UK Soul Rockers The Heavy are Coming to the Silver Moon
Sitting at the computer last night, my e-mail blinked at me with a message entitled “UK Rock/Soul Band The Heavy Plays Silver Moon.” I stared at the e-mail subject line, figuring that it must be referring to some other Silver Moon in some other town.
Fixing Health Care in Five Minutes or Less
Can Jeff Merkley solve America’s health care problems? The verdict on that is still out, but he’s a pretty slick operator with a Rubik’s Cube. A new video shows Oregon’s junior senator fiddling with a cube as he explains: “Just as this cube is all mixed up, so is our health care system messed up.
Troubled Waters
We, my friend Steve and I, went in search of big rainbow trout. Destination Diamond Lake where the successful ridding the lake of chubs and assorted crap fish has helped bring back a healthy rainbow population.
Economists: Tax Increases Will Boost Economy
Moderate tax increases will help Oregon climb out of the recession more than holding down revenues and cutting state services, according to a group of more than three dozen Oregon economists. Initiatives to repeal two legislative measures that would raise corporate income taxes from the current minimum of $10 a year and hike personal income…
A Cool Empty Space Orchestra Video and Ruins of Ooah Report
First off, this should be a post with some video from last night’s Ruins of Ooah/Basin and Range show at the Summit, but I’ll be damned if the dang battery on my video camera was dead when I got there. Lame.
The Incredible Shrinking Toilet Paper
Today The Eye turns from inconsequential matters like health care reform, the state budget deficit and real estate fraud and focuses on an issue of more intimate concern to our readers: the shrinking size of the toilet paper in public restrooms. I’ve been noticing this trend for the past couple of years, but I was…
BendFilm: The Movies and the Parties
Today I entered the Liberty Theater for the first time ever (the largely empty space has been closed for a few years now thanks to some legal troubles from prior owners), to pick up some info on the BendFilm Festival, which kicks off tonight with an opening reception and screening at the Tower Theatre. To…
Warren Miller’s Dynasty
Exploring winter since 1949, Warren Miller Entertainment has inspired audiences to keep their snowriding dreams alive.
Local Film Premiers at BendFilm: “Big”
One of the best parts about BendFilm, which kicks off tomorrow night, is the chance to check out some of the films made right here in Central Oregon. I got a chance to take a look at “Big,” which incidentally is not about a suburban 12 year old who, thanks to a carnival game, suddenly…
Inspiration: From unlikely heroes in our midst
Last weekend I was skinny dipping in a gorgeous alpine lake and this weekend I awoke to gigantic snowflakes blanketing town. It's that charming schizophrenia that makes Bend such a special place to live. Many of us moved here for the sun and the snow and the recreational opportunities they afford. But this week, especially,…
Hand-Taming Wildlife: Don't feed the bears… or the deer or the skunks
There are a lot of people throughout Central Oregon who think it's cool to tame mule deer so they can pet them. That, Oh Best Beloved, is one of the dumbest things anyone can do. Then there's the business of people baiting cougars by attracting deer to their back yards. That's equally as dumb. I…
Geek Love: Flesh Eating Undead serves as backdrop to sappy love story in Zombieland
The first five minutes of Zombieland depict some of the best chewing, spewing and gore-guzzling zombies ever seen on film amidst side-splitting comedy. Unfortunately, what follows does not live up to the film's early promise. It's as if the grand finale starts the show. This is not a Zombie movie to rival Shaun of the…
Money Talks: Michael Moore asks, “Dude, where's my money?”
Michael Moore loves America, but America does not always love Michael Moore. After the release of Fahrenheit 9/11, public opinion of the liberal filmmaker took a downturn. Republicans have good reason to hate him, but the attitude of Democrats is baffling. They claim to dislike his oversimplification, his manipulation of emotions and facts and his…
Playing God: Stuck in limbo with just a handheld and a clue
Problem: A prisoner, a bully and a lawyer are all in hell – represented in Scribblenauts as an island of dull grey brick floating in flaming lava. Above them hovers heaven – a red-carpeted platform topped with pillars, parapets and a golden castle with an angel hovering overhead. Without changing their lifestyles, I must save…
Thai on the Fly: Thai home cooking at a drive-through speed
A while back, I started hearing whispers about a magical drive-through on the Eastside that serves up some of the best Thai food in town. I was skeptical. Not only is it hard to imagine the words “magical” and “drive-through” in the same sentence, but every time I drove out that direction with an eye…
Thai on the Fly: Thai home cooking at a drive-through speed
A while back, I started hearing whispers about a magical drive-through on the Eastside that serves up some of the best Thai food in town. I was skeptical. Not only is it hard to imagine the words “magical” and “drive-through” in the same sentence, but every time I drove out that direction with an eye…
Bashing Season
Bashing TimeIn the not too distant future snow will fall in the mountains which will soon be covered with several feet of it. And when the snow gets to a certain depth, the ski lifts will begin operating at Oregon ski areas.
