Gawker alerted us to what could be the most bizarre casualty of the slumping housing market yet: the owners of a Lord of the Rings-themed, 31-unit housing development in Bend, Ore., have defaulted on a $3.4 million dollar loan for the property.
Founder Ron Meyer sold “The Shire”—named for a fictional area of Read More
The Democratic nomination? Barack Obama will have the delegates he needs to claim it. What hasn’t been resolved yet is how fiercely and for how long Hillary Clinton will challenge him. The outcome of Tuesday’s primaries could go a long way to determining this.
The votes in Kentucky and Oregon are the last Democratic contests Read More
Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name, by Vendela Vida. Ecco, 226 pages, $23.95.
The impulse to lump these two novels together is understandable, since Heidi Julavits and Vendela Vida are co-founders of The Believer (a literary journal I’ve written for—just once.) But there’s actually very little evidence to support the notion of a Read More
Now when everyone is gazing at Mt. Hood, let’s not forget the last outdoor tragedy in Oregon. Today’s The Oregonian prints a bravura piece of reporting about why local authorities failed to find the Kim family on Bear Camp Road 2 weeks ago. The story documents a series of bonehead maneuvers inside the Read More
When tragedy befell them on Bear Camp Road in southwest Oregon, the Kim family was driving an all-wheel drive Saab 9-2X . Saab’s website shows the sporting vehicle performing on a lot of mountain roads, at least one a little snowy, and in that one the car is carrying skis.
SUV ads treat Read More
When exactly did the word “nanny” become synonymous with “naughty”? Wasn’t it just yesterday that nannies were dowdy, Mary-Poppins-and-Fraulein-Maria-esque models of discretion and discipline, wearing starched aprons and stern expressions and offering up comforting cups of cambric tea? This moralistic, Brit-inflected archetype still pops up on shows like ABC’s Supernanny, but these days au pairs Read More
The statistic that shook up business writers around the country is that more than half of domestic passenger seats belong to airlines in bankruptcy. The spate of bankruptcies, on the other hand, is something less than a unique event.
“The only other major industry that has more bankruptcies, on a percentage basis, is the restaurant Read More
The statistic that shook up business writers around the country is that more than half of domestic passenger seats belong to airlines in bankruptcy. The spate of bankruptcies, on the other hand, is something less than a unique event.
“The only other major industry that has more bankruptcies, on a percentage basis, is the Read More
Warm, woody and welcoming, the Harrison works its charms from the moment you arrive. Upon passing through the door, you meet up with two, sometimes three, greeters, all of whom appear to be having a very good day. Within seconds, you are coatless and cheerfully on your way to the table, where you are thanked Read More
Time Has Been Kind
To West Side Granddaddy
A casually dressed, middle-aged couple (she in a bulky sweater, he in an open-necked shirt and jacket) rose from their table after an early dinner. The waiter, who was not some young moonlighting actor wearing a T-shirt but an old-time professional in black tie, gently pulled Read More
