Even kids love old timey. Is stealing ever okay? How about if it's from a rich banker in order to save the home of an out-of-work family, or committed by those suffering in hunger and despair, as in the Great Depression? In the new film, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, based on the American Girl book series, Kit and her pals delve into that and other tricky moral quandaries, as they exit the safety of their tree-fort to embark upon various feats beyond their years. It turns out that Kit learns the most about survival, ingenuity, honesty and grace just by looking around her hometown.
Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) is the perfect choice for the role of Kit. She is confident, poised and assertive, with an earnest innocence. As Kit, Breslin also illustrates that she knows well how to register a look of shock or surprise, keeping a young audience enthralled with the film's exploits and misadventure.
The 30's-era tale chronicles the adventures of an aspiring young journalist who helps solve a mystery that threatens her family's home, as well as her entire Cincinnati neighborhood. When all signs of guilt point to the "hobo jungle" on the city's fringe-where Kit's new friends Will and Countee live alongside other jobless, hungry victims of the Depression-Kit convinces her friends to ferret out the truth.
Robin Hood RevisitedKit Kittredge shows how to do more with less
Super Bad: Turning the super hero genre on its ear in Hancock
nothing to see here. Just keep raking. It's been quite the summer for super heroes-Iron Man, Hulk, and now Hancock, who comes in the form of a drunken lout of a super hero.
The premise is clever: a super hero with a drinking problem doesn't know who he is or where he comes from. Carrying a truckload of problems, he doesn't really enjoy saving people's lives. He just does it because either he can and/or he's the only one who can. He makes a sloppy exercise out of saving the day, chucking a beached whale out to sea only to hit a sailboat….skewering a car of bad guys on the Capitol Records building… you get the point. Hancock is pretty much despised for all the chaos he causes - the exception being Ray Embry (Jason Bateman), a PR exec that Hancock saves from getting pulverized by a train. In return, Ray befriends the hero and attempts a marketing strategy makeover. Ray brings Hancock home for counseling and to meet his wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), who is busy with her own life and doesn't approve.
Will Smith is a charismatic actor, bringing life to what would normally be a spoof-oriented role. He also plays a believable drunk with some genuine talent. With Theron, though, I wondered for the longest time why she was even in this movie, but she does manage to prove her worth. Bateman is an entertaining guy in a smarmy and witty kind of way, although fairly one-dimensional.
Feeling the Heat: Blacksmith beer tasting rolls, Tour at Thump
The dog days are here and with the prevalence of new eateries in Central Oregon there are bound to be a few that succumb to the heat of competition. Ernesto’s is calling it quits after a decade of serving big portions of traditional Americanized Italian fare. The building that once housed a church and then Le Bistro (the popular French restaurant owned by Chef Axel Hoch) will hopefully be put to good use as another restaurant. On its second go around, Makahna’s is reportedly going under and has closed the doors on its recently opened location on Galveston. Makahna’s originally opened on Greenwood in the space currently occupied by Super Burrito.
Over on Newport, Kebaba has launched a line of Middle-Eastern food that will be appearing in the deli sections of local grocery stores. A traditional hummous, harrissa-spiced red pepper hummous, babaganouj (eggplant spread), and green salsa/hot sauce will be available at Newport Market, Riley’s Market (in NW Crossing), Produce Patch, Whole Foods, Jackson’s Corner (formerly Delaware Market) and Nature’s. Kebaba has also added a rotating tap at the restaurant location that will feature seasonal and rare beers – Saisson du Pont will debut on July 15th and is perfect sipping while enjoying the new air conditioning.
Feeling the Heat: Blacksmith beer tasting rolls, Tour at Thump
The dog days are here and with the prevalence of new eateries in Central Oregon there are bound to be a few that succumb to the heat of competition. Ernesto's is calling it quits after a decade of serving big portions of traditional Americanized Italian fare. The building that once housed a church and then Le Bistro (the popular French restaurant owned by Chef Axel Hoch) will hopefully be put to good use as another restaurant. On its second go around, Makahna's is reportedly going under and has closed the doors on its recently opened location on Galveston. Makahna's originally opened on Greenwood in the space currently occupied by Super Burrito.
Over on Newport, Kebaba has launched a line of Middle-Eastern food that will be appearing in the deli sections of local grocery stores. A traditional hummous, harrissa-spiced red pepper hummous, babaganouj (eggplant spread), and green salsa/hot sauce will be available at Newport Market, Riley's Market (in NW Crossing), Produce Patch, Whole Foods, Jackson's Corner (formerly Delaware Market) and Nature's. Kebaba has also added a rotating tap at the restaurant location that will feature seasonal and rare beers - Saisson du Pont will debut on July 15th and is perfect sipping while enjoying the new air conditioning.
The Little Bakery That Could: Le Cakery packs big desserts into a small shop
Wrap it up to go. Le Cakery has one of the best enticements a retail spot could ask for: The luscious, sugary aromas of baking cakes. Upon entering the parking lot off of Galveston Avenue, you are struck by the warm, comforting smell that takes you by the nose and leads you to a little pink sliver of a shop staffed by two high-energy ladies cooking, decorating, selling and storing all their goods in about 400 square feet of space.
