This Week in the Mercury
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Holiday From All of Us at Blogtown... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM
Fashion / News Local35 to Close
Posted by Marjorie Skinner on Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 12:09 PM
TBA on the reasons behind all this, but in the wake of the "busiest shopping season of the year," Justin Machus of Local35 and the recently opened Machus has announced that he will close his original venture in January after eight years of operation.
I have a message out to Machus for more info on what's behind the decision, but in the meantime, here is the all-important blowout sale info:
Sale Schedule:
20% off Storewide through December 31st
35% off Storewide from January 2nd - 8th
50% off Storewide from January 9th - 15th
70% off Storewide from January 16th - Gone.
All fixtures will be on sale too. Come in and inquire if interested.
UPDATE from Justin Machus: "I really want to be excited about what I sell. I've learned so much in the 8 years of having Local35, I want to use that knowledge and start something new. That means a tighter curation of premium and exclusive product in conjunction with a new webstore."
United Federation of Planets / Rebel Alliance Stormtroopers, Klingons, and Blood
Posted by Erik Henriksen on Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 8:59 AM
Mingle and take photos with members of Star Wars and Star Trek costuming organizations “The 501st Legion: Vader’s Fist” and “Starfleet International.” Watch the films, listen to the soundtracks and defend your galaxy’s honor!All presenting donors will have the opportunity to cast their ballot for either the Stormtroopers or the Klingons, and the side which receives the most votes will walk away with the second annual Galaxy Drive trophy. In addition, donors will be given event-themed buttons, a black Red Cross t-shirt, and a free large, two-topping pizza coupon from Papa Murphy’s. They can also enter into a drawing for a $100 Safeway gift card and enjoy cake and coffee, along with standard refreshment items.
Pizza for blood? A BARGAIN. More info: 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Fashion 2011: The Year in Shoes, Part 4
Posted by Marjorie Skinner on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 6:31 PM
[I'm still sort of bewildered by the fact that I turned an internship at a newspaper run by a then-anti-fashion Editor-in-Chief into a job where I get to write about fashion every day. Nice move, me. The only thing that could be better than that would be to work for a newspaper that only covered shoes. So for this week, I'm going to count down the four most significant shoes I blogged about in 2011. Not necessarily the best mind you (that's a different list), but the ones that served as indicators for important events and changes on Portland's shoe landscape. As a bonus, I'll add a new favorite to each related category for us to consider moving into the new year.]
Undoubtedly, the biggest influence on shoes in Portland over the past year has been Solestruck. They opened a flashy new spaceship-looking shop in the Blackbox building and began taking the city by storm, throwing and showing at events, and getting everyone super excited about really tall, really flashy shoes. That's great! Portland has long needed a source for more experimental shoe designs. I always bemoaned the fact that (well, when Saks was still around) Saks always bought conservatively for the Portland market. I felt like we were being underestimated and stereotyped by shoe providers, and Solestruck has kinda proven me right—girls around town have taken like ducks to water for Solestruck's extreme shapes.
My big hope for Solestruck in 2012, though, is that they'll shake out some new lines that aren't made in goddamn China. They are, however, shaping up an excellent vintage selection, and they do carry Rachel Comey's shoes, whose vetted production in her native Peru passes muster with my scolding attitudes. This pair, by Finsk, which they tweeted and I posted on June 24, is impressively radical even for them:
My new favorite is after the cut.
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Events / Mercury Skate-A-Roke! Roller Skating and Karaoke? SIGN ME UP!
Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 3:44 PM
OMIGOD, this is gonna be so fun. But to make it SUPER FUN get your tickets NOW to beat what will surely be a long line. And if you're super clever, you'll pick the perfect roller skating roller-jam early by exploring the Baby Ketten Karaoke site! Oh, and dress to impress, okay? (Think tube socks and crop tops.)
Music You Should Probably Dance Your Faces Off Tomorrow Night
Posted by Courtney Ferguson on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 2:44 PM
Inspiration!
