Portland's own little
alternative magazine. Started up again in June 2000 after a
69 year absence from the fair if rainy environs of this fine town, it's printed every week and available free in print and online at www.portlandmercury.com
Basically, it's The Stranger for Oregon. The name was taken from the 1869 periodical The Sunday Mercury, shut down for extortion in 1893 and again in 1931 after a record three issues. A typical issue has a feature story, some news, the delicious I, Anonymous column in which people confess to the masses in secrecy, I Love Television, my vicarious connection to the glowbox, One Day at a Time, a rundown of the past week, and the gem of the paper, Savage Love, along with the normal concert and club listings, art scene info, music, theater, book and movie reviews, various strange comics, and the necessary classifieds and personal ads, conveniently split into Personals "For Love, Romance, Dating and Friendship" and Alternatives "For Kinky, Casual, or otherwise Outrageous Love". Good reading, good price, they sponsor awesome events like the Clinton Theater H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and unlike that wimpy Willamette Week they won't dump Dan Savage because of one grandmother's complaints.