Fup the Cat Turns 16 A birthday party for Fup, Powell’s Technical Books, 33 NW Park, Sat-Sun noon-1 pm Fup the tabby has lived her entire life within the sizeable walls of Powell’s Technical Books, surviving a location move in 1992, a huge remodeling project in 1997, and an in-store fire five years ago. With […]
Justin Sanders
Posted inTheater & Performance
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Ashland, head south on I-5 for about five hours, dates and times vary hugely, visit osfashland.org for complete lineup, runs through October, $37.50 – $60 Somehow, on my recent visit to Ashland, I managed, in a mere five days, to see seven of the 11 plays the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has running, which is great […]
Posted inNews
Leave a Light On
Author Justin Sanders was just walking by, and noticed your light was on. Now he wants to come inside. Is that okay? On a clear spring evening, Heather and I load four objects into her car: 1) A tripod, 2) a camera, 3) a small black tape recorder, and 4) a large, white sign with […]
Posted inUncategorized
Warehouse Wonder
Clarklewis Lights Up Industrial Void
clarklewis 1001 SE Water 235-2294 something about the ambience of an old warehouse makes any event a bit more resonant. It’s the contrast of experiencing something new and fresh within the confines of something rundown. Theater and dance companies reside in the warehouses down in the Southeast Water Street area, and their performances take on […]
Posted inMusic
Wisps and Whispers
The Ghostly Threads of Iron and Wine
Iron & Wine Mon April 5 Holocene 1001 SE Morrison I’m trying to ask Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam about the darker overtones in his music, the threads of foreboding that makes his music so much more resonant than just about every other Drake-influenced, soft indierock/folk act out there. But what comes out of my […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Culture Clash
He’s the director of the most provocative Portland play you’ll see this year– and he doesn’t even speak English!
translated by Aniko Szûcs This weekend marks your last chance to see Portland Center Stage’s production of The Merchant of Venice, directed by Róbert Alföldi. With graphic nudity, explicit implied-sex scenes, and a multimedia explosion of music, digital cameras, and giant screen projections, it’s a show that’s sent Shakespeare traditionalists into tailspins. But whether one […]
Posted inFashion
Cobbler: The Marty Krogh Story
Shoemaker/Artist Buys Mercury Feature in Charity Auction; Justin Sanders Writes It
[NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Congratulations to Marty Krogh for being the highest bidder in our Online Holiday Charity Auction, and winning “A glowing feature written by Justin Sanders to appear in the Mercury.” You should be so lucky.] Besides air, nourishment and love, shoes are one of life’s most dire necessities. But of these, a […]
Posted inNews
How Exploited Is That Doggy In The Window
PETA and other animal rights groups have accused pet stores of crimes against animals–but is it cruelty or “responsible realism”?
When I was nine, my parents bought a kitten at a pet store. My brother named the cat Putter, but it soon became clear the kitten was seriously ill. Friendly and purring, he dragged his haunches along the ground as he moved toward us. Putter would stop and squat every few feet as if trying […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Kicking the Dead Horse
A Handy Timeline for Die-Hard Matrix Fans
May 1999–The first Matrix movie opens. Created by two relatively unknown filmmakers and with mild hype surrounding it, it astounds with the innovation of its special effects, the excitement of its action sequences, and perhaps most impressively, the potency of its dazzling sci-fi premise and philosophical vision. May 2003–Even though sequels typically suck, Matrix fans […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Euro-Disney Tripe
French Farming Film Flails Feebly
The Girl From Paris dir. Carion Opens Fri Sept 26 Fox Theater Set in the Hallmark Card-beautiful hills of rural France, and backed by a swelling orchestral score that seems far too Patch Adams to be sincere (and yet it is!), The Girl From Paris follows a young woman, Sandrine (Mathilde Seigner), who casts off […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Flesh-Eating Failure
Cabin Fever Can’t Balance Scary With Funny
Cabin Fever dir. Roth Opens Fri Sept 12 Various Theaters Out in some anonymous woods somewhere a mysterious disease infects a hunter, whose flesh quickly begins to dissolve off his bones. Desperately seeking help, he descends on a cabin where a group of young, unnaturally attractive urbanites are partying. Drunk and startled, the hotties beat […]
Posted inUncategorized
Best Bar Food in Portland
Critic Awards Shanghai Tunnel Coveted Honor
If bars were books, the Shanghai Tunnel would exist in the genre we call “Dive Bar.Ó It’s a wonderful place to hang out, bustling and lively, with a hip downtown location and an admirable booze selection–but it’s also a dive bar. It’s poorly lit, and it’s primarily underground with poor air circulation, which means it […]