I'll admit it! I've got a huge beef with American Idol. For years I have (okay, perhaps unwisely) used this column as a bully pulpit to point out Idol's numerous flaws – the worst being that I've never appeared on the show, or won. It's freaking ridiculous, guys! Their job is to choose America's next worship-worthy singing star, AM I RIGHT? And yet? They've repeatedly barred me from competing because of stupid and completely discriminatory age requirements! Result: AMERICA LOSES.
Source Weekly
Posted inOpinion
Can't We All Just Ride Along?
Letter the the editor.
Today, I'm a disgruntled cyclist making the case for peace on the road. The epic saga of car vs. bike has raged on for centuries (right?) and has left in its wake unnecessary stress, turmoil, dented bumpers, cracked frames, injury, death and sadness.
Recently, I've been markedly endangered by a car while riding my bicycle and am disappointed to say that one incident was clearly intentional. But I'm not writing to proclaim the inherent evil of driving. I drive a car, too, on occasion. I would rather disclose my faults in the two situations, and thus make the case for empathy for our fellow commuter.
Posted inOpinion
SDC Deferral: Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest
Well, they went and did it again.
Two years ago, following the calamitous bust of the real estate bubble, the Bend City Council voted to give local builders and developers a break on their SDCs. SDCs – Systems Development Charges – are fees paid to help cover the cost of improvements to roads, sewer systems and other stuff made necessary by development.
Under the resolution the council passed, a builder doesn't have to pay SDCs up front. Instead he can wait nine months or until an occupancy permit for the new structure is issued, whichever comes first. The city gets a lien on the property in case the builder doesn't pay up. The deal essentially amounts to a nine-month, interest-free loan for the builder.
Posted inOpinion
Uncle Phil's Playhouse
Nike founder Phil Knight's generosity to his alma mater has been well documented.
Nike founder Phil Knight's generosity to his alma mater has been well documented. The sometimes Redmond-area resident has donated tens of millions of dollars to the University of Oregon in the form of new facilities for its athletic department, primarily its football and basketball teams. And his mark on the University is undeniable, just look at the way his company has turned the Duck's football uniforms into a testing ground for Nike's bizarre apparel experiments. But Knight's latest gift, the roughly $42-million John E. Jaqua Center, is perhaps his most lavish.
Posted inFood & Drink
A Quiet Success; Thai Thai takes a lighter approach to its dishes
I follow a quirky rule of thumb not to frequent restaurants with pictures of their food on the menu. So my heart sank a bit when I opened the menu at Thai Thai, the new Thai restaurant in Northwest Crossing last week.
I follow a quirky rule of thumb not to frequent restaurants with pictures of their food on the menu. So my heart sank a bit when I opened the menu at Thai Thai, the new Thai restaurant in Northwest Crossing last week. Luckily, thanks to spot-on recommendations from an enthusiastic waitress and prime seating for a picturesque sunset over the Cascades, Thai Thai exceeded my initial expectations. The restaurant kept much of the inherited furnishings from the previous owners of the Mt. Washington Drive restaurants, which included 38 Degrees, Aloha Café and most recently NWX Bar and Grill. New owners and longtime Bend residents Corey Bock and Vivah Bachiraseneekul, who moved to the U.S. from Thailand ten years ago, have added a Thai flare with elephant candleholders and wall decorations, photography of a floating market in Bangkok and other small touches.
My party was seated in the back of the restaurant, facing west toward the mountains. Paula, our enthusiastic waitress, was quick to check in with us and point out some of her favorite dishes on the menu. Overall, Thai Thai's dishes are on the mild side, so if you're looking to clear your sinuses when you go there, order your dish extra spicy. We started with the satay chicken ($7.50), served with two small dishes of peanut and cucumber dipping sauce. The accompanying peanut dressing lacked the super rich flavor I tend to associate with satay. Later on, I learned from Bachiraseneekul, head chef at Thai Thai, that the lighter flavors are intentional.
Posted inFood & Drink
Little Bites: Eat Your Veggies Four places to get your five-a-day
Central Oregon has a blink-and-you-missed-it growing season. Luckily, we’re smack dab in the middle of the 90-day window that farms have before the frost returns.
Central Oregon has a blink-and-you-missed-it growing season. Luckily, we're smack dab in the middle of the 90-day window that farms have before the frost returns. Local farms are finally picking their bounty and are sourcing out their produce to lucky restaurants across the area. The high desert is a tough growing environment, but it produces some unique and hearty vegetables – and nothing tastes as good as when it's grown in our neighbor's backyard. Here's where to go to taste veggies that haven't been trucked across a border.
Posted inMusic
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Not trying to be a jerky, judgy-McJudgerton here, but I absolutely hate the name of this band. It sounds like a joke. A not-funny one.
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Before Today
4ad Records
Not trying to be a jerky, judgy-McJudgerton here, but I absolutely hate the name of this band. It sounds like a joke. A not-funny one.
Posted inCulture
Man or Superman?
Guys! I gotta admit this whole “race of supermen” thing creeps me out. First of all, why do we even need a race of supermen?
Guys! I gotta admit this whole “race of supermen” thing creeps me out. First of all, why do we even need a race of supermen? They're just going to eventually enslave us, right? Um, that's why we're building robots and teaching apes sign language – having supermen, too, would just be REDUNDANT! Now, if the idea is to use this race of supermen to combat these megalomaniac robots and apes riding around on horseback throwing nets on top of us – well, I'm open to discussion. But only if the race of supermen doesn't turn right around and enslave us right back!
Frankly, I'm not too sure how we're gonna get around this whole enslavement thing. It sounds like it's gonna happen regardless of what we do. So we should probably create a race of people whom we wouldn't mind being enslaved by, right? For example, super-hot amazon chicks. (Let's make sure they don't get the “nag” gene.) I also wouldn't mind being enslaved by the Hostess cake company. C'MON! Their Ho Hos and Ding Dongs are delicious! And if push came to shove, I wouldn't kick too hard about being enslaved by Taylor Lautner (the werewolf from Twilight). He seems super nice, and have you seen those abs? JESUS CHRIST! Pull up his shirt and I'll happily clean porta-potties at Diarrheaville's annual Prune Day Festival.
Posted inCulture
Insignificant Espionage: Alpha Protocol has plenty of firepower, but fails as an RPG
The first foe I faced in Alpha Protocol was a soldier who burst through a door. I was unarmed, so I ran to the far side of a table that was in the middle of the room.
The first foe I faced in Alpha Protocol was a soldier who burst through a door. I was unarmed, so I ran to the far side of a table that was in the middle of the room. The soldier chased me halfway around the table and then reversed, trying to catch me on the other side. I switched directions and the soldier did too. I switched again. The soldier switched. Back and forth we do-si-do'd. For five minutes I outsmarted this trained militiaman with toddler tactics. “All around the cobbler’s bench,” I thought, “The monkey chased the weasel… ”
Alpha Protocol, as it declares boldly on its game box, is “The Espionage RPG,” so I thought maybe the brain-dead soldier was a fluke – an uninformed flunky who was merely teasing me during my training. After all, espionage is about stealth and subterfuge. Surely things would be better as I moved from combat training into actual spy activities. But when I finally found my way to the covert heart of Alpha Protocol, I discovered that the espionage elements of the game are merely mini-games about picking locks and bypassing security systems.
Posted inCulture
Chopping His Way Up: Sisters' lumberjack David Green swings his big axe at the Timbersports Collegiate Series
With a Brazil-nut crunching grip, collegiate timbersports king, David Green, shook my hand, then recoiled suddenly.
Sorry, I’m just used to being around lumberjacks, he said.
With a Brazil-nut crunching grip, collegiate timbersports king, David Green, shook my hand, then recoiled suddenly.
“Sorry, I’m just used to being around lumberjacks,” he said.
