The best story in Escape Fire—a documentary skewering the health industry that the recently departed Roger Ebert called “extraordinary” and gave his trademark thumbs up—is about a young soldier who has returned injured—both mentally and physically—from the war. Self-identified as a “hillbilly,” the young man explains that he would have scoffed at what he calls […]
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 inNews
My new favorite baseball team: The Beavers!
Oregon State did. Oregon didn’t.On Monday, OSU moved forward in the NCAA D-1 tournament to decide the greatest baseball team of all time! (Well, of this season, at least.) Oregon, which was ranked 9th in the country, however, did not.The next round of 16 starts on Friday, with the Beavers squaring off against some midwest […]
Posted inNews
It’s About Time
Push begins for same-sex marriage in Oregon
Last week, in the oddly named Grapevine, Texas, the Boy Scouts of America announced an about-face: After a decades-long ban on gay children taking part in their activities, a position that was especially vociferous over the past year, the Scouts voted to allow any boys, regardless of sexual orientation, to join the club. More than […]
Posted inCulture
Mud = Best Film of the Year!
Matthew McConaughey = My New Boyfriend
OMG. OMG. O-M-Gee! Mud is wonderful. Have you been wanting a male companion to Beasts of the Southern Wild? Wait no more! Do you remember the tall tales of Big Fish? Check! Do you fondly remember River Phoenix in Stand By Me? Who doesn’t? Were you enchanted and spooked by the creepy-but-kind Boo Radley in […]
Posted inCulture
Spokes to be You
We demand more bicycling movies
There is a scene in Breaking Away (1979) that is perhaps the greatest cinematic moment of innocence lost. David Stoller is an Indiana boy, but has convinced himself he is Italian, singing arias, calling his working class parents “papa” and “mama mia,” and, most importantly, touring around the countryside on his 10-speed, biking cap turned […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Little Bites: Get A Share!
CSA should mean carrots, squash and asparagus
Like so many great ideas, CSA began in the ’80s. In, of all places, New Hampshire. The idea behind community-supported agriculture (yup, CSA) was to put the power back in the farmers’ control—and also to better connect consumers to seasonal vegetables rather than allowing people to select their foodstuff based on their immediate tastes—whether that […]
Posted inNews
The Wheel Thing
Bike-share programs find traction in Bend
In 1994, a community activist in Portland had a harebrained idea: Communally shared bicycles. Why not paint a fleet of 400 low-maintenance bicycles yellow—completely yellow, from handlebars to spokes—and leave them out for public use; any one needing a bike, could simply pedal away. Already, a few European cities were successfully employing the all-for-one, one- […]
Posted inNews
Best Movie of the year! (So far)
Can we talk about Matthew McConaughey for a bit? Okay, we can talk about him all day long if you want.We are in the middle of watching an extraordinary career arc. For a while, the once-promising career seemed to be sagging into mundane, easy-to-digest but forgettable films (How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, […]
Posted inCulture
Locally Grown Radio
KPOV launches local news programming
Historically, radio has represented its sense of place better than other forms of media—consider iconic shows like the "Grand Ole Opry" and "A Prairie Home Companion," or even music itself, often labeled the Seattle, Minneapolis or British scene. But over the past 15 years, radio, more than any other medium, has undergone a rapid consolidation […]
Posted inNews
The Forgotten War
Memorial Day event brings attention to soldiers
In pictures on Facebook, Aaron Prescott appears like many 24-year-old men—healthy, tanned and smiling. On April 16, he posted a picture of a gleaming electric guitar in a plush case with the title, “my new girlfriend.” Two days later, he added a photograph of his dog in a car’s passenger seat, tongue lolling; the caption […]
