CELEBRATION—Oh, you betcha that Redmond is a melting pot. The annual Festival of Culture is a day-long celebration of that ethnic diversity, with everything from Russian ballet and Salsa-Bachata dancing to Flamenco guitar and the Crook County jazz choir. 10 am-evening. Centennial Park, SW 7th St., Redmond. Free.
Phil Busse
Phil Busse has done his tour of duty with alt-weeklies, starting in 1992 right after graduation from Middlebury College as the first environmental beat reporter for San Francisco Weekly. After a brief detour through the University of Oregon School of Law, Phil returned to writing as the first Managing Editor for Portland Mercury. In 2006, he started the Media Institute for Social Change in Portland, through which he continues to host a summer program teaching college students to produce documentaries.
Until he was 25 or so, Phil thought that he would be a spy, and took scuba lessons to prepare, and learned to drive a motorcycle and an 18-wheeler. Perhaps, then, it is unsurprising that his favorite holiday is the Fourth of July (he loves blowing stuff up). He feels at home with Joseph Conrad's fictional characters.
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PICK: Andre Nickatina
MUSIC—What sets Andre Nickatina apart is that, despite drawing from rap clichés (with predictable songs like “Bullet, Blunts in Ah Big Bankroll”), he, now and again, cleverly twists and contorts those familiarities into masterpiece songs like “Conversations With A Devil,” which relentlessly changes up the beat so that his uniqueness and voice is heard loud […]
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PICK: Casey Neill and The Norway Rats
GREAT MUSIC—Deceptively peppy, Casey Neill and The Norway Rats crank out songs that are infectiously catchy. But really, their music is so much more: intricately crafted and complicated with layers of moaning guitars, gypsy accordions, tinkling pianos, pounding drums, and adorable hipsters crooning and harmonizing. Is it wrong to want to pinch them? 7 pm. […]
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Why the Weed Bill Could Fail
In spite of overwhelming political support and funding, Measure 91 is far from a sure thing
According to the political insiders, observers and wonks, there is every indication that Measure 91, Oregon’s voter initiative to legalize marijuana, will pass. The number of organizations lining up to endorse the bill is as long as it is varied: The City Club of Portland, The Oregon State Council for Retired Citizens and the Oregon […]
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PICK: Speed boat racing!
BOATS—Like a sanctioned drag car race on the water, the annual end-of-summer, engine-roaring High Desert Showdown is open for any and all boat drivers, although we high recommend more than your 15 horsepower fishing dingy if you want to keep pace with the 170 mph speedboats. 9 am. Haystack Reservoir, Culver. $10 for spectators.
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FILM REVIEW: The November Man
With The November Man, you quickly get the sense that you’re watching an uncredited Bourne sequel, with a few important improvements: An R rating, no shaky cam, and very few government functionaries spouting geopolitical buzzwords in front of monitors. Those are good improvements! It stars Pierce Brosnan doing sex stuff and spy stuff (an espionage […]
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Editor’s Note: This week’s issue goes back to school
Over the years, one of the frustrations I have had as an editor and with the media industry in general is that too often news reporting is considered a binary exercise—that is, either the story is a serious piece, which usually means digging up dirt or revealing some hard truths; or, it is a feel-good […]
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Baby Steps, and Shooting!
How to start a new sport
From the first snap of the football when the game was invented in 1892, it took seven decades before the first Super Bowl was played. Basketball was slightly quicker to mature; invented in 1891, seven years later there was a national championship when the six existing teams battled for the title (won by the Trenton […]
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Guest Editorial: Death With Dignity
By Jo Zucker My children hardly remembered when their grandmother had hair. Her body was ravaged by five years of chemotherapy, and her spirit waned with each round of treatments. Her doctor finally uttered the words we had long dreaded: “There’s nothing more we can do.” So she contacted Compassion & Choices. My mother did […]
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PICK: The Great Duck Race
RUBBER DUCKY—Although each yellow rubber ducky looks identical to the other ducks, the minor differences in manufacturing flaws, buoyance, and, of course, catching the right current and not getting caught in the weeds, makes all the difference for the 25th running of the Great Duck Race. 1:30 pm. Drake Park. Each duck costs $5.
