text:
Closing and Distributing the Estate
Property Transfers at Death and How to Plan for Your Old Age
Information & FAQs
In this section, you can find information and answers to the following questions:
A final account and petition for distribution can be filed by the Personal Representative when there are sufficient funds available to pay all debts and taxes, the time for filing creditors' claims has expired, and the estate is in a condition to be closed.
The Personal Representative is required to file a petition for final distribution or a verified report on the status of the estate within one year after Letters are issued (or 18 months if a federal estate tax return is required).
The Personal Representative must file a final account, report and petition for final distribution, have the petition set for hearing, give notice of the hearing to interested persons, and obtain a court order approving the final distribution.
If the Personal Representative wants to receive compensation for his or her services, a petition for fees should also be included in the petition for final distribution.
A final account does not have to be filed if all the persons entitled to distribution of the estate sign a written waiver of account or a written acknowledgment of receipt of their share of the estate.
If the estate cannot be closed within one year after issuance of Letters (or 18 months if the estate is required to file a federal estate tax return), the Personal Representative must file a verified report on the status of the estate.
The status report must show the condition of the estate, the reasons why it cannot be closed and distributed (for example, if there is ongoing litigation, or an estate tax audit, or real property that must be sold to pay debts or cash gifts), and the estimated time needed to close the estate.
The status report is set for hearing in the same manner as any other probate petition. A Notice of Hearing (Form DE-120, Judicial Council) must be sent to persons interested in the estate at least 15 days prior to the hearing.
The Notice of Hearing must include the following statement in not less than 10-point boldface type in substantially the following words:
You have the right to petition for an account under Section 10950 of the California Probate Code.
At the hearing, the court may order that the estate may remain open for such time and on such conditions as the court finds reasonable if it is in the best interests of the estate and the beneficiaries, or the court may order the representative to file a petition for final distribution.
If the representative does not file a status report, anyone interested in the estate may petition the court to obtain a status report, or the court on its own motion may require the report and cite the Personal Representative into court to comply.
Failure of the Personal Representative to comply with the order is grounds to have his or her letters revoked, and the court may also reduce compensation if the time for administration exceeds one year (or 18 months if a federal estate tax return is required).
California law allows both a Personal Representative and the attorney for the Personal Representative to take a fee (referred to as a statutory fee) for ordinary services, calculated as a percentage of the appraised value of the estate property. The formula for calculating the fee is as follows, from Probate Code Section 10810:
4% of the first one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), plus
3% of the next one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), plus
2% of the next eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000), plus
1% of the next nine million dollars ($9,000,000), plus
½ of 1% of the next fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000).
For all amounts above twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000), a reasonable amount to be determined by the court.
If an accounting is filed, the fee base used to calculate the statutory fee also includes income received during administration, plus gains over the appraised value on assets sold during administration, minus any losses from the appraised value on assets sold during administration.
Mortgages or other debt obligations are not considered in computing the fee base.
Disbursements for debts or expenses are not factored into the calculation; neither are unrealized gains or losses (such as for securities that have increased or dropped in value since the date of death), but only if the property is actually sold.
Statutory fees are set by statute and if requested, the Court has no discretion to reduce the amount of fees, unless the Personal Representative has unreasonably delayed the closing of the estate or may be surcharged (penalized) for other estate mismanagement. However, any fee paid to a Personal Representative must be reported on his or her personal income tax return as ordinary income, so the Personal Representative may choose not to take a fee if he or she will be receiving property from the estate as an inheritance (which is not counted as income to the beneficiary).
Also, although the Personal Representative and the attorney for the estate are entitled to the statutory percentage as a fee, the Personal Representative can ask for an amount lower than the statutory percentage, and can also negotiate with the attorney for a reduced fee, particularly if the estate is uncomplicated and has only a few assets of high value (such as a home).
However, any agreement between the Personal Representative and the attorney for higher compensation is void. An attorney who acts both as Personal Representative and as attorney may receive only one fee, unless the court approves the double payment in advance. This also applies to associates or partners of the attorney. Persons acting as co-executors must divide the fee among themselves.
A court order is required before any fees can be paid to either the Personal Representative or the attorney. Reimbursement for expenses advanced by the Personal Representative or the attorney, such as for filing fees, certified copies, or publication costs, may be made without a court order.
Additional compensation, known as an extraordinary fee, may also be paid to the Personal Representative and/or the attorney for the Personal Representative for extraordinary services in an amount that the court determines is just and reasonable.
Some examples of the types of services that are considered extraordinary and for which extraordinary compensation may be awarded are:
- Sales of real property, litigation of claims against the estate,
- Litigation involving estate property, preparation of income and/or
- Estate tax returns and representation before taxing authorities on audits connected with the returns, and will contests. In contrast with statutory fees, payment of extraordinary fees is not guaranteed, and the Court does have discretion
- to decide whether to allow extra compensation, even when services of an extraordinary nature are rendered.
For example, the Court may consider that the statutory fee calculated on an estate where the only asset was the decedent's personal residence that was sold for $1 million is reasonable compensation (the statutory fee would be $21,150), even though the sale of real property is considered to be a type of service for which extraordinary compensation may be awarded.
The Personal Representative is required to file an accounting of the financial transactions that have occurred in the administration of the estate unless all persons entitled to distribution of the estate have signed a written waiver of account or a written acknowledgment that the person has received his or her share of the estate (e.g., a receipt on a preliminary distribution).
If all distributees waive an account, the Personal Representative must still file a report, including the amount of compensation requested by the Personal Representative and/or the attorney and setting forth the basis for computing the fees.
All accounts filed with the court must include a financial statement and report of administration according to specific guidelines found at Probate Code sections 1060-1064 and 10900. The account must state the period covered and contain a summary, supported by detailed schedules, showing the following:
- Property on hand at the beginning of the accounting period (i.e., the inventory value of all assets),
- the value of assets received during the accounting period, excluding property listed in an inventory,
- income receipts, excluding receipts from a trade or business,
- net income from a trade or business,
- gains on sales,
- disbursements, excluding disbursements for a trade or business and excluding distribution to beneficiaries,
- losses on sales,
- net losses from a trade or business,
- distributions to beneficiaries, and
- property on hand at the end of the accounting period, listing each asset at its appraised value as shown on the inventory and appraisal.
A sample Summary of Account form is included in this website.
The financial statement may also include additional schedules required for information purposes under Probate Code sections 1061 and 1062, if applicable, such as:
- A schedule showing the estimated market value of the assets on hand as of the end of the accounting period,
- A schedule showing purchases or other changes in the form of assets during the period of the accounting (except for transfers of cash between accounts in financial institutions or money market mutual funds),
- A schedule allocating receipts and disbursements between principal and income, if the estate is to be distributed to an income beneficiary,
- A schedule listing income, disbursements and proceeds of sale attributable to specifically devised property,
- A schedule showing the calculation of interest to be paid on specific cash gifts to a beneficiary, if required under Probate Code sections 12003, 12004, 12005.
- A schedule showing the proposed distribution of estate assets to beneficiaries, including an allocation between testamentary trusts established under the decedent's Will or subtrusts created under a revocable living trust established by the decedent during his or her lifetime, and
- A schedule listing any liabilities, including loans which are secured by estate assets, obligations for taxes due but unpaid, notes payable by the estate, judgments for which the estate is liable, or any other material liability (but not liabilities which are recurring expenses such as rent or utility payments).
The two most important schedules to be attached to the Summary of Account are the Schedule of Receipts and the Schedule of Disbursements.
The Schedule of Receipts must show the following:
- The nature and purpose of each item;
- The source of the receipt (stock dividend, interest, etc.); and
- The date of the receipt.
Receipts can be listed either chronologically or by category. You must be careful to list income receipts only or to separate income receipts and principal receipts in separate columns (or list them on separate schedules).
Principal receipts include items such as refund checks, uncashed checks at the decedent's death, and generally consist of assets that the decedent owned or was entitled to receive as of the date of death, even if not received until after the date of death (such as refunds), while income receipts represent money that is earned by the estate after the date of death on assets belonging to the estate. Principal assets should be listed on an inventory and appraisal. The total of all income Receipts should be listed on the charges side of the Summary of Account.
Gain or loss is the difference between the gross sales price and the appraised value of the asset, as shown in the inventory and appraisal. Sales of estate assets should be listed on a schedule for Gains on Sales, if the asset was sold for more than its appraised value, or on a schedule for Losses on Sales, if the asset was sold for less than its appraised value.
The schedule should list both the gross sales price and the appraisal value, and show the calculation to reach the net gain or loss. The net difference (the amount gained on the sale or lost on the sale), or the total of all gains and all losses, if multiple assets were sold, should be included in the Summary of Account. The Losses on Sales schedule also lists property included in the inventory that is no longer in the representative's possession and is not otherwise accounted for. It may include property destroyed by fire or other casualty loss not entirely covered by insurance, or property lost through litigation.
The total of all Gains on Sales should be listed on the charges side of the Summary of Account. The total of all Losses on Sales should be listed on the credits side of the Summary of Account.
Sales of real property are confusing because the representative frequently receives a check in the net amount of the sale, but the money received is not considered to be income, but a sale of a principal asset. The difference between the appraised value of the real property and the gross amount of the sales price should be shown on a Gain on Sales schedule.
If any costs of sale were deducted from the sales price at close of escrow (such as property tax payments, broker's commissions, recording fees, document preparation fees, etc.), those items should be listed on the Disbursements schedule.
As with receipts, the Schedule of Disbursements may be listed either chronologically by date or categorized by type of disbursement. The chronological schedule generally is preferred since it is easier to tell the status of the estate and what payments the representative made at any particular date.
The Schedule of Disbursements must show the following:
- The date of the disbursement;
- The payee (to whom the payment was made);
- The purpose of the disbursement (insurance, real property tax, filing fees, etc.); and
- The amount of the disbursement.
The total of all Disbursements should be included on the credits side of the Summary of Account.
The Schedule of Distributions should include a list of all cash or property that has been distributed to an heir or devisee of the estate through a preliminary distribution. The schedule must include the date and value of the asset distributed at its appraised value.
A Receipt on Distribution should also be signed by the person receiving the property and filed with the court as proof that the property was in fact distributed and received by the person entitled to it.
The total of all Distributions should be included on the credits side of the Summary of Account.
The Schedule of Property on Hand is important because it represents all the property of the estate remaining in the representative's possession to be distributed. The representative should verify that the property listed on the schedule is actually on hand.
Cash on hand should be verified with the latest bank statement at the end of the accounting period. The description of other (non-cash) property should be described using the same description included in the inventory and appraisal (except that real property can be identified by street address on the Property on Hand Schedule, but the full legal description must be included in the Judgment of Final Distribution).
The property should be identified by the inventory item number (and preferably listed in the same order as the inventory and appraisal for easy verification), and should be listed at the value listed on the inventory and appraisal.
The representative should check the inventory and appraisal against the account schedules, to verify that all assets listed on the inventory and appraisal have been accounted for, either through sale, distribution, or that the asset is listed on the Property on Hand Schedule.
The total of all Property on Hand should be included on the credits side of the Summary of Account.
Additional schedules may also be required for information purposes under Probate Code sections 1061 and 1062, as listed above. The dollar values of these schedules are not included in the Summary of Account calculations, although the schedules should be listed, if applicable.
In all cases, an additional schedule is required showing the estimated market value of the assets on hand at the end of the accounting period. The market value of assets can be included on a separate schedule or the information can be listed in a separate column in the Property on Hand Schedule.
Before the estate can be closed, the representative must file a Petition for Final Distribution. This generally includes three parts:
- An accounting (unless waivers have been signed by all persons entitled to distribution,
- a report of administration, consisting of a complete summary of the actions taken by the representative in administering the estate, in narrative form, and
- a petition, asking the court to approve the accounting (if filed), approve the distribution of the estate assets, plus any additional matters that require court approval (such as allowing fees to the representative or the attorney).
The petition is prepared in legal pleading format, with a title that describes the contents of the document, for example, First and Final Account and Report of Executor, Petition for Allowance of Statutory Fees and for Final Distribution.
For another example, if waivers of the accounting have been filed and there are no requests for compensation, the document could be titled Waiver of Account and Report of Personal Representative, and Petition for Final Distribution.
The petition is very comprehensive, and the representative must be careful to include all relevant information about the administration of the estate, the actions taken during administration, the property remaining on hand to be distributed, and the names, addresses and relationships of the beneficiaries who are to receive property. In all cases, where property is distributed to a minor, the minor's birthdate must be indicated.
Even if a full accounting for all receipts and disbursements has been waived, the petition must still include a list of the property remaining on hand for distribution (which must be described in detail, including legal descriptions of real property). The petition must also include a verification.
The following is a list of some of the common errors made in preparing the final account, report and petition for final distribution:
- Failure to give notices as required by law.
- Failure to put account in proper form.
- Summary of account not included in format required by local rules.
- Incorrect starting figure used.
- Income received not itemized and source of income not shown.
- Disbursements not itemized, date of payment, to whom, paid, and for what purpose not shown.
- Improper credits claimed.
- Failure to describe character of the assets on hand for distribution, i.e., separate, community, or quasi-community property.
- Failure to list and describe all assets on hand for distribution, either in the body of the petition or in an incorporated schedule or attachment, whether or not an account has been waived.
- Provide legal descriptions and assessor's parcel numbers for all real property.
- Reference to property described in the Will or to the inventory and appraisal is insufficient.
- Failure to state specifically the manner in which the estate is to be distributed.
- Designate intestate heirs and show relationships.
- State facts pertaining to any disclaimer and their effect.
- Submit assignments, if any, to the court for review.
- Describe preliminary distributions and date of filing of orders.
- If the Will refers to fractional or percentage shares for two or more beneficiaries, show the computations and amounts to be distributed to each beneficiary.
- Track terms of the Will as to disposition of assets; explain abatements, ademptions, or other unusual circumstances.
- Failure to describe creditors' claims activity and list disposition of all claims.
- Failure in insolvent estates to itemize all creditors' claims, showing the class to which each belongs, and the proper proration of remaining assets among creditors, or payment of debts for which no claim is filed.
- Failure to include calculation of the statutory compensation of the representative and attorney, whether or not an account is waived.
- State payments allowed on account of compensation.
- If account is waived, observe California Rule of Court 7.550 regarding estate to be accounted for in determining fee basis.
- If multiple representatives or attorneys were involved in estate administration, notice to former representative or attorney of the hearing on the final distribution is required, or the filing of an agreement as to the division of fees.
- Failure to include in petition's caption and request and in notice of hearing references to application when extraordinary fees are requested.
- When distribution is to be made to a testamentary trust, failure to incorporate the terms of the trust in the order of distribution in such a manner as to give effect to the conditions existing at the time distribution is ordered. Failure to state pertinent provisions in the present tense and in the third person instead of quoting the Will verbatim. Written consent of the trustee to act should be on file before the hearing.
- Failure to obtain a Certificate of Franchise Tax Board Clearance if the estate value exceeds $1,000,000 and assets of at least $250,000 are being distributed to nonresidents.
- Failure to allege whether the representative was acting under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, and to state specifically the transactions undertaken pursuant to the IAEA.
- Failure to set forth disposition of assets if an heir, devisee, or legatee dies before distribution of the estate.
- Failure to comply with provisions of Probate Code sections 11900-11904 on escheat or distribution to missing heir, devisee, or legatee.
- Failure to submit declaration under Probate Code sections 13100-13115 for filing before the hearing on the petition if distribution is to be made pursuant to those code sections.
- Failure to observe local rules on distribution to minors.
- File Probate Code section 3401 or 3413 declarations before the hearing.
- If a guardianship of the estate is required, state name of guardian and the case number of the guardianship action. A copy of the guardianship letters may also be required
- If funds are to be placed in a blocked account by a custodian, state name and relationship of custodian, and name and location of depository.
- Failure to request establishment of an appropriate closing reserve for unpaid or contingent tax liability, creditors' claims, or closing costs (for example, certification and recording of final judgment).
- Failure to include an omnibus clause for after-discovered property.
- Failure to submit a proposed Judgment of Final Distribution to the court.
When completed and signed, you will need to obtain a hearing date from the Probate Calendar Clerk and file the Petition with the court.
Step 1
Complete the front side and the top half of the reverse side of the following form:
- Notice of Hearing (Probate) (Form DE-120, Judicial Council)
Step 2
Mail or personally deliver the Notice of Hearing form to each person who is entitled to receive notice at least 15 days before the hearing date. Only the Notice of Hearing must be mailed (except for persons who have filed a Request for Special Notice – they also must be given a copy of the petition), but it is highly recommended that a copy of the petition also be mailed to everyone who receives the Notice of Hearing. Note: You cannot mail or deliver the papers yourself -- ask someone else to do the actual mailing or delivery for you. Notice must be given to:
- Any nonpetitioning Personal Representative;
- All persons who have requested special notice;
- Each known heir or devisee who is affected by the petition;
- The Attorney General, if any portion of the estate will escheat to the state of California, and its interest would be affected by the petition; and
- Each creditor whose claim is allowed or approved but has not been paid, if the estate is insolvent.
Step 3
Have the person who mailed the Notice of Hearing sign the Proof of Service by Mail on the reverse side of the form. File the original Notice of Hearing with the completed Proof of Service by Mail with the Probate Filing Clerk.
The proposed Judgment of Final Distribution should be submitted to the court at least 10 days prior to the hearing (but preferably at the time the Petition for Final Distribution is filed). The Judgment must follow the contents of the Petition for Final Distribution and should be very specific as to the heirs and beneficiaries who are to receive property from the estate and their percentage or specific interest in each item. Each asset should be listed in detail, as described in the Inventory and Appraisal. After the Judgment has been approved by the judge and signed, at least one certified copy should be obtained, for the Personal Representative's records and for recording, if the estate included real property.
The Personal Representative must obtain the receipt of the persons receiving property from the estate. In the case of real property, the Personal Representative should record a certified copy of the Judgment of Final Distribution in the county in which the real property is located. Recordation of the order is considered to be a Receipt from Distributee for the property. A Receipt from Distribute should be required from each distributee at the time property is distributed to him or her under an order for final distribution. Each receipt should be filed with the court prior to filing a petition for final discharge.
Distribution of the estate assets in compliance with the court order entitles the Personal Representative to a full discharge with respect to property included in the order. A decree of discharge protects the Personal Representative from subsequent suit for alleged misdeeds during the term of administration.
Until the entry of an order discharging the Personal Representative, the administration of the estate is not completed, and the court continues to have power over the Personal Representative for the purpose of compelling execution of its orders.
When the Personal Representative has complied with the terms of the Judgment of Final Distribution and has filed the appropriate receipts, the Personal Representative, on ex parte petition, shall file an Affirmation of Final Discharge. After discharge, the Personal Representative should notify the Internal Revenue Service and the Franchise Tax Board that he or she is no longer acting as fiduciary for the estate.


