The following council members of the Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture are currently running for board positions within the PGC3. Each nominee was asked to rank the importance of certain issues within the PGC3 and then to expand on that ranking. If you are a voting council member, please review the platforms below before you vote. Thank you!
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Meet the 2013 Board Nominees
PDX Spotlight: Wonder Northwest
If you’ve ever hoofed it around downtown Portland and wandered over towards Powell’s on Burnside & 10th, there’s a really good chance you’ve gazed into the window of Billy Galaxy, Portland’s very own vintage toy store. Lining the windows, cabinets and walls of this store are age-old plastic memories that dare even the stodgiest onlooker to not let out a little sigh of nostalgia. Since 1995, if you wanted a trip down the memory lane of your childhood toys, Billy Galaxy has been the shop to enter. But the evil genius behind this storefront has bigger plans for Portland. This month, our fair and awesome city will play host to a brand new pop-culture convention called Wonder Northwest. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s not too surprising since this is the first year, but it promises to be a fantastic expo of all things geeky.
Portland's biggest pop-culture-splosion, Wonder Northwest is less than two weeks away!
According to the website: Wonder Northwest is an amalgamation of pop-culture subcultures. Here you will find regular folks co-mingling with super heroes, pirates, geeks, nerds, cosplayers, film enthusiasts, gamers and other nice people! Our vendor room will feature comic books, toys, video games and more from some of the best dealers from across the country. Contests, panels and other special events will be open for all attendees to enjoy. Conveniently located in the heart of Portland with easy access to PDX (Portland International Airport), public transportation, nearby restaurants and other attractions.
Because the show is less than two weeks away, the PGC3 thought it would be quite apt to speak with the organizer of the show, Billy Galaxy.
PGC3: Billy, thanks for taking the time to do this. Now, you are actually a member of the Portland Geek Council of Commerce & Culture. For those who don’t know who you are and what you do, what is your role in the group?
BILLY GALAXY: My personal role in the PGC3 is a minor one – a participant or spectator or cheerleader or something like that. On the other hand many member organizations of the PGC3 are involved with Wonder Northwest on some level. The event itself is a sort of microcosm of the organization.
PGC3: What made you decide to organize your own pop-culture convention here in Portland?
BG: The geek scene here and most other places seems to me very clique driven and divisive, which to me is the antithesis of everything that is awesome about geekiness. I think there is more cross pollination between sub-cultures than a lot of people involved in them realize. Plus, Portland is such an awesome town and is home to so many businesses and fans that support this sort of thing. It’s about time that Portland has the convention that it deserves.
PGC3: What can attendees expect to see at Wonder Northwest?
BG: I think that attendees, no matter what kind of geeky subculture that they are into can expect to see something that is of interest to them.
PGC3: Are there any other events happening outside of the actual convention that are partnered with Wonder Northwest?
BG: The Portland Zombie Walk is now in Northeast Portland and on the Saturday of the show. We specifically gave Saturday a bit more of a horror bent for these undead attendees. The after-party that night is going to be to be held at a new horror themed bar called Lovecraft. Critical Hit Burlesque is putting on a Geeklesque event at the Bossa Nova Ballroom which will be our Sunday night after-party. Ground Kontrol is also hosting an after-party after dealer setup on Friday night as well.
PGC3: What in the lineup are you most excited to see come to fruition?
BG: I think (Multnomah County Epidemiologist) Dr. Amy Sullivan’s panel on the spread of zombie plague has the potential to be great. Cosplay Karaoke I am sure will turn into an annual fan favorite – I mean, how can it not be awesome!?! I don’t feel like we have any content that is filler at all. Every one of the panels and presentations should be good.
PGC3: Is this show something that you see continuing in Portland for years to come?
BG: Once this first one is all done, we will pretty much immediately get into organizing Wonder Northwest 2012. Hopefully there will be significant growth in both size and content between this year and next!
PGC3: Sounds like it’s going to be a great start and we wish you and Wonder Northwest the best of luck. The PGC3 is psyched to be part of the con!
Wonder Northwest takes place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on May 14th & 15th. The Crowne Plaza Hotel is located at 1441 NE 2nd Avenue in Portland, close to the I-5 freeway and conveniently located near the Convention Center max stop.
If you’d like to see more about Wonder Northwest, make sure to visit the website where you can purchase your attendee badge (for only $6 per day or just $10 for the whole weekend), check out the panels, and see all of the events that are scheduled for the show.
CONTRIBUTOR: Kyle hosts a bi-monthly podcast about giant rubber monster movies from Japan called the Kaijucast, and that’s pretty damned nerdy.
