Something terrible happened to Lee Chandler. When we first meet Lee he’s working as a handyman/janitor in Quincy, Mass. His interactions with customers are cordial and sometimes confrontational. When he gets the news that his older brother has suffered a heart attack, he rushes to the hospital 90 minutes away. The first thing he asks […]
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Posted inCulture
I Am With the Force, the Force is With Me
“Rogue One” puts the “Wars” into “Star Wars”
Trying to review a Star Wars movie is like breaking down the comfort level of your childhood teddy bear. Even though “Rogue One” tells a story with mostly new characters and exists outside of the typical Episode I-VII structure, it’s so deeply rooted in the Star Wars universe that nostalgia holds tightly to every frame. […]
Posted inCulture
Picks 12/21-12/28
Daily Through Dec. 31 Horse Drawn Christmas Caroling HOLIDAY—Cowboy Carriage is hosting Christmas caroling with two Percheron horses pulling a wagon equipped with jingle bells, cookies and hot chocolate through downtown Bend. Caroling books will be provided, all guests need to bring is cheer and singing voices! // Times vary. Meet in front of Pine […]
Posted inNews
Around the World in Cannabis
This week, Smoke Signals goes around the world in cannabis news, starting in the Great White North: Legalization in Alaska Santa may be extra jolly this year, as last week brought the revelation that the North Pole has a commercial cannabis growing operation. OK, the grow op is not at the North Pole. As far […]
Posted inNews
How the Fed Interest Rate Hike Will Affect the Housing Market
As anticipated, the Federal Reserve voted Dec. 14 to raise the federal funds rate by a quarter point. I thought it would be “fun” to show the effects of interest rate hikes on a $300,000 mortgage with a 30-year term: As you can see, a quarter point difference is not that significant, but a half […]
Posted inNews
Stay Lit, Central Oregon!
Energy Challenge program extends into Redmond and Tumalo for 2017
Over the past two years, you may have wondered at the crew of people in Americorps gear, riding around Bend on bikes laden with boxes of LED bulbs. Whether in snow or in sleet, the crew has been working to get the word out about the incredible energy savings you can get by replacing your […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Ditch the Kitchen this Christmas
Festive feasts and where to find them
The dog doesn’t have to “accidentally” eat the turkey for you to feel justified in taking your loved ones out to a restaurant to eat this holiday. If the idea of planning, preparing, serving, and then cleaning up after feeding family and friends sounds more like a work day than a holiday, then we have […]
Posted inCulture
Beware the Christmas Goat
The odd, absurd and sometimes downright freaky side of Christmas traditions
Let’s get weird for a second. Imagine you were trying to explain Western holiday traditions to someone not raised in our culture. For one, there’s this bearded guy, totally not connected to Jesus or his birthday, who climbs down the chimneys of people with children and leaves presents under a tree propped in a corner […]
Posted inCulture
All You Can Do is Laugh
Roast the year 2016 like it deserves
Regardless how good of a year we had as individuals, it’s kinda hard to deny that 2016 sucked. Sucked bad. Like, out of toilet paper in a cemetery outhouse bad. We lost Bowie, Prince and Alan Rickman. Politics have us divided worse than four years ago (or eight years ago…or maybe just really any election […]
Posted inCulture
You Say You Want A Resolution?
How to keep those 2017 expectations low
If only my 2016 New Year’s resolution had panned out, I’d still be celebrating my Golden Globe nod for “Best Screenplay, Motion Picture.” But that would have involved writing a screenplay at some point in the past 365 days. Or at least that novel I had planned for National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo? Ha. It […]
