The Weezer Snuggie?
I like Weezer and I like Snuggies. Well, to be more accurate, I love Weezer and I like the idea of Snuggies.
Empty Space Orchestra Halloween Video and Costume Rundown
Things were relatively quiet out on the town on Halloween night, as it seems many a ghost, goblin and Michael Jacksons were still at home, fixated by the severe throttling the Ducks were giving USC. But then things picked up by 9 or so and it seemed that the McMenamins Old St.
Feeling a Little Uneasy About Football
I love football — have for decades. I know it’s politically incorrect (my goodness, so much violence!) but I freely admit it and make no apologies for it.
Opening for Person People: It’s the Staxx Brothers
Person People will surely get you in the Halloween spirit tonight with their headlining show at the Domino Room tonight, but the second half of the bill also deserves your attention. I'm talking about the Staxx Brothers, an eight-member funk, hip-hop and soul collective from Seattle that, contrary to its name, also includes some Staxx…
I Finally Saw Evil Dead The Musical…Now I’m Doing Laundry
There was a moment late last night as I scrubbed fake blood off my fleece jacket when I wondered if my decision to attend the evening’s performance of Evil Dead: The Musical was worth it. And I decided that yes, indeed, it was well worth it.
Roll On Deschutes
Paddlers will be out in force tonight as the Park District hosts an open house comment period on its proposed whitewater play area/spillway redesign at Colorado Avenue. The long overdue project is still in the planning phases and citizens still have an opportunity to shape the final product, but the project already incorporates many important…
Going South: Why San Francisco is still THE CITY
If there ever was a homer newspaper columnists it was the late Herb Caen of the San Francisco Chronicle. Caen loved his city its grandeur, its people and its unique way of life.
Making an Issue of Bradbury's MS Is BS
Kari Chisholm of the BlueOregon blog says there’s been speculation about whether Bill Bradbury’s multiple sclerosis will make people question whether he’s capable of handling the demands of the governorship. “Over the last year, many people have wondered aloud – here on BlueOregon, and in hushed tones in person – whether Bill Bradbury’s health will…
The Hemingway of Hoops: Sherman Alexie has a National Book Award, a new hit book, but I just want him to write more about basketball
Sherman Alexie has recently published War Dances, a much-praised collection of short fiction and poetry that he's referred to as a “mixtape” and when he appears at The Nature of Words next week, he will almost certainly read from this work. Chances are his 2007 novel, Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which earned…
Break the Curse: Black cats, pumpkins, corn, vampires, hares and hounds
It's that time of year. Soon we'll be seeing witches, ghouls, Michael Jacksons and Farrah Fawcetts lurking all over the neighborhood. A black cat has already found its way into the crawl space under my house. It's not just crossing my path, but living under my path – which explains the cursed condition of my…
Oh the Humanity!: Paranormal Activity shows the reel life of a terrorized young couple
Paranormal Activity is terrifying and not just jump-out-of-your-seat-screaming scary – this one will have you seriously considering rearranging your life so that you can sleep only during daylight hours. A couple of young yuppies, Micah and Katie, are experiencing some strange goings-on in their suburban San Diego home. Micah buys a camera and sets it…
Live or Die: Saw VI solves the health care issue
Saw VI's gory beginning features a pair of contestants with contraptions on their heads, hacking away at their flesh to save their own lives. From that moment, this installment of the episodic franchise takes off where the previous chapters left off, and doesn't let up. It's an impressive entry for a series that constructs its…
A Real Cliffhanger: Uncharted 2 is a wild, Indiana Jones inspired romp
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves begins with a dramatic letdown. Nate Drake, a young treasure-hunting adventurer (sort of Indiana Jones with hair gel), awakens bleeding on a red velvet seat in an old passenger train that is dangling off the edge of a cliff in the Himalayas. Suddenly Drake's seat falls, taking him with it. Tumbling…
The Winter Warmer
It's the time of year when going out involves more than two pieces of clothing and a pair of flip-flops. Jackets, hats, scarves, gloves, earmuffs, mittens, ear warmers, nose warmers and a myriad of other clutter is strewn about once everyone is gone from the bar and we turn the lights up. And of course,…
Something Special: Off the menu and right on target at Staccato
Three things I know to be true: Salad is only as good as its dressing, pasta as good as its sauce, and pizza as good as its dough. Naturally, all this comes down to a restaurant that is as good as its chef. Staccato at the Fire Hall's Executive Chef James Malone has worked in…
Something Special: Off the menu and right on target at Staccato
Three things I know to be true: Salad is only as good as its dressing, pasta as good as its sauce, and pizza as good as its dough. Naturally, all this comes down to a restaurant that is as good as its chef. Staccato at the Fire Hall's Executive Chef James Malone has worked in…
Sound Check Goes to Oz
Sound Check spent much of Saturday night not really looking at Poor Man's Whiskey, but more looking around the band at all the lasers, movies, lights, fog and the brightly colored wigs of our fellow concertgoers who'd packed into a sold-out Domino Room. Oh we saw the band – adorned as the characters of the…
Powder To Go: Surveying Mt. Bachelor's RV scene
High-elevation camping in a January snowstorm isn't most people's idea of a good time, but Chris Justema didn't get that memo. A self-confessed ski bum who happens to oversee a successful group of brew pubs and restaurants in Central Oregon, Justema is a fixture at Mt. Bachelor, logging some 75 days on the hill last…
What's New?: Bachelor goes wireless, slides the scale, educates and more for 2009-2010
The last couple years have been changing times for Mt. Bachelor with a shift in the management team to kick off last year and then big price changes again this off-season. This year has seen other shifts for our local mountain, so here's a rundown of the changes you'll see on the hill:
Telecommuters Rejoice…
Flushed Away: City hydro project could be a drain on Tumalo Creek
You wouldn't guess it from the rain soaked streets this week or the water gushing down Tumalo Creek, but there are signs aplenty that the upper Deschutes basin is running out of water to meet the demand of farms, cities and fish – all of which have legal, as well as historical and biological, cases…
Election: “Yes” On COCC Bond
Voters again have an opportunity to provide much-needed funding to Central Oregon Community College by checking “Yes” on their ballots in next week's election. By doing so, voters will impose a miniscule tax increase on themselves (roughly $2 per month for the average homeowner in Deschutes County) while collectively providing a significant boost to the…
A Sweet Deal on the John Day
It's a rare thing in human affairs to put together a complicated deal that makes everybody happy. But the Oregon Natural Desert Association, Young Life and the BLM seem to have pulled it off. Young Life is an organization that runs a non-denominational Christian camp for young people. The camp is located near the remote…
Northwest's Ghost Flight
By now everyone has heard the story of the Northwest Airlines flight that overshot Upfront's hometown by 150 miles. The flight reportedly turned around only after a stewardess alerted pilots that they appeared to have missed their approach to Minneapolis and by that point they were probably closer to Milwaukee than MSP. This week the…
What Happens In Kabul… NFL in denial, Obama vs. Fox, Scientology on trial and more!
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from a party, surrounded by murderers and ghosts, Palins and Obamas, wondering if it's already 2012 or only Halloween, on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly. SWINE! In case you haven't heard, don't go…
The Truth About Marriage: Civil rights expert to take on marriage equality in Bend
I can't put the book down and I can't stop talking about it. Let me share with you one of my favorite quotes from Evan Wolfson's Why Marriage Matters, America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry: “It was so cool,” said Gabriel, thirteen, who served as the ringbearer, after standing in line overnight with…
A Friendly Local Habit?
This week's letter comes from Kim G. who reminds us that, even in a recession, customer service seems to be a lost art. Thanks for the letter Kim, you can pick up your winnings, a bag of Strictly Organic coffee, at our office, 704 NW Georgia.
I'm all about “making local habit,” but I…
The First Latino Supreme Court Justice
In the politics of America, it can be easy to get mired down in questions of race, gender, and class. Indeed, it is rare that we can mark major steps forward in these areas.
Forget About The Deer
To “No Deer Handouts” You say don't feed the deer.
We're Not Wannabee Drill Sergeants
W. (Wilderness) T. (Therapy) F. (Friend)! In reference to last week's WTF? article, “Hoods In The Woods,” I would like to inform our community on a few things. I am a past “wannabee drill sergeant” having worked for 2-plus years at a Wilderness Therapy Program. I take offense to being called this slanderous term. No,…