Events / Music Tonight in Music
Posted by Courtney Ferguson on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 1:14 PM
Kelly's Olympian—Log Across the Washer, The We Shared Milk, Weather Exposed, Pedal Home, 9 pm, $5
Alberta Rose Theatre—Storm Large, Holcombe Waller, 8 pm, $50
Al's Den—On the Stairs, The Tumblers, 7 pm, free
Backspace—School of Rock, 6 pm, $5, all ages
Beech St. Parlor—DJ Drew Groove
Holocene—KM Fizzy, 5 pm, free; Girl Trouble: An All-Female Powerhaus Dance Party: DJ New Moon Poncho, DJ Linoleum, DJ Cuica, DJ Womb Service, Troubled Youth, DJ Doug Ferious, 9 pm, $3
Jade Lounge—Justin Lantrip, Shook Twins, The Tummybuckles, 8 pm
Laughing Horse Books—Duover, Bevelers, Wesley Eader, 9 pm
Mississippi Studios—Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons, The Minus 5, 9 pm, $15
Roseland—Cracker, Leftover Salmon, Poor Man's Whiskey, 8:30 pm, $25, all ages
Someday Lounge—PBR Service Industry Night: Starlight & Magic, DJ Roane, The Verner Pantons, The Hugs, 9 pm, $6 for non service workers
Ted's—Jai Ho Pre New Year's Bollywood & Bhangra Dance Party: DJ Prashant, Armaan, UV, 9 pm
Occupy Best of the Occupy Portland Voicemail Complaints to the Mayor's Office
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Friday, October 7, 2011, 2:12 p.m.
I am extremely upset that the Mayor has apparently announced that he is definitely bringing in security from Salem and from Vancouver for the sit in—or whatever the protest is. I think there’s a better way to handle this. It appears to me that you’re looking for the confrontation rather than the folks who are doing it. I think we have over-reacted, Sam. And, I know Sam, and Sam knows me. You know, I’m not going to the protest; but, that’s only because I’m old. But, I really think that this is a very bad way to handle this whole thing. Thanks. Bye.
Friday, October 7, 2011, 2:17 p.m.
Gosh, this morning you’ve got a little problem, Sam—with some squatters in the parks? FIRE HOSES! Alright? Kill two birds with one stone: get rid of the squatters and give them a bath. Thanks very much, you little jerk! Bye.Friday, October 7, 2011, 2:23 p.m.
I am a constituent of yours. I live in Southeast Portland. I’m calling about the Occupy Portland protest that’s going on right now. I want to urge VERY strongly that there be negotiations with these folks and with Portland Marathon that there NOT be mass arrests. We don’t need that. What we need right now is a solution to our economic crisis; and I think this economic crisis has been going on long enough that it’s become really clear that the solution is not coming from above.Monday, October 10, 2011, 11:01 a.m.
I wanted to leave a message to let the Mayor know that he has let anarchists take over the City and rules of law and order no longer apply. The message to the entire population of the City is that permits don’t matter, law and order doesn’t matter, you can do whatever you want, and the inconvenience of the taxpayer the business owner and the property taxpayer doesn’t matter. So, Sam Adams has GOT to get his hands around this situation. The anarchists downtown are blocking traffic, taking over areas that have been permitted to good use is ridiculous. He’s weak and he’s demonstrated that to the entire State - and I am so disappointed. PATHETIC! I wish he’d resign or leave office so someone with some courage can take over and restore the City to law and order. RIDICUOLOUS. It’s an embarrassment. As a citizen and a member of the community, I am SO embarrassed. Pathetic leadership! Lack of courage! Terrible!
Music This Week's Mercury Music Section
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 11:44 AM
Another week, another Mercury music section to ignore as you read the sickening news that for money, two Indiana women falsified claims of injuries at the tragic Sugarland concert at the Indianapolis State Fair, when the stage collapsed and killed seven, injuring dozens more. Nothing is sacred anymore. Not even Sugarland.
Have you made your New Year's Eve plans? We can help. There are LOTS of great shows going on tomorrow night, so we talked to many of the musicians who are performing, in order to give you an idea of what to expect and where you need to be. We talked to Kevin O'Connor of Talkdemonic (pictured above, who are rumored to be playing with Menomena and Isaac Brock for their NYE set), Storm Large, Adam Shearer of Weinland, Dave Depper of Fruit Bats, Bim Ditson of And And And, Laura Veirs, DJ Cooky Parker, Evan Way of the Parson Red Heads, Caleb Klauder, Aaron Beam of Red Fang, Travis Wainwright of Big Black Cloud, the Miracles Club, Josh Martinez of the Chicharones, Langhorne Slim, DJ Anjali, and John Bowers of Nurses. Whew! That's a lot of Q&A. You'd better start reading.
Plus the usual Up and Comings.
