Letter of the Week
With all the talk of a coming out party at the Beijing Games, China has a miserable record on human rights and the IOC has done little to pressure China into meaningful reforms. The week's LOW asks that the viewers make a statement by choosing to tune out the Beijing Games.
Bra busters at 2nd street. How would you like to see a hilarious musical that ends with wily middle-aged women from the audience gathering on the stage for a Rockettes-inspired kick line? What about the live seduction of one of the male audience members or a full-on Tina Turner performance? How about a bunch of songs about having hot flashes, cellulite and going through menopause?
All right, I know you're skeptical. A musical about menopause? How weird and potentially gross, right? This was pretty much what was going through my head as I hauled my 24-year-old self over to 2nd Street Theatre to see Menopause The Musical. Having never personally experienced "The Change," I had some serious doubts. In a theater filled with the stereotypical Menopause crowd - almost all women (there were exactly seven men, 11 if you count the employees) nearly twice my age, I definitely felt a little out of place, that is until the play started.
Director Maralyn Thoma guides Lyryn Cate, Rachel Deegan, Anne Du Fresne and Jackie Johnson in a musical comedy that makes hot flashes, memory loss, overactive bladders, vision problems, mood swings and wacky libidos seem horrifically funny and fabulous.
And that’s how I plan to roll my way into the semis.Swing Vote is a schmaltzy fairy tale that dives deep into unbelievable land, reviving the old Hollywood formula that if you do the right thing and follow your heart, everything will be fine.
Due to a malfunctioning voting booth, Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner), a lazy drunk oblivious to the political system, must re-cast his uncounted vote deciding the next president of the United States. News travels fast making Bud and his daughter Molly's (newcomer Madeline Carroll) white-trash life a whirlwind of attention thanks to the imposing media blitz circus.
This is far-fetched stuff, but the "one-vote-makes-a-difference" concept is spun by real newscasters. Cameos include Chris Matthews, Bill Maher, Arianna Huffington and Tucker Carlson, to name a few. I guess everyone jumped on the band wagon for this pathetic little Hallmark card of a movie to boost the American vote.
seriously, does my foot smell bad?The Mummy franchise has risen from the dead again, but just barely this time. Riding on its past blockbuster success and Brendan Fraser's comedy/adventure star power, the latest in the trilogy, The Mummy: Tomb of the Emperor, should have stayed entombed. Even if you're prepared to wrap yourself in layers of disbelief for two hours, the film's computer-generated yetis and 2000-year-old warriors are just too corny to resurrect the intrigue of the series' first installment, 1999's The Mummy (inspired by the original 1932 version, starring Boris Karloff).
Movie mummies are supposed to be scary, and Arnold Vosloo's character in the first two films was truly terrifying. Though Jet Li, as the ruthless ancient Chinese Dragon Emperor, slips in a few deadly kung fu moves at the beginning, his fearsomeness wears off soon after; throughout the rest of the film, the scariest thing director Rob Lohan (The Fast and the Furious) can conjure is the Emperor's skin continuously peeling off in clay-like layers, revealing what appears to be a glowingly molten body underneath. Beyond that, and his alternating incarnations as an unconvincing CGI dragon and monster, the Emperor fails to frighten. Steeped in lust and greed for power, ultimately he wants what all mummies want-immortality.
BO RESTOBAR
The newest establishment in what is becoming Portland-based Bo and Steve Kline’s Asian restaurant empire. Chef Kline, a native of Thailand, puts an artistic flair on each dish. “New World” sashimi, Koreadilla and Peking Duck Spring Rolls are a few of the international offerings. 550 NW Franklin Ave. 617-8880.
CHAN’S
Bend’s most popular Chinese restaurant packs the families in every night clamoring for the slightly Americanized Szechwan, Hunan and Cantonese dishes. Even if the food can be predictable at times, big portions matched with big flavors make this is a Central Oregon institution. Chinese. 1005 Se 3rd St. 389-1725.
BO RESTOBAR
The newest establishment in what is becoming Portland-based Bo and Steve Kline's Asian restaurant empire. Chef Kline, a native of Thailand, puts an artistic flair on each dish. "New World" sashimi, Koreadilla and Peking Duck Spring Rolls are a few of the international offerings. 550 NW Franklin Ave. 617-8880.
CHAN'S
Bend's most popular Chinese restaurant packs the families in every night clamoring for the slightly Americanized Szechwan, Hunan and Cantonese dishes. Even if the food can be predictable at times, big portions matched with big flavors make this is a Central Oregon institution. Chinese. 1005 Se 3rd St. 389-1725.
more than just a phallic symbol. I just spent a week working at Deschutes County Fair, and I think I’ve gained five pounds.
more than just a phallic symbol. I just spent a week working at Deschutes County Fair, and I think I've gained five pounds.
Fresh baked and hot off the grill at Jackson’s.With the closing of Delaware Market, it seemed as though the neighborhood corner store in Bend had gone extinct. There are still a few hanging in there on the Eastside, but with property values skyrocketing, you can’t blame the market owners for opting to cash out.
The historic brick building on the corner of Broadway and Delaware that was once home to Delaware Market, Delaware Ice and a mini mural of downtown has been totally redone. The building now features condos upstairs and a bright, airy market café downstairs called Jackson’s Corner.
“I wanted to bring back the market café,” says Jay Junkin, owner of Jackson’s Corner, “It used to be common in the U.S. but somehow we lost it.” Junkin is the third generation in his family to find a career in the food industry and has been in Bend nine years-most of that time developing and running Parilla Grill.
“With this place I want it to grow organically – give the people what they want and serve this neighborhood first,” says Junkin.
Fresh baked and hot off the grill at Jackson’s.With the closing of Delaware Market, it seemed as though the neighborhood corner store in Bend had gone extinct. There are still a few hanging in there on the Eastside, but with property values skyrocketing, you can't blame the market owners for opting to cash out.
The historic brick building on the corner of Broadway and Delaware that was once home to Delaware Market, Delaware Ice and a mini mural of downtown has been totally redone. The building now features condos upstairs and a bright, airy market café downstairs called Jackson's Corner.
"I wanted to bring back the market café," says Jay Junkin, owner of Jackson's Corner, "It used to be common in the U.S. but somehow we lost it." Junkin is the third generation in his family to find a career in the food industry and has been in Bend nine years-most of that time developing and running Parilla Grill.
"With this place I want it to grow organically – give the people what they want and serve this neighborhood first," says Junkin.
Wake up seven days a week with the Cascades Reader. Get local news, event information, podcasts, discounts and more. Sign up now!
We'll send a verification code to %EMAIL%.
Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.
Sending to:
