Bloglander

Hunters are the biggest whiners on the planet. I know. I'm a hunter, 30 years.  We whine about everything; weather, other hunters, steep terrain, blah-blah.  But I am really sick of lazy-ass wolf whining hunters who can't get off ATV's, saddles & truck seats to find that dispite the wolf's comeback, the elk are still there & growing in populations in most areas. Most of us hunters are lazy & large; 80% of us can't even get off the roads! Fair chase? Hardly!  We humans take 200,000 elk in this country a year & yet we can't give up 5%, mostly sick elk, to the predators? Are we so selfish to think that we should have all the elk to ourselves? Learn something; Predators are actually really important to the health of our ungulate herds, wolves included. This is Biology 101.  Mother Natures dogs & cats scatter the elk putting them in more places which actually makes hunting better! Hunters who whine are pathetic. Get a life, get off you freakin' rear ends & get yourself an elk. Or just go home so I can get my elk in peace.

When the MAC gives you gin, you drink it. You take advantage of it. As a part of their monthly BeGin! series, the Museum of Arts & Culture throws open its doors and says "Come in! It's free! Be merry in our midst!" And tonight, Friday the 13th (wooo), BeGin features the talent of Spokane's own Real Life Rockaz (who we wrote about here). Plus, you can meander around the MAC and check out the Harold Balazs exhibit and the other visual treats they have on hand. And drink gin. 6 pm. Free. All-ages.

There's some scary things near the train station, but NYNE is not one of them. We stopped in last weekend and thought it was quite the little gem. Tonight, make a point to check it out when Seattle's Alyse Black — a smoky-voiced singer that reminds us of Feist or Regina Spektor — plays. Kari Marguerite & the 76 opens. 9 pm. Free. 21 .

Wheel out the welcome wagon! Logan Heftel, an ex-local singer/songwriter, plays his first show here in a year or so tonight: a CD release party! He writes emotional folk-pop stories of aging, loving, living and learning. Check him out with David Hannon and Stephanie Hatzinikolis. 7 pm. $7. All-ages.

We totally got them booted from their house. Not intentionally. See, last year, we wrote this story about a house show at Pegasus Dream's house — a story that their landlord read and, consequently, evicted the band from the house. SHIT. Well, we don't feel so terrible about it now: The band moved to Portland and has found much success in the lively electro-pop scene there. They return to the Seaside tomorrow night to release their latest record, Painting Pantheons. Oil of Angels, Benjamin Jorgens, DJ Komorov and Pudu Attack play. 7 pm. $5. All-ages.

From big stages and uber-fame to our own little all-ages venue. Cracker, who headlined the Pig Out in the Park stage last year, returns to Spokane on Sunday to play the Empyrean stage. They're still touring on their latest album, Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey, but have been known to reach far back to their Camper Van Beethoven days in recent sets. They play with Framework at 8 pm. $12 - $15. All-ages.

Over at the HuffPo, Anis Shivani has listed his "15 Most Overrated Contemporary American Writers." And three of them have local connections of a sort: poet Sharon Olds appeared in Gonzaga's Visiting Writers Series last winter; novelist Junot Diaz will read at Gonzaga next spring; and Marty Demarest has reviewed three of William T. Vollmann's books for the print version of The Inlander.

Say what you want about his choices, but Shivani has the guts to go public and specific with his dislikes. One of his "revelations" is that the Pulitzer committee doesn't always honor the best books — no newsflash there — but Shivani does provide a reminder that today as in every era, there are revered writers now who will be reviled writers years and decades from now. (And we're not just talking easy targets like Stephenie "Twilight" Meyer here.)

Shivani rightly criticizes conglomerate publishers, MFA programs (which churn out too many mutually imitative writers), book reviewers, and writers themselves (for not taking on the Big Important Topics and for navel-gazing). And he has the courage not just to criticize, but to build up, too: Soon he'll reveal his picks for under-rated writers. And he lists his criteria, too:

"Bad writing is characterized by obfuscation, showboating, narcissism, lack of a moral core, and style over substance. Good writing is exactly the opposite."

(Personally, I think this unwisely privileges Hemingway over [unfortunate term] postmodernism, but let that go ... clarity, moral force, not getting stuck in minutiae — all to the good.)

Shivani's ignominious 15:  —-

• Vollmann
• Tan
• Ashbery
• Oliver
• Vendler
• Nelson
• Olds
• Graham
• Safran Foer
• Lahiri
• Diaz
• Gluck
• Cunningham
• Collins
• Kakutani

Again, he promises more such lists: underrated contemporary writers, over- and under-rated global writers, American writers of the past century.

