I chatted with stand-up comic Ralphie May—former runner-up on “Last Comic Standing”—in advance of his show in Bend. Here is the complete transcript of that conversation. May performs tonight at the Tower Theatre. Source Weekly: You’re 17 and you win a contest to open for Sam Kinison- super exciting or pants-shitting nervousness? Ralphie May: Uh, […]
Jared Rasic
Film critic and author of food, arts and culture stories for the Source Weekly since 2010.
Posted inCulture
Not Happy, But High Quality
No car chases or punchlines in the Oscar documentaries
There is not as much of a thematic through-line with the documentary selections as the live action narratives, except a subtle one: Regular people dealing with trauma, death and depression and keeping hope alive. While that sounds like a brutal bit of programming (and at times it is), there is always light and beauty; there […]
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Second-to-Last Comic Standing
Ralphie May talks Kinison, cocaine and the end of the world
Ralphie May walks between the raindrops. Some critics think he’s racist, sexist and likes using the word “retard” a little too much. But the man who came just short of winning the first season of “Last Comic Standing” lives a blessed life with a beautiful wife, two gorgeous kids and his own damned bus to […]
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Short, But Stern
The Academy live action shorts are looking for connections
The short film category at the Oscars is a fascinating cinematic examination. In some sense, they are the pure films, not worried about commercial success, and in other ways, they are the minor leagues, a place to see the up-and-coming talent. But they also are a fascinating insight into the mind of the Academy’s collective […]
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Film Events 1/28-2/4
The Wrecking Crew This documentary follows the career of a group of mostly anonymous studio musicians that played in recording sessions in Los Angeles during the 1960s for some of the biggest artists of all time. They did film scores, TV and radio jingles, and theme songs, while recording for a diverse lineup including Sonny […]
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Southern Gothic
Glass Menagerie opens at CTC
Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is not easy theater. The play forces its audience members to step into a family life so intimate and revealing that it can shed light on our own situations we might not be comfortable examining. It is easy to draw comparisons to one’s own familial relationships and either find ourselves […]
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Film Events 1/21-1/29
It’s Just Sage Brush: The Life History of the Great Sage Grouse The High Desert Museum is hosting a presentation by Garth Fuller of the Nature Conservancy about a new, collaborative effort to restore sage grouse habitat. Following Fuller’s presentation there will be a screening of a documentary film by Steve Chindgren entitled The film […]
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The Dolce & Gabbana-logues
Love, Loss and What I Wore opens at 2nd Street
Love, Loss and What I Wore is a gutsy proposition of a play. It focuses exclusively on stories of women, some hilarious, some bittersweet and heartbreaking, all told through the outfits and accessories they wore at the time. It is simply staged, with images of some of the dresses projected around the cast of five […]
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Film Events 1/15-1/21
The Metropolitan Opera: The Merry Widow Lehár’s operetta has been incredibly successful since its 1905 premiere in Vienna, Austria. The story follows a rich widow and the men in her life that attempt to control her so they can keep her money local. That sounds right up Bend’s alley! The operetta has proved so popular […]
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Film Events 1/7-1/15
Our Roots: The Blessed Tree Jesse Roberts, the creative director for Rise Up International, is premiering this short film that he recently made on a trip to Palestine. The film is Our Roots: The Blessed Tree offers a unique perspective into a Palestinian olive harvest, and tells a collection of stories related to what life […]
