Culture Features

Buying versus borrowing. Cover art. Yearly reading goals. Paper and Kindle and audiobooks. Color-coded bookshelves. Bookish dialogue enveloped the back corner high-top table where eight women circled, books in tow, awaiting their hour of silent reading among restaurant-goers out for a Sunday afternoon drink at Broken Top Bottle Shop last month. Because as much as […]

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” – Neil Gaiman I am a child of the ’80s. My introduction to the fantasy genre was not J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, C.S. Lewis, Ursula K. Le Guin or any other […]

Bend’s bike-commuting nonprofit, Bend Bikes, is turning 10 years old this year, amid a massive improvement of the city’s transportation system and a growing presence of e-bikes on the streets. For the anniversary, the Source Weekly checked in with board president Elisa Cheng about the organization’s progress and goals. Source Weekly: Has the scope of […]

In his 2023 book, “Hidden Potential,” Adam Grant tells the story of a polyglot who learned a new language by setting a goal of 200 mistakes a day. I love the idea of setting a goal to make mistakes, as it’s the only way we learn something new. What a wonderful way to approach New […]

This time of year, when it comes to the jolly old elf, it appears there’s more than one secret to be kept. Not only do adults-with-kids need to tread the fine line about the origins (and residence) of Santa Claus himself – but also, adults of every ilk have to try to keep another secret: […]

One of the finest musicals of the last few decades is the absolutely stunning “Spring Awakening” with music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Steven Sater. The way that show balances heartbreak and bittersweet hope with show-stopping musical numbers is unlike any mainstream Broadway production since “Rent.” I had heard Sheik and Sater’s follow-up musical, […]