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Warning: This Chinese New Year video might cause you to run for your hankie. From Bernas, a rice distribution company. -via The Daily What
My Monster Family Car Stickers | $9.95
It’s a set of family car stickers shaped like monsters! The My Monster Family Car Sticker set from the NeatoShop features Franken-dad, Mummy mom, Werebrother, Vampsister, Baby from the Black Lagoon, Dogberus and Cyclop Cat, ranging from 4″ tall down to 1.5″ tall. Simply peel and stick the vinyl stickers, and you can remove them with no residue mess. Monsters designed by artist Mike Jacobsen. My Zombie Family car stickers are available, too, at the NeatoShop!
The Welcome Home Blog posts videos of military personnel coming home after a deployment. You are welcome to browse or even submit yours! This video is called Soldiers Surprising Their Loved Ones: PART ONE, a compilation of returning service members surprising their parents, spouses, children, siblings, or pets. There are several compilations listed under “best of” at the blog. The Welcome Home Blog is not limited to surprise videos, but that’s what most of them are. Link -via Breakfast Links
Pleasant Holidays With The Entire Family Tea – $9.95
Are you dreading the holidays? You need the Pleasant Holidays With The Family Tea from the NeatoShop. This Darjeeling with spice tea provides just the right dose of laughter to help soothe frayed nerves.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fun Food & Drinks!
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Lewis Hine took this family photo in 1909. The caption at Shorpy reads:
January 22, 1909. Tifton, Georgia. “Family working in the Tifton Cotton Mill. Mrs. A.J. Young works in mill and at home. Nell (oldest girl) alternates in mill with mother. Mammy (next girl) runs 2 sides. Mary (next) runs 1½ sides. Elic (oldest boy) works regularly. Eddie (next girl) helps in mill, sticks on bobbins. Four smallest children not working yet. The mother said she earns $4.50 a week and all the children earn $4.50 a week. Husband died and left her with 11 children. Two of them went off and got married. The family left the farm two years ago to work in the mill.” Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Not long after the photo was taken, the seven youngest children were sent to an orphanage. Historian Joe Manning wondered what happened to the family. He did the research and reconstructed the story of Catherine Young, her children, and their descendants. It’s a fascinating read, which includes the history of Georgia’s cotton mills and evolving child labor laws. Link -via Metafilter
My Zombie Family Car Stickers – $9.95
Do you have a zombieriffic family? Tell the world, or at least the guy stuck behind you in traffic, with the My Zombie Family Car Stickers by Adam “ape lad” Koford from the NeatoShop. This frighteningly fabulous set comes with 8 stickers:
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Zombie fun!
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Craftster member ChainCrafts made armor for his family because his wife wanted a “Post-Apocalypse/Zombie Slaying family photo shoot” for her birthday. She got her wish. The awesome photographs are shared at the Craftster forum. Link -via Boing Boing
(Image credit: Bakan Photography)
In the French animation Mortys, death is a working mother. Business is disrupted when her child schemes to get more of her time. Mortys is a graduation short film co-directed by Gaelle Lebegue, Mathieu Vidal, Aurelien Ronceray-Peslin et Nicolas Villeneuve, and produced by the ESMA. -via I Am Bored
by Mike Adams
Department of Biology
Eastern Connecticut State University
Willimantic, Connecticut
It has long been theorized that the week prior to an exam is an extremely dangerous time for the relatives of college students. Ever since I began my teaching career, I heard vague comments, incomplete references and unfinished remarks, all alluding to the “Dead Grandmother Problem.”
Few colleagues would ever be explicit in their description of what they knew, but I quickly discovered that anyone who was involved in teaching at the college level would react to any mention of the concept. In my travels I found that a similar phenomenon is known in other countries. In Eng- land it is called the “Graveyard Grannies” problem, in France the “Chere Grand’mere,” while in Bulgaria it is inexplicably known as “The Toadstool Waxing Plan” (I may have had some problems here with the translation. Since the revolution this may have changed anyway.) Although the problem may be international in scope it is here in the USA that it reaches its culmination, so it is only fitting that the first warnings originate here also.
The basic problem can be stated very simply:
A student’s grandmother is far more likely to die suddenly just before the student takes an exam, than at any other time of year.
While this idea has long been a matter of conjecture or merely a part of the folklore of college teaching, I can now confirm that the phenomenon is real. For over twenty years I have collected data on this supposed relationship, and have not only confirmed what most faculty had suspected, but also found some additional aspects of this process that are of potential importance to the future of the country. The results presented in this report provide a chilling picture and should waken the profession and the general public to a serious health and sociological problem before it is too late.
