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The cup never lies.It seems pretty simple: A pint equals 16 ounces. So when you go into a bar, pub or restaurant and order a pint of beer you'll get 16 ounces of beer, right?
Well, maybe. Or maybe you'll get only 14 ounces. Or 13, or even 12.
Like most naรฏve beer drinkers, I always assumed that when I paid for a pint I got a pint. It was only after stumbling across Portlander Jeff Alworth's "Beervana" blog that the hideous truth began to dawn on me.
It's All About WaterThe Oregon Water Handbook examines our relationship with the liquid of lifeBy Jim AndersonIt seems every newscaster you watch on TV or hear on the radio seems to think that ideal weather condition in Central Oregon is clear skies. Rain and snow suggest bad news. Not in my book! Rain means water for the desert, and snow translates to water in the aquifers.
It's been said that the next war will not be over oil, but water. The hullabaloo a while back over Coca-Cola allegedly seeking control over water in India appears to support at least a corporate war over water.
There are traditions that are inspiring, like laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day. There are traditions that are fun, like trimming the Christmas tree or ridiculing American Idol.
The many faces of A.P.O.S.T.L.E.Hip-hop artist, educator and social activist A.P.O.S.T.L.E's first live performance was a reading of "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was in the second grade.
"I instinctively put rhythm to it in order to better memorize it," he said of the reading. "I started writing my own poetry a few years later."
Now, some 25 years after his first "live performance," A.P.O.S.T.L.E (real name Jeff Campbell) has become a widely celebrated member of the hip-hop community and beyond. He's done most of his touring with his former band Heavyweight Dub Champion, although he's currently on the road with the heavily hyped DJ Quest.
That’s the sort of excitement that gets you through a summer in the wild.Just as he's done every spring for nearly two decades Greg Bryce will
soon pack up and leave Bend for the remote wilderness of Alaska. With
him will go blackflowersblacksun, the blues project that he's
cultivated into a local favorite during his past couple of winters
gigging around town. It will be November by the time Bryce brings his
National guitar back to Bend, but it's likely his reputation for
down-home blues (as well as his drummer, C.J. Davis) will still be
waiting for him.
Bryce, who looks and speaks somewhat like a slightly
weather-worn Luke Wilson, spends his summers working as a wilderness
firefighter in the remote village of Galena, Alaska. And by remote, he
means honest-to-God in the middle of BFE. Bryce tells me that Galena
isn't accessible by road and that the only way to reach the town is a
200-mile trip by air, or a 400-plus mile boat ride along the Yukon
River. While he does bring his guitar in tow, there aren't any
opportunities for Bryce to bring blackflowersblacksun onstage. He does,
however, find some inspiration out in the wild.
Damian SchmittThere's no blue collars or khakis. No life-size posters of Morgan Freeman. And if it wasn't clear from the rows of indie and foreign films and the vintage VHS tapes for rent, then owner Damian Schmitt's tattoos and lamb chops could surely leave no doubt - you're not at Blockbuster.
The owner of Westside Video is talking about the store's history, which spans three decades, two locations, and several owners. It's a rich past, but the future is a little murky. Schmitt is soberly realistic about the nature of independent businesses and is hardly looking to host his own pity party as he outlines the pitfalls of big outfits like Blockbuster. He is, however, honest in admitting that he's not sure if Bend can, or will, support a locally owned, independent video store - meaning that when his lease is up in October, there's a chance that independent video becomes a thing of the past in Bend. He looks out the window out at Newport Avenue, and puts his position bluntly.
Return of Eckman
Kathie Eckman, the longtime Bend city councilor and
former mayor announced late last week that she will be coming out of
retirement from city politics and again seek a spot on the city council.
Eckman,
who served on the council in spurts from 1980 until 2000, including a
stint as mayor from 1991-92, is seeking position three, which is
currently held by Councilor Linda Johnson. After retiring from the
Bend-La Pine School District's human resources department in 2001,
Eckman spent some time working for Sen. Ron Wyden.
There are a lot of litmus tests for sports fans. There's your Superfan who can tell what years that Sandy Koufax won the Cy Young and what his ERA was in each of those seasons. There's The Schwab - ESPN's in house statistician turned game show/freak show on Stump the Schwab - who can tell you well, everything. Then there's your average fan who can tell you, given some time, who won last year's NFC title game, ALCS Championship and BCS Series.
An easier way to differentiate between guys who know about sports and guys who know of sports is to make a reference to Erin Andrews.
Spring time is the right timeAh, March. The sweet smell of spring is in the air. Flowers are soon to bloom, songbirds are starting to sing, and migratory species - including violet green swallows – are soon to return. And the skies are beginning to clear. The mountains stand tall and proud, displaying their wintry carpets. Sunrises and sunsets are unparalleled. Flaming mosaics paint the morning and evening skies, lighting up the forested foothills and Cascades. This is the perfect time and place for outdoor recreating. Climbing, hiking, mountain biking, running, alpine skiing, road biking, paragliding, skateboarding, snowboarding, kayaking, bouldering, Nordic skiing and many more self-propelled outdoor sports are prime during Central Oregon's springtime.
It's that time of year again. And if you love baseball and own one of the major video game consoles, then it's time to "play ball."
"Major League Baseball 2K8", or "MLB 2K8", for short is an improvement over last year's game. When the 2K6 version of this game came out, it had a lot of issues that were hard to get past, but when the 2K7 was released it addressed a lot of those issues and fans were for the most part pleased.
On the outside, New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes grabs the game cover, pushing aside last year's cover boy, Derek Jeter. But announcers Jon Miller and Joe Morgan return. Inside, "2K8" features refined gameplay, and fixes some of the problems from the last title. Developer Krush Games went all out and included the following changes for "2K8": 90 playable, real-life minor league baseball teams and players, player trading cards, a new pitching scheme - in which the pitch type is chosen with the analog stick - and a revamped analog batting system. A new throwing system and other changes that make this a better game.
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