The Portland Mercury

The Righteous Bigots of 'For the Bible Tells Me So'new

In its fascinating examination of five religious families in which a son or daughter is gay (surprise!), For the Bible Tells Me So is nothing less than astonishing.

The Portland Mercury | Erik Henriksen | 11-29-2007 | Reviews

Tags: Daniel Karslake, For the Bible Tells Me So

Heartbreak Be Damnednew

Scotland Yard Gospel Choir's seemingly sweet, bouncy pop songs come with a strong dash of melancholy and bitterness and dry humor, a self-aware cynical hint that they know how futile and silly it is to write songs about heartbreak, but knowledge be damned -- they're doing it anyway.

The Portland Mercury | Hannah Carlen | 11-29-2007 | Reviews

Tags: Scotland Yard Gospel Choir

Buck 65 is Totally Original. Totally.new

Hey, there are rappers in Nova Scotia. Who knew?

The Portland Mercury | Graham Barey | 11-29-2007 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Buck 65, Situation

Sam Beam Expands His Horizonsnew

Throughout The Shepherd's Dog, Beam uses religious symbolism (wings, smoke), raw elements (bones, ashes), and of course the unspeakable power of sound to beautifully contemplate human existence and beyond.

The Portland Mercury | Jenny Tatone | 11-29-2007 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Iron & Wine, The Shepherd's Dog

Where Are the Cops?new

The Portland Police Bureau's sluggish recruitment puts public at risk.

The Portland Mercury | Matt Davis | 11-29-2007 | Crime & Justice

Tags: crime & justice

A Bitter Pill: Birth Control Prices Skyrocketnew

This school year, college students aren't just scrimping to afford textbooks and bus tickets -- they're also digging deep to pay for birth control that has more than quadrupled in price since last year.

The Portland Mercury | Jennifer Furniss | 11-29-2007 | Sex

Tags: sex & reproductive issues

I Needed a Job. Hyphire Solutions Was Hiring. That Didn't Work Out So Well.new

Googling the company yielded a weird mix of job ads, vague corporate websites, and pages that implicated Hyphire as a scam connected to the multilevel marketing giant known as DS-Max. I could've taken their word for it. But I figured ... why not find out for myself?

The Portland Mercury | Christine McCurdy | 11-29-2007 | Business & Labor

Tags: business & labor

'August Rush' Sounds Terrible But It Isn'tnew

August Rush is actually a charming little film about a musical prodigy who ends up performing with the New York Philharmonic in order to find the mom and dad who don't even know he exists.

The Portland Mercury | Megan Seling | 11-26-2007 | Reviews

Tags: August Rush, Kirsten Sheridan

Portland Cyclists Demand Solutions for Safer Streetsnew

Three high-profile collisions have galvanized Portland's non-motorized road users in an unprecedented way.

The Portland Mercury | Amy J. Ruiz | 11-26-2007 | Transportation

Tags: transportation

'Hitman': Another Videogame Movie. Sigh.new

Turning a videogame into a film is like trying to make a chocolate cake when the only ingredient you have is orange juice.

The Portland Mercury | Erik Henriksen | 11-26-2007 | Reviews

Tags: Hitman, Xavier Gens

Weather isn't Really That Scarynew

Seeing as how The Mist is an adaptation of a Stephen King novella, it doesn't take a genius to figure out whether Gramps is deranged or prophetic, and less than 30 minutes later, the unlucky grocery shoppers figure out what that something is: monsters.

The Portland Mercury | Erik Henriksen | 11-26-2007 | Reviews

Tags: Frank Darabont, Stephen King's The Mist