Will Paint for Money: The inaugural Old Mill artfest

Posted inCulture

Will Paint for Money: The inaugural Old Mill artfest

Intern

When the fine editor of TSW asked me to cover the inaugural Art in the High Desert Festival, I immediately poured a rum and coke and considered leaving town. Just what Central Oregon needs is another art fair with crafts by hobbyists who should do us and their families a favor and get real jobs. I guess Starbucks isn't hiring and Wal-Mart can use only so many greeters.

While scanning a handy guide provided by a far-too-perky volunteer, I took a grumpy swing through the tented camp of 100 artists next to the Deschutes across from the Old Mill. You could hear the cries of quiet desperation in the pleading eyes of the artists hunkered and hovering in their cave-like booths. "Please stop." "Please buy." "Is not my art good?" "Am I not worthy?" "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" OK, the sun or the morning shot of rum was getting to me. I decided to retreat across the bridge to the Lubbesmeyer Gallery. The twins, Lori and Lisa, are the only artists on the board of Art in the High Desert not in the show. With a gallery so close, they didn't have much need to be schlepping their collaborations into the late summer heat. Lori was one of the jurors, and I talked to her and Lisa in the cool of their gallery/studio.

"The screening process was tiring," said Lori. "Over 300 artists applied, and they were all excellent. Making considered choices was difficult."

Posted inOutside

Kids and Bugs: Talking birds and bees…literally

Jim Anderson

Those of you who have been reading this column for any length of time know that I have more than a casual interest in insects -well – all arthropods for that matter, including scorpions, spiders and other "creepy-crawlers."

The main reason that I enjoy them is that they are so varied; there's lots of them and just about all of them interact somehow with you and me. There are millions of species worldwide, with new ones being discovered almost weekly. I also receive a great many questions about arthropods. In that light, arthropods are hard to ignore.

Among all the outstanding adventures I've enjoyed with nature in my 80-plus years, by far the most delightful have been with children and insects: especially tagging Monarch butterflies. Kids never cease to wonder about nature, and neither do I.

One time, years ago, over at OMSI's old Camp Hancock -which has since been elevated to the status of "Hancock Field Station" – a young man asked, "Mr. Anderson (adults were called, "Mister" back in those days), I wonder if you could tell me about the birds and bees?"

That was a surprise, I knew the young man well. His dad was a doctor, so him asking me about that business was something I hadn't expected. Anyway, I told him if he wanted to join me with any of his friends after the campfire that evening, we'd get down to brass tacks. Just as planned, he and two of his tent pals (we camped in tents in those days, not the snazzy "A" frames they have today) came along, and as we settled down by the dying campfire I started into Planned Parenthood 101.

Posted inOutside

Ditch the Remote: Extreme Ironing, DDR, Floating and the Reverse PPP await

Pam Stevenson

Future olympians?THE TORCH MOVES ON

If you are like most people, you were unusually glued to your TV the past two weeks watching the Olympic coverage from Beijing. You were blown away by the incredible, record-setting gold medal perfection of Michael Phelps in the pool. You were mesmerized by the gymnastic performances of Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson. You were shocked and dismayed when we dropped the baton…twice. And you have probably learned more about beach volleyball than you ever wanted to know. Maybe you even rooted for Bend's own Adam Craig in the mountain bike race. Now that the torch moves on to Vancouver for 2010, I'd like to submit my candidates for new Olympic sports:

Extreme Ironing: Founded in 1997 by two Brits named Phil and Paul, but better known as "Steam" and "Spray," EI is a sport that "combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt," according to the Extreme Ironing Bureau. "It involves taking an iron and board (if possible) to remote locations and ironing a few items of laundry. This can involve ironing on a mountainside, preferably on a difficult climb, or taking an iron skiing, snowboarding or canoeing." In 2002, the German Extreme Ironing Section organized the highly successful World Championships in the village of Valley near Munich with German ironist Hot Pants winning the individual event and a British team taking the top spot in the team event. The international popularity of this sport makes it an obvious selection for the Olympics.

Posted inCulture

The Home Computer of the Future and the 1980s: The Commodore 64

Shawn Wallbaum

Come in, commodore.The home PC landscape in the 1980s was quite a bit different than it is now. The average consumer believed that home computers were just video game systems with keyboards and to a degree that was true. One home computer, however, helped change that myth and it was called the Commodore 64.

The first Commodore in the line was the Commodore Vic-20 that debuted in 1981 with pitchman William "Captain Kirk" Shatner asking consumers: "Why buy a video game when you can have a computer?" The Vic-20 was a huge success selling millions of home computers at a price comparable to video game systems of that era.

The Vic-20 was a good value for the dollar, but its limitations were obvious to those who wanted some power with their computing and were willing to pay extra for it. Commodore heard the cries of the public and in 1982 the Commodore 64 was released. The case it was released in, the famous "brown breadbox," was the same as the Vic-20's only a different color. The idea behind this was to keep costs down by cramming all the new 64 components into the Vic-20's shell.

Posted inCulture

High Octane Deadpan: Futuristic cult classic remake wipes out humor

Intern

The new David Carradine?This remake has so little in common with its predecessor and so much in common with crunch-fisted driving movies that it almost defies comparison. Almost. The original, Death Race 2000, starred David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone as rivals in a cheesy, campy, primary colored, Roger Corman scuzz-fest that although stupid was also a laugh a minute. This version, however, is dead set on being dead serious.

The minimal plot is laid out as so: Ex-race car driver Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is framed for murder and taken to the Terminal Island penitentiary to replace Frankenstein (the dead-by-the-first-car-crash driver), and participate in the highest rated show on TV via prison: DEATH RACE. Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen bringing the term "ice queen" to new heights) promises him release papers if he dons the frank-mask and drives. They're all here: the rivals, the bad guys, the worse guys, the goodhearted guys, the evil warden, the buffoon guard. It's stuff we've all seen before, so Race applies the majority of its focus on car racing. As with the original, this one pits Frankenstein against Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) and a few deadbeat contestants. Oddly though, after the initial action sequence, the rest of the scenes seem to stay at the same level: spin out, shoot, curse, quick edit, floor-it, curse, smash-into, blow-up, etc.

Posted inCulture

Reality TV on the Big Screen: American Teen is a compelling snapshot of modern high school

Intern

I survived high school. I didn't know anything about American Teen, but with that title I was hoping Kristen Bell had a lead role. Somebody should have warned me. I hate documentaries. It's a character flaw. I hate self-awareness books; and of course high school is self-awareness on steroids around every locker-lined hallway and family dinner crisis. I don't like animation and this film has flotsam and jetsam of animation sprinkled about. Even with all that going against it and without Kristen Bell or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I liked Nanette Burstein's slick movie of high school angst. It was interesting. It was entertaining, maybe a bit enlightening and a trifle compelling at times. Some of the scenes and relationships seemed forced or even scripted, but so does my life at times. I'm always calling for rewrites and a stand-in.

The press info on the film has lines that remind me of the loudspeaker in M*A*S*H giving plots to morale boosting films in Korea. "Documentary follows the lives of four teenagers in one small town in Indiana….We see the insecurities, the cliques, the jealousies, the first loves and heartbreaks, and the struggle to make profound decisions about the future." Isn't that what everyone remembers about high school-all those damn profound decisions about the future? If we only knew then that events and not agonizing decisions sweep us along in life, we could have had more time for beer and sex.

It's senior year in a Midwest high school. There will be cruelty, humor, strangeness, scary moments, more talk of sex than actual sex, a dash of drinking, and a pinch of smoking. Yeah, some things never change. But a funny thing happened on the way to gym class. I ran across real people who could somehow carry on with their lives, perhaps not quietly but at times with desperation, and pay little attention to microphones and technicians and cameras. That is one thing that has changed in today's world: everyone is on camera; everyone is on the web.

Posted inFood & Drink

Spring, Summer, or Fall: Revamped Seasons features big ideas but uneven execution

Intern

Resorts with overnight accommodations have a built-in clientele for their on-site restaurants. Sometimes that can mean resort restaurants are lax in quality control and overall dining experience. That’s not the case with Seasons. There is no doubt the management and staff have made huge efforts in the re-visioning of this fine dining restaurant. Although the menu is ambitious and the attitude is one of dedication, the overall dining experience comes up short of expectations.

Over the last three years, the entire resort has undergone some drastic remodeling, changed its name and completely overhauled the dining facilities. What used to be a dark room characterized by a bad ’70s motif, the resort’s fine dining restaurant, Seasons, is now surrounded by big windows with views of the new pool area and patio seating.

The servers and management are exuberant about the establishment. After a slightly confusing walk to find the entrance, my dining partners and I were given a tour of the new dining room and bar before being seated.

Starting with appetizers, our party of four began with the Cracker Jack Oysters ($10) – big oysters coated in pulverized Cracker Jacks and fried to a crispy crunch. Slightly sweet, they were the best of the appetizers. We then moved on to the Carrot-Ginger Bisque ($3) which I found bland, even though it had some heat, The Tuna Salad ($13) had an unusual purple dressing surrounding seared ahi slices. It was slightly sweet with the intention (I would imagine) of offsetting the spice of the jalapeno and lime crust on the fish. It ended up being conflicting rather than complimenting. We ended our appetizer course with the Seafood Pistou ($12), a dish that comprised mussels, clams and halibut cooked in a pesto broth that lacked punch. However, the crusty toast for dipping was a nice touch.

Posted inFood & Drink

Spring, Summer, or Fall: Revamped Seasons features big ideas but uneven execution

Intern

Resorts with overnight accommodations have a built-in clientele for their on-site restaurants. Sometimes that can mean resort restaurants are lax in quality control and overall dining experience. That's not the case with Seasons. There is no doubt the management and staff have made huge efforts in the re-visioning of this fine dining restaurant. Although the menu is ambitious and the attitude is one of dedication, the overall dining experience comes up short of expectations.

Over the last three years, the entire resort has undergone some drastic remodeling, changed its name and completely overhauled the dining facilities. What used to be a dark room characterized by a bad '70s motif, the resort's fine dining restaurant, Seasons, is now surrounded by big windows with views of the new pool area and patio seating.

The servers and management are exuberant about the establishment. After a slightly confusing walk to find the entrance, my dining partners and I were given a tour of the new dining room and bar before being seated.

Starting with appetizers, our party of four began with the Cracker Jack Oysters ($10) - big oysters coated in pulverized Cracker Jacks and fried to a crispy crunch. Slightly sweet, they were the best of the appetizers. We then moved on to the Carrot-Ginger Bisque ($3) which I found bland, even though it had some heat, The Tuna Salad ($13) had an unusual purple dressing surrounding seared ahi slices. It was slightly sweet with the intention (I would imagine) of offsetting the spice of the jalapeno and lime crust on the fish. It ended up being conflicting rather than complimenting. We ended our appetizer course with the Seafood Pistou ($12), a dish that comprised mussels, clams and halibut cooked in a pesto broth that lacked punch. However, the crusty toast for dipping was a nice touch.

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