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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

EndNotes archive for Feb. 2012

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 29, 2012


Davy Jones (Associated Press)

RIP: Play music in heaven, Davy Jones 

Davy Jones, of Monkees fame, died of a heart attack at just 66 years old. In sixth grade, when the television show started about the rock band, my girlfriends and I spent hours discussing our favorite Monkee (mine: Peter Tork). We bought all their albums,…

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A stand of prairie grass is silhouetted against the sun as temperatures approached 90 degrees in Carmel, Ind., Tuesday, July 19, 2011. (Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

Grief upon grief

The report in today’s New York Times reveals that body parts of some of the 9/11 victims were incinerated at the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base and then released to a landfill. If true, this information only adds to the grief and anguish of…

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TUESDAY, FEB. 28, 2012

Turning in her grave

My mother-in-law, a cradle Catholic who attended church every day of her adult life, would likely be as appalled as I am when reading about the legislators, in Virginia and now in Idaho, who would require ultrasounds for women considering abortion. Here's the description, from…

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Scott Crocoll holds a dead Indiana bat in an abandoned mine in Rosendale, N.Y., in January. The U.S. Forest Service is preparing to close thousands of caves and former mines in the eastern U.S.  (File Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Bat flu: another damn thing to worry about

Press release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: A new influenza A virus discovered in fruit bats in Guatemala does not appear to present a current threat to humans, but should be studied as a potential source for human influenza, according to scientists…

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MONDAY, FEB. 27, 2012


Products for mice, available at local stores such as Northwest Seed and Pet, can ensure a happier and healthier life for your pet.  
 (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

Alzheimer's updates: Mice, poor sleep

Mice give people the creeps if they creep into your home, but lab mice might be the new best friends of older folks worried about Alzheimer's disease. In a promising study with mice, those given a decades-old cancer drug -- bexarotene -- saw fewer deposits…

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Phosphate enemas killing older people

From Reuters Health: Sodium phosphate enemas, used to relieve constipation, may cause older people to suffer kidney failure or even die, a new report suggests.The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, focuses on a group of 11 patients, ranging in age from 61…

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SUNDAY, FEB. 26, 2012

Director Woody Allen poses during a photo call for "Midnight in Paris," at the 64th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France. Allen was nominated Tuesday for an academy award for best director.  (Associated Press)

And the Oscar goes to...

The wise and experienced…and a bit older…actor: Christopher Plummer …and the Oscar goes to the nominated-17-times…Meryl Streep…and the evening was hosted by…we all love him…Billy Crystal…and the best picture goes to… a silent film. Has anyone under 40 ever even seen a silent film before...

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SATURDAY, FEB. 25, 2012


Anne Lamott will be in Spokane next weekend to read from her works, including her latest book, "Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith." 
 (Courtesy of Mark Richards / The Spokesman-Review)

Anne Lamott ~ urban grace

Anne Lamott arrived in Tacoma for her evening talk at Urban Grace Church. Her truth-telling- no-matter-what stories and edgy wisdom gave the audience reason to sigh, ponder and affirm: we are in this life together. I sat in the front row and listened like I…

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FRIDAY, FEB. 24, 2012

Florid descriptions of death

Looking through some old, old newspaper clippings the other day, I came across some old obits, from the early 1900s, and from various newspapers. Of one 94-year-old who died in 1908, it was written: "For several weeks, she has been lingering from day to day…

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Who stole the Virgin Mary? 

My co-collaborator on the blog and column, Cathy Johnston, works for Providence Centralia Hospital on the state's West side. On Ash Wednesday, someone walked away with the chapel's 2-foot ceramic Virgin Mary statue. They tried to steal Joseph, too. And broke him while trying. "Either…

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THURSDAY, FEB. 23, 2012


In this photo provided by the Washington State Patrol, Gov. Christine Gregoire talks Tuesday in Olympia about appointing John Batiste, right, chief of the Washington State Patrol. Batiste is currently deputy chief of the Port of Seattle police.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Trooper killed

Another law enforcement person has been killed in the line of duty. Early this morning a Washington State Patrol trooper was performing a routine traffic stop. The trooper called in the stop and when the dispatcher did not receive a status check from the trooper,…

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WEDNESDAY, FEB. 22, 2012

Facelift culture? Not a Spokane thing

A bonus for growing older in the Inland Northwest? We don't have a real obvious facelift culture. You spot them here and there on women and men, but there's no real pressure to go under the knife for vanity's sake. People age in place and…

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TUESDAY, FEB. 21, 2012

Top this story! 

