Welcome to... THE DISCOMFORT ZONE! The new Blogtown series which is a lot like our old Blogtown series, "Worst Night Ever" except modified somewhat—and only slightly less interesting! Every week a Mercury editorial member will be forced to attend a local event that is handpicked by YOU, the Blogtown reader, with the intention of causing this person a lot of... DISCOMFORT. We will choose three events—which might sound perfectly pleasant to the normal person, but intended to propel the introspective, wheezing Mercury staff member out of his or her coddled comfort zone—but YOU will make the final choice via the legally binding Blogtown poll. Got it? GOOD.

So for this coming week, the Mercury editorial member to be stuffed into the DISCOMFORT ZONE is no other than film editor and professional asthmatic, ERIK HENRIKSEN. And here are the three events we've chosen that we KNOW he'll hate:

HAIRSPRAY! The Musical! (at the Deb Fennel Auditorium in TIGARD).
Now, I love Hairspray, because I am somewhat effeminate. However, Erik DESPISES anything that exhibits any sort of enthusiasm—and what's more enthusiastic than the singing, dancing extravaganza of a locally produced production of Hairspray! HE WILL SUFFER (and then write about it in hilarious detail)!

Fleur de Cinema's Book Club (at the Backstage Bar). Again, I don't see the problem... but I'm not Erik! Apparently he HATES these book club/ live reading things, though I can't imagine why. This week's reading/discussion/read along features Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, which I think is a great book—but if Erik suffers horribly because of it? I'M IN.

Monday Night Bicycle Racing (at PIR). "New racers are welcome and encouraged—just show up with a helmet and road bike ready to race." That's all we needed to hear! Even though Erik supposedly has a new road bike, I've never seen him ride it. BUT RIDE IT HE WILL in the beginner's group on the open track at PIR! (Note: He doesn't have to win... just compete. AND MAKE AN EFFORT FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE.)

Okay, those are the choices. So it's time to vote, and bitch and moan and argue in the comments below. Polling ends this coming Tuesday morning at 10 am, so start your voting! And Erik? WELCOME TO THE DISCOMFORT ZONE!