Last Band Standing Announces Lineup of Competitors
I just got final word from the folks at Combined Communications about the bands selected for the Last Band Standing competition, which gets underway next week. More than 100 bands entered and here are the 38 that were selected to compete for the ridiculously crazy awesome grand prize: a 15-passenger van, a Gibson guitar, a…
Doctor Bills, Stud Follies and Bradbury on a Roll
The Bulletin had a rather odd editorial (well, that’s not exactly news) on Friday morning. The subject was taxes, but what really interested me was the lead-in to that subject, which talked about medical care.
Sporting Cycle: Getting back to basics
The Cross Country Ski Areas Association's (CCSAA) membership is comprised of ski area and ski resort owners and operators plus representatives from ski gear makers, grooming equipment manufacturers, insurance companies and others who offer services to ski areas. In short, it's a classic affinity group, and like so many such groups holds an annual convention.
Bend, Oregon Weekend Entertainment Guide
The options for entertainment this weekend may not be immense, but there are definitely a few shows worth checking out. Here are a few of our suggests for musical and comedic goodness this weekend.
Campaigns Look Spendier Here
Want to run for the Oregon Legislature? You’d better be able to get your hands on at least a quarter of a million dollars. A new report on 2008 campaign financing by the National Institute on Money in State Politics found that Oregon was one of the most expensive states in the country to run…
Last Band Standing Application Deadline Approaching!
There have been local talent shows and artist showcases in Bend before, but nothing like Last Band Standing, sponsored by Clear 101.7.
A Problem of Poop
We have been wanting to write our opinion for a long time and as time goes on, we see that the problem is getting worse and worse the more we are out and about. In most parks and trails in Central Oregon, doggie doo-doo bags are provided. While most owners do use them, too many…
After 111 Days, Avatar Finally Leaves Our Screens
No matter which way you boil it down, 111 days is a long time. But that’s precisely how long Avatar was in theaters here in Bend.
From Deep in the Earth: Newberry National Monument is hot stuff and soon might be powerful stuff
If you had any question in your mind that Central Oregon has its faults, all you have to do is look outside your living room, bedroom or bathroom windows. Somewhere within the visible horizon there will be some kind of volcanic feature on the landscape, such as Newberry National Monument – where investors hope geothermal…
Rehash the Kraken! Clash of the Titans revamps old-school mythology with new-school technology
I was never a big fan of the 1981 version of Clash of the Titans. Believe it or not, a painfully tired Laurence Olivier as Zeus, and mini-skirt-wearing Harry Hamlin with flowers in his hair just didn't do it for me. But the Ray Harryhausen stop-motion special effects were cool. For decades, Harryhausen was the…
Island of Discontent: Tropico 3 keeps it cool in the equatorial sun
My people are the best people in the world. They are the best people in the world because they love me, their el presidente. And it is only natural that they should love me. After all, it is I who first looked at this little undeveloped island and saw potential. Where bare plains sat, I…
Get Ready to Squeal
Okay, I hope you have some throat lozenges on hand, because I'm about to give you two very good reasons to squeal. Are you ready? SQUEAL #1: Guys! Glee is returning this week! SQUEAAAAAAAALLLLL!!! That's correct, Glee – the show that's gayer than Gaylord McGayerson's rendition of “YMCA” at the annual Gay Town Gay Day…
And Then You Die: Nicholas Sparks rolls out his dance-cry-die formula once again with The Last Song
I went to see this movie with my mother-in-law. Her main complaint was that she had to watch her favorite actor, Greg Kinnear, die. “If it wasn't Greg Kinnear who died, it wouldn't be so sad,” she explained. I have to agree – there are many other less-talented actors who I wouldn't have minded watching…
Same Name, New Game: Redmond's Clock Tower Pub gets a menu makeover
Remember when your buddy bought that big-screen TV? All of a sudden, his (or her) house became the best place to catch a game, match, or race. The screen was impressive, your buddy chummy, and his couch comfy. Besides, knocking back a few brews guaranteed a good time. But your friend, it seems, has some…
Same Name, New Game: Redmond's Clock Tower Pub gets a menu makeover
Remember when your buddy bought that big-screen TV? All of a sudden, his (or her) house became the best place to catch a game, match, or race. The screen was impressive, your buddy chummy, and his couch comfy. Besides, knocking back a few brews guaranteed a good time. But your friend, it seems, has some…
Ménage Trois
It's sweet and innocent and endearing to see two people connect – even when they are at their most awkward. Typically, the man will spout witty one-liners and buy his love interest fancy cocktails while she smiles and coos while twirling her hair. But on rare occasion, there is a train wreck happening on the…
The Latest News from Tax Hell
We’re still waiting for the mass exodus of businesses that conservatives predicted in the wake of voter approval of Measures 66 and 67 to happen. Meanwhile, a couple of developments this week suggest that Oregon isn’t really such a horrible place to locate a business after all.
