The rumors that there have been multiple rapes around NE and SE 28th haven’t died down; A Mercury staffer spotted a flyer warning people to be careful, at The Standard on NE 22nd at Burnside. I tracked down the person who made the flyers, and she has some concrete information about what’s really been going […]
Portland
Posted inBooks
Dark Horse Artists Blogging at Powell’s.
I’m not sure why it took us so long to figure this out, since Powell’s Books and Dark Horse Comics are both, like, right down the street, but word comes via Pop Candy that over at the Powell’s Blog, artists for Dark Horse are blogging it up all week. They’ve got Slow Wave‘s Jesse Reklaw, […]
Posted inPortland
250 Business Cards For Five Cans Of Food
One of the things I love most about working at the Mercury is the superficial thrill I get whenever I hand over one of our slick business cards: In these difficult economic times, having a business card is both a reassuring sign that yes, I’m still employed and yes, you can contact me with information […]
Posted inPortland
The Hawthorne Bridge Death Trap
I have an irrational fear the causes me to avoid the center lanes of the Hawthorne Bridge. Those counterweights look like two massive, blunt 880,000 pound guillotines. I mean really… how strong are the cables holding them up? Emails like this, from Multnomah County, sure don’t help. Hawthorne Bridge to close Tuesday for emergency repair […]
Posted inPortland
Break Out the Fake Blood: It’s the Return of the KnowFilmFast Horror Film Competiton.
Every year, the Know (2026 NE Alberta) hosts the KnowFilmFast Horror Film Competition, in which Portland filmmakers get 66 hours and six minutes to create a horror flick. Or, as Josh from the Know puts it: Uh oh. Here we go again. Its time once again to sharpen your pencils and then, without warning, stab […]
Posted inBooks
Rumor: Watchmen in Portland Tomorrow Night? (Also: If So, Who Wants to Help Me Sneak Into the Screening?)
Take this with a grain of salt, but earlier today, Collider posted a very interesting story. This Thursday, Warner Bros. is testing Zack Snyder’s Watchmen in Portland. They’re trying to get a blind audience, so no one would know what they’re seeing. Well, that is… until now. Here’s what I know, the movie is scheduled […]
Posted inArtsy
Dude! Sweet Webcomic Tattoo!
So Achewood is a really popular webcomic about two alcoholic bears and some of their friends. Surprisingly, it’s actually super smart. And funny. Look! The comic was in The New Yorker! And this week it’s here in the Mercury, where artist Chris Onstad talks about being sad and being sad and funny. So for a […]
Posted inPortland
Monthly Drug Budget
Yesterday I was downtown at Central City Concern talking to their executive director, Ed Blackburn, about heroin and acupuncture and the recession and all sorts of hot topics when he handed me a fat stack of papers comprising a financial report waaay more interesting that the front page of the Wall Street Journal: the economics […]
Posted inPortland
Digging for Gold in Recession Era Trash
At the advice of everyone in the world (including the Pulitzer Prize committee) I’ve picked up Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. But reading that post-apocalyptic story at night and about The Great Recession during the day, my global outlook has turned grim. The banks will collapse. Sarah Palin will become president. The world will turn to […]
Posted inPortland
Hung Far Where?
Yesterday, the Mercury received a frantic email from Jerry of downtown marketing firm Leopold & Ketel. He attached an alarming photo: Somebody took down the Hung Far Low sign down and boy am I pissed. That sign kept Portland weird. Now Portland is just a little more normal. This has got to stop. Please find […]
Posted inPortland
This House is Not Haunted
Every day I ride my bike past this decaying printing house on NE 7th Avenue just off Broadway and wonder what its story is. It’s a turn-of-the-century wooden home all alone in a lot right next to the bright lights of Chipotle. Was it vacant? Did someone crazy live in the attic? Yesterday, the rusty […]
Posted inPortland
On Idealism And Protest
I’m no longer an idealist. But that doesn’t mean I can’t admire the work of those who are. Here’s a Youtube of the protest organized by the Portland Coalition Against Poverty outside the Portland Police Bureau on September 17. Watching it, I couldn’t help but cringe. These guys sincerely believe in what they’re fighting for […]