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All of us feel the pain of the parents, families, neighbors and friends of the children and educators who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Such senselessness is unfathomable. There are no words to describe the terror imposed not only on that community but also on the nation as a whole as we strive to safeguard our children. Continue reading
• Occupy Medical is seeking monetary donations to make it through the long, wet winter. OM tells us “We are doing what we can to treat and prevent the spread of diseases like pertussis, HIV, hepatitis, diphtheria and pneumonia. Your support saves lives.” St. Vincent de Paul was providing financial assistance, but the funds ran dry in December. Checks can be made out to Occupy Medical and mailed to the Tamarack Center, 3575 Donald St., Suite 230, Eugene 97405. The group’s nonprofit status is pending. Continue reading
We hear the Eugene Airport is super busy over the holidays with more than 1,800 people departing the day after Christmas, up about 17 percent over last year. Cathryn Stephens, deputy airport director, predicts Dec. 27 and 30 will also be big days for arrivals and departures. She says the more typical departure rate is about 1,100 a day. Continue reading
There is a gallery in Eugene with more than 66,000 paintings from over 900 artists. That’s twice as many artworks than are currently on display in the Louvre Museum. You’re not going to find Daily Paintworks on any art walk, however, because it’s in the cloud; it’s online. “The internet is transforming art — the art industry — just the way it has with music and publishing,” David Marine, co-founder of Daily Paintworks, says. Continue reading
The Idle No More movement that has swept across Canada is taking root in Oregon as well, with a flashmob Dec. 23 at Portland's Pioneer Place mall and another round dance flashmob planned for 5 pm Dec. 29 at Eugene's Valley River Center. A Facebook page organizing the VRC flashmob says singers will begin at 5 pm in the middle of the mall and says for participants to gather round, dance and support when the singing begins and to part ways when it ends. Continue reading
The ongoing proliferation and fragmentation of music production, especially nonlabel productions, makes choosing the top 12 albums of 2012 an impossible and foolish task — but here at EW, we’re OK with attempting the impossible and playing the fool sometimes. And as far as last-minute gifting goes, there aren’t many things as easy to give as music — it’s affordable and ubiquitous, whether it’s a download, CD or vinyl. Continue reading
My fitness class lets me tune out life’s chaos and tune in to my body. Like me, the other women here focus on the workout, all of us sweating and grunting to the beat. Our group ranges from new moms to long-time widows, and all ages in between. A lot of us, like me, are in our 60s. As far as I know, I’m the only homo. But you wouldn’t know that to look at us. Except for a few ponytails and pinned-back buns, everyone has pretty much the same short haircut. Dykey. I fit right in. Continue reading
• Springfield City Club will focus on key community health indicator data collected by health care experts and discuss community health priorities at 11:45 am Thursday, Dec. 20, at Willamalane Center, 250 S. 32nd St. Continue reading
The Hobbit is not a particularly large book. It’s a friendly size, a book that a kid can read happily, without tripping over the endless pages of description — and walking — that fill The Fellowship of the Ring. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is not the same size. The first film in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy pulls from Tolkien’s seemingly endless trove of Middle-Earth lore, filling out An Unexpected Journey until it’s more of a war story than the sprightly adventure on which it’s based. Continue reading
Anybody want to buy a weekly newspaper? Not this rag, of course, but The Jefferson Review and the Scio News are currently on the block cheap in order to “avoid imminent closure,” according to a notice from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Cash only and the deadline for inquiries is Friday, Dec. 21. Call the owner at 971-3217. Contrary to conventional wisdom, print publications still have a lot of life left in them and not all are shrinking to oblivion. Continue reading