Since writer-director Noah Baumbach came out with The Squid and the Whale five years ago, imitators have have tried to emulate his style. Yet each copy was lighter and smudgier than the last until we finally got handed the hateful Smart People. Not his fault, of course, but it's been annoying nonetheless. With Greenberg, Baumbach picked Ben Stiller, an actor best known lately for the Night at the Museum franchise, to play Roger Greenberg, his self-absorbed slacker protagonist. It's reasonable enough then to be suspicious of how this pairing might pan out given the familiarity we all have with Baumbach's formula.
The Oddball Out: Noah Baumbach and Ben Stiller make mumblecore for the A-List with Greenberg
Posted inCulture
On Beating Dead Horses
Okay, has anyone ever actually “beat a dead horse”? You hear that phrase a lot (especially in this column), but have you ever seen or heard of anyone
actually going through with it? I'm really wracking my brain here, trying to think of any conceivable occasion where one might be inclined to physically assault a dead horse. Okay… how about this: Let's say the horse was the mastermind behind a huge Ponzi scheme that robbed me and my family of millions. But before I could have the horse arrested, he overdoses on a big pile of snort he was enjoying with some high-priced call girls and drops dead on the spot. I rush into the room to find him dead, and seeing that my opportunity for revenge has been dashed, perhaps I would be tempted to beat the horse – you know, out of sheer frustration.
Posted inFood & Drink
Hit the Ground Running: Food and service have made 10 Barrel the new hot spot
Since opening just last month, 10 Barrel is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the best brewpubs in Bend, which, considering Bend's tough competition, says a lot. With heavyweights like Deschutes Brewery, Cascade Lakes, and BBC leading the pack, 10 Barrel has managed to quickly gain a solid footing. With increasing foot traffic as the weather improves, eateries and pubs are quickly turning Galveston into the destination spot every Westsider always knew it was.
Posted inFood & Drink
Hit the Ground Running: Food and service have made 10 Barrel the new hot spot
Since opening just last month, 10 Barrel is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the best brewpubs in Bend, which, considering Bend's tough competition, says a lot. With heavyweights like Deschutes Brewery, Cascade Lakes, and BBC leading the pack, 10 Barrel has managed to quickly gain a solid footing. With increasing foot traffic as the weather improves, eateries and pubs are quickly turning Galveston into the destination spot every Westsider always knew it was.
Posted inFood & Drink
Little Bites: Heard from the Dishwasher
When it comes to dining in Bend, I've been warned not to get too attached. Over the last two years, restaurant closings have been too numerous to count, and the victims have included some of our community's boldest culinary experiments. But like B of A execs at a junk mortgage trough, restaurant owners, chefs and restaurateurs are gambling on Central Oregon and the possibility of an economic rebound.
Posted inMusic
Happy Birthday, Mr. Music: At 40, Mark Ransom tells us how and why he keeps Bend's local music scene cranking
Mark Ransom is turning 40 this weekend and he's just fine with that because he's having a big damn party to celebrate.
While he once dreamed of skiing in Chamonix, France, to celebrate his summitting of the proverbial hill, Ransom says Saturday night's throw down at McMenamins Old St. Francis School, which features his own band, The Mostest, and an impressive who's-who list of other local musicians joining in for an acoustic song circle earlier in the night, will suit him just fine. And this makes sense because this guy is the face of local music in Bend, even if he might not exactly agree with that assertion.
Posted inMusic
Bringing PDX to the Old Stone
At Saturday's Portland Indie Invasion, there was something different, something special, and something fun – all the qualities needed for a solid show.
First up was the “something different,” which meant a set from father/daughter duo Alexandra and Hilary Hanes who performed as Tortune and took the stage to share their brand of self-described death pop. An innocent-looking Lex headed the duo on guitar and vocals and brandished some stellar pipes in near opera style while Dad plucked away at the bass and pressed play on the drumbeats.
Posted inCulture
Following the Beep: Why I have a metal detector and how it (hopefully) helps me find treasure
This late winter and early spring, I have become a slave to the beep. Beep, beep, beep – a quick metallic staccato as our metal detector, the Garrett Ace250, teases us with the possibility of unearthing a rare coin, a lost Rolex or an antique diamond ring. Armed with our “kit,” slang in the metal detecting culture for our detector, a pin-pointer, a shovel and an ice pick, my husband and I have scaled hill and dale in the hopes of finding that elusive buried treasure.
Metal detecting, like gambling, attracts the eternal optimist. Who else would spend a sunny Saturday afternoon waving a metal wand for hours over countless acres of park, forest and desert on the slim chance of striking it rich?
If you are a group-joining type, you can sit in on a meeting of the High Desert Treasure Club. They meet the second Wednesday of every month at the Bend VFW Hall at 7pm.
Posted inCulture
Our Picks for 3/31 – 4/8: West Side Story, Taarka, Art Hop, The Becker Family Benefit and more
West Side Story
thursday-saturday 1-3
You've probably heard of this story – it's like Romeo and Juliet, but with more dancing. This performance is brought to you by the shining youngsters of the BEAT program and enjoys a three-day, four-show run at the spacious Summit High auditorium. April 1-3 at 7pm and April 3 at 2pm. $15/adults, $10/youth, available at bendticket.com. 7pm Thursday, Apr 1. Summit High School, 2855 NW Clearwater Dr.
Posted inOpinion
Fine Lines: Or how I became a clothesline martyr
Almost three years ago, I heard a lecture by Mary Wood, a University of Oregon law professor. She talked about the narrow window of opportunity we had to respond to the devastating effects of greenhouse gases and the impact on the future of our planet. I had to do something.
While I knew full well it was against the rules on Awbrey Butte, I did not know the ramifications that the simple benign act of hanging a clothesline would create. I naively thought that others would clearly see the sensibility and understand that doing the right thing for all living things took precedence over following 25-year-old rules.