Book Review

What is it with Great Britain and the end of the world? First it was 28 Days Later with its zombie-infested London, its unnervingly bucolic countrysides and that unforgettable image of a dead highway with a burning Manchester at the end of

• by Sheri Boggs

The House That Liberace Built

Hate him, love him, idolize him - however you may have felt about the late Mr. Showmanship, Spokane really owes a lot to Liberace. Yes, that Liberace - the glitzy musical phenomenon known through the '60s and '70s for his flamboyance, kits

• by Leah Sottile

Max Track Facts

February 2006, Turin, Italy. Side by side with Norway's Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, you're pulling with all your might down the homestretch of the Winter Olympics' gold-medal final in cross country skiing. After 49K of a torturous Nordic battl

• by Michael Bowen

Opening Films

Head in the Clouds -- Pretty pathos but not so pathetic: a World War II romantic epic, purposefully silly, about a romantic triangle between friends Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend (her real-life beau, looking good in a chapeau) and Pen

• by Inlander Staff

Just Say Yes

A few years back, a film called American Movie: The Making of "Northwestern" hit the festival and art house circuit, calling attention to itself in that it was something new. Unlike films such as Best in Show, a fake documentary that looked r

• by Ed Symkus

Pots of Money

If you've walked, jogged, biked, driven or ridden the bus through Spokane recently, you know that the roads could use some work. They're wavy, rutted, pocked, scarred and misshapen. Everyone knows that. But basalt and blacktop are only a sl

• by Joel Smith

Big Mountain

Where: Whitefish, Mont. Phone: (800) 858-3930 Web site: www.bigmtn.com Vertical drop: 2,500 ft. Average snowfall: 300 inches Lifts: two high-speed quads, one interchangeable chair/gondola, one quad, five triples, one double, one platter, t

• by Leah Sottile

Mekong Midsummer

Juliet's parents do it. King Lear does it. Even Hermia's father in A Midsummer Night's Dream does it: They insist on deciding whom their daughters will marry. Today, students roll their eyes at the idea of arranged marriages in Shakespea

• by Michael Bowen

Lookout Pass

Where: Wallace, Idaho Phone: (208) 744-1301 Web site: www.skilookout.com Vertical Drop: 1,150 ft. Average Snowfall: 400 inches Lifts: Two double, one rope tow Hill Info: 444 acres of skiing, 23 runs: 25 percent beginner, 45 percent interme

• by Cara Gardner

Now Playing

The Forgotten -- When a young mom (Julianne Moore), distraught over the death of her son, is told by her husband and shrink that the son never existed, she freaks out, then starts to find pieces to the puzzle in her confused head. With

• by Inlander Staff

DVD Review

At the very last part of the ending credits of Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead, he actually thanks the Centers for Disease Control. Was he commending them for actually curbing some rampant zombie disease that we've never heard of? Or was he

• by Leah Sottile

Letters to the Editor

Trading Cards It was 64 years ago, yet I remember it clearly. It was a crisp November day, as my parents and I walked to Saint Teresa's parish house, a red brick building in Brooklyn. Arriving there, we found other families already in

• by Inlander Readers

A Musical for All of Us

Moral values. Insistence upon the rule of law. Good is rewarded, evil is punished, perseverance triumphs. Up-by-the-bootstraps success, self-discipline, fidelity to bedrock beliefs. A vision of Christian salvation at the end. Clearly, Les

• by Michael Bowen

Laff Riots

It's a zoo in here. No, really. It feels like I'm sitting somewhere between the laughing hyenas' cage and the pen holding a banana-drunk mob of screaming chimps. Except instead of being cuddly and innocent captives, these beasts are chain-

• by Leah Sottile

It's Stud Season

As the recent biting cold has signified, winter is fast approaching. It's time to batten down the hatches and settle in for the next four months of nasty weather. Break out the ice scraper and start considering the question that many driv

• by Clint Burgess

DVD Review

Ever notice how animated features these days are written as much for the adults as for kids? Shark Tale, for example, is filled with Mafia references that will go way over Junior's head. Where did all that start? Aladdin, the 1992

• by Ted S. McGregor Jr.

Silver Mountain

Where: Kellogg, Idaho phone: (800) 204-6428 Web site: www.skisilver.com Vertical drop: 2,200 ft. Average snowfall: 300 inches Lifts: One quad, two triples, two doubles, 1 handle tow and one gondola Hill info: 1,590 acres; 67 trails; 20% B

• by Mike Corrigan

Endorsements

Editor's note: The Inlander does not make endorsements in all races; it only endorses in those races that it has covered as news. Initiatives -- In general, our first response to all initiatives is to vote no. We have a Legislature to

• by Inlander Staff

49 Degrees North

Where: Chewelah, Wash. Phone: (866) 376-4949 Web site: www.ski49n.com Vertical Drop: 1,851 ft. Avg. snowfall: 301 inches Lifts: Four double, one surface Hill Information: 1,265 acres, 42 trails: 30% Beginner, 40% Intermediate; 25% Adv., 5% E

• by Joel Smith

Recently Reviewed

Crickets Deli -- Crickets Deli is a lunchtime gem with its colorful atmosphere, center-of-town locale and diverse choices. Owners Sam and Karen Yi provide a menu with an excess of 15 salads and sandwiches - all with witty titles. The Fre

• by Inlander Staff

Haunted Fun

HALLOWEEN BASH Come to a contra dance to celebrate the holiday on Oct. 30 from 7:30-11 pm. Tickets: $4. 1912 Building, 400 E. Third St., Moscow, Idaho (208-882-0273) SPIKE MUSIC The Last Hassle Media Show Ever and Halloween Costume Party

• by Susan Hardie

Honoring Ganesha

In Western culture, we like to categorize our art into neat, discrete forms, a hierarchy of creative expression. We have visual arts like painting and sculpture, and literary arts like prose and poetry, all of which are separate from the

• by Ann Colford

Blind Faith

Jamie Foxx delivers an astoundingly rich performance as Ray Charles, a musical legend who overcame a childhood of almost debilitating poverty, the loss of his eyesight at age 7 and the racism of the Deep South. Working from a script by

• by Chuck Koplinski

Schweitzer

Where: Sandpoint, Idaho Phone: (208) 263-9555 Web site: www.schweitzer.com Vertical drop: 2,400 ft. Average snowfall: 300 inches Lifts: two handle tows, four doubles, one quad, one high-speed six-pack Hill info: 2,500 acres, 62 trails: 20

• by Michael Bowen

Letters to the Editor

We're Not Stupid The imagined intellectual superiority of liberals in the commentaries of The Inlander exemplifies why the Democrats have lost touch with the heart and soul of America. If the Democrats buy into this nonsense that they

• by Inlander Readers

Coffee of the Celts?

Am I a coffee renegade? Well, am I, punk? Caife Cistin's bright yellow green ad with the lower case letters and blocky font in a recent Inlander dining guide caught my eye and I was further intrigued by the ad's challenge: "Are you a coffee

• by Sheri Boggs

Cultural Baggage

George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum (at the Civic's Studio Theater through Nov. 13) features 11 "exhibits," satiric skits that poke fun -- and comment seriously -- on a variety of black American attitudes. At the outset, for example, audie

• by Michael Bowen

Cool Trips

Heli-Fun If you're looking for the ultimate winter adventure, how about this? You round up nine of your closest, most affluent pals, load up your L.L Bean-edition Subaru Forester and make tracks for Nelson, British Columbia. You check in at

• by Joel Smith

Two Wheels of Fury

My love affair with the Vespa began -- I've always wanted to use that line -- pretty simply. I'd seen them in a bunch of old movies and all over the place down in my old home of Southern California, but buying an old Vespa that's in pretty g

• by Steve Heller

Rattle & amp;amp; Hum

With its telltale screech and distant grumble, it is suddenly there. An endless stream of cars, perfect long boxes, passing with their hum and click, with their rum and rumble, cutting their outlines on brick buildings which offer back f

• by Amy Sinisterra

Recently Reviewed

Crickets Deli -- Crickets Deli is a lunchtime gem with its colorful atmosphere, center-of-town locale and diverse choices. Owners Sam and Karen Yi provide a menu with an excess of 15 salads and sandwiches - all with witty titles. The Fre

• by Inlander Staff

Opening Films

After the Sunset -- Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek and Woody Harrelson star in this slightly familiar tale of a master career jewel thief (Brosnan), comfortably retired after his last big score (very comfortably, thank you, with statuesque

• by Inlander Staff

Buzz Bin

Florida, Revisited -- With the Nov. 2 presidential election looming on the horizon, the specter of the botched 2000 election - and the question "Could it happen again?" - is looming over voters' heads. To better understand the issue, a c

• by Inlander Staff

Buzz Bin

Come and Get 'Em -- If you missed out on David Sedaris' packed gig at the Met several years ago, then you already understand the importance of getting your Get Lit! tickets early. The rest of you, listen up. This year's Get Lit! festival

• by Inlander Staff

The S-Files

There are no such things as ghosts. Aren't any zombies, boogeymen, monsters in the closet or spooks, either. Even so, that doesn't mean we don't secretly hope otherwise every year when Halloween rolls aro

