Culture Features

Adam Sather shreds it up under the lights.Nightlife in the winter can sometimes seem one-dimensional. The music
scene grows a bit stagnant; the bar crawl can bring on fits of déj vu.
Most of winter's allure derives from the prospect of hitting the
slopes, and it's an activity that many of us partake in regularly.But even with as much skiing as we do, night skiing is a pastime mostly unfamiliar
to us Bendites. Mt. Bachelor being so close, most of us would probably
rather hit the hill early the next day than make the trip to Hoodoo,
Ski Bowl or Mt. Hood Meadows.
Like most great ideas, my decision to
drive to Hoodoo was made on a whim. A particularly nasty
day-after-Christmas storm and low visibility sent us home early from
Mt. Bachelor still hungry for a few more turns. With the snow still
falling, we loaded up the car, popped in our clear lenses and took off
to Hoodoo's opening night. About an hour later we pulled into the
parking lot, quickly threw on our gear and rushed off to meet our
friends who were already enjoying the heavy and steady extra-light
snowfall.

The Tower's new number one, Ray Solley.After scouring the nation, just as they said they would, the Tower's
board of directors have settled on an executive director to replace Eli
Ashley in the form of Ray Solley, who comes to Bend from the Los
Angeles-area city of Torrance. Solley has been at the helm of the
Torrance Cultural Arts Center Foundation and also had a long career in
the television industry.

But he didn't merely work in television,
he was one of the creators of arguably the greatest
amateur-athlete-against-pro-athlete-all-spandex programs of all time:
American Gladiators. We're talking the original version, not the
recently cancelled revamped edition on NBC hosted by a bloated Hulk
Hogan and including at least one gladiator who howled like a wild
animal. That's right - the jewel of Bend's downtown and the center of
all things sophisticated in Bend is now under the supervision of the
man who gave us American Gladiators.

Get down and give me a downward dog. If anyone had told me 10 or 20 years ago that I'd be doing yoga at this
point in my life, I would've told them to f**k off. After a lifetime of
self-inflicted physical and mental abuse with my old friends, drugs and
alcohol, I had always subscribed to the belief that I needed a quick
fix, no therapy, and definitely not any form of exercise whatsoever.

But
then after being clean and sober for almost 10 years, I decided to give
it a try. The fact that my girlfriend is a yoga instructor at Namaspa
in the Tulen Center didn't hurt either. I finally gave into the dreaded
pretzel twisting regime to stop hearing her ask (every five minutes),
"When are you going to try my class?" Seriously, what did I have to
lose except maybe a few bad thoughts and a coupla unwanted and
unsightly pounds? I began by participating in an introductory workshop.
When I strutted in wearing my yoga shorts, carrying my new mat and
sporting my sweatband/headdress/bandana, I was approached by my
classmates as somewhat of a swami. The first question, "how long have
you been practicing?" and my response, "umm about two days" put an end
to any looks of admiration.

Oh so tacky.Great aunts, grandmothers and the overzealous knitters in your family
sometimes have the misguided idea that everyone should own a holiday
sweater. While some are more "tasteful" in their selection process,
others feel that nothing says "Happy Holidays" better than a blazing
red knit creation complete with three dimensional snowmen, glitter,
sewn-on ribbons and bells and, if you're lucky, some battery-operated
lights. While this attempt to spread holiday cheer is typically
well-meant, this nightmare apparel is about as subtle as Santa Claus
beating you over the head with a sack of broken Christmas lights
screaming "Merry Christmas" and about as desirable as an STD - until
now that is. Holiday sweaters have a new purpose in life and are a
reason for celebration with the increased popularity of ugly Christmas
sweater parties. So get excited when you unwrap the latest holiday
sweater from Aunt Gertie - you no longer have to fake acting thankful
and now have a perfectly acceptable way to show it off and even win
prizes.