#Google Ads North County

[windforestsso]

OC map 2024!

It was not long ago since Valedale been updated and it shows. Many OCs have moved there.

I have not included OCs from the old map as I didnt have access to the old file and I dont want to jump between multiple posts to get names and photos because that was just too confusing. I have done a google doc list with the Ocs so next update will be easier. But even if I didnt include OCs from the old post, we went from 73 to 95 Ocs, the population is growing.

I will not update this untill a new area been updated or added. But if anyone sees spell mistakes or wrong infomation given for ocs I can edit that. But I will not fix the map pic.

Address book is under line:

Central Jorvik:

Jorvik city:

Breasha Keane - Somewhere by Leonardos Lottie Emberwoods - Lives in Governors fall, she have no horses. Have a twin in South Hoof, Charlie Mary-Ann - lives close to Leonardos

Crater of Jor:

Alexei Sparrowhawk - lives in the mountain between Wildwoods and Dino Valley Sora Sparrowhawk - Kallter witch in dino valley searching

Firgrove:

Moa Windforest - Hidden shack in the forest  Ryland - lives at the ranger station

Firgrove Village:

Adelaide “Swift” Swiftheart - A kalter from Icengate lives near Firgrove Alexis Carolina Nightjar Elaina Hawkwatcher - Lives with her grandmother Luca Goldstone - Wilderness enthusiast. Big brother to Max in Tailtop village

Starshine Ranch:

Athena Rockstorm - Calamity Claymore - Charlie Emberwoods protoge, soul rider and chaos child. Have a big brother, Kit, in Cape West Fishing Village Daine Dusty Claymore - A retired cowboy. Uncle to Calamity and Kit Claymore Rora Dolphinheart -

Goldenhills Valley:

William Ravenyour - haunts the hayloft on Goldenleaf Stables (belongs to Dakota Ravenyour) Willow Crazytree - (no photo)

Cape West Fishing Village:

Adriana Braveheart Bella Highgirl - Officially owns a house here but has a second home in Avalon’s Meader where she stays under busy soul rider/druid times. Used to hop from hotel to hotel. Cody Hunter Doveshovel - Rents a bed with the Jorvik Fishing Club, but travels frequently for work and soul rider shenanigans. Kit Claymore - A fisherman and Amnesiac. big brother to Calamity in Starshine Ranch

Harvest Counties:

Crescent Moon:

Feya Elfchild - Lives alone

Jarlaheim:

Alyssa Evelyn - Lives close to the rocker hairstyles shop Everlee Songbird - lives with a roommate thats also a member of the keepers Iris- Neightbour to Linda. Frequently visits the family in Cape West Fishing Village Johann - Lives in the northern part of Jarlaheim. Joins Ruth on adventures often Lucy Flowerhill - Lives with Linda Niko Northlight- lives in an apartment Riley Wolfstorm Selena - Lives by the vet Yasmine Westbank -

Jorvik Stables:

Amira Monsave - 19 year old, rents a room. In jorvik to look for Anne Arya Mistwood - 24 year old, works and lives at Baroness’ racetrack but because of renovations she currently lives with their half sister, Shilo, in Jovik Stables Brook - Lives behind the white double doors Monty Lionheart - A fancy lad just vibing Shilo Stormfire - 18 Year old, dorming at the stables during the summer to train and compete with her Lipizzaner, Glory. Currently have her half-sister Arya Mistwood as a roommate

New Hillcrest:

Blake Silvercrest - lives in the stables Lucas Roni - Lives with her two dogs Opal and Potato. She works as a waitress in the local café during the day

Mistfall:

Dundull:

Azalea “Az” - lives around Dundull and work as a ranger Bodhi Applewright - Charlie Emberwoods protoge, soul rider and wanderer. Big brother to Toby in Redwoods Vendela Zoe Silverborn - lives alone

Wildwoods:

Astrid - precise location of home is unknown Heather - Sleeps in the hayloft of the stables in Redwood Point Max Goldstone -Charlies protoge, soul rider & adventurer. Have a big brother, Luca in Firgrove Rachel - Redwood Point Ranger Station Toby Applewrights - A junior ranger. Little brother to Bodhi in Dundull

North of Northern Mountains:

Donna Buttergood

Silverglade:

Alina - lives in the field between Silverglade Manor and Nilmer’s highland

Fort Pinta:

Esther Darkdragon - 26 year old, lives with Svea Darkdragon in an apartment Morgan Saltcrest - Pirate in the sea outside of the Fort Pinta Rose - Svea Darkdragon - 24 year old, lives together with Esther Darkdragon in an apartment

Moorland Stables:

Esther Northberg - lives in the hay loft above the stables Jamie Nightlock - A baby doing his best Kit Applewood -21 year old, lives with Mrs. Holdsworth, thinking of getting a small place in Valedale Montana

Silverglade Manor:

Nahla Wolfwalker - Half kalter on a quest

Silverglade Village:

Adelaide Odenburg - Lives in the pink house in the circle with two others Amelie Emberwoods - Lives at Steves farm as a riding camp instructor. Is cousin to Charlie and Lottie Emberwoods Athena Peacecry - Lives with her parents Aurora Bellavance - rents a room, wants to move to Firgrove or Goldenhills one day Ava - Recently moved to the north side of town, close to the championship Lady - Lives with Big Bonney

South Hoof Peninsula:

Ines - Lives in the cottage south of the Rescue Ranch

South Hoof Rescue Ranch:

Charlie Emberwoods - Work as a rehabilitator, have a twin in Governors fall, Lottie. Juni - travels a lot Vilda Ravenhill - Accidently roommate with Hugh Wynonna - Rents a room

Valedale:

Hollowwoods:

Damian - Lives with his family

Silversong River:

Rowan Riverborn - she a näck chills as a horse and is a danger to children Zelda Krüger - 22 year old, rents a room in Avalon’s Meander

Valedale Village:

Corinne Eaglebridge - Lives alone Evangeline Bitterhouse - A druid in-training. little sister to Genevieve Genevieve Bitterhouse - Charlie Emberwoods Protege, soul rider and a nature witch. Big sister to Evangeline Halo Starborn Joseph - had an apartment in Fort Pinta but let the lease run out Kelly Nightborn Lexa - Moved to Valedale Village after she used to live with her family in Moorland Marie - Lives in a house next door to Avalons Renata Rose Riverlee - Is a Pandorian hunting for someone, lives in valedale when not in Pandoria Sadie Algren - Take cares of horses at the village stables while their owner is away, travels to pandora to study flora and fauna Sora

Homeless:

Alou - contantly traveling with other shopkeepers on the Southern Jorvik event circuit Juli - Either in Pandoria or traveling, he supposed to live in south hoof but wont stay there. Ruth - drifter, can be seen more frequently around Jarlaheim and Greendale

[newstfionline]

Friday, October 18, 2024

Big Tech Goes Nuclear (1440) Amazon is investing $500M toward nuclear power to meet the rising energy demands of its data centers and artificial intelligence initiatives. Yesterday’s announcement comes two days after Google unveiled plans to purchase nuclear power and less than a month after Microsoft said it would reopen the Three Mile Island plant—home to the worst nuclear accident in US history—to fuel its AI efforts. Nuclear power accounts for 19% of US electricity generation and comes from energy released when the nucleus of a heavy atom splits into lighter atoms. While expensive and potentially hazardous, proponents pitch nuclear power as a clean alternative to greenhouse gas-emitting energy sources like coal, oil, and gas. Energy-intensive generative AI applications and data centers are expected to account for roughly 9% of total US power consumption by 2030.

Many schools are still closed weeks after Hurricane Helene. Teachers worry about long-term impact (AP) Tens of thousands of students in the Southeast are dealing with school disruptions after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc so severe—on homes, campuses and municipal power and water systems—that some districts have no idea when they will reopen. While virtual learning helped during the COVID-19 school closures, that has not been an option for this crisis because internet and cellphone service has remained spotty since the storm struck in late September. In hard-hit western North Carolina, some districts warn students will miss up to a month of school, and others say they can’t yet determine a timeline for returning to classrooms. “I feel like a month is a lot, but it’s not something that can’t be overcome,” said Marissa Coleman, who has sent her four children to stay with grandparents in Texas because their home in North Carolina’s Buncombe County has no running water. “But if we get further into Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s like, how are they actually going to make this up?”

Anguilla has turned the AI boom into a digital gold mine (AP) The artificial intelligence boom has benefited chatbot makers, computer scientists and Nvidia investors. It’s also providing an unusual windfall for Anguilla, a tiny island in the Caribbean. The British territory was allotted control of the .ai internet address in the 1990s. It was one of hundreds of obscure top-level domains assigned to individual countries and territories based on their names. While the domains are supposed to indicate a website has a link to a particular region or language, it’s not always a requirement. Google uses google.ai to showcase its artificial intelligence services while Elon Musk uses x.ai as the homepage for his Grok AI chatbot. Startups like AI search engine Perplexity have also snapped up .ai web addresses. Anguilla’s earnings from web domain registration fees quadrupled last year to $32 million, fueled by the surging interest in AI. The income now accounts for about 20% of Anguilla’s total government revenue.

Is Brazil’s Supreme Court Saving Democracy or Threatening It? (NYT) Daniel Silveira, a policeman turned far-right Brazilian congressman, was furious. He believed Brazil’s Supreme Court was persecuting conservatives and silencing them on social media, and he wanted to do something about it. So he sat on his couch and began recording. “How many times have I imagined you getting beat up on the street,” he said in a 19-minute diatribe against the court’s justices. He posted the video on YouTube in February 2021, adding, “I’ll say what I want on here.” A Brazilian Supreme Court justice immediately ordered his arrest. A year later, 10 of the court’s 11 justices convicted and sentenced him to nearly nine years in prison for threatening them. Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president at the time, pardoned Mr. Silveira, but the Supreme Court overruled him. Today, Mr. Silveira remains in prison. There is no room for appeal past the Supreme Court. Mr. Silveira’s case is part of a creeping institutional crisis for Brazil. For the past five years, the nation’s Supreme Court has expanded its power to carry out a sweeping campaign to protect Brazilian institutions from attacks, many of them online. To the Brazilian left, the offensive has helped rescue Brazil’s democracy. To the right, it has made the court a threat to democracy itself.

France's Macron calls for an end to arms exports used in Gaza and Lebanon (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron are getting into a mud-slinging fight for all the world to see. Last week, Macron called for an arms embargo on Israel, saying that the country needed to find a political solution to its issues in Gaza and Lebanon. Netanyahu responded with an angry video posted on X, calling Macron (and others calling for an arms embargo on Israel) a “disgrace.” On Tuesday (this week), Macron reportedly made statements during a closed-door meeting with French ministers, saying that Netanyahu should not “ignore United Nations decisions” because “his country was created by a U.N. decision.” Israel has repeatedly called for the dismantling of UNRWA, the UN agency that provides aid for Palestinian refugees, and is looking to pass legislation barring the organization from operating in Israeli territory—a decision the UNRWA warns will essentially “disintegrate” its services in Gaza and the West Bank. Israeli soldiers have also targeted U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon on multiple occasions since the IDF’s ground invasion of the country began earlier this month. Netanyahu clapped back at Macron soon after his statements, saying, “It was not the U.N. resolution that established the State of Israel, but rather the victory achieved in the War of Independence with the blood of heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors—including from the Vichy regime in France.”

Zelenskyy outlines his ‘victory plan’ to Ukraine’s lawmakers (Politico) Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unveiled his grand “victory plan” to Ukraine’s parliament. It’s made up of five main points and three secret annexes—we’re not privy to the annexes, but here are the five main points: an invitation to join NATO, a larger and faster supply of Western weapons with no restrictions on their use, a non-nuclear strategic deterrence package, deals which would trade Ukraine’s energy resources for money up front, and the possibility of U.S. forces training with battle-hardened Ukrainian forces after the war. Kyiv’s Western allies have not met the plan with the enthusiasm Ukraine might have been expecting. Meanwhile, Russia is getting a new infusion of troops. According to a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official, Russia has gathered over 3,000 North Koreans to fight in Ukraine. Russia disputes this and it’s unconfirmed.

