Bend Park & Recreation District Seeks Dogs to Help With Geese Control
The latest news in the ongoing Bend goose-control epic finds the Bend Park & Recreation District seeking volunteers with dogs to assist with goose management efforts this spring and summer. As you may recall, the great goose debate has been an ongoing topic of interest in Central Oregon. After years of discussion of how to…
Oregon Drug Bust of the Week: A U-Haul Full of Pot
This week’s Oregon Drug Bust of the Week takes us over to Roseburg where on Sunday Oregon State Police stopped a U-Haul moving truck on I-5 and later found about 30 pounds of marijuana hidden in the back. Police arrested Donald J.
Celebrate Love With Free Coffee
Valentine’s Day is upon us, with just one week left to figure out how to make love explode all over your relationship (or find a way to avoid the whole ordeal altogether if you’re not feeling the love). But even if you hate Hallmark holidays, there are a few good things about next Monday.
Sasquatch 2011 Lineup Announced: Decemberists, Death Cab, Wilco, Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters
Last night, the lineup for the 2011 edition of the Sasquatch Music Festival was announced and it’s looking pretty strong. Headlining the first-ever Friday night show is Foo Fighters — but you probably already knew that — and the other big names include The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse.
Hillstomp Wraps Up Weekend Run Tonight
The two friendly dudes of Hillstomp — the dynamic two-piece junkyard blues duo out of Portland — played a raucous show last night at the Silver Moon and they’ll return to the venue tonight for the second installment of their two-night run. If you haven’t heard the direction this fiery is heading on their new…
Interview: Unpacking Derby with Front Man Nat Johnson
The Doug Fir Lounge crowd is buzzing. Just finished are the Portland band Ravishers.
Celebrate Bob Marley’s Birthday Tonight
OK, his birthday is actually on Sunday, but given that there’s some sort of football game on that day, it’s better for reggae fans to celebrate tonight (Friday), which they can do up in the Midtown Annex. The show features a slew of reggae bands playing your favorite Marley tunes and features a lineup including…
Tom Russell Performs Tonight at Sisters High School
Come September, the Sisters Folk Festival brings some of the most talented musicians in folk music to the small Central Oregon town for a weekend of picking and strumming to rival any bigger festival on the circuit. Luckily enough for us, the festival hosts a number of awesome acts through the winter at Sisters High…
New Video From Local Artist Joanna Lee
Local singer-songwriter Joanna Lee is showing off her soulful vibe in a new music video produced by Bend’s own Far From Earth Films. The video is for her song, “Sunshine” and is one of the best offerings we’ve heard from this promising folk meets R&B artist.
Wanna Win Tickets to See Some Monster Trucks?
Hi there. Do you like monster trucks? Do you like the greatest, most storied monster truck of all time, Bigfoot? Do you like to see a seven-year-old kid drive a monster truck.
Emma Hill and Her Gentlemen Callers Tonight in Bend
If you’re down to get in on some free music tonight, get yourself to McMenamins Old St. Francis School for Emma Hill and Her Gentlemen Callers.
More Mud: COTA weighs in on a mushy subject
Last weekend a lot of Bend mountain bike riders heeded the call of the Bent blog and headed to Peterson Ridge where they were greeted with some incredible mud-free riding. Except for a few short, and not that muddy, spots the trails were firm and fast. The recent spate of muddy trails has yet again…
Contemplating Blue Valentine: A Non-Traditional Movie Review
Last weekend I busted out of Bend and went to visit some of my girlfriends from college in Los Angeles. Of course, I left town the weekend two of the movies I’ve been anticipating most opened, Blue Valentine and 127 Hours (which Mike reviewed this week), meaning I wouldn’t be able to review either one…
Sasquatch 2011 Wish List (part 2)
What would you do if you were a band from Newcastle who had just released a great debut, dance worthy rock album in the states and had a current UK tour ending on February 26th? Why, you’d come to Sasquatch of course! Okay.
Eleven Days of Chocolate in Sunriver
Willy Wonka is alive and well in Sunriver! For eleven days starting on Feb. 11, Sunriver Resort will be hosting chocolate dinners, tastings, drink specials, spa treatments and even a chocolate-themed 5k road race (this is Central Oregon, after all).
Mike West, owner of Bend Fish Co., Dies of Heart Attack
Last week, the owner Bend Fish Co., Mike West, died at age 51 from a heart attack.
Why Doesn’t Bend Have Tourism Ads Like Leavenworth?
I just came across this video which appears to be an official tourism advertisement for the small Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth in central Washington. And yes, it appears to be real and commissioned by the town’s tourism bureau.
Upcoming BendFilm Screenings at Sisters Movie House
We just got word that BendFilm will be screening two films in the next month at Sisters Movie House.
PPP Registration Now Open
You still have a few months to find your best one-piece, neon snowsuit, schwinn ten-speed and vintage kayak, but the starting line is officially in sight for the 35th Annual PPP. MBSEF announced yesterday that it is now taking on-line applications for individuals and teams for this year’s rite of spring race.
’80s Video Dance Attack Becomes a Monthly Event in Bend
So, it looks like that big ’80s Video Dance Attack at the Domino Room on Saturday night was a hit. And that might be an understatement.
