What In The World?
In the greatest military operation of the year, the US government dropped 2000 poison-laden mice onto Guam today, in an attempt to control an invasion of snakes – that have been disrupting both the protectorate’s ecosystem and power grid. And, by dropped, we mean, parachuted in! And, in the saddest civic story of the year,…
Street Art at Mass-Produced, “Roll-Back” Prices: Banksy Prints for Sale at Walmart.com
Need a bargain gift for the anti-establishmentarian in your life? Look no further. Walmart.com, via a third party, is selling prints of the famed street artist Banksy’s work at everyday value prices (plus some for the un-Walmart high price of $868). The Banksy line at Walmart.com also includes some mis-credited pieces by California street artist…
Portland’s Leigh Marble Has a New Music Video
A new music video from one of our favorite artists.
Friday Mixtape!
Your source for the best new music!
Headbanging Heirs
Patrimony (noun): property inherited from one’s father or male ancestor. Figuratively bequeathed a medley of talent from bands like The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Johnny Winter and The Beatles, Patrimony members—and youngsters—Trevor Martell, Wyatt Phillipi and Jason Allenby form a balanced blend of rock artistry. Songs like “Advocate of the Blues” are hot and primal,…
Listen Local
A rocket ship shredding space on its way to the blazing sun; a charging bull free from confinement; or, the final scene in Fight Club where towering buildings all come tumbling down in fiery plumes—all good ways to visualize the massive rock sound of local blues group Hobbs the Band. It also doesn’t hurt to…
Out of Town 11/27 – 12/5
portland friday 29 Pearl Jam and Mudhoney Reuniting grunge mainstays Pearl Jam—still headed by the forever flannel-shirt-wearing Eddie Vedder—and underground punk-grunge group Mudhoney, this tour aims to prove that the genre isn’t dead, it’s just been taking a nap since 199. The two groups represent one of the most chart topping and popular bands of…
The Plot Thickens
For the past several years, public debate has seesawed between keeping the Newport Avenue Dam and, with it, Bend's iconic Mirror Pond, or removing the structure and letting the Deschutes River run free. The city and park district have formed committees, conducted surveys, and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as countless hours…
All in the Family
Perhaps my family’s greatest claim to fame is that my great-great-uncle coined the term, “conspicuous consumption.” In his 1899 book The Theory of the Leisure Class, Thorstein Veblen explained that as the industrial revolution moves business owners and workers alike further from the means of production, they will replace that urge to define one’s worth…
Toys R Indeed Us
Would you believe me if I told you now is a Golden Era of toys? Would you? Or, would you guffaw and point at an 8-year old kid hunched over an iPad, slinging angry red birds at stacks of pigs, and sputter and tell me how those gadgets drain hours of social time, and launch…
The Best Way to Spread Holiday Cheer…
Sacrificing a big name label DOES NOT mean sacrificing quality; in fact, in the case of hyper-local artisan breweries, it can mean just the opposite. In the spirit of Small Business Saturday (Nov. 30), the Source recommends a few decadent beer-flavored gifts that are truly handmade—brews that are sure to make the holidays bubbly and…
Keep It Local, Keep It Great
At Target, the florescent lights are buzzing over the women’s clothing department. It smells like starched polyester; a hint of popcorn wafts in from the nearby snack shop. Racks and racks of jackets, jeans and dresses line up in waves of colors and sizes: tween graphic T-shirts sporting Mickey Mouse silhouettes; bright blue skinny jeans…
Look Who’s Evil Now
The black box ceiling of 2nd Street Theater is still splattered with blood from the first production of Evil Dead the Musical in 2008. On four occasions, the theater has transformed into the ominous isolated cabin in the woods where five college buddies vacation and accidently discover a force of unspeakable evil in the form…
Process Poopers
November has been a cruel month for public process in Bend. Last week, we reported on the continued drama surrounding the City of Bend’s major $69 million project to modernize Bend’s water delivery and treatment system. Namely, city council's Nov. 6, city council approval of a membrane filtration system to keep the city’s water safe.…
The Internet Phenomenon
The magazine section of the eastside Barnes and Noble, which doubles as a guest reading hall, is packed with eager tweens, middle-aged women and other internet trolling Bendites, all clutching bright yellow paperbacks with Allie Brosh’s signature pink dress-wearing figure sprawled across the cover. Her pointy cone ponytail and her suspected mentally challenged pet “special…
One Day at a Time
MONDAY 18 Formerly adorable pop star turned major-league douche Justin Bieber has brought his international reign of terror back to his poor, beleaguered neighborhood. On Friday, Das Biebs threw a loud, all-night rager at his Calabasas, California mansion—inviting approximately 100 guests that reportedly included such celebs as the multi-named Snoop Lion, boxer Floyd Mayweather, “woman…
Our Picks 11/27 – 12/5
friday 29 Civil War FOOTBALL—Just choosing where to watch the annual rivalry between the Ducks and Beavers may be enough to cause a mini-civil war in your own home. Volcanic (70 SW Century) offers a big screen and a man-cave ambiance, while Brother Jon's (1227 NW Galveston) holds a bit more, er, civility. Or, join…
Letters 11/20 – 11/28
The Selling of a University The Bulletin said it was going to publish this letter about a month ago. Apparently, it has been spiked. The editorials in The Bulletin supporting the Westside location of OSU-Cascades lack the systematic analysis demanded by such an important issue. Instead, The Bulletin is selling the University much like Professor Harold Hill…
Hailing a Job
In the last 8 months, Suzette Delancey says she has applied for 43 jobs and received 42 rejections. When she’s had the opportunity to interview, employers have said that her felony convictions—for delivery and attempted delivery of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, in 2009 and 2011—are too recent. Only one employer is willing to take a…
Winter Mornings Just Got Better
As recently as five years ago, during the beginning of, oh, say Obama’s presidency, nordic skiing at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park—home to Bend’s community ski trails—was hit or miss. Let’s be honest: Mostly, it was the grooming that was a miss. To tame the 40-plus kilometers of ski trails, the local ski club (formerly known as…
A Tale of Two Cities
Did you know that so-called craft brew sales only account for six percent of total beer sales in the United States? That is a mere drop in the ocean of Budweiser, Coors and PBR! The idea that only one out of every 16 beer drinkers picks up a 10 Barrel or a Deschutes brew is…
Western Juniper
What would our wintering robins do without Western juniper? All day long they’re out feeding on juniper berries (cones actually), guzzling water to help digest the berries and leaving the remains on tops of cars, sidewalks and other flat surfaces. What would the Juniper hairstreak butterfly do with the tree that bears its name? How…
The Local Dish
People don’t fit into tidy little boxes. Take Bend’s Kimberley Loveless, a mom who, along with her husband, Dan, recently opened an independent coffee shop on the east side of town. The café, Bend Coffee Connection, specializes in all things local, from the coffee beans to the baked goods. “Taste the local difference,” a window…
My Grandma Liked the Beatles!
Perhaps some of the most iconic images of rock music aren’t even about the music, but about the fans—grainy black and white footage from the early years of the '60s; teenage girls shrieking for the Beatles as if possessed. And, in a time before Facebook “likes,” when managing a fan club meant much more than…
Children of a Lesser Vaughn
The quality control folks in the Hollywood schlock factory are a meticulous bunch: They know their craft, they execute it with pragmatism, and for all they lack in ambition, they make up in consistency. Every now and again, though, the schlock factory’s well-oiled mechanisms pump out the occasional defect—a film that, though decked out in…
You Better Move On
As we gaze upon lovingly shot close-ups of the Tennessee River, we hear a familiar voice intoning empty platitudes. “‘Magic,” the voice says, “is the word that comes to mind when I think of Muscle Shoals. It’s about alchemy, it’s about turning metal… into gold.” Is that an Irish accent we’re detecting? Oh, Jesus Chri—is…
Giving Thanks for the Influence
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Phoenix Glassnote Entertainment Group If they were American, this Thanksgiving, Swedish pop rockers The Royal Concept ought to be grateful for Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009), the fourth studio release from French alt-pop band Phoenix. Why? Well, simply put, Royal Concept's 2013 EP Royal is more than just a doppelganger for that album,…
What in the World? Todays News!
Italy’s Senate tells Berlusconi to beat it. Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister, was stripped of his parliamentary seat and expelled from the senate. No more sauce for Sriracha? An Irwindale, Calif. judge order the Sriracha hot sauce plant to partially close because of strong odors and neighbor complaints. More band news for Greece.…
Bulletin Health Insurance Cuts Make National News
Here’s an article on the Huffington Post about Monday’s health insurance cuts for Bend Bulletin employees. From HuffingtonPost.com The article includes the full memo from President and publisher of the newspaper, Gordon Black, to his employees explaining the decision. Here’s the Source’s coverage of the unfortunate cuts yesterday.
More Bad News About Newspapers—Here and There
At times, yes, it does feel as if we are captaining the Titanic. Last week, The Onion published its last paper edition. That same day, some 700 jobs were cut from the Tribune Company—an organization that, most notably, publishes the LA Times and Chicago Tribune, as well as six other daily newspapers. And, closer to…
Allie Brosh: WARNING SIGNS
WARNING SIGNS is an excerpt from Allie Brosh’s new book “Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened.” Read our full article on Brosh here…we’re still hoping for an awesome pterodactyl drawing. WARNING SIGNS When I was ten years old, I wrote a letter to my future self…
