In the Beginning…There was Genesis

Posted inCulture

In the Beginning…There was Genesis

Shawn Wallbaum

After the video game crash of the early 1980s, Nintendo was able to dominate the video game market with its original Nintendo Entertainment System until the Sega Genesis was released in 1989. The Genesis was part of a wave of the first 16-bit game systems released that also included the TurboGrafix 16, Neo Geo, and the Super Nintendo.
 
The Genesis initially competed with Nintendo's 8-bit system and had trouble selling in both the U.S. and Japan. Sega of America made a smart move by dropping the price of the system and including with the system its own Mario-type mascot in the form of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega also went head to head in print and TV ads with Nintendo, showing off the quality of the Genesis next to the NES, and the Genesis finally took off.
The biggest test, however, was to compete with Nintendo's 16-bit giant, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) which was released in 1992. Sega had a big advantage due to a two-year head start with its Genesis and a slew of games including big entertainment names like Michael Jackson and sports giants like Joe Montana, Arnold Palmer and Mario Lemieux. Having been labeled the "cooler" game system through marketing, the Sega Genesis had almost 50 percent of the gaming market in 1992 and owned the video game market through 1993. From that point, Sega started losing market share to Nintendo, which was releasing some fantastic games. To compete with the Super Nintendo, Sega introduced the Sega CD late in 1993.

Posted inCulture

What Happened, Man? New Murphy movie is a must miss

Intern

Eddie Murphy is obviously trying to hurt the world on purpose. Why else would he inflict this "movie" on the masses? (I say "movie" with quotation marks because stringing together one poop joke after another is not what I'd call a movie. I'd call that sixth grade.)
 
Remember Raw-era Eddie Murphy? The Eddie Murphy who shit-talked Bill Cosby and wore the tightest leather pants in the universe? Or remember Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop? Yeah, well, forget about that Eddie Murphy. All we have now is an Eddie Murphy who lazily fulfills contractual studio obligations by making stupid comedies about spacemen who poop money. I'm not kidding. This actually happens in his new movie. And it happens inside an Old Navy.

Posted inCulture

Burning Love: Hellboy’s campy twisted vision pummels onward

Intern

nuthin’, waddya you doin’?What is it this year with the superheroes? Bringing to life more comic book superhero blockbuster razzle-dazzle, we now enter the monster-dwelling realm of Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The original showed Hellboy (Ron Perlman) as the demon-turned-super-hero battling present-day Nazis and inter-dimensional monsters, and the sequel continues pulling out all the stops.
 
The movie begins with a sickeningly cute Hellboy (as a boy) brushing his teeth, excited for his bedtime story. And the story is? Yep, the saga of the Golden Army, and told in wooden puppet form, it looks pretty cool. Cut to: the present-the bedtime story is now a reality. An evil prince has to assemble three scattered pieces of a golden crown to raise the evil Golden Army from its dormancy to unleash Hell on earth…here's where Hellboy excels. He likes to kick monster butt.
Hellboy resides in a paranormal research center that is actually the home of a bunch of human oddities that would fare well in a freak sideshow. Oh, and they fight crime. Everyone's back, including sidekick fish-boy Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), but without David Hyde-Pierce's voice. Stepping into the webs-flipper-gills, Jones brings some credibility. Hellboy's girlfriend, Liz the Fire-Girl (Selma Blair) returns as does their totally lame love story. Manning (Jeffery Tambor) is once again the head of the government funded super-freak hideaway.

Posted inFood & Drink

In the Raw: Forgetting the oven with Central Oregon’s raw foodists

Intern

Cooling out with the raw food gang. There is a group of people scattered around the globe that believe raw food is the key to their health. Over the last five years, celebrities like Woody Harrelson and Donna Karan have helped the “Raw Food” movement (as it is now being called) giving rise to a host of restaurants that specialize in “raw” menus.
Many of these folks are the followers of the “mother of raw foods,” Ann Wigmore, a holistic health practitioner, nutritionist, whole foods advocate, and a doctor of Divinity. Also at the forefront of the movement is fellow holistic health practitioner Viktoras Kulvinskas, who brought raw foods into prominence in the early 1990s.
A big part of their teaching is that food loses much of its nutrition once it reaches the chemical reaction most of us call cooking. That happens at approximately 110 degrees for many foods, which is why this has become the magic number among raw foodists. Raw food is defined as anything not heated over 110 degrees.

