Photographic Proof: Obama’s a Wimp!
It would be a shame if Republicans went extinct - they give us so many great laughs.
Gypsies in Mariachi Clothing: Creating geographical confusion with Diego’s Umbrella
Raise your freak flag…"We're huge in Holland," says Tyson Maulhardt, the guitarist for the San Francisco band Diego's Umbrella, adding a quick laugh.
Every internationally touring band has some out-of-the way country where they claim to be "huge," so this isn't necessarily a strange comment…but Holland? Really? We've heard Japan more than enough times…
Bulletin Employees Hit With Pay Cut
The tough times that have battered newspapers across the country have hit home in Bend: Staffers at The Bulletin and its parent company, Western Communications Inc., were told yesterday that they'll be taking pay cuts of up to 10%.
Cessna: Another Big-League Dream Has Flown
Another one bites the dust: Cessna announced yesterday that it's laying off the last 200 workers at its Bend manufacturing plant and closing the operation for good.
Where Wolves?: Reclassifying wolves could have consequences
This is the second installment in a two-part piece about the decision to remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species list in Montana and Idaho. After the War, there was a lot of 1080 (known to the chemical industry as sodium fluoroacetate) stored in military installations around the US; it was too costly to destroy,…
Something Close to the American Dream: My night of Bunco
Call me the tumblin’ diceLast month I found myself the substitute player at a Bunco party where every one of the thirteen women was a former high school cheerleader. Me, the person who skipped any high school assembly remotely promoting "spirit" to drink coffee at Denny's, the classic dichotomy of Us vs. Them, the Jocks…
California Dreamin’: Soul Surfing and Riding Down Memory Lane
Surfing Santa CruzThe Mamas and the Papas pop into my head about this time every year: "All the leaves are brown And the sky is gray I've been for a walk On a winter's day. I'd be safe and warm If I was in L.A. California dreamin' On such a winter's day." When Winter is…
Mafia Monopoloy: Latest Godfather has the goods
I started out with no respect for The Godfather II. In The Godfather: The Game, classic scenes from one of the world's greatest movies were fumblingly recreated with a videogame engine, and the gameplay never coalesced into a coherent experience. With things tending in that direction, I thought that a videogame sequel named after an…
Misinformed: Beautiful messed up people make ugly messed up movie
The Thriller video shoot is next door, guys. It's not until about three-quarters of the way through that you get to find out why this movie is called The Informers, and by then it's far too late to care. The opening scene starts out just fine, a party rife with '80s fashion and hairstyles, blaring…
The Mind’s Ear: Outstanding cast boosts The Soloist
What's right with this picture?About two weeks ago, Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez spoke on Capitol Hill about issues related to homelessness in American cities. Specifically, he discussed his personal and professional relationship with mentally ill musician Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, played by Jamie Foxx in The Soloist. It wasn't exactly the standard late-night talk…
Nershi Gives Us a Little Slice of Cheese
Nershi's been letting it grow long since SCI.One of the best things about the scheduled String Cheese Incident reunion this July at the Rothbury Festival in Michigan is that we no longer have to refer to Bill Nershi as the "former String Cheese Incident front man." Well, of course there are some ancillary benefits like,…
Comedy, Folk and Crayons
Emma Hill. Not pictured: Her totally awesome Gentleman Callers.
Laughing and listening, we do both here at Sound Check. We also play checkers, draw crayon depictions of famous U.S. landmarks (we do a friggin’ awesome East St. Louis Public Library) and like to take our shoes off under our desks when no one is looking,…
This Labor Practice Is Enough to Make You Sick
How do you feel about a restaurant worker with swine flu sneezing and coughing on your food when he or she prepares it or brings it to your table?
