy glamour to Portland. We’re gonna soak it up!

Related Posts

• January 3, 2010 -- Free Inspiration! (6)
• January 13, 2010 -- There Were Disco Balls and Legwarmers of Power (3)
• January 9, 2010 -- Xanadu: And The Winner Is… (4)
• January 6, 2010 -- Did You Know… (0)
• September 25, 2009 -- After the Performance: Did I Cry at the End? (2)

…that you can still enter to win Xanadu tickets by playing the Xanadu trivia contest on Twitter? Follow @ourpdx & we’ll send out today’s question at 12 noon. First person to respond (yes, on Twitter!) will be entered into a drawing; winner will be chosen on Saturday & will receive ticket’s for Saturday’s opening night performance! Not on Twitter? Sadly, you’re missing out on a chance to win tickets, among other things…

(The rules & regs are in Morgan’s post here; congrats to @divebarwife, @taradublinrocks & @ladygeek, who got their responses in less than 9 minutes on average!)

…you can also still get tickets for the Marysville Elementary School Auction tomorrow night at 6 pm. Can’t go? There’s a handy donation link there as well. Need the backstory? Get it here, here, or there.

…PDX.fm has 2 channels now? Go see! (I’m already a fan of @zanger’s new 9 am showThe Life Portlandic, even before he said nice stuff about us…!)

What do you know that we should know…?

Related Posts

• January 13, 2010 -- There Were Disco Balls and Legwarmers of Power (3)
• January 3, 2010 -- Free Inspiration! (6)
• January 9, 2010 -- Xanadu: And The Winner Is… (4)
• January 8, 2010 -- Xanadu is Muse-ical! (1)
• February 2, 2010 -- LOST? Found… (1)

Has your writing been weak? Do your paintings lack pizazz? Did the last 200 digital photos flop? Are your jam sessions just not jelling? Is your podcast pathetic? Or maybe your film is a feature length failure?

In other words, is your creative juice-maker dried up like a Saharan riverbed? (I was gonna use another analogy with strippers, jello and a couple hamsters, but we try to keep it *somewhat* PG-13 here.)

Well you are in luck, Portland, because I have just the lube all us creative types need to oil up that artistic muscle. That’s right! What you need is a little inspiration of the divine kind! Just a touch of demi-god artistic intervention. And for a few lucky ones, it’s free!

You’re probably wondering just where this inspiration will come from. Have you ever heard the phrase “kissed by a Muse”? Well it just so happens that those 9 stimulating sisters will be making an appearance at the Keller Auditorium when the national Broadway tour of Xanadu opens on January 12th and runs through January 17th.

Xanadu. Seriously.

Now wait. I know what you’re all thinking. “Xanadu? OMG that was the worst movie! Wasn’t it some sort of disco roller dance thing?”

Well yes, yes it was. But this is Xanadu, the Broadway musical, nominated for four – yes, FOUR – Tony awards in 2008! The New York Times called it “Heaven on Wheels!”. And we all know what good taste the NY Times has. Look at how much they love Portland, right?

But then you’re thinking “Heeeey waitaminit. Aren’t you that chick who had a Xanadu-themed birthday party a month ago? Are you biased much, hmm?”

Yes. Yes, I am a fan of the movie. Yes I love its lame plot, its fabulous music. Yes I have had a huge crush on Olivia Newton John. Yes, tickets went on sale on my birthday! (How’s that for preordained? Ha!)

Did I mention Douglas Carter Beane, the screenwriter for Xanadu, wrote To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar?

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

I and my lovely fellow OurPDX blogger and fantabulous podcaster Cami Kaos will be at the Keller on opening night, grabbing on-the-scene pre- and post-show crowd reaction for an amazing OurPDX first: an OurPDX blog-uet! (That’s blog + duet. Work with me here, people.) Yep, Cami, a Xanadu newbie and I, a tried and true Fanadu, will be co-blogging about all the glitz, glamour and gloriousness of Xanadu’s opening night. If you’re going, keep a sparkly eye out for the OurPDX banner and come say hello!

Go now. Go get tickets!

AND NOW, FOR THE FREE.

You’ve been waiting for it. You read through this whole post lookin for the Free. YES, Portland. I’m gonna give away free stuff! On the Twitters. Free Inspiration in the form of two tickets to the show! This is how it’s gonna work:

We’ll post a Xanadu quiz question at NOON every day this week, Monday through Friday. The first person to respond with the correct answer gets their name in a hat. On Saturday, we’ll select the name of the lucky winner! And that lucky winner will get to go see Xanadu for FREE. How’s that for inspiration? So start studying up, all you PDX Fanadu’s, and watch the OurPDX twitter account for more info.

Olivia Newton John in her fabulous Xanadu outfit. Sparkly!

Just be sure to remove the roller skates when you get to the Keller, ok? I don’t need you rollerskating me over, I might spill my wine. Those little plastic cups are not very resilient, you know.

Fred Meyer Broadway Across America Portland presents
Xanadu
Keller Auditorium
Tuesday, January 12th – Sunday, January 17th
Tickets $28.75 & up

Related Posts

• January 13, 2010 -- There Were Disco Balls and Legwarmers of Power (3)
• January 8, 2010 -- Xanadu is Muse-ical! (1)
• January 9, 2010 -- Xanadu: And The Winner Is… (4)
• January 6, 2010 -- Did You Know… (0)
• September 25, 2009 -- Pre-Show Backstage Tour at La Boheme (0)