Author: Sophia June

This Smart House

Saving the planet with home automation systems

Culture
Lockitron

The iconic space-age cartoon The Jetsons features a technologically advanced home, complete with a robot housekeeper and a home full of futuristic gadgets. The show first aired in 1962, and while houses still don’t brush your teeth for you or make breakfast with the press of a button, technology now enables us to do some advanced home control, like dimming your living room lights from miles away.  Home automation systems have arrived. Along with compost, urban gardens and solar panels, they’re the future of sustainability.  Continue reading →

Just A Eugene Kid

Mat Kearney

Music
Mat Kearney

“I want to say that no artist has mentioned Eugene, Oregon, more in songs,” Eugene-born folk-rock artist Mat Kearney tells EW.  For example, the lyrics to “One Black Sheep,” from his latest release, begin with a reference that only Eugene fans could appreciate: “I was born a love child of the seventies/ Touched down at Sacred Heart … In the city of hippies and angel dust.”  Continue reading →

The Age of Reinvention

Ditch the daily drudgery and catch Work Dance Company’s Mechanical Dancer at the Hult

Dance
The cast of Work Dance Company’s Mechanical Dancer: Reinv3ntion. Photo by Michael Brinkerhoff.

In the Information Age, it can be difficult to assess where routine ends and passion begins. The monotony of the daily grind can make you downright maniacal. Luckily, Work Dance Company director and choreographer Nate Boozer is here to give you a reboot.  Boozer and more than 100 dancers, that is. Work Dance Company’s presents Mechanical Dancer: REINV3NTION Feb. 21 at the Hult Center.  Continue reading →

Sex Ed

Get sexy and smart with As You Like It’s workshops

Culture
Gail Karuna-Vetter, Kim Marks and Oblio Stroyman

This Valentine’s season, say goodbye to chocolates and flowers and consider treating yourself — with or without a partner — to a safe, sex-savvy workshop.  Kim Marks, owner of the new gender-inclusive eco-conscious sex shop As You Like It, wants you to have a good sex life. And in addition to providing the toys and treats to do so, the shop will present workshops with professional sex educators covering everything from sex toys to the G-spot.   Continue reading →

11th Annual Oregon Jazz Festival

Escape the winter doldrums with two nights of hot jazz

Music

Escape the winter doldrums with two nights of hot jazz for the 11th Annual Oregon Jazz Festival Jan. 23 and 24 at University of Oregon and Lane Community College. During the day, the festival consists of clinics for student jazz musicians and concert performances from high schools. This year, students will have the opportunity to work with festival clinician Branford Marsalis, a music educator, Grammy-winning saxophonist and Tony-winning composer. Marsalis will also be performing in a concert presented by the Eugene Symphony 8 pm Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Hult Center.  Continue reading →