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Poet T. S. Eliot famously called April “the cruelest month.” And of course he was right, in many respects, forgetting for a moment just how mean May might be. April here just bursts with life, “breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory with desire.” Nobody should die in April; that would be too cruel, “fear in a handful of dust.” Winter has perished, taking snow- and ice-melt down to the rivers, and our world erupts in flowers. Continue reading
James Earl lives in Eugene and is a professor emeritus of English at UO. Previous essays by him can be found by searching for his name at eugeneweekly.com. Valley River Inn will host an exhibit of 26 of his riverbank photos in its lobby starting April 10. Continue reading
For the first time in school history, the 13th ranked UO disc golf team is sending its men’s A-team, men’s B-team and a women’s team to the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships April 16-19 in North Augusta, S.C. The team is holding a fundraising tournament Saturday April 5 to raise money for the trip. The “Duck Chuck” begins at 9 am and holes will span much of campus. Anyone is welcome to participate. Continue reading
Looking over the barre, I see Broadway wet with dawn dew, the morning foot traffic beginning to pick up. Standing there on my tippy-toes, knees bent, arms holding onto the ballet barre for balance, I’m in full “power leg” mode at Barre3. Luckily, the passersby can’t really see my sweaty struggle (I checked; the double windows provide a sort of one-way glass effect). This is good because my legs are starting to get the shakes — that sweet spot where the muscles are forced to surrender and reform. Continue reading
HPV aka human papilloma virus, can be as scary as it is common. About 40 strains of the disease are spread through sexual contact, the worst of them able to cause genital warts and cancer in the cervix, vagina, throat, penis and anus. Enter Gardasil, a vaccine the FDA approved in 2006. It’s been shown to protect against types 6, 11, 16 and 18 of the disease, which cause the majority of cervical cancer and genital warts. (A previously introduced vaccine protected against some cancers but not genital warts.) Continue reading
Meditation is not just some hippie trend or a simple means of relaxation. UO emeritus professor and researcher of psychology Michael Posner found that it can reduce smoking habits, and UO Substance Abuse Prevention Program teacher George Baskerville says it improves attention and helps practitioners better connect with others and the world around them. Continue reading
When a fellow EW staffer and I decided to take advantage of our YMCA memberships last December, we experienced the smug satisfaction of being ahead of the New Year’s resolution crowd; however, neither of us were particularly familiar with gym etiquette or protocol, and on our first day we hopped onto a few elliptical machines, pressing buttons and uncertainly moving the pedals as the panel instructed us. Continue reading
On a dark wintry day in 1942, Hope Pressman crossed Prince Lucien Campbell Memorial Courtyard in the rain toward a lone light shining from the otherwise shadowy UO art museum. The museum, which later became the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, was only open to serious researchers for one hour a week due to a lack of funds. But as a senior studying Chinese history, Pressman needed a book. She made her way to that lone light hanging above the desk of Gertrude Bass Warner, whose library of Asian history and art was housed in the museum. Continue reading
Not many people can say their business’ name was used for a nationwide campaign headed by the first lady, but Denise Thomas-Morrow, owner of Let’s Move Fitness and CEO of nonprofit Healthy Moves, knows that feeling all too well. When she first heard that Michelle Obama named her child fitness program “Let’s Move,” she could hardly believe it. Continue reading
Gardeners! Maybe it’s time to take a fresh look at corn. We are not talking about sweet corn here, nor the notorious modern field corn that gives us corn syrup, ethanol and animal feed — and most of which is genetically modified. Continue reading