Monsoon flooding closes schools and offices in India’s southern IT hubs (AP) Schools, colleges and government offices were shut Wednesday in parts of southern India as heavy monsoon rains triggered severe flooding. The worst-hit cities included Chennai and Bengaluru, the country’s industrial and information technology hubs. Power cuts and flight cancellations caused disruption, and thousands of residents prepared for more downpours over the next 48 hours. The June-September monsoon season has receded in northern parts of the country. However, the northeast monsoon has brought heavy rains to coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and southern Karnataka state. At least 33 people died last month in rains and floods.

For Working Women in India, Staying Safe Can Feel Like a Full-Time Job (WSJ) When Ajita Topo, a cook in an affluent neighborhood in Delhi, leaves work in the evening, she holds her bag like a shield against her chest, keeps her fists clenched and carries a black umbrella with a very sharp end to ward off a possible attack. She makes sure to wear lots of layers—no matter how hot it is—to deter someone from trying to grope her chest, and secures her bun with a sharp metal stick as an additional weapon. Topo isn’t being paranoid. Last year, she was followed by two men when she left work after 10 p.m. She managed to scare them away by shouting as she passed homes with guards outside. “Workplace, public transport, public places, we feel safe nowhere,” said Topo, the sole breadwinner for her two children. “The only solution is to stay alert at all times.” For many women in India, taking steps to ward off a violent attack—and reassuring their families they are safe while at work and on their commutes—is an invisible form of labor that is a central element of their work life. The killing and rape of a trainee doctor in the city of Kolkata in August was a fresh reminder for Indian women who work of the dangers lurking in public spaces where women are far less visible than men.

Where a Million Desperate People Are Finding Shelter in Lebanon (NYT) At dusk, the parking lot of Tripoli’s Quality Inn is packed with cars and families milling about. Children’s shouts fill the air, reminding some of better times, when the hotel hosted weddings and birthdays parties. Now, though, the cars in the lot are dusty and battered, the families sit on patches of grass, their faces worn with worry, and the children play in a drained swimming pool. That is because the Quality Inn has been transformed into one of the biggest shelters in Tripoli for displaced Lebanese fleeing Israeli bombing in the country’s south. In Lebanon, the displaced are practically everywhere. In Beirut, the capital, where many are staying, they have set up makeshift tents on the corniche by the sea, crafting shelters out of stray metal poles, bits of awnings and blankets. In the city’s parks and squares, some families have placed floor coverings on the ground, anchoring them with cases of water and folded blankets. Others are taking shelter anywhere that they can, mostly in schools but also in unfinished buildings. Of a population of around six million, including about two million Syrian refugees, just over one million people have been forced from their homes by the bombings, the United Nations and the Lebanese authorities say.

IDF says it killed top Hamas leader (Politico) The Israel Defense Force confirmed it has killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the lead architect of the Oct. 7 attack and the No. 1 target of its yearlong campaign in Gaza. Details of Sinwar’s death remain sketchy, but he appears to have been killed in an operation in southern Gaza that was not specifically targeting him. It is unclear what effect, if any, Sinwar’s death will have on the future of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, let alone on the newly emerging front against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israeli attacks on aid convoys in Gaza persist, U.N. says (Washington Post) Israeli troops have opened fire on U.N. aid convoys to northern Gaza at least four times in three months, according to U.N. and other humanitarian officials, damaging the vehicles and narrowly missing staff members inside. On Sept. 9, the officials said, the Israeli army held a convoy involved in the United Nations’ polio response at gunpoint for 7�� hours, claiming that several people in the vehicles were wanted men. They were questioned and eventually allowed to proceed. “They basically surrounded our vehicles, pointing assault rifles at our cars, and they were shouting that we’re terrorists,” said one U.N. staffer. U.N. officials describe the Sept. 9 incident as emblematic of an environment of mistrust, in which Israeli soldiers, many of them reservists, command significant power at the checkpoints that humanitarian workers must cross to enter northern Gaza and face few consequences for their actions.

Why Big Pharma refuses to take on the threat of antibiotic-resistant germs (Die Zeit/Germany) Some 40 million people will die from antibiotic-resistant germs in the next 25 years, according to the latest estimate. All reasonable experts agree: New medicines must be developed urgently, otherwise we will face the threat of living in a post-antibiotic era, an era in which people die from simple infections because doctors can no longer treat them. Yet although the problem and solutions are obvious, there are very few new antibiotics in the research pipelines of the big pharmaceutical companies. More and more companies are even closing down their antibiotics divisions. The reason? Antibiotics are not profitable. Poor countries are not lucrative sales markets. Companies would rather focus on another cancer drug that marginally improves the prognosis for lung cancer; another cholesterol-lowering drug that is slightly more effective than its predecessor and is so inexpensive to develop that it brings in billions without any major risks; or yet another anticoagulant. And so billions of dollars in development costs are spent on drugs that have little impact on people’s health, while virtually nothing is spent on developing drugs that could save millions of lives.

[k-quenouille]

ROTTMNT Theory

I spent a few hours researching this.....

Where the turtles might have been from based on their species (and the information I’ve conveniently forgotten about)

Leo: Red-eared slider, comes from Hamilton Lake, Hardin Precinct, Illinois, USA (at first i thought he could come from Kintown Hollow RD.... i did not know RD meant road lmao) (HE’S AN INVASIVE SPECIES, SO IN CHARACTER IDK Y)

Raph: Alligator Snapping turtle, comes from Godar Swamp, Calhoun County, Illinois, USA (close to both Illinois River and Hamilton Lake, while simultaneously having a gap big enough so that both species of turtles don’t meet each other)

Donnie: Spiny Softshell turtle (Apalone), comes from Lac Trois-Lacs, Asbestos, Québec, CA (Asbestos is now known under the name of Val-Des-Sources) (A while back i read something about Apalone turtles (endegered species) living there, apparently not anymore, but i would assume that 14-15 years ago, some Spiny Softshell turtle would still live around there)

Mikey: Ornate Turtle, come from Tazewell County, Illinois, USA (close to the river, there’s like, a forest, idk how it’s called) (I did make more research about other types of box turtles, i will share two of them cuz i found it funny; had he been a Three-Toed Box turtle, he would’ve came from Grassy Pond, Géorgie, USA, just north of the Florida Panhandle) (had he been a Yucatán box turtle, he would have came from the Reserva de la Biosfera Ría Celestún, Yucatán, MX.) (Box turtles are known to have reproduced with their cousins box turtles, so Mikey could have been a mix of Three-Toed and Yucatán Box turtles, as the Yucatán Box Turtle seem to have similar markings as mikey but are too pale in comparison with him) (do go look at Grassy Pond on google maps, there’s one dude’s photos whom are both hilarious and nightmare fuel)

Development (and added details)

WHICH MEANS, Leo, Raph and Mikey were shipped together, while Donnie was shipped alone to Draxum (i just imagine little turtles in like, Amazon boxes being dropkicked in a random place for Draxum to get them-), BUT each turtle could’ve come from a breeder, but i feel like the person taking care of them would live close to one of their natural habitat. For example, Leo, Raph and Mikey’s breeder would live in Henry (Illinois, USA) which is both close and far from their original spot and Donnie’s breeder would live in Saint-Hyacinthe (Québec, CA) (For three-toed Mikey’s breeder, they would live in Navarre, Florida, USA and for Yucatán Mikey, they would live in Yaxché de Peón, Yucatán, MX) OR MAYBE draxum walked all the way to their natural habitat and stole some babies???

Guys, gals and beach balls, I also made some more research about spiny softshell turtles, they do also live in Illinois.... I think the teenage mutant ninja turtles are illinoisan oh nooooo, i mean, i will keep the headcanon of Asbestos cuz idk, i like that there’s different places, but yes, actually there’s a lot of spiny softshell turtles living in Illinois.

What about the twinsies??

Now now, Donnie and Leo do seem to be twins in ROTTMNT, and what better way to bond than knowing each other since birth. I mean, red-eared sliders are an invasive species (as mentioned earlier) so it is very likely that some can be found in the same perimeter as Donnie, so yeah, their breeder could be the same person. There was some sightings of red-eared sliders in southern Ontario, according to google maps, the itinerary from Saint-Hyacinthe to southern Ontario is like, six hours, which is honestly not bad. With some more research, the Otonabee River (Peterborough County, Ontario, CA) doesn’t seem like that bad of a place, though might be a bit cold for a red-eared slider.

btw this is just research i made randomly, my sources are literally google maps and wikipedia, idk how reliable that is-

------

SOURCES:

https://herpetology.inhs.illinois.edu/species-lists/ilspecies/ornate-box-turtle/ « Ornate Box Turtle. Illinois Natural History Survey Herpetology Collection »

https://canadianherpetology.ca/species/species_page.html?cname=Spiny%20Softshell « Spiny Softshell. Canadian Herpetological Society »

https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/lac/ria-celestun « Ria Celestún Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. UNESCO »

https://www.anyplaceamerica.com/directory/swamps/il/ « Top Swamps in Illinois. AnyplaceAmerica.com »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiny_softshell_turtle « Spiny Softshell Turtle. Wikipedia »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_snapping_turtle « Alligator Snapping Turtle. Wikipedia »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider « Red-Eared Slider. Wikipedia »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_box_turtle « Common Box Turtle. Wikipedia »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornate_box_turtle « Ornate Box Turtle. Wikipedia »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucat%C3%A1n_box_turtle «  Yucatán Box Turtle. Wikipedia »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-toed_box_turtle « Three-Toed Box Turtle. Wikipedia »

https://dnr.illinois.gov/education/wildaboutpages/wildaboutturtles/watspinysoftshell.html#:~:text=The%20spiny%20softshell%20turtle%20may,It%20basks%20on%20sand%20bars. « Spiny Softshell. Illinois department of Natural Resources  »

[revolutionarywarhistory]

The story of the Extra Regiment's ordinary soldiers: From McCay to Patton [Part 6]

Continued from part 5

The year of 1818

Map of Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County, Ohio. Courtesy of Google Maps.

Many of the soldiers whom we know of, were in "reduced circumstances." John McCay was living in Baltimore County, 54 years old, showing he was born in 1764 and wad described as "very poor." All the way across the county, in Mount Pleasant, within Ohio's Jefferson County, William Elkins felt similar pressures. He described himself as 85 years of age, which means he would have been born in 1733 or 47 years old in 1780. More likely he is 63 or 65 years old. In 1818, a person named Marren DuVall, living within Warren Township in Jefferson County, Ohio, [9] said that in 1784 she

resided in Frederick county Maryland, – that the aforenamed William Elkins, in that year[1784] came to the house of my father, William Duvall, a captain of the [Frederick County] militia, who had served two tours of duty in the service of the United States, and that from the frequent conversations, between the said Elkins and my father and other revolutionary soldiers, I sincerely beleive that the said Elkins served more than one year in the United States service – I further testify that I have heard my father and many other Revolutionary soldiers, positively say, that they had known the said Elkins while in the service of his country

Furthermore, his pension noted that he was paid $78.40 for "pay from the First August 1780 to the 1st Jan’y 1782" and $80.00 of pay from Jan. 1, 1782 to Jan. 1, 1783, along with another $43.30 from Jan. 1, 1783 until Nov. 1, 1783 when his military service came to a close.

Reprinted from my History Hermann WordPress blog.

Furthermore, William Groves, living in Allegheny County that year, was 63 years old, meaning he was born in 1755. He said he was in "reduced circumstances" and that he was in "need of the assistance of his country for support." The same was the case for Jesse Boswell. That year he as living in York, South Carolina and asked the "assistance of his country for support." A few years later, he applied for a new pension certificate since the old one was destroyed when his home burned in November 1820.

