Bloglander

Apparently someone at Business Insider is a big music fan, because this week they published a list of 10 Things You Should Never Do at a Concert. He covers all the expected bases — taking too many pictures, ignoring the band, getting too drunk — but there are definitely some holes.  
Here are a few things that could make all of our concert experiences better if we abide by them: 

Keep your shirt on. Some dude-bros insist on taking off their shirt when they build up a sweat, particularly at metal and punk shows. No one likes going home covered in someone else's sweat. No one. Cover it up. 

Don't order mixed drinks at a packed club show. You're seeing a great band. You're thirsty and try to make a quick trip to the bar for a beer without missing too much of the show. The person in front of you decides it's time to play "stump the bartender" with some idiotic order. "Can I get six Lonely Grizzlies on a Beach? What do you mean you don't know what that is?" Keep it simple, people. Shots and beers will do you right. 

Mind your manners while you navigate the crowd. Barreling through a crowd, causing multiple people to lose significant parts of their beer to spillage, is no way to go through life. Be conscious of your fellow show-goers' beverages. 

Dancers take precedent. If you want to sit, move. This is controversial; battles between ticket-holding sitters and standers have raged forever. I'm firmly in the corner of the standers/dancers. If someone pays good money for a concert ticket and wants to dance at the show, they should be able to do just that. Yes, the sitters paid for tickets, too, but they can sit at home and watch videos of the band on their computer or TV. A concert is an interactive, hopefully transcendent experience, and sometimes that requires standing. Ideally, a venue would have areas for the dancers to get their groove on, but until that becomes common, I stand with standers. 

And, finally...

Never yell "Freebird." It's over, man. Been done. Move on. 

What other things should fans never do at a show? Hit us with some ideas. 

Calling all zombies, Spokane Chiefs' fans and everyone in between! 

There's a nice confluence of events happening on Friday, Sept. 25, as the Z Nation television series will be filming scenes for an episode that features a hockey team. As part of that filming, they're looking for people to show up AT the Spokane Arena in their full Spokane Chiefs' regalia — or anything a "normal" hockey fan might wear to a game — to be part of some background shots. If you want to be part of the filming, simply show up at the Arena and find the Z Nation table near the Guest Services office sometime between 5 and 6 pm. 

This filming just happens to be happening while the arena hosts its 20th Anniversary Celebration Open House from 5 to 8 pm that night, so in between dodging zombies and cheering for some fake hockey action, you can check out the innards of the Arena, throw a football around the Shock field and dive into some birthday cake. 

There’s a lot on the horizon for people interested in a little string action.

2Cellos
Playing the cello can be super cool, or at least that’s what the guys in 2Cellos want you to think. The YouTube sensations are heading to the INB Performing Arts Center April 18, proving that head banging instrumental versions of pop hits resonates well with folks — especially those who aren’t normally into classical music. 2Cellos, aptly made up of two Croatian cellists, Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, were first propelled to stardom in 2011 for their take on Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” — they were even featured on Glee and asked to tour with Elton John because of it. More recently, their Baroque-themed music video of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” has taken the world by storm, garnering millions of views. That song is included on their January release Celloverse. Tickets are $30-$60.

Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Fiddle Contest
The fiddle scene is seriously smokin’ hot in the Inland Northwest thanks to a bevy of teachers, bands and, of course, area competitions. The Coeur d’Alene Casino Fiddle Contest returns to Worley, Idaho, offering up more than $15,000 in cash and prizes for contestants playing today and Sunday. Fiddlers are separated into the following categories: Small Fry, Junior Junior, Junior, Accompanist, Young Adult, Adult and Senior with the Small Fry’s starting the whole thing off at 8:30 am Saturday. The public is more than welcome to attend the two-day event for free. 

Spokane Symphony season opener
Russian composers’ works never go quietly into the night — they’re brash and bold pieces of art, as dramatic as they come. So yes, an opening weekend full of Russian music is the perfect way to make a statement for the Spokane Symphony’s 70th season. Take Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, for example. This is that spooky devil-inspired piece folks grew up hearing in Disney’s Fantasia, and it’s sure to spark the audience’s attention immediately. Also expect a lot from the harsh and spectacular Bartók Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring acclaimed Filipina pianist Cecile Licad. The Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox concert starts tonight at 8 pm, with one more chance to see it Sunday at 3 pm. 

