Wild Driving: It's those gosh darn tourists in Bend again
Who’s that doing 45 in a 25 mile per hour zone, snaking through traffic in a blizzard as if the pavement were dry, sticking as close to your rear bumper as possible? Why, it’s one of those gosh darn tourists who instead of slowing down on vacation have brought their urban zest for speed and…
Deschutes Brewery Plans to Expand Brewpub
One of the biggest gripes you’ll hear about the Deschutes Brewery pub in downtown Bend has nothing to do with the quality of the food or the beer, but rather the fact that the place is always crowded. Well that will likely change by 2012 as the brewery announced today that it is planning a…
Allyson’s Kitchen Closing December 31
It’s a hard knock life out there for retailers. We’ve just heard the sad news – Allyson’s Kitchen, one of our favorite kitchen stores (and the best place to buy wine for Les Schwab summer concerts) is closing its Bend location this Friday.
Allyson’s Kitchen Closing December 31
It’s a hard knock life out there for retailers. We’ve just heard the sad news – Allyson’s Kitchen, one of our favorite kitchen stores (and the best place to buy wine for Les Schwab summer concerts) is closing its Bend location this Friday.
Bend Drivers Not Drunk, Just Texting!
I recently lost my Bluetooth headset. After finally giving up on the search, I’m planning to replace it soon at a cost of roughly $40.
The Eye Wanders Off Into the Sunset
I’m really sorry to break the bad news to them during this season of peace and goodwill, but after this week the right-wingers in Bend and vicinity won’t have The Wandering Eye to kick around anymore. The decision to stop writing this blog was my own, and it was prompted by several factors.
Marz To Become Deco Bistro
Just a few short months after acquiring Marz Bistro, owner Gavin McMichael announced that he is revamping the downtown stalwart, re-opening the restaurant next month as Deco Bistro, which, according to the Bulletin will serve “classic American style bistro cuisin of the 1920s and 1930s” And if anybody has any idea what that is, let us…
Um, Did Pat Robertson Say That We Should Legalize Marijuana?
Remember Pat Robertson, the aging hard-right Christian broadcaster known for, among other things, announcing that the earthquake in Haiti was a result of the nation’s pact with the Devil? Well, last week he seemed to indicate on his show The 700 Club, that he was in favor of decriminalizing marijuana (or perhaps reforming mandatory minimum…
Pre-Christmas Bluegrass Tonight: Pitchfork Revolution
Things are going to get mighty quiet in the next three days on the live music front in Bend. Apparently, there’s a big holiday or something.
Flexing New Muscles: New chef and lower prices revitalize Scanlon's
The location of Scanlon's is perhaps an apt metaphor for a restaurant that's trying to play a lot of seemingly contradictory roles. It's fine dining but it shares a building with the Athletic Club of Bend.
Four Loko Watch: Four Loko on Wheels?
Right as we thought that there was no need to continue reporting on Four Loko, now that the only version of the high-alcohol level beverage you can get in Oregon contains no bad-decision-fueling uppers, we saw this in downtown Bend:
It’s a good thing Four Loko no longer has the crazy chemicals in it because…
Poetry Slam at the PoetHouse Tonight
It’s fitting that a place called the PoetHouse would be the site of the Bend Poetry Slam, which is going down tonight at 7:30pm to give you some pre-holiday spoken word acrobatics to sink your teeth into. Appearing at slam is Guy J.
Holiday Chef's Table: Favorite recipes from some of our favorite chefs' tables to yours
Holiday meals can be the most exciting time of the year – for some reason, gathering everyone from your sister's Duggar-like brood to your pull-my-finger uncle Ted in the same place can make for some interesting moments. But they're also a time for families to share meals, recipes and traditions. In this spirit, we've asked…
From Airstream to Haute Cuisine: Spork serves dinner for two nights and knocks everyone's socks off
Last Thursday evening, I walked down the frosted sidewalk of Bond Street. The day’s rain had made the air bone-chillingly cold and if it had been any other night, I would have probably stayed in with a cup of tea and a Mad Men marathon. But for this night, I would have trekked three miles…
Feelin' Grinchy: Hypocrisy on the Hill, hotpants, fun with Pakistan and more!
The author is reporting from an aircraft carrier where everyone is asking and telling, margaritas and hotpants now the rage. “Bigger government, 2,000-page bills jammed through on Christmas Eve, wasteful spending… ” Happy Kwanzaa, America! Oh, wait, such things are suddenly bad, according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch “Turtle” McConnell. Feelin' Grinchy? Don't dare touch…
A Cool Yule: Keeping the holiday spirit alive outside
During his 19 years as director of Mt. Bachelor's Nordic Center, Bob Mathews strove to keep things festive around the holidays. That meant an employee dressed in a full Santa suit skiing around the tracks handing out candy to skiers and the instructors giving lessons while sporting elf hats, ears and tunics.
