Another Pulitzer Prize Awarded to an Alt Weekly! The Stranger’s Eli Sanders wins in 2012
Eli Sanders, associate editor at The Stranger, was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his 2011 story The Bravest Woman in Seattle. Sanders’ gripping narrative recounts the horrifying experience of a Seattle woman who survived an attack that left her partner dead.
All things buffalo- go see the show tonight!
Here’s the only real news involved in this blog—The White Buffalo is playing tonight at Midtown Ballroom. He sings dark songs about love, death and booze.
Coachella 2012 Is Going Strong! Stream It Live!
The 2012 edition of the Coachella Music Festival is in full swing, now going into it’s final day of the first weekend. So far (in my opinion), guitar is king at this year’s event.
Bike share gets rolling in Madras
Teachers and school district staff in Madras are about to become Central Oregon bike-sharing pioneers. The school district up there is launching a new bike-share program, the first of its kind around here.
“Disco Go Ball” This Weekend: Disc golf and ultimate frisbee extravaganza
Enjoy this weekend’s warm weather and throw a frisbee or two at Bend’s Pine Nursery. There will be all kinds of frisbee fun going on (see their schedule that we conveniently pasted below) including out of town teams and individuals who will be gunning for the W in the pro divisions.
Godot ticket prices slashed!
Innovation Theatre Works is a pretty cool little theater company. They’ve done some daring, edgy shows in this town and they’ve done them pretty well.
Free Tix For Sat’s Lava City Bout
Looking for some good wholesome girl-on-girl violence this weekend? We’ve got three tix for this weekend’s Lava City Roller Dolls bout on Saturday at COISC. That’s a $30 flat track value.
MBSEF Burglarized: Asshole makes off with radios, computers and race gear
Some jerk-off broke into MBSEF’s offices early Tuesday morning and made off with a pile of expensive gear—gear that the local non-profit uses daily as they expose area youth to the outdoors. Nice work, asshole.
Our Picks: 4/11-4/17
Polyrhythmics wednesday 11 If you didn't see these guys last time they were in town, the Seattle band is giving you another chance. The Afro-funk band is one part funk, one part jam band, and one part world music (horns!, keys! bells! flutes!). Add all these parts together and you get all-night dance music. If…
Green Machine: Energy Transformation
Maybe it’s something in the water, or the upholstery of our Subaru Outbacks that makes Central Oregonians so environmentally conscious, a fact that’s readily apparent in our recycling rates (almost 45 percent of our waste is now repurposed) and our embrace of solar power. (We’re home to half a dozen installers and recently added two…
Axl to Hall: Go F*ck Yourself
Just opened my email to find this open letter to the Hall of Fame from the tempestuous frontman of the band formerly known as Guns ‘N Roses. Looks like we’re going to have to wait a little longer for that reunion gig, according to Rose’s missive.
The Facts About Founding Fathers' Musical
I am the producer of “1776” In Concert, which will be staged this summer as a benefit for The Tower Theatre Foundation. In response to Charles Buchanan’s April 5 letter under the heading “Musical Interpretation Is A Drag,” I would like to clarify what our production of “1776” is, as well as what it is…
Not Wild About It
In “107.7 Gets Wild,” tSW blogger Erin Foote Marlowe writes that “[…] there's a new radio station in town. It's called Wild 107.7 and it plays top hits.” As Ms. Marlowe notes, Wild is owned by Combined Communications, “[…] which also owns The Twins 98.3, KSJJ 99.7, Clear 101.7 and 1110 KBND,” as well as…
Are we in the f*cking twilight zone?
