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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Community Comment archive for Jan. 1, 2012

SUNDAY, DEC. 30, 2012

A Word A Day -- promulgate

Good morning, Netizens... December 30, 2012 Word of the Day promulgate \PRAH-mul-gayt\ DEFINITION verb 1 : to make (as a doctrine) known by open declaration : proclaim 2 a : to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law) b : to put…

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SATURDAY, DEC. 29, 2012

A Word A Day -- vacuous

Good morning, Netizens... December 29, 2012 Word of the Day vacuous \VAK-yuh-wus\ DEFINITION adjective 1 : emptied of or lacking content 2 : marked by lack of ideas or intelligence : stupid, inane 3 : devoid of serious occupation : idle EXAMPLES The student's vacuous…

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AP Photo

Arm the teachers or no? 

Good morning, Netizens... Good evening, Netizens and friends... For decades of my life I have lived with an underground river of thought, of ever-changing and unspoken sound and fury that has kept me writing about life inside and outside my consciousness. Sometimes this unexpurgated prattling…

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FRIDAY, DEC. 28, 2012

A Word A Day -- donnybrook

Good afternoon, Netizens,.. December 28, 2012 Word of the Day donnybrook \DAH-nee-brook\ DEFINITION noun 1 : free-for-all, brawl 2 : a usually public quarrel or dispute EXAMPLES The two antique collectors found themselves embroiled in a spirited donnybrook over the value of an unusual piece…

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THURSDAY, DEC. 27, 2012

A Word A Day -- mise-en-scène

Good morning, Netizens... December 27, 2012 Word of the Day mise-en-scène \meez-ahn-SEN\ DEFINITION noun 1 a : the arrangement of actors and scenery on a stage for a theatrical production b : stage setting 2 a : the physical setting of an action (as of…

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WEDNESDAY, DEC. 26, 2012

A Word A Day -- debilitate

Good morning, Netizens... December 26, 2012 Word of the Day debilitate \dih-BIL-uh-tayt\ DEFINITION verb : to impair the strength of EXAMPLES The flu debilitated him and left him bedridden for several days. "Hard hits are part of the game. But vicious hits intended to debilitate…

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MONDAY, DEC. 24, 2012

The Simple Season

I remember making bells for the Christmas tree out of egg cartons and foil; this and chain links made out of different strips of colored construction paper and Elmer's glue (or even homemade flour glue). All our decorations were home made. Most of our gifts…

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SATURDAY, DEC. 22, 2012

A Word A Day -- farrier

Good evening, Netizens... December 22, 2012 Word of the Day farrier \FAIR-ee-er\ DEFINITION noun : a person who shoes horses EXAMPLES Since he spent so much of his childhood around horses, it was not a surprise when James decided to apprentice to learn to be…

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FRIDAY, DEC. 21, 2012

A Word A Day -- solstice

Good evening, Netizens... December 21, 2012 Word of the Day solstice \SAHL-stiss\ DEFINITION noun : the time of year when the sun is farthest north of the equator or farthest south of the equator EXAMPLES People all over the world have observed celebrations linked to…

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THURSDAY, DEC. 20, 2012

A Word A Day -- impolitic 

Good evening, Netizens... December 20, 2012 Word of the Day impolitic \im-PAH-luh-tik\ DEFINITION adjective : not politic : unwise EXAMPLES The talk show host's impolitic remarks were often the target of public outrage, but they also earned him legions of fans. "She'll say what's on…

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WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19, 2012

Sarah's Tale of Christmas

Good morning, Netizens… Like other Christmas stories I have written over the years, this is an exerpt from what I call a living series I call Tales of the City and, in this case, the story is true. Although it hails from a different time,…

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A Word A Day -- algid

December 19, 2012 Word of the Day algid \AL-jid\ DEFINITION adjective : cold EXAMPLES "Lifting the taffeta hanging from the seat under the windows, he stroked the pipes of the radiator. He touched cold metal, metal algid as ice!" — From Carl Van Vechten's 1925…

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TUESDAY, DEC. 18, 2012

Stories about Christmas... 

