Portlandia

[Christina]

Imagine if the Strand employees were pinkos on top of being snotty!

[JonFromMaplewood]

I bought a Sue Grafton book at the Strand.  An alarm went off, all of the employees descended, and they mercilessly group-rolled their eyes at me.

The guy behind me in line buying "The Savage Detectives" and a collection of Borges essays kicked me in the back of the knee, dropping me instantly.

My point: Strand customers can be pretty ugly too.

[cutout]

Have you ever had a Strand employee make judge-y comments about the shit you're buying as they ring you up? Happened to me and/or my boyfriend-at-the-time on at least a couple occasions. The only thing I could really accuse the Strand employees of is being sort of generally indifferent to the GP and having a big boring hardon for Murakami.

What kind of thing did they say to you at check out? I lost my shit & yelled at a record store employee that rolled his eyes at something I was buying once. At a bookstore it would be even more tempting to just punch someone.

[Christina]

The only one I can remember clearly (I lived in Portland like 10 yrs ago) was when my then-bf was buying books for his little kids. Girl and boy - girl bought like a doll coloring book and the boy bought a book on snakes or dinosaurs. the cashier dude did one of those "tchyuh" noises and said "Way to reinforce those gender paradigms." He actually said "paradigms".

[roubaix]

IFC: a great place to watch TV shows you already own on DVD.

but my DVDs don't have Mesothelioma adverts ...

[effecT]

The only one I can remember clearly (I lived in Portland like 10 yrs ago) was when my then-bf was buying books for his little kids. Girl and boy - girl bought like a doll coloring book and the boy bought a book on snakes or dinosaurs. the cashier dude did one of those "tchyuh" noises and said "Way to reinforce those gender paradigms." He actually said "paradigms".

That is hilarious!
I wish there was a device to show people how stupid they are by infusing them with knowledge and letting them rewatch their stupid selves, but then as you leave with the device they have no recollection of the knowledge and are only left with humility and fear.

[In case you are wondering: I still have the flu and i am at about 38°C]

[Paul DeLouisiana]

Have you ever had a Strand employee make judge-y comments about the shit you're buying as they ring you up? Happened to me and/or my boyfriend-at-the-time on at least a couple occasions. The only thing I could really accuse the Strand employees of is being sort of generally indifferent to the GP and having a big boring hardon for Murakami.

What kind of thing did they say to you at check out? I lost my shit & yelled at a record store employee that rolled his eyes at something I was buying once. At a bookstore it would be even more tempting to just punch someone.

What kind of thing did they syay to you?

[Ike]

The only one I can remember clearly (I lived in Portland like 10 yrs ago) was when my then-bf was buying books for his little kids. Girl and boy - girl bought like a doll coloring book and the boy bought a book on snakes or dinosaurs. the cashier dude did one of those "tchyuh" noises and said "Way to reinforce those gender paradigms." He actually said "paradigms".

Back in THE DAY I was in a band that toured a lot.  We cleared rooms all over. 

We pulled into Portland, parked on the street, and got out to go to Powell's, get something to eat, and ask directions (pre-internet/mapquest/booking-tours-via-email days). 

We walked into a cafe of some sort, asked directions, and two dudes behind the counter actually asked, "Are you driving or bikin'?" 

I said, typically Midwesternly, "Driving.  We're on tour." 

"We don't give directions to drivers."

THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED ON EARTH. 

Three dumb hicks just wanted directions, but we got a lesson in trustfundery instead. 

GOD BLESS THE MIDWEST, I SAY

[gravy boat]

I went to Powells this summer and brought a bunch of books including some junky fiction and heard no flack on the purchases or even any snickers when I asked to ship everything to New Jersey. So they're not always judgmental.

The best I got was when my niece was turning 7 and my sister said she wanted some Bratz dolls (if you're not familiar-they are basically the "bad girl" Barbies--completely trashy but "give em what they want" is my motto for other peoples' kids). I was living in Park Slope and went to the local toy store.  After I asked for them, the owner stared at me for a bit and then said "I don't think any place in Park Slope does or should sell them."

[JustNicole]

If I had IFC, I'd watch it. I saw a few clips this morning, which led me to the Monitor Mix series Carrie Brownstein did on Phish, which I enjoyed a lot. The clip from Portlandia about reading stuff is pretty awesome.

[cutout]

The first episode had some great moments. It seems like the jokes would be limited, but some aren't necessarily Portland-specific, just specific to certain kinds of liberal/college towns/ sensibilities. If it can manage to be appealing to people who've never lived in Portland, hopefully it can last more than a season or two.

[Martin]

I really, really liked it!

[Paul DeLouisiana]

There are parts of most big cities that are like this.

[Sarah]

Also certain small, smug towns. Blue Hill, Maine, springs to mind, and I bet New Paltz has a bit of it, too (lord knows it had the seventies equivalent way back when).  Also Woodstock, whether New York or Vermont.

[Matthew_S]

Not to derail the thread, but you know sometimes you hear some fact and you think, Wait, what?  How did I not know that already?  Or, incredulously, That's true??

Some variant of this experience occurred to me when I listened to Fred and Carrie on the Sound of Young America when Fred casually mentioned that he was married to Sally Timms (of the Mekons, etc.).

Really?  News to me and something I feel I should have already known or come across randomly...