The PPP at 34: It's more than a race and it always has been

Posted inCulture

The PPP at 34: It's more than a race and it always has been

Bob Woodward

When 80 competitors lined up to start the first Pole Pedal Paddle (PPP) in 1976 armed with equipment that you're more likely to find hanging over a mantelpiece than in a lift line, little did they know that they were becoming involved in what would eventually become Bend's biggest community sporting event.
They also weren't aware that they were pioneering a new type of event. Run/bike/swim triathlons were just becoming known nationally. A cross country ski/bike/kayak event had been staged annually for several years in Truckee, California. But a race featuring five sports? Now that was new.
Thirty-four years later, the PPP has established itself as the quintessential Bend event. It's all about fitness, being outdoors and getting to use all sorts of cool gear. (Quick, someone call a Subaru rep, we have a sponsorship opportunity here!)

Posted inCulture

Goo Goo Dolls: The cute factor reigns supreme with those darn Babies

Morgan P Salvo

What's the big deal about babies? I'm not especially fond of other people's babies and there's nothing more torturous than baby home movies. Seriously, what's so special about babies? Who gives a rat's ass unless they're your own? I don't get it.
The new documentary Babies cashes in on the cute and, hopefully, shared fact that we are all enchanted by life's beginning and how awesome it is to be born while surrounded by a bunch of shit we can't comprehend. Clearly I was assigned this movie as a cruel joke, but nothing prepared me for how truly bad this flick would be.

Posted inMusic

Hope That You Can Dance To: Why Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars want to keep it positive

Mike Bookey

It's common, if not trite, to say that a particular band was “discovered” – maybe in a seedy bar or on a street corner. But if you're talking about Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, the word is more than apt, given that the band was truly found in a seemingly unlikely place by Western ears and exposed to the world by way of a documentary film that launched them to global fame.
The documentary, titled after the band's name, was released in 2005 and let the world in on a band that – somewhat impossibly – had formed in a refugee camp by musicians who'd been displaced from their native country by a decade-long civil war. Their story was inspiring and heartbreaking, but when it came down to it, the band's music spoke for itself and soon people began noticing.

Posted inMusic

Hooray for Surprises! David Clemmer, The Ascetic Junkies

Source Weekly

Sound Check likes surprises. Dang it, we actually love surprises. If you were to stand outside our office and soak us with a fire hose when we came out, we wouldn't even kick you in the nards. We'd actually be jazzed about the whole affair – as long as you yell “surprise” before you drenched us.
Thus, we were pleased as punch (punch is quite pleasing) with this surprise-filled week of live music that began at yet another Thursday night Last Band Standing gig at Boondocks Bar and Grill. It was there the emo/alt-rockers of Elliot – fronted by Corey and Casey Parnell and their self-described Justin Bieber haircuts – took home the audience vote and advanced to the next round. But after punking out like it was 1999, runner-ups Tuck and Roll earned a wild card and also advanced. The surprise here was yet another huge turnout for Last Band Standing- – did people think one of those guys was actually Justin Bieber or something? Either way, this is excellent for local music.

Posted inMusic

Love Is All: Two Thousand and Ten Injuries

Source Weekly

Love Is All
Two Thousand and Ten Injuries
Polyvinyl
So, what the hell is going on in Scandinavia? All sorts of fantastic releases are streaming outta there, especially from Denmark (Mew, Raveonettes, Figurines) and Sweden (The Hives, Peter Bjorn and John, Shout Out Louds). Scandinavia is perhaps better known for the righteousness of its death metal, which inspired Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth to do their thing in the '80s, but that vein is pretty much mined out, and the region is now pumping out tons of groundbreaking indie pop/rock (so much so, in fact, that I dedicated my last show on KPOV to it).

Posted inCulture

Our Picks for 5/12 – 5/20: Richard Louv, The Sprout Film Festival, Larry and His Flask, and more!

Source Weekly

Richard Louv
wednesday 12
Are you thinking that maybe those kids of yours are spending too much time on the interwebs and Twitter machine and not enough time bounding across mountain streams and gazing upon majestic fields of grain? If so, check out this appearance by Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, who discusses saving children from nature-deficit disorder. $10. Info: 541-383-7575. 6:30pm Summit High School Auditorium, 2855 NW Clearwater Dr.

Posted inNews

Election Endorsements – For Governor: Kitzhaber and Alley

Source Weekly

For fans of Oregon political theater, the cast of this year's race for governor is familiar. There's a former governor, a former secretary of state, a former candidate for state treasurer, a former candidate for governor and a convicted racketeer. (The last two are the same person – Bill Sizemore.)
The former governor, of course, is Democrat John Kitzhaber, who served two terms from 1995 to 2003 and wants to give it another shot. According to the polls, he's way out in front of his only major opponent, Bill Bradbury – who, ironically enough, was appointed secretary of state by Kitzhaber in 1999 and served 10 years in that job.

Posted inOpinion

Excluding Freedom and Common Sense

Source Weekly

“Exclusion zone” – it sounds like such a great idea. Define certain people as “undesirables,” draw a line around the area where you don't want them to go, and tell them that if they're caught in that area they'll be charged with trespassing.
In practice, though, exclusion zones often don't work as well as they do on paper. And they can lead cities that adopt them into a dense thicket of civil liberties issues.
For years, downtown Bend merchants and businesses like the non-profit Arts Central have been annoyed and frustrated by people hanging out in the plaza off Brooks Alley and the breezeway between the alley and Wall Street. They smoke, they sometimes drink, they occasionally panhandle, they sometimes behave obnoxiously toward passersby. There have been more serious reports of drug use, drug sales and vandalism. This situation, some people very reasonably conclude, is not good for business.

Posted inOpinion

And Justice for All: Supreme updates, Tea Bag revolt in Utah, giant beaver dams and more!

Source Weekly

The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from a gas station, thanking BP and Fords with 460 horses, on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.
Enter Elena
“Government is itself an art, one of the subtlest of arts,” she was quoted in a 1977 yearbook, unaware that her other note, “Brad is super cute!” will soon be used against her as well. Elena Kagan has been nominated by President Obama to succeed Justice Stevens on the Supreme Court, and the 50 year-old “acclaimed Constitutional scholar” nicknamed “Shorty” by legendary Justice Thurgood Marshall won't see much subtlety as Republicans sharpen their spears to attack the same person they confirmed as Solicitor General 61-31 last year (for more toxic environments, see below).

Posted inOpinion

Ed Barbeau's Mystery Campaign

Source Weekly

He's got ads on the radio, he's got yard signs, he's turned up at the county commission work sessions. About the only place you won't find a trace of Ed Barbeau and his campaign is with the Secretary of State's Office where Barbeau lists only a single expenditure, $450 for a booth at the Karl Rove event. Candidates have seven days after incurring an expenditure to file a report with the SOS's office.

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