David Jasper

Bend

Assistant Features Editor at The Bulletin (Bend, OR)

Man of redaction. A&E/outdoor features editor. Husband. Father of three. Skateboarder. Struggler.

Articles

Dropping In: Board games often reveal a player's character, or lack thereof

3 days ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

Dropping In: Board games often reveal a player's character, or lack thereofPublished 12:30 pm Wednesday, June 4, 2025Saturday was arguably the finest day of the year so far in Central Oregon. My wife and I hiked that morning, ate lunch at a food cart, and then I took a 1.5-hour nap. After I woke up, we spent the remainder of the afternoon on our back deck, talking, resting and excusing our general lack of productivity. In short, it was perfect. And then we played a board game.
Dropping In: The gift of crummy first jobs - learning what you don't want to do

1 week ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

Dropping In: The gift of crummy first jobs - learning what you don't want to doPublished 12:30 pm Wednesday, May 28, 2025Somehow, because of the way the stars aligned, all three of my daughters are graduating from college in a few weeks with their bachelors degrees in the humanities, one from University of Oregon in Eugene, and two from Portland State University in (checks notes) Portland. Despite the prevailing educational ethos, they didn't study STEM subjects.
Sunriver Music Festival overture events

1 week ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

Sunriver Music Festival overture eventsPublished 5:45 pm Monday, May 26, 2025Sunriver Music Festival has a number of events and offerings coming up. Call it the overture before the annual classic music festival opens Aug. 2 at the Tower Theatre in Bend. Before it closes on Aug. 13 at the Sunriver Resort Great Hall, the festival will feature four classical concerts, one pops concert, a brilliant solo piano recital and a Family Concert.
'Very pedantic heckles': Scientist-turned-comedian Ben Miller returns to Bend

2 weeks ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

'Very pedantic heckles': Scientist-turned-comedian Ben Miller returns to BendPublished 1:07 pm Thursday, May 22, 2025Comedian Ben Miller comes from an unusual background for a comedian: He's a former scientist with an Ivy League education in material design and engineering. Based in New York, Miller began his foray from science to comedy about eight years ago.
Dropping In: Reader calls to advise new direction for column

2 weeks ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

Dropping In: Reader calls to advise new direction for columnPublished 3:30 pm Wednesday, May 21, 2025Last week, I wrote in this space about my one-week stay in a guest suite at The Breakers at Edgewater Beach, the Chicago high-rise for people 62 and over where my mother-in-law lives, and how the week had given me a preview of what old-age might hold in store.
Dropping In: Taking the ride in a high-rise for seniors

3 weeks ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

Dropping In: Taking the ride in a high-rise for seniorsPublished 3:00 pm Wednesday, May 14, 2025Vacations can be many things - relaxing, adventurous, educational, recuperative. My week off in Chicago, during which my wife and I stayed five days in a high-rise for people 62 and over, could best be described as informative, as in an informative preview of old age.
Savoring the solitude on Sutton Mountain

1 month ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

Savoring the solitude on Sutton MountainPublished 1:30 pm Thursday, May 8, 2025I was so fixated on the grand sprawl that is Wheeler County, so focused on its tens of thousands of acres of rimrock canyons and desolate dry washes, that I almost stepped on a square foot of pain. I noticed the hedgehog cactus while my boot was just starting its descent. I recoiled and lurched to the side, as though I had seen not a stationary succulent but a quite speedy rattlesnake.
Cascades Theatrical Co. stages 'Grease,' set to open Friday

1 month ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

Cascades Theatrical Co. stages 'Grease,' set to open FridayPublished 4:30 pm Wednesday, May 7, 2025Is there anyone who doesn't know - or love - "Grease," the jubilant coming-of-age story of hormonal, lovestruck teens on the precipice of graduation and adulthood?
Dropping In: Mike Peters of The Alarm gone in a 'Blaze of Glory'

1 month ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

Dropping In: Mike Peters of The Alarm gone in a 'Blaze of Glory'Published 3:30 pm Wednesday, April 30, 2025Like bad weather, grief strikes when it wants. Except with the weather, you can see it in the forecast and prepare. With grief, you just have to ride it out when it hits. I broke down crying Tuesday morning when I cracked open Instagram and saw that Mike Peters had died. The 66-year-old's name probably won't mean a lot to a lot of people, but Peters meant a lot to me.
Short walk, high rewards at Cline Falls in Redmond

1 month ago | bendbulletin.com | David Jasper

Short walk, high rewards at Cline Falls in RedmondPublished 2:30 pm Thursday, April 24, 2025My wife and I went to Cline Falls on one of the recent sunny, relatively warm weekends and now I'm kind of mad at myself: How is it that I have lived in Central Oregon since 2001, but only just now made my way to the actual Cline Falls, located just west of Redmond? The falls had been dammed until 2017, but I don't know if this makes my tardiness more or less excusable.