THE PEN 15 CLUB
RE: “Hey Pen Lovers! Don’t Miss... The Portland Mercury’s BALLPOINT PEN WEEK!” [New Column, Nov 8]. “You love the Mercury’s Burger Week! You’re less interested, but enjoy the Mercury’s Veg Week! And the Mercury’s Wing Week is sort of okay, too. But now, we’re proud to introduce the best Mercury Week ever! The Portland Mercury’s BALLPOINT PEN WEEK!” we wrote, promising readers “Seven action-packed days of one-of-a-kind specialty ballpoint pens for only $5 EACH.” Ballpoint Pen Week pens included Portland Rubber Stamp and Stationery Supply’s Hand-Carved Artisan Reclaimed Wood Pen (“made from lumber reclaimed from actual, demolished Portland homes”) and Office Depot’s Paper Mate Medium-Point Pen (“Certified non-toxic, ages 10 and up”).
I can’t find the website, Facebook page, or anything linked to the hashtag for this.
treelessbark
NOT ANYMORE
RE: “The Dam’s Breaking. Make Sure It Stays Broken by Listening to Women” [Blogtown, Nov 9], Senior Editor Megan Burbank’s post about this “brave new world where sexual harassment and assault allegations are suddenly met with business consequences, from Weinstein to Spacey to Louis C.K.” “What Louis C.K. has been accused of doing is something that happens to women on subways and at bus stops and on sidewalks all the time. It is vile and it is shocking, and we are socialized to accept it as a condition of being in the world. Not anymore.” You can read the entire piece on pg. 8 of this week’s Mercury.
It’s 2017. It’s about fucking time this shit stopped.
pollo
This unprecedented coming forward of victims and survivors comes at a time when the very embodiment of misogyny has a seat in the Oval Office, and really highlights the pushback that results when things swing too far in a particular direction. It’s not coincidental that the sports world has brought racial inequality into the mainstream lens in a similar way that Hollywood has for sexual abuse. People are tired of this shit! Also telling is the Spacey story, which forces us to look at abuses of power which are not necessarily identified with stereotypical harassment and sexual violence.
Aurelius141
IDIOTS!
RE: COMMON COURTESY!
Could you please have a mention in your paper about all the Idiot Drivers who drive around sunset/dusk/twilight, and way after, with their headlights off!
These are newer vehicles that I’m sure have photocells built into their headlights that turn the headlights on when it gets dark. Either these idiots don’t know this, or don’t know how to do it!
I am continually amazed at the sheer numbers of idiot/distracted people who do not have the presence of mind to do a simple thing, like turning your headlights on! When it’s pouring down rain, in the morning or afternoon, and it’s a bit darkish, TURN YOUR HEADLIGHTS ON! IT IS A COMMON COURTESY!
It is also the law to turn one’s headlights on at sunset. These folks are a safety hazard and need to be reprimanded!
(Note: I contacted the Portland Police’s traffic division about this and have not seen an increase in police cars patrolling and doing their duty.)
Also, how about replacing the headlight that’s burned out on your car! So many folks driving with just one headlight on.
I bet you these folks that are driving with their headlights off definitely have their damned phones turned on! Phone on, brain off!
Paul
Paul, your spittle-flecked, civic-minded tirade has earned you the Mercury’s letter of the week, along with two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater—where, within its dark and cozy confines, you can forget, at least for a few hours, about all of Portland’s idiots.
