Mike Bookey

mike@tsweekly.com
Posted inCulture

Ultimate Fright: My top 10 horror flick picks

Mike Bookey

1) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (dir: Tobe Hooper) 1974

By far the best
horror movie ever is this original TCM classic. It's surprisingly not
as gory as the title infers, but the twisted saga of Sally and
wheelchair-bound Franklin travelling with some friends goes hazardously
awry after they pick up a hitchhiker whose brother makes "headcheese
real good." Enter cannibalistic inbred nut-jobs and good ol'
chainsaw-wielding Leather Face and you're off and running. This movie
is so demented that it keeps you on the edge of your seat not only due
to the sheer terror involved, but also the hilarious dialogue and goofy
acting.
2) Evil Dead (dir: Sam Raimi) 1981
Horror at its
frenetic peak! This is the one of the most hilarious, knuckle-biting
and gory creep fests ever made. Lantern-jaw Bruce Campbell and pals
wig-out royally in a cabin in the woods possessed by at least three
Linda Blairs from The Exorcist and blood spews like wretched wine. This
is one fast-paced inventive gore-fest that can make you laugh as hard
as you scream.
3) Audition (dir: Takeshi Miike) 1999

Japan's hardest working and most prolific film maker, Miike, has made
arguably the creepiest movie ever. It seems to be a tragic, almost
boring love story until the halfway mark. Then something happens
causing the movie to take so many jaw-dropping turns, bending into
unfathomable sadistically evil and surreal images that your guess is as
good as mine as to what the hell went wrong.

Posted inMusic

LAHF or Die: Larry and His Flask are back, plugged in and louder than ever

The old Larry & His Flask. Check out the updated version at two shows this weekend. Larry and His Flask, Redmond’s fun-loving punk band is
Mike Bookey

The old Larry & His Flask. Check out the updated version at two shows this weekend. Larry and His Flask, Redmond's fun-loving punk band is back in electric
action for the first time in three months. If you've ever been to a
LAHF show before, you'll notice one big change - a different drummer.
Other than that, expect the same high-energy anything-goes all-out rock
shows (complete with death-defying leaps off of the speaker towers) the
band has been known for since its inception five years ago right around
Halloween.
The band, which currently consists of Jeshua Marshall,
Jamin Marshall, Dallin Bulkley and Ian Cook, is playing shows with
Hands On Throat drummer Sean Rule and looking for a new permanent beat
keeper. Their former drummer, Beau Batts, left the band in August after
their national tour ended.
"He decided to leave for personal
reasons," explains Jeshua, "And reasons that didn't consist of living
[out of] a van and being poor," he adds.

Posted inCulture

Our Picks for the week of 10/29-11/5

Mike Bookey

HDC Halloween Party
and Drag Show
friday 31
In the first of the many, many Halloween events we're picking out for you (there's even more on our special Halloween section on page 16!), the Human Dignity Coalition is throwing their annual Halloween bash featuring PDX's Poisonwaters and friends, after party with Grove DJs, live auction, dancing and more. It's pretty much a guaranteed good time.

Posted inOpinion

More Testing is not the Answer

Retiring 18 years ago as a former science teacher and school librarian for 22 years, I escaped the “No Child Left Behind” education wrecker. I
Mike Bookey

Retiring 18 years ago as a former science teacher and school librarian for 22 years, I escaped the "No Child Left Behind" education wrecker. I have been around many, many, teachers every day of my wonderful career. And I am still in awe of all the talented, concerned professionals I spent 23 years with. To name a few - Jack Ensworth who embraced every child, instilling an awe and wonderment for learning and exploration of all life, human and otherwise. Clayton Smith, who in his kindly and gentleman's way inspired his students with reading, learning and calligraphy, a gift they can use forever. Cherie Crane, who gave the gifts of knowledge, art and elegance to all of her students. Florence Bradley, small but mighty in her teaching skills. And I could go on and on about all of the exceptional teaching staff here.
In today's schools, the No Child Left Behind Program can eliminate the beauty of learning with a lockstep obedient emphasis on never-ending (like the war) test-taking. A child's intuitive and sensitive appreciation of discovery and finding out can be totally crushed by testing, testing and more testing. Tests should be merely another tool in education, not the be-all and end-all of schooling! Children learn in their own way and constant testing can destroy all that is inspiring for children to learn and develop. School is not a military assembly line to enforce non-democratic authoritarian objectives such as complete obedience, and uniformity of all students and teachers.

