Bury Josh Powell near sons? 'Unthinkable,' family attorney says

Josh Powell's family members want him buried in a Washington state cemetery just a few strides  from his two sons, the same boys that he chopped with an ax before killing them and himself in a fiery explosion more than a week ago.

But an attorney for the boys' maternal grandparents says she will stop at nothing to ensure that the plan isn't carried out.

"For him to be buried near those kids is just unthinkable," Seattle attorney Anne Bremner told the Associated Press. She represents the boys' maternal grandparents, Charles and Judy Cox. Adding to the outrage, of course, is that the Coxes' daughter, Susan Powell, disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2009, with Josh Powell being the chief person of interest.

"For God's sake, for them to lose Susan first, and then the boys, and now this? Just give these people a break," Bremner told the news service.

Powell's relatives selected a plot at Woodbine Cemetery that's  about 25 feet from the plot where Charles, 7, and Braden, 5, were laid to rest Saturday. Their funeral was attended by more than 1,000 people.

Puyallup City Manager Ralph Dannenberg told The Times on Wednesday that the sale is now on hold while Bremner follows through on her plans to seek a restraining order.

The city doesn't have any guidelines for proceeding in such a thorny situation, Dannenberg said.

"We are a municipal cemetery, we don't have anything in our codes or procedures about denying anyone" a plot to purchase, he said. "But with legal action pending, it's in the best interest of both parties to hold off."

The cemetery fight is the latest twist in a case that began in 2009, when Susan Powell vanished in the middle of the night while the family was still living in Utah. At the time, Josh Powell told the authorities that he decided to take the boys on a last-minute camping trip even though it was the middle of winter. When he returned, he said, his wife was gone.

Powell's family members have contended that Josh Powell is the victim in this saga, wrongly accused of killing his wife and then subjected to a  witch hunt by law enforcement.

As for the boys, they'd been at the center of a custody battle between Josh Powell and the Coxes --  complete with allegations that Powell was an unstable figure in their lives and newly discovered evidence that he possessed incestuous pornography. Days before Powell killed himself and his sons, he was told that he couldn't have his children back until he submitted to a psychosexual exam and a polygraph.

Some surmise that the court decision triggered Powell's murder-suicide plan. On Feb. 5, during what was supposed to be a supervised visit, he locked out the social worker accompanying his sons, took an ax to the two boys, then killed them and himself in a gasoline-fueled explosion.

The deaths have triggered an outpouring of support for the Coxes, with people holding "love" signs lining the funeral route on Sunday. The tragedy has also led to outrage aimed at the Powell family, which continues to maintain a low profile.

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-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo: People line the street as the hearse passes bearing Charlie and Braden Powell on Saturday in Tacoma. Credit: Alan Berner / The Seattle Times / Associated Press

Best in show: How the Pekingese breed earned 'Lion Dog' nickname

Best in show honors at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Tuesday night went to Malachy, a Pekingese who did proud a truly ancient breed. Dating back to the 8th century and the Tang Dynasty, the breed once held court as the lapdog companion of emperors.

Do not be fooled by the teeny tiny dog that rarely hits 15 pounds. The Pekingese breed is actually quite muscular, and its regal bearing and fierce loyalty helped earn it the nickname Lion Dog.

Legend has it that a long, long time ago in "the mists of time," a lion fell in love with a tiny marmoset monkey. But such a love was impossible. The lion begged the deity that ruled the animal kingdom to shrink him down to size so he could marry his true love. But his heart remained its original size, according to Asian History.com, and it is from this union that the Pekingese, or Fu Lin -- Lion Dog -- was born.

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In reality, the site says, DNA studies show that the Pekingese breed closely mimics the genetic composition of wolves and is among the purest breeds of dogs on Earth, making it a very ancient  breed indeed.

The dogs' appearance is marked by a long-haired coat and ears that lend a heart-shaped look to their  otherwise wide, flat head. They may look dainty and delicate, but they're surprisingly muscular and stocky, according to the American Kennel Club.

"Pekingese possess a regal dignity, intelligence and self-importance, making them good-natured, opinionated and affectionate family companions," according to the American Kennel Club.

