Of the morbid, the musical, and the magical.

Don't forget to watch this Sunday's episode of Outlook Portland on The CW, when I'll be talking about Portland's own Lone Fir Cemetery. A truly fascinating place, The Lone Fir has a million stories contained within its ground...and ten of them have been turned into songs on the just-released Dearly Departed: True Lies in Song Unearthed From the Lone Fir.

We'll talk to Kate Sokoloff, who produced the above-mentioned CD, and we'll have a live performance from Adam Shearer & Adam Selzer...who have created a beautiful song about Dr. James Hawthorne.

All that, plus Becky Oswald, who heads the Friends of the Lone Fir Cemetery.

That's Outlook Portland---Sunday at 6:30am, on The CW...don't miss it!

Currently playing : Left 4 Dead Release date: 2008-11-17

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Jesus God---KILL IT WITH FIRE!

From listener Tony (and many, many others)---more proof that nature is slowly, but certainly, gearing up to kill us. Someone get me Vasquez!

Click for the horror.

Currently listening : Stay Hungry By Twisted Sister Release date: 1990-10-25

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Thanksgiving, Theater, and The Shield.

First off: yes, we will be on vacation Thursday and Friday. Ritchie has created some actual "best-of" programs (instead of the usual cobbled-together crap that stations pass off as highlights) that will air over the next two days. We'll be back next week, rested and revivified, ready to take on the week. So, have a safe and merry Thanksgiving; best to you and yours, and we'll see you on Monday!

The hour-long broadcast will contain two 25-minute radio plays---each the first "chapter" in an ongoing, serialized story, to be continued in subsequent weeks:

The first play, A.Z. (After Zombies), takes place in modern-day Portland, Oregon, with one crucial difference: the zombies have come, bringing death, bringing despair, and putting humanity's very existence at risk. A small group of determined survivors must fight starvation, the elements, and each other---knowing that the price of failure is the extinction of the human race. You'll never view the dark, rain-slicked streets of the Rose City the same way again.

The second play, The Crimson Mist, is also set in Portland, but this time it's Portland circa 1943. Crime is rampant, corruption is epidemic, and only one man stands between our fair city and the grip of evil---The Crimson Mist. Written in the style of such classic superhero serials as Doc Savage and The Shadow, The Crimson Mist is a return to the elements that defined the radio adventure series: bold, courageous heroes (and heroines!), sinister villains, crackling, fast-paced dialogue, and the satisfying -though suspenseful- triumph of good over evil.

And finally, what can I say about the series finale of The Shield that hasn't already been said? Suffice it to say that though no one saw that resolution coming, in retrospect, it couldn't have ended any other way. It was, simply, a heartbreaking and merciless final chapter. Well done, Shawn Ryan.

Listener Seumas says it better than I ever could:

"First and foremost - Shawn Ryan is an evil bastard and has no soul and is a genius.

Second, I think we all need a few days to process what we just saw, but I have to purge a few things to a fellow Shield fan or else I'll never be able to sleep. I tried to avoid rehashing the show and focus on the moments and my reaction to them, which I'm sure was shared by many.

If you can only read a couple parts, be sure to read the very bottom for the following sections. Sorry it's so long. I just spent almost 90 minutes writing this.


+ WE WANTED A DARK ENDING!
+ THE VERY END
+ THE AUDIENCE
+ THE CREDITS
+ AFTER THE SHOW


== SHANE ==
Shane played his surrender card with no success. Then tried to play the
dirt on Vic, which backfired. Vic cruelly eviscerated him and reduced
him to tears by threatening to be close to Shane's children while he and
his wife were in prison. It was clear that Shane was tipped over the
edge, but I thought he was going to run and leave a note to his wife. It
wasn't until he left the asian girl with a wad of 20s and a kind word
that the anticipation of a knife twisting in the gut by Shawn Ryan
started to build. Then the single shot from the bathroom. You knew it
was bad if there was only that shot.

Initially, I felt relief. For all Shane's ills, he was no worse than
Mackey. He only ever followed his lead and was, to his own detriment,
loyal to a fault. Loyal to the team, to the point of killing Lem to
protect it (as Vic did to Terry for the same reason). Then to Vic, until
he and Ronnie tried to kill him. Then to his family when it was all he
had left. At least it was over for him. And then it sets in just before
the camera pans to the bed with his wife on it. And most painful (I
can't believe they did this on television), his dead son peacefully laid
out with his new toy car in his hand.