Posted inOpinion

BAT Needs To Do More Homework

In a previous editorial I pointed out that fewer than four out of every 1,000 Bend residents ride the bus each day, and that number
Mike Bookey

In a previous editorial I pointed out that fewer than four out of every 1,000 Bend residents ride the bus each day, and that number is declining on a yearly basis, even as oil prices increase. In fact, Bend Area Transit's numbers indicate that ridership is now down to one person per mile. Thus, even the claim that BAT is good for the environment is simply not credible. The problem is ridership on the current system. It's got to be increased, or this system as it currently exists just doesn't make any sense.
Here, I'd like to examine the costs of the transit system. We find that not only is the system very underutilized, it is also very expensive. The city and BAT have not properly laid the groundwork for a new tax district.

Posted inCulture

That’s Us!: Bend gets some face time in the new Warren Miller flick

Fellow Bendites, have you ever been watching a ski film as dudes bomb through powder or tear up a terrain park and found yourself at
Mike Bookey

Fellow Bendites, have you ever been watching a ski film as dudes bomb through powder or tear up a terrain park and found yourself at the edge of your seat saying to the buddy next to you, "Hey is that here?" only to have him or her reply, "Nope, that's Whistler."
"Wait, that's here, right?" Nope. Colorado.
"Dude, that's totally here." Not even close. Looks like Idaho.
But finally you can sit back in your seat when taking in the new Warren Miller film, Children of Winter, knowing full well that you're seeing Bend and Mt. Bachelor up on the screen. The newly released film will show four times this weekend at the Tower Theatre and includes a good eight-minute segment set in Bend and focused on local riders.

Posted inCulture

Integrity First: Stone breaks out the kid gloves for W.

Over the falls in a barrelAt first I thought I was watching a trick movie. This is no scathing statement on the evils of the
Mike Bookey

Over the falls in a barrelAt first I thought I was watching a trick movie. This is no scathing statement on the evils of the Bush administration, nor does it take a feel-good, pro-Bush stance. W. paints an unflattering yet surprisingly sympathetic picture of George W. Bush. This is perhaps even more surprising given the man at the helm of the film, Oliver Stone. Where's the conspiracy theory? Where's the self-righteous anger? I get the distinct impression he doesn't want to kick a dead horse when it's down.
Stone has said that while George W. Bush was completely unfit to be president, he also learned that he's not such a bad guy. And so it goes in this saga of W (Josh Brolin). We get to see the fraternity days and his penchant of calling everyone by nick names, his years of heavy drinking and carousing, his stammering courtship of Laura Bush (Elizabeth Banks), his relationship with his pastor (a big and beefy Stacy Keach) and his subsequent switch from booze to born again. But the main crux of the movie is his relationship with "Poppy," aka Bush senior (James Cromwell), and his inability to please him. It's the age-old Oedipal story. After dodging all responsibility. Bush still wants to please his dad, and finds God in the process. In essence, he spends the rest of the movie trying to please both of his fathers: the biological and the heavenly one.

Posted inFood & Drink

Bring a Bib

Double the BunThere’s nothing like a good Italian delicatessen. With an array of products from the old country and a deli case stuffed with cheese
Mike Bookey

Double the BunThere's nothing like a good Italian delicatessen. With an array of products from the old country and a deli case stuffed with cheese wheels and lengths of salamis of every size, delis serve up atmosphere, neighborhood camaraderie and customer service that's as alluring as the food.
Rick Adamo and Tom Coleman felt there was a void in Bend's dining options, specifically a lack of a good Italian delicatessen. Being motivated entrepreneurs, they jumped on the opportunity and Tony's Delicatessen was born.
Prior to starting Tony's, Adamo and Coleman shared an office at the Bend Athletic Club and a dream: they wanted to own a restaurant of their own. Adamo was the club's food and beverage director and Coleman was director of the managerial staff. They calculated that they had 55-plus years of restaurant business experience between them and both grew up in the food industry.
Since opening three months ago, Tony's grinders have earned a well-deserved reputation as big, messy and delicious. The "Mario's Meatballs" is a crusty bun loaded with juicy meatballs and Tony's soon-to-be-famous marinara sauce. "Tony's Cheese Steak" is a drippy delight of thin strips of lean choice steak grilled with sweet bell peppers and onions stuffed into a hoagie roll and topped with melted provolone. These are the kind of sandwiches that require three or four napkins and are worth every goopy stain.

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