There have been years when the releases almost stagger the imagination with studios putting one “gotta have” title after another. There have been years when it was a decent year, but mostly rehashes or sequels. But the best may be yet to come. Let’s run down some of the more anticipated games left to release […]
Out With a Bang
Posted inCulture
Bend Film
Next week, BendFilm returns to big screens around town. The festival, which has become a rite of Fall in Bend, is the region’s signature celebration of independent film and a great chance to get out and appreciate filmmaking as both art and entertainment. See the films that Hollywood is too timid or too stupid to […]
Posted inCulture
So Much Money So Many Duds
There have been movies about indulgence, such as Barfly, Lost Weekend and Le Grande Bouffe, but to me the ultimate sign of indulgence is either spending a ton of money on a film or creating a dud that nobody wants to watch. If you Google “the most expensive movies ever made” and “worst movies ever,” […]
Posted inCulture
Back to the Future (with Guns)
Right off the bat, you can tell Looper is going to be different. Its edgy approach reinvents and, for the most part, rejects standard Hollywood formula. Director Rian Johnson is the guy who brought us new lingo and changed the face of noir with Brick, followed up with the con-man tale The Brothers Bloom which […]
Posted inOutside
Paddle the Inside Passage to Alaska
For seasoned sea kayakers, paddling the Inside Passage, from Bellingham, Wash. to Muir Glacier in the East Arm of Glacier Bay, Alaska, holds the same mystique as backpacking the Appalachian or Pacific Crest Trail for backpackers. And it takes about just as long. For those who can’t miss three or four months of work at […]
Posted inOutside
Smoke, Perfume and Grinding at Pole Creek
OK, time to quit complaining about the smoke, the cost, loss of timber, damages to the watershed and Cascades ecosystem, the lost scenic values and all the other negative things about wildfire. It's over; it's done. There ain't no goin' back. As of the end of September, no one seemed to have an idea how […]
Posted inOpinion
Bankster Ethics
In its last session, the Oregon Legislature – faced with more than 120,000 Oregon homeowners being “underwater” on their mortgages – came up with a good idea for helping them keep their homes. It passed a bill requiring lenders to enter into mediation with borrowers who were at risk of foreclosure and try to work […]
Posted inOpinion
O One Day at a Time
In celebrity news that will make your skin crawl off your body and down the street to the nearest bar, pop starlet Rihanna tweeted her love and prayers to the former boyfriend who beat her senseless and threatened to murder her—umm, that would be Chris Brown. The R&B singer is still on probation for the […]
Posted inNews
America The Aggressive
Americans overwhelmingly oppose the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq. Even many veterans say the post-9/11 war on terror was a mistake. Antiwar sentiment is the majority opinion when it comes to the prospect of future conflicts. Of the two countries the U.S. is currently most likely to attack militarily, nearly seven out of ten people […]
Posted inNews
Risky Bussiness
By Wednesday, the city of Bend hopes a construction crew will begin the heavy work needed to lay a 30-inch pipe across two channels of Tumalo Creek and down Skyliners Road. It will be the first step in completing the city’s controversial surface water improvement project, and one that opponents and many city council candidates […]