According to Marie Sophocle’s book, “The Bedroom Gap,” there are 80 million women experiencing menopause right now, a combination of baby boomers and Generation X. An additional 6,000 women hit menopause every day. Staggering numbers! That’s a lot of hot flashes, emotional moments during the day and waking up at 2 am. At Roundabout Books, […]
Culture
Posted inColumns
The Psychedelic Frontier
Who wins when Big Pharma enters?
Q: Eli Lilly just spent $3.8 billion buying into psychedelics. Is Big Pharma’s involvement actually good for the public, and who benefits most from it? A: A pharmaceutical company doesn’t put $3.8 billion behind something unless it believes it will be profitable. For-profit health care hardly ever benefits the public, but this question goes deeper […]
Posted inCulture
Free Will Astrology, Week of August 20, 2026
We’re on the cusp of a Leo-Virgo transition
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In traditional textile making, the selvage is the strong edge that holds the fabric together and keeps it from unraveling. It’s braided more tightly than the rest so it can do its guarding work. I think that’s a helpful metaphor for your life in the coming weeks, Leo. Your main weave […]
Posted inFilm
Sex, Drugs and Dinosaurs
An August movie roundup
With the release of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” on July 31, we have officially left behind the Summer Blockbuster season and are now entering that nebulous August/September space where studios and streamers throw everything at the multiplex wall just to see what sticks. It’s not quite prestige, Oscar-bait season yet, so whatever movies you end […]
Posted inColumns
The Medicine Cabinet Within: The Season of Smoke and Fire
Supporting health and vitality and making the wildfire season more tolerable
The smell of smoke, thick haze in the sky, and the knowledge of nearby fires can elicit a very real and ancient instinct in our minds and nervous systems — to flee and get away. This instinct has served humankind well, as those that developed this sensibility were generally those that survived, eluding otherwise catastrophic […]
Posted inCulture
Sewing Patterns? Fabric? Lace Trim? This Nonprofit Has It All.
Fashion Workshop opens new storefront in downtown Bend, helping connect crafty people with low-cost goods
Fashion Workshop is on mission to help the crafty people out there in Central Oregon. As a bit of a crafty gal myself, I was surprised when I walked in that most items were under $10. Fashion Workshop, a nonprofit, opened its brand-new storefront Aug. 8, just outside of downtown Bend. The storefront features a space […]
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Free Will Astrology, Week of August 13, 2026
Leos, this is your moment of feeling vibrant and refreshed
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Given how extra vibrant and refreshed you have been feeling, I would understand if you had zero interest in confronting The Dilemma That Refuses to Fade. Why deliberately tangle with that stale, long‑term energy drain when your spirits are so high? Here’s why: At this moment, you possess a new and […]
Posted inCulture Features
Chasing Dark Skies
Learning to photograph the moon, meteors and Milky Way in Central Oregon
When Christian Heeb first turned his lens to the night sky, it wasn’t a dramatic career pivot so much as a natural next chapter. A longtime travel and nature photographer, Heeb says night work simply completes the story of a place. “If you travel in nature for photography, you capture all aspects — sunrise, canyon […]
Posted inFilm
The Peter Problem
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is a Marvel of human emotion
What makes Spider-Man the greatest superhero of all-time isn’t his ability to swing through New York City on sticky webs shot from his wrists, nor is it how he protects humanity from villains like Green Goblin and The Vulture. I mean, those feats are certainly impressive, but what makes Spider-Man the absolute best is his […]
Posted inColumns
When Trying Too Hard Backfires: A Gentler Path Through Erectile Difficulty
Men have been given some misleading information about their sexuality
Dear Dr. Jane, I was married for over 20 years to my former wife. We had a sexless marriage for the last couple of years, but I never had any stamina issues when we were still intimate. Since the divorce, I’ve been dating, and I finally found a really nice woman — we’re exclusive now. […]
