RE: "The Fall of Romneyville" [Feature, Sept 6], in which author Andrew R Tonry reports from the Republican National Convention and appears in a photograph with Jan Brewer that's mistakenly placed alongside his description of Ann Romney.
On page nine you've got a picture of a lady who haunts my nightmares and led me to flee my home state of Arizona and take up the lifestyle of a semi-employed political refugee in a rundown hotel on the edge of NW industrial. And, no, that scary lady in the photo is not "gorgeous, soft, milky, and compassionate" Ann Romney. It's leathery, immigrant-fearing, grammatically challenged Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (née Drinkwine). Nice beard on the gentleman (Tonry?) next to her, though.
-Andrew Coltrin
TWO THINGS FROM ISAAC
RE: "An Invitation to Privilege" [Music, Sept 6], a preview of the Parenthetical Girls' record release show, and "TBA Preview" [Theater, Sept 6], a selection of capsule previews of the ongoing Time-Based Art festival, in which the author enthuses on the subject of The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller.
Dear Mercury—Why will no one admit that Parenthetical Girls is an emo band?
-Isaac Hudson
Dear Erik Henriksen—You don't really want to live in a Dymaxion House; they leak.
-Isaac Hudson
RE: "From Cars to Cafés" [News, Sept 6], regarding a new program that turns public parking into outdoor seating.
Portland "planner" logic: Putting pedestrians within inches of vehicular traffic is "pedestrian friendly."
-posted by D
D—The proximity of café seating to traffic is not something that the city needs to go all "nanny state" over. Trust me, there are some decisions that people can make for themselves without government getting involved.
-posted by Torgo
It is pretty bizarre no one has a problem with a restaurant basically taking over a public space for a nominal fee. Car owners have to move their car, but restaurant owners can throw out anyone they want. Maybe Portland is really just that much more conservative than New York and Seattle?
-posted by Ardennes
Ardennes—Don't be surprised. People are rarely ideologically consistent. Change just one detail, and there would be protest marches on city hall. If it were a bike lane instead of a parking space, or if the restaurant were a McDonald's, there would be all kinds of anger.
-posted by Rocky
RE: "The Mercury's Officially Unofficial Guide to MusicfestNW" [Feature, Sept 6], the cover of which features a relatively well-known photo by the artist Merkley??? depicting a young woman jumping on a couch and playing the guitar topless.
So you've got a woman playing guitar on your MFNW cover. But wait... She's topless, which to me looks like you're reinforcing the dangerous idea that women artists must be sexual objects before they can do things like get on the cover of a magazine. Not only that, but you also advertise an "uncensored pullout" within, further objectifying and turning this woman into a pinup rather than a symbol of creativity. I wonder how all of the female musicians performing at MFNW feel about being represented this way. Do boobies have some musical ability that I have failed to discover? I think you have a responsibility—especially to the youth of Portland who no doubt comprise the majority of your readership—to not degrade certain portions of the population. Don't you think women and girls have enough of this shit to deal with already? And you know what else stinks? That I worry about being labeled a "prude" or something for not liking your cover.
-posted by HeyMamaCass
HEYMAMACASS, THANKS for checking out our UNCENSORED MFNW guide (get it? get it?!). You make some excellent points, so we're giving you this week's Letter of the Week award, with two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater, where films run the gamut from objectifying to prude.
