Empty Space Orchestra: On Tour
Empty Space Orchestra is heading out on tour this week, hitting up locations that up till now had been untrodden territory for the local instrumental space rockers. I ran into guitarist Shane Thomas last night at Parrilla Grill, where Thomas, a faithful employee of the wrap and burrito purveyor, constructed my Red Headed Stepchild (chicken,…
Uber Weird: talking about funky weather
Tell me I’m mistaken about this being the funkiest winter weather I’ve ever seen in my 32 years living here in poverty with a view. First there was that freaky early snow in October followed by the Polar Express a month later, a prolonged case of the inversion blues, rain with Bend living seeming like…
SHOCKER: Common Sense from a Republican
At least one prominent Oregon Republican is going to vote for Measures 66 and 67: former Labor Commissioner Jack Roberts, who gave the tax measures his reluctant endorsement in an op-ed piece in The Oregonian Thursday. It’s “misleading to label Measures 66 and 67 ‘job-killing tax increases,’” wrote Roberts, who was labor commissioner from 1995…
The Oxford: a bit of Manhattan in downtown Bend
Back when a good portion of my work called for long stays in New York City working in the editorial department of several publishing companies, I got to know the Manhattan hotel scene pretty well. Generally the publishers I worked for put me up in hotels that were once great but were quickly on their…
It's Not the End of the World, but You Can See It from There
Jason Evers, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission official who was removed from his Bend post for being overzealous, has been transferred to lovely Nyssa, a Malheur County town of 3,000 people that’s about as close to Siberia as you can get and still be in Oregon. This is the second time in Evers’s OLCC career…
Is The Bend OLCC Saga Finally Over?
It appears the long and winding road that is the Bend OLCC saga may have come to an end with the agency now naming a new regional manager. Also, embattled former regional manager, Jason Evers, will not be returning, but rather heading all the way to the Idaho border.
Ashland Council Backs Cover-Up
If you like to walk around naked, don’t try it in Ashland anymore: The city council there has enacted a ban on public nudity. The council adopted the citywide ban Tuesday night by a 4-2 vote despite a warning from the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union that it violates the Oregon Constitution’s…
He Never Promised You A Rose Garden
A year ago, if we had read in the paper that employers were hiring again, that health care legislation was proceeding without a bump, that Afghanistan suddenly became a nice place to take your kids, we would've known we were being lied to. Back then, we recognized that the problems Obama inherited as President wouldn't…
Welcome to Pothole City USA
As inevitable as death and taxes, and about as welcome, is The Bulletin’s Annual Pothole Story, which appeared on this morning’s front page. Under the headline “What’s with all the potholes in Bend?” the story, accompanied by a neat little graphic, explained how potholes form and why Bend has so many of them.
A New Calendar to Fill: A new year means a new itinerary for outdoor adventurers
You would think by now that I would have a Blackberry to organize my life, but I love my Month-At-A-Glance paper calendar. I pencil in meetings and appointments, workouts and races, dinners and movies. I can see how it all fits together, with one swift look, and it becomes a record of my life that…
Ten Best and Worst Films Of 2009
Ten Best Films Of 2009 Holly really liked Paranormal Activity! By Holly Grigg-Spall 1. Where The Wild Things Are This dreamy wonder of a movie made me very proud to have once loaned my Internet cable to Dave Eggers while working as an intern in the McSweeney's offices. 2. Fantastic Mr. Fox Such a jolly…
Savoring The Simple: Angel Thai offers a nice alternative on Bend's scene
As its name suggests, Typhoon is the tropical storm of Thai food for many diners in Bend. But slightly off the beaten path is another important Thai restaurant making a smaller wave, a worthy one at that. Angel Thai delivers flavorful, high quality cuisine with modesty, attention to detail, and smart service. On a chilly…
Savoring The Simple: Angel Thai offers a nice alternative on Bend's scene
As its name suggests, Typhoon is the tropical storm of Thai food for many diners in Bend. But slightly off the beaten path is another important Thai restaurant making a smaller wave, a worthy one at that. Angel Thai delivers flavorful, high quality cuisine with modesty, attention to detail, and smart service. On a chilly…
Hip-Hop in Motion: The busy life and second chances of Luck-One