Courtesy of Google Maps. York is in northern South Carolina, only 30-36 miles away from Charlotte, North Carolina depending on the route walked.

In 1818, Philip Huston was an "old man." He described himself as "unable to work for my living and besides in extreme poverty so that I need the assistance of my country for support." The same year, the land office of Maryland noted that he was a drummer in the Maryland Line and hence was entitled to "the Lands Westward of Fort Cumberland to Lot No. 402 Containing 50 acres." He never claimed this land as records attest. There were similar circumstances for Thomas Gadd. He argued he was in "reduced circumstances" and needed the "assistance of his country for support" while living in Baltimore. While it is clear that Mr. Thomas Gadd lived in Anne Arundel County in 1810, and moved to Baltimore sometime before 1818, there are two Thomas Gadds within Queen Anne's, Maryland and hence, it is hard to know which one is him.

The Marylanders: John McCay, William Simmons, William Groves, and John Newton in 1820

John McCay was in horrible circumstances. At age 56 in 1820, he was living in Baltimore without any family, was propertyless, and of ill health since he had to quit his occupation as a sailor, only obtaining "a bare subsistence by labouring about the country." His pension further added that he was entered into a Maryland hospital and became "utterly incapable of labour" and needs to assistance of "his country or from private or public charity" due to his circumstances. Since his name is so common, it is not possible to use Federal census records in this instance. Despite that, there are people with his name consistently living in Baltimore from 1790 to 1820, and he is likely among them.

Fellow soldier William Simmons who had been at John McCay's side, was living in Harford County in 1820. At 61 years of age, he only owned $47 dollars with of property. These included one Cow, one young Cow, four pigs, rush bottomed chairs, one pine table, two iron pots, and some trifle of "Crockery ware," among little much more. He also purchased a horse for $20 and horse cart for $10 but neither is paid for and rented about 10 acres of land for $50 per year. His pension further explained that he was married to a thirty-year old woman named Elizabeth (born in 1790), and had three children with her: Joseph (born in 1810), James (born in 1813), and John (born in 1818). He argued that without the state pension he could not support himself since he was "greatly afflicted by Rheumatic pains." Six years later, he had moved to Stark County, Ohio to "improve his situation." Further records of Simmons are unclear.

Then there is William Groves. In 1820, he owned one old Spay Horse, one Cow, one Colt, and one Pot, even less than William Simmons or William Elkins. Living in Allegheny County at 50 years of age, he was a farmer but was "infirm and unable to do more than half work." He lived with his 50-year-old wife, Mary, a son that was 14 years old, and another under age five. Following the census information, it is possible that William lived in Charles County after the war, as the 1790 and 1800 censuses indicate, specifically in Durham Parish, with his family. [10] Furthermore, records indicate he lived in District 4 of Allegheny, Maryland, specifically in Cumberland, Maryland. He was described as an 83-year-old veteran in 1840, meaning this says he was born in 1757, only two years off what he said in 1820, which shows that he was sharp even in his later life, which is impressive. [11] Other parts of his pension indicate that he lived in Allegheny County from 1812 to 1849, with his wife Mary was living there in 1853.

In 1820, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law to pay him for his military service in the Maryland Line. He was to be paid the half pay of a private in "quarterly payments" as the law indicated. [12] He also received land in Western Maryland for his military service. He specifically received lot 1744, which was, at most, 12.7 miles miles away from the Northern branch of the Potomac River, in the middle of Garrett County:

Using Google Maps, we can pinpoint the location of his land in present-day Garrett County. His land is, by straight shot, 35.5 miles from Cumberland.

This shows where his lot is in relation to the Potomac River. Black dot is where his lot was. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Zoomed in focus on his lot

This shows where he lot directly was located, what it looked like on a map.

Hence, he likely did not live on this land as looking at that approximate location shows no evidence of human habitation. There is only the vast expanse of forest and some new, modern houses.

In 1820, John Newton, age 60, was living in Prince George's County.  He was a laborer who would be paid $40 per year for his pension. In his reduced circumstancs, . John Newton: writing he is "reduced circumstances" while writing in Prince George's County in 1818. The census records are no help in this case, as he is not listed. [13] However, there is strong evidence he was living in Maryland that year. This is indicated by the pension list and legislation, although there are other records that must be weeded out. [14] He specifically received pay in 1818 from the state of Maryland for his revolutionary war service. The law which granted him this pay [15] was as follows:

Resolved, That the treasurer of the western shore be and he is hereby authorised, to pay to John Newton, an old soldier, or his order, during his life, a sum of money annually, in half yearly payments, equal to the half pay of a private, for his services during the revolution.

This petition was nothing new. He had petitioned the House of Delegates in 1805 and 1806 on the same issue. [16] In those, he stated he had been wounded in battle, serving from the year 1780 until the end of the war, saying that he was with his wounds,

together with the infirmities of approaching old age, he is rendered incapable of obtaining a maintenance for himself and family

Hence, he received payment at the time, but perhaps he felt it was necessary to apply again because it did not pass the Maryland Senate. It is also worth mentioning that he married Eleanor Callean in May 27, 1781 within Prince George's County. [17]

© 2016-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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[sixtyfivehundredmiles]

Spotlight: Washington Island

Washington Island rests off the tip of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula in Lake Michigan. With an area of 35 square miles, it is the largest of the thirty islands in Door County, Wisconsin. While Washington Island is the largest in the county, it is actually part of a small island neighborhood just off of Wisconsin’s “thumb.” This island is made up of Plum Island, Detroit Island, Hog Island, Pilot Island, and Rock Island. Rock Island, just west of Washington Island, is Wisconsin’s only State Park located on an island. All of these islands dot the strait that connects Green Bay (often called “the Bay of Green Bay” by the residents of the city that bears the same name) to the rest of Lake Michigan. Although it’s only six miles wide, this strait was named “Porte des Morts” by French explorers. Now known by the English version of its name, Death’s Door is home to very turbulent currents. These currents, coupled with the strong winds of the Great Lakes, make for a dangerous passage. 

Image from Google Maps, 2020. Pilot and Hog Island labels added by myself.

For a long time, Washington Island was an island of many names. The earliest known name for Washington Island is Wassekiganeso, an Ojibwa term meaning “his breast shining.” The Ojibwa name refers to the sun reflecting off of the limestone cliffs that are found on the island. While the history of Washington Island goes back thousands of years, the written history of the island was started by the French who explored the Great Lakes. 

The French often referred to the islands found in Death’s Door as a group, opting not to name each individual island. The name of the island neighborhood changed depending on which group of Native Americans were found inhabiting the island. From 1650 to 1816 the most common name used was “Potawatomi Islands,” referring to the Potawatomi who usually inhabited the area at the time. The Potawatomi first came to the island group (as in, the first time the Potawatomi were recorded as the islands’ inhabitants by the French) around 1641. 

Two other common names for the island group were the “Huron Islands” and “Noquet Islands.” Jesuit records used Huron Islands name in the early 1670’s and the islands were sometimes referred to as “Noquet Islands” after a small group of Ojibwa that lived just north of the island chain in Big Bay de Noq. 

In the late 1600’s Robert La Salle makes his debut in the history of Washington Island. La Salle, a French explorer, was the owner of a flourishing fur-trade business. The fur trade was a lucrative business at this time as the demand for fur pelts in Europe grew. As part of his fur business, La Salle built a boat called the Griffin to bring fur pelts back to Europe. La Salle and the Griffin would not make much of a profit, however, as after the boat set off in 1679 neither were ever seen again. 

In 1816 news broke that a new military fort was to be built at Green Bay, just a little further down the Door Peninsula from Death’s Door’s islands. As four ships made their way to the new Fort Howard, the Schooner Washington (the largest and flagship of the small fleet) was separated from the other three ships. The crew of the Washington anchored in what is now Washington Harbor on Washington Island to wait for the other ships. As they waited, the crew explored the island and decided to name the harbor they anchored in after President Washington, who had only recently died at this time. The crew also gave names to other islands in the area, opting to name them after other members of the fleet’s party. These names did not catch on right away, as the island group was referred to as the Potawatomi Island for many years. 

A couple of decades later, the Town of Washington was founded on June 20, 1850 on Rock Island. The town included Washington and Detroit Islands, as well as Rock Island. A log schoolhouse was also established on the beach on the south side of Washington Harbor. Eventually, this beach would become known as Schoolhouse Beach. 1865 saw the first church built in the area. Bethel Seaman’s Chapel, as it was named, is still standing today. 

Early Bethel Seaman’s Chapel, courtesy of Bethel Ev. Free Church

Just five years after the construction of Bethel Seaman’s Chapel, Washington Island gained some notable new residents. These residents, specifically four men from Iceland, moved to the small island in 1870. These men would eventually lead Washington Island to become the second oldest Icelandic settlement in the United States. After this first wave of Icelanders, more immigrants came to the area. The newcomers were primarily from Scandinavia and were primarily fishermen. Other than fish, the Washington Island community exported lumber, stone, potatoes, and maple syrup. As the islands’ population grew, the area would go on to become a popular retreat. So popular in fact, that many original “retreaters” now have descendants who still call Washington Island home. 

Today, Washington Island is still a popular retreat and tourist destination. It is the only island community in Door County with a year-round resident population and economy, contributed to by its large number of residents of Icelandic descent. The island is still one of the oldest Icelandic communities in the United States and is among the largest communities outside of Iceland itself. Visitors to the island enjoy its scenic beauty, its arts community, and its lavender farm, which is the largest in the Midwest. 

An interesting piece of Washington Island history often told to the visitors of the island is the island’s experience of Prohibition. During this time, the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol were outlawed in the United States. As one can imagine, this law did not go over well and did not last too long. However, during Prohibition’s thirteen year run, Washington Island found a loophole. Nelsen’s Hall, a tavern still operational today, would sell shots of Angostura Bitters to patrons for “medicinal purposes,” claiming it could cure stomach aches, headaches, and more. Even after Prohibition was repealed, the bitters found a permanent home on Washington Island. The “bitter” tradition has led Washington Island to consume more bitters than anywhere else.

Serving shots of bitters at Nelsen’s Hall, courtesy of Door County Visitors Bureau

---

Information gathered and post written by myself (sources available upon request). Did I miss something? Do you want to know more? Let me know!

[futelco]

Operator Log

Six operators logged over fifty operator calls in 2021. Some were goofy and some were dead serious. This sample of logged calls has some sensitive and many less interesting examples removed.

2021-01-01 Caller asked for room 44, or 44g, or IG44 unit. Offered to Google. Caller apologized, hung up.

2021-01-16 Caller asked if I made Futel, I replied that I was an operator who could provide information about how to use the phone. Caller asked what the phone was for, I told them they were free to experiment with it.

2021-02-27 Looked up the number for Oregon DMV

2021-03-01 Caller asked how to call the Willamette Valley Dream Survey, I told them to use the directory.

2021-03-20 Caller asked what I knew about the WVDS(ugh). I told him the truth, that we found a phone number on a flyer and added it to a directory. He said "Interesting. Thanks."... is it?

2021-04-02 Caller was surprised to find a phone, was just curious about it. Told them they should check the directory and that they can make free calls all over North America. They said, for like an hour or something, I said why not. They told me to have a good weekend.

2021-04-13 Caller informed operator her name.

2021-4-14 Caller wanted to know WHO IS FUTEL!? also, how to pronounce futel

2021-04-14 Caller was surprised that the phone worked, didn't really need anything but was generally excited about the phone's existence and functionality.

2021-04-16 Caller asked if this was the State of Oregon Unemployment Division. I said "No, this is the operator for Futel," and the caller said "oh sorry man" and hung up.

2021-04-25 Caller said they wanted to order a pizza. I told them to just yell out their order and hung up as they were yelling it.

2021-4-25 Caller was a child pranking for pizza. I told the child that I didn't have any pizza because I was just inside of a payphone.