Making it Epic: Sitting in with Empty Space Orchestra
Lindsey, you forgot your glasses.About a story underground and lounging amongst scattered drum cases and other instruments, the entirety of Empty Space Orchestra is gathered in silence while a surging whirlwind of an instrumental rock song thunders through the room. Lindsey Elias is tapping her feet with the rapidity of the last bounces of a…
Our Picks for the Week of 4/29 – 5/7
Pay It Forward - Catherine Ryan Hyde
thursday 30 Many of us remember the film Pay it Forward, that starred a cute-as-hell Haley Joel Osment (whatever happened to him?) and Kevin Spacey. But the film was actually based on the novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde, who will be in town for two separate presentations and…
Dog Owner Social Engineering
This week's letter comes from Gene Seigal who keeps the dog licensing debate well-stoked with this missive on tiered licensing. Thanks for the humorous take Gene. You can pick up your winner's prize, a pound of Strictly Organic Coffee, at our office, 704 NW Georgia. As a dog lover and owner, I was immediately drawn…
Forwards or Backwards?
As I was driving down the road this morning I was listening to the Democracy Now show on KPOV 106.7 radio.
Torture Just Backfires
Torture is wrong because it doesn't work. Societies must, at times, walk into questionable moral territory, but when that happens, you should at least get results. With torture, you don't. The confessions obtained are no good, and the enemies you create in the process will be highly motivated, and knock back at you hard. First…
Do What You Can
I was saddened to read the personal story about the closing of Santee Alley (Leaving Downtown: Contemplating the end of an era and a dream). It was just another reminder of how the economic downturn has battered the Bend-Redmond area, destroying too many dreams. I'm doing what I can to help. Part of my job…
Drive On In: Because who wants to eat pork right now?
PB: Still the Burger KingPilot Butte Drive-In 916 NE Greenwood Ave. Come for the food, stay for the unintentionally Rockford Files cool retro décor.
Drive On In: Because who wants to eat pork right now?
PB: Still the Burger KingPilot Butte Drive-In 916 NE Greenwood Ave. Come for the food, stay for the unintentionally Rockford Files cool retro décor.
The Early Bird: Sparrow is a bite of Paris in an unlikely spot
I'm always looking to try new places, so I asked a chef friend where he likes to eat locally. He's a total food snob with limited leisure time, so I figured whatever he deigned to eat outside of his own kitchen was bound to be impressive. Without pause he threw out Sparrow Bakery as his…
The Early Bird: Sparrow is a bite of Paris in an unlikely spot
I’m always looking to try new places, so I asked a chef friend where he likes to eat locally. He’s a total food snob with limited leisure time, so I figured whatever he deigned to eat outside of his own kitchen was bound to be impressive. Without pause he threw out Sparrow Bakery as his…
Another Shot at Skyline: Last-minute legislative deal could preserve the forest
Call it a Hail Mary pass, but a last-minute legislative maneuver has rekindled the possibility of a deal to preserve Skyline Forest in exchange for some limited development on the 33,000-acre tree farm just west of Bend.
Under the proposed legislation, which is expected to be introduced this week by Rep. Brian Clem (D-Salem), Fidelity…
It’s Not Just About the Five Bucks: An area campground becomes a recreation fee case study
Up past Smith Rock State Park, on a road lined with farmland and flanked by pine-covered hills on each side, there's a small brown sign that you'd miss if you weren't keeping a keen eye out. But it's a sign that seasoned climbers from Central Oregon and beyond know well. It marks the entrance to…
The Downtown Anti-Panhandler Crusade
When you fall on hard times, it's always tempting to look for someone other than yourself - your financial adviser, your banker, the brother-in-law who told you to put all your money in GM stock - to blame the fall on. Now that Bend's downtown is hurting, the search for scapegoats is on. The latest…
Earthquakes, Outbreaks and Fly Overs: The Flu Pandemic, NFL Draft, Specter vs. Spector, and more!
Suck on this, swine!The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting far from you, civilization, and other swine, hoarding water and Ramen Noodles, hoping Brad Pitt arrives soon (with Angelina) so they may build the prettier, more humanitarian yet sexy society we all…