She & Him: Volume Two
She & Him Volume Two Merge Records
I guess what I find most enjoyable (and yes, I've seen the commercial promoting the “fabric of our lives”) about She & Him is how refreshing the duo's sound is in an age of tiresome indie-kids trying to crank out the already-been-done jams of Pavement. Young movers and…
High and High Minded: Doug Benson loves pot jokes, but he's also probably smarter than you
Doug Benson has made a career out of lampooning celebrities, talking about movies and making people laugh in the process. Oh, and he's also done just fine for himself by getting super-duper stoned, then telling jokes, or even making a movie about it. But sometimes Benson isn't necessarily funny, like when he chats on the…
Our Picks for 4/7 – 4/15: Larry and His Flask, Tony Smiley, Floater, Doug Benson, Riders for the Cure and more
Larry and His Flask thursday 8 It's been a few weeks since this hillbilly jamboree of a band set off across the country to accompany Dropkick Murphys on their St. Patrick Day's tour, but now LAHF is back for this sure-to-be-insane show. Hit the Sound section for a feature on the band and their recent…
Running on Empty: Decaying streets are a symptom of Oregon's ailing cities
WKRP and Johnny Fever had the Turkey Drop, WLUP had Disco Demolition Night at Chicago's Comiskey Park. In Bend, local alternative rock station 92.7 has the Pothole Giveaway, an ongoing spring promo that encourages listeners to call in and nominate Bend's best potholes. Callers qualify for ticket giveaways and will have a pothole named in…
New Resorts and Good Old Boys
Keith Cyrus is chairman of the Deschutes County Planning Commission. There's no problem with that. He also has a golf course subdivision that he wants to turn into a destination resort – no problem with that either. But when Keith Cyrus, the chairman of the planning commission, uses his position to push the agenda of…
Back To Work: Tiger's return, Iraq burns and Geithner takes on China
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from Augusta watching Tiger (really a craps game in Brooklyn) on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly. Get a Job! For the first time in three years, the economy in March added (yes, added)…
A Badlands Birthday: New wilderness has set the stage for more good things
The winds of change are blowing through the Oregon Badlands Wilderness, the newest addition to the fully protected wild lands of Oregon. It's been just over a year since the Wilderness Act took effect, protecting forever this high desert jewel of 30,000 acres, so near to, but yet so far from, the metropolitan area of…
Fashion It Ain't
Dear Source, I could not disagree more with your dos and don'ts about biking fashion in your latest issue. In fact, I have long thought bicyclers to be the most fashion-challenged group of people on the planet. Why is it (by and large) they feel the need to look like some kind of bug from…
Hear Larry and His Flask Live on 92.7 FM Today
This week, I have a feature in the paper about Larry and His Flask, the punk-gone-acoustic sextet that’s been out touring the country in support of Celtic rockers Dropkick Murphys, but now have returned home. Now, they’re home and settling in to the 92.
The Lessons Of History
Critics called it “a cruel hoax and a delusion,” a socialist program that would compete with private insurers and kill jobs. If it passes, Americans will feel “the lash of the dictator,” and “end the progress of a great country.” One New York Republican Representative said, “Never in the history of the world has any…
The Money In Your Cushions
To have a financial “cushion,” I try to keep my monthly bills overpaid to the extent of at least one month ahead. With credit cards this is not possible.
Obama Deserves Credit For Health Care
Back in Bend after a three-week trip to the farthest reaches of the Amazon region. I learned of the passage of the health care bill in a small Internet café in Manaus. I delighted in catching up with the Sunday papers and all the analysis of the American political machinations. My conclusion: What a great…
Home Again, Finally: After the tour of their career, Larry and His Flask get to play closer to home
Jamin Marshall is at home last Friday afternoon and is trying to get some rest. Just two days earlier, he and the rest of his band, Larry and His Flask, drove 30 straight hours from Rochester, Minn. to arrive in their hometown of Redmond. That's more than 1,800 miles, but Marshall isn't trying to impress…