text:
As a kid, [Wes] always dreamed of building a full-size, functional R2-D2 droid from Star Wars. While most youthful aspirations such as this fall to the wayside amid adult responsibilities and commitments, he did not allow his dreams to disappear along with his childhood.
He began his droid-building journey armed only with his dreams and some assistance from the friendly folks over at R2Builders. The entire replica was built using MDF, wood, and styrene sheeting, along with just one tool: a CNC machine. He walks you through the every step of the construction, stopping to give recommendations on CNC hardware, software, etc. along the way. He also provides Gcode files for each of the pieces he has constructed, which should be a huge help to anyone looking to build a R2-D2 clone of their own.
It looks like he is just getting around to fitting motors into the leg housings of his R2-D2 replica, but we can't wait to see what it looks like once he has all of the electronics and other details finished.
If you are interested in more R2-D2 coverage, look no further than right here.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
1. New Orleans: French Quarter Haunted Walking Tour
Listen to stories of witchcraft and keep watch for spirits on a guided city walking tour of New Orleans. Explore the historical French Quarter, as you indulge in stories of magic, ghosts, vampires, and voodoo practitioners from your expert guide. Travel to several of the city's venerated neighborhoods, soaking up stories about the witches, ghosts, vampires, and Voodoo practitioners who have contributed to the city's colorful past. Meet your local guide and set off on a journey through New Orleans' haunted history. Pass outside well-known sites such as Muriel's Restaurant and the Old Ursuline Convent. See the exterior of the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, where bloodletting and leeching took place in the 19th century. From the outside, see the house where Jacques Saint Germain — who was rumored to be a vampire — once lived. Plus, hear chilling tales of LaLaurie House and its mistress, Madame LaLaurie. Let your guide entertain you with local folklore as you continue past the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum. The final stop of your activity is outside Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar, where your spooky experience will end.


