AltWeeklies Wire
'Tattoo Machine' Explores the Secret World of Inknew
More gossip rag than technical primer, Tattoo Machine owes as much of its existence to the author's skill with a needle as it does to his storytelling chops. While Johnson's penchant for philosophical diatribe grates, the man has both great stories and the writerly candor to tell them.
Willamette Week |
Caitlin McCarthy |
07-22-2009 |
Nonfiction
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden Defends His Health Plannew
Wyden has taken a lot of heat over his proposal to resolve the health care crisis from unions and others on the left, who want a public option in any reform. But Wyden's Healthy Americans Act focuses instead on blowing up the link between health insurance and employment. The bill would give workers their health benefits in the form of a pay raise (along with a tax cut for most on that pay increase), making them responsible for going out and buying their own insurance.
Willamette Week |
Henry Stern and Mark Zusman |
07-08-2009 |
Politics
Service Animals Are a Big Bone of Contention in Grocery Storesnew
Grocery stores are on a short leash when it comes to excluding pets deemed by their human companions to be service animals, because animals are considered service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified for that function by a state or local government.
Willamette Week |
Megan Brescini |
07-08-2009 |
Animal Issues
Michael Bay Pimps His Transformers Ridenew
The sequel to 2007's Transformers is measurably better, simply by virtue of its utter commitment to spectacle.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
06-24-2009 |
Reviews
Facebook Revolution: Iran's Opposition Internetnew
During mass demonstrations in Tehran last week, the Western press couldn't stop writing about how protesters were using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to organize demonstrations, spread news and share videos of street battles. In this case, the hype was true.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
06-24-2009 |
International
Fourteen Fascinating Things from the Investigation of Portland's Mayornew
Behind the report Oregon Attorney General John Kroger released regarding the investigation of Portland Mayor Sam Adams' relationship with Beau Breedlove is an extraordinary amount of detail even the casual observer should find fascinating.
Willamette Week |
Nigel Jaquiss, Beth Slovic and James Pitkin |
06-24-2009 |
Politics
Schoo's Out Forever At Two Oregon Jailsnew
Mount Hood Community College -- the community partner that has led GED classes at Inverness Jail and the Multnomah County Detention Center for nearly 10 years -- is ending its GED program as it grapples with a tight budget.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
06-17-2009 |
Crime & Justice
How Oregon's Largest Teachers Union Helped Shape Charter Schools Billnew
Online charter school supporters have obtained emails between a lobbyist for the state's teachers union and an Oregon Department of Education staff attorney. Those emails, they say, show that the lawyer for the ostensibly neutral state agency tinkered with a bill to serve the union's interests and contradicted written instructions from Oregon State Board of Education chairman Duncan Wyse.
Willamette Week |
Nigel Jaquiss |
06-17-2009 |
Education
'Treeless Mountain' is an Exception to the Sentimental Rulenew
Korean-American director So Yong Kim's semi-autobiographical film has a premise especially ripe for mawkishness. But it evades schmaltz, in no small part because the Korean actresses themselves are so resolutely dry-eyed.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: So Yong Kim, Treeless Mountain
Post-'Multiplicity' Michael Keaton: Sadder, Wisernew
The Merry Gentleman is nearly an excellent three-way character study of isolation and regret within the confines of a muted crime plot. But Keaton, as superb as he is with actors (most likely owing to his being an underrated actor himself), doesn't have the directorial delicacy to balance it.
Willamette Week |
Alex Peterson |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
Matt Gone Hated His Ailing Body ... Then He Drew On Itnew
Gone says 98 percent of him is tattooed, the only exception being his palms and gums because it would be painful and difficult to tattoo both areas. So, is he just an attention whore? Decide for yourself, but realize that without his tattoos, Gone says his life would be lonely.
Willamette Week |
Katie Litvin |
06-17-2009 |
Culture
Ali Sethi's Debut Novel is a Hitnew
For anyone wishing to write about Pakistan, a well-developed perspective is essential. Auspiciously, the perspective in The Wish Maker is its great victory.
Willamette Week |
John Minervini |
06-17-2009 |
Fiction
Zach Galifianakis Is the Best Bro at a Memorable Bachelor Partynew
The Hangover's plot sounds disturbingly like quintessential bro cinema. Only something funny happens on the way to a routine Hollywood man-comedy: Phillips gives a comedic genius his first big break and rediscovers the lost art of screwball.
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
06-03-2009 |
Reviews
Oregon Episcopal School's Headmaster Resigns After Racy Emails Surfacenew
The headmaster at Oregon Episcopal School resigned Monday after suggestive emails he sent from his work account to another man circulated among parents.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
06-03-2009 |
Education
A Portland Company Is Building a House You Can Heat with a Blow-Dryernew
Root Design Build's Shift House, a project that has the potential to change the way the Northwest (and maybe the United States) thinks about green architecture, packs a lot of innovative technology, but one thing you won't find in it is a furnace.
Willamette Week |
John Minervini |
06-03-2009 |
Housing & Development
