While I am quite certain that The Source is a "left leaning" publication (I don't think I have ever seen a conservative article), it is the reason why I am never "shocked" at what I see there. In a recent article one of your "columnists" made a "compassionate" comment about wishing a microwave would go off just as Dick Cheney was passing by, obviously wishing Cheney would die.
Liberals Have No Answers
Posted inOpinion
The Shadow Knows
Legendary rock-and-roller Link Wray released an intriguing song in 1964 called "The Shadow Knows." It is notable for its guitar instrumental and its singular lyric followed by sinister laughter.
Posted inOpinion
Legalize It!
I am writing this letter in concern over the consideration of legalizing and taxing marijuana in Oregon. I must say that I am having trouble finding information regarding this subject but I know that the vote is taking place in 2010.
Posted inOpinion
Paddle Boards Don’t Belong On McKenzie
No! No! No! You don't tell people they can take their stand-up paddle boards to the upper McKenzie "Going With The Flow" (Outdoors 6/25/09). First, this section of river flows at 40 feet per mile or greater-the Deschutes in Bend is more like 10 fpm.
Posted inCulture
The Other U-Haul: Moving a House – Make That Household – by bike
Helmet? Check. Water Bottle? Check. Worldly possessions? Check. I have to admit I was ecstatic when I received several e-mails packed with far too many exclamation points announcing that a house would be moved from Southwest Bend to Northwest Bend by bicyclists this past Saturday afternoon. Wow, someone's crib put on wheels pulled through Bend streets by pedal power? How amazing would that be?
And sure enough a gaggle of cyclists hove into sight about 3 p.m. headed down toward the Old Mill District from the Reed Market roundabout. But what's this? No house? Wasn't this supposed to be a house move?
Leading the cycling contingent was Cascade Couriers' Daniel Brewster, who from time to time can be seen dropping copies of the Source throughout downtown Bend, pulling along a nice double bed followed by cyclists hauling packing boxes, potted plants, artwork, sports gear, rugs, a futon, and dirty laundry. In short, pretty much everything Brewster and his wife own. As I watched the parade of goods go by, it hit me that through the mysteries of the English language, that "house" being moved should have perhaps been more accurately described as a "household" being moved.
Posted inOutside
Stock Car vs. Soccer
While you were out mowing your lawn last weekend or watching with interest what moves your hometown NFL team was making in the offseason (Where is Favre's shoulder these days?), the United States men's soccer team was playing in and, as it turns out, blowing its biggest game in history - an improbable gold medal match in a World Cup tune-up in South Africa.
The men's team defeated reigning World Cup champion Spain in what may have been the biggest upset in national sports history since Herb Brooks led a bunch of rag-tag college hockey players to victory over the Soviet Union's previously untouchable national team at Lake Placid during the height of the Cold War.
Posted inOutside
Fly By Night: The return of the nighthawk
Two nestling nighthawks in "nest." Our common nighthawks are back, but a little over two weeks late. Birds arriving "back home" late, in lesser numbers-or not at all-is worrisome these days. With the mounting evidence of peculiarities in the natural world around us attributable to global warming it's a little scary when birds like nighthawks are late coming back "home" to nest.
Nighthawks devour tons and tons of insects for a living, and they're not confined to any one continent while doing it. They raise babies in North America in summer, but as soon as the kids are on the wing, they head out for Brazil and other points south.
Nighthawks are a mysterious and often misunderstood bird that is referred to by a variety of misleading names such as "goatsucker," "bull bat," "night jar," and "mosquito hawk." They have a 12-inch wingspan, are shaped like boomerangs and very agile in flight. The fact that they appear at night likely accounts for the name "bull bat." If you can smoke that one out, you're a better man than I, Gunga Din.
Posted inOutside
I Take My Chances: Thoughts about Eddie, the Hullabaloo and Pacific Crest
Start of the Pacific Crest Half Ironman. I'm the one in the blue cap. "You will have a long and prosperous life," promised the fortune cookie that I cracked open a couple of days ago. I sure hope so. I tucked the tiny slip of white paper into my pocket, not wanting to tease the Gods by unceremoniously sending it to the recycle bin.
Last week, Eddie Miller died on a trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River with a group of fellow Bendites. I knew Eddie a little, paddling with him a few times with the stand-up group in Bend. He was a fit, athletic 57-year-old outdoorsman who had just received his river guide license. When the headline circulated the internet last Wednesday, I immediately assumed that a deadly rapid, maybe the notorious Velvet, had taken him. I felt a jolt of sadness for Eddie, but also a jolt of fear. I'll be floating the Middle Fork as you read this.
However, Eddie had negotiated the river safely. It was the final day of the weeklong trip and he had set out on a pre-prandial hike with his wildflower books. Eddie simply slipped on some wet rocks and tumbled down a cliff. The National Guard finally located his body four days later.
Posted inCulture
Bustin’ Makes Me Feel Good: Clichés aside, Ghostbusters delivers franchise fun
choose the form of your destructor.Dear Garrett,
I cheered when I saw your name listed atop Atari's credits as "Producer" of Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Congratulations on getting such an important job on such a high-profile project, and bravo for playing a part in the development of the defining art form of the 21st Century. It's always great to see a friend succeed.
It must have been a finicky job. I noticed multiple companies credited with the development of the game. Unfortunately, having one company design the main game and another design the multiplayer missions kept the multiplayer gameplay segregated from the storyline in a way that didn't feel Ghostbuster-y at all. Everyone knows the Ghostbusters are a group. Their camaraderie is what made the movie so charming, and I regretted having to play through the campaign with nothing more than computer-controlled comrades on my side.
Posted inCulture
My Gypsy Road: Krasninski and Rudolph make for a quirky couple in Away We Go
if halpert went all cousin eddie. The problem after viewing the new Sam Mendes film Away We Go is that all those adjectives leap to mind - "quirky," "offbeat," "oddball" - that have been used for films like Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, and Sunshine Cleaning.
But this movie is all three of those adjectives and more. And as good as those other movies were, Away We Go treats a well-established cinema cliché (the road movie) with freshness and originality fueled by some great performances and an inventive script from Dave Eggers and Velenda Vida, the married literary powerhouse duo. What's particularly novel about this movie is the depiction of the adolescent uncertainties of an adult couple in their 30s. They are out to answer the question they ponder in the first fifteen minutes, "Are we fuck ups?"
John Krasinski (The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) are relatively new faces on the big screen as Burt and Verona, an unmarried and pregnant couple trying to find a place to call home. They flee their home in Denver after Burt's parents, played brilliantly by Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara, announce they are moving to Europe for two years - just a month before their first grandchild arrives.