Someone once told me they thought comedians were the philosophers of our day. I’d argue they might not know too many comedians personally โ many are wonderfully flawed people โ but I do believe in the sentiment. Humor matters. In a world that’s increasingly automated, impersonal and inhuman, live stand-up matters. When I moved to […]
Culture Features
There But for the Grace of Dolly, Go I
I am a devoted disciple of the Holy House of Dolly Parton. I have been a member of this congregation for a long time. I consider wildflowers, eagles and butterflies, rhinestones, long nails and big hair all sacred. I dress so my outside matches my inside. I walk to the beat of my own banjo. […]
The Poetry Express: On the Road with Oregon’s Poet Laureate
โEllen Waterstonโs โThe Third Act,โ columns ran from 2021 to 2026 in the Source and are now collected in her book, โWe Could Die Doing This, Dispatches on Ageing from Oregonโs Outback.โ Recently reappointed to a second two-year term as Oregonโs 11th poet laureate, Waterston now turns her attention and pen to her experiences traveling […]
The Menopause Conversation
According to Marie Sophocleโs book, โThe Bedroom Gap,โ there are 80 million women experiencing menopause right now, a combination of baby boomers and Generation X. An additional 6,000 women hit menopause every day. Staggering numbers! Thatโs a lot of hot flashes, emotional moments during the day and waking up at 2 am. At Roundabout Books, […]
Chasing Dark Skies
When Christian Heeb first turned his lens to the night sky, it wasnโt a dramatic career pivot so much as a natural next chapter. A longtime travel and nature photographer, Heeb says night work simply completes the story of a place. โIf you travel in nature for photography, you capture all aspects โ sunrise, canyon […]
The Intersection of Climate Change, Wildfire and Art
A touring exhibit, currently at Scalehouse Collaborative for the Arts in downtown Bend, creates a ghost forest filled with images of wildfire scars through which visitors can wander. โItโs digital photography and these are all forests along the west coast from northern Washington to southern California,โ Jocelyn Church, a Scalehouse intern, explains while looking at […]
Summer Reading Is a Mood
Summer reading has a look: a pastel cover, a beach chair and a sunset in the background. But the look isnโt the point. Summer reading is a mood. Itโs the book you crack open at noon on a lazy summer day and then look up to find the lightโs gone. The one-sitting kind, the canโt-put-it-down […]
Expanding the Story
When the High Desert Museum opened in 1982, founder Don Kerr had a lofty vision for the destination heโd long dreamed of. The campus nestled in the forest south of Bend would create experiences to inspire awe, curiosity and wonder in visitors, which would in turn stimulate learning and stewardship about the unique high desert […]
Find Your Fun Outside
Itโs that time of the year again! Outrun the mosquitoes at Tumalo Falls as you hike to Happy Valley, run the Burma Road Trail, soak up some rays paddleboarding on Three Creek Lake and hike Black Butte, starting from the bottom of the trail. Those are just a few favorite activities to kick off summer! […]
I Read for the Human Experience in Books; AI Canโt Replace That
Human experience is the totality of what it means to live โ our interactions, our emotions, our thoughts and perceptions as we go through our day-to-day lives. This experience is what shapes how we understand ourselves and the world around us. Reading is one of many ways we enrich our human experience, just as art […]