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TV Weatherman Hissy Fit: Holiday Edition
Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 11:14 AM
TV news people are the worst people on the planet... generally speaking. I worked for a news station for awhile, and believe me, it's a personality train wreck featuring tanker cars full of highly flammable ego. That being said, the holidays can drive anybody crazy, even normally jolly weathermen. Check out meteorologist Henry DiCarlo of KTLA lose his poop during a weather live shot—which is funny enough... but then it's followed by his dickhead co-workers ladling on a big spoonful of "fuck you Henry" gravy.
Music Last Day! The Best Musical Moments of 2011
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 10:14 AM
R. Steve Moore at Holocene August 31, 2011. Revelatory!!!!
—Scott McLean (Holocene/Rough Trade)
Givers at Doug Fir for MFNW. Face = melted.
—Matt Sheehy (Lost Lander)
I went on a beautiful tropical vacation with my family when I was 15, and the only two tapes I brought with me were Portishead's Dummy and Portishead. Teen angst much? I know. I remember the first time I heard them my freshman year of high school, and 15 years later I finally saw them live. I was sick as a dog, but nothing was going to keep me from the mediocre setting of the WaMu Theater. The show was amazing. The production was phenomenal and hearing those songs live for the first time was pretty incredible.
Either that, or daydreaming of driving away with Ryan Gosling with only our love, his scorpion jacket and M83's "Midnight City" to protect us.Nope, nope, gonna stick with Portishead.
—Anna Jensen (Doug Fir)
Every day on End Hits this week, we're sharing the best songs, shows, and musical moments of the year, according to nearly 100 fine folks in Portland's rich music scene. This here is just a taste. Click on over to End Hits to see all of today's best musical moments of 2011.
End Hits: One day and... oh. Liftoff.
Imbecile Parade Frank Cassano's "Blogtown: A Year in Review"
Posted by Frank Cassano on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 9:59 AM
So every day this week, I'll be bringing you a pathetically useless Blogtown post from 2011. Should you insist on continuing to visit Blogtown during a week when most people are either on vacation or leading lives worth living, you deserve to be reminded that you are an imbecile for continuing to encourage these syphilis-slathered turds. —Frank Cassano
THE WORST BLOGTOWN POST OF 2011: "Today in Unnecessary and Vaguely Insulting Instructions" (Tuesday February 22, 2011 at 2:13 pm)
This was a post in which Ned Lannamann described, in excruciating detail, how he opened a package of cheese. I do not exaggerate when I note that it is the stupidest goddamn thing on the internet.
Mr. Lannamann's "post" is, essentially, a transcription of a "stand-up comedy bit" he might perform at an establishment going by the name of "Chuckle's Comedy Club." "So how about that packaged cheese, folks, am I right?" Mr. Lannamann would mumble, nervously sweating, his voice cracking with desperation. "Cheese! Am I... am I... right. Folks." The difference between Chuckle's and the internet, however, is that on the internet, is is impossible to throw anything—a tomato, a chair, a cleaver—at Mr. Lannamann in order to shut him up.
Hope you've enjoyed Blogtown this year, dipshits. It's page views like yours that allow Mr. Lannamann to continue writing about opening packages of cheese. All of you are imbeciles, and I wish you nothing but the misery you deserve in 2012.
Events It's Happening Tonight!
Posted by Alison Hallett on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 9:14 AM
GIRL TROUBLE—Holocene has assembled a crack team of lady DJs to make your feet do a happy dance at the Girl Trouble dance night. Join DJs New Moon Poncho, Linoleum, Womb Service, and more for a night of sweaty, grooving, boob-having fun. Remember to hydrate, gals, ’cause you’re going to dance all those dudes under the table. CF
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 9 pm, $3
FAREWELL, FORMAN—After three and a half years of Tuesday nights at Dante’s, fake talk show host Ed Forman (created by comedian Aaron Ross) is packing his bags and moving to Hollywood. Forman is going out big: Ross plans to cram the stage with every last one of his show’s previous guests. AH
Dante’s, 1 SW 3rd, 10 pm, $3
News Good Morning, News!
Posted by Denis C. Theriault on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 8:00 AM
In Portland, we're lumbering to our desks for another misery-filled Friday, a day whose sole redeeming quality is that it moves us 24 hours closer to our inevitable ends. But not Samoa! They skipped Friday! They get to die even quicker now! Happy New Year!
