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Weekly News for Bend Oregon.
PUTUMATALAN, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lankan soldiers are killing children as young as 11 years old conscripted by the Tamil Tigers in their last stand, a military commander said.
"It's very difficult to shoot a child. But it does not matter what age, you have to shoot," said Jaggath Dias, ... Read more Steve Lopez is a gifted writer, a journalist with a rare eye for the human condition, its struggles and its bliss.
RATINGS GUIDE:
4 STARS - Excellent.
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0 ... Read more 2009-05-02
ALL MY CHILDREN: Opal is spooked by her vision of Annie and later experiences a disturbing image of a bloodied Tad. Ryan's caught off guard when he receives a package from Alexander Cambias Sr. containing a manuscript outlining the details of the Satin Slayer murders. Alexander takes credit for ... Read moreTamils accused of recruiting children
Movie Review: 'Soloist' goes it alone, hits a lot of wrong notes
Lynda Hirsch on Soaps: Weekly summary
Your Bend / Central Oregon newspaper for arts, entertainment, recreation, news, music, culture and events.
Wednesday night in Bend was completely rocked by California band Social Distortion. There were awesome cat fights, plenty of crowd surfing, and even a couple of idiots who showed some major ups by launching themselves onto the stage in the middle of Social D's set. Openers Lindi Ortega and Texas band Toadies were fantastic (in fact, Toadies sounded just like I remember them). And the Midtown Ballroom was packed with people of all ages.
The only thing that sucked last night was Social D's se... Read morePictures From Last Night's Social D Show
Ed Board Bans All Native Mascots
After months of testimony and hand wringing the state board of education moved to end the debate over the appropriateness of Native American mascots and tribal imagery by voting overwhelmingly to ban all references entirely from Oregon campuses.
The board voted 5-1 on Thursday to ban the use of names like “Redskin” “Braves” “Indians” and other names that refer to native American tribes and tribal traditions. Board members said they were convinced by expert and ... Read more
We're So Fat, Baby!
Oregon’s reputation of being slim and fit may not be as accurate as we thought according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, the ugly truth is that the obesity rates in Oregon have shot up an astonishing 121 percent since 1990. The increasing percentage is attributable to all you couch sitters and food junkies who lack of good nutrition and avoid physical activity at all costs based on a recent report by the Oregon Health Authority. The American Journal of Preventive M... Read more
KTVZ - Central Oregon's News Leader
Oregon is known for going green and efforts to create new ways of renewable energy. An experimental project on the side of the Newberry Volcano southeast of Bend could soon be added to the list. Read more A property owners landscaping work east of Bend almost cost them their home Thursday afternoon, as heat or sparks from that equipment likely sparked a wildfire that nearly consumed the house, fire officials said. Read more SkyWest Airlines, which operates United Express and Delta Connection flights out of Redmond Airport, said Thursday it was told this week that United will switch to another customer service provider for flight check-in and baggage handling at the airport. Read moreNewberry Geothermal: New Path to Tap Energy
Wind-Fanned Blaze Threatens Home E. of Bend
United Pulls SkyWest From RDM Ground Duties
New West is a next-generation media company dedicated to the culture, economy, politics, environment and lifestyle of the Rocky Mountain West. Our core mission is to serve the Rockies with innovative, participatory journalism and to promote conversation that helps us understand and make the most of the dramatic changes sweeping our region.
Idaho-based writer Daniel Orozco's first book, Orientation and Other Stories (Faber and Faber, 162 pages, $23), journeys to so many different places--from life among the perpetual painters of the Golden Gate Bridge, to Paraguay, where the deposed president of a Latin-American country lives in sumptuous exile, to white-collar and blue-collar American workplaces in Washington, California, and elsewhere--that it's hard to believe it's less than two hundred pages long. The years of care Orozco has put into this book--which was more than fifteen years in the making--are evident in every honed sentence.
You can tell Orozco was having fun, challenging himself to try every possible narrative technique--first-person, second-person, third-person, perspectives that are limited to one character and some that are omniscient (including one that ventures briefly into the perspective of a pack of dogs), stories composed of several distinct episodes, and one comprised of entries from a police officer's log that build into a hilarious love story.
Daniel Orozco will kick off his book tour in Moscow, Idaho with a reading from his pickup truck in front of BookPeople on Main Street on June 10 (7 p.m.). He'll read in Portland on June 23 at Powell's Books on Hawthorne (7:30 p.m.). Read more Last week two regional organizations announced the finalists for their annual book awards. I've listed the finalists below with links to New West's reviews of the books and author interviews. First, the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association announced the finalists for its Reading the West Book Awards (that's the new name of the MPIBA's longstanding book award series).
The shortlist in the Adult category:
• Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession by Craig Childs (Little, Brown and Co.)
• The Wake of Forgiveness by Bruce Machart (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Volt: Stories by Alan Heathcock (Graywolf Press)
• Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America by Eric Jay Dolin (W.W. Norton)
• The Ringer by Jenny Shank (The Permanent Press)
Also in the Roundup: The finalists for the High Plains Book Awards, The Whitefish Review seeks donations for its ninth issue, The High Desert Journal announces a poetry prize, and the tally on how many books Oprah helped David Wroblewski and Cormac McCarthy sell. Read more Each year readers and writers gather to celebrate the written word at book festivals, fairs, and writing conferences throughout the West. Although there are a few spring festivals, everything really begins to pick up in June, and the schedule remains busy through November.
The offerings vary from those that concentrate on helping writers improve their craft, such as the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's retreat in Grand Lake, Colo. (July 10th-15th), to those that introduce writers to readers through panels, readings, and book signings, such as the Montana Festival of the Book in Missoula (October 5th-7th). Some, such as the Aspen Summer Words Festival (June 19th-24th), combine workshops and readings. The workshops charge fees, but plenty of the festivals are free to attend, including the Montana Festival of the Book in Missoula and the Equality State Book Fair in Casper. Most workshops are already accepting applications for this year.
I've updated the Book Festivals of the West map with this year's information when it was available. Please let me know if there are any more events to add or update--I'll even throw this open for events in California and Texas. New West will run reports from the festivals again this year--we already have correspondents lined up for the Jackson Hole Writers Conference, Aspen Summer Words, and the Montana Festival of the Book, and are looking for more contributors. Read moreLoneliness and Laughter: Daniel Orozco's 'Orientation"
Reading The West & High Plains Book Awards Finalists Announced
Book Festivals of the West 2011
A stunning view from Bend, Oregon looking west over the Cascade Mountain range, this cam offers the latest on local weather.