SATURDAY: "Partly cloudy until afternoon, with a high temperature of 76° around 4 PM, and a low of 47° around 5 AM. The sun will rise at 6:33 AM and will set at 6:56 PM."

SUNDAY: "Partly cloudy throughout the day and breezy starting in the afternoon, continuing until evening, with a high temperature of 77° around 3 PM, and a low of 49° around 5 AM. The sun will rise at 6:34 AM and will set at 6:54 PM."

source: forecast.io

We all need copy editors. Even journalists. Especially journalists.

So, yes, there's a bit of a "speck in your brother's eye" quality to criticizing the grammatical errors.  I make plenty of typos, so it's hardly for me to judge. Hypocrisy admitted. 

Still. The recent press release, "Students Will Continue to Persevere," that Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra submitted for newspapers to publish is a mess, filled with extra commas, subject-verb agreement errors and confusing sentences. It's drawn mockery on Twitter and Facebook, with one commenter comparing it to a piece he'd read in the Onion.

@TaraBethIdaho Ybarra emailed her column to multiple outlets for publication. We published her words as she submitted.

— Idaho Education News (@idahoednews) September 16, 2015

After all, Ybarra is the state superintendent of schools that teach grammar courses. She's been criticized, time and time again, for lacking qualifications. There are thousands of highly qualified English teachers in Idaho who would be happy to copy edit her prose before she publishes it.  But where some may see her opinion essay as an indictment of Idaho's educational system, I see an opportunity. This is a perfect exercise for high school English teachers across Idaho to give their students: Edit the state superintendent's essay. Fix punctuation errors. Rewrite clunky sentences. 

Here are a few sentences they can start with. 

Mutual accountability includes multiple measures over multiple times, and does not look like one test score, as most parents will tell you, “There is more to my child than one-test score.” 

Split up into two sentences by changing that comma after "score" to a period. Also: Is she referring to a specific scoring index called the "one-test"? 
If so, please explain what the "one-test" score is. If not, remove the hyphen. 

According to a recent magazine article, “Studying others’ misfortunes is one of the most valuable tools we have; one must navigate through failures and misfortunes, on their path to success.”

I attempted to Google this phrase to find the article Ybarra referenced and came up short. Now I'm curious where it came from. It seems to have the same comma trouble as the rest of her essay. For example, there should not be a comma after the second "misfortunes."

Also, if I'm being a stickler, in formal writing "one" is singular and "their" is plural. While the singular "they" is on the rise, many Idaho English teachers will still mark this as wrong. If Ybarra's next campaign platform centers on fighting for the "singular they" in Idaho schools, that's a campaign I could get behind.  

I used to have a poster in my classroom, “This is a mistake-making place.”

"Says," or a similar word, is missing after classroom. On the other hand, if Ybarra is intentionally making mistakes in this essay to highlight the value of making mistakes, that's some next-level meta jiu-jitsu she's pulling. And then there's this sentence.

For example, from the time that a student steps into their classroom, they not only have a lesson plan written, and teaching strategies in place, but they also support students in many different ways that we don’t see; for example, they show up for class, even when students are hungry, when students are going through personal struggles, and they show up for class when our students are victims of unspeakable things, or victims of terminal illnesses. 

Let's set aside the comma and subject-verb agreement problems for a moment. There are very few times when a semicolon is the best choice. In a sentence this long, with this many ideas, it just makes it a mess messier. Split up the sentence instead. 
I'm also confused about the antecedent of "they." Is Ybarra referring to the teachers showing up for class when their students are hungry or to the hungry students who still show up for class?

But, this is probably going to be messy and chaotic, and there will be failures and misfortunes that we will need to learn from, in order for our educational system to get better. We need to allow our schools to have this flexibility and mutually responsible accountability culture, in order to change the landscape of education in Idaho.

Lose some of those commas. I don't understand the phrase "this flexibility and mutually responsible accountability culture." Is she trying to say, "this flexible and mutually responsible culture of accountability?" Or maybe "this flexibility and this mutually responsible accountability-culture?" 

