Page 2945 – The Source

Snakeflies in the Grass: Why you shouldn’t exterminate your friendly flies

Jim AndersonJuly 2, 2008July 6, 2025

Pretty, ain’t she?If the photo above gives you the shudders – and unfortunately, many
people have that innate fear of "bugs" – relax. I met that harmless,
adult female snakefly last week in the Sisters Library after it was
energetically swiped off the back of 10-year old Tanner Head's neck.
When he got over what he thought was a sneak attack, he looked at it
and thought it to be, in his vernacular, "way cool."

Snakeflies may
look formidable, especially that tiny female with her "stinger" which
is only an egg-laying device; in reality they are "way cool" insects
harmless to humans. For aphids and other small plant-sucking insects,
however, it's another matter.
Adult snakeflies eat only dead
insects, the larvae are like wolves; they gobble up anything they can
catch. For anyone who has a flower or vegetable garden, snakefly larva
are friends of the family.

Outside

Surf Is Where You Find It: Estrogen, waves, triathlons and more

Pam StevensonJuly 2, 2008February 28, 2024

A WOMAN'S TOUCH
Paul Van Camp awaiting a wave with Haystack Rock in the background.On Thursday mornings, for years if not decades, I've
grabbed a Source and flipped immediately to this page to catch Bob
Woodward's commentary, usually enriched by a story connecting past and
present and occasionally spiked with an edgy throwdown. More recently,
I've enjoyed Kevin Grove's tales of mountaineering adventures and
appreciation for our natural environment. Well, Woody's written enough
articles to fill a library and Kev's roaming the country skiing Hood,
Ranier and other mountains. At a time in our country when the glass
ceiling is being broken, it seems appropriate for the Source to bring a
woman's touch to the Outside column.
On that note, kudos to
Pine Mountain Sports and Trek for the women's bike demos and ladies
night earlier this month. I happened to be out at Phil's Trail during
the demo and it seemed like a huge success. Riding there another day, I
pulled aside for a young woman riding uphill. She had a big grin on her
face as she followed her friend and huffed, "This is my first mountain
bike ride!" You go, girl.

Culture

Guitar Hero to Go!

Shawn WallbaumJuly 2, 2008November 17, 2023

With a popular franchise like Guitar Hero it was only a matter of time
before game makers took a stab at crossing over to another platform.
Well, game developer Vicarious Visions has answered the call with a
guitar-like attachment for the Nintendo DS that allows obsessive guitar
heroes to play the game (Guitar Hero: On Tour) on the go.

This took
some creative engineering, but they were able to create an attachment
that resembles the games' original "guitar" neck, which plugs into the
Game Boy Advance slot on the Nintendo DS Lite and Original DS systems.
You use the stylus screen to strum with a guitar pick-like stylus. This
can be frustrating, but shouldn't keep you from getting the hang of the
game.

Culture

Dead or Alive

Eric FlowersJuly 2, 2008March 17, 2023

Jolie in a shot from the new Whitesnake videoYou are going to have to set aside common sense to enjoy this movie. It'll be no fun if you question the logistics of Wanted, with its dopey dialogue and ridiculous plot. Better to sit back and enjoy the ride while this flick delivers a ton of exhilarating, jaw-dropping action scenes.
The plot unfolds with a quick voice-over narrative biography explaining the lame existence of one Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), a stressed out accountant, stagnating in his measly meek life. People abuse and take advantage of him on a daily basis. Oh, if only he could grow a pair… Enter Fox (a tattooed ultra sleek Angelina Jolie) who literally whisks Gibson away to employ his unknown talents for an underground assassin club called the Fraternity. Sound farfetched so far? You betcha. But who cares? Right when you think the film will get long and uninteresting, Wanted pumps in the adrenaline-beginning with some Matrix-effect flying bullets.

Culture

Horsing Around in Mongolia

Eric FlowersJuly 2, 2008July 11, 2024

The wrath of KhanAs Kazakstan's first entry into the Academy Awards (2008 nominee for Best Foreign Language Film), the epic historical drama, Mongol, will enthrall horse devotees, history aficionados (who can argue afterwards about its authenticity), or anyone else interested in a visually incredible depiction of life on the steppes of 12th century Central Asia.

Food & Drink

Be a Guest at your own Party

Eric FlowersJuly 2, 2008January 4, 2023

When talking to Lisa Glickman about her new endeavor, she draws a distinct line between her work and that of a personal chef. Personal chefs, she says, are geared toward daily food preparation or small family events. She also says she isn’t a caterer, as she does not have specific menus items to choose from and doesn’t do events for over 20 people. But Glickman is all about events – anywhere from 10-20 people – combining cheffing with party planning and decorating.

Food & Drink

Be a Guest at your own Party

Eric FlowersJuly 2, 2008January 4, 2023

When talking to Lisa Glickman about her new endeavor, she draws a distinct line between her work and that of a personal chef. Personal chefs, she says, are geared toward daily food preparation or small family events. She also says she isn't a caterer, as she does not have specific menus items to choose from and doesn't do events for over 20 people. But Glickman is all about events - anywhere from 10-20 people - combining cheffing with party planning and decorating.

Music

Let Freedom Ring — in your ears

Mike BookeyJuly 2, 2008January 4, 2023

As tends to be the practice of this publication on the eve of any party-intensive holiday, we would like to take this opportunity to bully you into following our recommendations for a good time. In the past, we've given you plans for a perfectly ridiculous St. Patty's Day and laid the pavement for a marathon New Year's Eve (complete with both bluegrass and bull riding) so there's really nothing stopping us from pushing you in the direction of a Fourth of July weekend so explosively awesome that you'll have no problem using puns as corny as "explosively awesome."

Music

Jumpsuits, Sideburns and $1,000 costumes

Mike BookeyJuly 2, 2008March 17, 2023

Where does the leather end and the man begin?Danny Vernon prefers to be called an Elvis "tribute artist," rather than an "Elvis impersonator." He's clearly aware of the connotation that accompanies the word "impersonator" and is pretty serious about what he does.
This is why when I ask him to slip into his Elvis character over the phone and answer a question like "what are your thoughts on Michael Jackson, your former son in law?" he's not all that thrilled. He laughs at the request, but it's a trying-to-be-polite sort of laugh - a let's-change-the-subject laugh.

Music

If It Weren’t for the Stones

Arnold S. WolfeJuly 2, 2008July 1, 2024

All Hail the King and LucilleIt was the summer of 1969 and there was a party goin' on backstage at Ravinia, the outdoor concert venue 30 miles north of Chicago. The classical music squares running the joint, they'd never seen anything like it: For sixty years, backstage had been the site of oh-so-sedate and oh-so-cerebral pre-concert soirees, fore-fronted this summer by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Maestro Georg Solti. And, man, if he'd got wind of this, he'd never have stood for all the laughin', drinkin' and cussin' this then-21-year-old journalism student saw and heard when he was admitted backstage to interview the even-then-legendary B. B. King. Here he was all crisp in his burnt-orange sharkskin suit a half hour before his first gig at Ravinia, maybe 45 miles but cultural light-years away from the Regal, Chicago's black music Mecca, which King repeatedly sold out.

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