text:
It was mentioned at a recent Homer City Council meeting that some of our young people need to know just who brother Asaiah was, and that others might forget. Brother Asaiah, a one-time member of WKFL, donated the former organization's property to the city of Homer for a park. I believe he requested that the park be named in honor of its former owners, WKFL.
For me, Asaiah and WKFL are inseparable. All of the recent talk of a bust of Asaiah, to be put in the park and donated to the city by an out-of-state and former member of the group, has brought a few things to the surface for me.
First, I'd like to clarify just what this organization was. It was a cult that followed the blueprint of hundreds of other cults that have come and gone. There was a central figure, the self-named "Krishna Venta," who'd apparently dreamed up the idea while doing hard time for armed robbery. His message began with love, and once his followers gave him all their power, i.e., let him rename them with biblical names, make all their decisions from what they wore to who they married, he began to abuse that power, and it eventually did him in. Several former members blew him and themselves up in a hotel because he wouldn't give their wives back when they quit.
I spent my summers on the Mattox homestead-ranch on Fox Creek at the head of the bay for several years as a child. We were separated from the village of Venta, which is what Krishna named his outpost, by four miles of mudflats. Ours was the first stop that those who had had enough of the Venta utopia encountered when they quit and hiked out. Often they would work with us on the ranch, to make a few dollars to continue their journey. There were many of them and they were always penniless, having given up everything to the cult. The two men who ultimately ended Krishna's life were no exception.
Our family; the Wiebers; and Matt Mattox's daughter, son-in-law and children were invited to Venta several times. I remember a large dining room with a long table and a huge upholstered chair at one end that was higher than the rest and no one was allowed to sit in it but Krishna. I also remember a root cellar with a padlock on it that was pointed out to me by ValDorm, Krishna's son, as the jail.
Fast forward a few years to Homer. Krishna is dead. The group holds together for the first year expecting his return, which he had prophesied. He didn't return, needless to say. By that time the group owned a house, a machine shop and a trailer court called the Bearfoot Trailer Park. I hung out with one of the sons, Val, and spent much time at all three places.
Krishna's wife and widow, who was called mother Ruth, seemed like an extremely aloof and withdrawn mother to Val. I remember her buying us liquor when we were in junior high school and we would sit in the kitchen and drink ourselves into oblivion while she withdrew to her bedroom. Incidentally, the townhouse also had a large upholstered chair with a bible on it, Krishna's chair, which no one was allowed to sit in. One time, while spending the night with Val at the manager's quarters of the trailer court, the manager, still a follower of Krishna, molested me and it turned out that he had been doing that to Val for a period of time.
Fast forward a few more years. The group has broken up. A few former members still live in Homer, including Asaiah. They have various stories on what the group was. Some say it wasn't religious, others say Krishna was a great man and prophet (Asaiah). To say anything else might be saying they'd abandoned their families, made other unwise decisions or threw away years of their lives, all for naught.
Part of my healing from sexual abuse, alcoholism and the general PTSD of growing up, was discussing the group with Asaiah, who I considered a friend. He was very human, and one of the most human traits he displayed while talking it over with me was his inability to admit he'd been conned. That didn't make him a bad guy — it made him human.
Let's fast forward one more time. It's 2014. I'm driving by WKFL park. Am I thinking Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith and Love? Not really — I'm just trying to heal.
Billy Choate grew up in Homer.


text:
The weather in Edinburgh is often a source of complaint among both visitors and locals. Edinburgh has a temperate climate, meaning it rains often and Summers are mild rather than hot.
Temperatures in the Summer months of June, July and August average around 18-19C. Winters are cold with average temperatures hovering above the freezing mark in January and the weather is often damp.
Edinburgh is also a gusty city (as organisers of Edinburgh's Hogmanay know only too well, having had to cancel the 100,000 person Hogmanay street party because of high gales).
Torrential rain is not unheard of even in the Summer months, although it's not typical. We think ourselves lucky when we have a few sunny days in which we can comfortably wear shorts and t-shirts throughout the day.
Rain is usually less a heavy deluge, more a constant drizzle and (in Winter) sleet.
It's not unusual in Spring and Autumn to have four seasons worth of a weather in a single day.
Don't be put off though: Edinburgh's unpredictable weather patterns are compensated for by its rich cultural life, it is a lush and green city, and the weather often holds welcome surprises.
Other resources
- Edinburgh Five Day Forecast (Met Office)
- Edinburgh webcams See what the weather's like for yourself.
- Edinburgh Weather Charts for Edinburgh's average rainfall, sunlight and temperature.


text:
- Home
- Parents Home
- Allergy Center
- Asthma Center
- Cancer Center
- Diabetes Center
- A to Z
- Emotions & Behavior
- First Aid & Safety
- Food Allergy Center
- General Health
- Growth & Development
- Flu Center
- Heart Health
- Helping With Homework
- Infections
- Diseases & Conditions
- Nutrition & Fitness Center
- Play & Learn Center
- School & Family Life
- Pregnancy & Newborn Center
- Pregnancy & Baby
- Recipes
- Sports Medicine Center
- Doctors & Hospitals
- Videos
- Para Padres
- Home
- Kids Home
- Asthma Center for Kids
- Cancer Center for Kids
- Movies & More
- Diabetes Center for Kids
- Getting Help
- Feelings
- Puberty & Growing Up
- Health Problems of Grown-Ups
- Health Problems
- Homework Center
- How the Body Works
- Illnesses & Injuries
- Nutrition & Fitness Center for Kids
- Recipes & Cooking for Kids
- Staying Healthy
- Stay Safe Center
- Relax & Unwind Center
- Q&A for Kids
- The Heart
- Videos for Kids
- Staying Safe
- Kids' Medical Dictionary
- Para Niños
- Home
- Teens Home
- Asthma Center for Teens
- Be Your Best Self
- Cancer Center for Teens
- Diabetes Center for Teens
- Diseases & Conditions (for Teens)
- Drugs & Alcohol
- Expert Answers (Q&A)
- Flu Center for Teens
- Homework Help for Teens
- Infections (for Teens)
- Managing Your Medical Care
- Managing Your Weight
- Nutrition & Fitness Center for Teens
- Recipes for Teens
- Safety & First Aid
- School & Work
- Sexual Health
- Sports Center
- Stress & Coping Center
- Videos for Teens
- Body
- Mind
- Para Adolescentes
School Violence: What Students Can Do
After hearing news of school violence, it's natural for students to worry about whether something like this may someday happen to them or their friends.
When a tragedy like this happens, it's normal to feel sad and anxious. It's natural to want to make sense of the situation.
Why Does School Violence Happen?
School violence isn't easy to understand. There is no single reason why students become violent. Some are just following behavior they've seen at home, on the streets, or in video games, movies, or TV. Some are dealing with mental health problems. Some people who turn violent have been bullied. They may feel isolated and rejected by their peers. These are only a few of the reasons why a person may turn violent.
But there's one thing experts agree on. Having access to guns or other weapons makes it easier for some people to lash out against the things or people they don't like.
What Can I Do?
Someone on the verge of violence may show warning signs. These can include:
- playing with weapons of any kind
- talking about violence or weapons
- talking a lot about violent movies or violent games
- bullying or making threats
- cruelty to pets or other animals
If you see signs like these, tell a teacher, parent, or school counselor. A student who is showing signs like these may need help and support. And safety at school is up to everyone.
If you have concerns about safety at school, reach out to an adult who will listen and help. Many schools have set up ways to report bullying or signs of violence anonymously. Students can share concerns without giving their name. Find out if your school has something like this. If they don't, ask if they can set it up.
What Else Can I Do?
Violence is an issue that many students care deeply about. They care about reducing violence at schools, in neighborhoods, in relationships, and in families. Many have personal stories about how violence has touched their own lives.
Some schools have programs that bring students together to share their experiences — and to talk about solutions.
One program, Do the Write Thing, brings students together with a teacher to talk, write, and do things to create positive change. If you think a program like this could be a good fit for your school, talk with a teacher who might be a good mentor. Together, you can find out more.