Mount Spokane

Where: Spokane, Wash. Phone: (509) 443-1397 Web Site: www.mtspokane.com Vertical Drop: 2,000 feet Average Snowfall: 300 inches Lifts: five double chairs Hill Info: 1,250 ft.; 44 trails; 23% beginner; 32% intermediate; 45% advanced Hours: 9

• by Sheri Boggs

Best View in Town

If location is everything, then Anthony's Homeport has it made. The new seafood restaurant occupies what must surely be one of the most amazing locations to be found in any city. From the panoramic windows lining the east end of the d

• by Lauren McAllister

Now Playing

Alfie -- It's safe to say that Jude Law owns every frame of this remake of the 1966 Michael Caine film, the one that shot him to fame and will finally push Law to the top. It's time in the life of a cad, a real ladies' man, a guy who's s

• by Inlander Staff

Book Review

Not "defense of marriage" against gays and lesbians, but "freedom to marry"; not "tax relief" (from some kind of affliction?) but taxes regarded as investments; not "greedy trial lawyers" but "public protection attorneys" fighting against

• by Michael Bowen

In Brief

Get In Line -- SPOKANE -- Despite months of political bickering, back-biting and ballyhoo; exaggerations, elaborations, indictments, incitements and a whole heap of rhetoric, elections officials seem hopeful that voters haven

Sound Advice

New V'ue -- This just in: There's a new all-ages venue opening up on the live music front -- and it's hosting its very first show this weekend. It's located in the Market Street Market building at 5906 N. Market St., just

By the Numbers

Election 2004 was hardly a dead heat, but it wasn't statistically decisive either. Bush's 3.5 million-vote win over Kerry was the fourth-closest popular vote win since the election of 1952. Only Kennedy in 1960, Carter in 1976 and Gore in

• by Robert Herold

Sound Advice

Venue Flux -- Cripes, nothing ever remains the same -- and that's triple-true for live music venues in this town. Currently on the outs is the Detour, the all-ages venue which had been serving the Spokane music scene galla

CD Reviews

Concerto Italiano Bach, Vivaldi, Marcello: Concerti Italiani FIVE STARS The Baroque era? Just a bunch of dead guys' dead music. It was three centuries ago, for example, that Bach transcribed some Venetian violin co

CD Reviews

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus FOUR STARS His hawkish good looks have never been tantalizing enough, and his songs have never had enough of a pulse to really lure me in. That is, un

Voice of Reason

In a world of sound bites, it's refreshing to open a newspaper and read the thoughtful commentaries of Leonard Pitts Jr., whose syndicated column provides passionate but sound meditations on pop culture, family life and social issues. His

• by Cara Gardner

Inoculated from Reality

Remember Jane Byrne? She was the Chicago mayor who lost her job because she didn't get the streets plowed. After all the bajillions poured into this all-too-long, all-too-nasty campaign, President George W. Bush may go down in history as

• by Robert Herold

In Brief

No, Canada -- KELOWNA, B.C. -- Perhaps in response to the news that thousands of disenfranchised Americans are threatening to move to Canada after last week's election, officials from the British Columbia Ministry of Health Services announced

• by Joel Smith

Cleaner Slopes

Winter sport enthusiasts notoriously love the outdoors. They'll brave sub-zero temperatures and pay big bucks for lift tickets in order to experience the vitality and exhilaration of a winter day on the mountain. It's also true that they'r

• by Cara Gardner

Inland NW Crossroads - Dayton, Washington

The city of Dayton rests like a tree-lined oasis at the confluence of Patit Creek and the Touchet River, amid the rolling hills of Columbia County northeast of Walla Walla. The county seat, Dayton is one of the oldest incorporated commun

• by Ann Colford

All Thumbs

Whether she wins or loses, Democrats have to be disappointed by the performance of their gubernatorial candidate. Attorney General Chris Gregoire started the race with an incredible advantage. She is a popular, three-term statewide

• by George Howland Jr.

Holy Molé

Last Tuesday's right-leaning election results signals great things in the near future for industrial music fans. What? Seems odd to say that the re-election of President Bush would be a good thing

Thor's New Bridge

Art imitates life. But art also imitates ... art. Take the case of Myles Kennedy, local rock singer, former lead singer of the Mayfield Four and current front man for Alter Bridge, the new band comprised of ex-Creed membe

Drear Diary

In real time, it's been three-and-a-half years since the release of Bridget Jones's Diary. In movie time, it's only been six weeks since slightly plump, slightly daffy Bridget (Renee Zellweger) -- then a book publicist, now a TV reporter, has

• by Ed Symkus

Sick Individuals

I wanted to vomit. It's a learned reflex in this profession, looking away from the screen, but the premise of first-time director James Wan's Saw, a puzzle-game serial killer thriller -- described in the Sundance 2004 catalog as "indelible hor

• by Ray Pride