Culture

Culture, Ecosystems, Human Landscape, Multimedia, Out West

Image by Stephen Brooks. Increasing periods of drought in the American West have raised concern among those dependent on the land. Nathan, a young rancher in Eastern Oregon, awaits the building clouds with hope that they may bring a much-needed spring rain for the parched soils.

How the West Was Won: The Sage + Westies Photo Essay

What happens when a magazine and a student group collaborate to put out a call for images that tell stories about the North American West? Inboxes rapidly fill up with muskoxen and lots of people gain an excuse to drink Oregon beer while looking at mind-blowing pictures. A selection of photos from beyond the 100th meridian.
by × May 6, 2012 × Comments are Disabled

Culture

Dear Earth: Happy 400th Birthday! Love, Groupon.

Dear Earth: Happy 400th Birthday! Love, Groupon.

Ah, Earth Day: an opportunity for the country's worst polluters to rise, phoenix-like, from puddles of industrial effluent and recreate themselves as environmentalists. An opportunity for America's retailers to shamelessly hijack the words "eco-friendly" and "sustainable" and repurpose them to quicken the pulse of fetishistic shoppers. An opportunity for a free canvas shopping bag with every purchase! I was hardly surprised when Groupon sent me an email proffering Earth
by × April 20, 2012 × 1 comment

Culture, Reviews

Review: The Whale

Review: The Whale

arrived at the theater a little early. There were good seats left at the front, and the crowd – an older, calmer population than I am used to – was chatting and milling about contentedly. I expected this to be …

by × April 17, 2012 × 0 comments

Culture, Reviews

Review: Big Boys Gone Bananas!*

Review: Big Boys Gone Bananas!*

Big Boys Gone Bananas!* documents the year-long battle between film director Fredrik Gertten and the crushing public relations and legal force of Dole Food Company.

“If you have mighty enemies, then you need many friends,” said Gertten when introduced to …

by × April 16, 2012 × 0 comments

Culture, Reviews

Review: The Last Mountain

Review: The Last Mountain

The Last Mountain, Bill Haney’s piercing new documentary about coal mining in the Appalachians, features enough explosions to make Michael Bay blush. In shot after shot, violent plumes of rubble erupt skyward from the side of denuded mountains, leaving …

by × April 12, 2012 × 0 comments

Culture, Reviews

The final 'dream' scene in Eating Alabama

Review: Eating Alabama

shaggy haired man perches in a little wooden shack, camouflaged head to toe, arms cradling a rifle and eyes watching for deer. Trepidatiously, he loads a shell and while his voiceover announces unassumingly, “I’ve never done this before.” And so …

by × April 12, 2012 × 3 comments