Popcorn Shorts
Cool stuff that’s too small for a big article
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!
Help Sellwood Community House BRING BACK THE SHACK!
Development Director Elizabeth Milner at Sellwood Community House (SCH) has some big news about their May 29th “Recreation Revival” Spring Fundraiser in Sellwood Park and its goal to “Bring Back the Shack”!
“Our BIG project this year is the renovation and reactivation of the “Shack” in Sellwood Park. It happens May 29, from 7-9p, in our gorgeous Sellwood Park. With your support, SCH will revive the Shack as a hub for free, drop-in recreation this summer, as it was for generations of Portlanders before.
The Shack will serve all ages, with everything from free check-outs of athletic equipment and craft supplies to art lessons, story times, music, dance and sports. The summer will also feature evening picnics with live music, all-neighborhood tournaments, special events like “Pie in the Park” and much more.
Let’s give kids, families and neighbors the opportunity to have an amazing summer without ever downloading an app, paying a fee or completing a registration.”
Do you want to help SCH Bring Back the Shack but can’t make the event? There are lots of ways you can help support the Recreation Revival!
Make a donation: Every dollar counts! Your donations help with everything from buying basketballs and lanyard string to covering costs of training “Junior Staff” who will be starting their first jobs this summer.
Help us make the auction awesome! Do you own, work in or know of businesses willing to donate items to support SCH? We would love your help! Email allison@sellwoodcommunityhouse.org.
Volunteer! Volunteers are needed to distribute posters and flyers, spread the word, help assemble event materials and more. An extra little bit of fun… all their volunteers receive a free ticket to the event!
A look at what The Shack will bloom into
The Rollercoaster of DEATH… no, really. Literally.
(from Design and Violence) “Between 2003 and 2007, designer and engineer Julijonas Urbonas ran an amusement park in Klaipeda, Lithuania, and garnered first-hand experience in crafting situations that involve “gravitational aesthetics.” Urbonas created the hypothetical Euthanasia Coaster as—in his words—a humane, elegant, and euphoric solution for those who have chosen to end their lives… The roller coaster aims to give its riders a diverse range of experiences from euphoria to thrill, tunnel vision to a loss of consciousness and, eventually, to the end result: death…” D&V gives a good overview and thoughts from the artist, but click here to take a virtual, death-free ride.
The Big One is Coming- UPDATE
(from Washington Post) “The Pacific Northwest is ripe for a major earthquake — and shaking and tsunamis wouldn’t be the only threats from such an event, according to new research. Coastal land would also sink nearly seven feet, meaning people who survive the initial catastrophe would face severe flooding… An earthquake in the Cascadia Subduction Zone with a magnitude greater than 8.0 could cause a sudden subsidence — the sinking of land — that, paired with rising sea levels, would enlarge floodplains expanding up to 115 square miles, found the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…”
What Happened When Portland Decriminalized Fentanyl
(a very deep dive from Rolling Stone) “Although the death toll is down significantly from a peak of almost 114,000 the year before, Oregon and other Western states have lagged behind the downward national trend, making them ground zero of the decade-long fentanyl crisis. Nowhere has the social and economic impact been more acutely felt than in Portland, a proudly progressive, midsize city of more than 600,000 that not long ago was one the most desirable places to live in the country, despite stubbornly high rates of unsheltered homelessness and substance abuse..”