Godzilla Kingdom Of Monsters Issue One Review
CONTRIBUTOR: Kyle hosts a bi-monthly podcast about giant rubber monster movies from Japan called the Kaijucast, and that’s pretty damned nerdy.
THIS IS A SPOLER INCLUSIVE REVIEW OF GODZILLA KINGDOM OF MONSTERS ISSUE #1
Ooh, check out the tail on that one! I do my best to give a fair review of the first issue of IDW Pulbishing's Godzilla Kingdom Of Monsters.
If you have not read this issue, or do not want to find out what happens in this issue, do not read any further! (You have been warned…)
Synopsis: As two children are playing on the beach of a small island located off the coast of Japan, Godzilla rises from his slumber under the sand. The giant behemoth moves into the interior of the island, trashing the city in the process, causing massive destruction and hundreds of casualties. The Japanese Self Defense Force scrambles a squadron of fighter jets in a futile attempt to stop the beast. Of course, all this does is make the monster angry. Japan escalates its tactics and attempts to destroy Godzilla with a nuclear missile. As the smoke clears, the monster appears not only undamaged, but is now able to unleash a fiery blast from its mouth. Meanwhile, across the globe, the president of the United States is weary from his battle with his public image as an aide informs him of the unbelievable horror that is transpiring in Japan.
If you have heard episode #30 of the Kaijucast, you’ll know that I received my review copy of Godzilla Kingdom Of Monsters upon my return from Emerald City Comicon. The excitement of seeing the IDW address on the return label was a little intoxicating. All I had seen from the first issue had been small previews of bigger pages and a couple of inked pages (sans dialogue). It actually made getting through my work day pretty difficult, knowing that the comic was ready to engage my eyeballs as soon as I “clocked out” and made it home.
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This content was originally blogged at Kaijucast. Opinions expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the PGC3 at large.
Man Or Astro-Man? returns to Portland
Man Or Astro-man? performing at the Middle East Club in Cambridge MA, 15 Nov 2010 (Photo by Chris Devers)
I hope you are a geek. I hope you appreciate overt and subtle geekery on multiple levels. I hope you like incredible, highly energetic live music. I hope you are still reading this because I’ve got something to share with you about a band. Actually, that’s kind of misleading because the group of individuals I am referring to isn’t just a band; I’m talking about the Sci-Fi Surf Rock juggernaut otherwise known as Man Or Astro-Man?
To quote their backstory:
Man or Astro-Man? arrived/crash landed (whatever you wish to call it) in a small college town in Alabama some years ago. Realizing that in order to integrate into human society, they would have to downplay their true identities and take on aliases, most conveniently in the form as students. Studying industrial design and film, the group began formulating a mode in which to learn more about their new earthly environment. They soon became attracted to pop culture, they decided that the cliche of a being a rock band would provide a perfect vehicle in which to traverse the globe and further their research. Full integration into Earth society would thus commence for what was soon to become known to the world as Man or Astro-Man?
Now they have reunited after ten(ish) years in cryogenic hibernation and they are going to blow the pressure-suits off of Portland later this month. Clearly, I am excited for this show. When I moved to Portland, they were the first band I saw when they played at Satyricon back in 1996. The combination of the small venue, jam-packed crowd and the explosive action of what was happening on that tiny stage hooked me right then and there. It isn’t just a show about music, it’s a visual and aural treat as they streak through their original songs and covered material set to imagery and video clips from classic and obscure science fiction films. So outside of backstory, outside of the scifi audio tidbits tossed into their albums, how do I convey to you that these guys crank their geek knob up to eleven?
When they returned to Portland the following year to play at La Luna. Their stage show started with a visual presentation. Did anyone out there have those Read Along Book-And-Record sets? The ones that say “You’ll know it is time to turn the page when you hear the chime, like this” (insert wind chime sound)? The audience that evening was treated to the audio from the Star Wars book set to a hilarious video of the original 3 3/4″ action figures acting out the condensed version of the first film. Man Or Astro-Man? immediately appeared afterward and cleaned house. It was so amazing that when I found out they were coming back to PDX, I couldn’t NOT spread the word.
If you haven’t heard of this band before, you really owe it to your inner geek to check them out. What better way to do that than by joining the ranks of astro-heads at the Doug Fir Lounge on Wednesday, February 23rd for what is sure to be an amazing show. I hope you go, I hope you enjoy it and just make sure you stick around for the Tesla Coil.
The Doug Fir Lounge is located at the northeast corner of the Jupiter Hotel property at the intersection of East Burnside & 9th Avenue. The doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $16 on the day of the show.
SUGGESTED READING:
We Have Signal feature from Alabama Public Television
CONTRIBUTOR: Kyle hosts a bi-monthly podcast about giant rubber monster movies from Japan called the Kaijucast, and that’s pretty damned nerdy.