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Now, this is the perfect family portrait. You see, everyone is smiling naturally, as if they are really enjoying themselves. Continue to see how this feat was accomplished.
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This is the story of a dog named Hero. Hero the dog was a good dog who never barked and loved his family very much. One day the family’s house caught on fire. Hero barked as loud as he could and woke everyone up. The family soon discovered their house was on fire. The entire family was able to escape. Hero the dog saved his family. That day Hero the dog became a true hero.
The best part about the story, however, is that Hero was recently injured and was nearly put to sleep.
Their dog had been hit by a car in recent months and suffered a badly broken leg and other injuries. They were given the option to put her down, but they declined.
“She’s our hero and if we wouldn’t have saved her with her leg, she wouldn’t have saved us today,” Rankin said. “I’m getting her the biggest steak that she can eat and want.”
The editors of Slate asked their readers how Thanksgiving cooking traditions get passed from one generation to the next. They collected stories and posted them. It seems that in many families, the one who cooks every year has a hard time giving that position up to anyone else. Some even refuse help from those who should be learning how to do it.
My mom doesn’t accept much help in the kitchen, holidays or Mondays—not because she doesn’t trust others to get it right, but because she just doesn’t know how to slow down. Never did. And accept help? She’s as likely to do that as she is to ask for it; i.e., not at all. She reminds me of the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, who systematically gets his appendages hacked off in battle but still won’t call it a day. Make no mistake, having grown up as one of five girls in an inner-city, working-class home, I’m no stranger to hard work. But there was never a time when we did more work than she did. Ever. Even at 83, I’m not sure it’s even possible to outwork my mom. As she’s aged, all we can manage is guerrilla warfare.
My mother and grandmother helped me learn the family recipes as soon as I was old enough to be interested, and I’ve been hosting the family feast for quite a few years now. Now if I could only get my children interested… How about your family? Link
Sean Christensen interviews a woman about a very important sandwich she made for her brother many years ago. Even small things can become an unforgettable part of your family history. -via The Daily What
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Bill and Amarins packed up their three young daughters Cheyenne, Jasmine, and Robin and set off on a 7,000 mile journey from Mt. Vernon, Kentucky (just up the road from me) to Alaska. What’s different about this trip is that they are traveling on a bicycle built for five! They call themselves the Pedouins, which is combination of pedal and Bedouins, meaning nomadic people. The journey included a detour to Mexico, since the purpose of the trip is to teach their children about the world. The family began the trip in October of last year, and they’ve made it to California so far. You can follow their adventure on their website. Link -Thanks, Hanan!
In an amazing stroke of luck, coincidence or great planning five members of one family share the same birth date, over several generations! That is, as of yesterday when Mila was born on March 29th like the rest of te family.
It all began 70 years ago with Anita Marshall. Her daughter, Alicia Bams, shared her birthday and it kept snowballing from there. Soon, Anita’s grandson, Eddie Marshall, checked in on the same day. Then, along came granddaughter Sydne freeman and, now, Mila.
Bams says, “Now we have one more person to put on the birthday cake every year.”
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by jmillitzer.
A mother squirrel was caught on camera protecting her baby from the jaws of a large black dog. The first image shows the dog about to start pouncing and playing with the baby as the mother looks on, but then the rest of the series depicts the mother diving down and attacking the dog so the youngster has a chance to escape. It looks like all three parties involved came out mostly unscathed, but the dog might have some scratches where the squirrel bit him on the neck and face.
Link Image Via Daily Mail
Family Schmamily … I’m Here For The Turkey – $9.95
This Thanksgiving, after fighting the long lines at the airport, navigating the parking lot that used to be called freeways, and defusing family tension at the dinner table, everyone could use a little humor. So wear this T-shirt and hope that your family sees the humor in it and give you an extra serving of turkey!
From the Neatorama Shop: Link
Design by the talented Chris Murphy
Fourth-grader Hannah Eschrig got a surprise on the next-to-last day of class at her school: her father, Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Myers returns early for a surprise homecoming.
Matt Woolbright of My San Antonio has the story:
Myers’ reunion with 10-year-old Hannah was his second of the day. He reunited with his 19-month-old daughter, Adison, just before surprising Hannah.
