Just like it says, Popcorn Shorts is about the kind of things we think are really interesting, but don’t really need a large article to explain them. From the sublime to the ridiculous, check in here for crunchy bits of info you’ll love to munch. By the way, much (but not all) of our delicious Popcorn comes from articles we’ve posted on our Facebook page. If you’re on Facebook, please stop by and “Like” us and we’ll keep a fairly-constant-but-not-frequent-enough-to-be-annoying stream of these coming to your virtual door!
Congratulations to Lu Beck!
One truly underappreciated feature of Portland is Tryon Creek State Park, the only Oregon state park within a major metropolitan area. Friends of Tryon Creek is the group organized to support the park, and Friends wouldn’t exist without the efforts of one of our clients, Lu Beck. We’d like to invite you to the Tryon Creek Trillium Gala to honor Lu and the other park founders for their work in preserving this community jewel. Enjoy dinner, cocktails, a silent auction, and socializing at Lewis and Clark College, starting at 530pm on March 15. Click here for more information.
Buy new or used? Neither. Buy wisely!
We’re frequently asked for our advice on buying used cars (and we’ve collected it all here, if you’re interested), but what about other products? If you’re out cruising the thrift shops, though, is there a guaranteed way to tell what items are golden investments and which are white elephants? Maybe not, but there are some guidelines. This article from AlterNet tells you some general categories of products that are good bets for wise secondhand investment, along with some vital pointers in each group. Good bargain hunting!
You ain’t from around here, are you?
We can all tell the difference between a Boston accent and a Georgia accent, but can you tell the difference between a Georgia accent and an Alabama one? Can you zero down to North Alabama vs South Alabama? This computer program can. It’s based on information from the Harvard Dialect Survey, and it can pick your birthplace based on your pronunciation of certain key expressions. It guessed our guinea pig correctly… can it get you too?
ALEC is on its way to a village near you
ALEC, The American Legislative Exchange Council, is one of the most dangerous perversions to ever crawl across the American political stage. Right or left, the idea that legislators should rubber-stamp bills they didn’t read, written for them by representatives of corporations we didn’t elect is deeply wrong. ALEC has concentrated on the state level so far, but their investments have paid off so well that they’re expanding to cities and municipalities. Get all the details on how affordable these smaller legislators can be here.
