The common adage seems to be that America is an increasingly divisive country. Exhibit A: Congress’ most recent budget negotiation, which resulted in a federal government shut down, and each side, arms crossed, pouting and refusing to talk reasonably to the other for days. So much that is contemporary American culture seems to be defined […]
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.
Posted inMusic
Making History
Saturday is Bend’s biggest jazz night…EVER!
Along Third Avenue, by the auto parts stores and low-slung hotels, is an unassuming beige building—not unlike the other blocky buildings along the no frills stretch of Bend. There is nothing on the exterior to indicate that Just Joe’s Music is a worm hole into another universe—one filled with blaring saxophones, screaming trumpets, memories and […]
Posted inCulture
Indulge in Reading
Deschutes library announces star studded Author! Author! line-up
This past week, the Deschutes Public Library Foundation announced its second lineup for the popular Author! Author! series. In its sophomore year, the series is rolling out some of the best and most entertaining writers in the country. Leading the pack is Sherman Alexie, who burst onto the literary scene in 1993 with his collection […]
Posted inNews
Ugly Turtles Not Welcome?
A clunky and monsterous looking snapping turtle was recently found in Prineville Reservoir – and was quickly killed; sort of like a door man keeping out the dorky and uncools. As reported and circulating on Yahoo News, the turtle not only is fu-ugly, it is an invasive species – and could disrupt the ecosystem. See […]
Posted inNews
So Incredibly Sad: Yet Another School Shooting
In Nevada this morning, there was another school shooting. What is incredibly numbing is that school shootings have started to become so “routine” that the story was pushed from the lead news position in less than an hour.Two staff members were killed, and several students injured before the teen killed himself.
Posted inMusic
The Volcanic is blowing up!
The former community theater has emerged as a solid music venue
The last time Hopeless Jack & the Handsome Devil played in Bend, they helped close down the Horned Hand, a gritty and fun-spirited venue along the city’s railroad tracks that, in its brief, but bustling two year history, earned a reputation as a musician’s venue, especially since they provided solid audiences and gave 100 percent […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Brought to You by the Letter “B”
Blue Pine’s burger, beer and bourbon steps up the classics
The marketing campaign—as it is—for Blue Pine’s Tuesday night’s special underplays the offering: “Grab a shot of bourbon, a burger AND beer for only $15!,” says the low-key announcement on the restaurant-bar’s website. But when we arrive at the (relatively) newly remodeled Blue Pine—a rough wood and woodsy facelift that has chased away most of […]
Posted inNews
The seeds of Bob Marley
My goodness: Bob Marley spread his seed—and Bend continues to benefit (?). Sure, there was Ziggy Marley here this summer. Now, his (less musically talented?, but former linebacker) son is selling his coffee at the local Safeway. Rohan Marley is the Bob Marley of coffee, so to speak: Marley Coffee is what the p.r. person […]
Posted inNews
BendFilm: Fool’s Day
A colorful—speaking both in terms of the cinematic palate and the cleverness—short film, Fool’s Day is great comedy, the clever and bloody sort of film Quentin Tarantino would produce if he directed after-school specials. A favorite at the recent—and esteemed—Tribeca Film Festival, Fool’s Day is a quippy and naughty short story about a prank that […]
Posted inNews
BendFilm: Bending Steel
SHOWS Friday, October 11 @ 3 pm, McMenamins; Saturday, October 12 @ 1 pm, Regal 2 Although there is plenty of flexing and grunting, Bending Steel is a surprisingly soft and intimate story about a 43-year old New York man who decides to become a sideshow strongman at Coney Island. Certainly there are scenes when […]
