When I was a kid, it seemed that everybody's mom loved Tom Selleck. More specifically, Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, PI. Even now, I'm sure the thought of Tom sitting in a fast car with his mostly-unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt revealing his hairy chest gets women over 50 all excited.

Move over, Magnum. My wife's latest theory is that Johnny Depp is this generation's Tom Selleck. It's a sound theory. We might just want to chalk it up as fact at this point. Since I heard this theory, I've tested it out. My testing is not extremely scientific. It goes something like this...

We're hanging out with another couple and I casually mention the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. More often than not, the first topic of conversation is Johnny Depp. This is followed by a dreamy roll of the eyes by the females of the group and the next subject inevitably turns to how good he looks in any role. Especially if that role entails him in period costume.

Sorry, Selleck. Depp is officially the new mom heartthrob.

Tiny horse
From the Echo-7 flickr collection.

While walking down NW 23rd, we found that some cowpoke had done tied up his mare to the sidewalk. Probably to rustle himself up some latte at Starbucks.

Here's an interesting bit of trivia we learned the other day. While watching the 1972 classic "Blacula," we discovered that the William Marshall, the actor that portrayed Blacula, was also the King of Cartoons on "Pee-wee's Playhouse."

My two year-old and I were rocking out the other day to the radio. He does a very good job at rockin'. Basically it's a cross between emphatic nodding and head-banging. This time I threw up the rock horns with the head-banging. He thought it was hysterical and tried his two year-old best to rock the horns as well.

After a little help from dad, he was able to rock out even harder. Then he wanted me to do it again because, let's face it, I'm a comic genius. "Daddy do it. Daddy do it."

I feigned ignorance. "Do what?"

"Bunny. Daddy, bunny."

One of the major pluses that MySpace has going for it is the band page. If you're an unsigned band or on an indie label, you're not cool unless you have a MySpace page. Sometimes even major label bands thrive from a MySpace page.

For example, here's the Reverend Horton Heat's MySpace page. You can listen to songs, view pictures of the band, see tour dates, read a bio, and even check out the band's blog. Not only that, but you can join as a "friend" and get updated bulletins. Plus, having the honorable Reverend as one's friend will definitely boost your rep at the playground.

Now Mr. Heat has an official band website as well, but other than merchandise and a cooler layout, it really doesn't have much more to offer than the MySpace page. I remember a decade ago when bands didn't have websites. Fast-forward five years and a band wasn't really respectable unless it had a website. Things look like they may change again.

If you're a band or an indie label, why spend a huge chunk of money on a custom website when MySpace is sitting right there? Maybe the longevity of MySpace is in question. Possibly it's the need for a custom layout. I'm not sure, but it really raises some interesting questions. At least for me it does.

If there was a soundtrack for the Rose City Rollers' bouts, it would probably have a lot of AC/DC, Motley Crue, and Quiet Riot on it. Hell, I'd buy a copy even though I have all that music already. Gotta support your local roller derby league.

Although, as observed at the after parties, it seems the unofficial music of choice for the Rose City Rollers is psychobilly. For those of you that are saying, "Billy Who?" think surf music mixed with a bit of western smotherd in punk served up by the bad element of every low-budget 50s movie ever made.

Local psychobilliers, Dead Man's Hand, rocked the last after party. I was sold when the bass player climbed up onto his tilted upright bass and proceeded to slap out some fast and hard bass lines. Rock and freakin' roll.

For more on psychobilly, please consult your local Wikipedia.

My first real show was Bad Religion at La Luna in Portland. A relatively unknown Green Day opened for them and Seattle's Seaweed took stage before them. It was a great show. One friend lost their smuggled-in chain wallet and another got kicked out for jumping on stage and playing one of the guitars. Good times.

La Luna is now gone. The building still stands in the up-and-coming LoBu (lower Burnside) neighborhood, but tour buses don't park in the back and kids don't line up around the block any longer.

In spite of all that we found ourselves in front of the old venue waiting for the doors to open on a Sunday morning. We made our way down a few stairs and through a little hallway to Simpatica. This hip, little restaurant sits quietly tucked away. The only way you'd know it was there is the small sign the owners set out on the sidewalk when the place is open.

The open kitchen, friendly staff, and amazing food made for a wonderful brunch. The only thing better than those things was the coffee. Not since Gotham Building Tavern have I been so excited for my next refill.

Even though the halls are no longer filled with blaring power chords and accelerated drum beats, the building is still rock and roll. It's just in the delectable form of food.

The latest version of the reality show "Rock Star" (the show that found INXS a replacement lead singer) is now adding a front person to a Tommy Lee supergroup called Supernova.

First off, having a SUPERgroup called SUPERnova is head-waggingly lame. Second, there's already a band called Supernova who already rock. You may recognize them as the band that did the song "Chewbacca" for the "Clerks" soundtrack. Third, Tommy Lee is a tool.

All that being said, I set a season pass on our TiVo for the show. Why? Because Portland's own Storm Large is one of the contestants on Rock Star: Supernova. Storm's band, Storm and the Balls, is known for great shows around these parts. She rocked last night's premiere episode with an impressive version of "Pinball Wizard."