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 necessarily 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!
Just another day… until the Portland Beardsmen showed up
A client came into the shop recently with an unusual question… “Hey, do you know why there’s a bunch of bearded guys in tutus up at the corner?” The answer turned out to be the Portland Beardsmen. “Our two fundraising efforts are Beards and Roses and The Rose City Beard and Moustache Competition. Beards and Roses (BnR) is our annual Mother’s Day flower delivery. Dressed in tutu’s, Beardsmen deliver flowers to mothers, grandmothers, loved ones, and coworkers all over the Portland metro area. This is the 7th year for BnR. Sponsors help us provide the flowers, chocolates and other small gifts, and 100% of the profits will be donated to Breast Friends.”
20th Annual McMinnville UFO Festival (PHOTOS)
From The Oregonian- “Tens of thousands of extraterrestrial fans clad in tinfoil hats and bug-eyed alien masks packed the 20th annual McMinnville UFO Festival… The festival, hosted by McMenamins Hotel Oregon, began in 1999 as a way to honor the Trent Photos taken in 1950 by local McMinnville farmer Paul Trent. The photos showed a floating flying saucer image in the sky over his property. The iconic images were featured in The Oregonian, Life magazine and scores of other publications and later started an investigation by the U.S. Air Force… The event was topped off with a UFO parade through downtown that flooded the streets with a variety of aliens from across the universe.” Here’s what you missed…
3.5% can change the world… non-violently
Political rebellion takes a variety of forms, from the armed rebellion of the British colonies to the pacifist resistance of Ghandi. But what works, and what works best? Political scientists at Harvard University, surprised that no one had rigorously compared the success rates of nonviolent versus violent protests, decided to take a look. Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan analyzed 323 violent and non-violent campaigns from 1900-2006. They found that nonviolent campaigns were twice as likely to succeed as violent campaigns, and led to political change 53% of the time compared to 26% for the violent protests. They found much more, and some fascinating reasons behind the data. Well worth the read!
Bible classes… coming soon to a public school near you!
Multiple Supreme Court decisions have upheld the basic precept that public schools are not the place for religious education, yet one also said “Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment.” State-level bills promoted by Project Blitz, an effort of the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, are trying to drive a camel-load of Bible education through the eye of that needle. And though it’s just as duplicitous and underhanded as you might imagine, it’s still worth reading about.
