The Heat Is On: Pull a water toy out of the quiver

Posted inOutside

The Heat Is On: Pull a water toy out of the quiver

Pam Stevenson

Surf- Skiing Paulina LakeThe heat is on. It's supposed to be close to 100 degrees all week long.
I feel for the cyclists in the Cascade Cycling Classic last week and
the National Championships this week. As if the elevation, the hills
and the competition weren't tough enough, you know it's a scorcher when
you can see the heat waves shimmering off the black asphalt and hear
the tiny tar bubbles going off like Jiffy Pop under your wheels. As
much as I love the bike, the water is the place to be right now. The
only dilemma is which water toy to pull out of the quiver.

SEA KAYAK
If I could only have one boat (heaven forbid), I'd
pick my sea kayak, because of its versatility. My 17-foot 6-inch
Wilderness Systems Shanai is a fast daytripper perfect for a paddle and
picnic on any lake (and now is absolutely the time for that). It's fast
enough that it's in demand every year for PPP, but it can also take me
on a weeklong expedition in the San Juans or Canada.

Posted inCulture

Oh So Pretty…: But 3D magic and an all-star cast doesn’t fully hold up G Force

Intern

The force is strong with this one. The 3D version of G Force may rightly be criticized
as mere eye candy, but if that's the case, then-somewhat surprisingly-it's
among the most opulent and luxurious eye candy we're likely to see this summer.
From the first technology-rich sequences, the 3D experience reminds us of what
it feels like to be a kid taking that first ride on Space Mountain: mouth
slightly agape, head tilted skyward and eyes fixed blissfully wide. And one
certainly gets the feeling this 3D pipeline is just getting started. But even
with our eyeballs having been dazzled, by the end of G Force, the magic
of this gimmick has worn off.

To get an idea of the landscape of G Force, think of
a Jason Bourne movie with guinea pigs as major characters. An affable human,
Ben, played with restraint by Zach (Hangover)
Galifianakis, heads an under-the-radar project employing guinea pigs and a
mole. I suspect that the opening sequence is riveting even without the 3D, but
with the effects it's positively mesmerizing.

Posted inCulture

Return to Sender: Not even gore can save the Orphan from its own gimmicks

Intern

She paints beautifully, Honey. And silly you thought she was trying to kill us!Opening with an over-the-top bloody delivery room dream sequence, Orphan shows some
promise. But soon, it quickly dissolves into the opening class session for
Formulaic Horror Moviemaking 101 with an insulting script destined to make you
roll your eyes about 50 times.

This insidious stab at the genre takes everything beyond
believability, losing any credibility almost immediately. A troubled wife (Vera
Farmiga) has demons to exorcise from her past revolving around the loss of her
daughter. With two kids already and the blessing of a worthless psychiatrist
(inadequately played by Margo Martindale), she and husband John (Peter
Sarsgaard) are off to an orphanage to pick smiling and lonely Esther (Isabelle
Fuhrman). Artistic, intelligent and world-savvy, Esther is no regular small
fry. Unconvincingly enamored, the couple takes the child home to ruin their
lives with one despicable act after another.  

Posted inCulture

Stick With It: Fight Night delivers an easy TKO

Intern

A long ways from punch out. The shortest distance between two points is supposed to be a
straight line. But in boxing, as in life, things are rarely so direct. The
shortest distance between my fist at Point A and my foe's face at Point B might
occasionally be a simple jab. But it might also follow the curved path of a
hook, or the elbow bend of an uppercut. And all of these are woven into the
ducking and dodging of the fighters, tangling a simple line of attack into a
serpentine swarm.

In an attempt to mimic this dance of missed and mixed-up
connections, the controls in Fight Night Round 4 avoid the
direct simplicity of button-pushing. Every major punch is thrown with the
action of the right thumbstick. An angled snap forward throws a straight or a
jab. Swinging it out and then up delineates the action of a hook. Likewise,
down and around initiates and imitates the arc of an uppercut.

