Author Archive
Charles Fischman

The Wild Goose: A Rogue Valley Regular
The first bar I patronised in the Rogue Valley was Ashland’s Wild Goose. The last bar I will write about for Drink Local is the Wild Goose. You will find everything you need there for a pleasant evening out, with friends, with your Valentine, with the intriguing soul you want

A Growing Team: RCC Men’s Soccer
Down 0-1 last Saturday against Chemeketa (Salem) with under ten minutes to play, the Rogue Community College Men’s Soccer team pressed for a tying goal. Crosses and dribbling runs from forwards Stenley Graham and Jose Gallegos and midfielder Alejandro Velazquez flew into Chemeketa’s penalty area. RCC could not allow a

On the Dark Side: Seeking Stouts and Porters
In addition to the Drink Local Research Department’s usual post-hike beer encounters this summer, we had three bear encounters. #1: A series of grunts we interpreted as, “back off, two-legged, fur-less creatures,” and we did. #2: A glimpse of scampering cubs and a retreat to the car without waiting to

Time Out: Hitting the Rogue Valley Sports Bars
Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam’s influential 2000 book, Bowling Alone, charts Americans’ social disengagement, from declining church attendance, to fewer family dinners, to “bowling alone.” Putnam’s chief reason for America’s diminishing sociability? The rise of television. One suspects that Putnam might never have entered a sports bar, home field for

Small Budgets, Big Ideas: Bad Lucky Goat and Pop-Aye
Why do we need animals to remind us of how to be human? Bad Lucky Goat, filmed on one of Colombia’s Caribbean islands and directed by Samir Oliveros, and Pop-Aye, filmed in Bangkok and rural Loei Province, Thailand, and written and directed by Kirsten Tan, revolve around their title animals

Endless Summer: The Valley Rally – Our Modest Proposal
First of all, Oktoberfest doesn’t actually take place in October. By the time this Messenger reaches the Rogue Valley, it will be the 184th version’s final weekend in Munich. Second, Oktoberfest has no connection to the Autumnal Equinox, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Michaelmas, or the fall harvest. Rather, Crown Prince

DRINK LOCAL: De Vino Veritas: Agate Ridge Winery
(Editor’s Note: Drink Local makes anonymous visits to randomly chosen vineyards and wineries to discover the truth about wine—de vino veritas—in Southern Oregon.) You have to get up early to join the grape harvest at Agate Ridge Vineyard in Eagle Point. Like all of Southern Oregon’s vineyards, the precarious series

Klamath Independent Film Festival: Movies Migrating to the Basin
It’s not too late to say you remember KIFF back in the early years, before it got all Sundance-y. Klamath Film Makers Group and Festival Coordinator Jesse Widener sets the scene: RVM: KIFF’s 5th anniversary. Did the Klamath Film Makers Group believe that the festival would reach this milestone? Jesse

GOOOOAAAALLLL: Medford United Comes to the Field to Play Futbol
The competitive American youth soccer world—from elite hotbeds like Southern California or North Texas; to their imitators in every major US city’s suburbs; and even to Southern Oregon—is a feverish one. Endless tournaments. Battling governing bodies. Corporate sponsorships. Six-figure salaries at stake. Yet, despite the tumult, an informal consensus reigns.

Say “Prost!” Relax with a Radler
It’s August vacation time. You’re hiking mountain ridges; cycling back-country roads; lounging on forested shores of alpine lakes. You’re… not living in Bavaria; you don’t have four weeks of paid summer vacation, and the Medford high on August 1, the official start of month-long vacations all across Europe was… 110