Gossip Should Have No Friends

[July 23rd, 2008] TWO-WHEEL REEL: Portlanders Carl and Sharon Jameson , creators of The Bicyclist, an online sitcom inspired by Stumptown bike culture that’s filmed mainly in PDX, are taking their show from cyberspace to the silver screen. Sharon told Scoop they’ll begin filming a feature-length adaptation Aug. 2. Be prepared for cameos from locals like the Recyclery, Tour de Crepes and Sauvie Island. Right now, The Bicyclist can be seen only online in four- to eight-minute episodes (check it out at thebicyclist.tv), but the show has been gaining international traction in blogosphere. “We like to keep our message simple,” Sharon says. “Get on your bike and ride.” Look for the big-screen Bicyclist at film festivals next year.

FIGHT CLUB: Just what your 12-year-old mall rat needs! The Ultimate Fighting Outlet inventory is dedicated to the increasingly mainstream—and ever-so-fashionable—world of mixed martial arts. Recently, co-owners/MMA devotees Chris Oliver and Kevin Finn bulked up their baby-sized kiosk at Clackamas Town Center into a full boutique in the bowels of Lloyd Center (904 Lloyd Center, 281-4898). Their maul shop for MMA maniacs is full of merch, including T-shirts from Triumph United, sponsor of bruisers like Kimbo Slice and Mayhem Miller. They’ve also got fight gear and the latest on your favorite MMA’ers, including PDX’s own Team Quest . First a pirate store, and now this. What’s next, Lloyd Center, Zombies R Us?

HOT LUNCH: Sick of your workaday sack lunch? Every Friday in July, PDX Contemporary Art (925 NW Flanders St., 222-0063) has been serving lunch in its gallery. The smorgasbord’s in honor of Kinda of Like a Buffet, PDX’s vaguely food-related group show featuring artists Molly Vidor, Joe Macca and Vanessa Renwick, among others. When Scoop stopped by they were offering a quirky potluck of pasta, potato salad and other homey vittles. This Friday, July 25, is PDX’s last free chow line so if you wanna join in just contact the gallery before you drop in for a bite.

CORRECTION:There were errors in last week’s Scoop about Disjecta’s new digs in the Kenton neighborhood. The OLCC never directly issued any sanctions against the longtime arts nonprofit at its previous locations. Back in 2002, director Bryan Suereth was personally cited on criminal charges of selling liquor without a license for the art-and-music shindigs he threw at Disjecta’s original North Russell Street location. All charges were dropped or dismissed. “There wasn’t anything like Disjecta [back then], and the OLCC didn’t have anything in place to deal with that kind of entity,” Suereth says. Since 2003, Disjecta hasn’t had a problem with the OLCC. The brief also asserted that the nonprofit had been “plagued with anemic community support.” Suereth says Disjecta’s public support has never been in question, noting that it raised the third-largest amount of money of all the nonprofits featured in WW’s 2006 Give!Guide. “It’s not the money,” he says. “[The problem has been] finding the appropriate location to build the infrastructure that’s sustainable.” Here’s hoping they’ve found that at the Kenton space.