Free Fall

It begins in an idyllic park setting outside Oxford. A man and a woman spread a picnic blanket and uncork some champagne as the man begins to speak. We strain to hear what he is saying, but our attention -- and his -- is diverted by t

• by Marjorie Baumgarten

Letters to the Editor

Defining God's Will The election is over, and it is now clear that there is a major divide between political parties. What isn't so clear is that the same divide exists between Christians. Yes, there are Democratic Christians. You just

• by Inlander Readers

Spaceboys

Last month, SpaceShipOne blasted to the edge of space from a Mojave Desert airport for the second time in five days, winning its design team a $10 million prize. The ship is the only privately funded, manned vehicle ever to leave the atmosphe

• by Alex Roth

Festive Foods

Fruitcake This dried fruit and nut-impregnated cake has been around since the Middle Ages. Literally. Today's fruitcakes were made in the 13th century and have been passed down from generation to generation as the only food durable enough

• by Mike Corrigan

DVD Review

Praise be to MGM for its "Midnite Movies" series, which pairs, on a single DVD, not one but two horror, science fiction or exploitation flicks from the '60s and '70s, drive-in double feature-style -- all for the mind-blowing retail price o

• by Mike Corrigan

Bad News Cycle

As I write, U.S. Marines continue their sweep through Fallujah. Thirty-eight Americans have already been killed in the campaign, with 275 wounded. The Bush administration hopes to defeat the insurgents before the Iraqi elections in Januar

• by Robert Stokes

Now Playing

After the Sunset -- Possibly the ideal film to more or less ignore while lounging poolside and sipping Jamaican rum, After the Sunset is 100-proof pap that's as inoffensively asinine as it is eager to explore the wonders of deep diving i

• by Inlander Staff

Buzz Bin

Getting the Jump -- In case you didn't notice, major retailers tried to get the jump on holiday shopping this year, with big sales last weekend. Our reports say the stores were not jammed -- even though last year's $50 DVD player was now

• by Inlander Staff

Balancing the Books

A fracas between the Spokane County Library District and the city of Spokane Valley threatens to shutter the Valley Library

• by Joel Smith
• Tags: News, library

Uncomfortable Truths

1. People take your homemade gifts and throw them in the garbage. No matter how long you spent knitting that fuchsia tea cozy, Dwayne will see it as a dust rag. 2. Once someone gives you a Christmas gift and you express appreciation for

• by Michael Bowen

A New Recruit

Cathy McMorris's win here in the 5th District was a bit of a shock for its sheer size, but it will likely become little more than an afterthought in the next Congress. McMorris proved that George Nethercutt's win was no fluke and that the

• by Robert Herold

Two Great Tastes That Taste Bad Together

What kind of food is Spokane known for? Our cuisine tends to cluster in certain areas. There is Division Street, which if wound in to a ball, would yield a fairly dense Chinatown for all of its Chinese restaurants. There is Third Avenue, whic

• by Ben Cater

Book Review

William Trevor's short stories begin quietly, without fanfare, his characters simply doing what they always do or commenting on some ordinary feature of the day. Their lives then unfurl on the page, in bits of conversation and snatches o

• by Ann Colford

Takin' the Bus

There are some stalwart modes of transportation that we humans can depend on. The automobile is by far the greatest development in this saga to get from point A to point B. But before that, there were horse-drawn carriages, bicycles and t

• by Clint Burgess

Books of the Season

I'll never forget the first time I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I wish I could say that I was impressed with the crisp, jovial flow of the language or that as a precocious 8-year-old, I got the allegory behind Aslan and the De

• by Sheri Boggs

Recently Reviewed

Caife Cistin -- OK, so maybe Ireland isn't really known for its rich, fresh coffee beans, but Post Falls' Caife Cistin is known for offering a variety of the region's best roasters. The caf & eacute; is comfortable and decorated with art by local

• by Inlander Staff

Birds of Prey

Kim Brooks has known and admired Erik Meyer since the Eastern Washington quarterback was a child. "He's not the kind of quarterback who wore a dress, if you know what I mean," Brooks says. Yes, Kim, we know exactly what you mean. After

• by Howie Stalwick

Survival Tips

The holidays have a strange effect on just about everyone - they incite shopping riots, compel people to make enough overly sweet treats to feed small countries, possess otherwise un-annoying friends to decorate with tinsel and sing J-Lo'

• by Cara Gardner

Opening Films

Alexander -- Oliver Stone's interpretation of the legendary figure stars a bleached-blonde Colin Farrell as the Macedonian king, who, by the age of 25 had pretty much conquered the ancient world. If the trailers are any indication, thin

• by Inlander Staff

A Seuss Too Loose

When most people sit down to share Dr. Seuss with a child, they go through the books one at a time. The creative team of Seussical the Musical is having none of that. Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens insist on sharing more than a dozen Se

• by Michael Bowen

Holiday Flix

The holidays have always held an element of discovery for me. Christmas Eves were always spent in my footie-pajamas, a warm mug of Swiss Miss with mini-marshmallows in hand, and sheets of loose leaf scrawled with probing questions for Sant

• by Leah Sottile

On the Vine

A quick examination of films directed and co-written by Alexander Payne -- among them About Schmidt and Election -- reveals a proclivity for character study, for looking deep inside someone to see what makes them tick. Those two films have a se

• by Ed Symkus

Quotes & amp;amp; Notes

Remember Me? -- With all the focus on the race between Dino Rossi and Chris Gregoire, Gov. Gary Locke's final weeks on the job he held for eight years are going by relatively quietly. Except, of course, that he and his wife Mona welcomed

• by Inlander Staff

H-Tunes

All-American classics As the holidays became known as family time for celebration, American composers cranked out tons of secular songs. Oddly enough, the heyday was in the 1930s through the 1950s -- few holiday standards have been w

• by Ted S. McGregor Jr.

Living Landscapes

Nothing says urban sprawl quite like the strip malls lining I-95 between Coeur d'Alene and Hayden. And nothing says unfettered development like the cul de sacs springing up in the Rathdrum Prairie. Spokane is stretching itself, too, with g

• by Cara Gardner

In Brief

U-District Celebration -- SPOKANE -- If you're like most people in the Spokane area, you may be wondering what the deal is with the University District. What exactly is it all about? Where's it gonna be? And how does it help

Sparkle and Fading

It ain't easy to say goodbye -- it never is. But in the case of Everclear, the time is now. In the '90s, the band led the wave of gritty rockers that made up Portland's small but spirited scene, which also featured Hazel, H

Sound Advice

Teen Punks -- In last week's music section lead story about Seattle teen punk band DEK, the ghost in the machine here mistakenly changed the pronunciation of the band's moniker from "D-E-K" (which is correct) to "deek" (which is incorrect

• by Mike Corrigan

CD Reviews

Pink Martini Hang On, Little Tomato FOUR STARS Pink Martini's new release, Hang On Little Tomato, is the kind of album that makes even the most embittered alt-weekly writer crack open that box of Adjectives Never to Use: c

Bad News Cycle

When fear is the tone set by our leaders, bad news is the norm.

• by Robert Stokes