See/Hear Benjamin Percy Talk About Bend
If you weren’t one of the 50 or so people who crammed into a packed Nature of Words office last night for the Source Weekly Fiction Reading, you missed some incredible passages from Benjamin Percy and his low, growly voice. Here’s a some video of Percy answering an audience question about how Bend figured into…
All In: Addicted to ESPN's World Series of Poker
It's Tuesday afternoon and when a friend calls to see if I want to meet him for a beer around six, I say I can't. That's because it's World Series of Poker night on ESPN and I'll be glued to the show from 6 until 8.
Judy Collins Sells Out the Tower
Do you like Judy Collins? Well, that doesn’t really matter because apparently your neighbors are totally and unquestionably in love with the legendary singer songwriter, as evidenced by the fact that tonight’s show at the Tower is sold out. If you don’t have tickets for this one, sorry about that.
Food on The Table: A fitting end to NeighborImpact’s fund raising campaign
It's one of those stories that won't get much press but should. It's how NeighborImpact recently completed a successful 11-month fundraising campaign to expand their emergency food program.
The Source Fiction Reading, Featuring Benjamin Percy, is Tonight
A little more than a week ago we published our annual Fiction Issue, which included short stories from five local authors, in addition to a profile on Bend native Benjamin Percy and his new novel, The Wilding. Tonight you can meet these authors, including Percy, and hear their stories in real life at The Nature…
Ducks Athletics Takes a Big Bite of Cash
The Oregonian’s Rachel Bachman has written an investigative report that ought to make even the most diehard supporters of the green and gold see red. It seems the University of Oregon athletic department’s claim that it’s financially self-sufficient is a few yards shy of the truth.
BendFilm: What to see on Friday
BendFilm is well underway, having kicked off last night with a party at the Oxford and screenings at the Tower Theatre and Regal Old Mill. The festival is showing films all over town at the Oxford Hotel, McMenamins Old St.
Going South: Oregon big time college festivities and fandom take on an SEC look.
First came the over-the-top pre and post-game tailgate parties. Then came those little pennants that attach to car windows and stand straight out and flap in the breeze at speeds over 10 mph declaring love for either the Ducks or Beavers.
Greg Brown and Devil Makes Three Video
It’s been a busy couple weeks in music around Bend, culminating in The Devil Makes Three and Larry and His Flask at the Domino Room on Tuesday night and Greg Brown packing the Tower last night. Sorry for the delay on posting here, but I was down for a day with that scurvy-like illness that’s…
Paddling Happily to Mediocrity
Steve Duin’s column about Greg Oden in The Oregonian last week is going to make a lot of Oregonians mad – and not just Greg Oden fans. Oden, you may recall, is the center who was acquired as a first-round draft pick with much fanfare (and a great many dollars) by the Portland Trail Blazers…
Homebrew Rules Defy Common Sense
After reading last week's Opinion-The Mailbox “The OLCC Still Doesn't Get It,” I felt compelled to chime in on a related issue. As the Source printed several months ago, the Oregon home brewers are having their freedoms trampled on due to a recent OLCC/OR DOJ interpretation of an archaic liquor law. This has effectively forced…
Lola’s Closes?
Lola's in the Breezeway, the restaurant that took over the prime Downtowner space downtown between Wall St. and Brooks St.
Not Your Grandmother's Supper Club: Local chef holds monthly dinners that travel the culinary spectrum
When I heard that the Jackalope Grill, the well-respected fine-dining restaurant, was holding monthly “supper clubs,” I immediately thought of the evening-long affairs my grandmother attended – which, I hear, were much more about the gossip than the food itself. The term “supper club” refers to a trend, popularized largely in the Midwest beginning in…
Wednesday Night Music Night in Bend
It’s Wednesday and you know what that means, don’t you? Yes, it’s hump day and your weekend is that much closer, but also it’s become one of the best nights for live music in Bend. Here are a few of our best bets for an enjoyable evening of fine tunes.
“Stop Whining” Kagan vs Insane Baptists, online stalkers, The Tea Party's demise and more!