Veg Out: Something Special At Zydeco
I've been working on taking my diet to the next level by adding as much organic, locally grown fair to my plate as possible. Zydeco came up in conversation as the place to do this. An hour later, friends in tow, we took our seats under an outdoor heater on Bond Street. Our waiter asked…
Veg Out: Something Special At Zydeco
I've been working on taking my diet to the next level by adding as much organic, locally grown fair to my plate as possible. Zydeco came up in conversation as the place to do this. An hour later, friends in tow, we took our seats under an outdoor heater on Bond Street. Our waiter asked…
Fueled by Curiosity: Ruins of Ooah will confuse you… right before you start dancing
At the Bend Roots Revival a couple weeks back, the sun was starting to set and the crowd at the Victorian Café grew steadily as curious onlookers tried to get a better view, and perhaps more dancing space, as by far the most bizarre act of the weekend cranked away on the stage. The act…
The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You
The Avett Brothers aren't trying to impress you with their new record, I and Love and You. The bluegrass/folk rock trio has garnered an enthusiastic following over the last few years, and this record, their first on a major label, is one that could be a watershed disc for them. But I and Love and…
Still Reeling: We give you the run down on a few films to check out at this year's BendFilm Festival
With BendFilm on the horizon, providing four days of films split between six different screens, there's plenty to choose from. Here at The Source we've done the work for you to provide a suggested list of flicks to catch this weekend. Documentaries: The Road to Fallujah This powerful documentary follows Mark Manning, who was the…
Solar Salvation?: Timber companies and unemployed workers look to renewable energy for a boost
Fifteen years ago, Washington's Kittitas County hosted a flourishing timber industry. Several hundred locals logged, worked in sawmills or trucked lumber all over the state. These days, however, only a handful of people still work in forestry. More than a dozen mills have closed in Washington over the last 10 years. Timberland became more valuable…
Our Picks for 10/7 – 10/15: BendFilm Festival, Pumpkin Fest, The Janks, Pac Man Party
BendFilm Festival thursday 8 – sunday 11 The region's very own film festival is back and kicking this year with four full days of screenings split throughout town as well as out at the Sisters Movie House (for the first time ever). Check out BendFilm.org where you can download a complete list of films and…
Critical Care: Heath Care shenanigans, Girl Scout cookies, Letterman's confession and more
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from Washington D.C., trying to filter politicians from panhandlers and lobbyists, on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly. It's 2:15am, Do You Know Where Your Health Care Is? In a dumpster, with Max Baucus'…
Flash Fiction: Ol' Brown Eyes
The woman-who-wanted-to-be-a-man married the man-who-wanted-to-be-a-woman. The arrangement felt confusing at first, not knowing who belonged to the wrench set, the mascara tube, where one body ended and the other began. Sometimes it was hard to tell if they were really married at all. The woman-who-wanted-to-be-a-man resented her partner. The way “he” loathed his body hair,…
Of Wolf And Man: Hunting wolves is not the answer in the West
In the September 24 issue of The Source, “Off Target: Conservationists' opposition to hunting wolves is wrongheaded,” Mike Medberry criticizes conservationists for filing a lawsuit to protect wolves, while portraying himself as a pro-hunting conservationist. To extol the bloodshed and death involved in hunting under the guise of conservation is a popular but absurd paradox.…
The Enrich-the-Rich Tax Repeal Campaign
Having a big business in Oregon is a pretty sweet deal, tax-wise. The corporate minimum tax is $10 a year – no, we did not mistakenly leave off any zeroes – a figure unchanged since our last Great Depression in the 1930s. Contrary to conservative propaganda, Oregon is not exactly a tax hell for businesses.…
Letter of the Week: Don't Burn Books Yet
Thanks BJ Thomas for this week's letter, a nice meditation on the changing nature of the printed word in a digital society – something that we think about a lot around here. We too hope there's a future with good old-fashioned books and maybe even a few newspapers. And like BJ, we prefer a flashlight…
Ignorance Is Bliss
Dear Editor, John Sabo's Opinion piece “Let Beck Shine A Light” (Source, 10-1) leaves me no choice but to congratulate him for having the stomach to listen to the Fox News “talk jocks” (David Brooks quote) and no doubt Rush too – his stomach must be cast iron! Sabo criticizes the Source writers who, “continue…
Stop and Smell the Poo
I am responding to Ace's negative response (Source Weekly, 9-24) to the lighthearted, humorous article on goose poop. Of course the Source Weekly could have filled that space with a more pressing issue – let's see there's the swine flu worry, the always ever fascinating question: “Why does the Forest Service insist on performing controlled…
An Investment We Can Afford
While all you seem to see these days in the media are stories about how some corporations and their lobbyists are mad at the legislature for finally raising the $10 corporate minimum tax, there's a much larger group of Oregonians who are happy with the work the legislature did this session – Oregon's 80,000 uninsured…
Wednesday Night Music: Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers
Sometimes, when I hear a band is coming to town, I like to slow roast the music on my rotation for, I don’t know, about a month. That’s what I’ve been doing with the tunes of Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers, the rootsy indie rock act from Oklahoma that’s playing a free show at…