Some other facts about Lion Dogs: They are front heavy. They can be any color. They are difficult to housebreak. They are relatively "inactive," which makes them ideal for indoor or apartment living. They're also prone to developing Small Dog Syndrome, that human-induced disorder that allows small dogs to think they run the joint. And those coats, as you might imagine, need plenty of brushing.

Pekingese get their name from the ancient Chinese city of Peking, now known as Beijing. Chinese art through the centuries -- ink drawings, bronze figures, clay sculptures and the like -- often celebrated the Pekingese. At one point in history, Lion Dogs could be owned only by royalty and were rarely seen outside the emperor's palace. (Stealing such a dog resulted in death.)

That changed when the British invaded in 1860, according to Pedigree UK. Upon entering the Forbidden City, troops found Empress Tzu'Hai dead on the floor after committing suicide rather than submit to invasion of the West. Guarding her body were five Pekingese dogs. When the British returned home, they took the breed with them.

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-- Rene Lynch
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Photo: Yep, I'm top dog: Malachy poses for photos moments after winning best in show at the Westminster Kennel Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Credit: Michael Nagle / Getty Images

Empire State Building throws same-sex weddings on Valentine's Day

The Empire State Building and its sweeping New York City views offered enviable backdrops to two couples who made history this Valentine's Day -- becoming the first same-sex couples to marry atop the landmark.

All weddings are special, of course, and a wedding on Valentine's Day is especially sweet. But only Stephanie Figarelle, 29, and Lela McArthur, 24, two personal trainers from Anchorage, Alaska, can say that they were the first-ever same-sex couple married at the Empire State Building.

They were followed by three other couples, including another same-sex couple, all of whom were  winners of an online contest that played out on Facebook, with fans voting on planning details. Winners had their dream events designed by celebrity event planner Colin Cowie, who makes regular appearances on "The Today Show" and "The Ellen Degeneres Show."

The four couples received wedding rings from DeBeers, gowns from Kleinfeld, hair and makeup by Estee Lauder, a two-night stay at a posh Manhattan hotel, the services of a celebrity photographer and, as the commercials say, that's not all! Each couple has the chance to win $100,000 if they get the most Facebook votes following the nuptials, according to Huffington Post Weddings.

The ceremonies took place in an events area on the 61st floor, and were followed by a photo shoot on the observation deck that looks out on Manhattan's famed skyline from the 86th floor.

"I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” Figarelle said to her partner as they exchanged rings, reported the Associated Press. "I will always love you forever, with every beat of my heart,"  McArthur, who is taking her partner's name, was quoted as saying.

Figarelle, who wore a black tuxedo to McArthur's strapless white gown, wanted to travel to New York to get married in part because of all the goodies, but also because same-sex marriage became legal in the Empire State last year. The pair hope Alaska will one day follow suit.

Later, New Yorkers Phil Fung and Shawn Klein became the second same-sex couple to take the plunge. They wore matching suits and ties, according to the wire service. Two other couples also tied the knot in Valentine's Day ceremonies atop the landmark: Angela Vega and Lubin Masibay of San Francisco and Paula Cubero and Enrique Catter of Greenwich, Conn.

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-- Rene Lynch
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Photo: Lela McArthur, left, and Stephanie Figarelle, of Anchorage walk down the aisle after their Valentine's Day wedding ceremony at the Empire State Building. Credit: Richard Drew/Associated Press

An offer you can't refuse: Las Vegas opens new Mob Museum

In this casino town partly built on gangster money, it's a sentiment you hear with some frequency: Things were better when the mob ran Vegas.

It conveys a certain wistfulness for the smaller, ostensibly friendlier city where, decades ago, locals shrugged at mobsters' running casinos and reinventing themselves as civic leaders. Sports handicapper Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal hosted a television show. Bootlegger Moe Dalitz helped build a hospital.

The city began formally cashing in on its mafia legacy Tuesday with the opening of the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement -- better known as the Mob Museum.

The publicly funded museum opened in a former federal courthouse where a U.S. Senate hearing on organized crime was held in the 1950s. Its exhibits were shaped by historians and former FBI agents, and include crime scene photos, tommy guns and a brick wall shot up during the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day massacre in Chicago.