== VIC'S FAMILY ==
Once Vic realized his wife was working against him, I thought everything
was on the table. I was ready for him to stop caring and go ballistic as
a result. Nothing to live for, without his wife and kids, right? Hell,
the money train was all about financing his autistic son's care. And I'm
sure much of his internal rationalization for his evil deeds laid on the
premise of all being for his family. And for the rest of the show, he
just wanted to say goodbye to his kids. It never happened. Another twist
of that knife.

His kids... clearly screwed up for life. By the way, how much does his
daughter look like him? Shave her head and put her in a spin-off with a
butch-lesbian-strike-force where she vowes to return to Farmington and
be the righteous cop her dad never was. I can't think of a name for the
show, though. :)


== RONNIE ==
Stuck by Vic and trusted him to the end. To his own detriment. The only
strike member to do time (presumably for life). Vic tried to warn him
twice near the end, but clearly not hard enough. He could have run so
many times, but Vic wasn't done using him.


== VIC ==
First, how much did his lack of tears tell us? Everything he was
confronted with and ... nothing. His wife betrayed him. He'd never see
his family again. He betrayed Ronnie. Shane killed himself. He even saw
the photos. All of this and you could see the intensity and possibly
guilt welling up inside of him. You were ready for anything. You could
feel the rumblings before a major quake. Sh** was going to go down. And
in the end, the most he did was ripped a camera from the wall. Never any
tears. He may have felt like shedding them - but they didn't come. They
didn't exist.


== WE WANTED A DARK ENDING! ==
We wanted Vic dead. Or in prison. Or at least on the run for his life
and freedom. What Shawn Ryan did was oh SO much worse. They used his
deal against him. No heroics or busts in his future. Just three years of
pencil-pushing crime analysis. Not even in an office. Or a cubicle. Just
a little desk with a couple half-walls where he doesn't even have
control over the temperature or the light.

Vic won't stand for this desk-jockey crap. He's too proud and cocky.
He'll do something awful before he'll sit at a desk. Or he'll trade
himself for Ronnie. Or he'll go out in a blaze of glory. He'll trade one
final shining moment over three years being nobody. He'd even rather do
time than be at a desk, right? At least inside he can network and scheme
and run things. A man who used to be cheered since day one in the barn
is not going to slink away softly without a whimper to a corner of a fed
building where they don't even want to talk to him -- telling him to
send his reports by office memo.

But then we discover the truth about Vic. Something we hoped against,
but really knew all along. IT'S ALL ABOUT VIC. A list of people -- many
who counted on him -- paid for his sins. Or were dragged into the deeds
themselves. Everyone gone, dead or in prison. Except Mackey. Safe and
sound. Just has to keep his nose down and live with himself over a desk
for three years. And by god, it looks like he's content to do just that.


== THE VERY END ==
Vic pulling his gun from the lockbox in the dark office by himself.
After what seemed like an hour of silence and self contemplation. For a
moment, we know Vic is too proud. He's going out on his own terms. A
bullet to his own head. Like Shane.

But then a smirk. Stands up. Packs the gun away. Goes home for the night.

So, through it all, Vic can live with himself. Does he have regrets and
guilt? Clearly everything that happened to those around him affected
him. Just not enough for Vic not to be number one in his own world.
That's all that matters. Vic's punishment isn't death. Or prison. Or a
last minute heroic effort to save his friend.

Vic's punishment is to live with Vic and all he's done.


== THE AUDIENCE ==
Shawn and Chiklis have said repeatedly that they are stunned at how the
audience supports Vic and stand by him regardless of his evils. It would
have been so easy to let the audience off the hook by making Vic pay in
one way or another. Some final conclusion. Some clear form of justice.
We all walk away with a clean break.

Instead, EVERYONE suffers and EVERYONE pays. Except the worst guy of
all. He suffers a few painful blows, but in comparison, it's all good.
Vic has to live with himself and his betrays. AND SO DO WE. No clean
break. We were all complicit. We are all guilty of rallying behind Vic
through the worst. And our punishment is living with the same past that
Vic will live with and knowing we had a hand in it.


