Culture: Page 195

Pots Preferred

Agastache and salvia brighten things up

Gardening

Not every garden in the Willamette Valley has super river-bottom silty loam. If your soil sets up like concrete when it’s dry it probably holds lots of moisture in the winter. Some wonderful summer blooming perennials have a problem with that. I’m thinking in particular of the many ravishing cultivars of agastache (ag-ah-STAK-ee) and salvia that have hit the market in recent decades. Lots of them need really good drainage to over-winter reliably in our region.  Continue reading →

Summer Wines

Drink some wine on a hot summer night

Drink

I squinted through the grimy glass of our office window on the 14th floor of Eugene’s oldest high-rise (and eyesore). I stared down at the city’s streets lined with flushed sweetgums and pin oaks. We’re warming fast — maybe too fast — zooming into summer, maybe another hot, dry vintage, promising big bold pinot noirs, not the cool-country delicacy we’ve come to know and love. The global news on climate change (warming) has been grim: retreating glaciers, sweltering droughts, disappearing species. Continue reading →

Look Up

Or look down — Neil deGrasse Tyson wants you to be scientifically literate

Culture

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson inspires millions, not with hype and bravado, but with intergalactic levels of cool.  Through Tyson’s work as an astrophysicist, author, museum director, television and radio host, even the most novice among us can imagine the birth of stars; we can envision dwarf planets and ponder the very structures that define our home, the Milky Way.  Simply put, he makes science accessible and fun.  Continue reading →

It’s About Time – June 2016

About Time

Summer solstice is arguably the most significant of all solar events. That the sun shone straight down a well in Syrene, Egypt, every summer solstice day gave Eratosthenes the insight for determining the Earth’s circumference 2,200 years ago. Stone monuments worldwide are aligned to commemorate this longest day of the year. The bronze sighting monument on the summit of Mount Pisgah has slots that line up with sunrise and sunset on the solstice. Continue reading →

The Tastes of Summer

Eat, drink and be merry with new food-centric gatherings

Culture
Da Nang Vietnamese Eatery joins the fleet at Eugene Food Truck Fest June 18

The tastes of summer beckon — this year, two brand-new foodie shindigs splash onto the scene. Look forward to a season’s worth of eating, drinking and living it up. And the best part is, you don’t even have to trek to Portland. First comes the Eugene Food Truck Fest, a delicious gathering invented by the Eugene Mission to raise awareness of homelessness during the summer months, when thoughts of shelter and housing tend to fade as the warm weather rolls in.  Continue reading →

Testing 1, 2, 3

Eugene gamers get to sample the latest from developers at Indie Game Play Test Night

CultureTechnology
Hot Dog Apocalypse

Indie video game developers from as far away as Seattle will showcase their work as part of Indie Game Play Test Night Friday, May 27, at Shoryuken League in downtown Eugene. Event coordinator Britt Brady says it’s crucial that game developers get their projects in front of a game playing audience as early as possible.  “Game developers are very close to their games,” Brady says. “Before their game is out, this is a way for indie developers to get the public playing it — see what’s fun, see what people like, find bugs and also promote it.” Continue reading →