Pegasus Books owners and blogger Duncan McGeary spotted a fascinating graph on the Portland Housing blog showing that, while other Oregon and Washington cities also experienced a real estate bubble from 2005 to 2007, Bend's bubble was by far the biggest and baddest.
We’re Oregon’s Biggest Kool-Aid Drunks
Posted inNews
Our Strange Stud Fetish
It's one of those "66" days in Bend - 6 degrees on the thermometer and 6 inches of snow on the ground - so it seems like an appropriate time to talk about Central Oregonians' stud fetish.
Posted inCulture
Frumpy, Fugly Fun: Ugly Christmas sweater parties – the new intentionally tacky holiday tradition
Oh so tacky.Great aunts, grandmothers and the overzealous knitters in your family
sometimes have the misguided idea that everyone should own a holiday
sweater. While some are more "tasteful" in their selection process,
others feel that nothing says "Happy Holidays" better than a blazing
red knit creation complete with three dimensional snowmen, glitter,
sewn-on ribbons and bells and, if you're lucky, some battery-operated
lights. While this attempt to spread holiday cheer is typically
well-meant, this nightmare apparel is about as subtle as Santa Claus
beating you over the head with a sack of broken Christmas lights
screaming "Merry Christmas" and about as desirable as an STD - until
now that is. Holiday sweaters have a new purpose in life and are a
reason for celebration with the increased popularity of ugly Christmas
sweater parties. So get excited when you unwrap the latest holiday
sweater from Aunt Gertie - you no longer have to fake acting thankful
and now have a perfectly acceptable way to show it off and even win
prizes.
Posted inNews
Your All-Smiles-All-the-Time Newspaper
The Bulletin's copy desk must be under standing orders to put a positive spin on the headline of absolutely every story, no matter how grim the actual news is.
Posted inNews
“Peace Bridge” Draws the Wrath of the Right
The right-wing Oregon Catalyst blog couldn't resist taking a poke at the Bend City Council for voting to designate the Portland Avenue bridge the "Peace Bridge."
Posted inCulture
The Right Stuff: Bleak Swedish vampire tale hits all the right veins
Oh, the sad plight of the young vampire.While it stands on its own as an atmospheric art movie, Let the Right
One In could be interpreted as the ragingly popular Twilight's polar
opposite - human boy meets vamp girl instead of the reverse. Adolescent
love grows between pre-pubescent 12 year olds instead of
hormone-frenzied 17 year olds, the plot and direction being realistic
and bleak, rather than fantastical and uplifting.
This movie sucks
you in from the eerie opening scene: through a window an anemic-looking
blonde boy Oskar (Kare Hederbrant) brandishes a knife in front of a
mirror, pretending he is telling someone to "squeal like a pig."
Oskar's morbid side stems from the bullying he confronts in school on a
daily basis. He's a weird kid for sure, but not as weird as his
neighbors. Eli (Lina Leandersson) and her "dad" (Per Ragnar), move in
next door, revealing a relationship that is bizarre beyond belief. Set
in a remote Swedish town, most of the action takes place in a park
between an apartment complex and an elementary school.
Posted inCulture
Bad Humans, No Planet: Latest in end-times Keanu melodramas works…as a sleep-aid
Dude, I don’t need this. I was in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.If you're like me, you may have serious concerns about the Keanu
Reeves/apocalyptic-star-vehicle industry. Is the stock spiking?
Plunging? Should we ask Congress for a bailout?
Well, with The Day
the Earth Stood Still, an impossibly boring, humorless, pedestrian
remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic, I am proud to inform you that
industry is receiving a stimulus of sorts. Turns out crappy Keanu
movies are like Detroit sedans: quality doesn't matter, as long as they
sell.
Reeves is back in Neo/Messiah mode, as Klaatu, an alien
diplomat who travels across the cosmos with his robot, nicknamed
"GORT." Klaatu takes human form in an effort to observe people, and
ready Earth for his plans.
Posted inMusic
Smashing Up the Midtown
What the hell is the "Domino Ron"?Those who've driven by the Midtown Music Hall in the past week may have noticed the boarded up window of the ballroom. Wondering what happened? Well, here's how we heard it: some dude - and we're guessing a rather drunken dude - tossed what is believed to be a pint glass through one of the six-foot-tall windows and also smashed out the iconic florescent Domino Room sign.
Posted inNews
It’s All Moon Mountain in 2009
Takin’ it to the Tower.We've hinted of this for a while, but now can finally confirm that 2009 will indeed yield a new disc from local acoustic powerhouse Moon Mountain Ramblers.
Posted inNews
Judge Declares Open Season for Libel on Web
An Oregon judge has handed down a ruling that will make it easier for anonymous posters to libel people on-line - and make it just about impossible for people who are libeled to do anything about it.