Cast This Vote Out to Sea: Sugary bipartisan romp goes nowhere fast in Swing Vote

Posted inCulture

Cast This Vote Out to Sea: Sugary bipartisan romp goes nowhere fast in Swing Vote

Intern

And that’s how I plan to roll my way into the semis.Swing Vote is a schmaltzy fairy tale that dives deep into unbelievable land, reviving the old Hollywood formula that if you do the right thing and follow your heart, everything will be fine.

Due to a malfunctioning voting booth, Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner), a lazy drunk oblivious to the political system, must re-cast his uncounted vote deciding the next president of the United States. News travels fast making Bud and his daughter Molly's (newcomer Madeline Carroll) white-trash life a whirlwind of attention thanks to the imposing media blitz circus.

This is far-fetched stuff, but the "one-vote-makes-a-difference" concept is spun by real newscasters. Cameos include Chris Matthews, Bill Maher, Arianna Huffington and Tucker Carlson, to name a few. I guess everyone jumped on the band wagon for this pathetic little Hallmark card of a movie to boost the American vote.

Posted inCulture

Kung Fu Mummy: Latest incarnation should be permanently buried

Intern

seriously, does my foot smell bad?The Mummy franchise has risen from the dead again, but just barely this time. Riding on its past blockbuster success and Brendan Fraser's comedy/adventure star power, the latest in the trilogy, The Mummy: Tomb of the Emperor, should have stayed entombed. Even if you're prepared to wrap yourself in layers of disbelief for two hours, the film's computer-generated yetis and 2000-year-old warriors are just too corny to resurrect the intrigue of the series' first installment, 1999's The Mummy (inspired by the original 1932 version, starring Boris Karloff).

Movie mummies are supposed to be scary, and Arnold Vosloo's character in the first two films was truly terrifying. Though Jet Li, as the ruthless ancient Chinese Dragon Emperor, slips in a few deadly kung fu moves at the beginning, his fearsomeness wears off soon after; throughout the rest of the film, the scariest thing director Rob Lohan (The Fast and the Furious) can conjure is the Emperor's skin continuously peeling off in clay-like layers, revealing what appears to be a glowingly molten body underneath. Beyond that, and his alternating incarnations as an unconvincing CGI dragon and monster, the Emperor fails to frighten. Steeped in lust and greed for power, ultimately he wants what all mummies want-immortality.

Posted inFood & Drink

Sample Platter: Asian Sensations, your best bet on East meets West here in Bend

Intern

BO RESTOBAR

The newest establishment in what is becoming Portland-based Bo and Steve Kline’s Asian restaurant empire. Chef Kline, a native of Thailand, puts an artistic flair on each dish. “New World” sashimi, Koreadilla and Peking Duck Spring Rolls are a few of the international offerings. 550 NW Franklin Ave. 617-8880.

CHAN’S

Bend’s most popular Chinese restaurant packs the families in every night clamoring for the slightly Americanized Szechwan, Hunan and Cantonese dishes. Even if the food can be predictable at times, big portions matched with big flavors make this is a Central Oregon institution. Chinese. 1005 Se 3rd St. 389-1725.

Posted inFood & Drink

Sample Platter: Asian Sensations, your best bet on East meets West here in Bend

Intern

BO RESTOBAR

The newest establishment in what is becoming Portland-based Bo and Steve Kline's Asian restaurant empire. Chef Kline, a native of Thailand, puts an artistic flair on each dish. "New World" sashimi, Koreadilla and Peking Duck Spring Rolls are a few of the international offerings. 550 NW Franklin Ave. 617-8880.

CHAN'S

Bend's most popular Chinese restaurant packs the families in every night clamoring for the slightly Americanized Szechwan, Hunan and Cantonese dishes. Even if the food can be predictable at times, big portions matched with big flavors make this is a Central Oregon institution. Chinese. 1005 Se 3rd St. 389-1725.

Posted inFood & Drink

A Fresh Concept: Jackson’s Corner revives the neighborhood corner store

Intern

Fresh baked and hot off the grill at Jackson’s.With the closing of Delaware Market, it seemed as though the neighborhood corner store in Bend had gone extinct. There are still a few hanging in there on the Eastside, but with property values skyrocketing, you can’t blame the market owners for opting to cash out.

The historic brick building on the corner of Broadway and Delaware that was once home to Delaware Market, Delaware Ice and a mini mural of downtown has been totally redone. The building now features condos upstairs and a bright, airy market café downstairs called Jackson’s Corner.

“I wanted to bring back the market café,” says Jay Junkin, owner of Jackson’s Corner, “It used to be common in the U.S. but somehow we lost it.” Junkin is the third generation in his family to find a career in the food industry and has been in Bend nine years-most of that time developing and running Parilla Grill.

