Ted and Joan Winchel, who both won the 70-74 age group at the Dirty Half.Are you a runner or are you someone who runs? Does running define you or is it just something you do? When I used to develop running shoes for Nike, we would actually segment the market based on that distinction. A non-ectomorph with three knee surgeries and one foot surgery in my medical records, I am definitely not a runner. Mostly I do it to keep my dog sane. Which is why I didn't sign up for the Dirty Half and wasn't even thinking about it. The super popular event filled up weeks ago. But somehow, after a beer at the Sisters Rodeo on Saturday night with a friend who had an entry that she couldn't use, I ended up at the start line at Phil's Trail at 8am on Sunday morning with 682 other runners (or people who run) and 13.1 miles of trail looming in front of me.
Feet, Don’t Fail Me Now: Whether it’s running a race or running errands
Just A Spark: inFamous gives a jolt to the genre
You ever see that movie called Powder?Power can make you blue. Consider Cole, the protagonist of inFamous. All he needs to do is walk up to a circuit box, flex his arms, and he's suddenly streaming with power. It crackles across his hands and curls around his thighs, covering him in an electric glow. One of the residents of Empire City described it as a "halo."
Of course, that was after Cole cleaned up the neighborhood. At first, almost every resident thought that Cole was a terrorist. A mysterious explosion had destroyed the city center. They blamed his powers for the blast. They associated him with the ensuing onslaught of psychotics known as "reapers." But now that Cole busies himself with zapping the reapers and healing civilians, everyone adores him.
He could have easily used his powers for evil. Every citizen has a small spark of organic electricity, and Cole can suck it out of them as easily as he pulls it from the city's power grid. But instead of a life of infamy, Cole elected the path of fame. Of course he can always change his mind. Customization is one of the joys of being a videogame hero, and in inFamous the path between good and evil conveniently forks during obvious, awkward "Karma Moments."
Destiny’s Train Ride: First-time director nails a dark and disturbing drama
…without a paddle.Sin Nombre (which translates to "Without a Name") is one of those films that will stay with you for days. This brilliantly directed, acted and photographed visual masterpiece is a chase-thriller/road-movie/coming of age/love story. The film examines the power and influence of Mexican gangs in small towns that offer little beyond the lure of crossing the border. It's a simple tale bound together with complex emotional themes, and produced by two actors who have established themselves in American movies, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna (Y Tu Mamá También).
The film features two main storylines that intersect during a train ride moving immigrants north. El Casper (Edgar Flores) is disillusioned with gang life and seeks an escape; Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) is going to cross the Mexican border from Honduras with her estranged father. Casper is running from his past with gang members in chase. Sayra is smitten with him, a combination of infatuation, necessity and the white knight syndrome-even if the knight wields a machete. The saga of twelve-year old Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer) is the movie's pivotal and most powerful secondary storyline, chronicling his gang indoctrination and efforts to legitimize himself. Immigration, while a powerful undercurrent, plays a back seat to the depiction of desperate acts to escape intolerable circumstances.
A Cycle-Centric Society: Veer digs deep into Portland’s love of all things bike
Bike Chariot wars: Coming soon to Drake Park…please.Bicycling. It seems simple enough - two wheels, gears, cables, and of course someone to ride it. But anyone even remotely connected to cycling, especially in this part of the country, knows that it's not that straightforward. In fact, past Webcyclery movie nights at McMenamins have always looked into a specific aspect of the bicycle world. But this time around, the chosen film is one called Veer, and it attempts to tackle cycling culture in one fell swoop by taking a wide-angle look at Portland's culture more or less as a whole.
The film, directed by Greg Fredette, introduces us to a range of characters including the Zoobombers, an increasingly well-known group of cyclists that bombs down Portland hillsides on children's bikes as well as a cycling advocate battling to pass bills on the floor of the state legislature. There's also a group of bike dancers, cycling non-profits and stories of cyclists who've been killed in traffic. All in all, it's a look at Portland's urban cycling culture from a variety of angles. But there's very little by way of facts or statistics to discuss or explain the cycling boom, it's not that kind of documentary. Rather, the film is strictly observational in its approach.
Pilsner Pundits
No one is as discerning as the yellow beer drinker. I work with a guy who can jam his nose deep in a Bordeaux glass and tell you-because of the slight aroma of charcoal- that it is a 2006 pinot blend from Walla Walla. Another guy will tell you that he is a certified beer snob who spends all of his free time reading about lagers, stouts, and ales, brewing different hop and barley concoctions and traveling to breweries on any long weekend. But neither of these guys’ palates can rival the yellow beer drinker.