The point of such list-making is not so much the specifics as the topic-wrestling in itself: In a week, Shivani's blast has inspired thousands of comments and tweets. In the aftermath of Lee Siegel's June 22 article about the death of the American novel, many joined the chorus-lament. Siegel himself wonders why more readers aren't mischievously taking issue with the New Yorker's "20 Under 40" list of emerging American writers. But the response to Shivani shows that plenty of folks out there are reading. They may be curled up with Kindles and iPads, but they're consuming a lot of text. And they care about its quality. Do they equal the audience for American Narcissist or America's Got Exhibitionism? No. But a single-digit percentage of a huge country still means millions of sensitive hearts beating. And minds working.

[ photo: Billy Collins, from 37days.typepad.com ] 

When the RAWK Final Four rolled around this past March, tensions were afoot in the longtime Christian booking organization. Dave Crume, RAWK's president, claimed treasurer Dale Strom was out. Dale said he wasn't.

Well, sounds like if Strom wasn't out then, he most definitely is now. I chatted on the phone with him today about his brand new RSN Productions, which just announced it's booking Japandroids at the A Club on Sept. 9 and Best Coast at Stage 54 on Halloween (DUDE!).

"It's just that [RAWK] was too slow," Strom says. "There were too many people involved."

Strom rattled off a list of big-time bands he has spoken with about coming to Spokane (we promised we wouldn't say anything until they're confirmed). He says that RSN, like RAWK, is a Christian organization. But that doesn't mean they only book Christian music; Strom says the Christian aspect of things is merely a part of their mission.

"We'd rather do more general market shows than the Christian ones," he says. "I want to bring in the best music that we can… We want to be in a relationship with the whole community and support folks no matter what."

Though RAWK hasn't been officially pronounced dead, Strom says he hopes to create some sort of high school battle of the bands competition (similar to the long-running RAWK Final Four) with RSN. He says that it's a huge undertaking, but the Final Four produced so many great musicians over the years that he'd hate to not continue that tradition.

"If we can do something with the high school thing and keep a version of the RAWK Final Four going as a way to help the younger bands get started…  I keep hearing so many parents — and kids themselves — that comment how valuable that was. And there’s so many [musicians] that got their start through that."

Wheee! I'm a sportswriter — you can tell by my clever use of the opposing team's name in the headline. But in case you missed it last night, the Shock flattened* the Milwaukee Iron (when they beat a team, do they bust out clothes irons† like normal sports fans use brooms after a sweep?) 60-57 in a squeaker to win the National Conference Championship.

Spokane WR Huey Whittaker hauled down four receiving TDs and added a rushing TD to boot, good enough to earn him honors as the Nifty Playmaker of the Game. (Nifty being only a slightly less silly name than the Milwaukee Iron.) QB Kyle Rowley had 28 completions for 334 yards and seven TDs.

We'll have a full writeup in the next issue, but for now you should be watching the video below and buying your tickets for the ArenaBowl at the Spokane Arena (aren't we lucky we didn't call it a coliseum?) on Friday, Aug. 20, at 5 pm.

*Oh wait, that's backwards. Irons flatten things

†Of course not. They're the Iron, not the Irons. They probably just have a gigantic golden clothes iron that descends from the ceiling so they may worship it like some sort of Aqua Buddha.

A bad day at Black Rock Marshall Chesrown hands his signature upper-crust development over to the bank ... so where's an ex-NFL quarterback going to live now? (SR)

I'll have the zombie porterhouse, please Spud State researchers sometimes clone cattle from dead animals in pursuit of that "memorable" steak flavor. (BBC)

Help for a hero Funds, including donated air miles from a Congressman, pour in to help widow of Medal of Honor winner Vernon Baker attend his funeral in Arlington. (And to all the local journalists whose work I've reviewed to find this link, her name is Heidy. Please make a note of it.) (CdA Press)

Crumbling numbers So you know those polls that a Shelly O'Quinn staffer was bragging about? The ones that showed O'Quinn in first place? Well, they appear to be figments. This is when you say, "O'Darnit!" (SR)

U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi blew into town last week to meet with his people one last time before ballots are due. It was a typical campaign stop: Glad-handing, elbow-rubbing... death threats against his opponent.

What?

According to an article today in the Seattle Times, at a business roundtable discussion, an unnamed Spokane businesswoman said Sen. Patty Murray "ought to be shot." 

From the article:

One woman, the owner of two gyms and a temporary-employment agency, was venting about a pro-union bill supported by Murray when she blurted out: "She ought to be shot. Murray and (Sen. Maria) Cantwell ought to be shot."