text:
Refreshing body lotion with verbena extract 75 ml
The formula of the body lotion is inseparably associated with nature. The most precious ingredients are of natural origin, which enhances healthy looking skin. The lotion nourishes and moisturizes the skin, improves its elasticity.
How to use: Spread on clean skin with massaging, circular movements. Recommended for use right after bath.
Ingredients: aqua*, glycerin*, dicaprylyl carbonate*, aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, butyrospermum parkii butter*, polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearate*, octyldodecanol*, hydroxyethyl urea, macadamia ternifolia seed oil*, allantoin, lippia citriodora leaf oil*, verbena officinalis leaf extract*, zea mays starch*, xanthan gum*, ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/vp copolymer, parfum, urea, ethanolamine, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, tocopherol, limonene, citral, geraniol, linalool, citronellol.
*natural origin ingredients
Back to product list


text:
On Friday, Nov. 15 the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will host the SIAC Football Legends Symposium, in conjunction with the SIAC Centennial Football Championship.
The symposium will feature a panel of SIAC legends, which include Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Rayfield Wright (Fort Valley State), Super Bowl Champions Nick Harper (Fort Valley State) and Tyrone Poole (Fort Valley State), along with former All-Pro Greg Lloyd (Fort Valley State) and veteran Frank Walker (Tuskegee). The event will take place on the campus of Morehouse College's Leadership building at 4 p.m.
"We are honored and privileged to host a group of SIAC football alumni who together represent and embody the best traditions of our conference during the past 100 years," said SIAC Commissioner Gregory Moore. "I am certain that our student-athletes will gain invaluable insights from these men when they share their respective paths from the SIAC to NFL stardom."
Each NFL legend will also serve as honorary captains for the SIAC Football Championship game played on the following day on Saturday, November 16 at Lakewood Stadium at 7 p.m.
Tickets will be $10 and can be reserved by calling the SIAC office (404) 221-1041.
SIAC NFL Legends Biographies
Rayfield Wright, Offensive Lineman, Fort Valley State
At Fort Valley State University, Wright was an All-American and three-time All-SIAC selection on the gridiron. In addition, he also was a force to be reckon with on the hardwood, averaging 28 points per game, while even being selected as a draft pick of the Cincinnati Royals when he was a senior. In the same year, ironically, the Dallas Cowboys selected Wright in the seventh round of the 1967 draft.
While making the team was a long-shot, the 6-foot-8 offensive lineman from Griffin, Ga., not only made the Dallas Cowboys team, but was a catalyst to the team's success during the 1970s. As one of teh premier blockers in the NFL, Wright went on to play 13 seasons, while winning two Super Bowls with Dallas. Wright also was a six-time Pro Bowl Selection with the team.
Upon his retirement, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, as well as being named to the NFL's 1970 All-Decade team in 1970.
Greg Lloyd, Outside Linebacker, Fort Valley State
An All-American, three-time All-SIAC selection, and SIAC Defensive Player of the Year at Fort Valley State University, Greg Lloyd was known as one of the most fierce pass rushers in the NFL during the 1990's for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A sixth-round selection in 1987, Lloyd was a five time All-Pro, making the Pro Bowl five times during his career.
The Miami native had a banner year in 1994, as he was named AFC Defensive Player of the Year after finishing the season with a career-high 10 sacks, 88 tackles, and one interception. In the same season, he led Pittsburgh to a win in the AFC Championship game over the Indianapolis Colts, which led to a trip to the Super Bowl.
Lloyd, played 147 games in 13 seasons mostly with the Steelers, while playing his last season with the Carolina Panthers. He finished with 54.5 sacks and 11 interceptions and remains today one of Pittsburgh's top defensive players in the franchise's rich history.
Nick Harper, Cornerback, Fort Valley State
A 1999 First Team All-SIAC selection at cornerback, while playing at Fort Valley State, Harper signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2001 after playing one season with the Hamilton TigerCats of the Canadian Football League. Known for his speed and adroit cover skills, Harper eventually become the full time starter with the Colts and played a significant role during Indianapolis' successful reign in the 2000's under legendary head coach Tony Dungy. The run included the Colts triumph in 2006, where the Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in the first Super Bowl that featured two black head coach for the first time in NFL history.
After departing from the Colts in 2007, Harper finished his career with the Tennessee Titans, where he finished his career in 2010. In all, the Milledgeville, GA native played 10 seasons and completed his career with 625 tackles, 88 pass deflections, and 21 interceptions.
Tyrone Poole, Defensive Back, Fort Valley State
Poole is native of Lagrange, Georgia where he graduated from Lagrange High School as a two-sport standout in both football and track and field. Following his graduation, Poole received a scholarship to play football and run track at Fort Valley State University.
As a member of the Wildcats football team, Poole helped lead the Wildcats to two Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and was a All-SIAC First Team selection during his junior season in 1993 and 1994. In addition, he was named SIAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1994 and was named All-American by the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association. In his remarkable senior year, Poole was credited for not allowing any opposing receiver catch a pass against him.
Following his storied career at Fort Valley State, Poole became the first SIAC defensive back to be selected in the first round when the Carolina Panthers selected the cornerback with the 22nd overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. Making an immediate impact for Carolina as the franchise's second draft pick, Poole was named to the NFL's All-Rookie Team.
During his 14-year NFL career he started 112 games, made 406 tackles to match his 18 interceptions. Poole was recently inducted into the Division II Football Hall of Fame as the second Wildcat, joining Greg Lloyd in 2001.
Frank Walker, Defensive Back, Tuskegee
Walker was one of the premier shutdown cornerbacks in the SIAC at Tuskegee in the early 2000's. He was one of four Golden Tiger cornerbacks selected in the NFL draft in a three year span. While at Tuskegee, Walker allowed few passes his way and was rated as one of the top defensive backs in Division II.
In 2003, Walker, a native of Tuskegee, Ala, was drafted in the sixth round by the New York Giants. As a rookie, Walker cracked into the lineup, appearing in 14 out of 16 games and would continue to play a significant role in the Giants secondary.
For his career Walker played eight years with five different teams (New York, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, and Dallas Cowboys) and finished his career with 181 tackles and nine interceptions.


text:
§11-15B-25. Uniform tax returns.
(a) General.--
A seller who registers with this state is required to file a single sales and use tax return with the Tax Commissioner for each taxing period.
(b) Due date of return.--
(1) This return shall be due on the twentieth day of the month following the month in which the transaction subject to tax occurred.
(2) When the due date for a return falls on a Saturday or Sunday or legal holiday, the return shall be due on the next succeeding business day. If the return is filed in conjunction with a remittance and the remittance cannot be made pursuant to subdivision (e), section twenty-six of this article, the return shall be accepted as timely on the same day as the remittance under that subdivision.
(c) Additional information returns.--
The Tax Commissioner shall make available to all sellers, except sellers of products qualifying for exclusion from the provisions of the agreement, a simplified return that is filed electronically.
(d) The Tax Commissioner may not require a seller which has indicated at the time of registration that it anticipates making no sales which would be sourced to this state to file a return, except that the seller shall lose the exemption upon making any taxable sales into this state and shall file a return in the month following any sale.
(e) After January 1, 2010, the Tax Commissioner shall give notice to a seller, which has no legal requirement to register in this state, of a failure to file a required return and a minimum of thirty days to file thereafter prior to establishing a liability amount for taxes based solely on the seller's failure to timely file a return: Provided, That the Tax Commissioner may establish a liability amount of taxes based solely on the seller's failure to timely file a return if such seller has a history of nonfiling or late filing.
(f) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Tax Commissioner from allowing additional return options or the filing of returns less frequently.


