Tyrion Lannister is, understandably, everyone’s favorite character on Game of Thrones. He’s smart, he’s charismatic, and everyone likes to root for an underdog. Last night, though, Tyrion kind of biffed it. He had an opportunity to get out of a bad situation and, well, he didn’t take it. In the name of idealism and passion, […]
Joe Streckert
Joe Streckert is the author of Storied & Scandalous Portland, Oregon: A History of Gambling, Vice, Wits, and Wagers. He writes about books, history, and comics.
Posted inTV
Game of Thrones Recap: HODOR SMASH! Edition
Last night’s Game of Thrones featured exciting things like discussions of insurrections and national debt. The show, as is apparent to everyone who watches it, is very much committed to not being a standard fantasy story, and last night it bellowed that very loudly, affirming that even though it’s all about dragons and swords, it’s […]
Posted inTV
Game of Thrones Recap: Ser Pounce Edition
A bunch of things happened on Game of Thrones last night, but none of them were as momentous or memorable as the on-screen introduction of Ser* Pounce, Tommen Baratheon’s cat. More on the episode, and Tommen’s pet kitty, after the jump! Not pictured: Ser Pounce, for some reason. *I love this series, but goddamn is […]
Posted inGeneral
An Act of God… or Racism?
The Lost City of Vanport: How a Flood and Racism Changed Portland
The lost city of Vanport: How a flood and racism changed Portland.
Posted inTV
Game of Thrones Recap: “Not Cool, HBO” Edition
Game of Thrones pissed me off last night, and not in a “they killed a character I like” sort of way. I highly enjoy this show, but last night it crossed an unacceptable line. Ideally, these recaps would just be me bloviating about dragons and fake politics, and not musing about sexual assault. There’s a […]
Posted inTV
Game of Thrones Recap: Best Party Ever! Edition
Crack out the Dornish red or raise a glass of Arbor Gold. Game of Thrones gave its audience something everyone’s wanted last night. It was great. You know what I mean. Hit the jump for more. Pictured: The fairy tale wedding of a beautiful princess and a dashing king. King Joffrey, First of His Name, […]
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Game of Thrones Recap: Sexless in Westeros Edition
Game of Thrones is back, and that means that for the duration of the season I’ll be polluting Blogtown with my opinions about swords. Last night’s episode was a season opener, so it was mostly catch-up. Characters did a lot of helpful exposition and explanation during the episode. Recappy speeches and dialogue were the order […]
Posted inGeneral
The Erotica of Westeros
George R.R. Martin’s Awful Sex Scenes: An Appreciation
George R.R. Martin’s awful sex scenes: an appreciation.
Posted inBooks
Oregon Wants to Kill You, and Other Lessons from Peter Stark’s Astoria
As any kid who tooled around on an Apple IIe knows, getting to Oregon used to be highly awful. Starvation, cholera, and (of course) dysentery turned a whole lot of pioneers into dead pioneers, and given the harsh conditions of both overland and sea travel, one wonders why British and American settlers ever bothered with […]
Posted inHistory
A Former Portland Landmark is Getting Preserved. Kind Of.
I don’t normally go to parties put on by real estate developers. However, if I have a chance to take a look at the inside of a historic Portland bar before it gets hollowed out and turned into apartments, I’m there. Innovative Housing, the evening’s host, was celebrating their plans for Erickson’s Saloon (9 NW […]
Posted inHistory
Happy Oregon’s Birthday, Everyone!
It’s Oregon’s birthday, everyone! 155 years ago our particular piece of geography went from being a territory to a full-fledged member of these United States. In celebration of our state’s birthday, here are some facts about Oregon that you might not know. -Oregon has a double-sided flag, just like Paraguay! -Oregon is America’s ninth largest […]
Posted inSports
Roller Derby Recap: Heartless Heathers vs. High Rollers, Break Neck Betties vs. Guns N Rollers
The Rose City Rollers began their 10th season at Memorial Coliseum last Saturday. This year’s season will be a bit longer than previous years with each of Rose City’s four home teams playing each other twice over throughout the year. The first of the two bouts was something of a blowout, and the second one […]