Merkley Goes Into Kitchen Sink Mode
The conventional wisdom advises that when a political candidate is trailing, what he should do is go negative against his opponent - and it looks like Jeff Merkley is following that advice.
Thin Edge of the Broadband Wedge?
BendBroadband's plan to offer faster connections but charge heavy users extra inspired the technology site Gizmodo to post an article headlined: "The Future of Broadband: We're Totally Screwed."
Life as Art: Cristina Acosta is making her art at all costs
Brushing up on tile work. Bend artist Cristina Acosta is challenging the old truism that art imitates life. A painter, Acosta has learned to let her art into her everyday world. "At one point I realized that I needed to take my art off of the canvas, and put it into my life," says Acosta…
Things That Bite in the Night: Brown recluse and hobo spiders are getting a bum rap
The real bad "guy" (but really a "gal"), the infamous Brown Recluse. Spiders in Central Oregon are in a heap of trouble, and so are you. I say that because of a recent article in The Bulletin regarding a woman and her son who allegedly were bitten by so-called hobo spiders in their rental home…
Break Out The Shorts: Will legs at last see the light of day?
Breaking Up Is Hard To DoGetting down on Gray Butte By now every road bike geek in America is in a tizzy about the lawsuit- countersuit action between Greg Lemond and bicycle maker Trek. The situation is as exciting for rabid roadies as those Hollywood star split-ups are for celebrity worshipers. For those of you…
It was SIMply a matter of Time: The Sims franchise drops on the Wii
In a better world, we’re all cartoonsThis was going to happen; it was just a matter of when. Electronic Arts has taken one of their premier franchises and combined it with the hottest game system around. The first installment of the Sims franchise for the Wii has arrived under the name My Sims. This game…
Slashed to Pieces: Prom Night probes new depths of lame
Quick, act like a cat. My first reaction leaving the theatre after this movie, besides ramming my head into the wall, was to consult my thesaurus for new ways to say horrible, terrible and awful (words I've been using a lot lately to describe movies). Wretched and abominable seem to work. The only thing…
Indie Picks: Fields of Fuel
Filmmaker Josh Tickell is aiming for "a shift in human consciousness," with his film, Fields of Fuel. Focused on biodiesel and biofuels as alternatives to reliance on big oil and soy production, the film asks us to choose more self-reliant, peaceful, and healthier lives.
Corn Fed: A look at America’s most planted, processed and subsidized crop
Stuffing their cornholes.You might think twice about devouring another McDonald's Quarter Pounder after watching Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis' eye-opening documentary, King Corn. The film won Best Documentary at the 2007 Bend Film festival and will screen again on April 22 at the Tower Theatre as part of the Indie Reels series. Co-producer Curt Ellis…
Quick Bites: On To The Big City
It’s a fact of life in Central Oregon that many of your friends will move away to the big city (i.e. Portland) at some point to chase things like romance, nightlife and living wages. Next month one of Quick Bite’s best “friends” is making the move to the big city. Deschutes Brewery launches its new…
Quick Bites: On To The Big City
It's a fact of life in Central Oregon that many of your friends will move away to the big city (i.e. Portland) at some point to chase things like romance, nightlife and living wages. Next month one of Quick Bite's best "friends" is making the move to the big city. Deschutes Brewery launches its new…
Shaken and Up: Bendistillery Martini Bar and Tasting Room (AKA: The Martini Bar)
As I sit at my little round table at the Martini Bar waiting for the rest of my party, my cell phone rings. My friends are at the Old Mill Martini Bar. “Aren’t we eating dinner?” they ask. “Do they even serve food at the Downtown Martini Bar?” Like many other diners, my friends didn’t…
Shaken and Up: Bendistillery Martini Bar and Tasting Room (AKA: The Martini Bar)
As I sit at my little round table at the Martini Bar waiting for the rest of my party, my cell phone rings. My friends are at the Old Mill Martini Bar. "Aren't we eating dinner?" they ask. "Do they even serve food at the Downtown Martini Bar?" Like many other diners, my friends didn't…
