AltWeeklies Wire
Old People Are Worthwhile! (Well, At Least They Are in 'O'Horten')new
O'Horten sets out to disprove an equation that young folk calculate each time we see an old person eating a tuna melt by themselves, paying bus fare in nickels, or filling a shopping basket with single serving soup cans and cat food: elderly + alone = depressing.
The Portland Mercury |
Allison Hallett |
06-19-2009 |
Reviews
'Year One' Tries (and Fails) to be a Monty Python Movienew
Harold Ramis has had a hand in some seriously great comedies -- Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day -- but, lest we forget, he was also responsible for Club Paradise and Stuart Saves His Family. Year One might be better than either of those movies, but not by much.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
06-19-2009 |
Reviews
'We Did Porn' Peeks Behind the Curtain of the Alt-Porn Industrynew
Oh, pornography. Progressives still get turned around. Does it victimize women? Reinforce impossible sexual expectations? Cheapen intimacy? In his new book, Zak Smith cuts to the crux of the confusion: "The most hideous thing about pornography, of course, is that it works. On you."
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
06-19-2009 |
Nonfiction
Kate Hopkins Creates a Boozy Travelogue with '99 Drams of Whiskey'new
Hopkins is an entertaining storyteller, which works in a book dedicated to a storied beverage. Moors, alchemists, gangsters, and politicians all show up in whiskey's history, and Hopkins' language lends fullness to the characters responsible for its mystique.
The Portland Mercury |
Patrick Alan Coleman |
06-19-2009 |
Nonfiction
My Brief Encounter with Portland's Swinger Communitynew
I find myself at the front door of a modest-sized home on a unseasonably warm night in late May, notebook in hand, ready to attend my first swinger party. After a knock, a cordial middle-aged couple who host about one party a month, open the front door and greet me. She is wearing a green visor with the phrase "Penis-Centric" written across the brim.
The Portland Mercury |
Matthew Vollono |
06-19-2009 |
Culture
Bank Sit-Downs Could Prevent Foreclosure Scamsnew
How can Oregon prevent 14,000 foreclosures? Sit-downs.
The Portland Mercury |
Sarah Mirk |
05-07-2009 |
Economy
Katherine Dunn's New Book Collects the Best of Her Essays on Boxingnew
Renowned Portland author Katherine Dunn talks to the Mercury about the unjustly maligned sport of boxing.
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
05-07-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
When Polar Bears Attack ... You!new
Here's how you can try to live through the polar bear invasion -- even though, to be perfectly honest, you probably won't survive, so nice knowing you, I guess.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
05-07-2009 |
Animal Issues
Tags: humor, polar bears
Music's Biggest Party Reflects a Shifting Music Industrynew
The music industry is shrinking, but there are more bands than ever before, and more ways to hear them. A report from the frontlines of SXSW.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
03-26-2009 |
Music
Tags: music industry, SXSW
No Bologna: An Interview with 'Knockemstiff' Author Donald Ray Pollocknew
It's hard to believe that the town of Knockemstiff, Ohio, really exists, but it's even harder to believe that some of these nasty creatures crawled from Donald Ray Pollock's head.
The Portland Mercury |
Paul Constant |
03-26-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Delve Even Deeper into 'Watchmen' with 'Tales of the Black Freighter'new
Not content with his three-hour-long, hyper-dense feature, director Zack Snyder has executive-produced two supplemental short films for DVD, both based on material absent in Watchmen, but present in the comic books the film is based on.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
03-26-2009 |
Reviews
'The Cake Eaters': Not as Interesting as Cakenew
The Cake Eaters is another well-intentioned indie drama you don't need to see.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
03-26-2009 |
Reviews
The Green Card of Doom: 'Crossing Over'new
Crossing Over tries to make us feel bad about the unfair difficulties of becoming a US citizen, and also to make us remember how everybody in the world wants to become an American because, by golly, we're terrific! But if this movie is any indication, we're actually self-righteous, pompous bores.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
03-26-2009 |
Reviews
Stop Sign Law Goes Back for Amendmentsnew
Oregon's proposed Idaho Stop Sign Law got its first hearing before the House Transportation Committee in Salem last week, and appears to be becoming a political lightning rod for tension between bicyclists and car drivers.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
03-26-2009 |
Policy Issues
Portland's New Accounting System Costs Extra $3 Millionnew
A delay in the implementation of a new payroll system could cost the City of Portland an extra $3 million, in a year when budgets are being slashed across the board and the city is struggling to pay for even basic services.
The Portland Mercury |
Matt Davis |
03-26-2009 |
Policy Issues