2021-4-25 The same child called and said he needed the ghostbusters. When asked how many ghosts there were the child counted up to 16 ghosts. The child was told to run.

2021-04-25 Caller was just generally excited about and interested in Futel. They are making their rounds to all the Portland phones, only have 2 left I think.

2021-04-28 Caller asked the Operator for the phone number of an individual in another city. Operator was not able to find this information readily on the internet but thanked the caller for using Futel.

2021-05-01 Heard some buzzing noise and then what seemed like a childs voice say 'Hey' and then a hang up.

2021-05-02 Caller called to say “I love you.”

2021-05-02 Heard a recorded song, then the handset being hung up. Also, the buzz made the line sound like crap.

2021-05-02 Heard the receiving end of an ANI call, then the sound of someone listening for a monent as I watched a movie before the caller hung up.

2021-05-05 Heard some buzzing sounds and an echo of my voice.

2021-05-13 Caller asked the Operator what their favorite tree was and let the Operator know what tree they were standing under. The Operator told the caller their favorite tree and they exchanged a few other tree preferences before ending the call.

2021-05-13 Caller asked what day it was.

2021-05-19 Caller wanted to know what this phone was and Operator let him know it could make calls for free and asked if they could help with anything. Caller said he was trying to reach the police station downtown. Operator found a number for Portland Police downtown. Caller said that was not the number he had. Operator searched the number the caller gave and it was for the Multnomah County Justice Center downtown. Operator asked what happened when the Caller tried that number before, they said the screen of their phone was cracked, so they had trouble. Operator advised hanging up and trying that number using the Futel phone. Caller agreed and ended the call.

2021-05-22 Caller asked me to look up a residential number in Texas, I found what might be the correct number.

2021-05-22 Caller gave me their name and said they were going taking busses around town trying to take photos of all the phones for a blog post. They wondered if there was any way to get access to the phone at r2d2. I said I didn't know but you could maybe just go and ask.

2021-06-04 Caller wanted to call southeast Asia. Alas, outside of our free calling area.

2021-06-17 Caller said they coulndn't find the directory entry for the mayor, I told them to try again.

2021-06-20 Caller asked for the number of the University of Michigan hospital, which I provided.

2021-06-23 Caller asked me to connect them to the druid. I said I can't do that but there is a menu option for it and told them good luck.

2021-07-5 Caller did not expect to reach a person and did not have a request prepared.

2021-07-07 Caller presented the operator with a hypothetical.

2021-08-02 Caller asked "where are you at?" I replied that it didn't matter and asked if I could help them. Caller replied "yeah, where are you at?". I hung up.

2021-08-02 Caller asked my location, I replied that I wasn't interested in telling them. Caller asked me what questions they could ask me, I replied that I was an operator who could help them use the Futel phone. Caller asked how they could learn more about the phones, I directed them to the website. Caller asked how long that phone was there, asked if I was a volunteer operator, etc.

2021-08-10 Caller was new to the phone, was excited about it and just wanted to say that.

2021-08-22 Caller wanted the number for her boyfriend Harry Belafonte, the famous musician and actor, who was late picking her up from the hospital.

2021-08-21 Caller and I exchanged several hellos, then when I asked if I could help them caller said they wanted to call someone. I told them to hang up and choose 1 for a dialtone.

2021-08-5 Caller asked for more information about what sounded like 'The Willamette Valley Train Survey' which was an option in the Futel directory (later determined 'train' may have been 'dream'). She wanted to know who was gathering the information and for what purpose. I didn't have information about this option and why it was part of the Futel directory.

2021-09-02 All I can hear is your breathing, do you need an oprator?

2021-09-07 Caller wanted to know how much a call to a specific area code would cost, I told them to hang up and enter 1 for a dialtone and not put any money in.

2021-09-09 Caller wanted the number for tracfone, which I provided. Caller asked me ot hold on and mumbled for a while, then asked for the number again.

2021-09-10 Caller wanted the number for tracfone, which I provided eventually. The call was pretty noisy so it took a while to figure out what the caller was saying.

2021-09-21 Caller asked to make a call, I told them to hang up and dial 1.

2021-10-19 Caller seemed to be telling me that the phone was not working properly, the call was too distorted to tell.

2021-11-10 Caller mumbled confusedly.

2021-11-14 Light breathing.

2021-11-23 Caller requested the number of a Multnomah County animal shelter, which I provided.

2021-11-25 Caller asked for the phone number for an individual, which I may have been able to look up with a search engine.

2021-12-21 Caller wanted the number for Broadway Cab.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

On Tuesday, Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL) introduced H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021. In 1965, a bipartisan majority in Congress passed the Voting Rights Act to protect the right to vote in America. That law was reauthorized on a bipartisan basis as recently as 2006.

But in 2013, the Supreme Court struck down a vital piece of the Voting Rights Act, the piece requiring that the Department of Justice approve proposed changes in election rules in states with a history of racial discrimination before they went into effect. Immediately, states began to restrict access to the ballot. Then in July 2021, in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, the Supreme Court decided that rules that impacted different populations unequally were not unfair. This decision opened the door wide to different forms of voter suppression.

What is at stake is that the Republican Party has become so extreme it can win elections only by rigging the system. When the 2020 election showed that Democrats could overcome even that year’s voter suppression, gerrymandering, and the outsized weight of rural states in the Electoral College, 18 Republican-dominated states passed 30 new, extreme voter suppression laws and, in Georgia, cleared the way for partisan appointees to replace nonpartisan election officials.

If Republican operatives can cement their control over those states despite the will of the voters, they can control the government—likely including the presidency—from their minority position.

The outrageousness of this reality has been hitting home in the last month as states dominated by Republican governors in the mold of former president Donald Trump are opposing vaccine requirements and mask mandates even as the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus burns across the country. Areas where Trump is popular have a much smaller proportion of their population vaccinated than areas dominated by Democrats, mapping a deadly virus along political lines. And those deadly lines are affecting children.

Governors in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah have all banned mask mandates in schools, despite the safety recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Florida is experiencing its highest levels of infection in the course of the pandemic, and Texas governor Greg Abbott, who himself has had a breakthrough case of Covid-19, has requested 2500 healthcare workers from out of state, but both states continue to oppose mask or vaccine mandates. Florida governor Ron DeSantis has threatened to withhold funds from schools that require masks. Abbott has threatened those who require masks with fines. Rather than encourage the use of masks and promote the free, effective vaccine, Florida and Texas officials have instead opened clinics to provide treatment with monoclonal antibodies for those suffering from the effects of Covid-19.

Republican rejection of masks and vaccines in the midst of a pandemic means that the politicians who are demanding the exposure of their citizens—including children, who are not yet eligible for vaccination—to a deadly virus are quite demonstrably members of the party that is trying to skew the machinery of our government in their favor. And, also quite demonstrably, they do not represent the majority of Americans, who do, in fact, favor vaccines and mask mandates. An Axios/Ipsos poll from two days ago shows that 69% of Americans would like to see mask mandates in public places.

It doesn’t take a poll to see that public opinion has turned against the anti-maskers.

Yesterday, the board of the largest school district in Florida and the fourth largest in the country, Miami-Dade County, voted 7–1 in favor of a mask mandate, in defiance of DeSantis's executive order preventing schools from mandating masks in order to "protect parents' freedom to choose whether their children wear masks." Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho had vowed to follow the science of the issue. "For the consequences associated with doing the right thing, whatever that right thing is, I will wear proudly as a badge of honor," he said.

Businesses, too, are lining up behind vaccinations. Amtrak, Microsoft, BlackRock, Delta, Facebook, Google, United Airlines, and Walmart have all announced vaccine mandates, and Uber Eats cut ties with former NFL player Jay Cutler over his anti-mask tweets. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Business Roundtable, generally aligned with the right wing, are all requiring that anyone entering their offices show proof of vaccination.

Yesterday, Biden directed the Education Department to “use all available tools” to aid local governments trying to work around governors like DeSantis and Abbott. "We're not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting our children," he said.

Some of the same groups who oppose masks and are attacking their pro-masking neighbors were among those who attacked the country on January 6. In Missouri today, where the death rate from Covid-19 is among the worst in the country, Alabama-based anti-vaxxer Christopher Key told workers at a Walmart pharmacy that they “could be executed” for administering vaccines, a street level violence that mirrors that of the Capitol insurrection. That overlap highlights the growing extremism of the current Republican Party.

How extreme the party has become was made clear today when a fervent Trump supporter who called for the removal of all Democrats from office, 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry of Grover, North Carolina, threatened to bomb the Capitol. He live-streamed his prospective attack from his truck, reciting a litany of complaints that echoed the right-wing news media. While antigovernment radicals have been a part of our national landscape since 1861, what made this particular attacker stand out was that Representative Mo Brooks (R-AL) appeared to defend him.

“I understand citizenry anger directed at dictatorial Socialism and its threat to liberty, freedom and the very fabric of American society,” Brooks stated. “The way to stop Socialism’s march is for patriotic Americans to fight back in the 2022 and 2024 elections…. Bluntly stated, America’s future is at risk.” Brooks also spoke at the “Stop the Steal” rally before the January 6 insurrection.

In the midst of a growing insurgency of a minority that is illustrating its willingness to sacrifice our children on the altar of ideology, stopping those extremists from manipulating the machinery of elections to seize control of the country has become imperative. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is an attempt to restore a level playing field. It expands federal voting protections to all 50 states, providing oversight of any state or local government that has had repeated election violations. It would also stop more subtle voter suppression rules, as well as stopping courts from changing election rules that disfranchise voters during an election—all methods of shifting an election that tend to suppress minority votes.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi greeted the introduction of H.R. 4 enthusiastically, noting that “Democrats are fighting back against an anti-democratic tide, protecting access to the ballot box for every American.” Sewell added a defense of federal protection of the right to vote in the face of state attempts to take away that right: “Today, old battles have become new again as we face the most pernicious assault on the right to vote in generations,” said Sewell. “It’s clear: federal oversight is urgently needed.”

The House will take up the bill when it returns from break on August 23, but the fate of the bill will likely be determined in the Senate, where, so far, only one Republican, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, is likely to support it. The bill will die there unless Senate Democrats agree to a carve out that enables them to pass it without facing a filibuster, which would enable the Republicans to kill it.

—-

Notes:

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/sic-transit-12

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/06/us/florida-desantis-executive-order-school-masks-first-legal-challenge-constitutionality/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/18/us/florida-miami-dade-schools-masks/index.html

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-1257_g204.pdf

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jay-cutler-cut-uber-eats-ads-over-anti-mask-views-n1276922

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2021/8/18/22629304/supreme-court-voting-rights-john-lewis-act-nancy-pelosi-terri-sewell-brnovich-shelby-county

https://www.democracydocket.com/2021/08/georgia-republicans-take-first-step-in-takeover-of-fulton-county-elections/

https://www.axios.com/axios-ipsos-poll-mandates-masks-vaccinations-f0f105a7-3c2e-4953-aac9-f25516128b11.html

https://www.salon.com/2021/08/19/unvaccinated-terror-proud-boys-push-the-anti-vaccination-movement-into-a-violent-threat/

​​https://www.npr.org/sections/back-to-school-live-updates/2021/08/19/1029282381/teachers-in-washington-state-must-get-vaccinated-or-they-could-be-fired

https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/81721

https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-missouri-death-rates-937e6e1c17ee7a3eeff4be9c409f92a1

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/19/walmart-christopher-key-anti-vaccine/

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[songbirdmusicnc]

What’s in a Song? | What to Look for When Choosing Your Next Solo

It's one thing to be in an undergraduate, post-graduate, or professional setting where often, if your next piece is not outright assigned to you, you have a number of parameters to keep you within a certain genre, a particular period, or even a specific language. I can write volumes about this. Oh, the seemingly endless search for the answer to one of the most dreaded questions I could have been asked during my studies back when I was in my 20's: "What aria have you chosen to sing?" NEWSFLASH: I am not 20. I'm not even 30. So, you can put two and two together, that this was long before the convenience of online searching through the wonders of Google, Bing and DuckDuckGO. In fact, I would have paid small sums of money (on a student budget 😂) to have had access to any of those three tools to find a number of things when I had to pump out arias like bread in bakery. (Umm, not so sure about that analogy. It was the first thing that came to mind, but you get my drift I think. lol)

For one, I would have completely worn out Google Translator. Like, seriously. 😐 I would have had shortcuts on my computer and on the home screen of my flip phone (yes, flip phone...don't judge me 🤨) that took me directly to literal translations of the arias and choruses I had to perform every single week. The inner dialogue during that process alone was like having to report to after-school detention. Agonizing!! 😩 "So, who's word-for-word translation should I trust? So many of these students actually speak these languages, so they're not looking up anything like I have to. Should I just ask them?! Well, no. I can't let them know that I know that I don't know what I'm saying!!😩" Ugh. I don't miss those days at all. But! But, I got through them just fine, thank you Jesus. 😁 Recalling this is actually a bit comical to me now; I remember those days very well. At the same time, there is a lot to be said about the art of searching out the text, finding its meaning, and being faithful to it.

