IT IS HAPPENING!

This is just a quick update for the now – More to follow soon.

Rally and Press Announcement at the Downtown Portland, OR Hilton regarding Major League Soccer and the Portland Timbers!

9:30AM on Friday 3/20/2009

Rose City ‘Til I Die!

Rose City Till I Die: Bringing Major League Soccer to Portland

One of the things that drives me is a sense of community. I am a proponent of people making connections, and in doing so expanding their knowledge base, and ability to move through this complex world that we live in. Personally I don’t care how people accomplish this, whether it is through networking online, or joining clubs, and groups, or if it is a combination of the two. Community is an important aspect of all our lives.

One of the communities I belong too is one that I am very proud of. I am proud of it because it encompasses so many different social strata, and creates a bridge over gaps that many traditional groups or organizations could never hope to. This community could easily be written off by the uninformed for one reason, and that is the catalyst to this groups success is based on a sports team. If you haven’t guessed I am talking about the Timbers Army, the supporters group for the Portland Timbers Football Club.

You see when I tell people that I am a member of the Timbers Army, and that we are a group dedicated to supporting the pride of the Northwest I will sometimes get a response that makes me feel I am somehow marginalized by my love of sport. This response makes me wonder just why the knee jerk reaction to a group as diverse and unique as the Timbers Army.

In the TA I know Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Socialists, and Anarchists. I know Christians, Muslims, Deists, Agnostics, and atheists. I know Police officers, Fire Fighters, business men, college students, warehouse workers, artists, musicians, journalists, there is even a film critic or two running around in the North End of PGE Park during the Timbers season. There are people representing every race, and every sexual orientation. The young and the old, people that drink….a lot, and people that don’t drink at all. It is diversity at its finest, and its most focused, and it is in support of one thing we all love, and that is soccer, and our Portland Timbers!

Our love of the Timbers translates into another love. The love of this city that we call home, the City of Roses, the Bridge City, Rip City, Stumptown, whatever you want to call it we love Portland, Oregon. Our pride in the city is shown in many different ways, and we take great pride in the activities we do in support of this great town.

The Timbers Army has participated in Habitat for Humanity on several occasions; we donate to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. We have done tree plantings. Currently we are now starting to gather as many blankets for the homeless as we can. There are many charities that the Timbers Army works to promote, and donate to, and we take pride in that.

Our civic mindedness also lends itself to hospitality. In 2005 the Portland Timbers were host to Sunderland AFC currently of the English Football Premiere League, though then they were in League Championship. Sunderland’s traveling supporters flew over and the Timbers Army took the visiting contingent under their wings providing the Sunderland supporters with everything a visitor to this city could possibly want. The bond forged by the TA and the Sunderland supporters is so strong based on one simple act of community, that now Timbers Army members traveling to the United Kingdom are welcomed into the homes of the Sunderland fans based solely on the fact that the Timbers Army, and Sunderland got along so well. The community bond we share is such that the Timbers Army has donated to charitable organization in Sunderland, and has relieved international press for these actions.

The Timbers Army is known for their scarves. The green and white is highly recognizable, and a common site around Portland. 4000 scarves have been sold by hand, in person for $8.00. 4000! Not bad for a group that started out with 15 members in 2001. There are pictures of the scarves being held up in front of palaces, monuments, landmarks, and statues all around the world. The Timbers Army scarf can be found on every continent, and there is one at the bottom of the ocean! Timbers Army travelers to the 2006 World Cup in Germany were recognized by their scarves, and many new contacts have been made based on the lucrative scarf trade.

The Timbers Army has been featured in the foreign press, I wish I had a link to show you the German glossy magazine that featured the Timbers Army. Timber Jim the recently retired mascot, whom we of the Timbers Army love and adore, was featured in Fourfourtwo, which is considered by many to be the best football related magazine in the world. In short people the world over know who the Timbers Army is, they know who the Portland Timbers are, and they know about the City of Portland. All because of our love of a sport,

You may be asking why I am writing this. In September of 2008 the owner of the Portland Timbers announced that he was throwing his hat in the ring to bring the Portland Timbers into the American top flight Major League Soccer. This is a move I heartily endorse. Over the past few weeks a task force made up of citizens from Portland weighed, and debated the risks to bring MLS to Portland. The plan hinges on $85 million in bonds provided by the city to build a new stadium for the AAA baseball club that is also owned by the Timbers owner Merritt Paulson. In order for MLS to allow Portland into the league, the baseball team can no longer play at PGE Park, as they want Soccer Specific Stadiums only.