Eating Away the Winter Blahs: What happens when hawks eat other birds
Winter is a tough time for many forms of wildlife. Every day, mule deer, for example, must dig out their winter fare of bitterbrush and tiny plants buried in snow. They also must have thermal cover every night to ward off those nighttime temperatures that can sometimes plummet to below zero. Similarly, there is a…
Local Celebrity Wish Lists
Eric Tollefson, local musician 1. I hope that everyone who is able will visit the Tree of Joy in the Old Mill to make someone else’s Christmas this year. Most of the children’s wish lists have things like shoes and coats. There’s no better feeling than making a child’s Christmas.
Holiday Bowling: If you don't watch college football games this Christmas, Santa is gonna be pissed
Guess what, kids? If you don't watch all the college football bowl games during the Christmas week/weekend, Santa knows, because he has an exclusive deal with ESPN that allows him to look back at you through your television set. And if Santa finds out you skipped, say, the Little Caesars Bowl because you thought it…
Striving for Perfection: Natalie Portman Soars in Black Swan
Natalie Portman is amazing. The 29-year-old actress has perfectly crafted her career – making stunning choices for the films she stars in and her most recent project doesn't find her veering off course. Black Swan stars Portman in a both mentally and physically challenging role as Nina, a ballerina who is cast as the Swan…
Move Aside Rocky, There's a New Kid in Town: The Fighter is definitely a contender
What's that you say? David O. Russell, the guy who directed Spanking the Monkey, Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees made a boxing movie? Yes it's true that the king of quirky has made a straightforward boxing pic based on a true story, fueled by performances of compelling grit and layered intensities, simply entitled The…
Be Sensitive: Sports Champions gets PS3 in the motion game
This winter, I’m reviewing the whole pack of motion sensitive games. From Wii Sports to Kinect Sports, I’m testing out the full range of gaming’s latest trend. And since all the games have some version of tennis, I’m calling the event the “Pong-Off.” Keep reading these pages to see the results, and may the best…
Rudolph Redux
ATTENTION: There are some serious problems with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. And for those of you who are still reading, I'm going to elucidate on those problems (and how they can be corrected) in three… two… one… GO! 1) Rudolph is totes creepy. Naturally, I'm talking about the Rankin/Bass creepy wooden puppet version of Rudolph…
Curtain Call: Bend's Winter Theater Season Highlights Heart-Warming Comedies
Come in out of the cold this winter and enjoy two heart-warming plays from Bend theater groups. Both Innovation Theatre Works and Cricket Daniels bring to the stage comedies that tackle different subject matters, but aim to make you laugh all the same.
Holiday Chef's Table: Favorite recipes from some of our favorite chefs' tables to yours
Holiday meals can be the most exciting time of the year – for some reason, gathering everyone from your sister's Duggar-like brood to your pull-my-finger uncle Ted in the same place can make for some interesting moments. But they're also a time for families to share meals, recipes and traditions. In this spirit, we've asked…
I Get It Now: How the Reverend Horton Heat kept a sense of humor
The Reverend Horton Heat should, and probably is, best known for essentially creating a genre of their own by taking rockabilly sounds and layering them on top of an aggressive punk rock foundation. Some have called this “psychobilly,” which is about as ridiculous (albeit hilariously so) a genre classification as there is in popular music,…
Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky, the first record in more than a decade from Swans, is polished, driving, contemplative and bizarre.
Our Picks 12/22-12/30: Christmas Bird Count, 2nd Hand Soldiers, and more!
The Pitchfork Revolution thursday 23 We know some Bendites have string-fever and what better way to entertain your visiting family who's trickling into town for the holidays than with some electro-acoustic experimental Americana-grass from The Pitchfork Revolution, a band that includes Jayson Bowerman, the guitar maker we featured in last week's issue. The local band's…
Storms of Controversy: Blizzards and droughts are more than just crazy weather
Last February, as the snow just kept piling up in Washington, D.C., Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and his family built an igloo down the street from the Capitol and labeled it “Al Gore’s new home.” And the Virginia Republican Party ran TV ads telling viewers to call legislators who supported climate-change legislation “and tell them…
R.I.P. DADT
There have been gays in the American military as long as there has been an American military. But for more than 230 years they've had to hide their sexual identity from the men and women they served with. That stupid and shameful anachronism will come to an end soon, thanks to the 111th Congress's decision…
Let's Drink: The DA Debacle Part XXV, Bend's Most Dangerous Patio and more!
DA Office Drama Drags On A deal that would have traded some salary and benefits for deputy prosecutors in exchange for short-term job security appears to be crumbling on the eve of DA-elect Patrick Flaherty's tenure. An attorney representing deputy district attorneys who have banded together in a state-certified collective bargaining union notified Deschutes County…
Keep Swampy Request in Perspective
In response to Rosalind O’Donoghue’s “Don’t Let Swampy Go to the Dogs,” she makes it sound like ALL of Swampy Lakes will be taken over by skiers with dogs and that you’ll need to carry a pooper scooper if DogPac gets its way. NOT TRUE!
Dog Access Is Not Unreasonable
There has been much hyperbole and misinformation regarding DogPAC's work to regain forest access for dog owners, with winter access being a central aspect. Here are some facts to set the record straight. The Deschutes National Forest is by far the most restrictive of the 12 national forests in Oregon. Even if all the changes…