Given my strong background in the Christian Church, I cannot deny the one Bible passage that instantly comes to mind when examining the process of searching out what one is saying in order to partake of its eternal value. I am referring to Acts 17 verse 11, where it says in the NASB translation, "Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.." It was the careful examination of what the Bereans were told, not merely how they felt about that message, that not only intrigued them, but moved them to take action. They diligently searched the Scriptures for themselves as a means of verifying that what they felt was not only wonderful, but inherently true. Both were important to them, and therefore Dr. Luke (the Author of the Book of Acts) attributes nobility to them. Wow.

Well, that's great spiritually speaking. But what about being on stage? I mean, why spend a single minute placing an emphasis on foreign language text when more often than not, people in the audience aren't even fluent in? A number of things can be said about that. The most important thing I believe can be said is that taking that extra time pays off later; for the singer must connect with the text if they want to connect with their audience. This brings me to the point of this post, answering the question, what is the absolute most important element I look for in a song: Personally inspiring text.

I'll reiterate. The singer must connect to the text they are singing if they want to connect with their audience. This is true for all performing arts that involve speech or singing. I can't tell you how many interviews I've watched of actors discussing the roles they've played that they didn't necessarily like per sae, but they still got cast in that role, and then delivered an outstanding performance. How? Each and every one of them will tell you that they found a way to personally connect with the script. The words coming out of their mouths. But isn't that absolutely necessary for actors? I mean, an actor who is not believable in what they say is not acting at all. They may as well be Siri or Alexa, rattling off a bunch of pre-programmed data with no life and no feeling. (Sorry to all the artificial-intelligence-loving techies out there...😌) Similarly, a singer needs to find a means to personally identify with some aspect of the role they play or more specifically, the role they sing. The result? Well, when coupled with superb vocal technique, you've got yourself an unforgettable experience for your listeners right there, and not simply a performance.

This stands true no matter the genre. It is, in my humble opinion, the number one most absolutely necessary element for a Christian singer. (That's a lot of positive assertion, but it's true...) If a Christian singer is taking on the enormous task of delivering the timeless message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ--whether they are exhorting and encouraging the audience with an inspiring message of hope and deliverance, or reverently singing praises directly to God Himself--then that singer best be connected in the heart to the words they sing. For, above all else, it is the testimony of an individual's encounter with God that drives home the message and its profundity. People want to feel the power of the lyrics to the classic hymn, "It Is Well". And furthermore, they want to know why when you sing it, tears gush out from your eyes and theirs. Why was your performance of it so moving? Why did they have flashbacks of their early childhood, sitting on a wooden pew, surrounded by family and community? The answer to that has layers of truth, the key one for this particular discussion being your personal experience oozing from your lips as you utter the words, "Christ has regarded my helpless estate and has shed His own blood for my soul." The text. Yes, I get it; the voice, the technique, even the vocal nuances. But more-so than anything, your heart poured out through words, riding on an unshakable melody that calms the troubled mind and offers a moment of comfort to a broken heart--even if only for a moment. That's the effectiveness you want as a singer.

So, getting back to the original question: What should you look for when you are browsing the endless world of YouTube for your next great song? Text that moves you. Text that speaks to you. To YOU...personally. You should find the song that makes you cry and do that one. If there's a song that makes you so happy you feel like doing cartwheels every time you hear it, do that one. (I literally have a song like that. It's called "Everything" performed by TobyMac. 😏😌) But don't just pick the song that has 65 million views! Please, no! Choose what moves you personally and something you can expound on for at least five minutes with no music and no soundtracks. Just you and the text, dissecting it line-by-line, looking for the author's possible intended meanings, and adding your own life story to it, bringing out what it means to you. If you can't do that to the song you're about to start working on, skip it. It won't be worth your effort and it won't be worth the audience's time. They'll know it, too. You'd just be mimicking someone else's art form and they'll say to themselves, "I could have stayed home to listen to this song on loop mode and kept my money to myself." No. Use your heart to search with your eyes and find the song that speaks to you. You can only reach people to the depth at which your own heart is involved in the song.

-Sharine Buchanan

Owner, Songbird Music LLC

Sharine Buchanan is the Owner of Songbird Music LLC. She earned her Bachelor's of Arts degree in Music with High Honors from the University of California at Berkeley, and her Masters of Music degree with an emphasis in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (valedictorian). She lives in North Carolina's Wilkes County, the foothill of the Brushy Mountains, where she relocated in 2013 to join an international ministry, faithfully serving her pastors in music and various aspects of their ministry.

To inquire about studying voice with Sharine, email her at teachme@songbirdmusicnc.com, or call 510-220-4077.

[asleepypisces]

A friend of mine recently shared how loud silence can be, specifically from her white friends following the murder of George Floyd. We might feel inclined to offer sympathy with statements like “I can’t believe this happened” or “this doesn’t feel real,” but it is the very privilege of being white that is causing us to feel shocked while this is an every day reality for black Americans. My heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to the victims of police brutality and racism as well as all black Americans, but that is not enough. Thoughts and prayers are never enough. Now is the time for white Americans to reflect on our privilege and use it. Teach other white people about the barriers in society that exist for black Americans and call them out (this includes friends and family) if they are being racist, even when it’s uncomfortable to do so. Listen to and amplify the voices of black Americans - share their words, posts, work, businesses, art, etc during this time and ALL of the time. Lastly, learn! This is a result of a history of racism in the United States, the oppressive system that is the police, and an unjust justice system. What you shouldn’t do is share videos of these murders (share the graphics of artists instead), photographs of protestors (it can put them at risk), speak over black Americans, or be ignorant for the sake of blocking out negativity. You cannot and should not ignore this reality. What can you do, besides attending a protest (which you should if you are able)? See below!

There is a lot of information about contacting government officials and legislators, places to donate, and petitions to sign. I compiled the information I found. Know the words below are not all my own, with information gathered from a Medium article titled 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice and a USA Today article titled Resources, ways to donate: How you can take action from home after the death of George Floyd as well as information I found on my own.

Contacting legislators, lawmakers, and other officials:

* Google whether your local police department currently requires all on-duty police officers to wear a body camera turned on immediately whenever they respond to a call. If they don’t, email your city or town representative and police chief to advocate for it.

* Google whether your city or town uses evidence-based police de-escalation trainings. If not, again email your city or town representative and police chief to advocate for it.

* Call or email your federal legislators in support of the bipartisan (sponsored by Sen Lee (R-UT)) Smarter Sentencing Act (S. 2850) which reduces the length of federal mandatory minimum drug sentences by half, makes the Fair Sentencing Act’s crack sentencing reforms retroactive, and expands the “safety valve” exception to mandatory drug sentences. This is would reduce mandatory minimum sentences on a federal level! Obviously decriminalization is the goal, but supporting this legislation is a start.

* Call or email your federal legislators in support of the bipartisan(sponsored by Sen Rand (R-KY)) Justice Safety Valve Act (S. 399, H.R. 1097), which would allow judges to give sentences other than the mandatory minimum sentence for any federal crime which should again reduce mandatory minimum sentences! Again, a start.

* Call or email your federal legislators in support of another criminal justice reform bill, the Second Look Act, which would make reduced sentences for crack convictions from the previously passed Fair Sentencing Act retroactive, reduce mandatory minimums for people convicted more than three times for drug crimes from life without parole after the third offense to 25 years, reduce mandatory sentences for drug crimes from 15 to 10 years, limit the use of solitary confinement on juvenile prisoners, etc. Again, it’s a start.

* Call or email your your state legislators and governor to support state-wide criminal justice reform! This includes reducing mandatory minimum sentences, reducing sentences for non-violent drug crimes, passing “safety valve” law to allow judges to depart below a mandatory minimum sentence under certain conditions, passing alternatives to incarceration, etc.

* Call or write to state legislators, federal legislators, and your governor to decriminalize weed.

* Call or write to state legislators to require racial impact statements be required for all criminal justice bills. Most states already require fiscal and environmental impact statements for certain legislation. Racial impact statements evaluate if a bill may create or exacerbate racial disparities should the bill become law. Check out the status of your state’s legislation surrounding these statements here.

* Call or write to state legislators, federal legislators, and your governor to end solitary confinement in excess of 15 days. It is considered torture by the UN, and it is used more frequently on black and Hispanic prisoners.

* Write to the US Sentencing Commission (PubAffairs@ussc.gov) and ask them to:

* reform the career offender guideline to lessen the length of sentences

* change the guidelines so that more people get probation

* change the criminal history guidelines so that a person’s criminal record counts against them less

* change guidelines to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent crimes

* conduct a study to review the impact of parental incarceration on minor children. With more data, the Commission could modify the Sentencing Guidelines and allow judges to take this factor into account when sentencing individuals for non-violent crimes.

* conduct a study to review whether the Bureau of Prisons is following the Commission’s encouragement to file a motion for compassionate release whenever “extraordinary and compelling reasons” exist.

* consider amending the guidelines to reduce sentences for first offenders.

* Write to your state legislators to end cash bail. Your wealth should not determine your freedom. Legally innocent people are in jail not because they’re guilty, but because they cannot afford the price of their freedom.

Petitions:

(If you need postal code for non-US people who sign 90015 is Los Angeles, CA; 10001 is New York City, NY; and 75001 is Dallas, TX.)

* Sign the petition here that aims to “reach the attention of Mayor Jacob Frey and DA Mike Freeman to beg to have the officers involved in this disgusting situation fired and for charges to be filed immediately.“ https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd

* Sign the petition here to “demand the officers who killed George Floyd are charged with murder." So far, the petitions has garnered more than 1 million signatures. You can also sign by texting "Floyd" to 55156. https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/justiceforfloyd_george_floyd_minneapolis

* Sign the petition here “demanding justice for George Floyd and his family by adding your name to our super petition. When you sign, our platform will automatically send your message to County Attorney Michael Freeman, who has the power to arrest and charge these police officers.” All officers must be held responsible. https://www.justiceforbigfloyd.com/#petition

Text:

* Text “Justice” to 668366.

* Text “Floyd to 55156 to sign the petition mentioned above.

