Source Weekly, Author at The Source - Bend, Oregon

The Bully's Sour Grapes

Letter to the editor.

Source WeeklyFebruary 3, 2010November 16, 2023

That's what the editorial in the January 28 editorial sounded like to me. Over these past months, I have increasingly wondered what was driving the Bulletin's almost hysterical opposition to the ballot Measures 66 and 67.
I understand the loss of people's confidence in government, in part because of the influence of lobbyists. Government has a sacred trust to provide for the welfare of the whole people – not just those who can get them re-elected. Equally sacred is the task of a free press to tell not only the truth but to care for the welfare of the whole people – not simply the advertising accounts that fund the paper. In my life, I have known individual reporters and publishers who worked hard to be independent – even of those who funded them. Alas, I have not seen that in The Bulletin, either in its editorials or staff articles, in this campaign.

Culture

wRite: Time Ball

Source WeeklyJanuary 27, 2010April 12, 2025

“When Hemos Johnson (hereditary Hahwannis chief of Kingcome) was an old man visiting his daughter at Comox she took him to Elk Falls, a place he had heard much about but had never seen. He stood where he could behold the raging torrent in all its splendour, gazing in silent wonder at the majestic sight and when he came away he announced, “It gave me a new song.”
It had all come to him there, the words and music straight from the Master of all harmony – a song that would always be his alone.”
– Mildred Valley Thornton
Potlatch People: Indian Lives and Legends of British Columbia

In the past much of the Yakama tribe's history was passed down from generation to generation by the women of the tribe using an oral tradition known as the time ball. New brides used hemp twine to record their life history starting with courtship. They tied different knots into the twine for days and weeks and added special beads for significant events. They then rolled the twine into a ball known as the “ititamat,” which means “counting the days” or “counting calendar.” The ball of twine grew in size as time passed and as events occurred…
When the women were very old, they could use the knots and beads of their time balls to recall not only what happened in their lives but when the events occurred…When a woman died, her “ititamat” or time ball was buried with her.
– Bonnie M. Fountain

Culture

Smaller: Not Always Better!

Source WeeklyJanuary 27, 2010November 13, 2024

Ahem!! Three things of note before I express an opinion that will surely get me lynched. Note #1: The sixth and final season of Lost kicks off this week, y'all (ABC, Tues Feb 2, 9 pm)! In this very special episode we'll discover the downsides of detonating a hydrogen bomb. (Special guests: The kids from Glee! Sigh. I wish.)
Note #2: Right now there's a special Syfy contest (with prizes!) that's not called, “Name Our Next Terrible Made-for-TV Movie” even though it should be. The channel that brought you Mansquito and Sharks in Venice needs a title for their next flick about a knight who comes in possession of a holy relic that unleashes a murderous demon. My suggestion? Pat Robertson Is a DICK. I don't think it's going to win. Submit yours at syfy.com/moviecontest before February 14!

Culture

Forget Paris: The Saboteur fails in Nazi-occupied France

Source WeeklyJanuary 27, 2010July 25, 2023

The Saboteur must have sounded like a brilliant idea when it was explained to executives at Electronic Arts, the game's publisher. “Like Grand Theft Auto, but set in Nazi-occupied France,” I imagine the pitch. “And the main character can climb buildings and dash along rooftops like Assassin's Creed, but instead of some quasi-mythical organization, he's fighting for the resistance. He can liberate Paris.”
Sean, the game's Irish hero, heaves himself from window-ledge to window-ledge with tireless drudgery. When climbing down, he unfailingly raises his arms all the way up before dropping them to catch the next ledge, resulting in slow descents intermingled with fast falls. On the ground he's not much more graceful. When he jumps, it looks like he's riding a small invisible elevator up and down. He can enter “sneak” mode, which has almost nothing to do with sneaking, but certainly seems to dial down the Nazi's computer-controlled hearing.

Food & Drink

Kitsch and Cakes: The Westside Bakery and Café's hearty morning meals

Source WeeklyJanuary 27, 2010January 4, 2023

Gravy, potatoes and cinnamon rolls as big as my face: classic items that immediately make me think of an old-school diner. Both are available in plenty at Galveston's Westside Bakery and Café where it's always breakfast no matter the time of day.
The menu features much more (with lunch options and baked goods), but with breakfast items served all day, the morning meal is sure to please at this popular spot. Most in Bend are well aware of the wonder that is the Westside Bakery and Café – I'm only sad it took me so long to discover.
After having passed by the café many times, I finally ventured inside on a recently blustery winter morning. Quirky décor immediately set the café apart from other downtown eateries, with a giant wooden Elvis and a Big Bird statue situated amongst wooden tables and high shelves filled with figurines surrounding the dining room.

Food & Drink

Kitsch and Cakes: The Westside Bakery and Café's hearty morning meals

Source WeeklyJanuary 27, 2010May 25, 2025

Food & Drink

Water World, Hold the Costner

Source WeeklyJanuary 27, 2010July 12, 2025

There used to be a bartender in Denver who wore a button that said, “Ask me about water, no ice.” Only the truly daring would venture the question because the answer was a whirlwind of hate and distaste she had for those who didn't just take their water from the tap with some ice cubes in it. I don't share this hatred, but I am always amazed by all of the creative ways people have found to enjoy one of life's simplest pleasures.
A lot can be learned from the person who places a water order.
No ice? You think a lot about hydration and you don't sip your water you inhale it. You will drink at least three full glasses of water in long gulps and the only reason you stop devouring it is because you don't know what's going on in conversation as you've spent most of the evening making trips to the restroom.

Music

Spoon: Transference

Source WeeklyJanuary 27, 2010November 29, 2023

Spoon
Transference
Merge Records

It doesn't take long for lead singer and songwriter Britt Daniel and the rest of this Austin-based outfit to establish on Transference that they're more than capable of picking up where they left off with the outstanding 2007 effort Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. But it's where the band goes from there that really makes Transference shine, not just apart from the rest of the band's catalog, but apart from most of the other indie pop style offerings out there.

Culture

Our Picks for 1/27 – 2/4: John Cruz, Ruins of Ooah, The Quick & Easy Boys and more

What to do in Central Oregon the week of 1/27 – 2/4/2010.

Source WeeklyJanuary 27, 2010April 11, 2025

John Cruz
wednesday 27
This Grammy-winning Hawaiian guitarist and songwriter descends on the Silver Moon for a rare Oregon appearance. Cruz is a legend on the islands, but also has a strong following on the mainland that includes folks like Eddie Vedder and Trey Anastasio, the latter of whom he collaborated with to create Trey's solo cut “A Case of Ice and Snow.” $10/adv at bendticket.com, $12/door. 8pm. Silver Moon Brewing Co., 24 NW Greenwood Ave.
Grouch & Eligh, Lucky I Am, Sunspot Jonz, Marv Ellis, Minscape, UNON
thursday 28
This massively huge hip-hop celebration brings five members of the storied California indie rap collective Living Legends and will likely bring out many a healthy chunk of Bend's relatively sizeable hip-hop contingent. And yes, the members of the Legends will be performing together. Also on the bill is Oregon rapper Marv Ellis (known for his multiple performances at the Bendistillery Martini Bar), who will be playing with a full band. You can find some local talent at the show as well with UNON, the collaborative effort between Cloaked Characters and Mosley Wotta. All ages. 8pm. Midtown Ballroom, 51 NW Greenwood Ave. $22/advance, $25/day of show.

Opinion

Friends and Lovers: Prineville welcomes Facebook with open arms and pockets, a Supreme reversal and more!

Source WeeklyJanuary 27, 2010January 4, 2023

The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from President Obama's State of the Union Address, offering hope in the form of hankies to Democrats – on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.
This Isn't Fake News
Governor Ted Kulongoski didn't bother to show up as Facebook announced last Thursday that it will build its latest data center in Prineville. Seriously, we aren't making this up: The 124-acre site (which Facebook reportedly settled on because of local climate conditions and generous tax breaks from Prineville and the state of Oregon) will soon harvest and house all of our data for resale to compassionate corporations (err, “all Americans” – see below story), and cost an estimated $188 million, with company site spokesman Tom Furlong saying, “We are very excited to be able to put it in Prineville.” Again, this is actually happening – in Prineville! Creating 200 jobs during its year-long construction and employing 35 full-time workers and “dozens more part-time and contract employees” (quoting the press release) afterward, the data center will surely confuse local cowboys and livestock rustlers, yet diversify Prineville's exports/imports from manufacturing then recycling rubber tires. Until Facebook is replaced by another impossibly unprofitable Internet company, and then the data center will be abandoned, much like Bend's big plans for similar business booms, like Juniper Ridge (remember that mess?), La Pine's efforts to corner the Meth market, and Redmond's claim as having the most used car lots on a single road.

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