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Letter of the Week
If you own or rent a house in Central Oregon you know what this week's letter writer is talking about. We put the phone book bombardment right up there with the Bulletin's Marketplace free classified in the pantheon of unwanted commercial litter.
In the middle of May this year, a friend of mine was kind enough to post a response to C.T.
The trend in IPA's over the past few years has been to go obnoxiously big, as evidenced by one local brewery's not so long ago makeover of its IPA. This approach is generally embraced by Northwest drinkers who gobble up malt and hops like a pre-Subway Jared at an Old Country Buffet.
The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein puts a canine in the narrator's seat and gives readers a chance to experience life through the eyes of a dog. From the clumsiness of birth to the agony of old age, the character of man's best friend, Enzo, guides readers through love, loss and victory as he discovers his passion for car racing.
His owner, Denny Swift, happens to be a race car driver as well as Enzo's hero and some of their best times together consist of watching car racing videos. But as many pets often realize, humans desire to share their lives with other humans and Enzo finds he is literally the odd dog out. Much of his life is spent at home watching the Speed Channel on cable. But it is Enzo's quick ability to compare the sport of car racing with the lessons of life that captures the reader's attention. Throughout the book, Enzo often expresses his desire to spend his next life with opposable thumbs as a human being. But before he can think about reincarnation, he must help Denny get back the one thing they both hold dear.
While Enzo's opinions on evolution and his knowledge of television shows such as Law & Order seem a little far-fetched, readers will enjoy insightful statements from Enzo such as "your car goes where your eyes go," that are developed throughout the book. Stein's attention to detail when describing the bitter personality of crows, observations of Denny's in-laws and rides around a race track are what captures the reader. Most of all, Stein is successful at making us believe we're on hands and knees with a keen sense of smell. As with any good dog story, emotions run high as Stein tackles some of life's most painful experiences. But his playful illusions through Enzo's eyes otherwise keep the book light-hearted and humorous.
Garth Stein Central Oregon Appearances
12pm Friday, August 1. Paulina Springs Books in Sisters. 252 W. Hood Ave. (Signing only). 5pm Friday, August 1. North Soles Footwear. 800 NW Wall St, Bend.
5pm Saturday, August 2. Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver Mall Building.
Underground and off the wall. Last October, Bend got its first taste of the local underground art scene when Oxygen Tattoo decided to put together a showcase of local alternative talents. This year, the festival is back, with a name - Elevate Art Festival - a bigger and better line-up of music, art, vendors and several partner organizations including The Rise Up, Grove Presents and B Positiv.
"Last year the turnout was really good, I was really surprised by the amount of people who came out to support us," says Oxygen's Derek Youngberg, "Especially with the minimal amount of preparation that went into [the event] - everything came together in four weeks basically."
Youngberg says that at least six months of planning have already gone into the upcoming festival. The event will include a public art wall, beer garden, raffles, food and vendors selling unique artwork, clothing and jewelry. This year's featured live paint artists include Mark Rada, Chris Wu, Ashley Montague, Chris Callister, Amanda Cancilla, Hawk Chait and Mosley Wotta. Music acts include Grove stalwarts such as DJs Smoke, Moksha, Rada, Swett and Barisone along with Person People and Cloaked Characters.
Not all flies are "bad," this robber fly is dining on a bot fly. Summer is waning and it's time for the adult robbers to show their rapacious heads. They have been growing up in dung heaps, soil and leaf debris, and compost piles, devouring anything that tasted good.
Fortunately, these robbers are not as big as house cats, if they were, you wouldn't be safe walking or riding your bikes on forest and desert trails. In fact, most people don't even notice them as they go speeding by in pursuit of a tasty meal.
Moreover, they are fast! I sort of look at these robbers as Nature's F-16 Viper jets. What I'm talking about are Robber Flies, the ultimate flying predator of the insect world. Once they start after a meal, it is dead meat!
The photo above shows the "good" part of the world of Nature, "Good" being in human terms. The hapless insect that robber fly is sucking dry is a bot fly, which, as those with livestock know, is a bothersome insect.
Bot flies grow under the skin of mammals, (humans included) feeding on blood and tissue of their host. When the grub emerges to metamorphose into an adult, it leaves a gaping infected hole in the host's skin. Not a pleasant sight…
Taking a ride on the wet side. THE GRASS IS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PASS
Alan and Bev Abbs are ultra runners from Red Bluff, Calif. who came to Bend a couple of years ago to compete in the Raid adventure race held here. That same weekend, they read an article in the local paper about the secretly great trails in nearby Oakridge. They decided to check it out for themselves on their way home and ended up buying a house there. Why? They were impressed with the endless miles of trails available and liked the idea of a respite from the hundred-degree-plus heat of California. I caught up with the Abbs on a recent weekend in Oakridge. The previous weekend, they were supposed to compete in the Western States 100, the granddaddy of ultramarathons, but it was cancelled for the first time in its history because of the raging wildfires in California. Bev was nursing a sore knee from overtraining anyway, so they planned a weekend of mountain biking cross-training in Oakridge and invited me to try to keep up with them.
