Immediately after a recent Game of Thrones, viewers rushed to discuss two things: who killed who, and if it was even possible to see who killed who, given how dark and muddy the episode appeared on many screens. Whether that was due to TV settings or streaming compression rates or a million other variables, squinting […]
Ned Lannamann
Ned Lannamann is a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon. He writes about film, music, TV, books, travel, tech, food, drink, outdoors, and other things.
Posted inMovies & TV
Game of Thrones Discussion Group: Episode 4 – “The Last of the Starks”
Helen Sloan/HBO Last night’s episode of Game of Thrones was called “The Last of the Starks,” but it just as easily could’ve been called “Stopgap,” since we got a huge battle last week and we seem to be gearing up for another big battle next week. Things this week were relatively low-key, but there were […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Tonic Lounge Is Closing at the End of the Summer
Tonic Lounge made a sad announcement yesterday afternoon: The Northeast Sandy Boulevard music venue—which has been through several incarnations and currently specializes in dark and heavy music—said it will be closing at the beginning of September. In a Facebook post, the owners of the venue break the news: Tonic Lounge will be closing permanently after […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Mount Angel Abbey’s Benedictine Brewing Upholds Old-World Monastic Brewing Traditions
Mercury Staff Of all the old-world traditions of brewing, one in particular strikes certain Americans as odd: that of devout, God-fearing monks firing up the brew kettle and making beer. This says more about the United States’ inherited Puritanical ideas of religion, alcohol, and temperance than anything else—because, indeed, several of the most esteemed breweries […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Game of Thrones Discussion Group: Episode 3 – “The Long Night”
Helen Sloan/HBO Oh, wow. Did you see that on HBO last night? Man, that was incredible. What a cool, cool episode, one of the best they’ve done so far. Can’t wait to see where Barry goes from here. Oh, wait! We’re not here to talk about Barry. (Still—how good was that???) We’re here to talk […]
Posted inPodcast
THING, a New Multi-Disciplinary Arts Festival, Will Happen in Port Townsend in August
The inaugural THING festival is taking place in Port Townsend, Washington, during the last weekend in August, and today we got a look at what this THING might actually entail. It’s the brainchild of Adam Zacks, former booker of the Gorge’s annual Sasquatch! Festival, which ‘quatched its last ‘quatch in May 2018. THING appears to […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Game of Thrones Discussion Group: Episode 2 – “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
Helen Sloan/HBO We’ve entered the home stretch of Game of Thrones‘s final season, with last night’s episode the calm before the upcoming storm. Since no one else on the internet is discussing this obscure HBO show, a few Stranger and Mercury folks have taken it upon themselves to break down each episode, week by week, […]
Posted inFood and Drink
The Monk-Made Beer of Benedictine Brewing Upholds a Historic Brewing Tradition
The monks at Mount Angel Abbey are brewing world-class beer.
Posted inMovies & TV
Elisabeth Moss Is Incredible in the Tough, Grueling Her Smell
Don Stahl I’ll start by stating the obvious: Elisabeth Moss is a really, really good actor. Her Smell might be the greatest testament to her talent yet; it’s her third movie with writer/director Alex Ross Perry, and Moss’ performance as riot-grrrl-era rock star Becky Something is provocative, immersive, and galvanizing. It’s both grueling and inspiring […]
Posted inMusic
Pickathon Starlight Series, Episode 6: Shinyribs Redux
Tim LaBarge It’s finally starting to become nice to be outdoors again (some of the time), and that can only mean one thing: Pickathon season is coming closer. The annual music festival is just shy of four months away, but to tide you over until then, we’ve got another episode in our ongoing Starlight Series, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Aretha Franklin’s Belated Amazing Grace May Be the Greatest Movie About Gospel Music Ever Made
Neon In January 1972, Aretha Franklin joined forces with the Reverend James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir to make Amazing Grace, a double live album recorded during two church services at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. A documentary crew, led by director Sydney Pollack, was […]
Posted inMusic
Träd, Gräs och Stenar’s Portland Show Could Be the Most Psychedelic Event of the Year
Mexican Summer Many, many bands have tried, but few have successfully captured the raw, elemental sound of pagan ritual. Träd, Gräs och Stenar remain pioneers in that regard, and the Swedish band’s wild, spontaneous jams are darker, earthier, and more hypnotic than virtually all other hippie music that came out of the 1960s counterculture movement. […]