The $42-million project has raised some hackles among fiscal conservatives, who consider it a waste of taxpayer money, the Associated Press reported. But the museum's cheerleaders -- including mob attorney turned mayor Oscar Goodman -- are betting it will draw tourists from the Las Vegas Strip to a slowly gentrifying section of downtown.

Other recent efforts to capitalize on Sin City’s mobster past have had mixed success. The Vegas Mob Tour, a 2½-hour jaunt that includes a stop at Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel's Flamingo hotel, has managed to rumble along for several years.

“I try to do it tactfully and with taste, as much as you can with a mob tour,” founder Robert Allen told The Times in 2008. “You can say someone cut off someone's head with a machete, but we prefer to say ‘decapitated.’ ”

The Mob Experience at the Tropicana casino had a tougher time, despite its Strip location and an extensive collection of gangster artifacts. For example, it displayed one of Meyer Lansky's love letters to his wife: "Keep your legs crossed and go to sleep."

The attraction closed last year amid a bevy of problems, including the bankruptcy of its owner, Murder Inc LLC. It's slated to reopen under a different name.

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-- Ashley Powers in Las Vegas
Twitter.com/ashleypowers

Photo: A tommy gun exhibit at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. Credit: Isaac Brekken / Associated Press

'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' winning over Lincoln historians

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" won't be in theaters until June 22. But the horror-meets-history thriller that re-envisions our 16th president as an ax-wielding fang-fighter already has an unexpected fan base: historians.

But that fan base didn't develop overnight. When the experts at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill., first heard about the fictional book "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," by Seth Grahame-Smith, they were not exactly pleased. Would it make a mockery of the Great Emancipator? Would it ignore Lincoln's pivotal role in history? Would it portray him as a cartoonish figure in a stovepipe hat?

"There was a lot of skepticism, let's just say that," library spokesman Dave Blanchett told The Times.

But "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" appears to be winning over historians with its attention to fact and detail even as it swings wildly into the fantastic and the fictional.

The trailer for the movie was posted online Monday by 20th Century Fox, timed to coincide with  the official observances of the 203rd anniversary of Lincoln's Feb. 12, 1809, birth.

That trailer was a mere morsel for the masses when compared to the banquet served up Friday night at the library.

Director Timur Bekmambetov ("Wanted," "Night Watch") and actor Benjamin Walker, who plays Honest Abe, personally introduced several scenes from the movie to library staff and movie critics who flew in as part of a Hollywood junket. Producer Tim Burton couldn't make it, but he sent the next best thing, Blanchette said: a black-and-white digital message with several Burtonesque touches that seemed to thrill those in attendance.

Valentine's Day spending hits a sweet new high: $17.6 billion

Valentine's Day spending is expected to reach an all-time high this year -- at least $17.6 billion. That's a lot of chocolate, cards, jewelry and unmentionables.

Those planning to celebrate the holiday are expected to drop an average of $126.03 per person, up 8.5% over last year, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey. That's the highest total in the 10 years that the survey has been conducted.   

Valentine's Day is "one of the biggest gift-giving holidays of the year," federation Chief Executive Matthew Shay said in a statement. "It’s encouraging that consumers are still exhibiting the desire to spend on discretionary gift items, a strong indication our economy continues to move in the right direction."

The average male celebrating the holiday will spend $168.74 for the works -- flowers, dinner, gift, etc. By contrast, women will spend an average of $85.76.

Here's what all that spending looks like, according to the survey: Just over 35% of those surveyed will buy flowers, and 35.6% will treat someone to dinner. Nearly 19% of those surveyed will buy jewelry, and 13.3% will give their sweetheart a gift card. (We're pretty sure that those who give a card will not have an especially memorable Valentine's Day evening, but the survey did not explore that question.)

And just over half -- 50.5% -- of all Valentine's Day celebrants will buy candy.

One beloved chocolatier, See's Candies, sees about 3 million pounds of chocolate fly off its shelves this time of year. (See's, which recently celebrated its 95th anniversary, was the training ground for Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance in the famous "I Love Lucy" conveyor-belt scene.)