It is he who knows that Budweiser is absolutely delicious and Coors is unpalatable. It is he who knows that Miller Light is scrumptious and agreeing to the soul while Fosters is so unagreeable that the mere mention of such drink is enough to cause a gag reflex.
Back from Hawaii: Troubles in Paradise
The Eye wandered back to Bend from Hawaii yesterday and was surprised to find the vegetation looking more lush and tropical in our backyard than it did on Maui, thanks to June's record-busting rainfall.
Going Mobile: Recession Pies takes brick-oven pizza on the road
a piece of the action.I have a heartfelt sympathy for young people starting out in these challenging times. I too was thrown into the work world during a recession and know the frustration of limited opportunities and chronic underemployment. Of course, I handled it the old fashioned way-the Gen-X, pre-Internet-boom way-and without hesitation or any honest attempt at alternative ideas, moved back home with my mom, wrangled up some temp work for which I was highly overqualified yet performed with total incompetence and took the LSAT, the GRE and a two-week stint in bartending school over the course of my lengthy search for direction. Not so with Alex Mackay, Tim Colla and Rachel Marcus. Life handed them lemons, and they made…pizza.
Alex, who was scraping by in Brooklyn, and his childhood friend Tim and girlfriend Rachel in San Francisco decided to take matters into their own hands. All in their mid-20s with no business or professional cooking experience, they came up with the concept of a vending cart complete with a high-temperature oven, a prep area and refrigeration space. They had their design built in California, chose Bend as their location and set up shop. Recession Pies opened for business downtown in early March. Ah, kids today.
Going Mobile: Recession Pies takes brick-oven pizza on the road
a piece of the action.I have a heartfelt sympathy for young people starting out in these challenging times. I too was thrown into the work world during a recession and know the frustration of limited opportunities and chronic underemployment. Of course, I handled it the old fashioned way-the Gen-X, pre-Internet-boom way-and without hesitation or any honest attempt at alternative ideas, moved back home with my mom, wrangled up some temp work for which I was highly overqualified yet performed with total incompetence and took the LSAT, the GRE and a two-week stint in bartending school over the course of my lengthy search for direction. Not so with Alex Mackay, Tim Colla and Rachel Marcus. Life handed them lemons, and they made…pizza.
Alex, who was scraping by in Brooklyn, and his childhood friend Tim and girlfriend Rachel in San Francisco decided to take matters into their own hands. All in their mid-20s with no business or professional cooking experience, they came up with the concept of a vending cart complete with a high-temperature oven, a prep area and refrigeration space. They had their design built in California, chose Bend as their location and set up shop. Recession Pies opened for business downtown in early March. Ah, kids today.
The Wrong Direction: Another city subsidy, bringing back burning, and John Day grazing
Bill Me Later
After taking a thumping over the past year, which has been characterized by cutbacks and staff layoffs, the city is ready to put the final stamp on its budget blueprint for the next two years. The council meets Wednesday night, after this issue has gone to press, to approve the final version of the 2009-11 City Budget. And it isn't pretty, especially for ratepayers who are getting socked with hefty increases for water and sewer services next year. Residents will see an additional 8.25 percent tacked onto their water bills and a hefty 14.5 percent increase in their sewer rates. Councilor Jim Clinton said he opposes both increases because the staff has failed to provide any incentive for conservation in the rate structure.
Clinton said he's particularly miffed about the new sewer rates, which are totally unrelated to actual water usage.
"It doesn't matter if you're the most heavy water user dumping millions of gallons down the drain, or you're the most frugal person on a fixed income who flushes your toilet twice a day," Clinton said.
Rain, Rock and Rodeo
It was a bit of a wild week for Sound Check, given that we dodged thunderstorms, screaming cougars and bucking broncos and lived to write about it.
We started the production cycle by charging through flooded streets to see Brandi Carlile and Gregory Alan Isakov play to a sold out Tower Theatre. We arrived in time to see the bulk of Isakov’s set and it reinforced our belief that everyone should check out his Iron and Wine style of folk.
Carlile then took the stage, accompanied by her acoustic band and launched into a set that included plenty of new material and radio hits, as well as a pair of Beatles covers. Carlile didn’t refrain from unleashing her gritty-yet-powerful pipes on the historic Tower as she did on her hit “The Story” near the end of the 90-plus-minute set. The Seattle-area native spent plenty of time storytelling from the stage as the Tower’s resident hoard of cougars engaged in a game of “Which Chardonnay Drenched Woman Can Yell the Wittiest Comment and Embarrass Everyone.” But still, Sound Check gives Carlile two thumbs up and bestows on her endless street cred.