PORTLAND MAGAZINE http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag Maine's City Magazine Sat, 05 May 2012 14:48:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 Singular First Person http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/singular-first-person/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/singular-first-person/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:57:29 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5766 In One Person.]]> May 2012

We catch up with John Irving as he prepares to release his new novel, In One Person.

Interview by Colin W. Sargent

If you had a pulse in 1999, you were bombarded by “Good night you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.” The catch phrase comes from the movie The Cider House Rules, based on John Irving’s 1985 bestseller. It starred Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, and Sir Michael Caine.

And who doesn’t smile upon hearing “Garp bit Bonkie” from Irving’s 1978 bestseller The World According to Garp?

What quip from Irving’s new book will be the meme that will define 2012?

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]]> http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/singular-first-person/feed/ 0 The Devil Wears Gucci http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/the-devil-wears-gucci/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/the-devil-wears-gucci/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:57:05 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5770 Damn Yankees.]]> May 2012

Carson Kressley takes the stage July 25-August 18 in Ogunquit Playhouse’s Damn Yankees.

Interview by Colin W. Sargent

Great you’re coming back to Ogunquit to star in Damn Yankees. In your case, will it be “The Devil Wears Gucci” or “The Devil Wears Missoni”?

I think for a summer in Maine it would have to be “The Devil Wears L.L. Bean”! Even though I love European designers, I have a great appreciation for classic American sportswear. I love the preppy Americana of New England, so don’t be surprised if you see me around town in seersucker shorts, patchwork shirts, and boat shoes. When I come to Maine, I’m living the dream!

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]]> http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/the-devil-wears-gucci/feed/ 0 Carmen Electric http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/carmen-electric/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/carmen-electric/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:56:55 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5749 May 2012

When the Roma Café went dark, a black hole settled over the West End. Now, Carmen at The Danforth brings back the experience of dining in a neighborhood mansion.

By Colin W. Sargent

If singer Ricky Martin comes to town to dine at “Carmen at the Danforth,” what will he order?

Chef Carmen González smiles. “Right now, he’s in New York doing Evita, so he’s homesick. I’d offer him something with a touch of Puerto Rico in it. I’d go with fish and roasted plantains!”

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]]> http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/carmen-electric/feed/ 0 Dream Boat http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/dream-boat-3/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/dream-boat-3/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:56:39 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5752 JFK as a mascot ship for the city of Portland, how about the Williamsburg?]]> May 2012

If you weren’t sure about the JFK as a mascot ship for the city of Portland, how about the Williamsburg? Rusting in Italy, Harry S. Truman’s presidential yacht–built at BIW in 1930–is hungry for a new home.

By Steven W. Lindsey

During his presidency, Harry Truman’s place of refuge was his presidential yacht, the Maine-built USS Williamsburg. As he implemented the Marshall Plan, founded NATO, dismissed General Douglas MacArthur, and managed the Korean War, the former artillery commander and haberdasher found solace under sail aboard the Williamsburg.

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]]> http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/dream-boat-3/feed/ 0 Lawyers in Love http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/lawyers-in-love/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/lawyers-in-love/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:56:25 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5755 May 2012

The legal eagles at 254 Commercial Street really dig their new digs.

By David Svenson

No one loves a lawyer joke more than a lawyer, and the love affair Pierce Atwood–Portland’s largest law firm–has for its new location at Merrill’s Wharf has given rise to this one: “Looks like the top four floors of the (formerly) dark and scary Cumberland Cold Storage building are going to be marine-use after all. Did somebody say, ‘Shark Tank’?”

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]]> http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/lawyers-in-love/feed/ 0 Lobsternomics http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/lobsternomics/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/lobsternomics/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:56:07 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5760 May 2012

Forget the hemlines and follow the lobsters! When it comes to predicting fluctuations in the Dow Jones, lobsters have Wall Street’s bull by the horns.

By David Svenson

In the Roaring Twenties, when Wharton Business School’s George Taylor proposed his “Hemline Effect”–that as hemlines rise, so does the economy–he could also have taken a trip to the docks for similar insight. Because sales figures for fresh lobsters share an uncanny ability to predict market changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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]]> http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/lobsternomics/feed/ 0 Neo-Krautrock Wunderkind from Old Orchard Beach http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/neo-krautrock-wunderkind-from-old-orchard-beach/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/neo-krautrock-wunderkind-from-old-orchard-beach/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:55:53 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5763 May 2012

Guitar hero Rick McPhail is dazzling audiences in Hamburg.

By Jarrett Melendez

He swears he’s not a Sprocket, but bewitching lead guitarist Rick McPhail, 41, is a central figure in the indie-rock band Tocotronic, which keeps pumping out hits in Germany to a rapt audience.

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]]> http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/04/neo-krautrock-wunderkind-from-old-orchard-beach/feed/ 0 Remember the ’80s http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/03/remember-the-80s/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/03/remember-the-80s/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:34:44 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5491 April 2012

By David Svenson

…when houses sold in the $70Ks?

When I was younger and still in college, my father gave me some advice: “Don’t be afraid to get dirty.” That sentiment on character couldn’t mean more to me now–engaged and under 30–as I wait in line to check out the $79,000 house at 116 Winter Street.

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]]> http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/03/remember-the-80s/feed/ 0 Let Them Eat Macarons http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/03/let-them-eat-macarons/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/03/let-them-eat-macarons/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:34:30 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5518 April 2012

by Judith Gaines

The ‘new cupcake’ is feisty and fun. Just don’t call it a macaroon.

Think of macarons “like mini whoopie pies,” says Isabelle Julien, who sells them at her Portland coffee shop, Mornings in Paris. “They’re perfect for Maine.”

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]]> http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/03/let-them-eat-macarons/feed/ 0 Sign Language http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/03/sign-language/ http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2012/03/sign-language/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:34:18 +0000 admin http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/?p=5514 April 2012

By Patrick Venne

Once upon a time, downtown Portland shimmered under the glow of graphic art.

Then a decree was declared across the land, and we took our billboards down. Some say it’s time to revisit the idea of commercial signage in an urban space. Others emphatically disagree.

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