Ida Green Gurule and Karin Denman met in a Jazzercise class and started brainstorming about opening a specialty bakery. While living in Tacoma, Gurule owned a wholesale bakery specializing in cookies and challah. But this time she wanted to do something a bit different and, at the suggestion of Denman, decided on decorative Bundt cakes and cupcakes, as well as cookies, bars and challah.
Once they returned from a research trip to California, they started testing recipes using their fellow Jazzercise students as guinea pigs. “We would do blind tastings of cupcakes and samples of different cakes to find out what people liked,” explains Gurule.
The Little Bakery That Could: Le Cakery packs big desserts into a small shop
Wrap it up to go. Le Cakery has one of the best enticements a retail spot could ask for: The luscious, sugary aromas of baking cakes. Upon entering the parking lot off of Galveston Avenue, you are struck by the warm, comforting smell that takes you by the nose and leads you to a little pink sliver of a shop staffed by two high-energy ladies cooking, decorating, selling and storing all their goods in about 400 square feet of space.
Ida Green Gurule and Karin Denman met in a Jazzercise class and started brainstorming about opening a specialty bakery. While living in Tacoma, Gurule owned a wholesale bakery specializing in cookies and challah. But this time she wanted to do something a bit different and, at the suggestion of Denman, decided on decorative Bundt cakes and cupcakes, as well as cookies, bars and challah.
Once they returned from a research trip to California, they started testing recipes using their fellow Jazzercise students as guinea pigs. "We would do blind tastings of cupcakes and samples of different cakes to find out what people liked," explains Gurule.
Liner Notes: The Return Voyage From Pluto
The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies don’t need no Zoot Suits.It's been 10 years since the Cherry Poppin' Daddies blew up the charts with their hit "Zoot Suit Riot," and the band's front man, Steve Perry (make your Journey joke here) says he's been in recovery from the mega stardom ever since.
True Life: I’m a Lynyrd Skynyrd Fan; this Yankee loves her some Skynyrd
Freebird!Let me preface this article by saying a few things straight from the hip. I'm from northern New York. My favorite store is JCrew, I love sushi and Greek food, classical piano and don't really think Larry the Cable Guy is funny. But my favorite band of all-time is Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I've been made fun of, openly gawked at, and called a liar when I tell people who've met me more than once that I am, in fact, a Skynyrd fan. Because Skynyrd is a "gateway" band, I also have a special place in my heart for Southern rockers like ZZ Top, Molly Hatchet, .38 Special and most of the bands of that era that include the word "Brothers" in their name.
Regardless of what you think about Skynyrd’s music, or its fans, you have to respect the band's "to-hell-with-change" philosophy. Bon Jovi cut his hair, Bono started wearing stunner shades, but Skynyrd is still playing largely the same set list as the band toured on in 1975. Onstage the band is proudly immune to fashion trends. Long scraggly hair, jeans and simple shirts are still the norm. In other words, Nuthin' Fancy. The dress code underscores that Skynyrd is purely about the music. This means over-the-top guitar solos and a hint of country twang. It's about how "Freebird" can literally give you chills sometimes and the opening chords of "Gimme Three Steps" means the party's officially started.
Mixing it Up: A year after the Grove, Bend’s DJ roster is as strong as ever
Hey mr. Dj.The mix tape. You made them on your twin cassette boombox with your massive ear goggle headphones in your locked bedroom. They were two sided, magnetic labors of love. The goal was to amass a cohesive and unique string of tracks that made for perfect listening - it was all the music that was fit to go on tape.
The venerable DJs of Bend are debuting their mix tapes ("mix CDs" actually, but "mix tape" is much cooler to say) and obviously the product they're peddling is far more expertly produced and artistically presented than what you threw together on your ghettoblaster - but the idea is still there. Almost a year after the closing of the Grove, the unofficial (or perhaps official) nest of Bend's DJ culture, the familiar DJ names reappear at the Tulen Center for a two-room show to display their new wares.
One of Bend's elder statesmen of the ones and twos, Brian Barisone (DJ Barisone), just finished up work on his mix tape aptly titled "Boombox," and sat down to talk before heading over to the PoetHouse for an Elevate Underground Art Festival fundraiser that featured the return of fellow beatsmith DJ Lacuna.
Our Picks for the Week of 7/9-7/14
Cascade Cycling Classic
wednesday-sunday
As if this town isn't bicycle crazy enough, we get to truly unleash our inner Armstrong for the 29th Annual Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic. It's four days of all sorts of two-wheeled fun, highlighted by the downtown Twilight Criterium. Whether you're a hardcore rider or just someone who likes spandex, click over to cascade-classic.org to get yourself in gear.
Red Elvises
thursday 10
It seems like this band from Venice, CA by way of Russia is getting a hankering for Bend, seeing as how they've already returned for another show at the Midtown complex. The last time they stopped off they rocked the wood planks right out of the floor of the Annex, and expect them to do the same when the band with the big hair and bigger bass guitars (it's actually called a balalaika) returns for what promises to be a great night of rockabilly. 21 and over. 9pm. $12. The Annex, 51 NW Greenwood Ave.