It might surprise you to know that Valentine's Day is not the company's biggest selling holiday, or even its second-biggest. Valentine's Day ranks No. 3, behind Christmas and Easter.

"Valentine's is a fairly short-selling season," See’s President Brad Kinstler told The Times. "The real sales don't start coming in until Feb. 1. And then it's a lot of activity compressed into a few days."

By contrast, the Christmas selling season begins after Thanksgiving and lasts until Dec. 24. And Easter is all about chocolate and candy, unlike Valentine's Day, which can also be about baubles and roses.

Kinstler said See's outlets will be jam-packed all day Tuesday with customers -- mainly men -- who woke up and realized they were about to be in the doghouse unless they came up with something super sweet, super fast.

When asked whether he was bringing home something sweet for someone special, Kinstler said: "Oh, I know what I am required to bring home." (See's dark chocolate butterchews are his wife's favorite.)

"But I did my shopping already, I didn't wait," he said.

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-- Rene Lynch

Photo: Red roses waiting to be shipped. Credit: AFP / Getty Images

Valentine's Day: Conversation hearts on Facebook? Sweet!

Before there was texting, there were conversation hearts -- and Valentine's Day just wouldn't be the same without them. Right now, someone, somewhere is sitting in a first-grade classroom getting his or her very first box of conversation hearts. You remember, dontcha -- those pastel hearts inscribed with sweet sayings such as "All Mine" and "Be True"?

This Valentine's Day will no doubt be awash in conversation hearts. The New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) produced a whopping 8 billion candy hearts for this sweet holiday, shipping 25 million units in all, including those classroom-exchange boxes. (They had the label on the back, so you could fill in the "To:" and "From:" lines and bring a bunch to school for all your friends and, of course, let that special someone three desks over know he or she had an admirer.)

But some things have changed. Pick up a box today and you'll notice the candy colors seem a little more vibrant, the flavors both tart and sweet. But what will really catch your eye? The messages. Over the years, the company has tinkered with the sayings ... to mixed results.

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Most folks were OK with ditching now-dated sayings like "Fax Me," in favor of "Text Me" or "Tweet Me," Al Gulachenski, the candy company's chief executive, told The Times. Other sayings that got the ax include "Melt My Heart," "Sugar Pie" and "Purr-fect" in favor of "Ur It" and "Hold Hands."

Some updates didn't go over so well. Racy sayings such as "Ur Hot," "Hottie," even "Bite Me" struck some as just too much, a sign that the company was trying a bit too hard to appeal to a younger generation. (Evidence: a Facebook fanpage called "Bring back the old conversation hearts!!!!!")

In days past, the company accepted recommendations via mail for updated sayings. "We used to do it the old-fashioned way. All year long, people would send in letters and we'd keep a tally. Nobody puts stamps on things anymore," Gulachenski said.

This year, for the first time, the company is turning to Facebook to allow customers to guide the conversation for next Valentine's Day. You can weigh in over at the Facebook page for CVS, which is a major retailer of the 'lil sweets.

Conversation hearts have been around a long time. Since 1902, in fact, according to NECCO's history page. Now they're part of the national conversation, used as wedding favors, on edible wreaths and as inspiration for spinoffs. Such as mini cheesecakes. "They are a favorite; they are unique because they're something that's edible but also gives a message," Gulachenski said.

We asked Gulachenski whether this month was a mad, frantic rush at the candy company. Nope. In fact, it's just the opposite -- kind of quiet. "We stopped shipping Valentine's Day sometime in December. We're on to Easter," he said.

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-- Rene Lynch
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Photo credit: New England Confectionery Company

Valentine's Day gets Google Doodle but began with beheading

Valentine's Day 2012, honored today with a Google Doodle, is an appropriate time to remember that Valentine's Day -- both beloved and reviled by Americans -- likely began with a beheading.

The ancient history of Valentine's Day is as murky and unconfirmed as the concept of love at first sight. But the existence of at least two martyrs by the name Valentine appears to have some historical credibility.

One Valentine, a Roman priest, helped Christians who were being persecuted by Claudius II, according to Catholic Online. But helping his fellow man didn't turn out too well for Valentine, who was "beaten with clubs" before having his head lopped off.