Much has been written, and you can find the details on the plan online I will post links at the end of this post.

Again I heartily endorse this plan. I am a proud Portlander, and I have thought l long and hard on this subject. I would be among the first to say pull the plug if I truly thought that bringing the MLS to Portland would be a cause for concern. I understand the economy is failing, and that there is no end in the near time. That is why I think this will work. The companies, and cities that invest in the future by pushing against the recession, and by doing anything that puts people to work, instead of curling up and hiding will be the cities that lead our country in the coming years. When the recession ends, Portland can be one of those cities that took a step forward while everyone else stepped back, and the rewards outweigh the risk 1000 times.

I am also writing this because I worry that should the city council not approve Major League Soccer the Portland Timbers will no longer exist past 2011. The United Soccer Leagues to which the Timbers currently belong to has no Division 1 teams closer to Portland then Austin, TX as the Vancouver Whitecaps have by all accounts been approved to joint the MLS in 2011. The USL does not have the infrastructure to maintain a nation wide league, but Major League Soccer does. Should the Timbers fold, then this wonderful and diverse community that I have embraced 107% could be gone, and that would be a tragedy for not just myself, and the other members of the Timbers Army, but for the city of Portland as well.

The loss of a community made up of civic minded individuals, that are diverse in all aspects of life, and bonded by love of city, sport, and team is unthinkable, and in my mind unacceptable. The Timbers, and the Timbers Army are very much part of the fabric of this city. Soccer, and its supporters are as Portland, as Powell’s Books, craft beer, and grass roots organizations. The Timbers and the Timbers Army are in many ways all that is good about Portland. I for one am a stronger, and more well rounded individual for being a part of it. I have wept, and laughed, and cheered with the Timbers Army. I have helped organize, and taken part in amazing demonstrations and displays of love with the Timbers Army. I have received their support and encouragement from them. My horizons have been widened, and my love of this city has been bolstered. I take more pride in Portland because I am TA, and I express my love and pride by doing what I can to help the city however I am able. The TA are my brothers and sisters, and I have come to love and cherish my time with them.

Major League Soccer will bring the opportunity to showcase the pride of the Northwest, Portland. It brings with it jobs, for construction workers, the service industry at a time we need to see jobs happening. It will help keep people working as we see the economy get pulled from this recession, and when the economy stabilizes and Portland is marveled at for it’s long term thinking I would like to invite you all to join me in singing.

I’m Rose City till I Die
Rose City Till I Die
I know I am, I’m sure I am
Rose City Till I Die!

Some Links:
MLStoPortland Official Site
True Fan Blog, with links to articles and details about the plan
The Timber Mill
Finnegan’s Wake
MLStoPDX Grass Roots Organization
The Offside Timbers Blog
MLS Rumors
Major League Soccer Talk

BREAKING NEWS AS OF 3/7/2009

KGW Straight talk aired Sat. 3/7/2009 Video on the right side of page. Featured debate/discussion with Timbers owner Merritt Paulson, and Portland Attorney, William Glasgow

Tales From the Earhole!

I finally did it! I got over my loathing of the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor….Well almost.

Growing up I was like many children, and prone to horrible ear infections. I never went very long before my poor ears were being abused by microscopic little buggers that liked to chew on the interiors of my ears. Unfortunately for me, the doctors that I was going to as a young lad were seemingly incompetent, their inability to ever suss out a way to keep my ears from becoming a feasting ground for micro-organisms eventually left me mostly deaf in one ear. Not that the doctors should take all the blame, but I still feel that had they removed my adnoids and tonsils, as was recommended many of my problems may have been avoided…maybe….That’s all in the past now, and best forgotten.

Instead of taking the long route through this story let me truncate it a bit. Doctors couldn’t fix problem as youth. Hearing in left ear was going away at a horrific rate around 17 years old. Bloody discharge one day at work was alarming enough for me to go to Doctor, where they discovered hole in ear drum. Doctors never prescribed anything for hole in ear drum…which I always thought was odd. 12 years of leaking ooze, and obnoxious smells in sinuses finally broke me down enough to go to Doctor again, where I find that had the doctor that found my perforated ear drum actually done more then say, “yup there is a hole,” I wouldn’t have lost any hearing, and I would not be going through what I am now.

Basically it is this. The hole in my ear drum became covered in skin. Skin as it is want to do, dies, and sheds. Dead skin cells began filling my ear drum, where skin is not meant to reside. The skin begins to erode the bones of the ear drum, and in advanced cases the skull….that’s just crazy right there! The only way to take care of this problem is through surgery. The skin growing into the ear drum is called a Cholesteatoma http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholesteatoma Basically the surgeon had to pull out 12 years of dead skin, which had become a mass infection. I imagine that it wasn’t pleasant…

Why did I wait so long to have this process done? Surely I can’t blame the doctors for putting off getting something like this looked at can I? You are right, I can’t. Though I feel that the medical profession did drop the ball, I ultimately bear much of the responsibility in not getting myself taken care of. Part of it was about money, the other part is a lack of faith in the medical field, and another part is that I am a total jack ass when it comes to taking care of myself. Guilty as charged.

I am on the road to recovery now, and hopefully, after this awful packing that they put in my ear drum is removed, I will have regained some of the hearing that I had thought lost forever. I am hoping for that outcome for sure. I hope that if anything there is a small lesson in this. Best not to let dead things build up in your ear hole.

Many thanks to Galvin, and Chris for picking me up from the hospital and watching me shamble about in my drug induced stupor the other day. Good times!

UnboxingTake Five Videos 2.0

I really love my job! I meet interesting folks, I see top of the line technology as it is developed, I travel to events that many people I know would kill to attend, and most importantly I have access to some pretty wicked equipment.

When I was hired by Intel to help develop the Take Five Videos site I was asked to put together an equipment list, which I did, and what I ordered worked great, except for when it got broken, thanks for that TSA. At the end of the year I was given leave to set up another run of equipment, and just for fun, and because every now and then I like to geek out, I decided to do an unboxing. So without further ado, let me introduce you to:

Intel Software Network’s Take Five Video 2.0: Electric Boogaloo

The above picture is of the pallet....a whole pallet....of awesome that arrived on Wednesday!

Visit my Take Five Videos Unboxing Photo Set on Flickr

If you have any questions, comments, or advice about the equipment I use please feel free to get in touch, I love talking shop!

Now if you'll excuse me I've got some Kino Flos that are begging for a little attention.

 

 

So What the Hell Should I Write About?

 This is a problem that I’m sure most if not all writers need to overcome. What to write about? What is compelling, exciting, intriguing, and fun as well as informative that I don’t mind taking the time to convey?

Well I have no answer for anyone, much less for myself. Since writing my senior thesis short film almost two years ago I have not worked on writing a single screenplay, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to scrub out the old brain pan and maybe take some time to reaquaint myself with the noble art of writing again. Whether that be in screenplay format or in blog form, I will write again…..

What I need is a little help getting kick started again. It has been so long since last I really wrote anything (more then 140 characters, thanks Twitter) my grammar has gone to hell, but more importantly my ideas seem stale and in need of a refresh. What advice can you give me that may help restart my engine?

I hope to start working on writing more screenplays again, and also become a bit better at this whole blogging thing & with your help I’ll succeed!

Tommy Incopero RIP

I have not updated my blog for awhile. Part of that has to do with I wasn’t sure exactly how I wanted to use my blog, and an uncertainty as to where I might go with it. I am still trying to figure that out as I go, but I will be making a couple posts in the next few days to get up to speed with it.

The rest of this blog is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend Tommy Incopero. I met Tom in South Lake Tahoe in 2000. The time in which I met Tommy was an interesting time in my life. Mainly due to the influence of a guy named Opie, who is kind of a legendary punk from Riverside, California. Tommy and I became the “keepers” of Opie, constantly trying (unsuccessfully) to keep him out of trouble, and by doing this we ended up becoming very close friends.

Many nights Tommy and I spent prowling Tahoe, and Reno where we made some good friends, and got into endless amounts of trouble, mostly booze inspired. We got an apartment together in Reno, eventually it became known as Tom & Jerry’s House of fun, and it became a hang out for many of the Reno punks. Good times, and bad times happened in that house, and no matter which way the times went they were always memorable. 

Tom and I were always able to have a laugh, and always enjoyed taking the piss out of each other whenever opportunity presented itself. No one could make me laugh harder the Tommy, and his unique perspective on life, and his imitations of the people are some of my fondest memories. Eventually the heavy drinking, and sleepless lifestyle took its toll on me, and I left the House of Fun so I could pursue classes at the local college. I got so busy that I didn’t get a chance to see Tommy all that much, but we talked on the phone, and tried to hang out whenever possible.  

The last time I saw Tommy in person was in 2004, right before I left Reno to go to school. He was standing outside Jimboys Tacos on Wells Avenue, and I happened to run into him. We talked for a little while, and I went back to my apartment to finish packing.

Tommy was the closest thing I had to a brother, and it was a terrible shock to learn of his suicide just a couple of weeks ago. I had talked to him on the phone a few times, and the last I had heard was that he was doing alright, though his drinking hadn’t slowed down at all. Tommy’s death is a terrible tragedy, as he was one of the people that inspired so many to do what they dreamed of doing, and was always ready to lend support to those that might need it. Unfortunately Tommy never looked for support when he was in need.

The fact that Tom will never be there to make those around him laugh, or to lend support to his friends breaks my heart. Tommy was a one of a kind individual, and those that knew him are better for it. To the most loyal, funny, and interesting person I have ever known Rest In Peace Tom Incopero, you will be forever missed.

http://flickr.com/photos/27081799@N02/2549471364/

1978-2008

 

 

Oh Great, Another %&$^ing Blogger!

So hello and welcome to my blog. To be honest I never, ever, ever, thought I would write those words. To me blogging had always seemed to be a bit narcissistic, a part of this “look at me I am a pretty pony and a precious snowflake” mentality that has been prevalent in my generation.  What changed that says to me blogs may serve society? To be honest, I did.

Of course you all know the power of the blog; otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this…if anyone actually is. You all have seen that in many different forums the blog is a powerful tool for spreading agenda, rhetoric, gossip, ideas, and most important, and intriguing to me, information.

It is that last bit that has brought me into the world of the blogger. I want info, and I want to be able to impart things that I learn or know to others. It is the single greatest part of this medium, and I want to be a part of it, because the last thing I want is to be out of the loop, it is bad enough that for the most part I’m obsolete, I don’t want to be ignorant, and obsolete.

My promise to you is this; I will post things that I know, I will try to entertain, and I will do my best to not just be a blogger with a blog that means nothing….Oh, and I will revisit grammar so that anyone reading this does not have to wade through the murky woods of dangling participles, and misplaced comas.

So now you might ask, “What does this guy have to offer that would make me want to read his stuff,” The perfect answer to that is I don’t know. In my mind I’ve led a fairly interesting life, and have picked up some pretty good things to know along the way. I’m sure much of that will come out in my blogs. I’m here to pass on things I know, or am learning in the hopes that it will come in useful to someone, and to learn new things for myself as I go along.

Here is a quick bio of me. I am 28 years old; I live in Portland, Oregon. I have traveled the west coast extensively, and I am looking forward to adding the east coast to my list of travels very soon. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Film and Video from the Art Institute of Portland, where I focused on lighting. I’ve worked on something like 45 or 50 short films, numerous music videos, and a good amount of Electronic News Gathering. I also worked on 2 Feature Films in the Grip department, “Train Master” and ”Follow the Profit”. At the moment, and hopefully for another 6 months or longer I work at Intel shooting videos for the Take 5 site that they recently put together. I am also producing a feature documentary called “Amazing Grace” which chronicles the history and tradition of Fire and Police Department Bagpipe Bands. 

Alright so that is me in a very tiny nutshell. If you follow along with this blog, you’ll get to know me more, and I look forward to learning, and sharing with all who read this.

See you on the blog side