During the 1970s, with the influence of legendary University of Oregon coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman and a slew of star athletes, Eugene, Oregon became known as "Track Town USA." In recent years, Eugene's reputation as the mecca of American track has wavered with mediocre success from U of O runners and other local athletes.
Track fans follow the action at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on two jumbotrons at the Eugene '08 Festival. Joe Darda
However, with a resurgent Ducks team lead by head coach Vin Lananna and millions of dollars going into the remodeling of historic Hayward Field, Eugene, which hosted this past week's U.S. Olympic Trials, is without a doubt Track Town USA once again.
From June 27 through July 6, Eugene has been host to the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, but took the event beyond a simple track meet. Besides playing host to some of the nation's finest athletes, Eugene sponsored a 10-day festival in conjunction with the Trials that transformed the city into a track fan's ultimate dream.
The 37th annual Allstate Milk Carton Derby at Seafair hit the waters of Green Lake Saturday afternoon, attracting thousands to one of the first big events of Seafair. Despite somewhat muggy weather, there was no rain and only light wind to the benefit of a few
tipsy-prone milk carton boats.
I put up a gallery of the derby here, but for this blog I saved a short humorous image series that I just happened to capture. Looks like the Batmobile had a few technical difficulties.
Batmobile 1 of 5. Cliff DesPeaux/Seattle P-I
Batmobile 2 of 5. Cliff DesPeaux/Seattle P-I
Batmobile 3 of 5. Cliff DesPeaux/Seattle P-I
Batmobile 4 of 5. Cliff DesPeaux/Seattle P-I
Batmobile 5 of 5. Cliff DesPeaux/Seattle P-I
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Beerfest: Bottles a-plenty lined up for your drinking pleasure at the Seattle International Beerfest. Paul Comrie/Seattle P-I
Think you're too grown up for this weekend's Seafair events? Not excited to drive up to Green Lake for the Allstate Milk Carton Derby or all the way out to West Seattle for the Seafair Pirate Landing at Alki Beach? Didn't get as strong a hangover as you would've liked from your Independence Day partying?
Maybe relaxing with a couple of cold beers at the Seattle Center for Seattle International Beerfest 2008 is more your cup of tea (or imported IPA).
Andrew Huston came to Boom City looking for a blast.
Steven Mascorella (left) looks at a set of bottle rockets while Andrew Huston (right) looks at the vendor. Photo: Celeste Flint / seattlepi.com
A trip to Boom City before the Fourth of July used to be a family tradition, Huston said. But now that he has outgrown his family's Independence Day celebration, heading to Boom City to buy fireworks has become a tradition Huston can share with friends.
Located on the Tulalip Reservation, the "city" is actually a marketplace full of more than 150 sturdy wood stalls, where enterprising locals have been selling roman candles and more since the 1970s. A tradition for customers like Huston, Boom City is also a family affair for the Tulalip people who work its stalls.
Anytime bullets bend through the air, rats explode into thin air and reality is nothing more than an obsolete word, I would say it's worth a trip to the cinema.
While you won't find any deep, meaningful plot lines, you will find some amazing cinematography and an intriguing cross between a "Kill Bill" movie and "The Matrix."
From the slightly geeky hero, Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), to the beyond intense, veteran superassassin, Fox (Angelina Jolie), this flick keeps you pulled to the edge of your seat.
In the beginning it seems that the main character (McAvoy) is just a guy, living a rather unimportant life, with a horrible job and a cheating girlfriend. But when he's so low he can't take anymore he runs into an interesting group of people who either want to kill him or save him. He quickly finds out a bit of life-changing information, like the fact that he is actually a superassassin with special powers, which hurls him into the adventure of a lifetime.
Now he's training to be a killer, taking orders from a loom and soaking in a questionable healing chamber, all to become a member of a 1,000-year-old fraternity of assassins that he knows nothing about.
Wanted is definitely a great shoot 'em up film that is worth a trip to the big screen.
Interscope
American musician Beck has been arguably the most unpredictable artist of the 1990s and 2000s. His seven previous studio albums span many genre, sometimes within a single track. When Beck's eighth release, Modern Guilt, hits stores Tuesday (Beck's 38th birthday), expect yet another evolution from this ever-indefinable artist.
With high acclaim for his past two albums, Guero and The Information, expectations are high for Modern Guilt, which could mark Beck's final release with Interscope, as it fulfills his contract. Collaborating for the first time with producer Danger Mouse, who has worked with the likes of Gnarls Barkley and Gorillaz, Beck delivers a 10-track set that greatly departs from the more hip-hop infused Guero and The Information.
Modern Guilt is melodic and often as melancholy as Beck's 2002 Sea Change. However, unlike Sea Change, which seemed a clear tip to the singer-songwriters of the 1970s, Beck's newest album is without clear direction.
Hey everybody! Check it out. There is a new SPI video made for your enlightenment and entertainment by videographers from Pacific Lutheran University. Enjoy!
Think all frats are the same? Think sorority girls are stupid? See these myths debunked by local sororities and fraternities.
Kevin Durant has a new home in Oklahoma City. Getty Images
With the city of Seattle settling its dispute with the Sonics ownership over the remaining two years on the KeyArena lease today, it is now certain that the team will be moving to Oklahoma City and Seattle, for the first time in 41 years, will be without a professional basketball franchise. The first question: Who will you root for?
For those of us living in and around Seattle, there has never been such a choice - you wore green and gold and that was the end of it. However, with the less than congenial terms upon which Clay Bennett and company will be departing, it does not seem likely that many will embrace the Oklahoma City team.
My instincts are pointing south, about 150 miles down I-5, where a young Portland Trailblazers team is set to become a legitimate competitor in the Western Conference.
With Seattle-area products Brandon Roy and Martell Webster holding prominent roster spots, it would seem that the transition to Blazers fan would be easier than most.
I recently went to see Mike Myers's new film "The Love Guru", hoping I might be able to unwind and laugh a bit for an hour-and-a-half. I left the theater thoroughly discouraged. I enjoyed "The Cat in the Hat" more than this tripe.
Mike Myers as Guru Pitka holds up a dismayed-looking Verne Troyer as Coach Cherkov in "The Love Guru."
The most public controversies surrounding Myer's newest are that it is being boycotted by some Hindus for being offensive, and some Catholics are getting in on the act as well. This soon-to-be-forgotten film doesn't deserve the time it would take to protest even one of its possibly offensive qualities. Still, I walked out of the film brooding on one touchy subject: Dwarfsploitation. Little people being humiliated by big people for the sake of comedy.
I understand that dwarves have long been a fascination for average-sized people that has led them to treat their smaller peers as sideshow freaks. However, I'm no slave to tradition, and I wonder what it is about this particular form of discrimination that big people tend to find hilarious. Whatever it is, I find myself far more pleased to see films that highlight a little person's stature as a distant second to their acting abilities.
Tompkins Square
Much of today's most popular music consists of heavily layered recordings and studio mixing, so it is refreshing to hear James Blackshaw's newest release, Litany of Echoes, in which the London-based musician needs little more than a single guitar to achieve an equal depth of sound.
Blackshaw, 27, is prolific in his music composition with Litany of Echoes marking his sixth release in five years under New York indie label Tompkins Square.
Immediately apparent in listening to Blackshaw's fingerstyle guitar work is that he puts musicianship first. There's little to obstruct the resonance of his 12-string. Litany of Echoes does, however, include a sweeping backdrop of piano, of Blackshaw's own handiwork, and Fran Bury's expertise on the violin and viola. These additions complement Blackshaw's dark, classical sound nicely while never rising out of the background.