A Super Bowl Conspiracy Theory: Pittsburgh Steelers? More like Stealers of Super Bowls
Come join me over at my chalkboard, would you? Let me spike my hair up and gain 125 pounds and somehow get a nightly FOX News program on which I'm liable to cry at any moment. OK. Good. I am now in full conspiracy theorist mode. Friends, why don't I let you in on a…
Cave Robber Case Closed: Intrepid forest investigator hunts down missing lava cave formations
Eddy Cartaya is a caver with a strong sense of responsibility who wants to see our local lava caves protected. And he's in a unique position to do that as the Deschutes National Forest's law enforcement and investigations officer. When Cartaya introduced himself to the Oregon High Desert Grotto of the National Speleological Society, the…
Cut Off Your Arm, Win an Oscar: The case for James Franco as Best Actor in 127 Hours
For the past few days, I've been wondering if I could, under any circumstance, cut off my own arm. I mean, maybe if I had a light saber and I was super-duper drunk and a group of doctors was standing by my side and someone was going to pay me an offensively large sum of…
The Devil Made Him Do It: Anthony Hopkins hams it up amid looming dormancy in The Rite
It's not a good sign when an exorcism movie pulls down a PG-13 rating. This means the amount of blood and/or cursing is probably insufficient, especially for this overworked subgenre. Such is the case with The Rite, a vehicle for a demonic Anthony Hopkins who once again glints his eyes, rattles off cantankerous innuendoes and…
Super Bowl: A Decade of Hate
Ummm… WELL? Are you just going to sit there ogling my structurally perfect ass or are you going to wish me a happy anniversary? THAT'S CORRECT! This week, I celebrate ten glorious years of disparaging the idiot sport of football, and in particular the SUPER BOWL (which will attempt to bore the shit out of…
The Further Adventures of Sackboy: LittleBigPlanet gets a little larger with second edition
The original LittleBigPlanet wasn’t supposed to have a sequel. A sequel, the game’s designers said, would defeat the entire purpose of LittleBigPlanet. Players were supposed to create their own games. LittleBigPlanet was intended to be designed by players for players. It would grow endlessly online, changing and expanding until it reflected the limits of human…
Drink Like a Man!
It's not often that a man in a kilt sidles up to the bar in these parts, but I've had it happen once or twice. No need to ask him what he wants, rather you let him scan the scotches and let him decide what kind of mood he's in. Just as the tartans on…
Ghostface Killer – Apollo Kids
If macho hip-hop full of cash-money, bling, Mercedes Benzes and auto-tuned cock-of-the-walk-ery is your thing, it's possible that Apollo Kids will not be your thing. Ghostface Killah, on his ninth solo record, is no saint. Hell no. But the key difference between him and the mainstream superstars of the hip-hop biz is that Ghostface's stream-of-consciousness…
All Hail Pho! We can all stop driving to Portland for Vietnamese food
There are few subjects that incite more heated debate among Central Oregonian foodies than whether or not Bend has authentic ethnic restaurants. While I used to be on the fence, I can definitively say that Bend finally has an authentic Vietnamese restaurant in Pho Viet and Café, opened in the former Rico's Taco's location on…
Dont Call it a Rave: Bend's electronic music comes up from the underground this weekend
You may not even know it exists, but there is a remarkably high-quality electronic music scene here in Bend. To say this faction of the music scene is underground would be an understatement – if you haven't seen a show flyer or caught wind of a gig by way of social media, you may have…
Hand Drawn Wednesday Tonight at Common Table
Check out Common Table tonight for Hand Drawn Wednesdays, a weekly event in collaboration with CADA/CASA. Hand Drawn Wednesdays invite local artists and us common folk who just like to draw things on paper to paint, draw or sketch for the evening.
How Many Is Too Many? Putting a number and a face on the region's homeless
For most of the year, my encounters with Central Oregon's homeless population are limited to seeing them on street corners, in parks and at Mirror Pond Plaza. Sometimes I give them a bit of change or say hello, but for the most part, I look away. While I'm ashamed to admit this, I know I'm…
County to Homeless Shelter: You can stay – for now
After more than a year of negotiations, representatives from the Bethlehem Inn and the Deschutes County Commissioners are poised to sign a lease that will extend the homeless shelter's stay at the former Econo Lodge Motel through July of next year. The retroactive two-year lease would give Bethlehem Inn time to find a new location…
Wyden and Merkley Fought the Good Fight
The United States Senate has been called America's most exclusive club. Like many old and exclusive clubs, it has developed a lot of quirky rules and procedures over the centuries. Some are just peculiar; others seriously undermine the democratic process. Over the past year, Oregon's two senators have led determined fights to change two of…
Serving Up the Straight Poop Since 2011
Monday, Jan. 24Terrorism far and near: Terrorist blast rips main Moscow airport; 35 reported killed, 168 injured … Anti-government fanatics Bruce Turnidge and son Joshua are formally sentenced to death for 2008 bank bombing in Woodburn, OR that killed two police officers and maimed a third. Bruce Turnidge says prosecution is trying to stifle his…
Hayes Should Be Praised
<!– @font-face { font-family: “Verdana”; }@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }@font-face { font-family: “MercuryTextG3-Bold”; }@font-face { font-family: “MercuryTextG3-Roman”; }@font-face { font-family: “MercuryTextG3-Italic”; }p.MsoNormal, li.
Feds, not Mayans,
<!– @font-face { font-family: “Verdana”; }@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }@font-face { font-family: “MercuryTextG3-Bold”; }@font-face { font-family: “MercuryTextG3-Roman”; }@font-face { font-family: “MercuryTextG3-Italic”; }p.MsoNormal, li.
The White Stripes Officially Call it Quits
There hasn’t been much noise from the White Stripes camp as of late, mostly because Jack White has been busy forming a million other bands and running a record label. But today the band announced via its website (which appears to be temporarily down or overloaded) that it would no longer be making records or…
Time to Put America on a New Course
<!– @font-face { font-family: “Verdana”; }@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }@font-face { font-family: “MercuryTextG3-Bold”; }@font-face { font-family: “MercuryTextG3-Roman”; }@font-face { font-family: “MercuryTextG3-Italic”; }p.MsoNormal, li.