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The beheading, according to this source, occurred on Feb. 14 around the year 270.

Happy Valentine's Day?

The other Valentine, bishop of Terni, Italy, also was martyred, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, which goes on to speculate that, perhaps, these differing accounts are actually rooted in just one person. 

In any case, a couple of hundred years later, around 497 AD, Pope Gelasius I said, "Hurrah!" and marked Feb. 14 as a day of celebration in honor of Valentine's martyrdom. In 1969, Pope Paul VI said, "Nahhh!" and erased the day from the General Roman Calendar of saints.

It was Geoffrey Chaucer and his lovebirds that may have first brought together Valentine's Day and romance.

"The Parliament of Fowls," written in the late 1300s, told of birds assembling to choose their mates. The poem, as translated by University of Maine's eChaucer, includes these lines:

"And after him you shall choose in order, according to your nature, each as pleases you; and, as your chance is, you shall lose or win. But whichever of you love ensnares most, to him may God send her who sighs for him most sorely."

Happy Valentine's Day.

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-- Amy Hubbard

Photo: Cheri Myler, owner of Artistic Creations Flowers and Gifts in Centennial, Colo., prepares Valentine's Day bouquets Monday. Credit: Helen H. Richardson / Denver Post 

Abraham Lincoln gets a Hollywood reboot -- as a vampire hunter

Abraham Lincoln is known by many labels. The Great Emancipator. The Rail Splitter. The 16th president. Honest Abe. "That guy on Mt. Rushmore." And the face of the $5 bill.

But this summer he'll be reintroduced to America with a new moniker: "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."

20th Century Fox honored Honest Abe on Monday by posting online a trailer for the hotly anticipated summer movie "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."

Compare that with -- yawn -- the various ways the rest of the country is honoring the 203rd anniversary of Lincoln's Feb. 12, 1809, birth. Some schools are giving students the day off; some states are shutting down all city, county and state offices; and no doubt the countless memorials and monuments erected nationwide in Lincoln's honor will see increased foot traffic all this week.

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is a fantasy-fueled horror-thriller that re-engineers Lincoln as a politician who, in his spare time, wields a battle ax in his bid to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers. Lincoln is also out to avenge his mother's death at the hands of such a supernatural creature.

Benjamin Walker plays Lincoln in the movie, which is based upon the book of the same name by author Seth Grahame-Smith. The fictional tome expresses itself through Lincoln's previously undiscovered journal of his quest for vengeance, a quest that takes him all the way to the White House. (Not familiar with this new history-marries-horror genre? It's also given birth to the likes of "Alice in Deadland," "George Washington Werewolf," "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.")

The film is produced by Tim Burton and directed by Timur Bekmambetov ("Wanted," "Night Watch") and you can see both influences in the action-packed trailer, which is creating a lot of buzz online Monday. It's slated for release June 22.

Happy birthday, Abraham Lincoln.

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Jennifer Hudson tribute to Whitney Houston: The must-see video

Jennifer Hudson's tribute to Whitney Houston at the Grammys on Sunday night was a heartbreaking showstopper. And it's easy to see why.

The producers of the 54th Annual Grammy Awards had to scramble to find a way to revamp the awards show to honor Whitney Houston just hours after the singer was declared dead under mysterious circumstances in her Beverly Hilton room in Beverly Hills. The 48-year-old pop legend had long struggled with drug addiction.

Houston's memory loomed large over the awards, with host L.L. Cool J. starting the show by addressing the challenge of celebrating music on a night tinged with such heartache. "There is no way around this. We had a death in our family," he said before leading the audience at Staples Center in a prayer for "our sister Whitney."

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But all agreed — including Houston's mentor, Clive Davis — that Houston would have wanted the show to go on. So it did.

Hudson's emotional rendition of "I Will Always Love You" did not try to compete with Houston's version of the song. Instead, it paid homage and deference to a voice for the ages, a voice that influenced so many other performers, Hudson among them.

Wearing a somber yet elegant black dress and backlighted, Hudson's hair and makeup (particularly those glossy, nude lips) recalled Houston in her heyday. Still, Hudson nonetheless put her own twist on the song, finishing it this way: "Whitney, we love, we love you."

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— Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch