Sunday, August 24, 2008

The Duck Blind. Join now.

Kinda surprised that Costa's expended his Sunday editorial on "SPREADING TALES WITH NO REGARD FOR TRUTH."

Err....John. No one was taking these builder suicide/murder conspiracy's seriously except Buster...and I'm not even sure about him. Besides, he's a nut. Also a sly dog who makes most of his points by overstatement -- and then overstating that overstatement again and again. It may seem like there's a bunch of us who believe the banks took hits out on bankrupt builders, but really it's just Bilbo Buster, over and over again, under different names but with that unmistakably offensive tone.

Also news to me that there were 4 builders who might have jumped; I was only aware of three.

Finally, for the 'confirmed' suicides, and the Bulletin policy of not "naming people who commit suicide unless they are public figures," I'll submit that the building boom was one of the biggest 'public' stories Bend has had over the last 5 years or so, which makes prominent builders into public figures. The paper certainly wasn't shy about publishing their big plans, but strangely quiet when those plans fall through in such a disaster that the prominent investors and planners feel like they have to jump into the rapids.

Then again, I'm sympathetic to the idea that "reporting a suicide adds a level of pain to an existing tragedy.'

Nevertheless, until today, there wasn't even an acknowledgment that even unnamed individuals had committed suicides.

I think there has to be a way to report the wreckage of the boom in a sensitive way.

Besides, the editorial is proof in a way that keeping these things quiet doesn't work in this modern blog world.



There is another story in the Bulletin about the Loft.

Again, I say without Irony that this appears to be a brilliant plan. I seems to me that it pencils out nicely.

So much so that I again propose another exclusive club on the upper floors of the Decoy building. We'll call it the Duck Blind. Membership is 1000.00 entry and 100.00 a month. No concierge, though. Just a full fridge.

Whatyasay?

15 comments:

Duncan McGeary said...

Linda laughed uproariously when I told her I was starting a social club. Insulting.

I'm half serious.

How about this. The first 20 members get a lifetime free membership. I think for 20k we could at least rent a floor.

Then? Hey, we let the members decide.

Big screen T.V.?

Micro brews?

Microwave food?

Pool tables and card tables?

Live entertainment?

Hey, what do you expect for half the price?

Duncan McGeary said...

I've figured out a perpetual way to keep stocked in beer. Swear words are fined 10.00. Beer fuels the swear words, swear words fuel the beer!

Anonymous said...

Dunc,

You give me too much credit. Homer's post a few weeks ago was "BANK MOB HITS", ... "take out Bend's Builders", that was homers rhetoric.

We really are different people.

For the record, I made one assertion, and it came from 1980's here in Bend, and that was that people who had lost Millions of dollars of 'Private' Real Estate 'pool' money had contracts put out on them. For as long as I have lived in Bend, I have seen over & over, in the good RE cycles, that 'investors' just love to give millions of dollars of cash to realtors to 'invest' for them, and virtually every cycle the money ends up being spent in Reno on whores and drugs.


I simply brought my perspective history, and a cyclic recurrence of what is Bend.

The entry of the ENTIRE suicide debate in the bend-blogger world was 100% 'marge' from day-one, should you bother to go back and follow the blogs.

Upon Marge's detailed reporting, because her being a realtor in the Bend grape-vine, she was able to name names, and specific locations and circumstance of each individual death. ( Audia comes to mind. ) Marge gave us very detailed information.

With regards to DR-McDonald of the SHIRE, within days of his falling @ Benham Falls, the Source was reporting that they were skeptical of the 'accidental death' theory.

The bend-bloggers didn't pick up the suicide deal until Marge brought up Audia, then we went back and connected the dots to McDonald.

Then there were two that followed, as since the last two weeks we're now following all Bend suicides very closely.

I'm sure your post was only to bait me, but I hate for you to give one old man all the credit for reporting an 'epidemic of suicides in bend'.

In summary, McDonald died and the Source started the suicide angle, which made MORE sense. Then marge reported the Audia self-inflicted gun-shot. Then HOMER ran the 'bank hit' story.

