Dances With Samurai

In late 19th-century Japan, the times they were a-changin'. Old traditions, including the ways of the ancient Samurai warriors who served the country, were giving way to a new modern world. In America, life had already drastically changed, du

• by Ed Symkus

Book Review

The cover of the paperback edition of this book is a kick. As if in birthday glee, a grinning gal in short-sleeve plaid covers her eyes with her hands. Her woozy thought-bubble -- the emblem of nuclear science, an atom with electrons swir

• by Paul Lindholdt

Recently Reviewed

Asian Restaurant -- The philosophy of simplicity is reflected in the d & eacute;cor of the Asian Restaurant, which is utilitarian and unpretentious. The lunch menu sports an affordable assortment of Chinese, Thai, and American dishes. The $5.50 P

• by Inlander Staff

Worthy Tradition

One of the bad things about traditions is that we tend to forget the reasons that we celebrate them. The ballet The Nutcracker is a perfect example of this. Every year, in countless holiday ads, we see little girls asleep with oversized w

• by Michael Bowen

Frankly Speaking

If I weren't so sophisticated, I could really have some fun with a place called Cap'n Juicy's Super Duper Weenies. It would be so easy, for instance, to play up the phallic innuendo contained within such Cap'n Juicy advertising slogans as

• by Mike Corrigan

Pseudo-Searchers

The Missing, Ron Howard's latest movie, drawn from Richard Eidson's little-known and almost unreadable pulp novel The Last Ride, is a gritty, brutal, often unpleasant portrait of a family crisis in 1885 New Mexico, in what Howard describes as

• by Ray Pride

Looking Ahead

by James Jarvis I am a newcomer to Spokane, which gives me fresh eyes and a little naivet & eacute;. Over a couple of years, from my evenings outdoors and around town, and from my days spent renovating an old house in Browne's Addition -- transforming it from a rav

• by n/a

The Real Deal

When you drive past the city's elegant historic homes, especially at this time of year, don't you wish you could just peek in the windows to see how these classic statements of Spokane architecture get dressed up for the holidays? The Sp

• by Ann Colford

Opening Films

by Inlander Staff **** The Fellowship of The Ring -- Select cities, including ours, are getting a chance to experience the first two installments, both expanded with additional material, before Return of the King opens on Dec. 17. In 2001, our Ed Symkus

• by n/a

Letters to the Editor

by Inlander Staff Fabio's Turn -- I very much appreciate Marty Demarest's article "Orchestral Maneuvers" (11/20/03) on the state of the orchestras in the United States. If we constantly had the sort of insightful coverage that The Inlander provided in thi

• by n/a

Oh, Rocky!

When we were putting together our 10-year anniversary issue of The Inlander, we came across this transcript of an answering machine message, from somewhere in Spokane in 1994: "A good rule of thumb is: if it stings, is sticky, slimy or

• by Marty Demarest

Now Playing

*** Bad Santa -- Billy Bob Thornton plays a foul-mouthed, sex-crazed drunkard who, with his "elf" helper (Tony Cox) gets a department store Santa job each year, then robs the seasonally bulging safe after hours. The film is overflowing

• by n/a

Fallout

Tom Bailie tells his story to anyone who will listen. These days, few people do. Everyone has died, moved away or just moved on, but Bailie can't seem to do the same. "I still haven't reconciled with all the anger," says the 56-year

• by Jacob Fries

Never Idle

Eric Idle is a very funny man, even on the phone. He's also unfailingly polite, which may surprise the legions of Monty Python fans who flock to see him dress in matronly frocks and sing rude songs. A stickler for truth in advertising, I

• by Ann Colford

DVD Review

Normally, the lack of a plot would be a detriment to a film. But in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, a plot would only get in the way of the British comedy troupe's inspired hijinks. Unlike their closest American counterparts -- the ev

• by Marty Demarest

Buzz Bin

First in Line -- Here in the Bin we find it a little hard to believe that some people don't want to spend the early morning hours of the New Year puking up every color of the wine spectrum or making unwise alcohol-fueled scenes/passes/do

• by Inlander Staff

Bad Start

In late 1942, following the British army's victory over the Afrika Corps at El Alamein, Winston Churchill delivered an extraordinary speech, ending with the line, "It is not the end. It may not be even be the beginning of the end.

• by Robert Herold

CD Review

Rufus Wainwright is a Romantic poet trapped in a time of crude irony and rough, underdeveloped aesthetics. Yet he is also a postmodern artist, a witty, extremely self-aware and angsty 21st-century composer and lyricist, writing songs to a

• by Miranda Hale

Surprise Killer

The thing that only happens to other people happened to Creta Kunz on a dark November night six years ago. That's when the police knocked on her door and told her that her son Philip was dead. She couldn't believe it. Perhaps there was a

• by Pia K. Hansen

A Cool Yule

Now that we've all finally dispensed with that weak ersatz-holiday known as Thanksgiving, we can all get on with the real winter festival, the one that kids and retailers look forward to all year long. There's just so muc

Quotes & amp;amp; Notes

Greening Idaho --It's a long way to springtime, but Idaho might be greening up anyway. The Idaho Green Party has been gathering signatures (it needs at least 10,000) to get on the official Idaho state ballot for primary elections. "Our

• by Inlander Staff

In Brief

Funding Autism Care -- SPOKANE -- The Northwest Autism Center (NAC) is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. At a luncheon earlier this week, the NAC announced plans to open in January 2004. "The Autism Task Force has met regul

• by Pia K. Hansen

Agressive Progressives

Bill O'Reilly wants its nonprofit status revoked. Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie sees it as part of the "Democrat plan to subvert campaign finance laws." House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's office plays phone pranks

• by Michelle Goldberg

A Cure For Sadness

One of the hardest decisions that teens and their parents have to make regarding depression is whether anti-depressants will help dissolve their misery. First, it's important to discern the difference between normal bouts of adolescent ang

• by Cara Gardner

On The Scene

Downtown Coeur d'Alene has got a good thing going. Tons of shops, lots of eateries and plenty of watering holes. It's all conveniently accessible by foot and maintains a pleasant small-town feel. The downtown drag has a Park City or Aspen

• by Clint Burgess