And, as your state superintendent I want to renew our partnership and build excitement for our educational system and our students, and I will continue to drive our agenda forward, with a message that failure is just a stepping stone on our path to success!

Aside from the comma issues, this is another messy sentence that could use a period, preferably after "students." And "our partnership" with whom? Parents? Students? Local districts? Pearson?

Don't worry, Ybarra. This happens to everybody. You'll make mistakes and you'll experience failures. Errors are just stepping stones to success. Make the changes and I'll bump the essay up a grade. 

Last week, KXLY ran a story about a couple who followed Spokane County Sheriff's Deputy John McQuitty while he was on patrol during dark, early-morning hours. In an interview with reporter Jeff Humphrey, Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said the couple's actions were dangerous, "especially in this day and age where, again, you have officers being executed." 

A recent survey by Rasmussen Reports found that 58 percent of people polled believe there is a war on police today, and it's easy to understand why. In August, a Texas sheriff's deputy was shot in the back while gassing up his patrol car in a Houston suburb. Kentucky State Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder and Louisiana State Trooper Steven Vincent were shot during traffic stops in the past two months. And two New York City police officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, were shot point-blank while sitting in their patrol car in December.

Washington state is no exception. In 2009, a man killed four Lakewood police officers while they met at a coffee shop before their shifts. 

Indeed, law enforcement is a tough and often ugly job, and some police officers are killed simply because they're police officers. However, a deeper look at data on law enforcement deaths and assaults on police does not support the notion that there is a "war on police." In fact, since the 1970s, policing has become increasingly safer, and perpetuating the idea that police are under attack is dangerous, according to Washington Post blogger Radley Balko. 

Balko lays out his argument in a recent post: 

"When cops are constantly told that they’re under constant fire, or that every interaction with a citizen could be their last, or that they’re fortunate each time they come home from the job in one piece, it’s absolute poison for police-community relations. That kind of reminder on a regular basis would put anyone on edge. We’re putting police officers in a perpetually combative mindset that psychologically isolates them from the communities they serve. Incessantly telling cops that they’re under fire can condition them to see the people with whom they interact not as citizens with rights, but as potential threats. That not only means more animosity, anger and confrontation, it can also be a barrier to building relationships with people in the community — the sorts of relationships that help police officers solve crimes and keep communities safe." (the emphasis is ours)

Now let's look at the numbers: 

Dan Wang, an economics and philosophy student at the University of Rochester and former assistant to Balko, has compiled data on the number of "felonious" police killings since 1961 from FBI Uniform Crime Reports. (Felonious killings are deliberate killings of law enforcement officers in the line of duty.)

According to Wang's data, "more officers are feloniously killed in the 11 years between 1970 and 1980 (1,228) than in the 21 years between 1993 and 2013 (1,182);" and on average 125 officers were feloniously killed per year between 1971 and '75. That number dropped to 50 for the years 2006-2010. 

Here are a few of Wang's graphs: 





You can also look at Wang's raw data in a Google doc here.

And here's a chart from Seth Stoughton, a University of South Carolina law professor and former police officer, that shows felonious killings since 1970 (in orange) juxtaposed against murders in the general population (in blue). 

@rcjparry @radleybalko Appreciate it! Keep in mind: murders only, not all violent felonies; no murder data for 2014 pic.twitter.com/F0ljAtBYrm

— Seth Stoughton (@PoliceLawProf) September 12, 2015

And here are graphs showing the rate at which officers were assaulted and injured from 1992 to 2012, via Daniel Bier, the founder and editor of the blog The Skeptical Libertarian:


Click here to see data that dates back to 1870.


A current police cadet attending an academy in a northern red state wrote an op-ed for The Daily Beast in which he too describes the dangers of the "war on cops" rhetoric, especially in police academies. The cadet, who authored the post under a pseudonym, writes that his instructors blame the Obama administration and the Black Lives Matter movement for inciting violence against police.  

“Our instructor is likely trying to warn us to take heed of the dangers of the job, and not expect to be thanked by politicians for doing it. But he has made the government and the people we’re meant to serve out to be the boogeymen in the process.”

...

“But there is no War on Police. This Us vs. Them mentality still prevails even in fresh academy cadets. Perhaps some of these people will become future jackbooted, truncheon-wielding oppressors. Or perhaps they will encounter the reality that betrays the fear they are taught.”

