The Pacific Northwest Inlander

30 Bloomin' Years

by Michael Bowen

Listen up, Bloomies. Things are different now. You don't have to get there early and sit on the pavement for two hours. Everybody's starting (in waves) on the same street. There is no merge point (at Riverside and Sprague or anywhere else on the course). Even runners in the same color-coded group will each have a slightly different starting time. Your personal race clock doesn't click on until you jog across those black rubber mats — and it doesn't stop until you cross the mats at the finish line, just north of the Monroe Street bridge. But make sure you cross both the start and finish lines — otherwise, Bloomsday officials have all manner of torments lined up for you.

Urban Warrior

by Robert Herold

Jane Jacobs died last week at age 89. A writer who made no claim to professional standing of any sort, she published her classic work, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, in 1961. From that moment, America began to change the way it viewed urban life.

Hightower's Lowdown

by Jim Hightower

GOLDEN YEARS
Last year, with a veritable gusher of oil profits flooding into the coffers of Exxon/Mobil, CEO Lee Raymond moaned that he really didn't know what to do with so much money. But now we learn that he quickly figured out what to do with a big pool of it: He gave it to himself!

Letters to the Editor

by Chase Davis

Road Facts
As we read the guest editorial from Chase Davis of the Sierra Club ("Near Freeway, Near Perfect," 4/27/06), we felt a need to comment. First off, we welcome the continuing debate on this transportation facility and would expect this type of a "no-growth, no transportation improvement" position from the Sierra Club. However, Davis does make some factual errors and exaggerations to bolster his argument.

The Borowitz Report

by Andy Borowitz

FOX NEWS-WHITE HOUSE MERGER COMPLETED
One day after being named the new White House spokesman, former Fox News pundit Tony Snow announced that a deal merging Fox News and the Bush White House had been successfully completed.

Summer in the City

by Joel Smith

In our "Best of the Inland Northwest" issue last year, we asked readers to give us their No. 1 gripe about living in this area. It was a blowout. The overwhelming response was that our readers are frustrated with the condition of the roads around here — and especially with the ruts on Interstate 90 through Spokane. We know your pain. Driving a car through those ruts feels more like driving a train down a track. That's not so bad when you're cruising through town on auto-pilot, but good luck if you need to change lanes.

30 Bloomin' Years

Dreams Come True

by Nicholas K. Geranios

Not every illegal immigrant is picking fruit or standing outside Home Depot looking for day labor.

Risen Woman

by Suzanne Schreiner

Stripped down to its bones, you might justly consider the plot of Giuseppe Verdi 's La Traviata ("The Fallen Woman") the stuff of clichés. A beautiful woman named Violetta is a courtesan — not quite respectable, but not a prostitute either. She's dependent on her beauty and charm to attract wealthy men. She falls in love with Alfredo, but of course his father, Giorgio, disapproves. Violetta is persuaded to let Alfredo go, because her love for him is selfless and pure. But Alfredo, mistakenly thinking she has taken another lover, becomes enraged. She dies — of consumption, naturally — but not before she is joined for one last aria by Alfredo, who has finally learned of her sacrifice.

Book Review

by Ted S. McGregor Jr.

The Swamp by Michael Grumwald

"The Everglades is a test. If we pass, we may get to keep the planet." That's the signature quote, from an Everglades defender, in Michael Grunwald's sprawling recounting of Florida's complicated relationship with its most profound geographical feature. Nobody's put their pencil down just yet, but early scoring indicates that we'll have to ace the last few questions if we want to pass this exam.

Buzz Bin

by Inlander Staff

Bring Change
You're halfway through the Bloomsday run on Sunday. You're hot and tired. But don't think those dollar bills you stuffed between your shoelaces will do you any good, man. Because near Mukogawa, at the Sans Souci Apartments, the Coke machine in the lobby there won't even accept paper money. (We're pretty sure that dispenser doesn't like runners.) Six-ounce bottles of Dasani, man. Fiddy cents. But bring quarters.

Cracking Wheeze

by Michael Bowen

Guy walks into a bar wearing a bright orange beret. Bartender says, "What's that on your head, a squashed pumpkin? Hey, I remember that hat — it's mine. You stole it from me." Guy says, "Obviously you're out of your gourd."

Fateful Meeting

by Dale Roloff

Even though the Lewis and Clark expedition never got any closer to the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area than about 100 miles, reaching the northernmost reaches of the Snake River in what is now Whitman County, that doesn't mean that the Corps of Discovery had no close encounter with the people living here then. In what was undoubtedly the first contact between the two cultures from opposite sides of the continent, there's plenty of evidence to show that members of what we call the Coeur d'Alene Nation met with the explorers in a camp along Idaho's Clearwater River, near Lenore, Idaho, on May 6, 1806.

