AltWeeklies Wire
Sarah Vowell Makes Pilgrims Piss-Pants Hilarious in Her Latestnew
The book is two parts extensive review of key Pilgrim documents -- like the letters and journals of John Winthrop, Roger Williams and John Cotton -- and one part humorous, anecdotal stories of Vowell's experience researching the topic.
Willamette Week |
Whitney Hawke |
10-08-2008 |
Nonfiction
Tags: Sarah Vowell, The Wordy Shipmates
'The Life & Times of Tim' is the Only Good New Show on TVnew
This is one of the more quintessentially HBO shows to air on the cable network in a while: Its style is highly specific, and it's designed to appeal not to a common denominator in comedy viewing but to people who are looking for the opposite.
Willamette Week |
Daniel Carlson |
10-08-2008 |
TV
Russ Feingold on Where He's Agreed with McCain ... and Disagreed with Obamanew
Feingold talked with WW about his disagreements with Obama over FISA, which granted immunity to telecoms participating in Bush's eavesdropping program. He also talked about how being forever associated with McCain as a result of their pioneering campaign finance reform law is nothing like having the name of an ex-girlfriend tattooed on your biceps.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
10-08-2008 |
Politics
The Trucked-Up Politics of NAFTAnew
Backed by some of America's most powerful unions, Democrats Barack Obama and Jeff Merkley -- who's challenging Sen. Gordon Smith -- say they want to protect U.S. jobs by reforming international trade deals such as the 14-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. We go to Mexico to see what it's doing there.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
10-01-2008 |
Business & Labor
That's Bill Maher in the Spotlight, Losing His Religion.new
The catechism running through the movie is the question of who is more annoying: God or Bill Maher?
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-01-2008 |
Reviews
Jared Mees' Songs Have Humble Beginnings, But Grand Finalesnew
Mees' songs grow out of the hook, but sheer viral catchiness isn't what he seeks from them: He wants songs you relate to right off the bat.
Willamette Week |
Brandon Seifert |
10-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Unzipping the Mysteries of 'The Big Penis Book'new
Edited by Dian Hanson, the oversized, flesh-colored tome is a treasure trove of every big dick that ever worked the streets of smut, porn or anything that called for the services of someone with an unnatural growth between their legs.
Willamette Week |
Byron Beck |
10-01-2008 |
Original Work
Meet the Oregonians for McCain After Backing Clintonnew
A search of campaign records turned up seven such people. Together they've given McCain just 0.4 percent of the $920,444 he's raised here. But the fact that their existence points to a problem for the Obama campaign that runs deeper than a handful of bitter donors in one blue West Coast state.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
10-01-2008 |
Politics
'Choke' is More Like a Group-therapy Sitcom Than a Movienew
Choke may be an adaptation of a Chuck Palahniuk novel, but it actually has a number of influences: It is predictably indebted to Fight Club, it intentionally carries echoes of The Last Temptation of Christ, and—probably less deliberately—it feels a lot like the TV show My Name Is Earl.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-24-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Choke, Clark Gregg
Former Team Dreschy Kaia Wilson Talks About Her Solo Albumnew
Wilson, legendary frontwoman of Team Dresch and the Butchies, launched her newest solo album four months ago, but the CD-release show has lingered till this week, and her upcoming tour is as part of Amy (Indigo Girls) Ray’s band.
Willamette Week |
Jay Horton |
09-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Godmakesmonkeys, Kaia Wilson
The Fli Boiz are Portland's Cool Boys with a Twistnew
The duo's uncanny resemblance to the Cool Kids, two '80s-enamored MCs from Chicago who have recently hit the big time, is difficult to deny. But where the Kids avoid the bling of hip-hop's hedonistic side, the Boiz embrace it.
Willamette Week |
Sarah Moskowitz |
09-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Fly Bois
Tres Strikes for Sen. Gordon Smithnew
How an undocumented immigrant worked at Smith Frozen Foods for nearly a decade.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
09-24-2008 |
Immigration
Paul Auster Builds an Elaborate Fantasy to Reflect on Real-life Lossnew
The first sentence of Brooklyn novelist Auster's new book reads like Proust channeled through Kafka: "I am alone in the dark, turning the world around in my head as I struggle with another bout of insomnia, another white night in the American wilderness."
Willamette Week |
Matt Buckingham |
09-17-2008 |
Fiction
Tags: Man in the Dark, Paul Auster
Chuck Klosterman Attempts Fiction in 'Downtown Owl'new
The standard complaint about Klosterman as a pop-culture essayist is that he is a literary slacker, stubbornly quotidian: He can write about the familiar with fresh insight, but he refuses to write about anything other than the familiar.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-17-2008 |
Fiction
Tags: Chuck Klosterman, Downtown Owl
The Prodigal Critic Returns with a Movie About His Dating Disastersnew
David Walker defined the job of Willamette Week screen editor with his lacerating judgments. When he left the paper in 2006, he turned his critical eye on himself--and emerged with Damaged Goods, his first full-length movie and a bilious examination of singles desperately seeking romantic affirmation.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-17-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Damaged Goods, David Walker