Larry Wilmore says Fox News should take some of the blame: 


Despite the numbers, the message seems to be taking hold. In May, Heather Mac Donald wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal in which she argues the spike in crime is a result of "the intense agitation against American police departments over the past nine months." (Mac Donald also cites an 89 percent jump in murders of officers from 2013 to 2014; however, she fails to acknowledge the fact that the number of officers killed in 2013 was 27 — the lowest in decades and well below the national average of the past 34 years, which is 64.)

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks law enforcement deaths throughout the country, 89 officers have died so far this year (two in Washington and one in Idaho). The total figure includes accidental deaths, heart attacks, gunfire, vehicle pursuits, assaults and more. So far this year, gunfire deaths are down 26 percent, and overall line of duty deaths are down 4 percent. By contrast, law enforcement has killed between 700 and 835 civilians (depending who you ask), a figure that is "almost double the highest number of police shootings ever reported by the FBI for an entire year," the Washington Post reports. 

Fashion Week is riding high in New York City, but on Saturday you can get a taste of local fashion designs at Runway Renegades. Previously held during the Garland Block Party, the 8th annual fashion show — which includes more than 125 local artisans working together — is taking to the runway at Northern Quest Resort & Casino for the first time.

Ronnie Ryno, of Glamarita Clothing & Accessories, says the move to a new location was a more efficient way to raise funds for the event’s charity, Blessings Under The Bridge, as before they couldn’t charge for tickets. Having it at the casino also means native designers are participating for the first time and, best of all, the new digs are inside.

“This is the first time I’ve been able to do this event with jackets,” Ryno says. “Before I never made them because I didn’t want any models to pass out from the heat.”

Ryno started Runway Renegades after being turned away from other fashion shows for not having a boutique. She did open one eventually in the Garland District, bit it closed last September.

Shuttering her shop was like having a death in the family, Ryno says. But now she’s back at it, inspired to design again and hopefully get a mobile bus version of the store up and running by spring.

“I loved Glamarita and we had a loyal following but we… I don’t want to bash Spokane at all. There wasn’t enough people coming in often enough,” she says.

Now back in action with Runway Renegades, Ryno is amazed at how far the event has come.

“I look back at pictures from our first couple years. We didn’t know what we were doing at all,” she says. “Every year we learned something, and this move is the next step to continue to grow.”

Pre-sale general admission tickets are $20, or $25 at the door. Blessings Under The Bridge, which works to serve the homeless, will receive 50 percent of the event proceeds. Fashion fans can also check out the vendor market happening today through Sunday in front of the pavilion at Northern Quest. A fashion show after-party is happening at Club Impulse and is $10.

Here’s a look at the designers:

Ronnie Ryno, Glamarita Clothing & Accessories (partnering with Assassin Apparel)
This collection has a 1970s rock ‘n’ roll/glam vibe.

Lynne Blackwood, Blackwood Art Clothing & Accessories 
Inspired by the 10 most infamous queens in history, this collection is called “Dancing Queens.”

Chet Bluff and Angelena Campobasso
Heading up two different Kalispel Tribe design teams, their looks will include modern native wear as well as more traditional pieces.

Gianna Morrill, Kuriio
This seasoned local designer went with a Startribe theme for this year’s show.

Linda Graff and Patricia McClain Osborne, A Sewing Shoppe
The designers experimented with hand-dyed techniques for their collection.

So no offense to anyone, really, but most of my Instagram feed is one of two things: 1) cats, or 2) arts-related accounts, like the ones I shared below. A mix of Inland Northwest-based and not, these Instagram-ers are all inspiring, creative and often breathtaking. Following celebrities is boring — these are definitely not.

@cobralilyshop
This near-Seattle artist is a paper flower maven like few others I've come across. Constantly challenging herself to create complex and unexpected blooms, Kate Alarcon also teaches classes around the West Side so if you're lucky, you can learn some of her stunning techniques yourself.


@sistergoldenshop
Keeping with the flower theme, I've also been continually stunned at the creative pieces coming out of this mother-daughter team's account. Undoubtedly the big draw is the foliage collage portraits by the mom half of the duo, which fans of her work can buy online in print form. 