North Korea calls South Korea's decision not to show up for Kim Jong Il's funeral an "unforgivable sin," and now a "defense commission" presumably answering to (and speaking for) the North's boy leader has threatened to visit a "sea of fire" upon its prosperous, showy southern kinfolk. It's certainly of some comfort, though, that apparently will have a prominent new role in the new government.
Syrian activists, calling for a day of national demonstrations, naively hope the recent arrival of Arab League monitors will keep the Syrian military from its favorite pastime: cruelly executing protesters.
Impossibly, Michele Bachmann is making herself even more unpleasant. Stung that a high-profile Iowa supporter switched sides and endorsed Ron Paul, Bachmann blames bribery instead of her obvious inability to run a good campaign. Or act sanely.
Someone make a joke about Dune. Ha. Because this story is about something called "spice" and how it's playing havoc with the soon-to-be-unemployed men and women of the Yoo-Ess military.
Meet the world's oldest divorcees: an Italian couple (she's 96 and he's 99) divorcing after 77 years because of a 60-year-old affair. According to one story, "the Italian press pointed to the couple's southern blood as the catalyst for the breakup."
It's a good thing when a MASSIVE FIRE ON A NUCLEAR SUBMARINE isn't actually that big of a deal.
A U.S. Marine gets all John McClane against a pair of would-be Craiglist robbers. He chased them for several blocks after they took off with the necklace he was selling, and then, after one of the young fellows turned around and shot the Marine, he survived by plugging the bullet holes with his own fingers, running to his car (where several of his kids were waiting) and calling for an ambulance.
Your cable guy is no longer named Larry and is probably, these days, way more educated than the slobs who need his help fixing the NASCAR pictures and "sports on TV."
Yes, Verizon is nickel-and-diming its customers, yes, but not as badly as everyone thought yesterday.
YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS TO GO SLEEP. IT'S NOT EVEN, LIKE, ONE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING.... DO YOU WANT OUR HELP? THIS IS THE LAST CALL. OKAY. WE'RE LEAVING.... SAY HAPPY NEW YEAR. SAY HAPPY NEW YEAR. WHATEVER. IT'S HAPPY.
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
Fashion 2011: The Year in Shoes, Part 3
Posted by Marjorie Skinner on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 6:29 PM
[I'm still sort of bewildered by the fact that I turned an internship at a newspaper run by a then-anti-fashion Editor-in-Chief into a job where I get to write about fashion every day. Nice move, me. The only thing that could be better than that would be to work for a newspaper that only covered shoes. So for this week, I'm going to count down the four most significant shoes I blogged about in 2011. Not necessarily the best mind you (that's a different list), but the ones that served as indicators for important events and changes on Portland's shoe landscape. As a bonus, I'll add a new favorite to each related category for us to consider moving into the new year.]
Unlike apparel and other accessories, it's a rare thing indeed to come upon (non-swooshy or tri-striped) shoes that are designed out of Portland, but lo: On Feb 21, I posted the Holoholo by Nom&Ada—a two person design team, one of whom lives in Portland and the other Japan (the shoes are physically produced in Japan). Checking back nearly a year later, they still haven't added any new shoe designs to their collection of one. But fuck it—they're still cute, and my favorite color (white) is even on sale:
My new favorite is after the cut.
Sports Blazers vs. Nuggets - Hot Live Blog Action
Posted by Tony Perez on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 2:34 PM
Coming to you live from the press-row equivalent of the children's table, I'll be your blogger this evening as our Blazers take on the division-rival Denver Nuggets.
Both teams come into tonight's game with 2-0 records, but the Nuggets are on the tail end of a back-to-back after last night's romp through Utah. Still, with a solid second set, most of Denver's core only logged around 25 minutes last night...I wouldn't expect their lack of fresh legs to be a huge disadvantage (fun fact: Denver has exactly ZERO players born in 1972).
A couple familiar faces in the building this evening, as the Denver second string features former Blazers Rudy Fernandez and Andre Miller. Whether or not Rudy will strap on his 3-goggles tonight remains to seen, but one thing's for certain: the spaniard is out for blood.
Or, you know, just wants to hang out with his ol' buds again. I'll be posting all the hot live-blog action after the jump...
