Only in Portland (or Seattle or possibly San Francisco)

[joanne3482]

Do you live in the Pacific Northwest? Have you actually experienced some of the Portlandisms? Do you hear/read things about Portland or Seattle that make you shake your head? Have you been into the Women and Women First bookstore (or one just like it)? How much does Portlandia imitate your real life?

[scowl]

Although this season is more about the characters than Portland, I could list the people here who are just like characters on the show. As I said in the characters thread, if someone here hates the show you can bet they are just like one of the characters. An actual quote: "That show isn't about Portland. It's about a few weirdos who live in Southeast. They don't represent Portland. It's insulting."

 

One common character around here that isn't on the show is the people who believe that Portland is turning to crap. They really want to keep the Dream of the 90's Alive here forever. They'll complain about every way Portland has changed in the past twenty years, Whether it's the high rise condos in the Pearl District ("But those abandoned warehouses were awesome! Why did they tear them down? Fukin' Californian developers!") or some plywood burger shack closing ("They had the best burgers in the world until Phil got busted.") They'll tell you with a vacant look on their face that every change large or small is "a devastating and terrible loss".

 

The show also needs a mediocre band, one with middle-aged members and still plays grudge and has never been more sure that they're about to burst on the national scene. They'll have at least ten self-recorded CD's available for purchase at every gig and it makes no difference which one you buy because they all sound the same. I can't believe Spyke isn't in a band. 

[scowl]

Yesterday I saw gutterpunks on the light rail. As if they were on Portlandia, they sat on the floor instead of in seats. I guess sitting in a seat just doesn't feel right any more.

 

In other cities, do people get into a habit of putting on expensive sunglasses every day regardless of how cloudy it is? I don't know how these people can see anything around here.

[scowl]

The show is more about the established characters than the city now. 

 

The joke of an worried couple hiring a consultant to excel in social events is completely the opposite of what I experience around here. Portlanders are exceptionally confident of anything they get involved in. Everyone is so polite, no one says anything bad to anyone after they've made an ass of themselves. To their face anyway. The karaoke episode should have had some jerk saying "You suck!" while hardly watching, meanwhile everyone whispers to each other about how that guy is but not doing anything about him. 

 

Where were the righteous judgemental Portlanders fuming about anything they feel is a non-progressive practice? We don't need ecoterrorists here. Whenever someone doesn't feel "at peace" with what you're doing, they'll be in your face. This was great in the first season ("Who would put a dog on a pole like a stripper?") but they seemed to have dropped it.

 

The funniest group of people here at the moment are the middle-aged people who grew up here in the 90's and can't stop talking about how cool Portland used to be, before they built condos for the goddamn people who moved here. Rent was so cheap, you could get a low-paying job and go out every night! Now downtown is full of jerks with real jobs and everything is expensive. Back then Portland was full of "real" Portlanders!  "Now fuckers are trying to push us out into the suburbs!" one told me. Last season hit this perfectly with fat balding Jello Biafra screaming "Yuppies! Yuppies!" at everyone he sees. 

[scowl]

I previously mentioned the "at peace" phrase that some people use around here. A new trend (perhaps in other places as well) is "Seriously!?!?" but usually said more like "Ser'ously!?!?" This is said whenever a Portlander discovers something that's unacceptable. I think Spyke would be the character saying this every five minutes.

 

A five story luxury apartment proposed next to your cheap apartment building: "Ser'ously?!? This used to be a good neighborhood!!!"

[scowl]

Now is the time in Portland when bad people like me use their leaf blowers. I have an electric one that's somewhat louder than a hairdryer but that was enough to attract one of our defenders of the environment to scold me for not using a rake.

 

"Do you have any idea how much pollution that thing makes? It's shameful!"

Yeah I do. Not much. It's electric. See the long orange cord?

"But the coal plants create pollution to generate electricity!"

Last I checked we still had several dams on the Columbia that produce our electricity.

 

She then walked away muttering to herself about how ignorant people are.

 

I'm wondering if I should even bother engaging these people in a discussion. Next time I'll be like Leonard in Community and tell them "Call a cop!"

[scowl]

Portland's trend in pinball machines continues to grow! We'll be getting a 4,000 square foot pinball arcade and museum. Yes, there are pinball leagues here. Women are invited but I haven't seen any yet.

 

http://www.wweek.com/2015/12/21/portland-getting-a-new-4000-square-foot-video-game-palace-at-former-alhambra-theatre/

 

Is this a Portland thing?

[Bossa Nova]

I don't know which thread in which to put my comment on, so I will do it here...

 

I am watching the IFC New Years Day Portlandia marathon and so thoroughly enjoying it. Really has me now hooked to the show and so looking forward to season 6.