Bilbo never suggested that Bends regional banks had anything to do with the mysterious deaths of our four prominent, public, important builders.

What bilbo said that in the last cycle ( 1980-1990 ), Millions of dollars of private money was lost in Real Estate pools by 'idiot builder/developers', and I know some that ran off to Mexico, because contracts had been put on them. All along my take on the Bend-Bubble collapse this time around 2002->2012, is all transpiring exactly like last time, 1980->1990. Same people, same bullshit, same PR&MARKETING, all the exact same, same ponzi scheme to separate calis from their CASH.

bilbo in bend

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Beer fuels the swear words, swear words fuel the beer!

And we can tie flywheels to the back of our cars to get there for FREE forever!

Perpetual Drunken Motion!

Duncan McGeary said...

Bilbo,

I wasn't saying that you were the only one to be talking about suicide/murders, but the only one who seemed to believe in conspiracy bank-sanctioned murders.

And even there, I figure either you're nuts. Or you're a sly old dog.

Costa was responding to something that wasn't really real. Just blather.

But...by responding, he gave it inadvertent credibility.

Which really disguises the real point -- when does builder suicide become news?

And I don't think that is an easy answer.

Costa's could've posted a thoughtful response, based on news vs. gossip, but instead he set up the straw dog of conspiracy and murder, which was always a joke.

Duncan McGeary said...

A tasteless joke, at that.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't saying that you were the only one to be talking about suicide/murders, but the only one who seemed to believe in conspiracy bank-sanctioned murders.
*

Dunc,

I don't say this often, but this is where you are FULL OF SHIT. I NEVER said such, that all came from Homer.

I said what I said above, that 'private' money, gets very angry when all is lost. This is what happened last time.

The 'bank mob hit' was 100% homer.

Anonymous said...

Dunc,

I do concur that 'homers' stuff on BB2 is largely a joke.

That said, the postings of Marge have been shown to be historically 100% credible. She doesn't bullshit or joke.

I base all my instincts on what is happening today in Bend, on what I saw transpire 20 years ago.

Lastly, given that you mentioned 'social club', I wished you would have gone all the way and said 'cigar club'.

The Bledsoe $50k/member cigar-club next to D&D is the hottest thing today in Downtown Bend.

I hadn't heard the $20k, I guess this means he dropped the price. Hell at one time Tetherow was going to charge $300 for a game of golf, now they're down to $120, but with caddy & tip, its really $175 to play a game.

Duncan McGeary said...

Ah, yes. But you the master of hyperbole.

Embrace it.

It is your destiny.

Bewert said...

Re: I hadn't heard the $20k, I guess this means he dropped the price.

According to the latest article, $2000 initiation fee and $200 a month. Stated about 65 members so far, ages 33-65, with 200 member limit.

I agree with Dunc, this actually pencils out. Even now, that's $13,000 a month to cover the nut, plus the beer and wine tabs to make money on.

Duncan McGeary said...

The 20k was referring to the Duck Blind Club. Just need the first 20 charter members, and we're off an running!

Duncan McGeary said...

Every social club needs an anti-social, Groucho club.

H. Bruce Miller said...

It surprised me too that Costa condescended to comment on the builder/developer suicide topic. Clearly he has been stung by the attacks on his and his paper's credibility.

Re The Duck Blind: Where do I sign up?

Bilbo: "With regards to DR-McDonald of the SHIRE, within days of his falling @ Benham Falls, the Source was reporting that they were skeptical of the 'accidental death' theory."

It wasn't the Source; it was Ethan Lindsey at OPB.

H. Bruce Miller said...

"I hadn't heard the $20k, I guess this means he dropped the price."

When it gets down to $2.99 I might join.

Anonymous said...

Well Ned you hit the fucking jackpot 14 fucking comments on one thread.

Like I said this AM, 'blogger fodder' in BEND has never been better.

FYI - our own Dunc is the father of 'blogger fodder' in Bend.