Events / Music Tonight in Music
Posted by Courtney Ferguson on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 2:14 PM
- Sneaker Expo (Via)
Peter's Room at the Roseland—2nd Annual NW Sneaker Expo: Sir Michael Rocks, Logics, Jay Kin, Blaze, Illa, 6 pm, $20, all ages
Alberta Rose Theatre—Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons, Black Prairie, 9 pm, $15
Al's Den—On the Stairs, Leonard Mynx, 7 pm, free
Doug Fir—The Lower 48, Future Historians, Great Wilderness, 9 pm, $8
Kelly's Olympian—Duover, Mike Coykendall, Highway Acoustic, 9 pm, $5
Mississippi Studios—Star Anna & The Laughing Dogs, Kasey Anderson & The Honkies, 9 pm, $8-10
Someday Lounge—Mixer: The Perfect Cyn, Tom Mitchell, Mercedes, Keane, Mr. Romo, Darling Instigatah, DJ Grimes Against Humanity, 9 pm
Tonic Lounge—Ausland Schlage: Diamond Catalog, Cutter Filtoff, Black With Ants, Daddy Longlegs & The Poisonous Spiders, 9 pm, $3
Valentine's—TLC Country Night: Mike & Josh, 9 pm
Film Ooo! A Lone Fir Cemetery Documentary!
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 1:44 PM
Local cemetery fan Kyle Collins is putting together a documentary about Portland's oldest Pioneer Cemetery. He hopes to release the self-funded production before Halloween of 2013. It has a trailer and everything!
Music That's My Jam! (2012 Edition)
Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 1:29 PM
Everybody needs to start out a new year with a new jam, and here's the one I'm planning on waking up to every day for the foreseeable 2012 future: Rye Rye's "New Thing." And while it's been out for a few months, I CANNOT STOP LISTENING TO IT. President Obama: Make "New Thing" your 2012 campaign song, and become dictator of the world.
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Mercury Gold Star: The Mercury's Web Comment OF THE YEAR!!
Posted by Alison Hallett on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 12:43 PM
2011 was the year of Boat Cop, and one comment exemplifies my favorite thread of the year. Congratulations to your friend and mine: commenter atomic!
And an an honorable mention goes to Kiala, for a comment that is elegant in its simple versatility.
(And okay look, I know I started slacking on Comment of the Week over the last few months. I'm New Years resolved to be more consistent in 2012.)
TV Lil' Britney Spears' Japanese Existential Crisis
Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 11:29 AM
So I've been spending a lot of my vacation week watching Japanese TV commercials, and... OH, I'M SORRY! IS THERE SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT I SHOULD BE DOING WITH MY TIME?? Didn't think so. Anyway, I stumbled upon this absolutely adorable and strangely heartbreaking 1999 Japanese TV commercial for Suki gummy candy starring an impossibly young Britney Spears. As she dances alone on her pink private jet, I can't help but think she has no idea what the next ten years has in store for her. (Not that I want the plane to crash or anything, but... you know.)
Good Japanese though, Brit!
Music Still More of the Best Musical Moments of 2011
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 10:13 AM
Wild Flag at the Doug Fir, Nov. 9. Windmills, leg kicks, noise, all done with a certain je ne sais quoi—these ladies renewed my faith in rock and roll.
—Mark Lore (Portland Mercury, thedaysoflore.com)
Definitely the Tender Loving Empire Birthday Party at the Wonder Ballroom. So many good bands and so much Portland love. I went with my sister and my mom and started the night by drinking a few of my favorite cocktails (the Bee's Knees) at the Secret Society. I ended the night half drunk, covered in confetti, sweat and happiness. It was pretty fucking rad.
—Sara Hernandez (The Angry Orts)
SWAAAAANS!!
—Dana Valatka (AU)
As you probably know by now—every day on End Hits this week, we're sharing the best songs, shows, and musical moments of the year, according to nearly 100 fine folks in Portland's rich music scene. This here is just a taste. Click on over to End Hits to see all of today's best musical moments of 2011.
End Hits: Two days and counting...
Imbecile Parade Frank Cassano's "Blogtown: A Year in Review"
Posted by Frank Cassano on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 9:59 AM
So every day this week, I'll be bringing you a pathetically useless Blogtown post from 2011. Should you insist on continuing to visit Blogtown during a week when most people are either on vacation or leading lives worth living, you deserve to be reminded that you are an imbecile for continuing to encourage these syphilis-slathered turds. —Frank Cassano
THE SECOND-WORST BLOGTOWN POST OF 2011: "How to Ride a Bicycle" (Thursday April 14, 2011 at 3:44 pm)
From Sarah Mirk's first days at the Mercury—when her "Sexy Bike" posts immediately turned an entire city against her—she has blathered incessantly about a form of transportation utilized by the likes of eight-year-old girls and the French. Ms. Mirk's wide-eyed fetishization of bicycles, however, plummeted to a nadir in which she sanctimoniously chirped, "I think we could use a quick lesson in basic Portland biking etiquette."
