Huckleberries: Councilman Kennedy remembers Mr. Spock

As a kid, former Coeur d’Alene Councilman Mike Kennedy remembers visiting the Beverly Hills home of his aunt and uncle. His relatives weren’t typical. His aunt, Anna (aka Patty Duke), and his uncle, John Astin, had solid movie and television credentials. His cousin Sean, of course, made a name for himself, too. Many watched Sean, as Samwise Gamgee, carry Frodo and the “one ring to rule them all” up the side of Mount Doom.

On his Facebook wall, Mike posted this after the death of Leonard Nimoy: “On their street they had two close neighbors whose names I recognized: Carroll O’Connor and Leonard Nimoy. They are now both gone, but I remember how much my family respected and loved them and their artistry. RIP, Mr. Spock. I’m sure you are having a whale of a time with Archie Bunker now.” Spock? Archie? Now that’s an odd couple.

Out, out, troll

As an experiment, The Spokesman-Review has extended the comment period for online stories and blog posts from two to three days. The comment period was originally shrunk back to two days as a result of online “troll” activity. A “troll” in social media parlance is an individual with a chip on his – and it’s usually a male – cyber shoulder who enjoys inflaming comment threads by posting caustic remarks. They’re the bane of newspaper sites, some of which have eliminated online comments in frustration. Quoth S-R online developer Dan Gayle: “People get abusive, they get hostile and the threads end up turning into a pit of filth that we’d rather not be a host to.” So the S-R swims against the cyber stream. At my Huckleberries Online blog (www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo), I don’t mind dealing with the occasional troll. It’s fun listening to them whine and scream when they’re cast into outer Internet darkness for violating the newspaper’s commenting rules.

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: “It’s a bland sort of month,/neither winter nor spring,/but for basketball fans/it’s a glorious thing” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“March”) … Item: Idaho officials tell theaters not to serve alcohol during showings of erotic blockbuster “Fifty Shades of Grey.” To which Front Porch columnist Cindy Hval responds: “Pretty sure copious amounts of alcohol is the only way to endure this film” … Count the two dogs stuck on a cliff 30-35 feet above Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive, east of Coeur d’Alene, Thursday among the many rescues by our emergency responders last week … After selling out of the first 100 copies of Cindy’s book, “War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation,” Auntie’s in downtown Spokane has another batch on the shelves … Poll: A plurality of Hucks Nation (31 percent) predicts the Gonzaga men will reach the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament this year. Moi? I voted for “Elite Eight” … Item: NCAA lifts postseason ban against UIdaho football team. ’Tis nice that the Vandals now meet academic requirements to play in the postseason. But it would be nicer if they won more than two games in a given season… Quotable Quote: “Why is it that everyone is expected to sit through a Christian prayer; yet when another faith wishes to offer a prayer, Christians do not feel they should offer the one praying the same level of respect they constantly demand from everyone else?” – Khaliela Wright re: boycott by three Idaho senators to Hindu prayer by Rajan Zed to begin Idaho Senate session Tuesday.

Parting shot

Bill Whittle, the conservative blogger and political commenter whose keynote speech wowed the Kootenai County Lincoln Day crowd Feb. 28, introduced his date to local attorney Duane Rasmussen – actress Jill Schoelen. You may remember her as the star of horror films in the 1980s and 1990s, with a cult following and reputation as “scream queen.” No screams were heard following Whittle’s speech. Only whistles and applause.