Buckethead Rules!
A couple of video clips from Buckethead’s performance last Friday at the Domino Room. And a shout out to Random Presents for bringing this gotta-see-it-to-believe it show to Bend.
Deschutes Gets Dissed by Fannie and Freddie
When Fannie and Freddie make a move, the real estate industry takes notice. But when they tightened the rules for mortgages in Deschutes County, our local daily didn't bat an eyelash.
Bulletin Firing Makes Statewide News
The story of a Bulletin reporter who was fired after complaining about how the paper was spinning its real estate coverage went statewide this afternoon when Oregon Public Broadcasting picked it up.
Get the lead out!Lead shot remains a significant danger to waterfowl and wildlife
Golden Eagle suffering from lead poisoning. (Note scars on toes from walking on its knuckels.) As if shootings, electrocution and collisions with vehicles are not enough for eagles to cope with, now portentous lead poisoning has reared its ugly head. Lead is a toxic metal deposited in the environment through hunting, fishing and recreational shooting,…
Hoop, There it is: A night in the Bend hooping scene
Mollie Hogan knows how to hoop it up with the best of them.A passing train blocks the sunset, momentarily dimming the Mountain Comfort Warehouse, but the rhythm of the train can't compete with the tribal beats emanating from a small stereo system. Twenty-eight bodies fill the warehouse with spinning hoops gyrating around their waists. Some…
Better than Christmas
After four-plus months of college basketball, it's finally here. The NCAA tournament: the last pure thing remaining in the world of sports; the reason we would rather have every day of our lives be the first day of the tourney and not Christmas. But before the games get rolling, there is the obligatory bitchfest following…
Out Our Backdoor: Winter running, mtb trails and more
Kaleidoscope Run Trail running: Bend’s instant outdoor experienceOminous clouds loomed overhead as I set out for a run this past week at a park on the west side of town. The sun's rays were hidden behind clouds and my eyes and ears were on autopilot, looking and listening but not seeing and hearing. This can…
The Best Movie You Shouldn’t See: Funny Games is vile done right
Smells like a bit of ultra violence. I have warned people not to see this movie. Funny Games is one of the most disturbing films ever made, destined to stay with you for days if not weeks. My pleas of "avoid at all costs" have inadvertently sparked curiosity and interest in the film, which is…
Sweet and SOUR: Director Nathan Gray uses skateboards to cross political boundaries
They rip on the gaza strip. Bend's own Nathan Gray created a unique way of promoting peace in the Middle East. He and co-producers Sean Scerritt and Sudip Peterson, drawing on what they describe as "dynamic acts of peace and unity," have created SOUR 4 Peace in the Middle East, a film that crosses borders…
Ye-eah! Fake Metallica tears up the pub
just like the real thing, except in a much smaller stadium.In the spirit of fearlessly exploring the oft-scary phenomenon of tribute bands, Sound Check moseyed over to the Reed Pub Company last Saturday night to catch a face full of Motorbreath. Around a hundred souls were holding down the wee pub's peanut shell-sprinkled floor and…
In Search of Buckethead: Dispelling myths (and creating some new ones)
A rare shot of the Buckethead species (kentuckyfriedus bucketenius) in its natural environment.
There are really only a few things we know for sure about Buckethead. One: he wears a bucket on his head. Two: he doesn’t do interviews and if he does he provides largely nonsensical answers by way of a demented hand puppet.…
Funky Puppets: The Greyboy Allstars have returned, and they’ve brought the Muppets with them
The real life men of the Greyboy allstars.The Muppets have always creeped me out. But if you turn the Greyboy Allstars, the rejuvenated San Diego funky, jazzy boogaloo band, into fuzzy puppets, then I can cope, as long as they bring the funk.
The band's video for their James Brown-flavored track "Still Waiting" features the…
School District Goes Local
In last week's column we listed the three finalists for the superintendent position for the Bend-La Pine School District. As it turns out, by the time the paper had hit the streets, the district's board of directors had concluded their search, choosing one of their own by way of a 6-1 vote: Ron Wilkinson, the…
Cabernet Franc: the well kept secret of the Loire
The Cab Franc from the vineTraveling west out of Colfax, Washington recently, I was hit with the unmistakable aroma of Cabernet Franc. Not just any Cab Franc either, but something out of France’s Loire Valley. It took a minute to realize it was the burnt grass stubble sticking out of the snow along the roadside…
Cabernet Franc: the well kept secret of the Loire
The Cab Franc from the vineTraveling west out of Colfax, Washington recently, I was hit with the unmistakable aroma of Cabernet Franc. Not just any Cab Franc either, but something out of France's Loire Valley. It took a minute to realize it was the burnt grass stubble sticking out of the snow along the roadside…
Hot Spot: Redmond’s Spot Café brings a fresh
When the food is this good, there’s no time for photosJust when Bend seems ready to engulf Redmond in its culinary shadow, another eatery pops up to shed some needed gastronomic sunshine on the northern burb. In this case, it’s a breakfast establishment the likes of which Redmond has yet to experience. Although the building…
Hot Spot: Redmond’s Spot Café brings a fresh
When the food is this good, there’s no time for photosJust when Bend seems ready to engulf Redmond in its culinary shadow, another eatery pops up to shed some needed gastronomic sunshine on the northern burb. In this case, it's a breakfast establishment the likes of which Redmond has yet to experience. Although the building…
Honestly, We Measured It
Alert Source readers will remember that we sent H. Bruce Miller under not-so-deep cover last week to investigate rumors that there is no standard for pint glasses or pours in local bars and pubs. Shocking stuff. And in fact, we found a wide variety of glasses, prices and beer volume when we put local pints…
A Tempest in a Pint Glass
Good morning H. Bruce Miller Again, you write us a thriller With St Patrick's Day here You criticize the beer But like your comments it's all filler! In this case, the cup lied to you, and you believed it. What kind of comparison is this when you have no consistency or baseline to your measurements?…
What’s Really Sacred
To those of you who felt we somehow dishonored our military by demonstrating for peace outside the recruiting office on Valentine's Day, I ask you to take a closer look at what you hold sacred. I personally cringed when I heard a young military man give an interview about the first days of the war…
Of High Gas Prices and Russian Gypsies
We all know that the political leaders raise the gas prices everywhere throughout the nation and people still go along with it like a herd of sheep. I have been here in Bend for a year and a half coming up from that overpopulated state to the south. The majority of residents here in Bend…
Support Your Local Video Store
I was so happy to see the article on Westside Video in the March 13 issue. I love Westside Video, and I feel very strongly about supporting local business at all cost (even as a poor college student and mother of three! Anyone can choose local).
Metal Memories, Real and Fake
Motorbreath in the shred zone.If you were lucky, you were in the crowd that caught Portland-based Metallica tribute band Motorbreath’s show at the Reed Pub the other night. (Sound Check was.) Your lucky streak ain’t run out yet, either, because you find yourself here — where you can check out bonus photos of Motorbreath, Tentareign,…
Getting Off the Bottle: Where does your bottled water come from? You may be surprised
The logo for Sierra Springs bottled water shows a range of beautiful, gleaming white peaks. The image and the name conjure up visions of icy-cold, crystal-clear water gushing from pristine springs fed by pure mountain snows.
Oregon’s Ethanol Mandate
To hear all the hype, you'd think ethanol is the miracle drug of this or any other century, able to cure everything from America's addiction to foreign oil to global warming to hemorrhoids.