text:
Peering into Rings of Grain
Dendrochronology comes of age, shedding new light on the shape of old America
by Michael Olmert
The English poet laureate Philip Larkin wrote:
The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said.
Photo by Dave Doody
Cut from the trunk of a California sequoia that fell in 1917, this cross section demonstrates the accumulation of rings with the passage of time, 1,995 years. It was presented to the Colonial National Monument for the Yorktown Sesquicentennial in 1931 and stands today at Hampton University.
And what those trees say seems to be: Look here. To historians they whisper about the past; they record their growth in annual rings whose thickness or thinness is a dependable and consistent record of the climate for the year. They could scarcely be more articulate.
Each rings width is a function of rainfall, temperature, and sunlight, though forest fire, disease, and insect infestation are also implicated in any rings size. Peer into a growth ring and youre looking into a trees history for one season.
For instance, most trees alive in 1816 display a stunted growth ring for that year, clearly a result of the eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia in 1815. For a year, its cloud enshrouded the earth and slowed the growth of everything dependent on photosynthesis. It was called the year without a summer. A similar 1601 volcanic eruption in Peru also affected tree-ring density over much of the globe.
For historians, the challenge is to associate a particular ring in, say, a stump or roof timber or log canoe with a particular year. To that end, foresters record tree-ring sequences of wide and narrow rings, starting with living trees, some of which are a record of life going back hundreds of years.
To extend a sequence back farther than the age of living trees, you look at timbers from old buildings or bridges, and match their youngest sequences with the oldest sequences of the living trees. Find enough old timber and you can trace a sequence of tree rings back indefinitely. One caveat is that all the timber in a sequence must be from the same species because different species respond differently to drought or flood.
To date an artifact of wood, the trick is to fit its tree-ring pattern into the overall tree-ring sequence for its region. Moreover, if you can find a timber that still has bark clinging to its outer ring, that last ring will be the year the tree was felled. Its called the wane edge of the timber, a logging term possibly derived from a phrase like the waning of summer, or the waning of the moon.
As you might expect, the wane edgeoften found on the bottom, undressed sides of floor joists that no one was ever expected to seeis important in dating buildings made of wood. You may think your building dates from 1680, historians are regularly told these days, but its timber wasnt cut until 1729.
The Virginia trees most useful to historians are red and white oak, tulip poplar, and southern yellow pine. Sequences for them have been worked out well back into the colonial period. But possibly the most famous tree in dendrochronology is the bristle cone pine of the American Southwest, a species that often lives several thousand years. Its nothing less than congealed, deep time-a record so accurate it has been used to calibrate the high-tech carbon-14 dating system.
It was the longevity of pines that suggested the use of tree rings as a very-long-term annual clock, an idea developed by Andrew Ellicott Douglass at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
An astronomer, he was frustrated by the lack of dependable meteorological data for his study of sun-spot cycles. In ponderosa pines he saw the possibility of relief. His work brought tree-ring dating to the attention of historians and created the science called dendrochronology, a word coined in 1928. Dendron is Greek for tree, so the newly minted word was meant to be read as the study of tree time.
The basic tenet of this science, one ring, one year, is something Larkin understood, especially the bit about the annual renewal of trees:
Is it that they are born again
And we grow old?
No, they die too.
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.
In Virginia, the long-lived species is the bald cypress. Some specimens growing along the Nottoway and Blackwater Rivers are capable of telling us about the state of the environment extending back eight hundred years.
Dennis Blanton, an archaeologist at the College of William and Mary, used bald cypress cores to study climate conditions during the experiment of settling Virginia. The rings suggest a reason for the hardship associated with the founding of the Jamestown colony. The trees indicate, Blanton says, that the most severe seven-year regional drought in the last 770 years occurred between 1606 and 1612.
Tree rings are seldom enough to tell a story in themselves, but combined with early Jamestown documents, they underscore a tale of woe. Those first years, 1607 and 1608, are thought to have consumed the lives of 144 out of 244 colonists. The chroniclers of those events commented on the shortfalls of the native corn harvests and the unwillingness of the Indians to trade or share their maize with the English. It was meere famine that got them, eyewitness George Percy wrote. Now we know why. Possibly.
Today, forest entomologist Herman J. Heikkenen is an icon in the world of dendrochronolgy. Jack, as he is called, is in his seventies and has a casual, rough-and-ready aspect. He is quick with self-deprecating jokes and with reminiscences about his stern Finnish upbringing in Michigan. He spent the summer of 1950 in Idaho as a parachutist firefighter. I jumped out of the first eight airplanes I went up in, he says. His white hair is cropped in a buzz cut, a lingering tribute to his enlistment in the Korean War. He seems as much football coach as forest scientist.
His Ph.D. from the University of Michigan had to do with the links between insect infestation and forest growth. A professor of forest entomology at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, he got into tree-ring dating as an exercise for a local Boy Scout troop, designing a way for it to uncover the vintage of the troops old cabin. He never looked back and has spent the past twenty-five years helping architectural historians throughout Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, and as far north as Maine, determine the age of the buildings they studied.
Jack Heikkenens great addition to dendrochronology is the key year concept of tree growth. The whole system comes down to this, Heikkenen says. Each years growth ring, compared to last years, can be only one of three things: greater, which is recorded as a plus; equal, which is a zero; or less, which is a minus. Because you get so few zeroes, the result is a plus or minus pattern for the annual rings in any given tree.
Photo by Williw Graham
Dendrochronologist Herman J. Heikkenen uses a power drill to take a sample core of flooring timber in the Dora Armistead House. Hes looking for traces of a colonial coffeehouse.
Then, if you look at a sample of trees from a certain locale, you may notice that twelve out of fifteen will all show a plus or a minus for a particular year. That will be a key year. The pattern of key years can be matched up with the pattern in the wood of a house whose date is in question. A computer calculates the fit and probability of error for the date the wood was cut.
All together, Heikkenens system ranges from boring hollow-bit cores out of house timbers, to polishing the cores, to measuring each ring in the cores under a microscope, to pushing a button that declares whether a ring is a plus, minus, or a zero, and finally to dumping all this into a computer that compares the strings of pluses and minuses with data on local or regional trees. Heikkenen has patented the system, and its changing the way we look at our colonial past.
Ed Chappell, head of architectural research at Colonial Williamsburg, says: Jacks dendro has helped reinvigorate the study of early buildings in the Chesapeake region, and more specifically at Colonial Williamsburg. A generation of historians has recast the story of colonial architecture in Virginia and its neighbors from a relatively static plot to one of dramatic, continuing change. Dendro has placed the right characters on the stage.
For instance, the Lynnhaven house in Virginia Beach was long thought to be a seventeenth-century structure-from the 1600s. But timber cores from its basement showed that the wood was cut in 1724. At this point, Heikkenen says, various people in authority had what is professionally known as a conniption. When follow-up archaeology was done close to the foundations of the house, lead cames that had fallen from the windows were seen to be stamped with dates close to 1724. Please, Heikkenen says, its not my fault. Its just the way science progresses.
Similarly, Smiths Fort in Surry County, just across the James River from Jamestown, usually dated through a court report that refers to a brick house on the site in 1674, was redated by Heikkenen to the 1760s, almost a century later. Stratford Hall was found to be 1738, not 1725.
Heikkenen, a forester and bug man from southwestern Virginia, who made no claims for any expertise in architectural history, had officially become a disturber of the peace.
And thats just what we wanted, says Mark R. Wenger, a Colonial Williamsburg architectural historian. He was about to cause a revolution in the history of Chesapeake architecture. And so, in the early 1980s, Heikkenen came to Colonial Williamsburg.
It wasnt that his technique wasnt trusted; it was just considered prudent to let him loose on a few structures whose dates were solidly based on documentary evidence. But we didnt share those dates with Jack, says Willie Graham. Another foundation architectural historian, Graham has been working with Heikkenen for the past two decades. We threw him some ringers.
Photo by Dave Doody
Dendrochronology showed that this Surry County, Virginia, building was not, as tradition held, associated with Pocahontass son. The wood of the framing showed it is too recent.
For instance, Heikkenen found that the trees used in Bruton Parish church were felled between 1709 and 1714, which fit with the dates associated with the church; the vestry agreed to build the church in 1706 and it was completed by 1715. Heikkenen showed that the timbers for the 1770 tower were cut after the growing season of 1769.
Its incredible how close the dendro focus can be. If youve got a wane edge, or waney edge, as Heikkenen sometimes says, youre seeing the last year of tree growth. But its no big deal to date a timber to a half year, because we can differentiate the spring wood from the summer wood growth. The spring wood is laid down in thin-walled, large-diameter cells, followed by thick-walled, small-diameter summer cells.
The work also tells us about the nature of early logging. Most timbers, Heikkenen says, show summer-wood growth but no spring-wood growth, strongly suggesting that logging was done in the wintertime. It makes sense, because the amount of snake, chigger, and tick activity is reduced. Also, your farm animals are kept in shape for spring plowing. And if you happen to have a bit of frozen ground, then the skidding is much, much easier.
The other feature of the Heikkenen system is that it is consistent not only within a local growing area but regionally. When you look at the key dates for three widely separate areas-in Surry County, Virginia, on the western shore of Maryland, and in Montgomery County, southwestern Virginia-the patterns are remarkably similar for the decades of the 1920s, the 1820s, and the 1720s. It inspires confidence in the system.
Still, these regional results are mainly for a single species of tree. Locally, of course, the ring patterns are similar even between species. That is, within a given stand, most trees will exhibit the same pattern no matter their species. But when you look at the oak patterns across a wide area, you see theyre responding differently to the weather than the pines are. This can cause problems for dating buildings in ports, like Alexandria, Virginia, where logs might come from Philadelphia or even from New England. In Williamsburg, however, most of the timber was locally felled.
The trouble in Williamsburg was that there is slim documentary evidence for some buildings. We may know, for example, that a lot was bought in 1713 and that there was a legal requirement for every lot to be built on within two years or the land would revert to the city corporation. In the absence of conflicting information, a date of 1715 would be assigned.
Heikkenens work ended all that. Soon, his results began to tumble in. Heikkenen determined that the James Geddy House was built in 1762, though it was considered to have been erected between the 1710s and the 1750s. We can now say it was built by the silversmith James Geddy Jr. and not his father, the gunsmith, who was dead by 1760. The Booker Tenement on Nicholson Street, previously dated by nails and moldings to 1815-1830, was shown to be built of logs cut in 1823.
The evolution of the Randolph House is now clearer. William Robertson built the western part using timber cut in 1715, 1716, and 1717. Oak used for a gutter came from a tree felled in 1718. Peyton Randolph brought the house to its present state in 1755, using wood felled at the end of the 1754 growing season.
Some house dates were pushed farther back than anyone dared believe. The Nelson-Galt House on Francis Street, thought to have been standing by 1718, was shown to have within it the shell of an older house the wood of which was cut at the end of the growing season of 1694, predating the incorporation of Williamsburg. That is, an older house was probably moved to a new foundation on this lot within the grid of the new town. In essence, its a seventeenth-century house.
Photo by Willie Graham
Colonial Williamsburg's Willie Graham shows a core sample taken from a timber at Tuckahoea Goochland County home where Thomas Jefferson spent his infancy.
Heikkenens dates have contributed to solving more complex puzzles in the town. Architectural historians found more than a hundred eighteenth-century building fragments recycled in the 1890s Cary Peyton Armistead House standing on the site of Richard Charltons Coffee House near the Capitol. The coffeehouse was demolished just before the Armistead Houses construction, but are pieces of its framing and woodwork from the coffeehouse, or from some other eighteenth-century structure? Asked to date the framing, Heikkenen found it to have been cut in 1749, matching nicely with a 1750 description of the coffeehouse as lately Built. Much of what is known about Charltons comes from the fragments, now pieced together with the aid of computers.
What Jacks work has done, Wenger says, is that its put the study of our houses and our town on a firm scientific basis. I believe in the system, but its still got to be used in concert with all the other bits and pieces of the past that we know.
Dendrochronology was never meant to be an end in itself, just part of a wider line of an inquiry into the origins of life in the town and how it grew. Precise dates are where history starts.
In the end, how nice it is to consider the many tools nature has bequeathed to us, hints and allegations about matters in which we might someday be interested. We have been designed, it seems, to scan our past. Those rings, nature suggests, can fill us in on how she works, and how we once worked with her. As Larkin wrote in 1967, trees have a great deal to tell us:
Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.Michael Olmert wrote about the church at Bruton, Somerset, England, in the winter issue.


