Thanks, Obama. No, seriously: Thanks, Obama. And thank you, White House. Because today, I taste the sweet nectar of vindication. Not that I was particularly thirsty for it, but when someone hands you a shot from the gods, you pound that sonofabitch, and you wipe your mouth with your sleeve, and you let out a […]
Bobby Roberts
Bobby Roberts is one of the Portland Mercury's calendar editors, as well as one of its film and pop-culture critics. His past career choices included joining corporate broadcast radio just in time for its death, and leaving the world of independent podcasting just before it blew up, but luckily for him there is nothing more stable in the 21st century than a career in alternative print media.
Posted inTV
Doctor Who Gives a Shit
Something I noticed yesterday, something that’s been nagging at me for awhile, dancing around my peripheral, ducking out of the way just as I turn my head, hiding in the corners of my consciousness: I don’t think people give a shit about Doctor Who so much anymore. Before I continue: I know that what I’m […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Roger Ebert Has Left the Balcony
Roger Ebert died today at the age of 70. This is the official Chicago Sun-Times obituary for Roger, in its entirety. Roger Ebert loved movies. Except for those he hated. On April 3rd, he posted a letter to readers on the Sun-Times’ site, informing them that he would be reviewing fewer movies, and that his […]
Posted inMovies & TV
The Resurrection of Miss Veronica Mars
Kickstarter began as one thing, and has morphed into something… different from that original thing. I don’t know if that’s for the better, or for the worse, but as the combination of high-speed internet and file-sharing democratized the consumption of media, it appears crowdfunding is going to democratize the production of media. And it appears […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Chocolate for Breakfast (at Tiffanys): Hepburn Returns in Candy Ad
Here is the latest example of a company deciding the best way to sell a product is to use modern technology to resurrect the dead. It stars Audrey Hepburn, making amiable mischief thanks to the amiable mischief fuel that is Galaxy Chocolates. This is not the first time Hepburn has posthumously appeared in an advertisement. […]
Posted inGeek
Small Pond, Little Ripples, Last Splash: Wizard World Sum-Up Kicks Rocks at Comics Community
The after-effects of Wizard World’s dropping their pre-packaged big-box con on Portland seemed, by Monday night, to be low-key and generally positive. For a company as practiced at throwing nerd parties as Wizard is, it would have been surprising had they not given the city an entertaining weekend. But then, Monday night, shots were fired […]
Posted inVideo Games
I Fixed Monopoly For You
Monopoly is about fucking everyone over. That’s all its ever been about, and if you try to play the game in a fair and reasoned fashion, that’s a good way to find yourself in the fifth hour of self-induced Monopoly coma, politely rolling dice, shedding skin cells and letting loose successively larger and larger yawns […]
Posted inGeek
Gif or Jif? The Definitive Answer to One of Life’s Most Important Questions
As we move into the future, we as a people are going to face questions that will have hard answers, because as technology outraces us all, we’ll have no precedents to look back on in some situations. So we’ll have to trust in our judgment, and hope that future generations will benefit from our wisdom, […]
Posted inBooks
Con vs. Con
Wizard World Moves into Portland’s Crowded Nerdscape
Wizard World moves into Portland’s already-crowded nerdscape.
Posted inTV
Creator of The Walking Dead = Ruiner of The Walking Dead?
Robert Kirkman (L) creator of The Walking Dead, and Glen Mazzara (R) who apparently got chumped by the smirking, bearded guy immediately to his right Last time I wrote about the departure of Glen Mazzara, former showrunner of AMC’s highest-rated television program The Walking Dead, I laid a fair amount of the blame at AMC’s […]
Posted inTV
Glen Mazzara Takes a Hike from The Walking Dead
Robert Kirkman (L) creator of The Walking Dead, and Glen Mazzara (R), who can GTFO so far as AMC is concerned. AMC is a weird little network. Once the haven of 24 hour Poltergeist III marathons and Albert Pyun restrospectives, it became the most legitimate thing on television with the help of shows like Mad […]
Posted inComic Books
And a Bah, Humbug! From the Death Star: Dark Horse Likely to lose Star Wars License
Dark Horse Comics Back in October, pop-culture addicts everywhere got an early Halloween treat when George Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney. The Mercury’s Erik Henriksen noted that the delicious candy dropped into our Star Wars pillowcase might be laced with a little bit of poison, in that independent comics powerhouse Dark Horse comics could […]