Every once in a while, a movie comes along with a premise so fundamentally weird that you can almost hear the studio executives break into a flop sweat, wondering how many Happy Meals and cross-promotional merch to make the juice worth the squeeze. “The Sheep Detectives” is exactly the kind of movie that, when you […]
Culture
Free Will Astrology, Week of May 14
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Soil biologists say a teaspoon of productive soil may contain billions of living organisms. These bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematode work in cooperative networks, generating a hidden abundance that ensures everything above ground thrives. Your immediate future has this quality, Taurus. Beneath the visible surface of your life, beneficial processes are […]
Community Leader Set to Open Brick-and-Mortar Witchcraft Store
It started with making mud potions in the forests of Northern Idaho, and now Josie Stanfield, activist, community leader and self-proclaimed witch, shared her story inside her Redmond store — WitchCrafting with Josie — just weeks from opening. Growing up in a predominately white family — and state — as a Black woman, Stanfield often wandered the outdoors alone, feeling a deep spiritual connection to nature. And that extended to witchcraft, too. […]
Redmond Has a Thriving Art Community
The Dry Canyon Community Art Center is flourishing six months after opening on SW Sixth Street in downtown Redmond. The gallery has hosted three exhibitions showcasing local artists. The featured art display changes monthly and items sold in the gift gallery rotate on a regular basis. Art educators teach classes in rooms at the back […]
Feeling Comfortable After a Gap in Dating
Dear Dr. Jane, I’m a regular reader and really appreciate your advice. I’ve noticed that many people who write in are married or in long-term relationships struggling to communicate about intimacy — and your guidance on talking openly and compassionately really resonates with me. But my situation is a little different. I’m a 42-year-old woman […]
Free Will Astrology, Week of May 7
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When lightning from a cloud hits sand or soil, the current travels down into the ground. It melts material along its path and forms tubular, branching glass structures that can penetrate deep below the surface. I believe that metaphorically similar phenomena will soon happen in your life, Taurus. Sudden insights or […]
Streep, Hathaway, Blunt and Tucci: Still a Perfect Combo
As someone who has dressed like a color blind retiree since childhood, I know next to nothing about couture, modern fashion, or why one designer brand outranks another. Watching “The Devil Wears Prada” all the way back in the year of our lord 2006, I knew the film really wasn’t “for me,” yet I still […]
Pages of Possibility: A Student Writing Showcase
Students at Central Oregon Community College have revived a literary tradition that hasn’t been around for nearly four decades. The Thread, featuring student poetry, prose and art is an online journal curated and edited by students in the Advanced Creative Writing: Publishing class. Associate Professor Eileen Sather, who teaches the class, says COCC had similar […]
Three Comedians with Bend Ties Reunite for a Night of Snappy Wit, Shared History & a Bit of Family Drama
Central Oregon audiences will get a three-for-one comedy lineup May 16 when Helen Keaney, Shanan Kelley and special guest Chelsea Woodmansee take the stage at the Tower Theatre. Expect laughter, a little unpredictability and a few jokes that hit suspiciously close to home — possibly while someone’s in-law sits in the front row, taking mental […]
TEDxBend Rebirth
After a seven-year hiatus, TEDxBend returns May 30. Eight speakers are scheduled. The theme is “Rebirth” focusing on personal transformation, new ideas and fresh perspectives. Organizers say the theme comes to life through bold ideas and diverse voices exploring renewal in all its forms including personal, cultural, environmental and collective. “Rather than fully announcing each […]

