“Defending the Digital Frontier: Why We Need a Civil Rights Framework for the Internet,” Truthout
Kelly Hayes writes about the connectedness of digital and civil rights, which she sees as the core problem highlighted by the recent Facebook scandal. She examines the political implications, different from but connected to the privacy implications, of the largely and increasingly unregulated nature of the internet, especially as it relates to marginalized groups. — Jonathan Stegall, user experience engineer
“Saying goodbye to ‘Portlandia’ and the city’s love/hate relationship with the show,” The Oregonian/OregonLive
“Portlandia,” which airs its final episode this month, is the subject of two articles by Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian/Oregon Live. The first tells of the mixture of pride and irritation the brainchild of Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Jonathan Krisel produced in the city. Next, she describes the last episode, which responds to the current urban battles of growth and condo construction. — Peter Callaghan, local government reporter.
The Long Linguistic Journey to ‘Dagnabbit,’ Atlas Obscura
Earlier this month, just before jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant launched into “Jeepers Creepers” at the Dakota, she asked the audience if we knew what “Jeepers Creepers” meant. We wondered if the old-timey exclamation might be a euphemism for “Jesus Christ” — as are, for example, “Judas Priest” and “Jeez Louise” and “Jiminy Cricket.” English is full of ways to blaspheme or curse without actually doing it. Dan Nosowitz explores the fascinating history of taboo deformations, the official term for this linguistic phenomenon. — Pamela Espeland, Artscape columnist.
“The Last Days of Jerry Brown,” California Sunday Magazine
Like Minnesota’s own governor, Mark Dayton, California Gov. Jerry Brown is reaching his final days in office, capping a political career that spanned decades and various offices throughout the state. In the latest issue of California Sunday Magazine, Andy Kroll sits down with Brown to discuss his legacy and finds a man very uninterested in discussing his legacy. Still, Kroll uses that expertly to both discuss what Brown has managed to do in his time in public life, and why he’s so uninterested in fussing about it all. — Briana Bierschbach, state government and politics reporter.
As a former resident of Portland, I managed to sit through two or three episodes of that show before I gave it up. I tried it again, and it had even less to do with reality. Instead, the show had created its own world, one that was not even remotely funny.
I was hoping to see clever commentary on the admittedly quirky city where I had lived for ten years, but instead, I saw exaggerated riffs on a small portion of the hipster subculture that exists everywhere, including the Twin Cities.
Some residents of the city of Vancouver, Washington, located across the Columbia River from Portland, produced a YouTube video that was much funnier than the actual show.
Unfortunately, the show made the city so popular and such a hipster magnet that I can no longer afford to move back there.