“With this place I want it to grow organically – give the people what they want and serve this neighborhood first,” says Junkin.

Posted inFood & Drink

A Fresh Concept: Jackson’s Corner revives the neighborhood corner store

Intern

Fresh baked and hot off the grill at Jackson’s.With the closing of Delaware Market, it seemed as though the neighborhood corner store in Bend had gone extinct. There are still a few hanging in there on the Eastside, but with property values skyrocketing, you can't blame the market owners for opting to cash out.

The historic brick building on the corner of Broadway and Delaware that was once home to Delaware Market, Delaware Ice and a mini mural of downtown has been totally redone. The building now features condos upstairs and a bright, airy market café downstairs called Jackson's Corner.

"I wanted to bring back the market café," says Jay Junkin, owner of Jackson's Corner, "It used to be common in the U.S. but somehow we lost it." Junkin is the third generation in his family to find a career in the food industry and has been in Bend nine years-most of that time developing and running Parilla Grill.

"With this place I want it to grow organically – give the people what they want and serve this neighborhood first," says Junkin.

Posted inMusic

An Indie God, Flip-Flop Jams, and Hip-Hopping Hot Rods

Mike Bookey

Look at those delightfully bright eyes. Thursday 7/31
With the big Alice Cooper show at the fair and string of events lined up for the weekend, the Domino Room didn't do too shabby for a Thursday night. Having seen Oberst in Bright Eyes a year prior, Sound Check walked in with an already expected presentation. He's Conor Oberst for Christ's sake, it was obvious what to expect and who you would see there. A mix of out of towners, scene kids and aging hipsters set the tone for a mellow crowd generally interested in what Oberst had up his sleeve with his Mystic Valley Band. Stereotypes aside, Oberst killed it. Bright Eyes seemed like a distant memory to hardcore fans (Sound Check included) and second place to a more maturely polished and truly better musician.

Oberst arrived on stage dressed in a American Apparel fitted orange T-shirt, members only jacket complete with matching orange golfer logo and fitted stretchy Levi's. The band opened with its single "Sausalito" with Oberst Johnny Cash style strummin' the rhythm steady into his torn worn acoustic. The anger and eccentrics of the past were blatantly constrained in his performance style. He let the music take its place now. People shouted out things like "You're My Golden Boy," " Killer boots!" "God Bless the Midwest" and various Bright Eyes titles, and Mr. Oberst played none of these. And why would he? The new material speaks louder than the past and would have set a different tone from the one he's evolved into.

The reverb coating over the amplified tones on the mellower album's tracks "Lenders in the Temple," "Eagle On A Pole" and "Milk Thistle" set a better encapsulating live sound than the album could ever produce. Unfortunately, this one might land in the "you kinda had to be there" bin. So, if you weren't you missed out on a truly awesome performance, the likes of which this town probably won't see again for a while. Sorry, losers.
 -Tauna Leonardo

Posted inMusic

Ghost Tigers From Beyond: Tiger Army is coming, lock up your caskets

Denise CaJacob

You should see his underwear. The word "psycho" conjures many images: psycho killer, psycho ex-girlfriend/boyfriend, psychosomatic, psychologist, psychosexual, any number of suffixes will bring about an exponentially larger number of thoughts. When you attach -billy to the prefix, the visuals shift to a highly stylized music genre, which is succinctly defined by the band Tiger Army.

The trio made its stage debut in 1996, sharing a stage with nouveau goth/emo/hairspray legends AFI at the infamous Gilman Street Project in Berkeley, Calif. Tiger Army linchpin Nicky 13 formed the band out of Influence 13, bringing band mate Geoff Kresge with him, assembling a crew that has changed throughout the years, but maintains the highly stylized visual and musical aesthetic that is psychobilly. The hair is pompadoured, the arms are heavily tattooed (these guys love the ink), jeans are pegged and the bass is upright. Tiger Army is like the sober, more cynical California cousin of The Reverend Horton Heat's Texas rockabilly legacy.

Psychobilly revels in the rock-and-roll lifestyle through ballads about Betty-Page-styled beauties that drive hearses from the graveyard to the chapel and back to the crypt, peeling out in the face of the undeserving dudes-the dudes that ditched them on prom night. The world of the Psychobilly is full of supped-up classic cars, high heels below pencil skirts listening to classics like Social Distortion and the Cramps. While we might miss out on a whole host of musical styles, Bend has actually been host to numerous psychobilly acts throughout the years including the Danish Nekromantix, Sweden's Horrorpops, So-Cal's Chop Tops and, of course, Tiger Army.

Sign up for newsletters

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

Sending to:

Gift this article