And yes. Here’s the vids n’ photos you were looking for from last Saturday night’s Sound Check encounters with Skeletonwitch and the Slipmat Science dance party crew. Read on. Yobel.
Video n’ Photos: Skeletonwitch & Slipmat Science
Some Real Political Flip-Flopping
Fortunately, most days on the campaign trail aren't as rough for Jeff Merkley as Thursday was.
Rick Metsger Stumps Into Town
State Sen. Rick Metsger, one of four Democrats trying to win their party's nomination for Oregon secretary of state, dropped in at the Source office this morning for a chat, and The EYE was left wondering: "Why should we be electing anybody to this job?"
The Dirty Words: Live and Direct!
The Dirty Words, Bend’s indie, experimental rock squad dropped off a video of their show at the Silver Moon a few weeks back. Take a look.
City Beat: Burning and Dams
Still Burnin’?
Just two months ago, it looked like the Bend City Council was moving
full speed ahead to ban all open burning within city limits in an
effort to clean up the city's air, but now it appears that a complete
ban on burning yard waste and other debris isn't in the cards.
At
last week's meeting, the council discussed an ordinance that would ban
open burning, except during two days in November - a divergence from
earlier indications that the city might ban all forms of burning. By
the end of the discussion, however, the council decided by way of a
four-to-three vote to amend the proposed ordinance to allow burning
during the two-day November period, but only on parcels of land two
acres or larger with a Fire Department-issued permit. The council has
not approved the ordinance, but will revisit the item at future
meetings.
Something for the Masses: BioWare’s new offering pushes the RPG envelope with “Mass Effect”
Bio-Ware returns to the role-playing format with the excellent “Mass Effect.” When BioWare made "Star Wars: Knights of the Republic" and "Jade" for
the original Xbox system, they made a lot of gamers happy. They put
some time and effort into it, and the result was great RPG storytelling
that made Microsoft a major "player" in the console wars. Now BioWare
is taking its turn on the Xbox 360 with "Mass Effect." The game
publisher is so confident about the game that it plans a trilogy. In
the meantime, it's providing downloads to bridge the gap between game
releases.
As with BioWare's other RPG titles, you have the option of
playing as a man or woman. The decision influences your interaction
with other characters and enables you to customize the character's
appearance. You also have limited control of two other characters that
will help you along.
A Super Letdown: Green Bay folds in OT, Lynchgate lurches on and more!
Why can’t this Pac Man get eaten by a ghost?18 AND ARIZONA
How good is New England? Well, Tom Brady throws three
interceptions, Randy Moss is barely a mention in the game and yet the
Patriots efficiently dismantle the San Diego Chargers, 21-12 in the AFC
championship game. Kevin Faulk catches eight passes, Laurence Maroney
rushes for 122 yards, including critical first downs on the
clock-chewing final drive in the fourth quarter. Jabar Gaffney catches
a touchdown pass, Wes Welker catches a touchdown pass. The ageless
Junior Seau makes key defensive plays. Rodney Harrison pressures Philip
Rivers. And, the offensive line continues to stake a case as the best
in the NFL, whether run or pass blocking. Yeah, New England is that
good.
ELI'S COMING
How improbable is winning three games on
the road, including defeating not only the frequently sleeveless Green
Bay Packers, but the ghosts of the legends oozing from the frozen
tundra (minus one degree, the third coldest game in NFL post-season
history) of Lambeau Field? Well, the New York football Giants (love the
sound of that!) accomplished one of the most difficult feats in sports
to reach their fourth Super Bowl and create the second consecutive
championship game that features a Manning at quarterback.
Our Spider Friends: Making friends with your eight-legged visitors
I just finished reading a short story about a firefly and a spider by Bruce Sterling in his paperback, Visionary in Residence, that is just too good to keep to myself.
For
all my dear friends who read my column and jump out of their skin when
confronted by a spider speeding across the floor – or dropping in for
lunch – Sterling's neat little caricature will help you with your fear
of spiders. Honest! And with that, please let me help you to enjoy
yourself as much as possible and read on…
First, about the fear
of spiders…There is nothing wrong with jumping out of your britches
when a spider suddenly – or even slowly – appears in your life. Spiders
are, from a human being's standpoint, the original "creepy crawly
critters."
Fairy Meadows: The ultimate in backcountry skiing adventure
Living the high life at Pioneer Peack in B.C.If I could look into a crystal ball filled with a snowman and snow
flurries abounding after a good shake and dream up the perfect
backcountry skiing adventure, it would contain the following: fly into
a backcountry hut with several psyched powder lovers, ski all day -
every day - for a week in untracked terrain among jagged peaks and
glaciers, then head back to the hut for lots of good cheer and gourmet
cuisine while basking in the glow and tales of the day's adventures.
This
fairy tale came true the first week of the New Year as my wife Molly
and I drove north to Golden, B.C., After meeting up with the
enthusiastic group in Golden, 20 of us gathered our gear and food at
the helicopter loading site. It was a clear day with great visibility,
perfect for a heli ride. I was fortunate enough to ride shotgun on the
first of five trips our group took to get all our bodies and supplies
into the hut. We flew along the Columbia Arm of Kinbasket Lake, the
headwaters of the Columbia River, before swinging west into the Adamant
Range of the Selkirk Mountains. My eyes bulged as the views became
better with every minute. The heli set us softly down just below the
Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut in a hanging valley surrounded by
picturesque B.C. mountains.
Overrated: Films that the MPAA doesn’t want you to see
In September of 2007, Ang Lee (director of Brokeback Mountain,
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and many more) was saddled with the
NC-17 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America's censors on
his movie, Lust, Caution. The rating is the kiss of death at the
box-office. No matter what reviewers say, the large ticket-buying
population of under-17-year-old viewers have already been axed out of
seeing the film, much less those that equate the NC-17 rating with
porn. Most of the time, there is usually one scene that censors just
can't stomach, so to save their films from bombing at the box office,
directors will go back and cut the scene enough to appease the
thumb-screwing censorship committee, which later gets reinserted and
released on DVD as the "director's cut." Below are some "directors cut"
versions of some originally NC-17 or X-rated films.

