Gay and lesbian couples in Oregon suffered a setback at year's end when a federal judge in Portland, in response to an appeal by an anti-gay religious coalition, delayed implementation of the state's new domestic partnership act for at least a month. Hundreds of gays and lesbians protested, but blogger Kristin Flickinger on BlueOregon saw it as a teaching opportunity.
Bigotry’s Last Gasp?
Posted inNews
Mugged by Wal-Mart
Erickson's Thriftway Market is closing after 50 years of operation in downtown Redmond, and management is blaming it on the new Wal-Mart "Superstore" that opened on the edge of town in September. The news prompted some musings from Duncan McGeary, Pegasus Books proprietor, blogger and philosopher.
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Light Meter
Welcome to Light Meter, the Source Weekly’s interactive photo feature. Here’s how to participate:
1.
Posted inNews
Oh yeah…vids & pics: Bill Keale, CPC and Problem Stick
Sorry for inconveniencing and/or enraging those of you who expected a prompt posting of the photos and videos mentioned in this week’s Sound Check. You see, we have a very good excuse: We forgot to do it. Four-day holiday weekends’ll do that sometimes, gawd bless’m. Anyway, read on for the footages of Bill Keale, Concave Perception Chamber and Problem Stick at the Summit Saloon & Stage.
Posted inOpinion
Mining Snow for Gold
We are informed the city has busted the bank, shot its wad, ejaculated prematurely … spent all the budget money because, you know, the housing boom will go on forever, right?
Critical services such as planning, snow removal (huh?) and law enforcement are facing severe cutbacks, so much so the city police recently announced delaying the anticipated hiring of additional critically needed patrol officers. With that in mind, I have a modest proposal:
Posted inMusic
Honolulu, We Have a Problem: From soothing to raw in four hours
Jim Stout in CPC rawkstar mode.The streets and sidewalks sparkled with the crystalline potential of
new fallen snow last Thursday night. Downtown, tourists and taxicabs
flitted about like carefree winter butterflies - many searching for the
fantastical fun-juice that is the nectar of Central Oregon's homegrown
live music scene.
The fortunate and/or savvy found their quarry
at Summit Saloon and Stage. There, the evening's entertainment began
with long-haired, bright-hearted Bill Keale setting meditative notes
adrift from the upstairs romper room.
Posted inOutside
Save Our Snow: Of slow starts, La Nina and global warming
The future of backcountry skiing.By Nov. 30, I had not yet made one alpine turn. I scratched and scraped
around on nordic skis in November, but I was holding out before
subjecting my freshly stone ground skis to the light dusting of snow
covering the Central Oregon lava rock. Finally, I could no longer hold
back. Jonas phoned and reported thin, but good skiing from the summit
of Bachelor. Chris and I set out from the parking lot and were treated
to another stellar Central Oregon sunrise. A clear, cold cell separated
low lying clouds in the valley from higher, wispy clouds capping the
peaks. There's nothing like hiking up a mountain while catching the
first rays of the day. The skiing was better than expected, with 8
inches of fresh over the top of a base ranging from 0 to 14 inches. The
turns were sweet and well worth the minor rock hits taken by my
perfectly tuned edges and bases.
We are in the middle of La Niña
and, as expected, had a slower than average start to the ski season. La
Niña, preceded by the 2006-07 El Niño season, results from a 0.50C
lower than average sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean. La
Niña pushes the polar jet stream further south, causing below average
temperatures and above average precipitation in the northwestern and
midwestern states from December through March. All very important
things to consider and understand for Central Oregon powder lovers.
Posted inCulture
Bringing Funny Back: Randy Liedtke is a man on a comedic mission
Nothing enhances comedy like a little multitasking.Randy Liedtke wants us - "us" being Central Oregon - to laugh. And
seeing as how the one place known to host comedy shows in town has been
the butt of jokes, rather than the purveyor of jokes, it seems like
we're in need of whatever Liedtke's got.
Liedtke, who has made some
waves in the Northwest comedy scene in less than a year on stage,
brings funny back to Bend with a series of comedy shows at the Summit
Saloon and Stage with a host of other Northwest comics.
Posted inMusic
Return of the Guitar God: Back Door Slam can’t drink, but they can shred
The blues never looked so young.It's morning here in Bend, but "tea time" on the Isle of Man, a small
self-governing kingdom in the Irish Sea that Davy Knowles calls home,
and he's talking about his age, and why it seems to be the only thing
anyone wants to discuss about the emerging blues guitar prodigy and his
band, Back Door Slam.
"We want to be seen as good musicians full stop
and not because of our age. I understand the sentiment, but it's kind
of a back-handed compliment when somebody says, 'you're really good for
your age,'" Knowles says in a delightfully articulate accent.
Posted inOutside
By The Numbers: A mathematical retrospective
Typically, at this time of year, writers seek the shelter and comfort of Top 10 lists or the best of the year or some such low hanging literary fruit. Well, Left Field will not, dear readers, stoop so low to insult your good intelligence with such prosaic drivel!
We're stronger than the temptation. We're mightier than the outstretched fruit. We're…well, you get the point.
Instead, we will succumb to the cosmic lure of cipher contentment.
Ah, yes, we do have a weakness. You see, by day, Left Field crunches numbers, devouring spreadsheets and databases with the glee of Jim Valvano winning an NCAA men's basketball championship. We are a sucker for digitalia. And here's what the numbers tell us about 2007.