text: Eric Dolphy was a true original with his own distinctive styles on alto, flute, and bass clarinet. His music fell into the "avant-garde" category yet he did not discard chordal improvisation altogether (although the relationship of his notes to the chords was often pretty abstract). While most of the other "free jazz" players sounded very serious in their playing, Dolphy's solos often came across as ecstatic and exuberant. His improvisations utilized very wide intervals, a variety of nonmusical speechlike sounds, and its own logic. Although the alto was his main axe, Dolphy was the first flutist to move beyond bop (influencing James Newton) and he largely introduced the bass clarinet to jazz as a solo instrument. He was also one of the first (after Coleman Hawkins) to record unaccompanied horn solos, preceding Anthony Braxton by five years. Eric Dolphy first recorded while with Roy Porter & His Orchestra (1948-1950) in Los Angeles, he was in the Army for two years, and he then played in obscurity in L.A. until he joined the Chico Hamilton Quintet in 1958. In 1959 he settled in New York and was soon a member of the Charles Mingus Quartet. By 1960 Dolphy was recording regularly as a leader for Prestige and gaining attention for his work with Mingus, but throughout his short career he had difficulty gaining steady work due to his very advanced style. Dolphy recorded quite a bit during 1960-1961, including three albums cut at the Five Spot while with trumpeter Booker Little, Free Jazz with Ornette Coleman, sessions with Max Roach, and some European dates. Late in 1961 Dolphy was part of the John Coltrane Quintet; their engagement at the Village Vanguard caused conservative critics to try to smear them as playing "anti-jazz" due to the lengthy and very free solos. During 1962-1963 Dolphy played third stream music with Gunther Schuller and Orchestra U.S.A., and gigged all too rarely with his own group. In 1964 he recorded his classic Out to Lunch for Blue Note and traveled to Europe with the Charles Mingus Sextet (which was arguably the bassist's most exciting band, as shown on The Great Concert of Charles Mingus). After he chose to stay in Europe, Dolphy had a few gigs but then died suddenly from a diabetic coma at the age of 36, a major loss. Virtually all of Eric Dolphy's recordings are in print, including a nine-CD box set of all of his Prestige sessions. In addition, Dolphy can be seen on film with John Coltrane (included on The Coltrane Legacy) and with Mingus from 1964 on a video released by Shanachie. ~ Scott Yanow


