As we get closer to the new year, I thought I would share a few words of wisdom to guide you into 2013 with a laugh.
Top 10 Things You Shouldn't Say During This Year's New Year's Eve countdown
10. 2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate…
9. Bazinga!
8. Freeeeeedom!!!! (Braveheart-style)
7. One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do, two can be as bad as one, it’s the loneliest number since the number one…
6. Who farted?
5. Somebody kiss me, dammit!
4. wa’maH, Hut, chorgh, Soch, jav… (That would be Klingon)
3. Wait, what year is it?
2. This isn’t Dom Pérignon!? This stuff tastes like crap.
1. Man, Dick Clark is awesome this year, he keeps looking younger and younger.
Sometimes you have to plan ahead to get the photo you want. I envisioned a photo of the Swampy Lakes Shelter at dusk with some pink sky behind it.
Before heading out at around 2 PM I packed two Nikon SB800 Speedlights which I outfitted with a yellow gel each. It is much easier to do this ready in the warmth of your home. I brought my trusted Nikon D800 with a 24-70 Zoom lens and a carbon fiber tripod.
After skiing up through the forest I placed the two Flash units in the hut and used Pocket Wizard wireless transmitters to trigger them remotely from my camera. My wife was sitting in the shelter keeping an eye on the flash and shifting them into perfect location. The shoot took less than 10 minutes before we could ski back to the car park. Needless to say the run trough the forest at dusk was pure beauty.
I further enhanced the image in Photoshop so the yellow light in the shelter would contrast nicely with the blue tones of the snow.
Cascade Center of Photography
After another year full of memorable moments, we must again celebrate and get ready for a fresh start. Here are a few of the new laws that will impact our lives starting Jan.1, 2013:
1. Oregon's minimum wage will increase by 15 cents to $8.95. - An increase to this amount is always a good thing as every little penny helps with the inflation we deal with yearly.
2. Throughout Oregon schools, a wider range of staff members will be required to report any act of harassment, bullying, cyberbullying and teen dating violence - This is very important in the quest to control the countless incidents of bullying and violence that is affecting students on a daily basis.
3. State-owned campuses and properties will all become tobacco-free - This will enhance the health and wellness of thousands of people, save our state lots of money and encourage individuals to quit smoking.
Have fun tonight and be safe out there!
Hey look! We're on the interwebs!
Bend, OR recently made the front page of the popular, free image hosting website Imgur.com.
Everyday, Imgur gets millions of hits and hosts over ninety terabytes of images (for all you computer newbs out there, that's a lot).
The meme appears to be a view of Bend from the top of Pilot Butte, and a burn on cat lovers everywhere.
A nomadic family band with ties to Michigan and Australia, The Hollands! share personal stories in between songs to help audiences gain some perspective for their own lives. Their beautiful flowing folk ballads are colored in hope and often lead to sing-a-longs . But there are even more interesting reasons to go see this band tonight.
1. Husband/father guitarist Craig Holland has a gorgeous and gigantic handlebar moustache.
2. The youngest Holland, Banjo is a very talented Cajon player. In fact... watching this little kid kick the percussion up a notch as songs increase tempo is a ton of fun.
3. While wife/mother Jana Holland has a beautiful voice reminiscent of Emmylou Harris, it's daughter Graciana's voice that truly shines when featured in songs.
Check out their latest album ashes to beauty below. While the full compliment of instrumentation found on the record doesn't come with The Hollands! on the road, both live and recorded experiences are worth your time.
On February 6, Noi Thai Cuisine will be serving a specialty meal in cooperation with Deschutes Brewery.
Each of the four courses will be paired with a Deschutes beer including the Red Chair, and a desert paired with the 2012 Abyss. A treat for beer lovers and foodies, the meal will cost $55 including food and drinks.
The date of this dinner has been moved from January 9th to February 6th, there is still space for reservations.
Remember this summer when we reported about Bend resident Ryan Palo's ascent of Just Do It, a famous 5.14c at Smith Rock State Park?
Yeah, well it's one of the hardest routes in America. Man, if only we could see what it was like...
Wait! You can! Lucky for us Palo was followed by the camera-toting Greg Garretson. Here's his short film—well made and set to good beats. Inspiring.
This weekend Nectar of the Gods, Bend's first and only meadery, debuted Valhalla Rising, their first mass bottled brew.
On Saturday night, Broken Top Bottle Shop was packed with thirsty patrons ready to try the ancient beverage that predates all other fermented drinks, and is made from fermented honey, yeast and water.
In order to condense all of those stories down for you the reader, below you will find a list of headlines acting as links to all the original content. Consider this your one stop shop for everything musical.
Just don't get too comfortable. 2013 is just around the corner and with that will come brand new releases. It never ends does it?
Stream album #4 out of 200: KinKonk by MOsley WOtta
It's not all about full albums. Much of the time, bands put out some of their best work in short form. Here's a list of 2012's best EPs. Oh— and just like with everything else— scope out the Spotify playlist.
1. Rublebucket- Oversaturated (Sin Duda Records)
This Brooklyn band is one of the hardest bands to pin down. They are one part bohemian jazz, one part Afro-Cuban and one part dance pop. But the bottom line with these guys is, when they play live, no one cares what genres they employ. Their music is simply some of the best jump-up-in-the-air-and-high-five-your-friend stuff you’ll find. Their EP Oversatured is more of the same kind of magic they’ve been putting out for the last few years. It’s Bright brass, poppy bass, and titillating synth, supporting punchy poetic lyrics.
Whoa.
Pretty cool.
So that we're all on the same page: Silvero is a four-piece garage-rock band from Bend. This summer they recorded Spiritual Vamp, a seven-song album. It's good. (NOTE: For a proper review, read next week's issue as Sound editor Ethan Maffey takes on Silvero and their new album).
The top ten made it into an online story and you can read about them here. Albums 11-200 were only featured as a countdown ticker in the paper (on newsstands now).
However— for those of you out of the area or those just dying to get a look at the list, it's posted below. There's also a ginormous Spotify playlist featuring songs from all but four of the albums on the list (not all bands are on Spotify).
So dig in. With any luck you'll make it through the playlist before 2013 arrives.
