Premature Ending
Robbing Montana of its Swan Song
The chances of Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton returning to Montana took a hit Tuesday night. After Obama’s crushing victory in North Carolina and Clinton’s narrow win in Indiana, the majority of pundits have declared the race all but over. I hope not. The state press has been blanketed with high-profile attention from each campaign over the last few weeks and it would be a shame to find out that the media was simply used for political gain.
[read more]Lost Hoop Dreams at the Beacon
The House that Nerf Built
There was once a day in the Beacon office when Hoop Dreams lived. In the earliest days of our humble beginnings, intrepid reporter Dan Testa found an answer to the daily stresses of starting a news organization: a Nerf hoop. Our staff was small and desks were limited, so the office had an open space large enough to accommodate a series of epic P-I-G games. Then, much to our dismay, the Beacon turned out to be successful enough to hire new people, thus clogging the court. It was then, the dreams died.
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Covering the tragic, gruesome or sad
Dealing with Bad News
Having grown up in Billings and worked last summer at the Billings Gazette as an intern, it’s with interest and distress that I’ve read the news coming from the Magic City over the past few weeks. Gazette reporters and the community have recently endured a streak of awful events that has generated strong emotions and interest in the paper's coverage. It has also sparked something positive: open communication between the paper and its readers.
[read more]Ethnic Dining on Wheels
Real Street Food in Kalispell?
My co-workers and I strolled up to Depot Park today to get lunch from the new vendor in the parking lot selling Szechuan noodle and teriyaki rice dishes. I’m not sure how long the noodle cart has been there, with a friendly woman cooking up lunches to order, but I sincerely hope the – dare I say – trend of street food in Kalispell is only going to grow.
[read more]Straight Talk Express
McCain Should Begin Playing Catch-up
The unlikely spotlight shining on Montana isn’t only reserved for Democratic presidential frontrunners apparently. Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul spoke to a rowdy crowd in Missoula last week. And defunct hopeful Mike Huckabee was in Billings this week, campaigning for gubernatorial candidate Roy Brown. And I fully expect presumptive GOP nominee John McCain to show up any day now.
[read more]Springtime Adventures in the Northern Plains
Lost Fish – and Mufflers – on the Reservation
Just south of Browning my muffler fell off. The timing seemed odd and strangely meaningful because, number one, I was in the middle of the prairie on the Blackfeet Reservation and, number two, it happened only a couple of hundred yards away from a giant field of broken-down cars and discarded auto parts. It was as if the muffler saw its brothers scattered across the plains and decided it was time to go. But I had no time for philosophizing over lost exhaust souls – I had fishing to do.
[read more]All things in moderation, including moderation
Losing the Gluttony Game
The nausea started somewhere between a bacon-infused mini burger, my third sample of wine and a cup of cream of pear soup. By the time I got to the fish tacos, I was beginning to seriously reconsider my dining strategy. I thought I was ready for Taste of Bigfork. Instead, I received a valuable lesson on the evils of gluttony and barely avoided getting sick on my shoes.
[read more]It's Just Not a Very Good Movie
Teen Wolf Disillusion
When “Teen Wolf” was released in 1985, I was obsessed with it. The film, about a nerdy high school student who becomes a werewolf, starring Michael J. Fox, spurred not only a sequel (starring Jason Bateman) but a cartoon series. So when I stumbled across it recently, I rejoiced. But a half-hour in, I grew puzzled. “This movie is not good,” I thought. “Could my opinions of films have evolved from when I was 6?”
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