Of mascots, meadowlarks and mallards
This is Oregon's state bird, the Western meadowlark: Continue reading
Whats-Happening: Page 540
Let Them Eat
Young women in Eugene talk body image and the pressure to be perfect
“Gaining weight was the worst possible thing that could happen,” says 17-year-old South Eugene High School senior Sophie Kreitzberg. Returning from a 500-mile walk along Spain’s Camino de Santiago, Kreitzberg had never been so thin. “I got so much attention,” she remembers, noting that she experienced her first romance, was cast in plays and that social interaction was just easier as a thin woman. “My grandmother cried because I was so beautiful,” Kreitzberg recalls. Continue reading
It’s About Time – January 2015
A year ago the eastside Delta Ponds had already frozen solid. Ice was an inch thick under seven inches of snow and thawed completely by the New Year. In February another snowfall was accompanied by a freezing rain the likes of which we hadn’t seen for many years. It was hard on the birdwatchers and really hard on the birds. Hummingbird feeders froze. Continue reading
Hot Topicals
Topical cannabis offers pain relief without the head high
We’ve all rubbed a salve into a sore muscle or joint and breathed a sweet sigh of relief. There are the old standbys, Icy Hot or BenGay. Tiger balm has saved my lower back with its cool, soothing cloud of numbness. Now there’s a new player in the topical pain relief game — topical cannabis. Continue reading
The Spin
All across town, dance is lighting up the New Year
All across town, dance is lighting up the New Year. A chapter in the local dance scene has closed, as Geni Morrow, who has served as the director of The Reach Center and its dance company The EDGE, also serving as the impresario behind the 20-year-running performance fundraiser Dance for a Reason, announced that there would be no Dance for a Reason this year. Continue reading
Snow Balls
At the heart of most Hollywood films, from The Wizard of Oz to World War Z, is some perceived threat to the domestic tranquility of the nuclear family. Whether it’s a tsunami, invading aliens or a stampeding horde of zombies, the danger that rattles our cinematic daydreams is the impending chaos of social disintegration, and it typically befalls an unlikely hero (usually dad, sometimes mom) to suddenly acquire a spine and ward off the forces of evil. Continue reading
Navigating Nia
Eugene’s favorite yoga-meets-dance-meets-martial arts workout
Nia is a form of exercise that mixes yoga, martial arts and dance techniques, but never mind what it is exactly: That analyzing part of your brain has no place here. Nia is about the joy of having arms and legs and knees and shoulders. It’s exploring the movements that your body loves. Continue reading
Phone Fitness
Apps help you track exercise and count calories
Your smartphone lets you listen to music, read the newspaper, filter your photos and find people to date. It can also help you lose weight and stay fit. If your New Year’s resolution is to have less screen time and more gym time, you might want to think again — turn your phone time to fitness time with these free apps. MyFitnessPal Continue reading
Bloody Hell
Alternative period products for the adventurous among us
It has always struck me as one of the great injustices of womanhood — the monthly bloodbath from a body part that is normally reserved for sexytime (not a baby corridor just yet, thank you very much). I try to tell myself that it’s some great honor, an ancient rite of femininity that brings me closer to nature and the goddess within us all. But that kind of bullshit isn’t terribly reassuring when you’ve bled through your pants and flushed your last tampon down the toilet. Continue reading
Gracefully
Whitney Monge
Seattle musician Whitney Monge calls her sound “alternative soul,” but don’t expect Aretha Franklin or Al Green — not quite, anyway. “Alternative soul means music coming from a place that we all have: our soul,” Monge says, admitting she’s influenced by heavyweights from soul music, but her sound is a mix of rock and blues. “It’s music that’s relatable. It’s music you can feel,” she says. Continue reading