Donate money:

* GoFundMe: Organized by Philonise Floyd, George's brother, the fund was created to cover funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings and to assist the family in the days to come as they “continue to seek justice for George,” according to the description. A portion of these funds will also go to the Estate of George Floyd, which benefits his children and their educational fund.” https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

* NAACP: Donations to the NAACP go toward: helping “win landmark legal battles, protect voters across the nation, and advance the cause of racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.” https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6857/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=15780&_ga=2.209233111.496632409.1590767838-1184367471.1590767838

* Black Lives Matter: You can become a "Global Member" by donating $5 to support their campaigns. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

* Communities United Against Police Brutality: A Minneapolis organization who accepts donations via mail or PayPal for “office costs, copwatch equipment, court filing fees and other expenses." https://www.cuapb.org/

* Minnesota Freedom Fund: An organization that helps pay jail bonds for those who cannot afford to fight discriminatory and coercive jailing. "Every dollar of financial donations to Minnesota Freedom Fund helps us help free people," the website states. https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/

* Reclaim the Block: A grassroots, Minneapolis organization that demands “that Minneapolis invest in real safety solutions like violence prevention, housing, responses to mental health and opioid crises, and protections for workers instead of 14 more cops.” They are focused on building community-led safety solutions. https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/home

* Black Visions Collective: Aims “to shape a political home for Black people across Minnesota.” They are recommenced by the Minnesota Freedom Fund as they are out on the field right now. https://secure.everyaction.com/4omQDAR0oUiUagTu0EG-Ig2

Donate Supplies:

* North Star Health Collective: Recommended by the Minnesota Freedom Fund as they are also out in the field right now. Accepts first-aid supplies. The link will take you to the website for information on what they need and where to send it. https://www.northstarhealthcollective.org/support-north-star-health

Where to shop:

* If you are looking for clothes, I linked Maya Rigby’s (aka @lovlae) Depop. 100% of her proceeds for the next week will be going to Reclaim the Block. If you don’t need clothes, she has cute scrunchies available! https://www.depop.com/mayarigby/

* Philadelphia Printworks “supports local and national organizations doing work in the areas of food security, police brutality, immigrant rights, tlgbq+ rights, mass incarceration, and more. Support is determined by the needs of the organization and may be financial and/or resource based.” For example, 100% of the profits from the National Bail Out shirts goes to the NBO. https://www.philadelphiaprintworks.com/

* @ghosttownusa is donating 100% of Depop proceeds (@ablesistersvillage) to North Star Health Collective.

*Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign is inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem and supports a variety of organizations including Essie Justice Group, Black Futures Lab, and Higher Heights (as well as many others.) https://phenomenalwoman.us/pages/about

Lastly, be politically active and vote in all elections! Following the recent twitter response of Trump towards people protesting police brutality and considering the future of The Supreme Court, this presidential election matters. Local elections matter too and directly impact our community in our everyday lives. They are the ones who can change policing in our communities. Stay informed on candidates and if you want to do more, canvassing and volunteering at the polls on Election Day are two ways you can volunteer. However, remember that the solution to end police brutality is not a simple matter of voting Trump out of office - consider the victims of police brutality before this presidency. This requires supporting the campaigns of black candidates, specifically women, through organizations like Higher Heights which is “the only national organization providing Black women with a political home exclusively dedicated to harnessing their power to expand Black women’s elected representation and voting participation, and advance progressive policies.”

Please feel free to add on or send me any suggestions/corrections, and may George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and all victims of police brutality and racism rest in peace and power. 💕🖤

[newstfionline]

Saturday, August 21, 2021

Landlords look for an exit amid federal eviction moratorium (AP) When Ryan David bought three rental properties back in 2017, he expected the $1,000-a-month he was pocketing after expenses would be regular sources of income well into his retirement years. But then the pandemic hit and federal and state authorities imposed moratoriums on evictions. The unpaid rent began to mount. Then, just when he thought the worst was over, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a new moratorium, lasting until Oct. 3. David, the father of a 2 1/2-year-old who is expecting another child, fears the $2,000 he’s owed in back rent will quickly climb to thousands more. The latest moratorium “was the final gut punch,” said the 39-year-old, adding that he now plans to sell the apartments. Most evictions for unpaid rent have been halted since the early days of the pandemic and there are now more than 15 million people living in households that owe as much as $20 billion in back rent, according to the Aspen Institute. A majority of single-family rental home owners have been impacted, according to a survey from the National Rental Home Council, and 50% say they have tenants who have missed rent during the pandemic. Landlords, big and small, are most angry about the moratoriums, which they consider illegal. Many believe some tenants could have paid rent, if not for the moratorium. And the $47 billion in federal rental assistance that was supposed to make landlords whole has been slow to materialize. By July, only $3 billion of the first tranche of $25 billion had been distributed.

Student loans (WSJ) The Biden administration announced it will wipe out $5.8 billion in student loans held by 323,000 people who are permanently disabled. This means the Education Department will discharge loans for borrowers with total and permanent disabilities per Social Security Administration records. Currently there is $1.6 trillion held in student loan debt, much of which could be eliminated through executive action.

New England preps for 1st hurricane in 30 years with Henri (AP) New Englanders bracing for their first direct hit by a hurricane in 30 years began hauling boats out of the water and taking other precautions Friday as Tropical Storm Henri barreled toward the Northeast coast. Henri was expected to intensify into a hurricane by Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Impacts could be felt in New England states by Sunday, including on Cape Cod, which is teeming with tens of thousands of summer tourists. “This storm is extremely worrisome,” said Michael Finkelstein, police chief and emergency management director in East Lyme, Connecticut. “We haven’t been down this road in quite a while and there’s no doubt that we and the rest of New England would have some real difficulties with a direct hit from a hurricane.”

Booming Colo. town asks, ‘Where will water come from?’ (AP) “Go West, young man,″ Horace Greeley famously urged. The problem for the northern Colorado town that bears the 19th-century newspaper editor’s name: Too many people have heeded his advice. By the tens of thousands newcomers have been streaming into Greeley—so much so that the city and surrounding Weld County grew by more than 30% from 2010 to 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, making it one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. And it’s not just Greeley. Figures released this month show that population growth continues unabated in the South and West, even as temperatures rise and droughts become more common. That in turn has set off a scramble of growing intensity in places like Greeley to find water for the current population, let alone those expected to arrive in coming years. “Everybody looks at the population growth and says, ‘Where is the water going to come from?’” [one local professor] said.

Everything’s Getting Bigger In Texas (AP, CNBC, Forbes) Texas has long been a popular destination for newcomers, thanks to cheaper land and housing, more job opportunities, lower taxes, and fewer regulations. There’s also the great weather, food, schools, and medical facilities, the abundant resources and year-round recreation and outdoor activities, artistic and cultural events, fairs, festivals, music venues, and the diverse and friendly people—you know, just to name a few. Texas has always been a business-friendly environment, which has certainly not been lost on tech and financial companies headquartered in strictly-regulated and high-priced states like California and New York. There are 237 corporate relocation and expansion projects in the works in Texas just since the pandemic hit. Tech giant Oracle moved its headquarters to Austin in late 2020; Tesla is building its new Gigafactory there, and Apple will have its second-largest campus there as well. Both Google and Facebook have satellite offices in Austin, and the file hosting services company Dropbox will be leaving San Francisco for Austin. Recently, the global real estate services firm CBRE and multinational financial services behemoth Charles Schwab moved their headquarters from California to the Dallas area. Hewlett Packard’s cofounders were two of the original grandfathers of Silicon Valley, who started their company in a Palo Alto garage in 1939. Now, the corporation is moving its headquarters from San Jose to Houston. And the number of mega-wealthy individuals who’ve moved to Texas are too numerous to mention. It’s not just big cities like Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio that are seeing an influx of people—bedroom communities are growing by leaps and bounds as well—places like New Braunfels, located in the Texas Hill Country, Conroe, 40 miles north of Houston, and McKinney, just 30 minutes up U.S. 75 from Dallas.

‘Bracing for the worst’ in Florida’s COVID-19 hot zone (AP) As quickly as one COVID patient is discharged, another waits for a bed in northeast Florida, the hot zone of the state’s latest surge. But the patients at Baptist Health’s five hospitals across Jacksonville are younger and getting sick from the virus faster than people did last summer. Baptist has over 500 COVID patients, more than twice the number they had at the peak of Florida’s July 2020 surge, and the onslaught isn’t letting up. Hospital officials are anxiously monitoring 10 forecast models, converting empty spaces, adding over 100 beds and “bracing for the worst,” said Dr. Timothy Groover, the hospitals’ interim chief medical officer.

Grace heads for a second hurricane hit on Mexican coast (AP) Hurricane Grace—temporarily knocked back to tropical storm force—headed Friday for a second landfall in Mexico, this time taking aim at the mainland’s Gulf coast after crashing through the country’s main tourist strip. The storm lost punch as it zipped across the Yucatan Peninsula, but it emerged late Thursday over the relatively warm Gulf of Mexico and was gaining energy. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Grace’s winds were back up to 70 mph (110 kph) early Friday and were expected to soon regain hurricane force. It was centered about 265 miles (425 kilometers) east of Tuxpan and was heading west at 16 mph (26 kph). The forecast track would take it toward a coastal region of small fishing towns and beach resorts between Tuxpan and Veracruz, likely Friday night or early Saturday, then over a mountain range toward the heart of the country and the greater Mexico City region. Forecasters said it could drop 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of rain, with more in a few isolated areas—bringing the threat of flash floods, mudslide and urban flooding.

“Self-determination 1, Human Rights 0” (Foreign Policy) Most Latin American governments offered little official support to the U.S. War in Afghanistan when it began in 2001. At the time, Venezuela put forward a blistering critique of meeting “terror with more terror,” and then-Cuban leader Fidel Castro said U.S. opponents’ irregular warfare abilities could draw out the conflict for 20 years. Over the weekend, as the Afghan government collapsed and chaos engulfed Kabul’s airport, today’s leaders of Cuba and Venezuela echoed their critiques while foreign ministers of other Latin American countries diplomatically issued statements of concern about Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs. Chile and Mexico made plans to accept Afghan refugees, and several countries signed on to a joint international statement protecting Afghan women’s rights. To many in Latin America’s diplomatic and foreign-policy communities, the dark events in Afghanistan confirmed the importance of the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs. The extended U.S. presence in Afghanistan was “the same mistake as always: trying to build democratic states through the use of force,” Colombian political scientist Sandra Guzmán wrote in El Tiempo. Many Latin Americans stressed that methods other than military interventions should be used to work toward human rights, even as they acknowledged how challenging it can be to make progress. “Self-determination 1, human rights 0 #Afghanistan,” tweeted Uruguayan political scientist Andrés Malamud after Kabul fell.

Afghanistan war unpopular amid chaotic pullout (AP) A significant majority of Americans doubt that the war in Afghanistan was worthwhile, even as the United States is more divided over President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and national security, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Roughly two-thirds said they did not think America’s longest war was worth fighting, the poll shows. Meanwhile, 47% approve of Biden’s management of international affairs, while 52% approve of Biden on national security. The poll was conducted Aug. 12-16 as the two-decade war in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban returning to power and capturing the capital of Kabul. Biden has faced bipartisan condemnation in Washington for sparking a humanitarian crisis by being ill-prepared for the speed of the Taliban’s advance.

The U.S. Blew Billions in Afghanistan (Bloomberg) The rapid collapse of Afghanistan’s government to the Taliban fueled fears of a humanitarian disaster, sparked a political crisis for President Joe Biden and caused scenes of desperation at Kabul’s airport. It’s also raised questions about what happened to more than $1 trillion the U.S. spent trying to bring peace and stability to a country wracked by decades of war. While most of that money went to the U.S. military, billions of dollars got wasted along the way, in some cases aggravating efforts to build ties with the Afghan people Americans meant to be helping. A special watchdog set up by Congress spent the past 13 years documenting the successes and failures of America’s efforts in Afghanistan. While wars are always wasteful, the misspent American funds stand out because the U.S. had 20 years to shift course.

