Thank God It's Summer: Bruce Weber in PDX, Dramatic Drag Race, Zoo Bomber's Pyle Up, Hula Hoops on the Channel, Starlighting an Editor from The Advocate, The SPJ Awards and Goodbye To Miss Lopez

[Byron Beck]

CUTE BOY ALERT: I've heard from very good sources that famed fashion photographer/ acclaimed filmmaker/all around cool guy, Bruce Weber will be in Portland in the coming weeks. Actually, he will be on Mt. Hood where he and his incredibly attractive crew will shoot the winter advert campaign for none other than the legendary Ralph Lauren. Wonder if Bruce will spend anytime with Andy Minsker. The former boxer/Calvin Klein model (who lives and works in Portland) was the subject of Weber's first film, Broken Noses. It is a great fillm. If anyone has a copy, even VHS, I will buy it from you. That's how hard it is to get.

DRAGTIME: It was "Bizarro" night at last week's RuPaul's Drag Race: Portland Edition. One of the "top" girls ended up in the bottom two and one of the chronic bottom "two-ers" finally won a competition. Which, of course, made this whole contest even more fabulous than it already is. Shout-outs to Super DJ Mitch Elliott, from The Buzz's Daria and Mitch Show. He did an awesome job as the guest judge (that boy really knows how to work a mic). As did Miss Poison Waters. The emceeing empress of this whole cabal—Waters keeps this show on track every Thursday despite my best efforts to derail it. And, special shout-out to contestant Trinity LaCroix. Her family came to see her in the show—all the way from Hawaii (that's her and her mom pictured above). Now, that was cool.

Find more photos like this on Byron Beck's Window

BOMB SQUAD: Mayor Sam Adams seemed to be having the time of his life as he dedicated the new Zoo Bomb Pyle at 13th and West Burnside during rush hour on Friday night. The tricked-out-golden-tryke statue created by local artists/mad scientists Brian Borrello and Vanessa Renwick, in collaboration with the Zoobomb crew, will hold the mini-bikes you're used to seeing a bit closer to Powell's. According to their release, "the Zoobombers worked with Mayor Sam Adams (then Commissioner of Transportation), the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) and the Bureau of Transportation through RACC’s Art on the Streets program. Entitled “People’s Bike Library of Portland” the sculpture will also provide a storage location for helmets and lights."
The event featured performances by bike dance teams The Sprockettes and Chain Reaction, and really, really hot guys. For more information about Zoobomb, go to www.zoobomb.net.

Find more photos like this on Byron Beck's Window

HOOPIN THE CHANNEL: If you haven't made a trip out to Mark's On The Channel, then you're really missing out—especially during this time of year. This little cafe/community gathering place floats on a dock in a channel that separates the small town of Scappoose from the mighty Columbia River. With view of both Mt. St. Helens and Sauvie Island, at sunset there truly is no better place to be anchored in the world. And the food is great too. A mix of greek eats and delicious seafood fare there is something about having a perfectly grilled piece of salmon as live fish jump out of the channel just inches from your feet. And the guy with the hula hoop below? Well, that's Mark. He is very cool.

OLD SCHOOL SPJ'N; So before I started this blog I worked for Willamette Week, an alternative weekly based in Portland, Oregon. On Saturday night I gathered with some of my fomer homies for the Society for Professional Journalists’ Oregon and Southwest Washington chapter annual awards dinner, a hurry-up-and-eat-love-fest that recognizes both print and broadcast journalists. This year, like last year, it was held at the Oregon Zoo. The site made sense due to the fact that it's been a pretty "wild" year for everyone in the biz.
According to this post WW picked up 16 first-place awards for journalism in 2008 among larger-circulation non-dailies in Oregon and among alt-weeklies in the Northwest region.
I was frankly surprised I won anything, but I ended the night with three first places and an honorable mention. Here are my three firsts (each came with a cool trophy) and links if you want to read more.
RELIGION AND VALUES: Byron Beck for “The Queer and the Qur’an.”

CONSUMER. FOOD, LIFESTYLE, HOME: Beck for “Lean Cuisine.”

SOCIAL ISSUES: Beck for “The Queer and The Qur’an.”
(and the Honorable Mention was in Business News for "Welcome to Googleville.")

The full list of winners is here. Afterwards we headed downtown to the Goose Hollow Inn where many SPJ-types-including Forest Groves News-Times John Schrag, Bend Bulletin's Nick Budnick and The Oregonian's Brent Walth (all fomer WWer's, Walth is pictured above with WW's Nigel Jaquiss)-partied hard with toga-clad "hashers" (aka: drinkers with a running problem) who had just completed the Starlight Run.
Here are a few photos of the lovefest.

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LATER THAT SAME NIGHT: Just a quick shout-out to Neal Broverman. He's the associate editor for The Advocate magazine. And he was brave enough to arrive in Portland on Saturday at the same time as the Starlight Parade was about to kick off. He arrived from Los Angeles via the train-which, lo and behold-was on schedule down to the minute. Neal's luck continued throughout the evening as my partner Juan and I "introduced" the editor to the sights and sounds of our wonderful city. Okay, we went to a bunch of bars, but it was really fun (that's Neal pictured with one of the Brig's dancing boys).
At 2 am we finally made it to FOX TV's "Better" reporter and Nicolle Shops Portland diva, Nicolle Camarata's, birthday party. And, guess what, the party was still rockin. Who says Portlanders go to bed too early? Definitely not that night.

MISSIN' MISS LOPEZ: Okay, I never really got to know Luciana Lopez until recently , but I have always enjoyed reading her music stuff in The Oregonian. But now she's making her big move. Lopez is about to become a business reporter in Sao Paulo, Brazil covering the economics of that beauty-obsessed nation for Reuters. Her last day at the daily was last Thursday (and then she came to the Drag Race; that's her pictured above with Tara Dublin and friends) and tonight's her going away party. I'm gonna miss her.

[Luciana Lopez]

Wish I could have gotten to know you better, as well! Isn't that the way -- you meet cool people right on your way out. Le sigh. Lemme know if you're ever down SP way.

[Nicolle Camarata]

Thank you for coming over, it is always good to see you two. I had so much freaking fun I can't even begin to tell you! Cory thought your new look was mantastic. Muah.