The Week of August 24-31

The Week of August 24-31

Wednesday August 24

7-9pm Pete Krebs Trio at Morrison Street Hotel

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Morrison Street Hotel Bar (719 SE Morrison St, Portland)


9-12pm Pete Krebs and the Portland Playboys
Drinking Age Only Please, 21+
Jack London (529 SW 4th Ave, Portland)

Thursday August 25

6:30-8:30pm Portland Playboys at Duff's Garage

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Duff's Garage (635 SE 7th Ave, Portland)

7:30-11:00pm Thursday Swing 

PPAA (618 SE Alder, Portland)

7:30 Beginning Swing Drop-in Lesson

8:30 DJ'd Music by Brenda and Stefanie

Friday August 26

Saturday August 27

Sunday August 28

3-6pm Workshop with Peter Flahiff
Scottish Rite (1507 SE Morrison, Portland)
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=259116867437071



6:00-8:00pm Stolen Sweets at Duff's Garage

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Duff's Garage (635 SE 7th Ave, Portland)

7-11pm Sunday Swing

Scottish Rite (1507 SE Morrison, Portland)

7:00 Beginning Swing Drop-in Lesson

8:00-11:00pm DJ'd Music

http://www.stumptowndance.com/

Monday August 29

6:30-8:30pm Beginning to Beyond Beginning Swing with Josh and Emily McLaughlin

Wimbledon Square (2837 SE Colt, Portland)

6:30 Drop-in Lesson

7:30-8:30 Dance Practice

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138845799520031

7:30-9:30pm Guided Swing Practica

Lower Melody Ballroom (615 SE Alder, Portland)

http://www.stumptowndance.com/

9-11pm Kung Pao Chickens

Drinking Age Only, 21+

Laurelthirst Public House (2958 NE Glisan, Portland)

Tuesday August 30

7:30-12:30 Tuesday Blues

Lenora's Room (615 SE Alder, Portland)

7:30 Intermediate Blues Lesson

8:30 Beginning Blues Lesson

9-12:30 Dj'd Music

7:00-11:00pm Weekly Summer Swing

McMinnville Grand Ballroom (325 NE 3rd St, McMinnville)

7:00-8:00 Beginning Swing Lesson

8-11:00 DJ'd Music

Wednesday August 31

7:00-9:00pm Pete Krebs Trio at Morrison Street Hotel

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Morrison Street Hotel Bar (719 SE Morrison St, Portland)

Upcoming Events!

September 2-5 Camp Balboa Seattle (Seattle, WA)
September 11 12th Ave Hot Club Live at 7th Anniversary of Stumptown Danxe
September 29 Bridgetown Sextet at the PPAA (618 SE Alder, Portland)

October 12-16 Sun Valley Jazz Festival (Sun Valley, ID)

November 25-27 Brenda Russell and Steven Mitchell Dance Workshop - Lindy/Blues/Waltz (Portland, OR)

Portland Lindy Hop Events August 10-17

The Week of August 10-17

Wednesday August 10

6-8pm Izzy and the Catastrophics at Duff's Garage

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Duff's Garage (635 SE 7th Ave, Portland)

7-9pm Pete Krebs Trio at Morrison Street Hotel

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Morrison Street Hotel Bar (719 SE Morrison St, Portland)


9-11:30pm Izzy and the Catastrophics at Kenton Club
Kenton Club (2025 N. Kilpatrick St, Portland)

Thursday August 11

6:30-8:30pm Portland Playboys at Duff's Garage

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Duff's Garage (635 SE 7th Ave, Portland)

7:30-11:00pm Thursday Swing 

PPAA (618 SE Alder, Portland)

7:30 Beginning Swing Drop-in Lesson

8:30 DJ'd Music

Friday August 12

Seattle Lindy Exchange!


6-9pm Anna Paul and the Bearded Lady at Secret Society
Secret Society Ballroom (116 NE Russell Ave, Portland)

Saturday August 13

Seattle Lindy Exchange!

7:00-11:00pm Vancouver Swing with Jenny Finn Orchestra 

Pop Culture (1929 Main Street, Vancouver, WA)

7:00 Beginning Swing Lesson

8:00-9:00 DJ'd music

9:00-11:00 Live Music

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=248084795204264

Sunday August 14

Seattle Lindy Exchange!

7-11pm Sunday Swing

Scottish Rite (1507 SE Morrison, Portland)

7:00 Beginning Swing Drop-in Lesson

8:00-11:00pm DJ'd Music

http://www.stumptowndance.com/

Monday August 15

6:30-8:30pm Beginning to Beyond Beginning Swing with Josh and Emily McLaughlin

Wimbledon Square (2837 SE Colt, Portland)

6:30 Drop-in Lesson

7:30-8:30 Dance Practice

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138845799520031

7:30-9:30pm Guided Swing Practica

Lower Melody Ballroom (615 SE Alder, Portland)

http://www.stumptowndance.com/

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140435732703503

9-11pm Kung Pao Chickens

Drinking Age Only, 21+

Laurelthirst Public House (2958 NE Glisan, Portland)

Tuesday August 16

7:30-12:30 Tuesday Blues

Lenora's Room (615 SE Alder, Portland)

7:30 Intermediate Blues Lesson

8:30 Beginning Blues Lesson

9-12:30 Dj'd Music

7:00-11:00pm Weekly Summer Swing

McMinnville Grand Ballroom (325 NE 3rd St, McMinnville)

7:00-8:00 Beginning Swing Lesson

8-11:00 DJ'd Music

Wednesday August 17

7:00-9:00pm Pete Krebs Trio at Morrison Street Hotel

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Morrison Street Hotel Bar (719 SE Morrison St, Portland)

Upcoming Events!

August 28 Workshop with Peter Flahiff (Scottish Rite, Portland, OR)

September 2-5 Camp Balboa Seattle (Seattle, WA)

October 12-16 Sun Valley Jazz Festival (Sun Valley, ID)

November 25-27 Brenda Russell and Steven Mitchell Dance Workshop - Lindy/Blues/Waltz (Portland, OR)

Growing the Book Collection

I was sad for the book community upon hearing the news that Borders was going out of business.  Personally, I'll quite likely feel the loss very little:  Barnes & Noble had already driven Borders out of my immediate area and works rather well as my primary bookstore (with Powell's as a farther, more adventurous option).

However, the closing sales at Borders has given me the opportunity to go a little crazier buying books and open myself to new authors and ideas.  I'm financially able to buy a variety of books from authors I haven't read yet in the SFF section and explore a fresh section of the store: the History Section.  My last trip to Borders yielded a hefty collection of books that are remarkable in their variety.

A Sampling of History:

• The American Civil War
• The 1920's
• Modern Day Kabul

New SFF Authors:

• MD Lachlan
• Michael Stackpole
• Stacia Kane

Review: Dead Iron by Devon Monk

Dead Iron By Devon Monk
Roc Trade, July 2011
Genre: Steampunk, Alternate History


From the Back of the Book:

Welcome to a new America that is built on blood, sweat, and gears…

In steam age America, men, monsters, machines, and magic battle for the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, bounty hunter Cedar Hunt rides, cursed by lycanthropy and carrying the guilt of his brother’s death. Then he’s offered hope that his brother may yet survive. All he has to do is find the Holder: a powerful device created by mad devisers-and now in the hands of an ancient Strange who was banished to walk this Earth.

In a land shaped by magic, steam, and iron, where the only things a man can count on are his guns, gears, and grit, Cedar will have to depend on all three if he’s going to save his brother and reclaim his soul once and for all…

My Thoughts:

Dead Iron was a fun mix of Steampunk and Magic set in the middle of the Oregon Gold Rush.  The story throws you right into the flow of things with a minimum of back story and explanations.  The details of the world and the characters is revealed organically when the story itself depends on those details.  The story begins at a slow burn and builds into a wild flurry of action.

Each of the characters is something that we've seen before: Evil Faerie trying to return home from Exile, Witch seeking revenge for the death of her husband, Good Faeries guarding the human realm, Werewolf searching for his brother and a cure etc.  However all of these character arcs are woven together in a new and thrilling way.

Dead Iron is the start of a new series and I definitely am looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Written as Part of the Speculative Fiction Challenge

Other August Reviews from the Speculative Fiction Challenge

Review: The Ritual by Adam Nevill

The Ritual by Adam Nevill
Macmillian, May 2011
Genre: Horror


From the Back of the Book:

And on the third day things did not get better. The rain fell hard and cold, the white sun never broke through the low grey cloud, and they were lost. But it was the dead thing they found hanging from a tree that changed the trip beyond recognition.

When four old University friends set off into the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle, they aim to briefly escape the problems of their lives and reconnect with one another. But when Luke, the only man still single and living a precarious existence, finds he has little left in common with his well-heeled friends, tensions rise.

With limited fitness and experience between them, a shortcut meant to ease their hike turns into a nightmare scenario that could cost them their lives. Lost, hungry, and surrounded by forest untouched for millennia, Luke figures things couldn’t possibly get any worse.

