The Slice: ‘E’ after ‘D’ except before … oh nevermind

The Balde Eagle Festival starts today in the Grand Coulee Dam area. (Call 800-COULEE2 or go to www.eaglefestival.com.)

Yes, “Balde.”

That supposedly is how it used to be spelled. “It just seems like ‘e’ is the most arbitrary letter,” said one of my colleagues.

I agree. And here in what used to be Spokan Falls, we ought to know.

“Kami Cornwall’s Netflix strategy: She and her husband, both in their 30s, order two DVDs at a time. Each of them chooses one.

Sometimes they watch separately, “When the other is out of the house with a meeting or something.”

Or when her husband has ordered another “Red Dwarf” disc. “I just don’t get it,” she wrote.

But sometimes they view together. Their most recent consensual movie choice was “Gone With the Wind,” which neither had seen.

“He actually sat through it with me. What a guy!”

Her review? “Was I supposed to LIKE Scarlett?”

Oh, fiddle-dee-dee, Kami. There are two schools of thought on that.

“Slice answers: Several readers said their beloved film cameras prompt acquaintances to say, “I can’t believe you still use that thing.”

“Bob Kirlin wonders: He suspects a fair number of students who graduated from Spokane’s Lewis and Clark High School have gone on to attend Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho. But what about Lewis and Clark College in Portland? And have any Ferris High graduates wound up attending Ferris State in Michigan? Or, well, you get the idea.

“Downtown buildings we like: “I have to agree with your choice of the Old National Bank Building on Riverside,” wrote Marilyn Roche Frei. “When I was a young student nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital in the ‘60s, I chose ONB to open my first bank account based on the beauty of the building. I recall dressing up and proudly walking downtown and into that wonderful, elegant lobby with several girlfriends to deposit my first paycheck.”

Whether Phil Purcell’s nomination would be considered to be in downtown could be debated. But he wrote that the Spokane County Court House has to be rated as one of the most amazing buildings anywhere.

“Follow-up: After my deadline for Tuesday’s Slice, I heard from Rick “Mountain Man” Robinson up in Newport, Wash. He did a decent “I’m mad as hell …” impression. So he gets a reporter’s notebook.

“Warm-up question: How is it possible that there are still those who manage to be surprised (and then offended) by the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue?

“Today’s Slice question: In your household, do pets in a chair have to move if a human wants to sit there?