Good afternoon, Netizens... Every year about this time, I have written or reposted my Tales of Christmas. Some are quite old, having been written clear back into the early 80's and 90's, while some others are more recent. These are gentle stories, expressing in my…

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A Word A Day -- lagniappe

Good afternoon, Netizens..., December 18, 2012 Word of the Day lagniappe \LAN-yap\ DEFINITION noun : a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; broadly : something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure EXAMPLES Diners…

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MONDAY, DEC. 17, 2012

A Word A Day -- commensal 

Good morning, Netizens... December 17, 2012 Word of the Day commensal \kuh-MEN-sul\ DEFINITION adjective 1 : of or relating to those who habitually eat together 2 : of, relating to, or living in a relationship in which one organism obtains food or other benefits from…

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SUNDAY, DEC. 16, 2012

A Word A Day -- quadrate

Good morning, Netizens... December 16, 2012 Word of the Day quadrate \KWAH-drayt\ DEFINITION adjective : being square or approximately square EXAMPLES The linoleum featured a colorful pattern of large quadrate shapes. "For dessert, Namiri brings out quadrate slices of baklava accompanied by strong Turkish coffee."…

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SATURDAY, DEC. 15, 2012

What Can I Pray?

It is the end of a terrible day, with 20 children dead along with 7 adults. It is beyond my comprehension how this can happen. What can I pray? I ask for peace and comfort, as much as it can be felt by broken-hearted families.…

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When is it evil?

Good morning, Netizens... Despite having a vast overload of work keeping me from my appointed rounds, I could not help but ask a theologically thorny question in the face of the deaths in Newtown, Connecticut, as it has been haunting me since I first heard…

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A Word A Day -- hagiography

December 15, 2012 Word of the Day hagiography \hag-ee-AH-gruh-fee\ DEFINITION noun 1 : biography of saints or venerated persons 2 : idealizing or idolizing biography EXAMPLES The book effectively portrays the leader's strengths without resorting to hagiography. "'Lincoln' gratifyingly dodges the kind of safe, starchy…

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FRIDAY, DEC. 14, 2012

Bad Santa 

My one regret as a parent (Oh, ok, I have a gazillion regrets, but this one particular one wasn’t my fault!), and that is that my two sons never got their picture taken with Santa. We tried but failed miserably. It happened that my first…

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THURSDAY, DEC. 13, 2012

A Word A Day -- schmooze

Good morning, Netizens... December 14, 2012 Word of the Day schmooze \SHMOOZ\ DEFINITION verb : to converse informally : chat; also : to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor, business, or connections EXAMPLES Conference attendees will have plenty…

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A Word A Day -- parietal

Good morning, Netizens... December 13, 2012 Word of the Day parietal \puh-RYE-uh-tul\ DEFINITION adjective 1 a : of or relating to the walls of a part or cavity b : of, relating to, or forming the upper posterior wall of the head 2 : attached…

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A Word A Day -- intersperse

Good morning, Netizens... December 12, 2012 Word of the Day intersperse \in-ter-SPERSS\ DEFINITION verb 1 : to place something at intervals in or among 2 : to insert at intervals among other things EXAMPLES The author has interspersed the guidebook with illustrations of the different…

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TUESDAY, DEC. 11, 2012

A Word A Day -- disport

Good evening, Netizens... December 11, 2012 Word of the Day disport \dih-SPORT\ DEFINITION verb 1 : divert, amuse 2 : frolic 3 : display EXAMPLES "Dracula builds a five-stake resort for his monster friends to disport themselves unbothered on vacation, but his daughter falls in…

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MONDAY, DEC. 10, 2012

A Word A Day -- pomander

Good morning, Netizens... December 10, 2012 Word of the Day pomander \POH-man-der\ DEFINITION noun 1 : a mixture of aromatic substances enclosed in a perforated bag or box and used to scent clothes and linens or formerly carried as a guard against infection; also :…

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