Rossi quickly pointed out a reporter in the room, and then said, "That's not really what you meant." The businesswoman quickly agreed: "I didn't mean that."

Yikes.

Eat Pray Love

Julia Roberts is looking for love in all the wrong places — at least, through the second act, anyway. She's a 30ish (really?) housewife who realizes she isn't getting what she wants out of life, so she embarks on a slapdash tour of movie clichés ("I used to have this appetite for life … I'm going to go eat food in India"). And, wouldn't you know it, by the end she manages to find the man of her dreams — in Bali, where so many of us go to shop for princes. (DH) Rated PG-13 Showtimes

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Frenchman Thierry Guetta woke up one morning and decided to make a film about street art. So he convinced some of the biggest names (Shepard Fairey, Invader) to appear in it — including the reclusive Banksy. But Banksy soon realizes that shopkeeper Guetta isn't the best filmmaker, so Banksy adds his own material and ends up making his own movie about Guetta's project. Or else Banksy's just screwing with us. It’d be just like him. At the Magic Lantern. (DH) Rated R Showtimes

The Expendables

Whatever wasn’t spent on getting some big action stars together (Sly Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, and with cameos from Arnold and Bruce Willis), must’ve been budgeted toward ammunition. This film might have more bullets and explosions than you’ve ever seen. It’s also the most fun you’ll ever have at a movie about mercenaries. The plot: The good guys try to overthrow some power-hungry maniacs. The real excuse for making this: to see things blow up. Lots of fun! (ES) Rated R Showtimes

The Fall

A visual masterpiece, worth the price of admission for that alone. But if you must worry about plot: A stunt man, paralyzed from the waist down, befriends a young girl whose father just died. When she asks him to tell a story, he obliges with a variety of yarns featuring a cavalcade of heroic characters … but certain elements of the story seem more real than fantastical. At the Magic Lantern. (DH) Rated R Showtimes

MicMacs

A man, a plan and weapons manufacturers. You know something's getting blowed up — probably lots of somethings. Poor Bazil, a video store clerk (and, by definition, avid movie-watcher) took a bullet to the brainpan that left him teetering on the edge of death. When life suddenly hands Bazil some lemons, he's ever so willing to pay back those who created the weapons that harmed him (with explosive lemonade, in this metaphor). Yeah, it's French, but nobody's perfect. At the Magic Lantern (DH) Rated R Showtimes

Restrepo

Author Sebastian Junger and war photographer Tim Hetherington give us this politically unbiased but also supremely confusing documentary about Battle Company’s year in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, once called “the deadliest place on earth.” What small story emerges is one of camaraderie and perseverance. For most of Restrepo, I didn’t know what I was watching. Afterward, I felt privileged to have seen it. (LB) Rated R Showtimes

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Actually it’s only geeky bass player Scott (Michael Cera) against seven people, all evil exes of Scott’s new squeeze Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Let the dueling begin — with fists, feet, and fireballs ... and swords! This is shameless, crazed, rock ’n’ roll moviemaking from director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), with great stories, fights, effects, and acting. You could actually mistake all of this for a violent big-screen video game. But it’s wilder and funnier. (ES) Rated PG-13 Showtimes

Poof up your bouffant at Coeur d'Alene's Hairspray Performances of the kitsch hit run this weekend in Boswell Hall on the North Idaho College campus: Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm. Tickets top out at $39 (plus tax). Hairspray closes on Aug. 21. Event Info

Here are seven reasons to go check this out:

1.  In the opening number, "Good Morning, Baltimore," watch for what the advancing chorus does to the wino. And whoever's standing in the wings and driving the remote-control rat has serious Formula One driving skills.

2.  The allusions to Chicago's "Cell Block Tango" in the second-act opener, "The Big Dollhouse." (Everybody's in jail. Roger Welch's Edna Turnblad flexes his/her muscles at song's end.)

3.  In the title tune, hysterical bobby-soxers clinging to a heartthrob's ankles.

4.  Krista Kubicek's "crab move" during her Velma Von Tussle's recollection of her glory days in "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs." (Later, when she's atop a kind of parade float, a wailing Kubicek gets swirled offstage by chorus members, as if she's some kind of wicked, dying witch.)

5.  When our heroine boldly decides to audition for The Corny Collins Show, Kasey Nusbickel's mousey delivery of Penny Pingleton's "I'll watch you audition

6.  Jessica Ray's costume designs: a purple-sequined tux for Corny; elaborate hairspray capes with hoods; pastel tuxes and flared taffeta swing dresses for the chorus.

