Blanketing the Region

Blame it on El Nino. Warmer temperatures in the Pacific Ocean apparently have caused lighter-than-normal snowfalls in the Inland Northwest during December. But this week, winter is finally hitting with full force. Over the past week

• by Ted S. McGregor Jr.

Now Playing

The Aviator -- Scorsese, DiCaprio, Hughes -- as in Howard -- are director, star and subject of this splendid mainstream look at three busy decades in the life of the industrialist, filmmaker and airplane nut. John Logan's script focuses

• by Inlander Staff

Top 10 CDs of 2004

Here we come, walkin' down the street. We get the funniest looks from everyone we meet. But hey, it's only because of the music we all listen to. Yet here

• by Mike Corrigan, Sheri Boggs, Joe Preston, Leah Sottile

Who's To Judge?

Harold Clarke’s ascension to superior court has left a judicial vacancy back in district court—but it’s anyone guess how to fill the hole.

• by Joel Smith
• Tags: News, judge, law

Buzz Bin

Ice Jam -- Your Buzz Bin editrix isn't exactly known for her grace. In fact, the last time she went ice skating (1983) she emerged from the Riverfront Park's Ice Palace with bruised legs, a sprained ankle and scratches on her hands from

• by Inlander Staff

Quotes & amp;amp; Notes

58 -- Percentage by which American blog readership increased in 2004, according to the Pew Internet & amp; American Life Project 8 million -- Number of Americans who have created their own blogs, or Web-based diaries 62 -- Percentage of onl

• by Inlander Staff

DVD Review

They make a lot of great stuff in China, and after watching Zhang Yimou's Hero you can add movies to the list. Released in China in 2002, the film was released in the United States just last year, with some assistance, apparently, fr

• by Ted S. McGregor Jr.

Temple of History

The Masonic Temple on West Riverside is a stately old girl, but something of a mystery, too. The century-old building is home to the Masonic Order, a civic-minded brotherhood whose history and traditions can be traced back at least a thou

• by Mike Corrigan

Book Review

By Susana Clarke by Sheri Boggs Who believes in magic anymore? Usually only the very young, the very gullible and those who make their living in the film industry. But despite the unlikelihood of magic existing in any discernibl

Letters to the Editor

Urban Mining We live south of Spokane, just off Highway 195 on Stutler Road. We moved here because it is a peaceful setting with abundant wildlife, clean air, pure drinking water and healthy soil, which I farm organically. In the past

• by Inlander Readers

What's In for '05

In Politics: Out from 2004 : Bush Administration jokes. In for 2005: Iraqi Interim Government Jokes Out from 2004: War is peace. In for 2005: Ignorance is Bliss Out from 2004: Rummy. In for 2005: Rummy. Out from 2004: Colin Powell. In fo

• by Inlander Staff

Sledding in Style

Now that winter has finally arrived and the subsequent snowfall has left our fair region blanketed in a sheet of frigid beauty, it's time to utilize this pesky precipitation to its fullest potential. That's right, break out the snow toys

• by Clint Burgess

Opening Films

Beyond the Sea -- What Jamie Foxx was to Ray, Kevin Spacey is to Beyond the Sea. Only problem is that while it makes perfect sense to do a biopic about the legendary Ray Charles, one wonders why "Mack the Knife" crooner Bobby Darin needs

• by Inlander Staff

Are Beaters Better?

While the path to a vehicle is long, well traveled and can lead virtually anywhere, there are a staggering number of buyers who are content (or financially compelled) to go the used route. If you can't afford a $30,000 automobile with an

• by Clint Burgess

A Year to Forget

While so many publications have focused on what we should remember about 2004, I'd like to continue this column's contrarian tradition of pointing out the things we'd all be better off never having cross our minds again. Here, then,

• by Arianna Huffington

Top 10 Movies of 2004

There were plenty of bad movies released in 2004. Thunderbirds, Against the Ropes and Walking Tall quickly come to mind. But in mulling the list of films that I saw over the year -- almost 120 of them -- I was pleased to note that I liked many

• by Ed Symkus

Crux of the Matter

It's not a problem if you can't remember your Hail Marys. You won't need to recite the Nicene Creed or quote from the King James Version. Faith and religious conviction aren't required for viewing Rub & eacute;n Trejo's latest one-man show, "Cruci

• by Leah Sottile

Recently Reviewed

Bonsai Bistro -- The Bonsai Bistro (housed in a renovated concrete building just across the street from the resort) is a fun restaurant with a cool concept and pan-Asian foods that range from mild and comfortable to fiery and stylish. Th

• by Inlander Staff

Dino's Dilemma

The nasty fight for the Washington governor's mansion is not likely to end any time soon. Election tabulations are not noble searches for truth. They are poorly refereed contests fought by partisan warriors in power suits, and until

• by George Howland Jr.

