Looking for a heavyweight to appear as keynote speaker at the Dorchester Conference, their big annual wingding on the Oregon Coast, the Republican Party of Oregon has picked the neo-con's neo-con, William "Bill" Kristol.
Oregon GOP Picks “Mr. Neo-Con” for Keynote
Posted inNews
Sweatshop Union
The nice fellas of Sweatshop Union were kind enough to allow us to dish out a couple tracks from their latest album United We Fall. If you like what you hear, check out their show at the Domino Room on Friday, Jan.
Posted inNews
Political Blowback A-Brewing?
Does the name Karin Immergut ring any bells? No? Okay, how about Monica Lewinsky?
Posted inCulture
Sleep Tight With a Wii in Your Hand: Nights: Journey of Dreams
Only the Wii can get away with a game about sleeping…Way back in the old days, 1996 to be exact, Sega released a game for the Sega Saturn called "Nights into Dreams." This game was from the same makers of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" series and was a bestseller for the Saturn. Unique in its game play, there was a strong demand for a sequel and at one point there was one on the drawing board for the Sega Dreamcast. Due to Sega's problems developing game systems, a "Nights" sequel was put on hold. After a decade, the game has finally arrived.
"Nights: Journey of Dreams" is a Nintendo Wii exclusive that makes use of the Wii's motion-sensing controller. The story is a lot like the original "Nights" game and takes place in the dream world of Nightopiam, a land under a threat from the nightmare beings of Nightmaren. The game is presented through the dreams of the game's two protagonists, Helen Cartwright and William Taylor. The player becomes Nights, a jester-like character with a child's personality that can morph genders depending on the player's interpretation.
Posted inCulture
Medieval Torture: CGI leads In the Name of the King astray
Welcome to CGI hell. Save yourself the pain, go rent Excalibur.Good lord. The Transporter goes medieval…kinda. This movie is such a pile of horse manure I hardly know where to start. I thought I could give it a semi-pass because kids would like it, but I think kids will feel ripped off. They're too smart for this junk, being exposed to the high-tech CGI world of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. This film is based on a video game of the same name, but it's so defiantly low-budget it falls somewhere below a Robin Hood after-school TV special.
The nutshell description involves Farmer (Jason Statham), a simple man whose wife (Claire Forlani) is kidnapped by ravaging and pillaging "Krugs" (ultra-crummy Lord of the Rings monsters) and his quest to retrieve her. There's an evil Sorcerer, Gallian (Ray Liotta), who commands the army of Krugs, an aging king (Burt Reynolds) whose wisdom is beyond comparison, a wimpy-spoiled-brat heir to the throne (Matthew Lillard) with a traitorous agenda, a good sorcerer (John-Rhys Davies) who wants to make things right, and his daughter (Leelee Sobieski) who stares blankly at any and everything.
Posted inOpinion
Countering the Recruiters’ Story
We can't do it alone; we really need your help. We need you to be at school board meetings and tell the members why you think military recruiters need to go back to their military recruiting offices, or at the very least those of us who actually served in the military should be able to tell our story. Young students are making a life-and-death choice, and this decision should be made from an informed, balanced viewpoint and not a one-sided, biased view, which is now the case. I thought this was what education was all about.
Posted inOpinion
Roads Are Snow Joke
My wife and I live in New Hampshire but spend about five months in Bend every year, usually through the winter months. This winter I can't tell you how disappointed I am at the conditions of the roads, sidewalks, parking lots of stores, parks, etc. in the city and surrounding area.
Posted inMusic
That’s What Happened to that Album: Coyo and Shireen Amini triumphantly resurface
It's something of a testament to the productivity of Central Oregon's music scene that music CDs - whether they come from record labels, local promoters pushing out-of-town acts, or local players - tend to stack up around here like panties at a Neil Diamond show. At times, the sheer quantity of music coming across your trusted Source Weekly writers' desks means some solid albums are bound to get buried for awhile without ever seeing the inside of a pair of headphones. Here are two such relatively recent, rediscovered works from local artists - stay tuned for future excavations.
Posted inOpinion
Round and Round We Go in the Snow
Q: What's the difference between Crappy Roundabout Art and Snow Plowing?
A: The City of Bend only pays for one of them.
We have crappy roundabout art that the City of Bend has spent money on all over town – yet we don't pay to maintain our roads after a storm???
Driving around Bend after it snows is like taking your car down the Air Chamber at Bachelor.
Posted inOpinion
Something Rotten in Oregon
Two recent divisive headlines ring sour. 1) "Spousal rights for same-sex partners on hold" and 2) "Judge thwarts gay partnerships law."
Doesn't "There's something rotten in" apply only to Denmark? Nope, it's right un-der our noses here in Oregon!
An injunction was requested and honored by Bush appointee Judge Michael Mosman to put a hold on domestic partnerships. The law was to take effect Jan. l. On Feb. l Mosman will consider the issue. The foes argue that if the law went into effect it would violate the rights of those who signed the petition!? If you think that's gobbledygook, Judge Mosman said a "fundamental right" is at stake when voters sign petitions. The "fundamental right" is the "right" to petition the government. The peti-tioners failed to obtain the required number of signatures for a referen-dum. Now the foes are "passing the buck" by stating that it wasn't their fault, it's the fault of state officials who rejected the petitions! Hello? Signing a petition is not a vote; it's merely a request to place an issue before the voters for approval or rejection. A failed petition(er) has no rights except to re-petition! (Source: Secretary of State.)