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.

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.

Posted inMusic

CD Review – Woven Hand

Woven Hand
Ten Stones
Sounds Familyre
Music dealing with spirituality, especially themes Christian in
ethos, struggle to set a high standard for artistic achievement. David
Eugene Edwards' current project, Woven Hand, is unlike most that
attempt to sing about the Divine. The message on Ten Stones (which was
released this past September) is generally the same as with any
recording by Edwards and company; Old Testament imagery coupled with
the ugliness of sin and beauty of redemption. However, Ten Stones is
much heavier sounding than previous albums. Ten Stones is hypnotic,
forceful, and inevitably haunting. The musicianship, as it is with any
Woven Hand album (also see 16 Horsepower), is incredible. The layering
is rich and each song dwells beside the next naturally while heavy
bass, raw guitars and pushing drums aggressively and fiercely weave an
explosively majestic album. Edwards' deep, untamed voice allows his
words to find their appropriate place. When he sings: "All these
tears/Gather together/Down your cheek/ Your neck and feathers" on "Iron
Feather," it's a simple reminder that few sound quite like this.

Posted inMusic

The Youth Movement: Finding an above-ground basement show

The Kids are all right and they're all here.The youth music scene in Bend sometimes feels like one of those things
that you're pretty sure exists, but you've never actually seen, so
you're not sure - like a panda bear or a McRib sandwich.
After two
years of trying to track down some sort of high school basement show
where we could send a youthful reporter (or at least youthful looking
reporter), it seemed like we'd found a real-live teen-age rock show.
The show at PoetHouse Art on Saturday night was a fundraiser for Rise
Up International, the Bend-based socially conscious clothing retailer
and humanitarian outfit, and featured a lineup that included names like
Mosley Wotta and Empty Space Orchestra, but it was the other acts on
the bill like Mirf the Bing and others that filled the room with mostly
high-school aged fans.

Posted inCulture

Our Picks for the Week of 12/10-12/18

Slick Side Down CD Release Party
thursday 11
Bend's smooth
jazz/funk/R&B band is releasing their debut CD Eat At Joe's and
they want you to celebrate with them. The self-proclaimed "Loudest Band
in Bend" (we may have heard a few louder ones, but whatever) will have
you dancing in no time to the quartet's funky distinctive jazz fusion
sounds. No cover. 6:30pm. The Blacksmith Restaurant, 211 NW Greenwood
Ave, 318-0588.
The Summit Saloon & Stage
First Anniversary Party
thursday 11
Believe
it or not, the Summit has been open for an entire calendar year and the
popular nightspot is celebrating with what's sure to be a ripping set
from Moon Mountain Ramblers and then dancing late into the night with
DJ Moksha. The Summit has been through a bevy of entertainment changes
over the course of the year, going from a live music venue to a dance
hall and back again, but things are looking up over there on Oregon
Avenue. No cover. Summit Saloon and Stage, 125 NW Oregon Ave.

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