In our EndNotes column today, we answered a question about why people tell cancer horror stories to people going through cancer treatment. Or why they react in weird ways to cancer news. For instance, when my co-author, Catherine Johnston, confided in a colleague that she…

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Northbound traffic and pedestrians cross the Monroe Street Bridge on Sunday after its reopening after nearly three years of restoration work.
 (Liz Kishimoto / The Spokesman-Review)

A kind gesture that can kill

It happened again this morning. I was driving in the right hand lane on North Monroe. A car in the left hand lane had stopped for a pedestrian I couldn't see (not in a crosswalk). The pedestrian had started across in front of the car.…

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MONDAY, FEB. 20, 2012

Together from birth to death

Found this in one of the emails mentioned in the post below. Pretty good. I think: The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.

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For Becky Nappi blog

Work: The death of snail mail

I've been on vacation for nearly two weeks and returned today. In my mailbox at work? A letter from a prisoner (they can't email) and a brochure from Poynter, a journalism institute, and my paycheck stub. Three items. My email? About 700 emails and counting.…

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Presidents' Day...why?

I am “of a generation” that remembers the two holidays for two presidents - before the merge. In my childhood, it did not matter where the holidays landed – mid-week or not, we remembered the men for whom the holiday was set. You know, before…

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SATURDAY, FEB. 18, 2012

In this Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, file photo, Artist Whitney Houston performs onstage at the 37th Annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Houston died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, she was 48. (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

She rests...in peace

Whitney Houston was celebrated and honored and remembered…for hours… as her family and friends memorialized her life. The service was attended by 300 mourners, including Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, Diane Sawyer and Houston's cousin,…

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FRIDAY, FEB. 17, 2012

Ken Cadwell, of Newman Lake, captured this beautiful shot of the sky near Spokane on Dec. 5.

No more airbrushing

The Arizona statehouse is contemplating this according to the Arizona Republic: "House Bill 2793, proposed by Rep. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, would require advertisers who alter or enhance a photo to put a disclaimer on that ad alerting customers that " 'Postproduction techniques were made to…

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Amanda Knox motions to supporters shortly after her arrival Tuesday. (Associated Press)

Writing to save a life

Amanda Knox has a book deal - and hopefully a chance to pull her loving parents out of the debt they plunged into when they lived through her four years of incarceration. The legal fees, the travel expenses, the cost of supporting themselves while seeking…

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THURSDAY, FEB. 16, 2012

A rainbow from a morning thunderstorm paints the background for an American flag in Lawrence, Kan., Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011. (Orlin Wagner / Associated Press)

Perspective and grace

Mary Matsuda Gruenwald was 17-years-old when she was taken with her family to her first assembly center. Like many Americans of Japanese ancestry, she spent time in an internment camp during World War II. Once freed, she eventually joined the cadet nurse corps. She wrote…

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WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15, 2012

The Redmon Stars and Moon vinyl hamper in blue, perfect for the nursery.

Cycling into the future

The new washing machine arrived today. I really was sad when the 26-year-old Maytag was hauled away. That old machine had three buttons – for water temperature – and three options for washing cycles. It was a “top loader” and on the shelf above I…

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TUESDAY, FEB. 14, 2012

Heart-shaped hand pies can be filled with favorite fillings for a hearty family dinner on Valentine’s Day.

Who was Saint Valentine?

Good question. Lots of answers. Sometimes it is best to imagine the answer: Saint Valentine was the perfect, thoughtful lover or even a magical cupid who causes one’s object of affection to return that passion. However, Valentine was most likely someone we are less likely…

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MONDAY, FEB. 13, 2012

Wildfires in central Washington make for a spectacular sunset over Spokane, Wash. on Friday evening, Aug. 1, 2008, as the sun tries to burn through the smoke plume of thousands of acres that have burned over the past few days. (Christopher Anderson / The Spokesman-Review)

From engineering structures to sentence structure

Our Boomer generation has been busy about seeking new adventures as we age. Meet Kathleen Flenniken, 51, a former Hanford engineer, turned poet. Washington state’s poet laureate, 2012-2014, that is. Flenniken earned engineering degrees from WSU in 1983 and from the University of Washington. She…

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Spokesman-Review features writer Rebecca Nappi, along with writer Catherine Johnston of Olympia, Wash., discuss here issues facing aging boomers, seniors and those experiencing serious illness, dying, death and other forms of loss.



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