The trails of Oakridge, a 90-minute drive from here, represent a nice change of venue for Bend riders and trail runners as well. We seem to have a narrow window when our trails are snow-free, yet not dusty. Just on the other side of the Cascades, you find lush vegetation which keeps the trails cool and shady and in excellent condition all summer long (though mud is an issue in the shoulder seasons). The first day, the Abbs' took me on a 35-mile ride that started with a grueling 2,500-foot climb, but the twisty, wildflower-lined singletrack descent down the Alpine Trail made it all worthwhile. The next day we wound the spring again with a steep 1,500-foot climb in order to descend the Larison Rock Trail. There are rides with less climbing in Oakridge (apparently the Abbs' don't do them), notably the epic 30-mile long Middle Fork Willamette Trail.
Resistance 2: One of the few highly anticipated titles in ’09. Each year, the major video game and computer software companies gather to showcase what they have in store for the coming year at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo). The show began in 1995 and has been mostly held in Los Angeles with a few different locations tossed in over the years. The show itself was once a huge production with tons of booths for companies and the general public to mingle and try all the new games and consoles, but now it's a different story. Having restructured in 2007, the show is much smaller with the trade show being replaced with smaller events and a name changed to E3 Media and Business Summit. The 2008 show, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 14-17 was hardly the colorful gaming event it once was.
Here is a wrap up from the big three players at the convention: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
Sony started its E3 show with a demo of Resistance 2, which was impressive considering that the first Resistance was one of the better launch titles for the PlayStation 3. Also a smart thing for Sony was to re-introduce the "Greatest Hits" titles for the PlayStation 3 which will include: Fight Night 3, Resistance:Fall of Man, Assassin's Creed and more titles for under $30. Responding to Microsoft’s partnership with Netflix, Sony has started its own video download service with movie studios like Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and Lionsgate. There was also a preview of the new updated PlayStation Network and a sneak peak at Sony's new title, Home. The approach with Home is to interact with other players and do things in a virtual world like Second Life. On the PlayStation Portable (PSP) front there will be a new bundle for retail in the fall including the PSP system, UMD movie of National Treasure 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Topping it all off was news that Sony will phase out the 40gb version of the PlayStation 3 for a 80gb system at the same price point as the 40gb system ($399.99).
Why, lord? Why? Why, lord? Why? Meryl Streep never ceases to amaze, and what she does in Mamma Mia!, a screen adaptation of the hit musical featuring the mighty works of ABBA, is so good that I almost forgave the movie's shortcomings. Almost.
It breaks my heart to report that I didn't enjoy this movie, because I was very excited about it. Let it be said that, while I never saw the play on which this movie is based, I am a huge ABBA fan. Alas, I did little toe-tapping and a fair amount of grimacing at what director Phyllida Lloyd hath wrought. The fun music of ABBA is shoehorned into a stupid story that doesn't deserve these grand melodies.
The story concerns Sophie (the adorable Amanda Seyfried), who is getting close to her wedding day and doesn't know who her father is. She stumbles upon the diary of her hard-working mom, Donna (Streep), and discovers that there are three men who did the deed with mommy who could be her pops. She secretly sends them wedding invitations, making them believe it's Donna who is inviting them.
The three show up for the Greek island ceremonies. They are Sam (Pierce Brosnan), a divorced architect; Harry (Colin Firth), a former rocker type; and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard). One of the men still harbors big feelings for her.
The FBI: Screwing up the X-files since 1993.One question was burning in my mind as I strolled out of a screening of The X-Files: I Want to Believe: Why was it made? Was it the product of marketing research - a sufficient amount of X-Files fans loyal enough to see this film no matter what? Did director Chris Carter (X-Files creator) get together with the two main stars (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) and say, "Let's do another movie and see how long and drawn out and boring we can make it?"
This is one huge lesson in vapidity. Now, don't get me wrong, I wanted to like it. I was never a big fan of the series, but I have caught some decently clever and fairly warped episodes in re-runs. Based on that fact alone, I thought I might be more sympathetic to this movie. Even blending in body parts, a pedophile psychic priest, a love interest, missing agents, with a twist on the Frankenstein legend turns out to be a big waste of time. Want to Believe is at the bottom rung of mediocre.
The story unfolds as Mulder (Duchovny) is drawn out of hiding by Scully (Anderson) to assist the FBI in finding a missing agent. They are following a lead from a questionable source: visions of an ex-priest Father Joe (Billy Connolly). Some quasi-intrigue is mixed in with the underlying themes of God versus science versus instinct versus what the FBI says. There's chance for a believable love story between Scully and Mulder (they're now an item) but it's screwed up with tortuous soap opera dialogue. The convoluted clues are not presented well, so we, the audience, have a hard time figuring out why they are even giving them to us in the first place. The incompetence of the FBI in figuring things out is annoying. It was like a "guess how many mistakes are on this page" kid's book exercise.
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