AltWeeklies Wire
Increase Your Vocabulary While You Poopnew
A quintessential bathroom reader, Anu Garg (creator of the A.Word.A.Day email newsletter at wordsmith.org) reports on the travels, tribulations, and histories of more than 300 words, which makes for a semi-interesting squat, but you'll never be taking this book out on the town.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
11-08-2007 |
Nonfiction
This Ain't No String Quintetnew
Hell, Manchester Orchestra aren't even British.
The Portland Mercury |
Tristan Staddon |
11-08-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
Sean Hayes' DIY Folk and Unlikely Inspirationnew
Hayes was reading the New York Times a few years ago when he came across the headline: "Music of the Heavens Turns Out to Sound a Lot like a B Flat."
The Portland Mercury |
Jonathan Zwickel |
11-08-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Flowering Spade, Sean Hayes
NW Film and Video Fest's Fuzzy Dedicationnew
The lineup of the 34th NW Film and Video Festival is a true hodge-podge of filmmaking ranging from stories of baseball and nuclear power plants to famous nudes and zombies, from all regions of the Northwest.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
11-08-2007 |
Movies
Are You Totally Sick of Vince Vaughn Yet?new
As is the case with nearly every film he's made since he stopped giving a fuck about his integrity, your capacity to sit through the madcappish holiday extravaganza of Fred Claus can likely be extrapolated from your answer to that question.
The Portland Mercury |
Zac Pennington |
11-08-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: David Dobkin, Fred Claus
Even Bono Can't Ruin Joe Strummernew
The Future Is Unwritten is saved by an absolutely stunning second act that focuses on Strummer's post-Clash output, his painfully lonely lost years, his family, and the man's storied legacy following his sudden death in 2002 from an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
11-08-2007 |
Reviews
'Guitar Hero III' Rocks Like Hurricanenew
If the original Guitar Hero was an acoustic Tegan and Sara show in an Austin coffeehouse, and Guitar Hero II was a Pearl Jam concert circa 1994, Guitar Hero III is the electronic equivalent of that Black Sabbath gig that left an innocent bat headless.
The Portland Mercury |
Earnest "Nex" Cavalli |
11-08-2007 |
Video Games
Tags: video games
Getting Drafted in 'Lions for Lambs'new
In his first turn in the director's chair since the political minefield of The Legend of Bagger Vance(?!?!), Robert Redford joins the well-intentioned, liberal baby-boomer chorus with his uniquely astute reaction to the War on Terror, Lions for Lambs.
The Portland Mercury |
Zac Pennington |
11-08-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Lions for Lambs, Robert Redford
'Sleuth': Verbal Sadomasochismnew
Branagh's remake of the 1972 film Sleuth represents that theater/cinema crossover at its finest.
The Portland Mercury |
Scott Moore |
11-01-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Kenneth Branagh, Sleuth
The New 'Zelda' Wants Your Touchnew
Clearly designed for the DS from the ground up, The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass makes full use of the system's touch screen, with all of Link's movement and actions determined by dragging, tapping, or swirling the DS' stylus.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
11-01-2007 |
Video Games
Tags: video games
Dealing Drugs is Fun, Profitablenew
Yes, American Gangster touches on all sorts of things -- Vietnam, police corruption, urban decay, race -- but at its entertaining core, it's really just about two badasses going head to head.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
11-01-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: American Gangster, Ridley Scott
The Complications of Women's Music Festivalsnew
Is there room for Siren Nation Festival in the era of big-ticket events like Coachella, SXSW, Bonnaroo, and Sasquatch, to say nothing of Ladyfest?
The Portland Mercury |
Lizzie Ehrenhalt |
11-01-2007 |
Concerts
Tags: Siren Nation Festival, concerts
Saturday Looks Good to Me Has Changednew
For about half his life, Fred Thomas -- mastermind behind SLGTM -- has been doing what Black Crowes' Chris Robinson has only dreamt of: He makes whatever kind of music he wants.
The Portland Mercury |
Jenny Tatone |
11-01-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
Jackpot Records 10th Anniversarynew
While other record stores struggle to make ends meet in an industry that has seen better days, Jackpot Records is breaking out the cake, candles, and pointy party hats in honor of their 10th anniversary.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
11-01-2007 |
Music
Imagine Jens Lekman in Vegasnew
Jens Lekman is not the Swedish Tom Jones, or worse, a Nordic Robert Goulet. He is only worthy of Vegas in that his persona is so huge.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
11-01-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
