Posted inCulture

Stick With It: Fight Night delivers an easy TKO

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.  

Posted inCulture

Our Picks for the Week 7/30-8/6

Hackensaw
Boys
thursday 30
The last time these
pickin' and grinnin' fools (and we mean "fools" in the kindest way possible)
came through town, it was a bluegrass-fueled night of fun. This time, the
Charlottesville, Virginia-based band is paying us a visit on their way over to
Pickathon in Portland. 9pm. $8. Silver Moon Brewing Co. 24 NW Greenwood Ave.

72-Hour
Shoot Out

thursday 30
Hmm, what can you do
with three days? If you said, "Make a movie" you're probably already a
contestant in BendFilm's 72-Hour Shoot Out. This contest gives contestants only
72 hours to write, film and edit their films while competing against fellow
local moviemakers. Check out this event where you can see the final products in
McMenamins always-cozy theater. 6pm Thursday, Jul 30. McMenamins Old St.
Francis Theater, 700 NW Bond St. $3.

Empty Space
Orchestra
friday 31
You may have seen Empty
Space a few times in the past month, but now is your chance to see some ESO in
the "friscalating dusklight" at the Show Us Your Spokes concert series. 6:30pm.
Parrilla Grill, 635 NW 14th St. $3.

Posted inCulture

Booted From Gardens, Moonscapes, and Lava Rock Love: Mick McMenaminuses takes the COBA Tour of Homes

Husband and wife team Guild and Gould went big in old town with a classically inspired super-du(per) plex.People don't like home invasions. And those opening their doors for
the famed COBA Tour of Homes annual event last weekend can now relax.
The streams of curious couples, bargain shoppers and transients like
myself have slunk back to our abodes, heads full of ideas yet wallets
still light
So when assigned to cover this event, I decided to
start where I live, Awbrey Butte, my chic locale for the past few
weeks. Mind you, I don't actually live on the Butte, rather in a '79
Ford RV named Harrietta Ambages, and the notion of "home" is a parking
space with shade, an electrical outlet and the occasional shower.
Stoking
Harrietta and rounding another street that goes nowhere but up. I
finally found a "High Desert Garden." The single-story home is standard
Bend but the garden is utter United Nations with each part echoing a
different country-Mexico, Greece, North Korea (an unfertile plot with a
single statue).
I didn't get the garden's builder/owner/seller's name because we were interrupted by, "Where's your ticket?"
"Ticket?"

Posted inOpinion

Crater Lake Faces Chopper Invasion

The sound of a helicopter has never been described as soothing.
The noise output of a helicopter at a distance of 100 feet has been calculated
at 105 decibels-five decibels higher than a jackhammer. 

Fortunately, Leading Edge Aviation-the Bend company that wants to
start offering helicopter tours above Crater Lake National Park-doesn't propose
buzzing the lake at 100 feet; it says its choppers will fly no lower than 1,000
feet.

But the whumpa-whumpa-whumpa of churning rotor blades, whether at 100
feet or 1,000, is not a sound that belongs at Crater Lake, Oregon's only
national park and a place where people go to see natural beauty and experience
(relative) peace and quiet.

Even at 1,000 feet or more, as anybody who's heard one of the Air
Link helicopters zoom overhead can attest, the sound of a helicopter is
impossible to ignore. Travis Warthen, a vice president for Leading Edge, told
The Oregonian that an RV or (in winter) a snowmobile driving along the rim road
would be louder than one of his 650-hp Bell helicopters. Maybe so, but that
seems like a weak excuse to add another element to the noise mix.

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