text:
Parents > Tools You Can Use
Tools Use Can Use
This information and much more can be found in the Oliver Kids Team Manual.
- How to Make Healthy Choices for Life
- Weight Tracking
- Wellness Ideas
- Healthy Event Ideas
- Cafeteria Challenges
- Healthy Food Options for School Events
- Healthy Fundraising Ideas
How to Choose 5-A-Day servings of fruits and vegetables!
- Be creative! It's easy to get the right amount of fruits and vegetables by making small additions to your everyday meals.
- If you have spaghetti for dinner, add some vegetables to the sauce.
- Add fruits, like berries to your breakfast cereal or oatmeal.
- Keep it interesting! Add hot-sauce, low-fat Ranch, salsa, or peanut butter to vegetables and low fat flavored yogurt to fruit for a different taste.
- Carry a water bottle with you, that way you will always have water readily available.
- Keep cold water in the fridge so it's ready when you're thirsty.
- Add a slice of lemon, lime, orange or cucumber to water or even mix in a little bit of your favorite fruit juice.
- Choose sugar-free beverages and water. Don't keep sugary beverages around the house! If they're not there, you won't be tempted.
- When shopping for snacks make sure to look at the nutrition label for foods that are high in calcium and low in fat.
- Prepare healthy snacks in advance. Cut up fruits and vegetables and keep the servings in air-tight bags in the fridge, ready to grab and go.
- Make sure you pay attention to the serving size and have only one of them.
- Celery and apples with peanut butter are a quick and healthy snack.
- Low fat cottage cheese and peaches are a great snack because you get your needed protein and calcium from the cheese and all the nutrients of the fruit.
- Try not to stay seated for more than 30 minutes at a time.
- Walk or ride your bike to school.
- When you're at home, instead of turning on the TV turn on some music and dance!
- Schedule after-dinner family walks three days a week.
- There are lots of activities that you can do at home without going outside.
- Do push-ups, do sit-ups, run up and down the stairs, play video games while standing up, lift weights (we have included tip cards for ways to stay active while at home).
- When having dairy products try to choose those with fat-free or low-fat milk.
- Make oatmeal with low-fat or skim milk instead of water.
- Milk is not the only way to get these servings.
- Low-fat cheeses (there's a lot to choose from!)
- Low-fat Yogurt
- Low-fat cottage cheese
- Cereal is simple, tasty, and easy. Pick a cereal with whole grains instead of lots of sugar.
- If you don't have time to sit down to breakfast, here are some tips for breakfast on the go... cereal bars, granola bars, yogurt smoothies, bagel with cream cheese, and orange or apple wedges.
- Remember to serve skim or low-fat milk.
- Use smaller bowls, plates, and cups.
- Do not go for seconds! But if you have to, choose to eat more fruits and vegetables.
- Make sure you pay attention to the serving size and have only one of them.
- Eat your fruits and vegetables first, that way when you get to the other parts of the meal that may not be as healthy you will not overeat.
- Eat slowly, it takes 20 minute to feel full.
<< Return to top
Weight Tracking Chart
The following Weight Tracking Chart can be used to help individuals track their weight over a period of 12 weeks. It is a great tool to use as part of a staff wellness program. It will help in accomplishing each person's goal, whether they want to lose, gain, or maintain their weight.
It is easy to use:
- The first weight taken will be the baseline weight.
- After that each following weight will be marked according to the change from the baseline.
- For example, if the baseline weight was 165 lbs., and the weight for week 8 is 160 lbs., it will be marked as -5 lbs. under week 8 because the change is -5 lbs.
click chart to view and print larger chart
<< Return to top
Staff Wellness Ideas
Walking Club
Staff can start a daily walking club; they can have one during lunch and one after school to make sure everyone gets the chance to attend. Staff can bring a change of clothes and either walk outside around the campus or even through the school halls. Many schools like to start the day with an "all school" walking club for those who arrive early.
Sack Lunch
Staff can encourage each other to bring lunch from home at least 3 days of the week. To make this be an effective promotion, the packed lunches must also be healthy. A way to make everyone accountable for themselves is to have a show and tell of what everyone has brought to lunch. This will encourage staff to make healthier decisions.
Morning Exercises
If the school has already set up the morning exercise program before school starts, all staff, teachers and students should make an effort to participate in the morning exercises.
Staff Sports Teams
Staff sports teams are a great way to promote physical activity as well as a great team building strategy. Teams can be organized in various sports such as softball, basketball, volleyball, etc. The staff teams can compete against school teams, other schools or they can sign up a team at the local community centers.
Nutrition Facts
Many times, staff make it a habit to eat out for lunch and sometimes there is no other choice. For that reason, an effort should be made to make the best choice as to what restaurant to choose and what to order. To help with this choice, staff can have flyers posted in the teachers' lounge or in a booklet with nutrition information for all the restaurants in the area.
Water Bottles
Teachers can be provided with school water bottles which they can use on a daily basis in the classroom. This will increase their water consumption instead of choosing unhealthy alternatives and will also serve as a positive role models for the students.
Faculty Meeting
Ask the district Registered Dietitian to speak at a Faculty Meeting. He/She can help you plan the meeting to include healthy breakfast and lunch ideas. And the RD can help you plan your campus wellness plan as well.
Get the School Cafeteria Involved
As part of your district wellness plan ask the Child Nutrition Department to review the snack policy. Healthy snacks available for both the teachers and students are a great way to role model healthy choices.
<< Return to top
Healthy Event Ideas
Health Night
Invite parents to a Health Night where they are taught the goals of the Oliver Kids Team® - to make healthy choices. It's the school's chance to show the work that they are putting into the program and motivates parents to help continue these goals at home.
Family Night at the Park
Organize a weeknight where students, teachers, and parents spend an hour or two at the park. All kinds of games can be played such as horseshoe, volleyball, Frisbee, kite-flying. It is just a fun night to encourage families to get out of their homes and be active. Fruits such as oranges, apples, and watermelon can be served as snacks, plus water - which the parents can volunteer to bring.
Cooking Demonstrations
Parents and students can be invited to an in-school "healthy" cooking demonstration where they can learn simple and nutritious ways of cooking. It also gives them a chance to try foods they have never cooked, which will expand the healthy foods they can choose.
This event can be done on its own or it can be organized as part of another event such as a PTA/PTO meeting, an Open House, or any other school event such as Math Night, Science Night or Health Night.
We have included a few recipes to help get this event going. You will need a chef/cook or parent that can do "healthy" food cooking demonstrations. We recommend a "sampling/tasting" of the food for the participants, thus you will need extra staff for this food preparation. Preplanning is essential for success.
- Chef Tim's Chicken & Pasta Salad
- Zucchini and Squash w/ Diced Red Peppers
- Grilled Chicken Breast w/ pan gravy
- Basic Brown Rice Pilaf
As a reward or just to have a health day, a Field Day can be organized. It can consist of a series of fun outdoor competitions, complete with an array of healthy snacks! We have provided a list of activities to help plan your school's field day.
Morning Exercises
During the first five minutes of each day, students can do morning exercises to give them a little physical activity. Not only is this healthy for their bodies, but it will also wake up their brains and get them ready to learn!
The school as a whole can do it together outside or via the intercom. If that's not possible the teachers can also organize exercise individually in their own classrooms. Check out the Tools section for songs and exercises that can be used to set up this activity.
After School Walking Club
Why not exercise for 30 minutes after school and invite parents to join in. A walking club for teachers, students and parents can be organized. It can be an everyday activity or maybe just a few days out of the week. The walking can take place around the school track, playground, or basketball courts. It's a great way to get some exercise and to have a few one-on-one moments for kids and parents.
<< Return to top
Cafeteria Challenges
Promotion of the Month
Each month the cafeteria can promote one of the 7 healthy messages or CHOICES.
- To reinforce the benefits of choosing healthy foods (i.e. low fat dairy, water, fruits/vegetables, healthy snacks), students who choose and consume the chosen health food (fruit, water, etc.) receive a popsicle stick, which they are to turn into the cafeteria manager or teacher.
- Each day the sticks are counted and tallied up for each class.
- At the end of the set time frame (2-4 weeks) the class with highest count wins.
- The winning class can choose an activity (dancing, jump rope, basketball, etc.) to do for the next P.E. class period and can be labeled the "Healthiest Class".
A picture of a "Balanced Tray" can be displayed in the cafeteria line. Every student that achieves the "Balanced Tray" can be given an extra incentive such as a sticker or small packet of Crystal Light for their water.
Breakfast in School
Challenge the kids to eat breakfast at school; it will help them feel energized and ready to start the day. Promote the healthy choices specifically, like whole grain bread and cereals, fruits, skim milk, low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat yogurt and low-fat cheese.
Improve Cafeteria Suggestions
Challenge students to come up with suggestions of how to improve the nutritious and healthy options available in the cafeteria. And ask them to write a letter to the Child Nutrition Director with their suggestions.
Lunch Box
Just as students should strive for a "Balanced Tray" when in the cafeteria line, they should aim for a balanced lunch box. Teachers or cafeteria managers can check if students brought a well-balanced meal from home.
To make it a competition, stickers can be given to students who achieve this and after a certain amount of time, the one with the most stickers can receive a prize, like a fun new lunch bag!
Be Active!
Encourage students to go out and play once they are done with their lunch. An incentive to get students active can be to increase the lunch/recess time the students have by 5 or 10 minutes for every student being active throughout the period.
Promotion Poster
Have a poster competition for that month's promotion, the winners' posters can be posted on the cafeteria walls and prizes such as water bottles or school gear can be given away.
<< Return to top
Healthy Food Options for School Events
School events and meetings can also be turned into healthy environments. All it takes is some planning. Unless the events take place during a meal, try to avoid serving food and only have water and sugar-free beverages available. If snacks are preferred, fruit and vegetable platters are easy to serve. Another important thing to consider when planning the food for an event is the portion size. If at all possible, it is best to have pre-portioned foods so that attendees get the correct amount.
- Water - bottled or in a pitcher (Crystal Light packages can be offered with the water)
- Milk - Skim or 1%
- Coffee
- Tea
- Creamer- fat-free, 1%
- Fruit, fresh or 100% fruit juice
- English muffins
- Whole-grain bread
- Yogurt - non-fat, fat-free
- Mini-bagels with fat-free cream cheese
- Mini-Muffins - whole grain
- Fresh cut-up fruit - with fat-free yogurt for dipping
- Vegetable s- raw with fat-free dressing (Try blanching, or cooking in boiling water for 1 minute, then cooling with ice immediately. It brings out the color and natural sweetness of the vegetables.) Kids and adults like them this way.
- Sandwiches - on whole grain bread, low-fat cheese, no mayo, try mustard
- Salads with low fat or fat-free dressing on the side
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Pretzels
- Popcorn, fat-free or air-popped
- Whole grain crackers
- Water or Skim Milk
- Low-fat yogurt
- Low-fat cheese
<< Return to top
Healthy Fundraising Ideas
Students can seek pledges for a variety of things such as:
- Bike-a-thon - for every lap the student bikes
- Jump Rope-a-thon- for every ten jumps
- Walk-a-thon- for every lap walked
- Read-a-thon- every 20 pages read
Students can wash cars and ask for donations. A great time to do this could be right after school when parents are picking up the students. A car washing area can be set-up on one-side of the parking lot to make it easy.
Community partners can be asked to donate merchandise/gift cards that can be raffled.
Also, to promote healthy eating a subscription to a fruit of the month club can be another raffle prize.
Dances for the older students where tickets must be purchased to attend are a fun and fast way to fundraise and it promotes physical activity too!
If a recycling program is not already in effect at the school, aluminum cans, paper and plastics can be recycled. Students can also be asked to bring in their recyclable materials from home, which would result in much more successful fundraiser. This is also a great activity to continue throughout the year with relative ease.
Smencils are scented pencils made out of 100% recycled newspaper. Kids love them and there are many choices for fundraising, whether you want to sell them individually or in packs.
More information can be found at www.smencils.com.
School Spirit Gear
Selling school spirit great is always a great choice and usually results in very successful fundraising. The spirit gear can include t-shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, water bottles, pens, pencils, key chains, etc.
Kid's Night Out
Parents can organize a Kids' Night Out once a month. In this event, a few parents volunteer to supervise the kids for four hours. The cost can be around $20 for the first child, $15 for the second and $10 for the third or whatever price your school decides. It can include a healthy snack for the children such as bananas and peanut butter with a glass of skim milk or sandwiches and fruit. The parents can organize games like Twister, dodge ball or story time for the younger ones.
This is a great event because:
- All the money goes directly to the school.
- The kids get to hang out with their friends.
- Parents get the night off without having to find a babysitter.
A variety of donated items such as gift cards, healthy cookbooks, and tickets to events, as well as items made by the students and parents can be auctioned. A small event can be organized at the school where parents are invited to attend and bid on the items.
Students can make recipe books in class and put them all together to make a large cookbook they can sell to family and friends. Students can be further involved by decorating it themselves.
Students can be asked to draw one of the 7 healthy messages and they can be used as the pictures for each month. Parents will like the personal touch and healthy messages presented in them.
Carnations for Valentine's Day
The week of Valentine's Day, simple valentines with a carnation can be sold, which can be delivered on Valentine's Day.
Orange-clove Christmas decoration*
During their art class, students can easily make orange-clove Christmas decorations and they can be sold to families.
They make great Christmas presents because they fill rooms with a great Christmas aroma.
* Directions on how to make them are in the Art Activities section.
Water Bottles
The PTO or parents can provide water bottles to teachers throughout the year to sell to students. It can be instituted as a fundraiser for PTO and each water bottle can be sold for $.75 to $1.00.
<< Return to top


text:
Mick Perez-Cruet has known for a long time that using a patient's own bone tissue for fusion and reconstructive surgery procedures is best for the patient and the surgeon.
So with that in mind, the neurosurgeon came up with a device that enables surgeons to collect bone tissue and recycle it in the patient's body.
Called the BoneBac press, MI4Spine LLC and its partner, Traverse City-based Thompson Surgical, introduced it to the market in November 2010. It is being used in 10 hospitals, including William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, where Perez-Cruet has worked for roughly seven years.
Recently, the companies received FDA approval for a new product — the inner body fusion device — which is part of the BoneBac system and allows for the performance of minimally invasive spinal fusion, said Perez-Cruet, CEO and president of MI4Spine LLC.
The device brought cost savings in its first year at Beaumont. An estimated $500,000 to $1 million was saved by using patients' bone tissue rather than artificial bone graft substances or cadaver bones, which can cost as much as $2,000 for five cubic centimeters, or one teaspoon.
"One of my big goals with starting this company was to help surgeons do these procedures more easily," Perez-Cruet said. "Using the BoneBac helps patients better tolerate the procedure and shortens their hospital stay, helping them get back to their functioning lives."
Perez-Cruet, vice chairman in the department of neurological surgery at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, developed his plans to launch MI4Spine over several years.
"I didn't use venture capital because I didn't want to owe anybody anything," he said.
He and his partners went to Thompson MIS, a minimally invasive medical device company focused on spine surgery and instrumentation, which brought the product to market.
Perez-Cruet has more product ideas he would like to see come to market, and he knows he may need to seek an angel investor or venture capital dollars.
"We would rather work with people who see the vision we see — providing things that change health care delivery," he said.


