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The word Micmacs, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie) explained before the screening of his new film, is slang for “shenanigans,” a word which sounded impossibly playful in Jeunet’s thick French accent. “Impossibly playful” is also one way to describe the film, which is as sweet and joyful and imperfect a revenge fantasy you might hope to see. Continue reading
I honestly thought I’d be blogging every day from SXSW. That’s the most laughable idea I’ve had in ages. Since Friday, I’ve been in Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest, which is hard to sum up in just one sentence: It’s a long-running music, film and nerd festival (the nerd track is loosely called “Interactive”) at which many of the things I write about overlap and converge (what a goddamn buzz word that is). I’m here to see bands, learn about Austin’s music scene, watch movies, go to panels and, well, write about them all. Continue reading
The new Seneca biomass plant in Eugene will get millions in state tax breaks while the state releases prison inmates and stuffs kids in overcrowded classrooms for lack of tax revenue. Ostensibly the tax breaks are for “green” power, but the Oregonian reports today that the Seneca biomass plant will “release more carbon dioxide and lung-damaging particulates than a comparable coal-fired power plant.” Continue reading
Yes, you could go see Alice in Wonderland this weekend. (I certainly plan to.) But you could also do something a little different and hop over to DIVA for one of the screenings of this year’s Oscar-nominated short films. Pick animated only, live-action only or go all-out and watch both — though if you have to pick, for my money, the animated set is the way to go. Continue reading
The Eugene Citizens Review Board voted unanimously tonight that a police officer used excessive force in Tasering a Chinese student last year. Continue reading
When I last lucked into tickets to the Oregon Truffle Festival’s Grand Truffle Dinner, the event was still held at LCC. The dinner’s current location at the Valley River Inn is a better-lit, more comfortable space that manages, despite its cavernousness, to feel a little more intimate. Continue reading
In this week’s issue of Chow! there are a few little “Word Is” tidbits – news we didn’t have time or space to cover in depth. One of them was meant to tell you that The Divine Cupcake, Eugene’s vegan cupcake company, is opening a retail location (on West 11th across from Ring of Fire) quite soon. March, we hear. It’ll be Eugene’s first dedicated cupcakery. And these are some tasty cupcakes. But the placeholder ran instead. That would be the little box of text that tells you that I hoped to have details soon. Continue reading
In a few months, Eugeneans will have a new Italian food option. Come spring, Rocky Maselli, the executive chef at Marché, is opening Sfizio in Oakway Center. Like Marché, Sfizio will use local producers “for almost everything,” says the press release, which describes the restaurant as follows: Continue reading
More former Eugeneans turned Los Angelenos are doing nifty things. This time, it’s the women of Warpaint, who debuted a new video yesterday. Continue reading
It’s not every began-in-Eugene-but-moved-to-the-big-city (in this case, L.A.) band that comes back to town for a month of Sunday shows. The Parson Red Heads have done residencies at a few L.A. venues; next month, they’re settling in three cities at once, playing Mondays in Portland, Thursdays in Seattle and Sundays here, at Sam Bond’s. Continue reading