But then they stumble across an old habitation. Ancient artefacts decorate the walls and there are bones scattered upon the dry floors. The residue of old rites and pagan sacrifice for something that still exists in the forest. Something responsible for the bestial presence that follows their every step. And as the four friends stagger in the direction of salvation, they learn that death doesn’t come easy among these ancient trees . . .

My Thoughts:
I don't read much horror but I was excited for this book because I won it from one of the monthly giveaways for the Speculative Fiction Challenge. I read The Ritual in one sitting. The first half of the book was, for me, everything a horror story should be. It was suspenseful, chilling and scary.  The unseen monster in the woods was made real enough that I wouldn't want to go hiking for a while.  If you had asked me at that point I'd have said that I'd be sleeping with my light on that night.

Once the point of view character is brought out of the woods, the fear and suspense that maintained the atmosphere of the book faded away into shocky confusion.  The point of view character is injured and week and under the control of people serving the monster that chased him and his friends through the woods but he still feels safer inside than in the woods.  The narrator relaxes into confusion and a drug induced haze. And if the narrator isn't as scared neither am I as the reader.

I think that The Ritual suffered for the author's need to explain what happened.  I was much happier with the mysterious entity in the dark and being left wondering whether the narrator died or made it out to safety.  However, the ending did allow for a more complete character arc and a more pronounced transformation in the  narrator.  It also gave the time and space for the comforting realization that the scary thing in the dark can be killed.  Those facts didn't redeem the ending for me but they did damp some of the disappointment.

I really enjoyed the first half of The Ritual.  If that's all there was to the book, I could whole heartedly recommend it to anyone that enjoyed horror but for me the lack of clarity in the second half didn't work and it took away from my appreciation of the first half.  For me as Horror this book failed: I went to sleep in my fully dark room and I fell asleep just fine.

Written as Part of the Speculative Fiction Challenge

Other August Reviews from the Speculative Fiction Challenge

The Week of August 3-10

The Week of August 3-10

Wednesday August 3

6:30-8:30pm Stolen Sweets at Lewelling Park

Lewelling Park (9750 SE Stanley Ave, Milwaukie)

6:30-8:30pm Pete Krebs Trio at Morrison Street Hotel

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Morrison Street Hotel Bar (719 SE Morrison St, Portland)

Thursday August 4

6:30-8:30pm Portland Playboys at Duff's Garage

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Duff's Garage (635 SE 7th Ave, Portland)

7:30-11:00pm Thursday Swing 

PPAA (618 SE Alder, Portland)

7:30 Beginning Swing Drop-in Lesson

8:30 DJ'd Music

Friday August 5

Saturday August 6

Sunday August 7

7-11pm Sunday Swing

Scottish Rite (1507 SE Morrison, Portland)

7:00 Beginning Swing Drop-in Lesson

8:00-11:00pm DJ'd Music

http://www.stumptowndance.com/

Monday August 8

6:30-8:30pm Beginning to Beyond Beginning Swing with Josh and Emily McLaughlin

Wimbledon Square (2837 SE Colt, Portland)

6:30 Drop-in Lesson

7:30-8:30 Dance Practice

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138845799520031

7:30-9:30pm Guided Swing Practica

Lower Melody Ballroom (615 SE Alder, Portland)

http://www.stumptowndance.com/

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140435732703503

9-11pm Kung Pao Chickens

Drinking Age Only, 21+

Laurelthirst Public House (2958 NE Glisan, Portland)

Tuesday August 9

7:30-12:30 Tuesday Blues

Lenora's Room (615 SE Alder, Portland)

7:30 Intermediate Blues Lesson

8:30 Beginning Blues Lesson

9-12:30 Dj'd Music

7:00-11:00pm Weekly Summer Swing

McMinnville Grand Ballroom (325 NE 3rd St, McMinnville)

7:00-8:00 Beginning Swing Lesson

8-11:00 DJ'd Music

9:00-11:30pm Jitterbug Vipers in the Knife Shop
Drinking Age Only, 21+
Kelly's Olympian (426 SW Washington, Portland)
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106229059479372

Wednesday August 10

7:00-9:00pm Pete Krebs Trio at Morrison Street Hotel

Drinking Age Only Please, 21+

Morrison Street Hotel Bar (719 SE Morrison St, Portland)

Upcoming Events!

August 12-14 Seattle Lindy Exchange (Seattle, WA)

August 28 Workshop with Peter Flahiff (Scottish Rite, Portland, OR)

September 2-5 Camp Balboa Seattle (Seattle, WA)

October 12-16 Sun Valley Jazz Festival (Sun Valley, ID)

November 25-27 Brenda Russell and Steven Mitchell Dance Workshop - Lindy/Blues/Waltz (Portland, OR)