Our Mini-Documentary of the Bend WinterFest Weekend

Posted inNews

Still Some Air in the Bubble?

The Source Staff

The Federal Reserve has released a report that seems to show Bend home prices have moved more or less back in line with those in other Oregon cities.
The report, titled “Trends in Delinquencies and Foreclosures in Oregon,” includes a bunch of interesting graphs, including one that tracks the rise and (in Bend’s case) precipitous fall in home prices from 2000 through the end of 2009 in the cities of Portland, Salem, Medford and Bend.

Posted inNews

Downtown Pay Parking Fizzles (again)

The Source Staff

The effort to curtail downtown parking violations by instituting a new pay as you go system in two popular downtown parking lots was rebuffed again on Wednesday by downtown Bend merchants who object to the loss of free parking for customers.
It is the second time in the past six months that retailers have revolted over a plan to revamp downtown Bend’s parking system which is by many accounts plagued by problems, namely shop owners and employees who hopscotch between the free two-hour spaces to avoid tickets.

Posted inFood & Drink

Sausage Fest: BurlyWurst rolls out a better wiener

The Source Staff

Despite a recent run of unseasonably warm weather, it's still officially winter, but that didn't prevent Derek and Gregg Yarrow, a pair of Long Island transplants from staking their culinary claim on Mirror Pond plaza. The brothers recently launched a joint venture that might just be the best rolling sausage fest in downtown Bend, apologies to the Classic Car Cruise…
The Yarrow Brothers opened BurlyWurst, an elaborate hot dog-and-sausage cart that would be the envy of any New York street vendor. Using recipes handed down from their German mother that are informed by younger brother Gregg's NYC culinary background, the Yarrows have elevated the wiener to an art form. Garnished with mom's homemade sauerkraut, the Berlin Brat ($4.50) comes served on a toasted bun and is available with slaw or sautéed onions. Or mix 'em all together. The guys are happy to help you customize your order to taste.

Posted inOutside

What's Your Sign?: Double black diamonds are a girl's best friend

Pam Stevenson

I should have really written this column last week to make it into the pre-Valentine's Day Source “Love Issue.” But sometimes you just come up a day late and a greeting card short. At any rate, I thought it might be amusing, if not timely, to comment on the outdoor dating scene in Bend.
The other day I skinned to the top of Tumalo with a girlfriend and discovered an impromptu party at the summit. There were shiny, happy people everywhere, munching on Clif Bars, peeling off skins, soaking in the view. My friend and I noted especially the good-looking guys clad in soft-shell and beaming endorphins who were quick to strike up friendly conversation. Advice about the best line in the bowl, homemade brownies and cell phone numbers were shared. OK, I made up that part about the phone numbers, but on the way back down, we declared the top of Tumalo on a sunny winter day the best pick-up spot in Bend. At least way better than the Astro Lounge. Apparently, though, Cog Wild is now hosting Mountain Biker Happy Hour at the Marz Bistro on Wednesday nights.

Posted inCulture

Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance: Building, repairing and teaching safety at Bend's Community BikeShed

Kaycee Anseth-Townsend

Joe Katroscik is trying to explain something about bicycle parts, while Michael Martin bangs an old frame with a hammer. Pointing towards the front of the bike in progress, Katroscik says, “See this joint, what's it called Michael? A lug?”
“You big lug,” Martin chimes in, clanging away.
Not acknowledging the joke, Katroscik continues to talk bike mechanics and the mission of Bend's Community BikeShed.

Posted inCulture

What the Hell?: Dante's Inferno was just 700 years in the making

Source Weekly

When we first meet Dante, he is midway through his life's journey, seated in a dark forest sewing a red cross across his bare pecs and up the ripples of his sixpack. It's not exactly how I envisioned the ardent pilgrim from The Divine Comedy. And it's certainly not the Dante depicted scowling down from his tomb in Florence. But the buff, barechested Dante is the ideal hero for a videogame in which the torments of Hell are depicted in robust, fleshy glory.
The designers of Dante's Inferno – the videogame – have taken the theologically bold stance of treating Hell like a real location, and its denizens as demons who can be decapitated and destroyed. The minions of Hell include unbaptized babies who skitter around with blades instead of arms, and obese men who spew gobs of bile and what looks like undigested food. Grim devils tower over the landscape, and Beatrice, Dante's beloved, spends much of the game in the nude.

Posted inCulture

What Is Funny?

Source Weekly

What is “funny”? I think we can all agree that “funny” is subjective, in that what may be “unfunny” to one person can be shit-pantsing hilarious to another. My good friend Dave claims the funniest thing in the world is a dog running down the street with a ham in its mouth. I concur this would be hilarious… if it wasn't MY goddamn honey-glazed ham procured from the mall less than an hour ago! (Second funniest thing in the world to Dave: Me chasing a dog with a ham in its mouth down the street. BTW, neither is funny.)
Some think that trying to explain “funny” automatically makes any “funny” thing “unfunny.” Categorically, this is horseshit. Like anything else in the universe, “funny” can be explained mathematically. In this case, with the following equation: person or animal + personality flaw + accidental happenstance – life-threatening injury = HILARITY.

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