Posted inFood & Drink

In the Raw: Forgetting the oven with Central Oregon’s raw foodists

Intern

Cooling out with the raw food gang. There is a group of people scattered around the globe that believe raw food is the key to their health. Over the last five years, celebrities like Woody Harrelson and Donna Karan have helped the "Raw Food" movement (as it is now being called) giving rise to a host of restaurants that specialize in "raw" menus.
Many of these folks are the followers of the "mother of raw foods," Ann Wigmore, a holistic health practitioner, nutritionist, whole foods advocate, and a doctor of Divinity. Also at the forefront of the movement is fellow holistic health practitioner Viktoras Kulvinskas, who brought raw foods into prominence in the early 1990s.
A big part of their teaching is that food loses much of its nutrition once it reaches the chemical reaction most of us call cooking. That happens at approximately 110 degrees for many foods, which is why this has become the magic number among raw foodists. Raw food is defined as anything not heated over 110 degrees.

Posted inMusic

Local Metal Reborn?

Intern

Vengeance Creek
 
Vengeance Creek
★★★✩✩
Upon first listen to Vengeance Creek's new self-titled album, an instant image of tribal tattoos or truly rockin' '80s hair may come to mind. It's common for a metal band in a smallish town to hop on stage and rattle off four to five songs in the vein of a half-baked Metallica or Godsmack imitation.

Posted inMusic

Walkin’ Blues: David Jacobs-Strain puts some youthful spin on the blues

Intern

The writing is on the wall – DJS can shred.David Jacobs-Strain sings the blues like he's personally experienced them and channels blues greats like Skip James, Charlie Patton and Tommy Johnson. His fingers slide effortlessly over the fret board of his guitar while he picks at the strings with rapid-fire efficiency. But Jacobs-Strain is only 25 and he grew up in Eugene. So, while he may not be the first image that pops into your head when you think blues, he's definitely leading the way for this generation's blues scene.
 
"I've always been drawn to the trance-oriented, heavier, Delta blues-to the driving, passionate, raw, distraught sound of somebody like Son House," said Jacobs-Strain in his biography. The young blues performer has just released his seventh - yes, seventh - album entitled Liar's Day, produced by legendary bassist and recording guru Kenny Passarelli. If the politically charged title track doesn't draw you in with its catchy melody and funky edge, you'll be enticed by "Rainbow Junkies," a track laved with driving steel guitar riffs and Eastern-sounding breaks.
The song "Walkin' Blues" showcases the artist's skill and goes well with his soulful vocals. "Alright, let's play the blues," says Jacobs-Strain towards the end of the song. He then proceeds to shoot off a succession of notes while strumming at Hendrix's "Machine Gun" pace before slowing back down.

Posted inMusic

Getting Naked with the Melvins: Talking about the legendary band’s 24th album in 24 years.

Mike Bookey

Dang, the Melvins sure look excited to be here.Dale Crover is one of the fiercest rock and roll drummers of the last 20 years, but you'd never guess it by his supremely subdued demeanor as he chats from his home in Los Angeles. The thundering Melvins' beat keeper talks humbly about the band's new record, Nude With Boots, but seems more inclined to talk about the demise of analog tape, musical history, or likening a touring band to a Major League Baseball team.
 
After some discussion of sea-side Puget Sound fishing towns, we finally begin talking about Nude With Boots, an 11-track album that features a quintessentially big-and-heavy Melvins sound, that some critics have referenced as the band's 19th record. The number is impressive in its own right, but Crover says the figure needs some tweaking.
"I think it's more than that, actually. I kind of stopped counting after a while. It's been a lot, but I think we've probably made a record for every year we've been a band," Crover says of the band's 24-year career and corresponding 24th record.

Posted inCulture

Our Picks for the Week of 7/18-7/23

Mike Bookey

Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra
friday 18
Ottmar Liebert is one hell of a flamenco guitarist, but you've never heard him correctly until you've taken a listen to Up Close, his binaural recording that when listened to with headphones sounds like you've got strings vibrating around your brain. Pretty intense. Check him out at the Tower with his ensemble, Luna Negra for some high-class sounds. 7pm Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St., 317-0700. $28.50/advance, $31.50/day of show.

Sign up for newsletters

Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.

Sending to:

Gift this article