Entertainment

Like many others, I tuned in to the first presidential debates last week. Wow, talk about in your face. During the debate, the two candidates expressed what they thought about the war in Iraq and each of their plans for building a better future. I'm not choosing sides here (which means do not send me donation letters), but I will say that Sen. John Kerry did a better job of defining who he is and what he stands for, while President Bush seemed almost unprepared in his responses and looked flustered. That's only one American's opinion. Be sure to watch the next round of debates to draw your own conclusions.

"Saturday Night Live" skit "Weekend Update" just wasn't the same last week without Jimmy Fallon's loose-limbed antics. Seeing him with Queen Latifah in "Taxi" is a poor substitute.

Q: My soon-to-be son-in-law invited me to his bachelor party. I didn't think it was appropriate, but my daughter thought it would be good for us to spend time together. So I spent hours in a strip club while he got lap dances and put dollar bills in thongs. Now he wants me to lie to my daughter about what happened. I feel I should tell her. What do you think? Mia: I know it sucks for you to keep this info inside. But no good can come of telling your little girl that she's marrying a male chauvinist pig.

What it is: Food on a stick is pretty self-explanatory. You've got some food, you put it on a stick. Brilliant. What it's all about: Think of this as perfect walking-around chow. Whether you're strolling through a cocktail party, juggling dinner 'n' brewskis at a backyard cookout or hoofing it through the state fair – the preeminent food-on-a-stick spot – there's something to be said for cuisine you can get a handle on. And these days, it's easy to get sticky with it, since everything from chicken to marshmallows to pancakes 'n' sausage is getting the skewered treatment.

Gamers unite and join hands with TRL-loving hotties across the wide-open Palouse! OK, that's not the headline the Nintendo Fusion Tour 2004 will make at the Big Easy Concert House on Sunday.

The rhapsodic hyperbole, the media scrutiny, the fan obsession. No, we're not talking about the Boston Red Sox at playoff time. This is Texas high school football, and exaggeration is impossible.

Over the course of his career, Billy Bob Thornton has played a variety of characters. Today's quiz involves naming which role he has not played (choose among the following): 1. department store Santa Claus impersonator

Despite achieving only minor commercial success in the late 1970s, the UK Subs remains one of the most important bands in the punk rock movement, largely because of its loyalty to the punk-rock ethos.

Last week, local emcee/deejay/ producer Erick Bergloff hosted his farewell show, and he is now a resident of Portland. But before he had a chance to split, I shadowed Bergloff on a record shopping spree, one of his deepest passions. In deejay speak it's called "diggin'," short for "diggin' in the crates" or D.I.T.C.

After two decades of performing in the area, Coeurimba is well known for invigorating, rhythm-driven, infectious dance parties. But this weekend, Coeur d'Alene's longest-standing African-style marimba band is hosting two special parties – CD release parties for its newest album, "Knock On Wood."

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" ••••

Rep. George Nethercutt effectively skipped the Republican primary to get an early start in his campaign against Sen. Patty Murray. So I'm going to skip right past the general election in this week's column to detail why Nethercutt lost his bid for Murray's seat after a strong start. 1. The sheep became the wolf. In 1994, Nethercutt knocked off Tom Foley, in part by arguing the House speaker was a professional politician disconnected from his district. But then Nethercutt cynically broke the term-limits pledge that was central to his first congressional campaign. This year, the Spokane Republican moved to Bellevue, leaving himself wide open to charges he had morphed into a right-wing version of Foley. When Nethercutt angrily protested Murray's ads highlighting his move, her campaign simply used the congressman's own recent state-

In some cases it's best to simply let a band introduce itself. This taken directly off of www.heymang.com:

Q: I'm a 40-year-old man, married seven years, with an adopted son. My wife is 34 and has been putting off all sexual advances for a long time. We are only having sex about five to seven times a year. When we do have sex, it's only missionary and I have to do all the work. She complains constantly of back pain and neck pain and carpel tunnel and that justifies any type of foreplay being out. I don't know what to do, but I can't live with sex only five to seven times a year.