Adison didn’t know how to react, burying her face into her mom before uttering, “Hi, Daddy,” and bringing tears to many of the people there.
Hannah’s class was interrupted when Bessette announced that some friends would be talking to the class and taking pictures. When everyone was in place, mom and dad walked in.
Hannah’s expression and instant tears drove her mother to tears as well as she watched her daughter and husband reunite.
“I was so excited, I couldn’t believe it,” Hannah said. “I don’t really remember what happened because I was just so happy.”
Link | Watch the heartwarming video (Photo and video by John Davenport / Express-News.net)
Update 11/3/09 by Alex – I replaced the unattributed video with the original source over at My San Antonio News – Thanks Michael Knoop!
Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Brett Bennethum was ordered to Iraq in July. His four-year-old daughter Paige had a hard time letting go, so much that she held onto his hand in formation. No one, including the commanding officer, had the heart to pull her away. The picture of the incident, taken by Paige’s mother, has gone viral and touched people all over the country. Link -via Buzzfeed
(image credit: Abby Bennethum)
Growing up singing together has its advantages! This post looks at thirteen different sibling acts that made it big, with videos of each.
Often our brothers and sisters are the first people we sing and play music with, so if it works well, it’s only natural to continue to sing and play with them. The tonal similarity of siblings’ voices allows for the building of beautiful harmonies, which can explain the success of the music made by siblings.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Peachi.
Families differ on how they give their kids money. Kelly writes about how her family does it, and the many questions that go along with allowances.
* Should the allowance be given freely OR tied to chores?
* Should I only pay for extra chores?
* How much money should I give my kid?
* Should I let them spend it on what they want OR should I force them to save a portion of it?
* Coins, bills, or a savings account?
* How often should I give him/her allowance?
Personally, I give the kids a set amount every week, in order to teach them by trial and error how to handle money. The amount is less than their friends get, which forces them to think hard about how they spend it. Their allowance is not tied to performing family chores, but occasionally I give a bonus to someone who has been extra helpful (only as a surprise). How does your family handle children and their money, or how do you plan to do it? Link -via Consumerist
(image credit: Flickr user Pingu1963)
A new study shows that sleeping in separate beds can help your health and your relationship. Dr. Neil Stanley, a sleep researcher, believes that by not sharing a bed with your partner you may be decreasing the risks of divorce, heart problems, stroke and suicidal behavior.
“Intimacy is important for emotional health. But good sleep is important for physical, emotional and mental health.”
What do you guys think? Would you sleep away from your love so you can actually improve your sleep?
Quick: what do you usually do on a family outing? Do you go to the movies? Maybe eat out? How about steal together? That’s exactly what one family did in Boerne, Texas.
Kim Fischer of WOAI reports:
Boerne police said that they’ve never seen anything like it. A family stealing items right off a store counter. Then, caught on surveillance video, a child walking out the door with them.
Wal-Mart camera saw it all. First a man cases the jewelry section. Next, he brings in a child to cover him as he steals an entire carousel of jewelry worth $1,600. Then police say the adult let this small child do the dirty work. "She was the one who pushed that grocery cart out the front door …"
Link [video clip]
We all have them – those horrible moments when we are crowded, pushed and shoved into position so that Uncle X can take a photo of us. Rarely, however, is one enough. Sometimes this process gets repeated over and over again for what seems like ages. One industrious blogger has set about collecting the most memorably terrible such images online in one place. The site does not have much to say about itself but then again: the images really do speak for themselves.
Months later, I received an email from a William Diesslin, regarding my photos of Matten:
You didn’t know it at the time, but you photographed my great
grandfather’s store front! I’ve attached the photo for your reference.”
I scoured my photos until I found what seemed to be a match for the historic black and white picture Diesslin had sent. During the next few weeks, I learned the rest of the story. Diesslin’s search for his ancestry had been unsuccessful until he discovered my blog. Once he saw my photo he was able to identify the present day building and track down the owners, who confirmed the store had originally belonged to his great grandfather.
In a subsequent email he remarked:
"This will be a landmark for my family as my dad was orphaned at 14
years old, all family history was lost. Your photos may have opened up
a long lost link to my ancestors.”
There’s more to the story, like the fact that Diesslin stayed in that very building (it is now a hostel) back in the 1980′s and had abslutely no idea that it had any connection to his family. The series of coincidences are so bizarre as to be almost unbelievable. To read the rest of the story, and to see the histoic and present day photos, visit Hole In The Donut Travel Blog.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by baweibel.
