There is a nice post about Beer-Evangelism over at the New School Beer Blog. It is about Ben’s attempt to show some of Portland’s finest beer offerings to people who did not necessarily like or care to drink beer. My comments are a nice anecdote to the blog post, but I’ll also copy and past [...]

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Last night I attended the Scottish Pub Sing, led by the Portland Revels, at Lucky Lab in Portland, Oregon. It was beautiful hearing everyone sing songs and while we all drank together. Having a group of people sing together like this reminded me very much of church and just further solidified in my mind that the pub is really a wonderful social center, and good beer is an important element in bringing people together.

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Stephen Hendee’s Flag of North America 2058 CE. I found this image when a friend recommended I look at the work of artist Stephen Hendee. Hendee’s work is laced with sci-fi influences, especially dystopian and doomsday genres. I think this may influence my future work.

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Some upcoming down-to-earth-science fiction includes the Leonid Meteor Shower, the utopian vision of Sam Adams Brewery and Jefferson State Brewery, and the Science Pub at McMenamins through OMSI.

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The Hopworks beer-bike is a symbol of true Pacific Northwest style utopian aspirations. The bike holds two kegs, a stack of pizza, a bar, and has a built in sound system. Hopworks will unveil this bike at their Biketobeer Fest.

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Dean’s Scene is one of Portland’s best places to drink a beer. Dean’s basement is a bar and brewery, an underground speakeasy, and you can come in whenever the neon sign is on. He’s got a few beers on tap and plenty of aging bottled beers for you to try.

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Microtopian ethos is where you sit back and enjoy life instead of striving for a larger utopian goal. Here are three examples: A quote from Henry David Thoreau work and leisure; an example from LOST about cultivating friendship; and a story about a meditation teacher who flipped someone off and wanted to feel guilty about it.

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Post-Apocalyptic movies portray the destruction of the world. Can we have a post-apocalyptic movie that shows the rebuilding phase, the hard labor, and connecting of communities instead of just ending the movie right when the world is saved or meaning is found?

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Pictures and text for the Republic of Rose Island, Republic of Rose, one of the top 5 best micronations. This nation started in the Adriatic sea off Italy. The Carabinieri reoccupied it for tax purposes.

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Over the next 2 weeks I will be posting what I find to be the 5 most interesting micronations. This post contains #4.

Name – Republic of Indian Stream
Ruler – President, Luther Parker
Location – Between New Hampshire, and Quebec
About this Micronation – A small nation that existed from July of 1832 to sometime in 1835 (although [...]

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The first of 5 posts about the top 5 most interesting Micronations. Aramoana seceded from New Zealand in 1980 and rejoined shortly thereafter.

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A new blog called The Greenwashing blog showcases pictures and videos of greenwashing advertisements, or advertisements that use “green” and environment subject matter to trick you into buying products.

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A discussion between Dolittle and Bomb 20 in Dark Star about how we perceive our reality and how what we think is our reality may not be true or the same for others. Doing what we think we need to do has effects and consequences on other people’s lives. Does this have any correlations to the utopia movie Commune?

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I went to the Bipartisan Cafe and watched the vice-presidential debates alongside about 60 other people. The cafe’s walls are filled with all sorts of US paraphanelia, flags, and a couple big Norman Rockwell posters. It was nice that everyone was coming together just to watch something on tv and this simple act was a social action that brought together a local community. If you wanted coffee you had to get yourself either the Biden blend or the Palin blend. I thought that was a fun addition.

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The M.O.S.T. was a collaborative arts group that discovered Mostlandia, a place that operates on friendship and love. I attended their last event, a wake for the founding members.

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