 

Just finished season 3 (I think) of the hour long "Brunch Special" - Director's cut. Oh my gawd, it was so good. Please do try to catch it !

 

Fred Armisen is such a talent. Wish Bill Hader were a regular on this show. They could do comedic magic together. 

Edited January 2, 2016 by Bossa Nova

[cpcathy]

then I hope you've caught Documentary Now! when it was on or on Demand of some sort!

[scowl]

Just finished season 3 (I think) of the hour long "Brunch Special" - Director's cut. Oh my gawd, it was so good. Please do try to catch it !

 

The main wrong thing about "Brunch Special" is that everyone in the line would have been staring at their phones and their tablets, and more than one of them would have been complaining about how this place was cool before everyone found out about it. They also would have talked about some other cool restaurant from x years ago back when Portland was a cool place.

[Bossa Nova]

 

then I hope you've caught Documentary Now! when it was on or on Demand of some sort!

 

Yes ! I was thinking of that short lived series when I wrote about adding Bill Hader. They were so good together, plus Hader is such a talent himself. Armisen & Hader were the last of the genuine talented's on SNL before this latest mediocre ensemble with the exception of Kate McKinnon.

 

Armisen and Hader can truly morph into believable characters, voices, impersonations like the best of them.  

[Bossa Nova]

And speaking of....for your viewing pleasure:

 

Here is a sample of Documentary Now!, Episode One. It is beyond funny. A parody of Grey Gardens with Hader and Armisen playing, "Little Vivvy and Big Vivvy Klimpton".

 

Edited January 5, 2016 by Bossa Nova

[sandrajane]

Do you live in the Pacific Northwest? Have you actually experienced some of the Portlandisms? Do you hear/read things about Portland or Seattle that make you shake your head? Have you been into the Women and Women First bookstore (or one just like it)? How much does Portlandia imitate your real life?

 

Zero.  Born and raised there.  But I'm black.  And grew up in The Villa (proper name Columbia Villa), before it was was bulldozed and rebuilt.  So there's nothing realistic about this show.

 

Edited March 7, 2016 by sandrajane

[estellasmum]

I'm from the 'burbs, but recently had an experience in a Portland restaurant that made me look around to see if they were actually filming the show.

My husband and I were having breakfast and the restaurant was fairly empty except for a big group of people who were artists. They were talking about painting the sky. They were pretty quiet at first, and we weren't really paying attention to them. Then it came to the topic of painting gray skies. They all started talking louder and louder about who they had studied with to teach them how to paint the "proper" color gray for Portland skies, since that is important because we get so much rain here. Then the conversation veered off into how authentic a painter are you if you are only painting gray skies from a picture, or if you are only painting from indoors, and how the only way to capture the "trueness" of the sky was to be outdoors. There is no way I could do this conversation justice, I'm afraid. I haven't seen that many episodes of the show, but I literally was looking around to see if there were Fred and Carrie and a production company there, and after that, I had to bury my head in my husband's shoulder, because I was almost in tears from silent laughter at all the pretentiousness going on in the room, and thinking to my self how THAT would have made a perfect Portlandia skit.

[AnnieBeez]

On 11/5/2015 at 10:31 AM, scowl said:

Now is the time in Portland when bad people like me use their leaf blowers. I have an electric one that's somewhat louder than a hairdryer but that was enough to attract one of our defenders of the environment to scold me for not using a rake.

 

"Do you have any idea how much pollution that thing makes? It's shameful!"

Yeah I do. Not much. It's electric. See the long orange cord?

"But the coal plants create pollution to generate electricity!"

Last I checked we still had several dams on the Columbia that produce our electricity.

 

She then walked away muttering to herself about how ignorant people are.

 

I'm wondering if I should even bother engaging these people in a discussion. Next time I'll be like Leonard in Community and tell them "Call a cop!"

I'd ask you why you were blowing them into the street and clogging up the drains. ;)

[scowl]

I wasn't. I was blowing them into the big yard debris container.

Portland had a great idea to make some revenue: charge everyone for leaf pickup. Over half of Portland have opted out of the plan. 

[scowl]

One thing they missed this season is that most male hipsters in Portland have big bushy beards right now. It reminds me of those pictures of the House of David baseball team. Almost every guy has some kind of beard. If you don't have a beard, they assume you live in the suburbs.

It's sad that Portlandia shoots during the summer because the city turns into pure comedy when it snows. Not only do we not shovel our sidewalks, many people dump the snow from their driveway right on the sidewalk creating two mountains of snow that people have to climb over to walk past their house. 

[scowl]

I'm still disappointed they haven't shown these Portland guys with the huge beards! It's a huge trend here, especially with thick-framed glasses and messenger bags. I see at least three huge beards whenever I'm on the MAX.

[Nancypants]

Gawd I Hate those Neckbeards!