Blocks are controlled in the same way, using the same thumbstick
with the addition of a trigger being clutched. As a result, not only does the
action of the thumbstick correspond to the actual actions of the boxer's body,
but the use of one control for both offense and defense also recreates the same
dilemma that a fighter must confront: how to simultaneously attack and defend
with the same pair of fists.  

Posted inFood & Drink

Cocktailing: Slap Happy

Intern

There is never a void in cable television. You will find that be there ruinous fire, torrential flood, cataclysmic volcano, or category-five hurricane, you will still have access to 24-hour cable programming. Most of it tends to be awful as we have all watched at least an episode of something embarrassing, demoralizing and contemptible like The Swan where they found Michael Jackson’s plastic surgeon to turn 300-pound losers into cougar-ready material for Real Housewives of Orange County. Or My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé in which a schoolteacher pretended to marry a rude, loathsome, and slobby hippopotamus for a cash prize. Unfortunately, what I’ve just described is wretched and is aired at prime time, so you can only imagine what I watch when I finally have time to ignite the boob tube at 4 a.m. I flip between infomercials with Tattoo selling personal massagers, discount telephone psychics and Suzanne Sommers doing kegel exercises with what appears to be pool noodle. I flip through hundreds of channels in determination of finding something somewhat satisfying. While I hate to admit it, I always stop at the ShamWow guy.

Posted inFood & Drink

Goin’ Gourmet at the Bagel Stop: Bagels are just the beginning

Alice Finer

Now, that’s a bagel.Whenever I’ve lived in a place for a while, the time inevitably
comes when I feel like there’s a key food option that I’m missing. I have
plenty of favorites when it comes to restaurants, but for everyday, a quick
breakfast or take-out lunch that offers a restaurant level of satisfaction
without the usual cost or commitment of dining out, I suddenly find myself at a
loss for what to eat. Most normal people would fill this dietary gap by going
to the grocery store, purchasing selected items and combining them at home to
create a meal-you know, cooking. But for me, it’s far preferable for someone
else to come up with what I didn’t know I wanted, prepare it far better than I
ever could and spare me the pain and, ultimately, disappointment in my
inability to properly feed myself.

Enter the Bagel Stop. Less than a week after my first visit, I can
already tell that it is the antidote for that creeping indecision at mealtime.
Pretty much everything here appeals, and it goes way beyond just bagels.
Offerings range from breakfast sandwiches and baked goods to gourmet deli
sandwiches, soups and salads, as well as a full catering operation for anything
from picnics to weddings. Closing at 3 p.m. daily, there’s no eat-in option for
dinner, but a rotating line-up of take-home meals is available. It’s sold as
dinner for two at $22, but is probably enough for four.

Posted inFood & Drink

Goin’ Gourmet at the Bagel Stop: Bagels are just the beginning

Alice Finer

Now, that's a bagel.Whenever I've lived in a place for a while, the time inevitably
comes when I feel like there's a key food option that I'm missing. I have
plenty of favorites when it comes to restaurants, but for everyday, a quick
breakfast or take-out lunch that offers a restaurant level of satisfaction
without the usual cost or commitment of dining out, I suddenly find myself at a
loss for what to eat. Most normal people would fill this dietary gap by going
to the grocery store, purchasing selected items and combining them at home to
create a meal-you know, cooking. But for me, it's far preferable for someone
else to come up with what I didn't know I wanted, prepare it far better than I
ever could and spare me the pain and, ultimately, disappointment in my
inability to properly feed myself.

Enter the Bagel Stop. Less than a week after my first visit, I can
already tell that it is the antidote for that creeping indecision at mealtime.
Pretty much everything here appeals, and it goes way beyond just bagels.
Offerings range from breakfast sandwiches and baked goods to gourmet deli
sandwiches, soups and salads, as well as a full catering operation for anything
from picnics to weddings. Closing at 3 p.m. daily, there's no eat-in option for
dinner, but a rotating line-up of take-home meals is available. It's sold as
dinner for two at $22, but is probably enough for four. 

