Memorial Weekend. There is a cartoon by Joe Heller [See Huckleberries] showing a guy filling his gas tank next to a cemetery and he says "I'm not going to complain about the high cost of anything this weekend.:" Pan to the right and the cemetery…
Good afternoon, Netizens...It's been a busy day here in the Virtual Ballroom, while outside the garden gnomes are bouncing with unrestrained glee at the rain falling gently among the flowers. Meanwhile at the Virtual Espresso bar, some of the more tenacious espresso aficionados are getting…
Good morning, Netizens...A previous discussion of the plight of persons of Japanese ancestry earlier today brought back some old memories, some of which were only partially recalled, were it not for the power of the Internet. During my travels as a truck driver, I used…
Good morning, Netizens...In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered approximately 120,000 Japanese interred in concentration camps, including 450 former students at the University of Washington. Sunday a ceremony took place at the University of Washington that awarded honorary degrees to honor those students who were forced…
Good morning, Netizens...I'll quote the SR's Jim Kershner here:The Spokesman-Review celebrates its 125th birthday today. In all that time, it has never missed an issue.Not during the Great Fire of 1889, when it printed a full map of the devastation. Not after the eruption of…
Good morning, Netizens...This picture, shot late yesterday, serves to illustrate the warnings posted in today's paper about people riding their personal watercraft down the river when it is in flood stage. Don't do it! It's stupid!During our travels yesterday, we first saw this stump moving…
Good evening, everyone...We tried to drive to the historical town of Burke, and as of 4:00 PM this afternoon, the road we chose was already closed due to flooding. I'm almost certain there was another road into Burke, but it was getting late, and the…
Good evening, everyone...This was shot approximately 6 miles north of Enaville, on the river side of the road. There used to be a road and a private campground here, but alas, no longer. According to the Idaho Department of Transportation person guarding the entry to…
Good morning, Netizens...All this discussion about Tom Robbins' penchant for writing about the 70's, in particular “Another Roadside Attraction”, suddenly thrust one of my favorite characters back into my heart. Sissy Hankshaw and her marvelously-develop thumbs spoke to me in ways that are too graphic…
Good morning, Netizens...Musings...The question has haunted me since I first began this Blog several months ago. What will I do on days when there is nothing of substance in the news? What do you do in the Virtual Ballroom when all the ghosts are silent,…
Good afternoon, Netizens...Today the California Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage today in a ruling that would allow same-sex couples in the nation’s biggest state to tie the knot. I know, we don't live there, right? Would most people consider me a…
Good evening, Netizens...I just read where a group in Detroit are going to use empty shipping containers to build a 17-unit condominium project. The price? $1.8 million dollars. According to the Detroit Free Press, they are going to stack empty shipping containers four high, install…
Good morning, Netizens...(Taken from the Fortunes, a massive collection of infamous quotes which resides on most civil Unix boxes) (1) Don't unplug it, it will just take a moment to fix.(2) Let's take the shortcut, he can't see us from there.(3) What happens if you…
Good morning, Netizens...(Picture attribution: (AP Photo/Color China Photo) It is hardly “breaking news” this morning because practically every news source in the United States is suffering an overload of disasters, from the record-breaking earthquake in China, to the volcano that is still erupting in Chile…
Good morning, Netizens...Oh, dear, oh, dear what can the matter be...(traditional)I can tell you what is the matter. It's MONDAY! It's time to hitch a ride on that big red wagon and it's back to work we go! Having paid while I feel was a…
The picture is of breast cancer survivors, something else to remember on Mothers Day. Good morning, everyone...I remember Mama in only a vague sort of way, because my only visions of her often came at inopportune times in my life, and then nearly always of…
Good evening, Netizens...This has been a 93 hour work week, excluding driving to and from various places across the sphere, and at age 62 and change, anytime I manage to accomplish such a task, I fully expect to pay a hefty price. I will fully…
Good evening, Netizens...Having been out at a dinner and social event for most of the evening, I have been remiss in posting this bit of information, but you late-night readers may want to know that all charges against Michael Lyons, the 20 year-old police arrested…
Good morning, Netizens...Go placidly amid the noise and haste,And remember what peace there may be in silence.As far as possible without surrenderbe on good terms with all persons.Speak your truth quietly & clearly;and listen to others,even the dull & ignorant;they too have their story.(An excerpt…
While we have been going over and under the missing video of last summer's fiasco in the park, I just received the following news bulletin from KREM:The Spokane Tribe is upset with the City of Spokane for removing and throwing away the statue of Chief…
Good evening, Netizens...After a very frustrating afternoon performing the lowest-level research imaginable, but getting a lot of answers, I believe I have the reason why a Spokane Police Investigation, including a number of arrests and the “missing” video tape all have created such a controversy…
Good morning, Netizens...In this morning's picture, musicians of Germany's Kammersymphoniker Berlin orchestra perform during a rehearsal for the media at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. On Friday, May 9, 2008 the orchestra will perform its first concert in the memorial. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)I cannot conceive…
Doesn't it feel like it was just yesterday??? Why didn't I buy reams upon reams of rolls of Forever Stamps. Then I wouldn't have all these piddly 1-cent stamps laying around with my 2-cent stamps and my 39-cent stamps with my 41-cent stamps (the 100…
Good evening, Netizens...The Spokesman-Review's Rebecca Nappi wrote in the Opinion Blog today: I intended to write their story as a retirement project. Well, one in four adults never read books now. When I retire, the number will be more dismal. And in retirement, after writing…
Good morning, Netizens...In this edition of Week in Review, we take a backwards glance at the various issues discussed this week, hopefully to see what, if anything, the Virtual Ballroom contributed either to mankind, the carbon footprint or in rare cases, the mantle atop the…
Spokesman-Review readers blog about news and issues in Spokane written by Dave Laird.
