Posted inColumns

A 2026 Resolution and Thoughts on Freedom and Liberty

Guest column by the Mayor of Redmond

Going back 250 yearsย ago,ย our forefathers declared that all men are created equal by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.ย This phrase embodied, in theory, the concepts of freedom and libertyย as they existedย in 18thย century America but how those conceptsย evolved in our Constitution and our lawsย is the […]

Posted inCulture

Free Will Astrology, Week of Jan 29

Aquarius may not be aware of how much influence they have

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In ecology, there’s a concept called “keystone species.โ€ This refers to organisms that have a huge effect on their environment relative to their abundance. Remove them, and the whole ecosystem shifts. I bring this up, Aquarius, because I believe you are currently functioning as a keystone species in your social ecosystem. […]

Posted inFilm

Snubs, Marketing Budgets and Future Classics

Are the Oscar nominations getting any better?

Hereโ€™s how I know my brain is a giant old warehouse full of contradictions, out-of-print VHS tapes and Drew Struzan movie posters: I hold space for the two competing thoughts that the Oscars are an out-of-touch racket that only celebrates films with marketing budgets in the tens of millions, while also obsessively theorizing for weeks […]

Posted inColumns

Savage in Bend: The Oldest Business

The oldest business in Bend

Because I often get questions about the “oldest” things in Central Oregon, I thought Iโ€™d tackle one to kick off the Savage in Bend column for this year. Catherine H. asks, โ€œWhat is the oldest business in Bend?โ€ There are several factors to consider, but if we mean the currently operating longest business under the […]

Posted inFilm

Memento Mori

“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” is a trip through the best and worst of humanity

When weโ€™re cynical about Hollywood and the movies they make, I think โ€œ28 Years Later: The Bone Templeโ€ is exactly the kind of movie that we pre-judge before laying eyes on it. I mean, itโ€™s the fourth movie in the โ€œ28 Days Laterโ€ franchise, but also the second in a trilogy that began last June […]

Posted inColumns

The Psychedelic Frontier, Jan. 22

Beyond the brain

Q: I keep reading about psychedelics in terms of brain chemistry, serotonin receptors, neuroplasticity, default mode networks. While I appreciate the science, something feels missing when I try to understand my own experiences purely through this lens. During my journeys, I feel like I’m traveling somewhere real, encountering genuine intelligence, receiving teachings that seem to […]

Posted inCulture

Free Will Astrology, Week of Jan. 22

If you’re under the Aquarius sign, you are a spy from the future

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You are a spy from the future. Thank you for your service! I love to see your boldness as you smuggle innovative ideas into a present that may or may not be ready for them. Your feelings of alienation are sometimes uncomfortable, but they are crucial to the treasure you offer […]

Posted inColumns

Posthaste

The lost art of a handwritten note

What could be more fun than a book you canโ€™t put down. Thanks to a friendโ€™s recommendation, right now for me that book is “The Correspondent” by Virgina Evans. So not to spoil it, I will only say it is an epistolary novel. The plot thickens through the exchange of letters between the characters. The […]

Posted inCulture Features

COCCโ€™s Black History Month to Celebrate ‘Black Triumph’ and Black Women

Five main events will be offered at COCC campuses across Central Oregon during February

In celebration of Black History Month, Central Oregon Community College will host several community offerings in February that highlight โ€œBlack triumphโ€ and celebrate Black women and youth. Events include an empowerment retreat; two dinners with speakers and/or performers; a viewing of โ€œToni Morrison: The Pieces I Am,โ€ and a community forum. All events are free, […]

Posted inFilm

The Good, Bad and Average of 2026

A triple feature to start the year

The first few weeks of January for theatrical film releases are dichotomous, to say the least. We get a combination of the movies that studios have lost all faith in and want to dump quickly and cheaply released with Oscar nominees and some future winners. Itโ€™s the best and worst of what was created the […]

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