Dan Webster

In 1979, when the community of Orchard Prairie observed its 100th anniversary, the celebration was a "whiz-bang, all-day-and-into-the-night" affair. So says one of the narrators of "A Place in the Country," a 25-minute cinematic love letter to the Spokane-area rural community.

Photo of Peter Fonda

Don't miss the first minutes of "Sling Blade," with Billy Bob Thornton, left.

If you're interested in turning the clock back 192 years, head to Clarkston on Sunday and take in the Lewis & Clark Experience. Beginning at 11 a.m. at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake rivers, a daylong encampment will honor the 1805 expedition and the Indian tribes that welcomed it.

Sexism: Still ugly after all these years.

Tom Batiuk began "Funky Winkerbean" when he was (caption ended mid-sentence)

Ursula Hegi is back on the bookshelves. This time, though, she's resorting to non-fiction. "Tearing the Silence: On Being German in America" (Simon & Schuster, 320 pages, $24) is just what the title indicates - a study of the experiences of German-born American children during or just following World War II. Hegi, who teaches creative writing at Eastern Washington University, was born in 1946 "surrounded," as she wrote, "by evidence of war - bombed-out buildings, fatherless children, men who had legs or arms missing."

Burke, Idaho, once enjoyed prosperity as a leading mining town in the Silver Valley. File photo

Illeana Douglas, Paulina Porizkova and Julie Warner in "Wedding Bell Blues."

(Scene from film)

Peter Fonda is perfect for his role conveying quiet strength.

Geoffrey Rush portrayed Australian pianist David Helfgott in "Shine."

1. A lone pioneer looks out over the upper falls on the Spokane River in the 1890s. Only two decades later, the falls were surrounded by industry that blocked its stunning view. File/The Spokesman-Review 2. Author J. William T. Youngs at the source of his book. "The Fair and the Falls." Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review 3. Spokane's Expo '74 gave the city a new opportunity to showcase its river and falls. This south-looking view shows the world's fair site at the start of Expo in May 1974. File/The Spokesman-Review

When you think of Art on the Green, Coeur d'Alene's annual arts fair, three things typically come to mind: arts and crafts, music and food. OK, so maybe that's four things. Here's a fifth: literature. It's an art, too, and this summer's version of Art on the Green is offering workshops in that area, as well. McCall, Idaho, novelist Clay Morgan ("Santiago and the Drinking Party") will teach a couple of fiction workshops in four three-hour sessions, July 28-31. The morning session is already filled, but a 1-4 p.m. session is still open.

(Photo of movie clip from "Brassed Off")

Dr. Eleanor Arroway (Jodie Foster) hears a far-out message in "Contact."

Muhammad Ali watches George Foreman go down in the 1974 heavyweight championship.

1. Marceen Zappone fires up Clancy (top photo), a sheltie-dachshund mix, before a recent flyball competition. 2. Joy, a yellow lab (above), shows how to clear a hurdle while Clancy (right) gets a well-earned hug after finishing. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 3. Barb Brenner has a ball-coughing hug for her Belgian Malinois, Heidi, after her performance on the flyball hurdles. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

J.A. Jance will read from her most recent book, "Skeleton Canyon," at Auntie's Bookstore on Friday. Photo by Associated Press

We live in a world that runs on irony. This can be entertaining. The Jim Bakker debacle proved that. So what could be more ironic than featuring a woman as host of a radio show dedicated to the testosterone-heavy world of sports? I've been listening to KTRW (AM 970), Spokane's mostly sports-talk radio station, since November's ice storm. During that time I've grown accustomed to hearing the Fabulous Sports Babe every morning.

1. Jim Borgman and Jerry Scott spent a year developing "Zits." 2 & 3. (Two photos of comic strip.)

(photo of a scene from "Hercules.")

John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis and a friendly creature from "Fierce Creatures."

John Tesh Friday, June 27, Opera House So, say you've got a bit of talent, a measure of fame, some money and all the passion in the world to be a musical performer, what do you do? Well, if you're John Tesh, you surround yourself with gifted musicians. That was evident when Tesh, the former television sports and entertainment reporter, brought his "Avalon" show to a two-thirds-full Spokane Opera House on Friday. How talented are Tesh's co-stars?