There was a surprise applause line during a downtown showing of An Inconvenient Truth over the weekend. Professor Al Gore -- surprising how well PowerPoint presentations work as campaign films -- had made the point that the failed Bush administration (is that redundant?) had the knowledge and the wherewithal to promote electric vehicles, to sign onto Kyoto and, in general, to work toward reducing the effects of global warming -- but that the Bushites lack the political will to do so.
"But in this country," says Gore, smirking, "political will is a renewable resource."
Everybody at our matinee clapped.
Sounds to us, Al, like a campaign slogan for 2008.
Someone Gave Him a Pony & r & At the 2003 Pan-American Games in the Dominican Republic, Jan Ebeling led the gold medal-winning U.S. dressage team. He'll appear in Spokane this weekend to help eight equestrians from Washington and Idaho make "every ride a good ride" under the watchful eyes of 150 avid horsemen and -women. The clinic -- the first of its kind in this area, because goodness knows that parents around here aren't nearly generous enough with the gift-ponies -- will take place at Spokane Sport Horse Farm, 10710 S. Sherman Rd. Visit www.usdf.org/programs or call 466-8289.
A Net To Ensnare Them All & r & In this Jerry Springer/Maury Povich world of ours, people will do anything to be celebrities. Yet have we no shame? Well, we do if we have the technology for it.
First example: A woman's dog pooped on the floor of a Korean subway car. Her fellow passengers demanded that she clean up the mess; she refused. Her seatmate had a digital camera; within hours, the woman -- and her dog, and its mess -- were all over the Internet under the heading "Puppy Poo Girl." (We're using the milder translation here.)
Second example: Guy leaves voicemails and e-mails with a woman, demanding his $50 back after she declined his offer of a second date. The voicemails and e-mails are amusing people even now on the World Wide Web.
Dunking scolds, tarring and feathering con men -- now we have new shaming rituals. They're just a mouse-click away.
Map Quest & r & We'd be shocked if any of our faithful foodies got lost trying to find Hay J's Bistro in Liberty Lake at the address we provided in Fresh & amp; Tasty on June 22. Sure, the street number was wrong, but we gave you lots of clues in the text. Still, we strive for accuracy; try looking for the Bistro at 21706 E. Mission Ave.