Posted inMusic

Hip-Hop From the Basement

Anne Pick

The hardest working stoners in the biz. Hello there,
Kottonmouth Kings fans. Put down your giant bongs, step away from the
half-eaten bag of Cheetos and come up from your parents stank basement. Safely
find your way down to the Midtown Ballroom for a night of worship for the Kings
of your kingdom. The Kottonmouth Kings, a rap-rock crossover based out of
Orange County, California, come to Bend to promote the green movement, and
we're not talking sustainability and recycling here.

The Kottonmouth
Kings have described themselves as "psychedelic hip-hop punk rock" and the
band's latest, The Green Album, reached number five on the Billboard
Top Rap Albums chart and is the outfit's tenth full length studio album. The
tracks range from the straight-up rap anthem "K.O.T.T.O.N.M.O.U.T.H. Song" to
the more rock-influenced "Where I'm Going?" The Kottonmouth Kings are probably
the hardest working stoners in the business-running their own record label,
which hosts 24 other acts as well as their own clothing line.

If you're more on
the straight-up hip-hop side of things, Vancouver, BC hip-hop heavy hitters
Swollen Members split the headlining bill. In Canada, Swollen Members are one
of the best selling urban acts of all time and have worked hard over the years
to create a name for themselves in the international hip-hop community. The
Members create hip-hop in which the strength lies in the songs, not in flashy
grills and gimmicks. Which is probably why they've taken home multiple Juno
Awards (aka the Canadian Grammy) for Best Rap Recording, most recording for
their song "Black Magik."

Posted inMusic

Geeking Out for Guitars: Christmas comes early for six-string lovers with the Breedlove Festival

The Source Staff

Guitar love comes to Bend, courtesy of Breedlove. It's no longer our little secret that Bend is making some of the
best guitars in the world (that's truth, not hyperbole) now that Breedlove
Guitars has pretty much exploded in the past few years, placing their axes in
the hands of some incredible players. Now, the guitar maker is bringing some of
those players to town for a three-day festival.

The Breedlove Festival takes place between stages at the Breedlove
factory-tucked in behind Summit High School and Skyliners Road-and the Tower
Theater. Some of the names on the bill aren't necessarily the stuff of
Billboard charts, but are certainly well known to guitar hounds, and Bend has
plenty of those. Although a solid event for music fans, the festival is a
guitar geek's dream, complete with a full slate of workshops, clinics and
discussions-and that's on top of shows from some big musical names. In short,
it's going to be a busy weekend for six-string lovers.

Here's a few highlights from the packed schedule.  

Posted inMusic

Attention to Detail: Taking notice of the songwriting prowess of Vetiver

The Source Staff

Vetiver-they're not copying anybody.When Andy Cabic writes music, he just writes music. He doesn't
ponder his influences or how the record label will respond to his work or how
people like this writer will interpret it-the dude just writes music, then
plays it with his band, Vetiver.

Although quietly talked about in the indie folk universe for the
last half of this decade, San Francisco's Vetiver-a band with an oft-rotating
lineup that for all intents and purposes is Cabic's personal vehicle for his
songs-has only recently started to turn heads en masse, thanks to January's Tight
Knit, the band's first disc on Sub Pop Records. Vetiver got an
additional nod of respect in this region when it was named one of the
headliners (along with Dr. Dog and Blitzen Trapper) at the Pickathon festival
this weekend, the Portland-area event that's increasingly becoming the go-to
festival for today's cutting edge roots-based acts.

Like Dr. Dog and label mate Fleet Foxes, Vetiver has been viewed
by some critics and fans as creating tunes that seem a tribute to, or imitation
of, earlier times. Cabic said this has never been his intention with Vetiver.

"I think it's really
just attention to detail and good playing and well-recorded songs that give
that impression, because I think there's something to be said for the
production values and the craft of recording and songwriting from decades
past," says Cabic over the phone from Los Angeles where he's checking in on
some producing gigs, including meetings with legendary singer-songwriter Vashti
Bunyan, whose album he'll be producing this year.  

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