@thelovelyave
Paper flower art is a long-time obsession of mine, and just like the previously mentioned account, the Salt Lake City-based artist Margie Keates is making stunning, realistic blooms from paper that you have to see to believe. 




@anemonepaperflorist
We'd be remiss not to include Spokane's own paper florist, Anemone Paper Flowers, whose Instagram account is equally full of mesmerizing displays of flowers made right here in our city.



@spokanedecay
There is beauty in everything, and few other Instagram accounts capture the intrigue of the abandoned like this Spokane-centric account.




@socalitybarbie
This account has been abuzz all over the Internet in recent weeks, and its sarcastic take on the trendy, hipster-ified approach to Instagram is spot on.




@christinehmcconnell
This California-based artist, photographer, seamstress, baker and model's all-around stunning throwback to the domestic arts might make you feel inadequate, but it's definitely worth clicking "follow."

With Pope Francis coming to the United States next week, how about another quick game of “Who Said It?” Test your knowledge on the following 11 quotes from one of three men of destiny. Enjoy!

What makes Cheap Trick truly "classic" among the still-touring classic-rock bands is their ability to make a show seem utterly fresh, even as the band members approach 70 and their most popular hits near 40. 

Take their show Thursday at the Spokane County Interstate Fair as a prime example. It was a loud, boisterous explosion of power-pop and hard rock songs that blended the obvious, monster hits from Cheap Trick's catalog with some deep cuts, surprising covers and unreleased new songs. Put it all together, and it was as satisfying a rock show as any you're likely to see this year. 

For the hardcore Cheap Trick fans standing from start to end and crowding the front of the stage, the show had everything they could desire. Lead singer/guitarist Robin Zander strutted around in an all-white suit and fedora (complete with feather) over a white T-shirt with an important message: "Music has value." His voice was in stellar form, whether delivering poppy tunes like "If You Want My Love" or "The Flame," or rockers like "California Man" or "Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School."  Given the range of rock styles Cheap Trick tackles in its tunes, they're lucky his voice remains as strong as it is, even if some of the high notes were a stretch after more than four decades on the road. 

Guitarist Rick Nielsen threw guitar picks into the crowd by the dozen, had a checkerboard-pattern pedestal to step up on for select solos, and wore a T-shirt with a picture of himself on it, because why not? He delivered most of the between-song banter for the night, cracking jokes about songs like "Borderline" — "It never got played on the radio. It never got played in anyone's homes, either" — doing his patented spoken-word interlude during "Dream Police" and breaking out his five-neck guitar during the show-closing "Surrender." He even spent some time chatting up the sign-language interpreters working on the side of the stage in the middle of some songs. 

Bassist Tom Petersson was more low-key than his long-time partners, lurking in back and occasionally hitting the front of the stage to harmonize with Zander. He did shine, though, during a bass solo that segued into an utterly unexpected and total awesome version of Velvet Underground's "Waiting for the Man" that included a mid-song side trip into VU's "Heroin" with Petersson on lead vocals.  

With Nielsen's son Daxx ably sitting in on drums in place of long-timer Bun E. Carlos, the band played with an energy that belied their years, and did far more than simply recreate their biggest hits for a fair audience. Songs like "Come On, Come On," "On Top of the World," "Need Your Love" and the new, unreleased "Bang Zoom Crazy Hello" all added some nice flavors to a set peppered with the most popular songs from the Cheap Trick canon, but those were there, too in "Ain't That A Shame," "I Want You To Want Me" and "Surrender." 

At show's end 19 songs and a bit more than 90 minutes after its start, Zander bowed to the audience and said Cheap Trick "will see you down the road." Given the energy and excitement the band still brings to a stage more than 40 years after its formation, there's no reason to think the road trip will end any time soon. 

Here is the complete setlist from Thursday's show: 

Hello There 
Come On Come On
Big Eyes 
Lookout 
California Man 
If You Want My Love
On Top of the World 
Borderline 
Ain’t That a Shame 
Need Your Love
Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School
In Crowd 
Waitin’ for the Man 
The Flame 
I Want You to Want Me 
Dream Police 
Bang Zoom Crazy Hello 
Surrender 
Goodnight 

Here's a little taste of "Ain't That A Shame" from the show: