Life in the Express Lane: Stoner action flick with a conscience

Posted inCulture

Life in the Express Lane: Stoner action flick with a conscience

Intern

Truth is, we ran out of waterboards. The Apatow comedy train chugs along with a new installment, Pineapple Express.

You cannot get more of a skeletal plot here. Dale Denton (Seth Rogen), a 26-year-old process server with an inexplicable high school girlfriend, witnesses a murder while on the job and exits the scene leaving a roach of Pineapple Express, the ultimate killer weed. Turns out his subpoena target is the dealer that supplies his connection, Saul (James Franco). Soon they're on the run from cops, drug crime warlords, evil Asians, and whoever else crosses their path. Almost all the dialogue seemed or was ad-libbed, reminiscent of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," but lacking Larry David's Seinfeld-esque plot twists.

I have to admit there are some redeemable qualities James Franco was excellent as the weeded-out dumber-than-dirt dope dealer. As of late, Franco seems typecast to play the guy possessed with angst and inner turmoil in most of his characters (Spiderman, Annapolis) in contrast to his slacker role on Apatow's late 1990s television gem Freaks and Geeks. It was refreshing to see him in this role of weed-soaked, dim-witted, likable, grinning idiot-it was almost like getting to know Brad Pitt's character from True Romance. And Danny McBride (Fist Foot Way) as Red, the middle-man drug connection, steals the show playing part tough guy drug dealer part wimp-ass squealer.

Posted inFood & Drink

Keeping it Casual: Scanlon’s remains on the short list

Intern

the more things change, the more they stay the same. When someone would ask me 15 years ago what Bend’s best restaurant was, I would always say “Scanlon’s.” The food was consistently prepared with variety and creativity, but it was familiar and accessible. The atmosphere was subdued, but not stuffy, and it was the only place in town where I could get a proper Dirty Martini.

Of course, some things have changed over time like the staff and the chefs. The menu has also seen several overhauls, but the restaurant inside the Athletic Club of Bend still stands up to the stiff competition in the culinary hot spot that is Bend.

The dinner menu consists of standard ingredients prepared in inspired ways. On the appetizer menu is a hummus of white beans ($9), a Steelhead tart ($13), and Brie wrapped in walnuts. The calamari is hand cut and the pork shank has a Southwestern kick from the chipotle BBQ sauce, the cotija cheese and the crispy corn cake it is served on.

Entrees include brick oven pizzas ($14), a recently popular fine dining option that Scanlon’s has been offering since it opened almost two decades ago; meal sized salads (ranging from $9-$14) that when ordered with an appetizer will not leave you hungry; and larger plates of pork, lamb, duck, steaks and seafood.

Posted inFood & Drink

Keeping it Casual: Scanlon’s remains on the short list

Intern

the more things change, the more they stay the same. When someone would ask me 15 years ago what Bend's best restaurant was, I would always say "Scanlon's." The food was consistently prepared with variety and creativity, but it was familiar and accessible. The atmosphere was subdued, but not stuffy, and it was the only place in town where I could get a proper Dirty Martini.

Of course, some things have changed over time like the staff and the chefs. The menu has also seen several overhauls, but the restaurant inside the Athletic Club of Bend still stands up to the stiff competition in the culinary hot spot that is Bend.

The dinner menu consists of standard ingredients prepared in inspired ways. On the appetizer menu is a hummus of white beans ($9), a Steelhead tart ($13), and Brie wrapped in walnuts. The calamari is hand cut and the pork shank has a Southwestern kick from the chipotle BBQ sauce, the cotija cheese and the crispy corn cake it is served on.

Entrees include brick oven pizzas ($14), a recently popular fine dining option that Scanlon's has been offering since it opened almost two decades ago; meal sized salads (ranging from $9-$14) that when ordered with an appetizer will not leave you hungry; and larger plates of pork, lamb, duck, steaks and seafood.

Posted inMusic

Double Your Fun

Mike Bookey

Don’t throw Stuff at Tiger Army, Please.It was two bands, one night, one building - all at once. It was the first full utilization (or perhaps near-full utilization) of the Midtown Music Hall that Sound Check could remember. It was Tiger Army psychobillying it up in the Domino Room and Blue Turtle Seduction holding a jam packed, late-night funk-o-rama/sweatathon in the Annex. And it was finally time for Bendites to get back out on the town and see some live music.

Last Friday night saw the tattooed, slick-haired punks of Tiger Army playing the early, all-ages show down in the Domino Room. A raucously devout throng of mostly young fans gleefully tossed their bodies toward the stage as Nicky 13 and the rest of Tiger Army powered through the opening cut. But in a matter of minutes, Nicky was lecturing the crowd as to the dangers of throwing shit at the band - an unfortunate, yet omnipresent occurrence at all-ages punk shows. Apparently some people love their favorite bands so much that they simply must inflict bodily harm to these musicians by throwing pennies, batteries or small children in the general direction of said artist.

Posted inMusic

Old School Twist of Fate: Dr. Dog takes lo-fi to a high level

Intern

It’s back to the coal mine for Dr. Dog…that’s what a hit record will get ya.Dr. Dog

Fate ★★★★✩

Park the Van Records

Sometimes, the newest music sounds old, and you like it even more just for that express reason. Such is the case with Fate, an 11-track collection of rustically poppy cuts from Philadelphia quintet Dr. Dog that sounds like it needs that fuzzy LP hiss between tracks to sound complete.

Dr. Dog are just now gaining mainstream attention, and it was actually their previous record We All Belong that brought them to the forefront and to stages at festivals all over the country. Fate is the band's fifth studio release and is marked by a quintessentially old stlye that is more or less intentional, at least from a technical standpoint. Like few bands in their generation or the generation above them, for that matter, Dr. Dog still records on actual tape. That's right, they are actually rolling tape as opposed to settling for tossing all their tracks onto a hard drive to be tuned and twisted with space-age technology into pop gold.

Posted inMusic

La Pine Rock City: The inaugural R3 Festival rocks out for parks and rec

Mike Bookey

What you can expect from Dfive9 at R3 in La Pine this weekend. So, you need to raise some money for your local parks and recreation district…Bake sale? Carnival? Cakewalk? Oh, wait, no how about a mega rock and roll festival? Yeah that's the ticket!

Such is the case in La Pine, which is host this weekend to the R3 Festival (Rock Reggae Rap), a two-day romp featuring a lineup of local and regional acts that's strong on the heavier rock, but with a few reggae and hip-hop acts also thrown into the mix. The festival is headed up by the locally based Back Alley Records, who will donate a portion of the proceeds to help the La Pine Park & Recreation District, which unlike its Bend counterpart, is an unfunded special district that runs on grants and donations.

"We as a board had the idea of using our park and rec facilities for fun. We thought, 'Let's have a concert here, how can we do that?'" says Tony Debone, the chairperson of the park district's board of directors.

After collaborating with Back Alley, the festival grew legs, despite the fact that it began with basically no budget, according to R3 co-organizer Stephanie Wagner. Even with few initial resources, the R3 has managed to attract a lineup of 40 bands for the outdoor/indoor festival slated to take place at the White School Park Building. Of course it helps when these bands all agree to play pro bono.

Posted inCulture

Our Picks for the week of 8/14-8/18

Mike Bookey

Mosley Wotta CD Release Party

thursday 14

Mosley Wotta, aka Person People's The Rook, aka Bend's walking talent show Jason Graham drops his new buzz-generating EP entitled "Scrap Mettle" and throws a big ol' party with some special friends to celebrate. The EP, consisting of five tracks of Wotta's now well-known precise and cerebral delivery shows the local hip-hop mastermind at his best: innovative, upbeat and funny when he wants to be. Bring your dancing shoes, your thinking cap, and any other figurative clothing accessories that might help you get down. 9pm Bendistillery Martini Bar, 850 NW Brooks St.

Bend Brewfest

friday-saturday 15-16

Beer! Beer! Beer! Yell it with us! Shout it from a mountaintop! Sing it while an angel accompanies you on a harp while you both ride on a majestic white cloud. That's how we feel about beer here in Oregon and we double that enthusiasm each year when the mother-loving Bend Brew Fest sets up in the Les Schwab Amphitheater. There's more than…wait for it…80 beers on tap from more than 40 different brewers. There's also killer music from the likes of Hillstomp, Upground and locals Leif James and Moon Mountain Ramblers. Gates open 4pm Friday, noon Saturday. Les Schwab Amphitheater, 344 Shevlin Hixon Dr.

Posted inNews

When Bigger Isn’t Better: New schools and class size in Oregon

Intern

Last year, five-year-old Madi Sebulsky attended Summit High School - sort of. Madi, along with approximately 35 other four, five and six-year-olds went to kindergarten at the high school because their school, High Lakes Elementary, didn't have enough classroom space to house all the newly arrived kindergartners. In an effort to keep class sizes from ballooning, High Lakes set up kindergarten classes at the nearby high school.

Getting creative is something that Oregonian educators, and students, have gotten accustomed to given the state's notoriously poor record of funding schools. But the results have been mixed. And one of the biggest, and largely unmet, challenges remains shrinking class sizes at the elementary level - something that researchers say is key to helping kids succeed later in life.
For the past decade, Oregon has been known for having class sizes well
above the national average. The Chalkboard Project, an independent
non-partisan organization created by five of Oregon's leading
foundations, shows Oregon's class sizes as being fourth highest in the
country. The Bend-La Pine School District has addressed this issue by
setting a goal of 18 students per teacher in grades K-3, but like other
districts throughout the state, local schools are finding it difficult
to maintain these target ratios, especially in tough economic times
when schools typically face cutbacks because of Oregon's centralized
funding system.
And right now there is a storm growing.
 

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