Lewis & Clark - May 4-10, 1806

by Robert Carriker

Using a shortcut trail from the Columbia River to the Clearwater River in late April and early May of 1806 proved to be more difficult than expected for the Corps of Discovery. Nevertheless, the Lewis and Clark Expedition pushed on. Because of information provided to them on May 3 by a friendly Nez Perce chief, Lewis and Clark knew that they had only to surmount one more hill and then follow a creek downhill to reach the Snake River at a point not far from its merge with the Clearwater River.

Meet the Elites

by Michael Bowen

OK, Mr. Average Bloomie. You walk the course in two hours and change, coming in somewhere around 20,000th place. Good on you. But let's have some respect for those skinny African guys on the TV screen.

Polyester/Polyamorous

by Bryan Jackson

Bernie craves sexual conquest; Danny yearns for the "right" woman. Fearful of being victimized, Joan busily builds walls; for Deborah, it's all about finding her ideal match. David Mamet's 1974 play with the off-putting title, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, turns out to be a cautionary tale about a quartet of disco-era young adults who are trying to find themselves. All four go through the games, lies, and come-ons of the singles world.

Producing a Perennial

by Jessica Sheets and Michael Bowen

Bob Barbero, who teaches math and coaches track at Mount Spokane High School, has run every Bloomsday since the race began in 1977.

The Boss's Boss

by Jonathan Valania

It's no accident you don't really know what Pete Seeger did. Or that he's truly larger than life — an American original, the kind who walks out of storybooks, like Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed, but more real. That he more or less single-handedly carried the burden of pure roll-up-your-sleeves and speak-truth-to-power lefty populism, social justice and humanitarian conscience on his back for the better part of the 20th century, with amazing grace and without complaint.

The Life O'Riley

by Howie Stalwick

According to a tired old joke, the only thing worse than track is field. True, track and field has seen better days in the United States. Only a handful of college and high school meets draw more than a handful of spectators, and virtually all professional meets are held overseas.

The Player

by Marty Demarest

Brain Age; Rated Everyone; Nintendo DS
It's time for another age. The New Age is old. The Space Age is getting us nowhere and the Machine Age has gone digital. We could be in for a New Middle Age given the sheer number of aged Age of Aquarians. Another Dark Age has been predicted by such ancient sources as the book of Revelation and Yale professor Harold Bloom. At least "Brain Age" has a positive ring to it.

Take Two

by Luke Baumgarten

Stick It

Just in time for pre-summer, Bring It On writer Jessica Bendinger attempts to capitalize on the success of her irreverent look into the world of young female hyper-competition with another film about — you know — young, hyper-competitive females. The difference, though, between her hit Bring It On and this new film, Stick It, is that, unfortunately, Stick It sucks. Like, bad. And not brilliant bad, the way Bring It On did. (Remember "Cheerleaders are dancers who've gone retarded"?)

DVD Review

by Josh Smith

Nine Lives
Writer-director Rodrigo Garcia has made a film that is difficult to watch. Not because of poor writing, miserable acting or horrible cinematography — in fact, quite the opposite. Nine Lives is a shining jewel of storytelling, acting and filmmaking. Garcia has served up nine short stories of different women, each told in a single continuous take from 11 to 14 minutes long. Nine times Garcia allows us to peer into the lives of his characters until we are forced to duck beneath the window. We then walk away and spend the rest of the day wondering what, if, and why? The ending of the initial story was so abrupt, I jumped in my seat as suddenly the screen cut to black.

Impossible Spectacle

by Cole Smithey

Mission Impossible: III is a perfect summer blockbuster movie. From its failed-experiment opening sequence to its sharp dialogue, exotic locations and pure spectacle, this high-test action picture brilliantly weaves around a classic Hitchcock MacGuffin. Tom Cruise excels like an all-star athlete in executing the bulk of the film's impressive stunts while surrounded by a stellar ensemble cast including Michelle Monaghan, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne, Bahar Soomekh and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Writer/director J.J. Abrams achieves something of a minor masterpiece with a postmodern sense of humor and hypnotic infatuation with maintaining multiple layers of emotional and physical suspense in nearly every scene. Fans of the original television series will appreciate Abrams' diligent attention to the series' trademark disguises, clever gadgets and essential self-destructing mission tape.

Now Playing

by Inlander Staff

Akeelah and the Bee — That Larry Fishburne — boy, can he act. Here he plays mentor to a Crenshaw youth with a gift for stringing letters together in the way that creates language. Full of accessible tropes, it's at once an underdog story, a rags-to-riches story and a spelling bee story. And that's the most universal story of all. Rated PG

Opening Films

by Inlander Staff

American Haunting — In the early 1800s, John Bell died of what the state of Tennessee called "Spirits," making him the only person U.S. history to have been killed, in the eyes of a state government, by a ghost. The event, supposedly, was incredibly well documented at the time and has been revamped here, for the PG-13 tween horror set. It's scary the way we mistreat history. Rated PG-13

Dark Horizons

by Lindsey Williams

If there's one thing that the members of Doom Lit Sky hate, it's hardcore.

CD Reviews

by Carey Murphy and Andrew Matson

Apathy Eastern Philosophy 4 Stars
Apathy is the best white rapper rapping today. He comes from a school that emphasizes rawness in lyrical delivery and production pastiche, a school that is eternally preoccupied with staying "true to the essence" of hip-hop without dissolving into shtick or sheer imitation of past greats. Unlike other adherents to true-schoolism (Jurassic 5, Little Brother, et al), Apathy steers clear of rap's warm fuzzies, harkening to the hyped-up aggression and prickly adrenaline of Kool G. Rap.

It Also Means Goodbye

by Cortney Harding

In the hype-driven world of indie music, slow and steady rarely wins the race. Sometimes, though, it manages quietly to impress. This was readily apparent when Aloha played New York City several weeks ago, opening for blog-buzz band Voxtrot at the Mercury Lounge. The crowd, as you'd expect, was a wee bit jaded and had high expectations for the headliners, who had been hailed as the Second Coming by a variety of Web sites. In the end, though, opening act Aloha quietly blew the young Voxtrot upstarts off the stage. While Voxtrot members tried to banter with the audience while managing to work their instruments correctly only about half the time, Aloha came on to little fanfare, sat down and proceeded to jam out a solid, polished set that effortlessly mixed sunny indie-pop with some slightly wanky prog influences. Perhaps more important, the band members came across as calm, assured elder statesmen.

Local Venues

Want To List Your Hotspot In Our Music Section? Give Us Your Information By Thursday And We'll Get You In By The Following Week! Simple. Just Send: Your Business Name, Address, Phone Number And Web Site / E-Mail (If Applicable) To Luke Baumgarten. Fax: 444-4772; E-Mail: Luke@Inlander.Com

Nice Works, If You Get Them

by Luke Baumgarten

Who's Ira Gershwin, you ask? Uh, only like the best lyricist of all time. The relatively unheralded partner and older brother of composer George Gershwin penned, throughout his lifetime, some incredibly catchy and popular tunes that managed to touch on absolutely every trope in the pop canon. Think you can come up with a contemporary song that tackles a topic the Gershwin brothers missed? We defy you to try.

Nightlife

by Inlander Staff

Check what's happening at local nightspots for the next week.

Sound Advice

by Inlander Staff

Klinko de Mayo
We always expect Cinco de Mayo — following the upstanding tradition of vaguely ethnic excuses to get piss drunk (see also: St. Patrick's Day, Baumgarten's infamous "Croatian Beer, Serbian Stripper" theme parties, Oktoberfest, etc.) — to breed more than its fair share of legal action. The strange thing this year, though, is that court was in session before the party even started. In late April, we got a call from Milonga saying they'd be playing Casa de Oro on North Division. Then, we got an e-mail saying the city had shut down the outdoor party. The e-mail came with a vow to take action. We applauded but didn't hold out much hope. Then, just this week, we got still another e-mail indicating that the folks at the ol' House of Gold took their beef to court — and won.

Avast Ye Brigands!

by Ann M. Colford

When Spokane's first 70-degree day hits, it draws everyone, even bleary-eyed scribes, blinking into the sunshine. But on the aggressively beautiful day that Josh Smith and I drop in at Scalawag's, a smallish breakfast-and-lunch place on Indiana just west of Division, I'm emerging from the fog of a migraine. In the tight parking lot, I ease into a space beside a purple Harley that's decked out with a matching stuffed purple dragon. I blink a couple of times, wondering if my migraine-induced hallucinations are coming back. But no — inside, I pick out the bike's owner right away. A modern-day scalawag, I think.

Fresh & Tasty

by Ann M. Colford & Susan Hamilton

Metamorphosis DINING
When Craig Larsen opened Jimmy'z in downtown Spokane in 1990, it proved to be a colorful spot to buy newspapers, magazines, sheet music and cigars. Ten years later, Larsen expanded Jimmy'z offerings with killer New York-style sub sandwiches, soups and salads, as well as espresso — all of which became mainstays for downtown business people.

Recently Reviewed

by Inlander Staff

Scalawag's — Scalawag's takes basic diner fare up a notch with creative and downright unusual sandwiches and salads. The paninis and wraps are especially tasty. Throw caution to the wind with the PDB (peanut butter and bacon). And be sure to try the homemade potato chips; they're thick, crispy, chewy and usually still warm. All desserts are made on the premises. 113 W. Indiana Ave., open Mon-Sat, 6 am-4 pm, Sun 10:30 am-3 pm, 327-1804. (Reviewed 5/4/06, AC)