Arizona seems to be. Lawmakers there passed three bills this legislative session that redefine all kinds of crazy things related to abortion. Here are the highlights. 1) pregnancy would be defined as officially beginning two weeks before conception. 2) abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy would be prohibited, except in medical emergencies. 3) the…
Getting Goosed by the Forest Service
Until he saw the colored flags on the trees, Jerry Gilmour never knew there was going to be a logging operation practically in his backyard. Gilmour, who has a weekend cabin he built himself in the woods near McKenzie Bridge, along Highway 126 between here and Eugene, made some phone calls and discovered none of…
Senators Call for GAO Investigation Into Forest Service Aircraft Plan: Wyden says not enough tankers to fight fires
It was one of those prototypical bone dry August afternoons in Los Angeles when an arsonist lit the blaze that became the Station Fire. Temperatures that day in 2009 were in the nineties with winds gusting at about 20 miles an hour. The conditions were perfect for a conflagration. By the time it was extinguished…
Get Comped for Your Commute: Commute Options understands the power of an incentive
Did you know that if you complete 45 round-trip commutes to work by walking, bicycling, or utilizing a car/vanpool, bus, pogo stick, mule, etc., you are eligible for sweet prizes, like free beer, via the Commute Options' rewards program? Yeah. All you have to do is fill out an online form that automatically notifies Commute…
Commuter Kit: Bike Commuting Made Easy
One of the simplest (and most fun!) ways to flex your green muscles is to commute by bike. With gas ringing in at $4 per gallon, lots of folks already do it, but we suspect there are even more out there who like the idea of a pedal-powered commute. They just don't know how to…
Going Native: Get your spring planting started right with OSU-Extension Service approved plants
Snowberry The snowberry's pink flowers give way to round white fruit in the fall that become a draw for birds – good news for the ornothologically inclined! This relatively hardy bush grows four to six feet in diameter and can withstand the high desert's wide temperature fluctuations with modest watering needs. Bitterbrush The iconic high…
The Grass is Always Greener: Five Easy Ways to Make Your Backyard Eco-Friendly
Install a Smart Irrigation timer: The latest irrigation technology allows you to program your system to target specific plants and soil types, making it less likely that you'll over water. Some timers can sense moisture levels and precipitation, i.e. no more watering in the rain. Kill Your Lawn: O.K. put down the blowtorch. We don't…
Dear Earth, I'm Sorry: Confessions of a non-composting, methane maker
I have a confession to make, I'm not composting – at least not in the way that I know that I'm supposed to. I'm mulching my grass and all, but my orange peels and coffee grounds are still going down the drain or into the garbage. It's not that I'm not aware of the benefits…
Reduce Your Energy Costs
Save money! Pollute less! You can dramatically improve your home's energy efficiency with these key tips. Weatherize: Get yourself a caulking gun and some weather stripping and go to town sealing all the little air leaks around windows and doors.
Top 10 Tips for Reducing Energy Usage While Cooking
1. Avoid preheating Most modern ovens are so well insulated that preheating isn't as necessary as it used to be. Unless you are baking bread or something very heat sensitive like soufflés, you can generally skip the preheating step, or only preheat for a few minutes. 2. No oven peeking Once food is in the…
Buy Local and Organic
You should be buying local food! When you do, you help ensure that lands in our area will be devoted to food cultivation and protected from more intensive development. And you cut down on food transportation costs that, according to some studies, now account for about 10 percent of the world's carbon emissions.
Water Conservation
Water in our area comes from streams and aquifers. Every gallon you use means one less for fish, and one less gallon in our underground reserve for future generations.
Todd Snider Gives Voice to America One Last Time: The Nashville (via Portland) singer continues making observations that bring us all together
Every now and then an artist comes along who reminds us to look beyond our surroundings and consider what's going on in this world. For years now, folk singer Todd Snider has been one of those artists. If you haven't yet answered his knock, perhaps the release of his latest album, Agnostic Hymns and Stoner…
Something for Everyone: Broken Top Bottle Shop isn't just another pub
Here's the thing about the Ale Café at Broken Top Bottle Shop. Even though it just opened in February, it feels like a place that's always existed here but we're just now discovering it. The ambiance of the restaurant and pub, located on Pence Lane at the base of College Way, is a cross between…
Waiting for Godot Success Critical: Innovation Theater Works may have to shut doors if they can’t fill the seats
The set of Waiting for Godot is comprised of one dead tree, an expressionistic desert background and a floor covered in burlap. It's a stark scene, and feels slightly menacing, a lot like the language in Irish writer Samuel Beckett's seminal work. It's also a lot like the financial situation of Innovation Theater Works. The…
Communication Breakdown: Ignorance and psychosis go hand-in-hand in We Need to Talk about Kevin
Some movies clue you in from the first scene that you're in for a different experience. We Need to Talk About Kevin achieves this and falls into the category of really different. The opening looks like a blood orgy, with Tilda Swinton slathered to the hilt in red, but turns out to be some sort…
Sweet Dreams: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen opts for formula over
I suppose I should get this out of the way up front: I don’t think I am in this film’s target demographic. And for large stretches of the film’s running time, I’m not sure the writer and director were entirely sure who the movie's audience is. At first, I thought the film was a drama…
Human-Powered Fun in the High Desert: Running (and winning) the Horse Butte 10 Miler, again. This time, faster.
Once again locals reigned supreme at the 200-person Horse Butte 10-Miler, an early season trail race staged on Bend’s eastside on April 7. Bend’s fastest cowboy, Max King, who toed the line sporting a thin white pearl-snap western shirt and cut off jean shorts, blazed to the finish line in record time this year, winning…
God Doesn't Like You Much
“Never again!” reader Thomas G. Mcree of Florida angrily writes. Dear Wm. Steven Humphrey. Your article is one of the most offensive and vulgar articles I have ever read in a public publication that is out for anyone to pick up free. If you are on an airplane, as I have been, with a major…
The Rest of My Interview With Todd Snider
Ahead of his Tower Theater appearance on April 17th, I had the chance to ask Nashville (via Portland) songwriter Todd Snider, some questions about his latest album Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables, his own wicked sense of humor, and his views about songwriting. You’ll be able to catch a scaled down version of that discussion…
