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.
Horsing Around in Mongolia
Posted inFood & Drink
Be a Guest at your own Party
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.
Posted inFood & Drink
Be a Guest at your own Party
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.
Posted inMusic
Let Freedom Ring — in your ears
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."
Posted inMusic
Jumpsuits, Sideburns and $1,000 costumes
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.
Posted inMusic
If It Weren’t for the Stones
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.
Posted inNews
Armed in Oregon
You've just arrived at work, interested in coffee more than conversation, and a coworker enters, setting her purse down – BOOM! A gun explodes, bullet flies, nearly hitting you - Where are you? The sheriff's office, where everyone is armed? A rural factory where busting-off a few rounds after work isn't uncommon? No, you're a nurse at St. Charles Medical Center and this actually happened a little over one month ago. No one was injured and the incident went unpublicized, but the nurse with the concealed handgun is no longer employed at the hospital. Everyone knows why.
She brought a ballistic umbrella in case of rain.
Posted inNews
First There Was A Mountain: A new proposal could change the face of winter
A solitary moment.As a rule, backcountry skiers don't tend to make a lot of noise. Aside
from the occasional powder whoop, they tend to tread pretty lightly.
The
same principle holds true away from the slopes where backcountry
enthusiasts tend to keep a low political profile. But a new proposal
from a group of backcountry skiers is causing a stir in the outdoor
recreation community and could shake up the way the Forest Service
manages one of the most popular winter recreation zones near Bend.
What
some backcountry users want - there is no formal backcountry skiers
group in Central Oregon - is for the Forest Service to re-draw
snowmobile boundaries around Tumalo Mountain, moving the sleds entirely
off the butte.
Backcountry skiers are accustomed to working for
their turns, but this is a different kind of uphill battle that pits
backcountry skiers against well organized motorized users and their
supporters, which include, somewhat surprisingly, a number of cross
country skiers who benefit from the snowmobilers grooming efforts.
Skiers are also up against a historical "anything-goes" attitude about
winter recreation from the Forest Service, which much prefers "shared"
recreation opportunities for all user groups than to shut out one group
entirely, as would be the case on Tumalo.
Posted inCulture
Our Picks for the Week of 7/3-7/10
Central Oregon Blues
and Crawfish Festival
thursday-sunday 3-5
You'll get a pretty good rundown of this festival in the Liner Notes column, but if you need more convincing, here's a good chunk of the lineup: John Lee Hooker Jr., Kenny Neal, Ty Curtis Band, Big Fish, Jon Maclennan, T-Bone Stone, Lisa Mann, Blue Moon Society, Megan Smith & The Fam, Kelly Stone, Zsa Zsa, Stephanie Slade, Joseph Balsamo and more. July 3-5. Go to ampmediagroup.com for more info. $20/day, $30/3 day pass, 10 and under free. Creekside City Park, Hwy. 20 and Jefferson.
Pet Parade
friday 4
Finally your chance to parade around your incredibly cute kids and your incredibly cute llama at the same time in celebration of Independence Day! The annual Pet Parade is a chance for the kids to bring their special pets (from llamas to lizards to goats) and parade them through downtown. Just don't bring a rabbit or a cat, seriously. Decorating and lineup starts at 9:30am on Wall Street next to the School Administration building, parade starts at 10am. Call 330-7096 for info.
Posted inOpinion
One Good Oil Spill Deserves Another
Order in the Court!
Baby rapers, oil spillers and gang-bangers be heartened! Gitmo be gone, but the new and utterly bought and sold Supreme Court handed down decisions that will impact us for decades - Much like the President Bush, who nominated its two new Justices, Chief Roberts and Count Weirdly Alito. Let's take a look at these precedents, led by quotes from the new members.Court Weirdly
"I've also represented corporations accused of antitrust violations, and I think that balanced perspective is something that's valuable for a judge."
Chief Justice John Roberts stated this on January 29, 2003, before the Judiciary Committee, explaining how whistleblowers can be fired for cause. Roberts also defended Microsoft against States suing for antitrust as a private lawyer. So, when Exxon Mobil came before the Roberts-led Supreme Court, his sympathies were already known. "So what can a corporation do to protect itself against punitive-damages awards such as this?" asked Roberts during the initial arguments in February, seeming to defend Exxon Mobil for employing a known alcoholic captain for the Exxon Valdez in 1989, who crashed and spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. How oh how can we help this poor corporation? Throw out the $2.5 billion in punitive damages (equaling one week of profits for Exxon Mobil) through some archaic maritime law that compensatory to punitive damages must be 1:1. Ahoy! This precedent will reverse medical malpractice, tobacco settlements and corporate malfeasance lawsuits for years; of course Exxon Mobil would have preferred a slap on wrist but, in a shocking moment of conscience, Justice Alito recused himself because he owns over $100,000 in Exxon Mobil stock.