7.  Tamara Schupman's butch P.E. teacher offering extra credit to any of the girls who'd like to take a shower today; Reed McColm's mix of humor and creepiness as Mr. Pinky, couturier of plus-sized girls, when he contemplates getting his hands on Edna's 54EEE bosoms. 

Irritable dwarves, a witch on a diet and magic-resistant mice: They're all in The Four Princes, Spokane Civic Theatre's summer show, which plays on Thursdays-Fridays, Aug. 12-13 and Aug. 19-20, at 7 pm at 1020 N. Howard St. The Four Princes has been written and directed by Jean Hardie, who recently won the Civic's Lifetime Achievement Award and who will probably herd her student actors through a little sarcastic undercutting of the usual fairy-tale idealism. Event Info

Meanwhile, CdA Summer Theatre has also announced three-quarters of its 2011 season: The Sound of Music, A Little Night Music and The Wizard of Oz.

The hills have been alive recently in Spokane (in 2003 at what was then the Opera House, and in 2007 at the Civic), but it's always tuneful and fun watching Maria and a bunch of little kids outwit those stupid Nazis.

Oz is a big deal because the rights have been hard to acquire and because of production requirements. (All that yellow paint, all those short people.)

The 1973 Sondheim musical is based on Ingmar Bergman's 1955 Swedish comic film, Smiles of a Summer Night (which was also the basis for Woody Allen's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy). It's full of ripe-for-correction lovers: the arrogant husband, the virginal wife, the repressed but horny young man, the down-on-her-luck but joyfully adulterous actress, and so on. (And it has Sondheim's only hit song, "Send in the Clowns.")

As always, for even more theater talk, visit stagethrust.blogspot.com. 

Just got a call at Inlander HQ from Baumgartner HQ asking if we received their latest press release.

Yes. We did.

And we got one from Marr HQ and Salvatori HQ. And we saw Bonnie Mager and Al French today.

Everyone said the same thing: It's a shame these politics are so dirty, and, by the way, my opponent is a jerk. With just days before ballots are due, it is that time of year.

The title of the email from Michael Baumgartner's campaign is, "Marr Collecting Lobbyist Checks." The subject of the email, of course, is state Sen. Chris Marr, Baumgartner's incumbent opponent in the 6th Legislative District.

"He’s having a big ticket fundraiser for lobbyists in Seattle," the email reads. "For the past four years, Senator Chris Marr has been collecting checks from special interest groups. He’s a multi-millionaire and he gives the lobbyists what they want. Tax breaks for Fat Cats. Favors for Big Oil. Special Laws for Trial Lawyers. And Marr gets campaign contributions in return. He's pocketed more special interest lobbyist money than any legislator in history."

Yowch. That's a big claim to make, and hard to prove. It is true that Marr has raised more money than any other Democratic legislative candidate this year. But what about this historic pocketing of special interest cash? ---

A quick scan of Marr's fundraising reports from the state Public Disclosure Commission show that many of his biggest — and when we say biggest, we mean they top out at $800, which is the law — contributions come from political action committees, businesses and unions. 

There's Puget Sound Energy, the Seattle Mariners, LensCrafters, the Credit Union Legislative Action Fund, Boeing, Anheuser Busch, UAW Local 4121, Washington Indian Gaming Association, Washington Restaurant Association and Waste Management, In., among others. 

Not to quibble, but an equally quick glance at Baumgartner's PDC records show $9,000 coming from political groups — the Senate Republican Campaign Committee and the 6th District Legislative Committee. And of Baumgartner's big givers, there are also groups that could be labeled "special interest," such as the Associated Builders & Contractors PAC, CalPortland Company, Health Insurance Agents PAC, Insurance & Financial Advisors PAC and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., among others. 

One thing is true: Marr has many more groups donating the maximum allowed contribution than Baumgartner. 

Regardless, Marr's campaign fired back exactly an hour later with an email titled "Help Us Set the Record Straight."

"By now you may have received several last-minute 'hit-pieces' paid for by the Republican Party," Marr's email reads. "These attacks blatantly misrepresent my record on education and taxes, shortchanging Spokane’s citizens with dirty politics instead of solutions. In Spokane, we work hard to put people over politics, and these attacks betray our values. If my opponent had spent more time in Spokane learning these values, I’m sure he would have known to tell his party leaders the citizens of Spokane deserve better."

Hello! Sly dog. Not only does Marr defend himself here, but he suggests Baumgartner is beholden to his party masters and calls him an outsider. Yes, Baumgartner got a butt-load of money from the Republican machine and he just moved here in January, but Marr isn't exactly an independent politician.

After all, he is the majority whip, a high-ranking party position with the primary purpose to keep members in line and voting correctly. (For the record, we've never seen him carrying an actual whip.)