Ms. Mirk: Everything about you infuriates me. I am now going to go for a drive. I will be looking for you.
News Good Morning, News!
Posted by Denis C. Theriault on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 9:04 AM
Good news, y'all! There's still time to make the "died in 2011" list!
Someone/something who/that might not have died this year: Cheetah, the chimp who starred in the old 1930s Tarzan movies. A Florida animal sanctuary tried to say one of its recently passed elderly chimps starred alongside Johnny Weismuller, but that's looking like a bunch of baloney. BALONEY.
Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Portlandia Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein Carrie Brownstein.
Mitt Romney, the 1989 Montgomery Ward's Wishbook model, is surging in Iowa, according to the latest GOP horserace reporting. But, hey, look! What's that? Why, it's a thick, viscous gusher of Santorum, and it's headed his way! Heads up, Mitt!
Kim Jong Il's jowly kid has officially been declared the "supreme leader" of North Korea, answering, for now, questions about succession plans in the tiny, brutal, starving country. (Christ, I want a haircut just like his.)
Russia has forbidden its citizens from rallying in defense of an opposition leader jailed for resisting arrest. But thousands of Russians are planning to show up and protest anyway. Which could be Vladimir Putin's cue to start cracking skulls.
Want to carry anarchist literature? Don't get on an airplane in Britain.
An Egyptian military officer journals about life during the revolution. "Most of the mid-ranking officers are completely uninterested in all the patriotic rhetoric. For them it's just stable employment with decent benefits; the majority are pretty naive and not very politically conscious, and the revolution took them by surprise."
The United States government is giving cancer to left-wing South American leaders. Seriously. There's no way that's not true.
Oh, no! Men are doing more grocery shopping! Which is news, because men and women are so different!
Wendy's hopes the Japanese will eat a $16 hamburger made of goose liver paste. It's all part of a sinister plot to take down Burger King as the world's No. 2 fast-food chain.
The best save of the Rose Bowl: A University of Oregon lineman performs the Heimlich maneuver on a man choking to death at a pregame event called the Beef Bowl. Me, if I saw someone choking to death, I'd be more apt to do the Valsalva maneuver.
Lents neighbors want the state to prevent Portland from (maybe) stinking up their air with Mayor Sam Adams' decision to start collecting all of our collected food scraps.
Hey, stoners. Colorado joins the state of Washington and the commonwealth of Rhode Island in beseeching the Drug Enforcement Agency to reclassify dope as something that's medicinally useful.
What if Barbie were a hoarder?
At the "birthplace" of "Jesus," a fight erupts among priests and monks swinging large sticks and refusing to turn the other cheek. It's a new part of the Mass called the Passing of the Whoop-Ass.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Fashion 2011: The Year in Shoes, Part 2
Posted by Marjorie Skinner on Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 6:27 PM
[I'm still sort of bewildered by the fact that I turned an internship at a newspaper run by a then-anti-fashion Editor-in-Chief into a job where I get to write about fashion every day. Nice move, me. The only thing that could be better than that would be to work for a newspaper that only covered shoes. So for this week, I'm going to count down the four most significant shoes I blogged about in 2011. Not necessarily the best mind you (that's a different list), but the ones that served as indicators for important events and changes on Portland's shoe landscape. As a bonus, I'll add a new favorite to each related category for us to consider moving into the new year.]
What gets people passionate about vintage and thrift shopping is the exhileration of finding something you love amid a sea of mediocrity. All my favorite vintage finds have felt accidentally stumbled upon, and when you see your perfect match—it's no longer available, it's special enough that a series of people made a series of decisions not to let it become landfill, and holy crap it fits you—it feels like the stars are aligned.
I had only been half-considering what kind of hiking boots I might buy now that Palladiums are hella played out, when on February 10th I tripped on a crack and saw this on the Palace blog:
Overall it's been a good year for Portland vintage, especially with newcomers like Reunion, Half Pint, and Funkytown. I don't have the budget to buy the fancy shoes all the time, and Portland's sparkling vintage community makes it so I don't have to.
My new favorite is after the cut.
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