It’s over. The Mercury Juicing Scandal of 2013 came to a close yesterday—I am eating a sandwich as I type this—leaving a trail of controversy in its wake. It feels special that so many of you are concerned for our health! As cleanses go, what we did was pretty mellow: only three days, tons of […]
Health
Posted inHealth
The Week That Key Members of the Mercury Staff Stopped Eating Food
So, a bunch of us here at the Merc are in the middle of a three-day juice cleanse from Portland Juice Press. In case you are unfamiliar, a juice cleanse involves abstaining from food*, alcohol, caffeine—everything except water and raw juice. The idea is that without having to deal with digesting food, your body can […]
Posted inTV
Those “Twee” Cover Oregon Ads
The new Cover Oregon spots start airing on your telly-vision today, but they’ve already made their rounds on the internet. The spots are part of a multimillion dollar state ad campaign to raise awareness for Oregon’s new health marketplace—Cover Oregon is the new state facility/agency that allows people to find plans and benefits. Here’s the […]
Posted inHealth
The wikiHow on Inducing Vomit is Kind of Awesome
Hopefully your Fourth of July holiday did not prominently feature vomiting—mine did. Long story short, my “friend” accidentally ate some chicken salad that had been kicking around for a month. This led to his being convinced that he needed to puke it up right away, before any potential food poisoning could set in. Fingers down […]
Posted inHealth
An Incurable Fungal Disease That Eats Your Brain! Yet Another Reason Not to Live in the Southwest.
Nature once again struggles to bring “short” back into the Hobbesian equation: But his most life-threatening encounter has been with coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, for which he is being treated here. Coccidioidomycosis, known as “cocci,” is an insidious airborne fungal disease in which microscopic spores in the soil take flight on the wind or even […]
Posted inHealth
Illume
Yeah, I’m going to go ahead and file this post under “health,” since A) we don’t have a “vanity” tag, and B), the skin is the largest organ in your body and outwardly manifests all manner of internal turmoil, as you know. But this is straight up about facials. Salon facials. So whether you consider […]
Posted inMusic
“The Funniest Four Minutes of Fluoride Fun That You May Ever Know.”
We’ve had our say. So without further ado, let’s hear the stirring counterargument—IN SONG. Video via Portland band Star Witness, who describe it as “The funniest four minutes of fluoride fun that you may ever know.” I agree with this assessment. I was gonna close comments on this one, because Jesus Christ already, but what […]
Posted inArtsy
Cutting Remarks
A “Savage Love” reader with phimosis recently wrote and asked for advice. Dr. King, my guest expert, suggested circumcision as one possible fix. Toby Butterfield also suffered from phimosis and wound up getting circumcised. Butterfield told the story of his circumcision—and his first post-phimosis orgasm—at a recent installment of Portland’s Mystery Box Show, a performance […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Sword + Fern Is Back: New Curtains, News, and Projects
So maybe my excitement led me to get a little out of hand with the subject tags of this post, but that’s only because Sword + Fern—the gem of a shop helmed by Emily Baker, who makes jewelry but also stocks local apothecary, art, clothing, vintage nicknacks, books, and more—just keeps becoming a better and […]
Posted inNews
Former Health Official Alleges Discrimination, Sexism at State Agency
A former high-level employee at the Oregon Health Authority is threatening to sue the agency, saying the state’s public health director discriminated against her because she’s a woman. Jean O’Connor, fired from her job as the OHA’s deputy director for public health in February, filed a tort claim notice with the state in early March, […]
Posted inNews
Some People Like Fluoride?
Turn any corner in this city and you’ll probably be bombarded with some form of anti-fluoride campaigning. From fully covered buildings downtown to protesters on the Hawthorne Bridge on-ramp, Portlanders have spoken. But, from the shadows, emerges the PRO-fluoride campaign. Healthy Kids, Healthy Portland held a press conference this morning at the Center for Intercultural […]
Posted inTransportation
“A kilo is a kilo is a kilo.”
The first airline in the world to charge passengers by weight declares their new pricing model a success: Passengers do not pay for a seat but pay a fixed price per kilogram, which varies according to the length of the route. Analysts believe other airlines around the world are likely to follow suit, especially as […]