blog fodder

Because we like to be a nice, good community newspaper (but mainly because it is National Disaster Preparedness Month; thanks Katrina!) we'd like to pass on this little opportunity press release we received in our inboxes to all you Eugeneans in need of a cause (because there are oh so many of you out there).

The Zombie Squad has arrived in Eugene!
The Zombie Squad is forming a chapter in the Eugene/Springfield area. We are looking for volunteers to assist in wiping out the scourge of the walking dead, to educate the public about the importance of personal preparedness and self reliance, and to increase its readiness to respond to a number of disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis (or zombie outbreaks).

The press release continues after the jump.

While we wait for Built To Spill's return to the WOW Hall on Sept. 19, we have amusements to keep us occupied. Like Built To Spill JAMS!, a pixel-pushing online b-ball game, which cleverly plays off the idea of "jam bands," "jock jams," "to jam (as in dunk)" and all set to BTS's latest jams off the record You In Reverse.

Who says bearded white men from Boise can't block your jump-shot?

GET YOUR GAME ON HERE.

From a press release sent to EW on July 30, 2008.

August 4-12, nearly 1,200 members of the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) will gather in Marcola, Oregon at the Willamettans nudist resort, to celebrate this year's convention theme "Here Comes the Fun."

I'm a little confused on the theme here. OK, so I just arrived at the convention. I've unpacked my two bottles of sunscreen. Finally stripped to my birthday suit after many long and sweaty and clothed hours driving out to Marcola. I step out of my RV and see a big banner that proclaims "Here Comes the Fun!" and so I smile a little, thinking maybe the message is directed towards me. But then by the sixth morning, when I step out of my RV with a slight headache from all the mint juleps I drank the night before while chatting up a fellow nudist on the bocce ball court, and see that banner, won't I think maybe the fun has already arrived, that it's been here for quite some time, and that maybe I'm just not getting it until ... finally ... it hits me: Holy Moly! It's a play off of a Beatles Song! Because, you know, I'm a 55 year old retired chiropractor and former Flower Child who thinks the Beatles were, like, the Kings of Rock and still are the Kings of Rock. My life comes back into focus. I finally feel a bit ... you know ... mature for being able to enjoy this resort without desiring anything more than a good game of shuffleboard and many hours cooking my wrinkled, melanoma-kissed skin in the dry hot heat by the volleyball courts.

Well, while writing out this scenario I wasn't aware that the R-G took this same press release and turned it into a feature story. But, now that I've read that piece, I'm mostly thinking of the guy they quoted in their Aug. 5 article:
"You can't bowl totally nude, you have to wear shoes," said Chicago area resident George Morrison, 75, who drove his RV about 2,000 miles to make the first day of the convention on Saturday.

Hmmm, driving RVs (that get less than 10 mpg) over 2,000 miles across the country to attend a convention in the nude ... it just makes me proud to be an American, really.

Let's endure some more freedom!

I've been saving this calendar submission for the oft-hoped-for chance to post it to our blog so that everyone may see the raw product I sometimes (begrudgingly) have to work with to churn out your much-beloved calendar and nightlife listings. I even attached a little Post-it note to remember why I had it pinned to my bulletin board.

Stay tuned for further instructions on What NOT To Send or Tell The EW Staff to get your event/show/reading/dance/etc. listed (and possibly publicized) in our pages and online. Also there'll be something about Proper Press Release/Info Submission Protocol, but first we'll have to scratch some burning itches.

Jamaicans and Canadians to visit the Lane County Fair