== THE CREDITS ==
The credits were a fond look back at the show, but they darkened, until
we saw a frame of Lem near the end followed by Shane, Vic and Ronnie
saluting Lem's grave. All the while, the song they played talked about
following the man to the end, with all his charms. What a beautiful,
fitting, perfect song to end the series with.

== AFTER THE SHOW ==
What is the VERY FIRST COMMERCIAL that played after the credits ended?

HAIR CLUB FOR MEN -- hah! Much needed comedy relief. Phew."

Currently listening : The Capitol Years By Frank Sinatra Release date: 1990-12-13

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Outlook Portland-----Bacon, Foodcarts, Bacon, Dive Bars, and Bacon

Don't forget to watch this Sunday's episode of Outlook Portland on The CW, when I'll be interviewing The Willamette Week's Kelly Clark and Ben Waterhouse (Arts & Culture Editor and Asst. Editor, respectively.)

We'll be discussing trends (both good and loathsome) in the Portland restaurant scene; we'll also talk about cheap eats, comfort food, secret culinary shame, and the glory that is our current bacon renaissance.

That's Outlook Portland---Sunday at 6:30am, on The CW...don't miss it!

12:50 AM - 8 Comments - 9 Kudos - Add Comment

On the horizon...

Join us today, when we'll talk to Dorothy Cascerceri of The National Enquirer. We'll also be joined by our good friend Chris Patyk, who will count down the Top Five Chipmunk songs that aren't "The Chipmunk Song." Really.

Plus: a Geek Watch, a Clown Watch, and more selections from the Muzak 60th Anniversary CD.

And don't forget...we're live all next week. (And why wouldn't we be? We're interviewing Tony Freaking Bennett!)

Currently listening : The System Has Failed By Megadeth Release date: 2004-09-14

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Catching up...

By popular demand, here is the link to the website for Baconnaise (from the guys who brought you bacon salt.) I love this country.

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Back today...

Alright...enough is enough. Today, we return with a new, live show. (We'll have a best-of recap hour from 10am-11am, and then the live program kicks off immediately after.)

Today, we'll follow up on Tim's excursion to Las Vegas, we'll talk with Lisa Desjardins for the first time since the election, and we'll count down the Top Five Songs That Would Accompany a Car Chase if My Life Were a Movie. Seriously.

PLUS: We'll talk with CNN's Soledad O'Brien, who'll be talking about her upcoming special, CNN Presents: Escape from Jonestown.

We're back today...so join us at 11am!

5:29 PM - 5 Comments - 5 Kudos - Add Comment

And guess what? He can pronounce "nuclear."

Thanks to everyone who came out to The Rick Emerson Show's Political Party on Tuesday night.

Full recap coming Wednesday at 11am.

And goodnight.

9:41 AM - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Zombies, Poltergeists, Transvestites, and You.

Don't forget, new episodes of Outlook Portland resume this Sunday on The CW. Yes, the network behind Gossip Girl has entrusted me with an actual television program.

Join me on the 26th for a special Halloween-themed show, as I welcome Blanca Garcia-Rinder from the Portland Zombie Walk, as well as Lawrence Johnson of the Clinton Street Cabaret (who put on Portland'sRocky Horror Picture Show performances.) We'll also talk to Portland Walking Tours about the spookiest, most frightful places in our fair city.

All that, plus you'll get to enjoy my moderate-to-decent photogenicity...before HD television shatters that illusion, as well.

Outlook Portland---Sundays at 6:30am on Portland's CW. Whether you're waking up early or still going from the night before...don't miss it!

Currently listening : Fuck It We’ll Do It Live Release date: 2008-11-11

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Rick Emerson’s Political Party---Coming Tuesday, November 4th!

It's an election year like no other, and we're giving it the finale it deserves. Rick Emerson's Political Party happens Tuesday, November 4th, 7pm-10pm, at Grand Central Bowl (8th and Morrison in beautiful Southeast Portland.)

Join us, along with Willamette Week and The Oregon Bus Project, for real-time election results, reactions, and a live, on-site broadcast by News Director Tim Riley.

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