Western groups desperate to save Afghan workers left behind (AP) The Italian charity Pangea helped tens of thousands of Afghan women become self-supporting in the last 20 years. Now, dozens of its staff in Afghanistan are in hiding with their families amid reports that Taliban are going door-to-door in search of citizens who worked with Westerners. Pangea founder Luca Lo Presti has asked that 30 Afghan charity workers and their families be included on Italian flights that have carried 500 people to safety this week, but the requests were flatly refused. On Thursday, the military coordinator told him: “Not today.” Dozens of flights already have brought hundreds of Western nationals and Afghan workers to safety in Europe since the Taliban captured the capital of Kabul. Those lucky enough to be rescued from feared reprisals have mostly been Afghans who worked directly with foreign missions, along with their families. European countries also have pledged to evacuate people at special risk from the Taliban—feminists, political activists and journalists—but it is unclear exactly where the line is being drawn and how many Afghan nationals Western nations will be able to evacuate.

[nancypullen]

Kilt-y as Charged

My family has always been able to trace my mother’s lineage to Denmark and Germany as far back as the 1400′s.  It wasn’t hard, my great-grandmother Emelia arrived in New York harbor on the passenger ship Washington in 1873, fresh from Denmark with her mother and siblings.  They proceeded from there out to the Nebraska plains where her father, Christen Rasmussen had already started plowing and creating a homestead.  She married into the Link family, and all you have to do is google John Jacob Link to find the long and interesting story of my ancestors in Germany.  Though the Links of Grossgartach, Germany did quite well,  John Jacob (Hans Jacob Linckh)  crossed oceans at the ripe old age of 50 because he’d decided he was tired of almost constant warfare, taxes that were only used to fill palaces, and the never-ending battle between Catholics and protestants. At least that’s how the story goes.  The Rasmussens and Links prospered in America (google Dr. Harvey Link of Nebraska, physician, innovator, and state representative - that’s my great-great-grandfather) and eventually a Link married a Holtz (another German) and my mother was born.  We have my Danish and German side all wrapped up. Recently sheer boredom drove me to try and untangle the mystery of my paternal line.  It’s not that there were secrets, it’s just that my maiden name is McGlaughn and when trying to track documents that include land deeds, immigration records, death certificates, etc I’ve found some very creative spellings of the name.  I descend from McGlaughon, McGlaun, McGlon, McGlauhon, and I even found a record where it was spelled Meglehon. These are all children from the same parents, check out the various spellings of the last name.

That’s what I’ve been up against. BUT...and you knew there was a but..I did it!  By working backwards and only adding a name to the tree once I’d verified the correct dates, places, relatives, and so on, I found the first McGlaughn relative to step foot in America. His name was Jeremiah McGlaughon, born in Scotland in 1695 to John McGlaughon and his wife, Jane O’Cane.  I haven’t yet found the year that he arrived in America, but he died in 1740 in Bertie County, North Carolina leaving behind land, cattle, hogs, sheep, horses, and a family whose records pop up from Valley Forge to the present.  I found a handful of Revolutionary War soldiers, and as many from the wrong side of the Civil War. Here’s an inventory of Jeremiah’s spread in 1740, pretty sure this was for his will.

I know you can’t see much from this photo.  When I was reading it I had to zoom in and go line by line.  Can we just appreciate the beautiful handwriting? What a lost art. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see books listed in his inventory.

Anywho, after digging and digging and a long conversation with my sister googling on the other end - I’m pretty sure that Jeremiah came from Lanarkshire, Scotland.  I think his wife, Jane Howell (married in Bertie,NC) came from Wiltshire, England.  I haven’t verified this yet, but I *think* this is her baptismal record from 1700.

We’re so fortunate that millions of documents have been scanned and uploaded so that people can search archives from all over the world.  I have found draft cards, land deeds, wills, marriage licenses, and immigration records.  It will probably take months to wade through everything and assign each document to the right person, but I love solving puzzles.  Look at these gems.

Here’s the record of Caroline Rasmussen arriving in America with her children in tow.

Caroline - age 33 - woman Hans - male child -11 Rasmus -male child- 6 Anine - female child - age 9 Mathilde -female child- age 4 (That’s my great-grandmother, Mathilde Emilia!) Laurentina - female child - 11 months Can you even imagine? A young mother and five children, one of them not yet a year old, leaving everything familiar and crossing the ocean?    It looks like she traveled with other Rasmussen relatives, so that had to be a comfort. I was really excited when I uncovered the baptismal record for Caroline and then the record of her marriage to Christen.  Then I remembered that I don’t read Danish.

Oops. You can still get helpful info - when I found Christen Rasmussen’s confirmation in church records it provided his birthplace.  I’m sure we already have that tidbit filed away somewhere, but if you’re just beginning a search those are the tasty clues that move you forward. 

I won’t bore you with more details of a family that you don’t know or care about.  Besides, I have to get back to my search and keep fleshing out my McGlaughn/McGlaughon/McGlaun/McGlon/McGlahon/Meglohon line. So far I know that: John McGlaughon & Jane O’Cane of Lanarkshire,Scotland begat Jeremiah and his brothers Malachi and James. Jeremiah McGlaughon & Jane Howell begat Edmond and siblings Edmond McGlauhon & Angelica Jane Butler begat William and siblings William McGlahon & Ann Gaskin  begat Jeremiah and siblings Jeremiah McGlauhon had FOUR wives - Elizabeth Capeheart (also spelled Kapott in some records), Nancy Baker, Matilda Webb Fogerty, and Nancy Parker As you can imagine, there was a litter of kids, but my ancestor came from his union with Nancy Baker. So, Jeremiah & Nancy #1 begat James Jackson McGlaughn. James Jackson “Jack” McGlaughn  married Mary Loretta Eady who is listed as “Cherokee Indian”. They had a few kids and because life was harder on women back then, Mary died.  Jack then married Nancy Jane Noble, and together they made my great-grandfather John Pinkston McGlaughn. John Pinkston McGlaughn married Lavada Sanders, had some babies, and Lavada (you guessed it) died.  Along came Lela Fields Carter with her daughter Alice and married John and had a few more kids.  My grandfather was from the first union with Lavada.  He was a horrible, awful, disgusting, sorry excuse for a human being and his name was William Jasper McGlaughn. William Jasper McGlaughn married Jessie Bell Lett and produced six offspring, one of them was my father, John Paskle McGlaughn.  He met and married an Idaho beauty, Marilyn Holtz, and all because those brave ancestors stepped onto boats and decided to give America a try, here I am.  It’s both humbling and fascinating to see documents with the beautiful, swirling signatures of some of those who came before me.  I don’t know all of their stories, I only have names and dates right now. But if not for them I wouldn’t be sitting in my warm, cozy home in Tennessee, searching the internet for what they left behind.  My life has undoubtedly been far easier than theirs, don’t we all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and benefit from their courage and hard work?  Of course, we also sometimes have to recover from the poor decisions and cruelty of unsavory characters in our family trees.  We’re all threads in a tapestry. That being said, my DNA swab continues to be refined and as it turns out, I’m exactly what family lore has said I would be.  I’m a big ol’ hodge podge of European ancestors like most Americans.

Northwestern Europe - Germany and Denmark, check. Scotland and England - check. Various sprinklings for flavor - check. I’m happy like the Danish and frugal like the Scots. German stereotypes are hardworking, efficient, and disciplined.  I totally missed that boat. Can’t win ‘em all. Okay, I’ll wrap this up.  If you stuck it out to the end pleas reward yourself.  This whole post was just me thinking out loud and making my case for a trip to Scotland.  Pretty sure the motherland is calling me home.

I mean, the place is full of these adorable Highland Cows!  I could bring one home as a souvenir!

I’m afraid if I go I’ll never come home, Jeremiah’s journey would all be for naught. So that’s it. I really am wrapping this up.

I swear, I’m done. Stay safe and stay well, ya wee smasher!

Done. XOXO - Nancy

[littlebigmarketingsandiego]

What Is PPC – A Quick Guide to Google Ads Management

If you’re looking to start your own PPC ad campaign and are looking to learn more about the intricacies involved, you are at the right place. Click here to learn more and start optimizing your campaigns today!

https://www.littlebigmarketingsandiego.com/blog/google-ads-management-1-on-1-making-the-most-of-ppc

[lastsonlost]

It is believed to be the largest defamation judgement in Minnesota. The vast majority of the judgement, $814,514 is for economic losses, as well as reputational and emotional damages. Only $100,000 was for punitive damages. 

Parisi walked out of jail three years ago, his life in shambles.  

He was criminally charged with raping Wright and trying to run over her with his car. While in jail for three weeks, with his bail set at a half-million dollars, his mother died in his native Italy.  

Days later, the Hennepin County Attorney would drop charges because of insufficient evidence. Prosecutors privately conceded there was no evidence.

But the damage was already done. 

“It was a horror movie,” said Parisi. 

Many of his law school students, especially the women, assumed he was guilty. Enrollment in his classes dropped by 60 percent with some classes cancelled 

And in the eyes of the internet, he might as well have been convicted.  

“Even after those charges were dropped, people Google my name and only see a professor accused of so many crimes," Parisi explained.  

A Real Estate Deal, A Rape Allegation

The relationship between Parisi and Wright began in September of 2014 with a chance meeting outside his condo on Washington Avenue in the North Loop.  

That night they had sex.  And quickly were involved in a real estate venture together to partition Parisi’s large condo to create a studio for Wright.  

Parisi’s attorney, John Braun, said there were red flags from the beginning.  

But the deal fell apart, and the relationship soon soured.

There were protracted legal proceedings over the next year as Parisi tried to evict Wright from the property. 

Days after the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld Wright’s eviction in June 2016, Wright reported to Minneapolis Police that Parisi had raped her 18 months earlier, on January 22, 2015.  

The rape allegation was jaw dropping. Wright claimed Parisi had anally raped her, smashing her face into a concrete floor. She claimed the attack left her with three broken teeth, a prolapsed rectum, and a damaged colon.  

But there was no evidence, not even medical reports, or corroborating accounts from people she might’ve told about the attack.  

Wright had not mentioned any rape allegation in previous court filings for restraining orders. 

Wright also accused Parisi of attempting to run her over with his car in broad daylight in downtown Minneapolis. Once again, there was no evidence. And the allegations were nearly identical to those she made a decade earlier against an ex-husband who is now deceased.   

“It turns out the allegations were all false, lies,” said John Braun, Parisi’s attorney, who added, “there were plenty of red flags.”  

“One Minneapolis Police Officer actually read the case that way and declined it for prosecution,” he said. “Morgan Wright came back six months later and found another police officer and the whole thing started over again.”

Judge Moreno meticulously details a half-dozen other fabrications in his findings. She lied about having a degree in music from Julliard, about being a doctor, and having other advanced degrees.

She has also claimed her father was former U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskhold, who was a bachelor, likely gay, and died in a plane crash. She even adopted his name.

And while Wright claims to be destitute and on disability for a seizure disorder, she lives in a luxury downtown condo and is known to drive a Mercedes convertible. 

When FOX 9 reached her by phone, Wright declined to comment referring a reporter to her attorneys. Her attorneys, Cassandra Merrick and Matthew Pelikan, of the law firm Madel PA, did not return calls or emails requesting comment. 

Parisi, a noted legal scholar in Italy and U.S., said he has lost numerous speaking engagements and business opportunities, becoming a pariah in his profession.  

His personal life is a vacuum. 

“I used to be the popular guy at parties,” he said. “I’m Italian, I bring the good wine. I don’t get so many invitations now.”

Parisi said he regrets that his mother never got to see him vindicated. He fears his reputation is buried with her. 

Parisi, who is the father of five daughters, said he believes in the "Me Too" movement, and believes the tragedy of the case is that it could take away credibility from real victims who should be heard and believed. 

Did he really win?

