Bloglander

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When we interviewed Geshe Thupten Phelgye, one of the saddest subjects he spoke on was the young Tibetan Buddhists who are setting themselves on fire to protest China's occupation of their homeland (our story here.) Phelgye is a Tibetan Buddhist monk now in residence at Gonzaga University (that's him getting some birthday cake earlier this year).

The immolations continue to grow in number. Seven more have reportedly doused themselves in gasoline and burned in the past week alone, according to a Washington Post story out today. Chinese authorities, in fact, are offering big cash rewards to people who alert them in advance about suicidal protesters.

Phelgye wasn't optimistic about China leaving his homeland anytime soon.

“It’s very difficult, it’s very unfortunate, very painful, what can I say?” he told me in the interview. “Unless China’s authorities give some consideration over their problems, I don’t see so much change coming.”

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Ladies and fellas: lock yourselves in the garrett with that typewriter.

It's time for The Inlander's Short Fiction Contest. 

The theme this year is "The End."

Be as literal or tangential as you'd like.

Multiple stories are ok too, just make sure that each story is 2,000 words or less.

The deadline is Nov. 22. Send stories as attached documents to Joe O'Sullivan, by 11:59 pm that evening. 

Questions? Hit me at joeo@inlander. com.

Good luck!

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The new James Bond film Skyfall is getting better reviews so far than the last outing, 2008's Quantum of Solace.

While I was happy with Solace, reviewers found it dark and angsty.  

But Skyfall — out Nov. 8 — is so far earning a 96 percent rating from Rotten Tomatoes (head there for an array of reviews).  The Guardian newspaper calls it "storming" and a "hugely enjoyable action spectacular." And since they're Brits, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, for now. We'll see if it can live up to the first Daniel Craig Bond — Casino Royale.

At a press conference this morning, Mayor David Condon, City Council President Ben Stuckart and Arts Commission President Brooke Kiener rolled out the news that the Spokane Arts Fund — a partnership with the Downtown Spokane Partnership, the Public Facilities District and Visit Spokane — will replace the current City Arts Commission, with current director Karen Mobley taking the reins of the Arts Fund as interim director.

Read the city's official press release, and watch the full press conference below.

The Spokane Symphony and its musicians appear to be at an impasse over contract negotiations.

Despite a balanced budget last year, the Symphony is looking to pay its musicians less, according to a press release from the musicians' union. In recent contract negotiations, the symphony proposed $15,132 salaries, down from $17,460.

"Those of us struggling to cobble together a living wouldn't be able to do that [under the proposed contract]," says Adam Wallstein, the orchestra's timpanist and leader of the committee negotiating for a new contract.

The musicians are paid a set salary per year under a maximum number of "services" — times they play, rehearse or do Symphony-related educational events.

Symphony Executive Director Brenda Nienhouse says the symphony isn't able to schedule enough performances and events to use up that maximum — 180 times a year for the orchestra's most essential musicians — so it's paying for more time than musicians are actually playing.

"What we're offering is the same per-service amount," Nienhouse says. "We happily pay for services we can use."

In today's economy, with many one-time gifts propping up the Symphony's budget, the non-profit's board has to "be a good financial steward," Nienhouse says.

But Wallstein isn't buying it. One-time gifts will always be the lifeblood of non-profits, he says, and it's the Symphony's job to schedule more shows and make more money. He wouldn't give specific figures, but he says the musicians aren't asking for a pay raise. They just can't take the cuts the symphony wants.

"We remain quite willing to go back to the table," he says. "I'm still optimistic."

For the Inaugural Babies in Pumpkins Photo Contest, send us the best photo of your baby, toddler, or unwilling adolescent in a pumpkin for your chance to be featured in an Inlander photo spread. The top five will be staff selected and posted at Inlander.com as well as in our first November issue. Send your submission to ChristianW@inlander.com by Oct. 28 for your chance to embarrass/immortalize your child in the enduring confines of Inlander history.

Checking out tonight's First Friday activities? Use this handy map to plot your way. Click on the markers to see what's showing where. This weekend, it's Visual Arts Tour so some of the galleries are hosting receptions both tonight and tomorrow. See the descriptions to find out more.

View Visual Arts Tour 2012 - Oct. 5-6 in a larger map

Your mind wanders from a scene of Peeta stuffing a loaf of bread into the white whale's blowhole, then snags on a stray thought.

Your eyes rise from the page and narrow to a squint. The pipe droops as your mouth falls slightly open.

"Hey," you say, "It's October. Shouldn't it be close to time for THE INLANDER SHORT FICTION CONTEST?"

Why yes, intrepid penner of fictions, it IS close to time. This here blog is the official announcement.  

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You can be as literal or oblique as you want with that.

Multiple stories are ok too, just make sure that each story is 2,000 words or less.

The deadline is Nov. 22. All stories have to be in to me, Luke Baumgarten, by 11:59 pm that evening. 

Hit me at luke@inlander. com.

Feel free to ask questions at that address as well, or, you know, if you just feel like talking.

Good luck! And deity-of-your-choice-speed! 

Around Here

If the lightning doesn't get you, the firebugs will (KXLY)

And if the firebugs don't, Statewide gas prices (Over $4?!! but lower in Spokane) will (KHQ)

At this point, Paul Ryan is just hoping there's something left for he and his buddy Mitt. (KREM) 

Oh, and in case you missed it on Saturday: the Sheriff's Department shot and killed an unarmed man. (S-R)

Out There

China's heir apparent is AWOL ... or disappeared??!!?!!? Plum gone, in any event (NYT)

Todd Akin's dumb ass might hold the key to Republican control of the senate (WaPost) 

Romney having a tough time in battleground states (WSJ) and it's unclear how much Nicki Minaj can help (WaPost)

James Cameron says Avatar 4 will be a prequel, obviously (Vulture) 

Moment of Zen

Wish these guys would police the crosswalks of spokane

UPDATE: Karli Ingersoll has responded! With a blog of her own! "The Hoods: 'Get bent, it's art.'" Wham! A snippet:

Okay, so not exactly an escalation. More like the Oslo Accords. Still, nice to see passionate people empassioned

One of the neighborhoods she chose, though, "Corbin Park," isn't an official neighborhood so much as it's a weathy-ish enclave in the much larger Emerson-Garfield neighborhood. 

When she talked to the neighborhood council about it, they voiced concerns that this would further separate the two and undercut the work they've been doing to connect Corbin Park to Emerson-Garfield as a whole.

Ingersoll told me she decided to run with Corbin Park anyway, because that's how she's always thought of the neighborhood, and the way others she knows have too. I made a brief mention of this in my story.  

The neighborhood has now posted a lengthy blog, "Celebrating Neighborhoods ... While Undermining Them," with their side of the story. A taste:

The participating designers have deliberately ignored existing neighborhood names and boundaries, and instead sided with “popular terms for neighborhoods [...] for the sake of easier promotion and marketing” in the words of their organizer, Karli Ingersoll (herself an Emerson-Garfield resident, which makes what follows sting all the more).

This is fixin' to be the biggest art brouhaha since the infamous Meat Painting Scandal of 2011.