Author and narrator Thor Hanson details his Peace Corps experience from beginning to end in his new book, The Impenetrable Forest: My Gorilla Years in Uganda. The story begins with a host family's home in Kajansi - a small town in Uganda where Hanson trained for his impending Peace Corps duties.
Lessons in African Culture: The Impenetrable Forest: My Gorilla Years in Uganda
Posted inOutside
B.S., err, BCS
The dust has settled on one of the most tumultuous college football seasons with Oklahoma and Florida emerging from the morass of qualified one-loss teams to compete for the so-called national title. Of course, USC, Texas Tech, Alabama and, particularly, Texas, might beg to differ with the selection of the Sooners and the Gators for the national title game.
Posted inOutside
You think you know your owls? How about a quiz?
Let's have a little fun with an owl quiz. There are 13 species of owls that call Oregon home, and they range in size from smaller than a robin to almost as large as a male bald eagle. Three are diurnal, but most are crepuscular and nocturnal, and one species has (like your mother and mine) "eyes" on the back of its head.
Posted inOutside
Tour de Indoors: Sweatin’ to the Oldies and the Hour of Power
Testing the power threshold on Bend's spin scene. Isn't it ironic that the year you decided to fork out for a season pass there is no snow? I thought it would make for somewhat similar irony for the Outdoors column to be about the Indoors this week. Due to my shoulder injury, I've been frequenting some of Bend's best indoor cycling venues the past few months. We are blessed in Bend with a treasure trove of great spin instructors and cycling coaches, and I'd like to introduce you to a couple.
Posted inCulture
Saving the Game, and Your Wallet: Holiday gaming gift ideas
A glimpse of "Gears of War" – one of the reasons people keep buying games.Now comes the time of year when family and friends are wanting their favorite video games which probably means dipping into funds that might be a bit short. With video games popular as ever and an influx of family oriented games hitting the market, there are many ways that you can get them inexpensively. Here are a few tips that may stretch your holiday gaming dollar and leave a bit left over for you to get a game for yourself.
Sales: Many retailers this year are having big sales to make up for a slow year, this means a lot of good deals to be had. Some retailers like Wal-Mart are giving gift cards with game systems so you can pick up a system and use the cards to pick up a few games. Check the Sunday ads and be there early to get the best picks.
Posted inCulture
Nothing Noble: Techno music, camera quirks and contrived plot twists sink Nobel Son
Hey baby, take a look at this Nobel Prize I've got here.Like a root canal, the best thing you can say about the new Alan
Rickman movie, Nobel Son, is try to endure the first 30 minutes, it
does get better, but only slightly. But like that popular dental
procedure, it also lingers for the rest of your day causing you intense
moments of nausea and disquietude.
The same gang that gave us that
clumsy but charming wine movie, Bottle Shock, got together lock, stock,
and (ouch!) barrel and decided to make what the PR folks call a
psychological thriller. You and I, however, might call this new genre
cinema terrible. At least Bottle Shock had at its core a reasonable
(and largely true) story held thinly together by two good actors who
appear in Nobel Son as well. But the supporting cast included actors so
far over their heads and drowning you left the theater gasping for air.
Posted inCulture
The Wrong Neighborhood: Tragic tale of innocence in a death camp
They had tire swings in those days?Let's cut to the chase here: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is hardly
uplifting. Based on the book by John Boyne, this movie tells the
haunting story of the atrocities of the Holocaust as seen through the
eyes of a child. Opening with a quote that a child experiences sight
and sounds before reasoning takes over, the movie begins with symbolic
scenes of kids harmlessly playing war, setting up the innocence that is
to be shattered.
Posted inFood & Drink
Quick Bites: A Perfect Pair: Finding the right wine for your holiday party
So, you’ve been invited to a holiday feast. You ask if you can bring anything and your host replies, “Oh, just bring a bottle or two of wine.”
You say “sure,” then gulp – visions of thousands of kinds of wine on shelves give you a little sweaty palm. You’ve approached these thousand of bottles before and found yourself, sort of, confounded.
There are a couple of pathways out of this conundrum.
You could just grab some PBR and tell your host you ran out of time -problem is it’s not true.
So let’s eliminate the easy out and bump it up a notch or two.
Posted inFood & Drink
Quick Bites: A Perfect Pair: Finding the right wine for your holiday party
So, you've been invited to a holiday feast. You ask if you can bring anything and your host replies, "Oh, just bring a bottle or two of wine."
You say "sure," then gulp - visions of thousands of kinds of wine on shelves give you a little sweaty palm. You've approached these thousand of bottles before and found yourself, sort of, confounded.
There are a couple of pathways out of this conundrum.
You could just grab some PBR and tell your host you ran out of time -problem is it's not true.
So let's eliminate the easy out and bump it up a notch or two.
Posted inFood & Drink
South by Northwest: Zydeco remains a predictably unpredictable gem
Flavor piled high at Zydeco.Like so many of the best things in life, Zydeco isn’t exactly as it
seems. You wouldn’t guess that behind a modest façade tucked away among
car dealerships on Business 97 you’d find a country-Zen dining room
awash in sage tones and minimalist art or the subtly swanky lacquered
terra cotta bar dotted with colorful specialty cocktails sitting
beneath hanging droplet lights. And the food, too, is unexpected:
high-flown in execution yet completely down to earth in concept and
attitude. And rather than offering Cajun cuisine, as the name suggests
(it’s actually a tribute to a family dog), the menu is American with a
pan-southern emphasis. All around, Zydeco is a series of happy
paradoxes, combining northwestern refinement with robust southern
flavors, urban sophistication with southern hospitality, and upscale
fare served up in impressively southern portions.