[bustedbernie]

It’s not coddling developers. It’s a mix of encouraging developers to build more supply for families (and not just “hip singles”) and state sanctioned tax benefits and public housing. The current problems in the USA (and to an extent in Canada) are zoning and parking minimums which have largely made traditional developments not financially feasible. Walk around many older American cities and you will see courtyard apartments, quadplexes, duplexes, wallups, brownstones, or other forms of higher-density developments. In the USA, it has become so onerous to build that the only profitable ways to build are housing developments on the periphery (i.e. suburbia) or LARGE luxury properties inside cities. What we are missing is the framework to build what a lot of urbanists call “the missing middle.” In many American cities, the types of housing I just listed above have been either illegal or too expensive to get any return on investment on. So yeah, I see the criticism. In certain cities (especially LA, SF, DC and NYC) the development we do see is all luxury, large buildings. But why wouldn’t it be when everything else is untenable? This is the issue at hand. To make matters worse, there are neighborhoods in Los Angeles zoned for single-family home construction NEXT TO METRO STATIONS. That is unacceptable and elitist if ever there was a case. And look at where the Red Line terminates in North Hollywood! It’s a GIGANTIC parking lot in the middle of a city of 4million people. That could be converted into parks, housing, shops and workspaces for thousands of people. Instead its parking... Which also places a cap on the utility of having a metro station nearby, one of the most efficient and high-capacity ways of getting around we have in our toolbox.

Bulldozing neighborhoods? This is the problem in places like San Francisco where white liberals are more interested in “preserving the view of the bay” and “maintaining the character of the neighborhood” than they are of building more housing to accommodate folks that need homes. I agree, but the bulldozing of neighborhoods largely already happened during the freeway construction boom of the post-war period through the 90s. Some cities are smartly demolishing these freeways and restoring neighborhoods. In San Francisco, there have been proposals to redevelop industrial areas in the old harbor areas into housing districts. These too have been controversial for some of these reasons (THE VIEW OF THE BAY :’(  ) and it’s just... so silly! Very few live in these industrial areas, so now we throw in people who don’t even live in a largely useless area as it currently is preventing change because they take their tea on the porch and don’t wanna risk seeing different buildings in the distance? I can never grapple with this way of thinking when even the most inoffensive way of adding housing to our cities seems to get people up in arms. Maybe we are too used to our suburban way of life and are trying to replicate that in cities? idk. But we gotta find a way to change this mindset. 

There are also ways to radically increase density without “harming the character” or building giant skyscraper blocks. Many European and Asian cities demonstrate this. Paris is famous for its 19th century apartment blocks that essentially quadruple capacity of a city block and create the situation that Paris intra-muros is about as dense as Manhattan, while only having a few skyscrapers at all. 

To further my point, I will again point to France, which is the only capitalist country that kept up housing pace against communist peer nations in the post-war while also continuing to add housing in urban centers. Of course, France has a ton of problems, particularly in the Paris suburbs, but those are slowly being addressed. Paris is currently adding 60,000-80,000 new units of housing per year with the Grand Paris project. Many of these units are built by private developers, and many are subsidized or built directly by the state. In addition, the state is funding the construction of over 200km of new metro to better connect existing neighborhoods throughout the region, expanding the RER (an express regional commuter system), as well as new light rails and rapid bus lines to further these goals. This is partly why the Paris region remains much more affordable than London, which is not too far away and struggling to keep up. You can also compare it to New York. Just googling, I’ve found several studio apartments for rent for under 600€ in the 14th arrondissement. They are even cheaper if you’re willing to live near an RER station outside of the city proper. Looking at places near NYC, not at all comparable. Yes, Grand Paris has its detractors, particularly those that don’t want power to continue concentrating in the capital city, but, the results seem to be speaking for themselves and Paris is actually trying to fix many of its problems with inequity and poor orbital area transport whereas we’re still having stupid fights here. Metro and RER stations are more and more becoming important nodes in the urban fabric even on the periphery and building around these new stations will provide the housing the region needs as it sustains growth. And France is the example that is not kind to developers and has lots of state involvement. If you want another radical proposal, look to Japan which has state centered urban planning. Zoning doesn’t exist as it does in the USA, which means a family house in Tokyo can be torn down and replaced by 20 apartment units without the years of public hearings we have to deal with here. You will see plenty of urbanists point to Japan as the ideal way to handle these issues as Japan handles housing prices far better than the USA and UK are currently. I personally prefer the French model, but that’s me. Just trying to give another example that is far more friendly toward developers that has been shown to work. 

So yes, lets not coddle developers, but also realize the USA has a 30 year backlog of construction, and not the government nor developers can alone rise to meet this challenge without radical changes and playing every card we have. Even more concerning is I read some months ago that there simply are not enough construction contractors and workers in LA County to even keep pace with some of the CURRENT construction, let alone what we need to be adding to our current stock to make cities more habitable and affordable. 

[buddha-in-disguise]

A full of fucking swearing long post about the shitstain that is Dominic Cummings. Plus where I can find them, at the end I will link fucking sources, just in case anyone wants to try and say otherwise.

Also, if you do start @ me over him, I'm blocking your fucking cunt of an arse. Clear enough?

Good. Then let's begin.

As a nation, we can be a fairly mild mannered lot. At least collectively. But as of now, the majority of Britons are a mass of anger. So much so, I've even agreed with pundits like Piers Fucking Morgan! That alone is distressing enough, but Dominic Cummings has pissed off just about everyone.

But first a little background on this heaping pile of shit.

Dominic Cummings was one of the main instigators of Leave Campaign in regards Brexit. Now for those who don't know or haven't cared until now, not only were they found to be in breach of the electoral law, Dominic himself was also found in contempt of Parliament when they tried to find out if Vote Leave used fake news to help achieve their goal.

To add to this, he took around 200k of subsidies from the EU for his properties. So a known lying fucking hypocrite.

Even before that, he was advisor to Gove, that spineless fucking weasel who has been out today spouting even more fucking bollocks over this. Funny that.

Don't think for a minute being Gove's Special Advisor meant Cummings was liked by others in the Tory Party. Cummings was pretty much despised by a lot in Government at the time. David 'Pig fucker' Cameron called him a career psychopath.

Fast forward to 2019. Cummings is now Special Advisor to another spineless fucking cunt known as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. BJ was never in control. Anyone watching what was going on knew that the moment Cummings had Javid's one aide uncermoniously marched out of her job, using armed police no less.

Only problem was, he had no authority to do that.

But never fear, BJ decided to change the rules, so lo and behold, he didn't break any rules (seeing a pattern here yet?)

So fast forward to the last few days. Now newspapers were reporting that Dominic Cummings drove his COVID-19 symptomatic wife, with a 4 year old in the same enclosed vehicle, some 260 miles to his parents location in Durham.

Oh now comes the fun part, and why as a nation we are all beyond extremely miffed, and fucking pissed off!

The offical guidance was anyone in a household with someone displaying symptoms (tested or not) was to stay the fuck at home. There was one exception to this rule. One. Extreme risk to life.

So Cummings took the decision to go and drive for fucking childcare reasons.

A man with his wealth, privilege and even with family in fucking London, couldn't do it at his home, but had to drive (thus risking his own child because of viral load you're going to get in an enclosed vehicle), himself and others (because he had to stop. Tell me of anyone with a 4 year old in the car they wouldn't be stopping anywhere?)

So anyway, they take a fucking jolly jaunt up to his parents.

But hold on, a Minister recently resigned for breaking lockdown rules. So why in the ever loving fuck was Cummings not resigning or being fired?

I don't know what Cummings has on BJ, but I suspect it makes wanting to fuck a dead pig seem like child play. Because not only isn't he fired, good old Jolly BJ comes out and fully defends and supports his senior advisor (who is unelected as well, just to add salt to that wound).

So by following his fatherly instincts (the fucking laughable defence given, when BJ couldn't even say how many fucking kids he has) and acting with integrity, (someone please give these fucking morons a dictionary), Cummings was given a free pass.

And then a load of fucking MP's including cabinet ministers all piled in saying how great a father he is, how it was exceptional circumstances that made him do it, you're all overreacting you terrible ingrate you, blah, blah, more horse shit, blah!

So, now all of those families who actually followed the fucking rules, and did what the government said are now being told, oh sure. You could've attended the funeral of your loved ones. Gone halfway across country to get child care for your kids, and so on and so fucking forth.

So basically saying, hah the jokes on you.

A few grumbles came out from the odd Tory, who might not have grown a spine, but were looking less like jelly (jello) being nailed to the wall, and more like thick fucking custard. A little more substance to them, but still slopping around with no spine.

We have a bank holiday coming up, and unusually good weather forecast, because as every Brit knows, Bank Holidays are normally shit weather wise. And a lot of people saying, fuck me if Cummings can do this, so can we. And all pile into cars for days out as if nothing had changed! No masks, no social distancing. Zilch. Great innit.

No it fucking isn't! The virus doesn't take a holiday you fucking morons!

So back to the other mess. Cummings now gives a press conference in the fucking rose garden of No.10. Also likely in breach of the rules, but as we know, he really doesn't give a flying fuck about rules now does he.

First of all he was 30 minutes late (you would've been sanctioned , therefore getting no money, for weeks, probably months if on benefits and did the same thing thanks to this government). But he eventually rolls up, looking slightly less like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards, but still looking like a dogs arse. Actually sorry dogs, you don't deserve that comparison. I'm really sorry!!

Anyway, here he is, about to fill us with more bullshit.

The shit now isn't just hitting the fan. In the immortal words of Terry Pratchett, The Midden has now hit the Windmill.

Cummings is trying to explain why he did what he did, oh and now we have the added delight of him being caught going out to a location some 30 miles from the family home, which is another breach of the law!

He sat there, and said, the public aren't angry at me, they're angry because of how the media have reported it. Woe is me, they're making me out to be the bad guy in all this .... blah fucking boo hoo blah.

This was supposed to calm us down.

Dear reader.

It. Did. Not.

So journalist after journalist (Beth Rigby gave a fucking masterclass) actually didn't let him get away with it.

These weren't just questions or accusations. They threw proof at him! Despite the collective rage, it was glorious to see them do it. If this was when stocks were still in use in the town square, Cummings would've been covered in excrement and anything else to hand. That shit was blown back so fast, it was hard to keep up.

Anyway, without going into too much here, his excuses ranged from he didn't feel safe because of demos outside his home (unverified and strangely enough, no neighbours reporting any disturbances either. Funny that),

Then, having gone to great lengths to say he drove up to his parents to keep his kid safe, he explains the additional trip he got caught out on was taken to test his eyesight, which had been affected because of being unwell with Covid19.

So not only is it highly fucking illegal to drive while impaired (including if eyesight is impaired) in this country, you decided to take your wife and kid, who you wanted to protect, not for a little jaunt down the road, but on a 60 mile fucking round trip.

Oh, and he hadn't stopped on the 260 mile trip up there, but his kid needed a stop on the way home, so a less than 60 mile trip required a stop. Yeah. Strange how that works.

He still kept blaming the media. Still kept up the woe is me, it was exceptional circumstances, and so on. Must get sore lips there Cummings, with the amount of smoke you try to blow up peoples arses.

So, to end it all, he has flatly refused to resign. No need to even consider it. The public will be jolly good chaps in all of this and see my side of things.

No we won't, you motherfucking cunt!

So this morning, various people including Gove are still making excuses for this fucking shitstain.

I now wish Cummings is fired, but better yet, thrown out of our universe, so he can never ever be seen again. But I've seen more spine on a fucking snake that I have Boris Johnson, who is just as much to blame in all this.

Before I end, we also had an infamous Tweet from someone in the Civil Service, who knew they were torpedoing their career. I'm including a screen shot. It was taken down, but it was genuine. Whoever they were, you deserve all the applause and a fucking medal!

Oh and a few sources for this and the cuntface Cummings. But you know, just Google the fucker. You can find this and much more.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44856992

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47712040

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/10/dominic-cummings-owns-farm-got-eu-subsidy

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/18/david-cameron-dominic-cummings-career-psychopath

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dominic-cummings-boris-johnson-cabinet-minister-aides-civil-service-sajid-javid-a9109836.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52782913

[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52553229

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-52792200

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52793991

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/dominic-cummings-trip-county-durham-18306147

https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-rules