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Rose Wong

Rose Wong is a writer and freelance journalist based in Portland. She's interested in art, pop culture, food and how they intersect with identity and the times we live in. Previously, she worked as a reporter for the Oregonian and the Tampa Bay Times in Florida. Follow her on Twitter at @rosebwong.
Posted inHoliday Guide 2023

Finding Family In Unexpected Places

How a spontaneous Thanksgiving gathering gave birth to a new tradition.
Avatar photo Rose Wong

Three days before Thanksgiving 2020, I was in my apartment in North Carolina, a semester or so away from graduating college. I had planned to spend the holiday doing everything in the New York Times article “How to Pretend You’re in Paris Tonight.” I would watch ballet on the Opéra National de Paris Youtube channel, […]

Posted inPortland

SAY NICE THINGS ABOUT PORTLAND: Come As You Are

From our “Say Nice Things About Portland” guide: A transplant’s unexpected first year in Portland.
Avatar photo Rose Wong

[Find more of our excellent and good vibes-filled “Say Nice Things About Portland” guide here.—eds.] Portland has resemblances to St. Pete: street-side murals, tattoos, vegan options, sexy queers. A coastal city south of Tampa, “The Sunshine City” still holds a Guinness World Record for drenching Floridians in the most consecutive days of sunshine—768 days—starting in […]

Posted inMusic

Live Show Review: Haley Heynderickx Debuted New Songs at Her Friday April 14 Solo Show

Fans gazed up at Heynderickx with a mix of holy reverence and girl crush.
Avatar photo Rose Wong

For those who eagerly await the follow up to Haley Heynderickx debut album, “I Need to Start a Garden” here are some things we noticed about new tracks she debuted at her solo show on April 14.
Are you eagerly awaiting new work from Portland-based singer-songwriter Haley Heynderickx? She showed off some new songs at her solo show, on April 14. Here’s what we noticed:

New tracks suggest humans have forsaken the natural world.
Humans have forsaken the natural world, new tracks from the Portland-based singer-songwriter seemed to suggest.
Fans gazed up at Heynderickx with a mix of holy reverence and girl crush. 
The Portland-based singer-songwriter went from sneaking into Mississippi Studios shows to headlining onstage.

Posted inBooks

The Crying in H Mart Paperback Release Will Be Author Michelle Zauner’s First Book Tour

A  Q & A with the author and musician on growing up in Oregon, moving to South Korea, and writing a screenplay based on her memoir.
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Ahead of her Portland stop on March 31, the Mercury spoke with musician and author Michelle Zauner about going on her first book tour for the paperback release of “Crying in H Mart,” writing a screenplay based on her memoir, and being shaped by the places where we live and go.

Posted inMovies & TV

Audrey Hepburn Before the Death of the Rom-Com

Cinema 21 celebrates the romantic comedy with Hepburn films all February.
Avatar photo Rose Wong

The state of modern romantic comedy is something of a disgrace. Hollywood and the larger cinema-making world have forgotten how to make rom-coms, still serving up holiday-themed set-ups and the Lifetime hometown hunk formula. Yet romantic comedy, done well, examines one of the most delicate strains of human experience: laughing with someone until you start […]

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