A couple days ago I got an email from Portland cartoonist/Too Much Coffee Man creator Shannon Wheeler: “Hey Alison. You once told me to give you the heads up on stuff I’m doing if it’s interesting or relevant.” **facepalm**
Shannon politely ignored my complete lack of tact to point me toward his review of Portlandia, entitled “Portlandville: A Left-Coast Cartoonist on His Unspoofable City.”
Last night I watched “Portlandia.” Ostensibly it’s a sketch comedy show about the denizens of my city. It’s supposed to be funny. Of course, it’s also supposed to be a parody. It’s not. Parodies exaggerate. The IFC has made a documentary. I know these bike nuts, organic restaurateurs, feminist authors, and smug hipsters. They’re the reason I can’t find an open table at Albina Coffee.
Why don’t Portlanders like “Portlandia”? Because we’re sick of reality television.
Read the whole thing on The New Yorker‘s blog.
The joke about the gender/sex of the chicken was A+++ comedy. Would lulz again.
This Wheeler guy’s review is considerably better than WSH’s whiny, “They’re making fun of meeeeeee!” excuse for a review. Kudos.
I actually really like Portlandia. And my mom has told me I have a good sense of humor so I must be right.
Oh, so there’s where the New Yorker’s “Cartoon Lounge” blog went (basically). I missed that blog 🙁
“They’re the reason I can’t find an open table at Albina Coffee” ?!?
Sigh. Maybe because you meant to go to Albina Press.
Yeah, I thought the Albina Coffee thing was funny. Either he doesn’t know or he thinks it’s cool to get the name wrong on purpose. Likely the latter.
Let it not go unappreciated that Shannon Wheeler now confirms the theory that the reason that Portland seems to be overrun with the fucktard stereotypes presented in Portlandia is because there’s alot of fucktards out there that read fluffy articles about how dreamily indie and alternative Portland is then wind up moving here to “share the magic” so to speak.
If you’ve ever gotten the feeling that you can’t swing a dead cat in this town without hitting someone trying way too hard to live up to the Portland “lifestyle” then you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Do teenagers like Portlandia?
@stukasoverpdx-precisely, but said fucktards constitute a fair percentage of this papers readership so no doubt someone is going to get their panties in a bunch. If not over your perspective, than over the “dead cat”. I realize its simply and expression and I love cats, but there are a lot of kooks out there
Snagglepus – I see my review as a nice compliment to WSH’s review. I did more of a parody than an actual review. I do like the show. There are enough laughs to keep me watching. I like to support local efforts. But thank you for the compliment.
foreveralone – I did get it wrong on purpose. I worried that calling it Albina Press for the New Yorker audience might imply a publishing house – or, at least, not be clear that it was a coffee shop. Also – I wrote a piece of fiction. My baristas at Albina are great. No real reason to use the real name (and no one there, that I know of, has evil 70’s cartoon character tattoos. It gave a nice descriptive image).
stukasoverpdx – Did you take my review seriously?