“I feel like I've come a long way. Not just as a musician, but as a person,” says Hanif Collins, who goes by the name Luck-One when he's dishing out his increasingly buzzed about brand of hip-hop in Portland clubs. It's a Monday morning and Collins is getting ready to head to his day job…
The New Year's Shuffle
New Year's Eve was a hotbed of musical offerings here in Bend. Armed with beer-and-scotch energy, Sound Check made it to a few places before ending up at the inevitable mosh pit of drunken people that was Corey's at 1:30am. First up was Silver Moon Brewing, which was jam packed with revelers for the Blue…
Sweating It Out: Detoxifying my beer-soaked body and mind in a traditional sweat lodge
One of the reasons I moved to Central Oregon from New York City was to incorporate nature into my life. I had come to terms with the fact that Central Park, Prospect Park and Washington Square Park (especially Washington Square Park) were not considered actual nature. So in that vein, I've decided to take on…
Our Picks for 1/6 – 1/14: Luck One, Slick Side Down, Liferuiner, Mystic Roots Band and more
Diezel P, Bad Habit, Luck-One friday 8 We had the chance to chat with Portland hip-hop artist Luck-One for this week's Sound feature. Flip to that section and you'll be convinced (probably) to hit up this hip-hop showcase at the Martini Bar.
After the Floods: Unraveling the mystery behind the Northwest's channeled scablands
The view from State Route 281, a few miles south of Quincy, Wash., doesn't seem like one of the world's more dramatic landscapes. Not to me, anyway. This is country to be endured (better yet, slept through) on the way to other, more captivating environments. The topography here is mostly flat, and whatever isn't paved…
Yes on Measures 66 and 67
Ever since the pharaohs made Egyptian farmers hand over 10 sacks of grain per acre – probably even before – people have detested taxes. And they like tax increases even less. But with the state of Oregon facing a budget deficit of more than $733 million, there are no realistic and acceptable alternatives to the…
The Perfect Yemen Cake: Padded underwear, G-Spot research, Rush's indigestion problems and more!
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from IM, reading his lover's lustful messages to another man, wondering whether to burn her belongings or start Twittering the text, on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly. Which is More Dangerous? The hypocrisy…
Hot Air: Election dialogue only inflames us
If history is any indicator, Oregon's latest tax measures have an uphill battle at the polls. The point was underscored, perhaps a little unscientifically at a town hall-style debate in Bend earlier this week when Rep. Phil Barnhart, one of the Measures 66 and 67 chief proponents, took on one of the measures' biggest critics,…
Ready To Bet on BAT
Most people who know me are aware that I'm a constant advocate for enhancing Bend's fixed-route bus service, since its beginning (in September 2006), as well as a member of CAT (Committee for Accessible Transportation). Though sometimes it has been like eating soup with a fork or driving a railroad spike with a claw hammer,…
The Truth About Organics
In response to “Let's Eat Local” December 10, 2009. . . CSA would be hard to carry out year round in Central Oregon because winter farming in the Willamette Valley is an exception rather than the rule. Winter growing, for the most part, is done in cold frames or green houses due to the rain.…
Turn Your Lights Down
It seems as if lots of people whose vehicles are equipped with fog lights are not aware of the laws regarding their usage. The Oregon Driver's Manual states about fog lights, “These lights are illegal to have in operation at times when you are required to dim your headlights.
A War Crime Unpunished
Listening to my radio on the way to work yesterday I recalled the words of the song U2 wrote in response to Bloody Sunday, the British Army's most memorable atrocity in Northern Ireland, in which 13 unarmed civilians were murdered by members of the Paratroop Regiment – “I can't believe the news today” The motto…
Avy Alert: paying heed to avalanches
The afternoon before starting my first long backcountry ski tour years ago in the mountains near Golden, British Columbia, I spent the entire afternoon with my fellow skiers and our guide playing find the buried avalanche transceiver. The exercise started with easy finds and worked its way up to more difficult locations involving extensive probing…
Wow Do We Love Beards Around Here!
News came out yesterday that the 2010 Beard Team USA Nationals will be held here in Bend, Oregon and it's more or less the only thing people have been talking to me about since. Why? Well, probably because beards are the most important thing to touch the human face since the death mask of Agamemnon,…