text:
Home | Reviews | Extras | Forums |
Adventures in Voice ActingSynopsisAsked a girl what she wanted to be, and she said, "Baby, can't you see? I wanna be famous, a star of the screen. Preferably voice acting the crazy characters of my favorite hobby, anime!" "Well," I said, "You should do something in between." "No, I'm not driving your car, Bradley." "I was gonna say you should watch this DVD. But that's a valid option as well." ReviewI am not a dub guy. I never really was. I've been avoiding them ever since I realized I preferred watching my bootleg InuYasha DVDs with Engrish subtitles rather than sit through that dub one more time. And the dubs that were coming out of the industry at that time were uniformly weak and did nothing to change my mind. The delivery was rarely convincing, actors never played off of each other, and conversations rarely sounded natural. It also didn't help that these actors were hobbled by a script that had them deliver lines like, "I'm going to beat you with my new special move!" Some of my reasons for being a sub fan have absolutely nothing to do with the quality of English dubs, but with the exception of a handful of series, it has been harder for me to enjoy listening to anime in English than when I'm just reading it. Judging by the immense popularity of voice actor's panels at local cons compared to, well, almost everything else, that puts me in a minority. There are a lot of people who not only enjoy dubs, they also keep tabs on their favorite voice actors, and even dream of one day doing voice acting for anime as well. This DVD was made for that person. In 130 minutes, it offers a complete crash course on what it takes to be a voice actor and how to make it in the industry straight from the actors themselves. And for people like me, it is still an enlightening watch. By the end of it, I had come to appreciate the hard work the voice actors put into a dub. The results are rarely palatable, but that has more to do with the extreme limitations the job puts on them than any lack of talent. One of the things that becomes clear when you watch this DVD is that the industry is desperate to get dubs on their anime, and are willing to pay extreme prices and force their ADR staff to jump through a lot of holes to get it. Consider this: anime companies have to juggle their voice actresses crazy schedules to get them in the studio in a timely manner. Voice actors deliver their lines in an empty room with only a video screen, a script, and their director to guide them. Because the actors record alone, they can't play off of each other's vocal cues, which is one reason why even the best anime dubs have conversations that ring hollow. The roles themselves rarely help: what man can play a gruff, thirteen year old ninja, or what twentysomething can accurately nail the part of a cutesy schoolgirl? Then there's the challenge of match words to lipflaps, writing a good script in a short time, and many other little things. And that's before any potential crises hit. Roger Ebert once wrote that every movie is a small miracle, and the same holds true for anime dubs, even the bad ones. Though the bad ones are a different kind of miracle. The production for this documentary is consummately professional, straightforward, and with no frills. It's essentially a series of talking heads answering six or seven different questions every section, and with over a hundred voice actors and staff in this DVD, it's an editorial feat that the message never feels muddled. It depends heavily on the charm of these people to get by, and the most charming ones are the most memorable. I may be the first otaku to like Crispin Freeman not for his performance in dubs like Hellsing, but for his frank talk in a documentary. The documentary may have benefited from cutting down on the number of voice actors by about, oh fifty or so, and adding more directors, since they can give the audience the big picture. Their views are relegated to only one of the five sections- more of them would have been welcome. One final note: the fandom and the industry has changed immensely since this DVD was released- and it was only released last year! There are a lot fewer dubs being recorded now, and fewer of those are being recorded in United States. I suspect many of these voice actors haven't found an anime-related gig beyond guest appearances at cons in a long time, and won't for a long time to come. ADV's absence is feels strong when you watch this DVD- most of the actors work with Bang Zoom, and most of ADV's dubs used Bang Zoom actors. This was probably filmed in 2007, but it already feels like another dated piece from a different, more optimistic time. But it is still relevant, and anyone who holds out hope on voice acting for the next Big Anime Series in 2025, or anyone who thinks they will still be watching anime in 2025, should watch this. Lots of information without any frills. Voice actors should just hand out copies of this DVD every time someone asks them, "How can I be a voice actor?' — Bradley Meek Recommended Audience: Back of the box says 13+, which probably has more to do with that's the age range for people who would be interested in voice acting than anything else. Version(s) Viewed: DVD courtesy of Jason Huff of The Anime Review Review Status: Full (1/1) Adventures in Voice Acting © 2008-2009 Spotlight Entertainment LLC |
© 1996-2015 THEM Anime Reviews. All rights reserved. |


text:
Music Division, Library of Congress
The Library of Congress presents these documents as part of the record of the past. These primary historical documents reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress does not endorse the views expressed in these collections, which may contain materials offensive to some readers.
Special Presentation:
Four Illustrated Articles
Related Online Exhibit:
Coast to Coast: The Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939
Understanding the Collection | Working with the Collection |
The Library of Congress | Contact Us |


text:
Hudson Taylor
It was a stormy night in Birmingham, England, and Hudson Taylor was to speak at a meeting at the Seven Street schoolroom. His hostess assured him that nobody would attend on such a stormy night, but Taylor insisted on going. "I must go even if there is no one but the doorkeeper." Less than a dozen people showed up, but the meeting was marked with unusual spiritual power. Half of those present either became missionaries or gave their children as missionaries; and the rest were faithful supporters of the China Inland Mission for years to come.


text:
Evolutionary biology: Better off without Darwin?
You'd have to pay for this Chronicle of Higher Education article that addresses the question of whether ditching Darwinism would help evolutionary biologists deal with the unwashed hordes:
In his controversial book, The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins insisted that scientists should work to dispel the idea that God exists. Without religion, Mr. Dawkins has said, the conflict between scientists' beliefs about evolution and the fundamentalist religious belief that a supernatural intelligence created all life would vanish. Now an evolutionary biologist has proposed a different tack. In a meeting last weekend in San Francisco, he suggested scientists might win the argument by ditching Darwin.But
Mr. Kutschera, a professor of plant physiology and evolutionary biology at the University of Kassel in Germany, said scientists should emphasize that evolution is a fully formed field of biological study "built up by generations of non-dogmatic scientists." Terms like
Darwinism can make evolutionary biology seem like an ideology, rather than a focus of empirical work, he said.
Basically, the controversy was never about Darwin's theory as such, of course, but about the use of Darwin's theory to preach a materialist origin of life and the mind. It is one thing to say that Dawin'sc oncept of natural selection explains which squirrels will survive the winter - another to say that it completely explains life, the universe, and all that.
Materialists, faced with growing dissent worldwide, now want to spin materialism through some sort of "God-talk" that addresses, in the words of one participant, the "dethronement of humans" (read: the dethronement of intelligence) and makes it all seem quite normal and true. The scary part is that they will undoubtedly get a taxpayer-funded budget for that. It won't work, of course, but it will cost you.
Labels: Darwinism, evolutionary biology


text:
Our Family Fun Day (that's what we call it) should see about 35 people here. There will be 9 children under the age of 12. Because we are on a farm property we don't want children going around on their own so all children under 12 have to be with an adult.
Amazing Genealogy Race Rules & Boundaries
Amazing Race Rules & Boundaries |
So this year I've reduced the boundaries to the cleared property around our house. I've drawn a very loose representation of the boundary area and explained it on the RULES poster.
Why a poster? Because no one listens to me when I try to explain the rules just before they start the game! My family apparently has a short attention span. Or I'm boring. Either way, they just mill about and chat and cat-call while I'm attempting to explain how to play the game.
Teams for the Amazing Genealogy Race consist of two adults (and as many of the under 12 years of age children they wish to have with them). I want people to mix and mingle because we have invited my family, hubs' family and assorted friends. Some have never met.
Creating Teams Using Ancestor Cards
Sets of Ancestor Cards |
There are matched sets and every adult will receive a card moments before the game begins. After all the ancestor cards are given out, each person has to find whoever holds their matching card and that is their 2-member team. As soon as they find their match they are free to begin the race.
I'm really looking forward to them reading their ancestor bio and watching them race from person to person trying to find a match. I expect some of the more competitive younger family members to be yelling out ancestor names "Sarah Elvery Stead, I'm looking for Sarah Elvery Stead!!!" I can hear it all now and it makes me chuckle to think of it!
Some years I have them choose a card (last year it was animals) when they first arrive so they can wander around for the first hour of the reunion looking for their matching card. But this year I want it to be a bit more chaotic.
I also want to spread out the teams and not have everyone racing to Event #1 at the same time. The first event is a hunt for wampum in honour of our ancestor Cornelis Van Slyke, a Dutchman who lived in New York in the mid 1600s .... but I'm getting ahead of myself! I'll talk about that event in another blog post.