The author is reporting from a Druid gathering, a group now recognized as a religion in Britain, tax advantages and sexy cloaks included. A lovely Virginia road a weekend ago, autumn leaves exploding, the terror of cop lights flashing ahead. Thinking they'd finally found me and wishing my dog Stu a swell life after I'm…
A Weekend at the Movies: BendFilm returns for a seventh year with a wide-reaching slate of films
It might be hard for some longtime Bendites to believe, but BendFilm is now in it's seventh year and has long since shed its “new festival” tag, solidifying a reputation among filmmakers and cinema fans for high-caliber shorts, features, animation and documentaries. Once again, the festival will spread throughout town, as well as all the…
The Wheels of Autumn: Cyclocross fills up the fall schedule, while art cranks and lederhosen remains optional
Cuckoo for Cross Back in the day, autumn used to lend itself to a period of relative debauchery for competitive cyclists. It was typical for the lean-and-mean to gain a few pounds, stay up late and let all the rigors of training slide until after Christmas. Cyclocross has pretty much ruined the off-season and if…
New Trail Opportunities Abound: Making new trail connections on the eve of the Big Fat Tour
COTA is stoked to announce that several new trails in the Wanoga Complex will be open this fall. Due to a very productive trail work season, especially with the great turnout for the Steve Larsen and Bend Dental Group Work event last weekend in which 68 people turned up to work for four hours on…
Good Point, Ken Burns: The Tenth Inning insists that baseball is still great, except for that goddamned Barry Bonds
We're not supposed to talk about Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa – unless remarking about the sudden and inexplicable change in Sosa's skin color – because these are the guys we collectively decided, with the help of Congress, ruined baseball. Yet I doubt anyone could watch Baseball: The Tenth Inning, the continuation…
Facebook Me: As addictive as Facebook itself, The Social Network defines a generation
Facebook launched at the beginning of 2004, with the goal of putting the entire social experience of college online. At that time, it was all about exclusivity, you had to have a Harvard.edu e-mail address, but the website that would soon change the world and how we communicate and interact was soon opened up to…
Vampires Still Need Permission: Let Me In stays reverent to the original, and that's the problem
In Let Me In, we have a barely rewritten version of the Swedish language film from barely two years ago, with plenty of the same scenes and dialogue. WTF? This new version is scripted and helmed by Matt Reeves, who was responsible for the shakiest camera award with the unforgettable Cloverfield, and swaps Sweden for…
My Multiple Wives
There is a case to be made for and against polygamy. THE CASE FOR: (1) Sex. Duh. And lots of it. Say you decided to have 24 wives instead of one: Now, I'm no “arithmetician,” but if I'm not mistaken, 24 wives = 24 times the sex. Unless your wives are like my ex, Mrs.…
Not Your Grandmother's Supper Club: Local chef holds monthly dinners that travel the culinary spectrum
When I heard that the Jackalope Grill, the well-respected fine-dining restaurant, was holding monthly “supper clubs,” I immediately thought of the evening-long affairs my grandmother attended – which, I hear, were much more about the gossip than the food itself. The term “supper club” refers to a trend, popularized largely in the Midwest beginning in…
Jäger Shots for 21-Year-Olds Everywhere!
The 21st birthday is the only occasion when even teetotalers hand their kids a 50-dollar bill and tell them to have the time of their lives. It's a day that most 21-year-olds have only a vague memory of, usually only because of a faint facial scar or a fake tooth they acquired during the celebration.…
Politics from Venus: Valient Thorr's beardy, sweaty, politically charged rock and roll spaceship takes flight
At a table in a coffeehouse somewhere in Madison, Wisc., sits a heavily bearded man who goes by the name Valient Himself. He's deeply engrossed in a fantasy novel by an author, George R.R. Martin, who he believes “blows Tolkien out of the water.” At some point during the half-hour telephone conversation, Valient Himself will…
The Dawg Prevails: David Grisman Brings His 'Grass to Bend
Bend has, for the past decade and maybe even longer, had a collective fascination with bluegrass, leading to the emergence of several local twangy acts and a steady string of acoustic bands stopping off in town. But here's the thing – if it weren't for a guy named David Grisman, there's a good chance that…
Our Picks for 10/6-10/16 Bend Film, Valiant Thorr, and more
BendFilm thursday-sunday 7-10 The annual festival will, for the seventh year in a row, take over Central Oregon screens with a ton of independent features, documentaries, animated films and shorts, in addition to other events and parties. Hit up the Culture section for more on the festival. For a complete schedule, visit bendfilm.org.
Upcoming Election Events
Fri. Oct. 8 Bend Business PAC City Council Candidate Forum
The forum is presented by the Chamber of Commerce PAC and will focus on business-oriented issues.
Measures 71-76
Measure 71 Would have Oregon legislators convene annually each year to tend to the state's business, as opposed to every other year. – Yes.
For Bend City Council: Mark Capell
It's not the money, or the free food (yes councilors are still provided meals before their meetings) and it certainly isn't the prestige that attracts people to the job of city councilor. The long hours, late meetings and the scrutiny of an entire city aren't terrific incentives either. But we still manage to get a…
For Bend City Council: Chuck Arnold
The Bend city council is a non-partisan board, but be assured, it has its ideological divides. That's why the race for Bend City Council Seat 7 is so important this year. The seat has been held by former Mayor Oran Teater since his controversial appointment to the seat two years ago when the council deadlocked…
Golden Opportunities: Economic downturn has a silver lining for conservation causes
Short of busking on the street corner with an upturned hat to collect spare change, Ruth Williamson is doing just about everything she can to ensure that the public secures the last major piece of undeveloped real estate along the Deschutes River in Bend, a nearly five-acre parcel just downstream from the Colorado dam.
Mount Bachelor Academy Gets a Pass
The stories coming out of Mount Bachelor Academy were shocking. Kids being deprived of sleep, cursed at by other students and staff members, being made to take part in humiliating “role-playing” exercises – including, in at least one case, having to perform a “lap dance” for another student. The stories were bad enough, and apparently…
Flaming Frat Pranks, Seegers vs. the Reagan fan club, gun play and more
Jeez, Sorry for Partying If you're in a college fraternity, there are a few activities in which you will almost certainly find yourself involved. You will consume beer by placing the keg tap directly in your mouth as your “bros” hold your feet up in the air. You will clothe yourself exclusively in T-shirts celebrating…
Vote Yes on Measure 76: Rivers and parks deserve our support
What have you done for your local parks, rivers and wildlife recently? Not much opportunity to help? Here's a perfect chance for you to do something truly meaningful for these things we all cherish. In November, you can vote “yes” on Measure 76.
Texas Crack Was Ignorant
As a New Yorker, who has lived in Texas for many years and then moved to Bend two years ago…I found Jim Anderson's little “comment” (The Natural World, 9-29) about Texas offensive. It certainly had nothing to do with your subject matter. Texas, nor Texans may not be your cup of tea (java) but it…
Give Drag A Chance
I have read the lengthy letter of concern from Lisa Deanne Carlson, and I'm sorry, but as an entertainer and self-titled DRAG QUEEN, I don't see how my lifestyle and struggles, obstacles and challenges adversely affect hers, and I surely would never ask her or the Trans Community to cease doing what they do because…
Spill The Wine For Bend Galleries
For the past eleven years, since my wife and I became full time residents of Bend, we have enjoyed freeloading at the monthly art walks. Have we ever bought art on these occasions?Maybe ten small Christmas gifts and one ceramic piece that I accidentally broke. All of which were probably of far less value than…
Drag Show Is Not Discriminatory
I've been working with the Human Dignity Coalition since 2002 and one of the things I am most proud of is the feedback we get that our events feel safe for our whole community. Whether it is Bend Pride or our drop-in nights for young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trangender, queer or questioning…
GOP and Tea Party Have Been Bought and Sold
The good old U.S. of A. is slipping away from being a democracy and is becoming a plutocracy. Thanks to the Supreme Court that decided a corporation is the same as an individual person, and also some of the multi-billionaires in our midst who want to do away with all government control. The Koch brothers,…