American Music Club – The Golden Age
The critically acclaimed Bay Area band has been making music since the mid-80s. The songs come quietly and deliberately from leader Mark Eitzel as he prods through curious subject matter. Past releases include song titles like: "What the Pillar of Salt Held Up", "How Many Six Packs Does It Take to Screw in a Light",…
Northwest String Summit
Get YonderEven after Sunday's show at the Midtown Music Hall, we know you haven't had enough of Colorado's Yonder Mountain String Band. And how in tarnation do we know that, you ask? Well, see, it's just in the nature of a band that's so darn good it warrants its very own three-day, outdoor music festival…
Storm Brewing: New Monsoon set to drop at Summit Saloon
the fleet fingers will be out in force at new monsoon. If you're a fan of open-ended electric jams and happened to miss New Monsoon at last year's inaugural 4 Peaks Festival in Tumalo, here's your chance to totally redeem yourself and strike a blow for sustainable living at the same time. San Francisco's jammin'…
Department Store Party: Blue Turtle Seduction take you from lingerie to hardware
proper robot technique. Blue Turtle Seduction is about to release a new record called 13 Floors and after drummer Adam Navone describes the idea behind the title, it seems that this album's heading may be the most accurate description of the South Lake Tahoe band that you're likely to stumble upon. "It's got 13 songs…
Our Picks for the Week of 4/19-4/23
Trashformations saturday-sunday 19-20 Every year Parents, Students, Kids, Amateur Artists and Artists come from all over the country to participate in this event. Participants can work as a team or as individuals. Kids teams are especially encouraged. All materials for the creations are supplied by Pakit Liquidators. Participants are required to bring their own fastening…
Not So Neighborly: ADA flap renews simmering civic sibling rivalry
It's no secret that its neighbor to the south overshadows Central Oregon's second largest city. It's a rivalry that dates back almost 100 years to 1916 when Bend bested Redmond in a contest to see which city would become the county seat in the newly formed Deschutes County. And so it has gone for a…
The Parking Fee Plan
Bend pioneers - i.e., anybody who was here before 1990 or thereabouts - can remember when downtown had no parking problem at all. About half the storefronts were boarded up, and you could park pretty much anywhere you wanted at any time of day. Those days, fortunately, are long gone, and downtown Bend now…
Off Into the Sunset, With a Bang: A porn queen calls it quits and Gonzo can’t get started
A big T.S. Eliot fan – honest. In news that will bring sorrow to the hearts of porn aficionados everywhere, Upfront has been informed that Sunset Thomas has shot her last XXX-rated feature. A news release from Vavoom Films (we are not making this up) informed us that Thomas, the self-styled "Princess of Porn," has…
Pregnant Man Is Profile in Courage
Letter of the Week In reaction now to the news about Thomas Beatie, the pregnant man in Bend, I offer some thoughts that have come out of conversations I've had over the last few weeks. It doesn't matter how you feel about the issues of gender, sexuality and fertility, but I respect the Beaties' courage…
What Are You Smoking?
I have yet to see or hear of any healthful benefit to the use of tobacco, so I am a little dismayed by you giving "The Boot" to the Bend Metro Parks and Recreation Board for considering a ban on the use of tobacco in the park facilities of Bend.
Singing the Praises of Joe
In response to your article about Trader Joe's: No – people in Bend or Portland or California are not crazy … they just LOVE their Trader Joe's!!! Maybe it's a little bit of nostalgia on the part of California ex-pats (of which I am one), but it's also the fact that the company has been…
ODOT’s Got a Lot of ‘Splainin’ to Do
Way to go Source! You really scooped the "other Bend publication" with your story about Ray Perry, the ODOT employee who was fired for coming forward with the misdeeds of ODOT. I'd like to let Sen. Ben Westlund know he earned my vote for his bid as state treasurer. I am so happy to see…
The Epitome of Hypocrisy
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" – except homosexuals! Hypocrisy epit-omized. Article I, Section 1, Oregon Constitution: "Natural rights inherent in people. We declare that all men, when they form…