Mining for Snow

It's true. Winter does, in fact, await just beyond the mostly unseasonable Inland Empire horizons we've witnessed since the season was supposed have started a month ago. So, shredding brethren, gas up the clunker. Snow junkies unite. Tu

• by Darren Davidson

Top 10 Books of 2004

Reading books is fun. Talking about books is almost as much fun as reading them. And if you can talk about the books you've read with someone else who loves books, too -- well, that's about as good as it gets. What follows

Buzz Bin

Cold Duck -- So by now, most of you have heard about the Arkansas attorney who got lost hunting, survived his twelve-hour ordeal by eating raw duck and was finally rescued when he flagged down a helicopter with his own underwear. What we

• by Inlander Staff

Reality TV

This Thanskgiving, my mom served up boiled sweet potatoes, seasoned only with salt and pepper. My boyfriend might have done the same, last year. But for our own intimate Thanksgiving dinner for two this year, Leonard expertly brais

• by Sumana Harihareswara

Time for Candor

The Spokesman-Review is a firm believer in full disclosure, at least for most people. Just last Friday, for example, it ripped into Idaho state and railroad officials for not being forthcoming enough about the facts behind a diesel fuel

• by William Stimson

Hats On!

Entry-level arts: that's what Chris Martin, executive director of First Night Spokane, says he's heard upper-crust arts people call the one-stop, all-night, end-of-the-year arts extravaganza. First Night, to them, makes the arts too access

• by Leah Sottile

Book Review

By Neil LaBute by Brian Miller Presently pushing buttons off-Broadway with his study of a relationship cauldron, Fat Pig, Spokane native Neil LaBute has added this slim short-story collection to his resume as playwright, screenwriter a

• by n/a

Zissou's Issues

There's a great, impassioned speech in Ghost Busters, in which Dr. Peter Venkman, played by Bill Murray, yelps about "dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria!" Oddly, in Wes Anderson's new film about a hunt for a killer shark, dogs and

• by Ed Symkus

Letters to the Editor

Man from Spokanistan Regarding "In Search of the Boise Mystique" (12/16/04): So. Cal transplants, houses built in 60 days, and gutting regulation? Hold on -- just hold on. This Spokane vs. Boise thing is crazy. I am no economist or regi

• by Inlander Readers

First Night Planners

Kids' Night Out Kids' activities run 3-6 pm, centering mostly on Main Avenue around River Park Square and what old-timers hereabouts refer to as the former Burlington Coat Factory but which, for the purposes of First Night this year, has

• by Michael Bowen

Nuclear Winter in DC

Right now, somewhere in the White House, administration strategists are hatching plans to go to war. Battle plans are being drawn. Timing and tactics are being finalized. A nuclear option is even being openly discussed. The designa

• by Arianna Huffington

In Brief

Ferreting Out More Funds -- SPOKANE -- Just when they thought this town's arts scene was coming along so nicely, beret-wearing members of the local arts-diocese are now wincing at the idea of a Jan. 19 meeting among Mayor Jim

Race to the Future

An invitation to visit General Motors' main R & amp;D facility, just north of Detroit, is like being given a ticket back to a mid-1950s World's Fair. The General Motors Technical Center, as it is called, was designed by the architect Eero Saar

• by Scott Kirshner

In Brief

And the Swan Goes to... -- Coeur d'Alene -- The Upper Columbia River Group of the Sierra Club announced the winner of its annual Dead Swan Award, a prize designed to publicly denounce politicians who support and create anti-env

Sound Advice

Test. Test. Is This Thing On? -- So it isn't every day we ask for reader input - and maybe that's why we didn't get even one tiny e-mail from you guys telling us what your favorite album of 2004 is. Not one. Zero. But hus

CD Reviews

Presidents of the United States of America Love Everybody TWO STARS What would you expect from the Presidents? Those goofy Seattle comebackers, who appear to be attempting not so subtly to capitalize on listeners' aches

Joy to the World

The Australian definition of a "three dog night" roughly translates to "an artic blast in the outback". You could say that in 1996, Ice Storm defined a three dog night for Spokane. However, this December, with El Nino a

Music of the Night

The choreography is dazzling, the costume and set design is lavish, and most of the music and vocal performances are sublime. Andrew Lloyd Webber's outrageously successful stage version of the Gaston Leroux novel has made it to the screen not

• by Ed Symkus