AltWeeklies Wire
'Tropic Thunder': When Satire Goes Badnew
Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Tom Cruise all play parodies of recognizable Hollywood types—the lunkhead, the coke fiend and the unscrupulous executive—but who exactly is Tom Cruise in the position to lampoon? This is a satire of movie-industry excess constructed by the very people made fat and happy by that industry.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
08-13-2008 |
Reviews
Bark Hide and Horn Debuts With Sprawling Sing-along Diary 'National Road'new
Inspired by singer Andy Fergeson's large collection of vintage National Geographic magazines, the record narrates the supposed adventures of Melville Bell Grosvenor, editor of the mag from 1957 to 1967 and grandson of Alexander Graham Bell.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
08-13-2008 |
Reviews
VJ-turned-archivist Dan Woods Tapes Men That Make the Whole World Singnew
The Ponyrock zine founder as compiled the ultimate indie rockumentary with no background in journalism or filmmaking. Then again, the unaffiliated press shouldn't land a chat with James Murphy in the first place. Nor Sonic Youth. For Kraftwerk, the New York Times should doubt its chances.
Willamette Week |
Jay Horton |
08-13-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Thomas Frank on What's Wrong with Obamanew

Before he morphed into one of the few real leftists still taken seriously by the mainstream press, author Thomas Frank had an even lower profile.
Willamette Week |
Corey Pein |
08-13-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Johnny Richey Makes Change with Bootleg Barack T-shirtsnew
Obama may be battling attacks by Sen. John McCain calling him an empty celebrity, but he’s unquestionably a star in one sense: He moves product.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
08-06-2008 |
Fashion
Guy Maddin, Now With More Hockeynew
With My Winnipeg, Maddin attempts a heroic midlife flight from his mythic Manitoban birthplace.
Willamette Week |
Chris Stamm |
08-06-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Guy Maddin, My Winnipeg
Notes from Pendleton Rock Campnew
Recently completing its third year, local promoter/musician Peter Walters' Pendleton Rock Camp spent a week crafting bands out of around 50 emo-loving Eastern Oregon kids.
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
08-06-2008 |
Music
King Louie's Portland Homecoming Stirs Up Bittersweet Memories.new
Eight years ago, a stocky, irrepressible young man from Louisiana named Louie Bankston decided to move to Portland, lured by the promise of a new band—the hard-charging garage-blues outfit 10-4 Backdoor—and a full-time job at Oaks Amusement Park.
Willamette Week |
Robert Ham |
08-06-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: 10-4 Backdoor, King Louie
Julius Achon: A Portland Runner's Olympian Survival Storynew
Before moving to Portland in 2004, Julius Achon had already lived a full life of Olympian highs as an adult and unspeakable horrors as a child in his native Uganda.
Willamette Week |
Hannah Hultine |
08-06-2008 |
Sports
I Raised $166 for Barack Obamanew

For all the talk of how Obama has rewritten the rules of fundraising on the internet, I'm hoping to get a taste of what the training is like to raise money face-to-face for Obama, and how well Obama's campaign is doing on the doorstep.
Willamette Week |
Kevin Stark |
08-06-2008 |
Politics
No Car, No Problem: One Portland Family Gets Onto Their Bikesnew
When you're joyful that gas has dropped to about $4 per gallon, it’s not hard to figure out why people are giving up on driving. But how easy is it to get rid of owning your car for good?
Willamette Week |
Lillian Hogan |
08-06-2008 |
Transportation
The Queer and the Qur'an: One Man's Struggle with Being a Gay Muslimnew
Ali stays in the shadows, because if he were to come out as a gay Muslim, he would lose things dearer to him than his own life: family, community, identity.
Willamette Week |
Byron Beck |
08-06-2008 |
LGBT
Federal Raid on Iranian Charity Stokes Debate About Tightened Bush Sanctionsnew
Two weeks after federal agents raided the largest Iranian charity in Oregon, employees at Child Foundation have regained possession of their seized cell phones and fax machines. But the feds are still holding the charity's computers and remaining silent about the reasons behind a raid that's alarmed many Iranians.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
07-31-2008 |
Civil Liberties
'Tell No One': The Less You Know, the Bigger the Payoffnew
Being blindsided by the film’s clever twists, cold-sweat pursuits, tragic romance and stellar performances is a distinct cinematic pleasure.
Willamette Week |
AP Kryza |
07-30-2008 |
Reviews
Gossip Guitarist Wants the Best Club Night in Portland ... and the Worldnew
"The Gossip thing is pretty all-consuming," admits Nathan Howdeshell, known as Brace Paine when playing guitar with the soul-punk icons. "But there's always time to take pictures, do parties and make movies. I can't sit still for very long."
Willamette Week |
Nilina Mason-Campbell |
07-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews