AltWeeklies Wire
Could the Upcoming Census Give Oregon Another Seat in Congress?new
Election Data Services says that makes Oregon one of at least seven states poised to add another seat after the decennial count. But Oregon is not alone -- every state faces the 2010 census and is trying to maximize its own count.
Willamette Week |
Sasha Ingber |
11-04-2009 |
Politics
Natural Seletion: A Field Guide to Portland's Legal Pharmacopeianew
While DIY mushroom hunters are pulling on rain gear and heading outdoors in search of forbidden fruit, others are staying high and dry by sampling a crop of legal psychoactive plants found right here in the city limits.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
10-29-2009 |
Drugs
Jordanian Journalist Rana Husseini Talks About Honor Killingsnew
Husseini can never forget the way the uncles of a 16-year-old murder victim dispassionately described how their niece deserved to die. "It was as if they were speaking about a sheep," she writes in her new book, Murder in the Name of Honor.
Willamette Week |
Henry Stern |
10-28-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Manhattan Goes Meta in Jonathan Lethem's 'Chronic City'new
Unlike Pynchon in The Crying of Lot 49, which this book at first resembles, Lethem keeps his readers (and his narrator) at too critical a distance, and explains far too much, and thus leaves me still waiting for that novel where Lethem finally knocks one all the way into the bleachers.
Willamette Week |
Matthew Korfhage |
10-21-2009 |
Fiction
Curling? Bedbugs? Daniel Johnston? There's an App for Thatnew
Some weeks are just not great for new movies, and it makes us crazy. What the hell are we going to do tonight if we don't have a screen to stare at? That's where the ol' iPhone comes in. But which iPhone games should you buy?
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
10-21-2009 |
Tech
'Where the Wild Things Are' Left Me Out in the Coldnew
It's standard practice to praise children's movies by saying they'll be enjoyed by parents and children alike, but in this case I suspect that some parents will sink blissfully into a reverie watching the characters throw clods of dirt, while their offspring tug on sleeves to ask when they can go outside and throw clods of dirt.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-14-2009 |
Reviews
'Massacred For Gold' Rises Above the Usual History Book Formulanew
R. Gregory Nokes' investigation of the 1887 mass murder of more than 30 Chinese gold miners is a chronicle within a chronicle, explaining not only how and why the murders occurred but how the author had to sift through scant and often contradictory evidence to make sense of a crime.
Willamette Week |
Matt Buckingham |
10-14-2009 |
Nonfiction
Who Took Our Jobs? Why Oregon's Unemployment is at the Top of the Charts ... Againnew
Studying unemployment figures in Oregon is like being a homicide detective in Baltimore -- there's no lack of casework. The problem is, how to piece together so much evidence. There's no shortage of theories why our unemployment is always among the nation's highest -- here are a few possibilities.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-14-2009 |
Economy
'Law Abiding Citizen' Wants to Have its Gore and Condemn it Toonew
Somewhere in here is a call to reform for a flawed system where innocence is undermined by bureaucracy. But it's hard to hear that message with all the explosions and brooding. Say what you will about Saw -- at least it doesn't preach pacifism as its characters are eviscerated.
Willamette Week |
Ap Kryza |
10-14-2009 |
Reviews
Can Portland Provide Fair Wages for Working Musicians?new
The concept of "fair trade" for music has been bandied about in Portland for a couple years, but the movement is now starting discussions with clubs in hopes of setting a fair wage for all performing musicians, whether they be union or non-union workers.
Willamette Week |
Amanda Ingram |
09-30-2009 |
Music
'Bright Star' is the Tasteful Older Sibling of 'Twilight'new
The film is likely to be fairly admired by English professors and Oscar voters, but mark my words: It is going to become the unequaled favorite movie of homeschoolers in the girls' dormitories of evangelical colleges nationwide.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Bright Star, Jane Campion
'The Burning Plain' is an Interminably Spiritless Ordealnew
Beneath the film's tragic poses and ludicrous melancholy, one can almost hear Arriaga muttering to himself: "Do I have anything here? Let's maybe move this scene here, that one there, yeah, that'll do it, that looks like something. Right? Right?" Wrong.
Willamette Week |
Chris Stamm |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
'Jennifer's Body' is 'Heathers' as a 'Maxim' Photo Spreadnew
Jennifer's Body begs for outraged reviews condemning it as repellent and vindictive, when in fact it is derivative and incompetent. If it were not written by Diablo Cody, it would be completely ignored. In fact, it can still be ignored.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
Why is Modest Mouse Frontman Isaac Brock Starting from Scratch With Obscure Portland Bands?new
Brock, 34, acknowledges that his new role as an indie label kingpin is a departure, though he's quick to add that he's always been interested in the business side of music.
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
09-16-2009 |
Music
'Big Fan' Piles Shame Upon Failure for Patton Oswalt's Football Lovernew
The director of Big Fan, Robert Siegel, is the screenwriter of last year's The Wrestler. I was not an admirer of that movie, but I'll concede that its patronizing melodrama was elevated by the grace notes of Mickey Rourke. Big Fan, however, is pure, concentrated condescension.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-09-2009 |
Reviews
